I took Tinkerbell yesterday to get her shots at petco, and was very worried about her behavior, I've explained on other threads her fear aggression with dogs... so I've been working on the NILIF with her, her sits are so good now, her 'come' is doing great- She's now 4 pounds 4 oz.
So I purposely made her walk on leash into the store, beside me(also learning to heel pretty well) while i pushed a cart into line, I had it just in case, I didn't want her to be up high, in a cart to meet anyone at first, I knew she'd just set herself up to snarl and be mean...
So we got there early, 2 small dogs in line ahead, one behind. I knew she was freaked,so I kept her very busy the first 10-15 mins. of waiting with commands and crumbs of biscuit to distract her attention,also short heel walks down an aisle and back, at first,she was her usual snarly scared self at the friendly dogs around us, but after continuing positive reinforcement for good behavior(sits,looking at me, heel) she loosened up! She made friends with 3 dogs around us, I was so happy!
I think the commands and treats made all the difference,instead of focusing on herself and her initial fear, she focused on me, and obeying for cookies, and it works! I'm going to visit again, same method, just for a few minutes to continue this desensitizing process, the dog park was too much at once for her -
But, after about an hour there,it takes about 45 min. to wait, and get the shot, then checking out- she started to get jumpy again, I figured she's had enough for one morning,and got her out of there-
I figured for a 3 month old, she did ok for quite a while!
So I purposely made her walk on leash into the store, beside me(also learning to heel pretty well) while i pushed a cart into line, I had it just in case, I didn't want her to be up high, in a cart to meet anyone at first, I knew she'd just set herself up to snarl and be mean...
So we got there early, 2 small dogs in line ahead, one behind. I knew she was freaked,so I kept her very busy the first 10-15 mins. of waiting with commands and crumbs of biscuit to distract her attention,also short heel walks down an aisle and back, at first,she was her usual snarly scared self at the friendly dogs around us, but after continuing positive reinforcement for good behavior(sits,looking at me, heel) she loosened up! She made friends with 3 dogs around us, I was so happy!
I think the commands and treats made all the difference,instead of focusing on herself and her initial fear, she focused on me, and obeying for cookies, and it works! I'm going to visit again, same method, just for a few minutes to continue this desensitizing process, the dog park was too much at once for her -
But, after about an hour there,it takes about 45 min. to wait, and get the shot, then checking out- she started to get jumpy again, I figured she's had enough for one morning,and got her out of there-
I figured for a 3 month old, she did ok for quite a while!
