Last night was a rough night in classes. We had 4 situations that are going to require private coaching so we can focus solely on what they have going on. We had 2 puppies displaying behaviors that are more intense than you want to see from puppies. 2 dogs with extreme anxiety behaviors they didn’t display the week before. And 2 dogs that had to leave class early.
I don’t know if the moon is aligned just right, if the 10 degree cool off stressed them, if coming out of the weekend of fireworks, or the storm on Monday set last night in motion or what… but I was exhausted after only two hours of classes.
But!…
That is how dog training goes. We have our good nights and our bad. There seemed to be a lot of what we call trigger stacking going on. That’s when one stressor happens and is followed by multiple others with a finale of overly extreme stress reaction(s).
I hope everyone felt like we talked about a path to a solution. We did discuss, with one of the classes, that YOUR reaction to stressors matter, as well. If you hate fireworks and stomp around the house for a week, your puppy sees that and can mimic you in dog ways. If storms scare you and you pace or hide with overt reactions, your puppy sees that.
What if you acted like they didn’t bother you. Stressor = fun training time; Stressor = movie and snack time, Stressor = playtime…
How you act matters. One way dogs learn is by watching.
So, next time it rains, go out with your treats and do a rain dance and laugh with your pup. Laughing is not just good for the human soul. Dogs enjoy a good bout of silliness too!
#fireworks #storms #puppies #k9behavioraltraining #417pitgirl Precious K9s
