In one of my other threads pinkspore suggested Karen Overall's Protocol for Relaxation to help with Tucker's fear of being stepped on. I'm hoping it will help with his general reactivity as well and teach him a pretty bomb proof down stay. I wanted to create this thread in part to just keep track of how we're doing and to ask for help/tips. I'd also like to encourage anyone else who has or is doing the protocol to share their experiences and ask questions.
Here is the protocol: http://dogscouts.org/base/tonto-site/uploads/2015/03/7002_Protocol_for_Relaxation.pdf
We're on "Day 3". Day 1 went perfectly, he never broke his down stay (we're doing down instead of sit because he prefers that position and will inevitably slide into it if I make him sit for too long). Day 2 needed to be repeated once as he jumped up when I tried to walk halfway around him, as I expected he would. After he jumped up I repeated but only walked as far as his hip which he was fine with. Then the next day when I repeated the whole Day 2 protocol he let me walk halfway around with no issue (which surprised me).
Day 3 will need to be repeated, he actually broke his stay three times. The first was right near the beginning for no obvious reason, I don't remember what it was during, it might have just been a 5-10 second stay. The second was during a 10 or 15 second stay, but he heard one of the cats jump over the gate to my room which made him concerned. The third was when I tried to walk halfway around him for the first time. After he broke his down I repeated the task each time and he was able to do it. He didn't break it any of the other times I walked halfway around him, including when I was clapping.
There are a few issues we're running into. One is his sneezing, I'm just not sure how I should be treating it. Tucker sneezes when he's frustrated (during training or when he wants something and you're not paying attention to him) but I'm not sure if it's something he's in control of or if he really feels the sensation of having to sneeze. They look like legit sneezes, not little puffs, he does the whole sneeze face and even brings his paw up to his nose sometimes. So I'm not sure if I should treat it like demand barking or just pretend it's not happening (I've been doing the latter, though I try not to reward immediately following a sneeze).
Another issue is space. On day 3 it has you taking 10 steps away from your dog (right, left, and backwards) and it will eventually have you taking many more. I can't do that in any room in the house without leaving his view. I could do it outside but I can't do many of the exercises to come outside (walking towards the doorway, knocking on the door, touching the doorknob, etc.). Some of the exercises will also have less of an impact outside. For example walking out of view and saying "hello" inside would really bother him and is something we need to work on. Doing it outside wouldn't bother him at all. So not sure what to do about that. Maybe just walk as far as I can inside while working on the entire list of tasks and then work on that particular task separately outside later to make sure he can do it?
The final issue I have is that he gets frustrated during the tasks where he just has to stay while I do nothing. I think he's confused because during training if I stand there doing nothing it means I want him to offer behavior. If I'm doing something, like cutting up treats, he can hold a down stay for a very long time and doesn't get worked up at all. But during the stays I'm doing for the protocol he sneezes, his tail start wagging, and he stars offering behavior. What should I do about that? If I continually praise him it seems to help a bit. As does turning away and fiddling with the treats on the counter. But I'm not sure if I'm "supposed" to do anything like that. Right now he does not have an official stay cue. I just tell him to lie down and he's expected to wait until he's released. Do you think teaching a stay cue and using that before the stays would help him understand that he's not supposed to be doing anything?
Here is the protocol: http://dogscouts.org/base/tonto-site/uploads/2015/03/7002_Protocol_for_Relaxation.pdf
We're on "Day 3". Day 1 went perfectly, he never broke his down stay (we're doing down instead of sit because he prefers that position and will inevitably slide into it if I make him sit for too long). Day 2 needed to be repeated once as he jumped up when I tried to walk halfway around him, as I expected he would. After he jumped up I repeated but only walked as far as his hip which he was fine with. Then the next day when I repeated the whole Day 2 protocol he let me walk halfway around with no issue (which surprised me).
Day 3 will need to be repeated, he actually broke his stay three times. The first was right near the beginning for no obvious reason, I don't remember what it was during, it might have just been a 5-10 second stay. The second was during a 10 or 15 second stay, but he heard one of the cats jump over the gate to my room which made him concerned. The third was when I tried to walk halfway around him for the first time. After he broke his down I repeated the task each time and he was able to do it. He didn't break it any of the other times I walked halfway around him, including when I was clapping.
There are a few issues we're running into. One is his sneezing, I'm just not sure how I should be treating it. Tucker sneezes when he's frustrated (during training or when he wants something and you're not paying attention to him) but I'm not sure if it's something he's in control of or if he really feels the sensation of having to sneeze. They look like legit sneezes, not little puffs, he does the whole sneeze face and even brings his paw up to his nose sometimes. So I'm not sure if I should treat it like demand barking or just pretend it's not happening (I've been doing the latter, though I try not to reward immediately following a sneeze).
Another issue is space. On day 3 it has you taking 10 steps away from your dog (right, left, and backwards) and it will eventually have you taking many more. I can't do that in any room in the house without leaving his view. I could do it outside but I can't do many of the exercises to come outside (walking towards the doorway, knocking on the door, touching the doorknob, etc.). Some of the exercises will also have less of an impact outside. For example walking out of view and saying "hello" inside would really bother him and is something we need to work on. Doing it outside wouldn't bother him at all. So not sure what to do about that. Maybe just walk as far as I can inside while working on the entire list of tasks and then work on that particular task separately outside later to make sure he can do it?
The final issue I have is that he gets frustrated during the tasks where he just has to stay while I do nothing. I think he's confused because during training if I stand there doing nothing it means I want him to offer behavior. If I'm doing something, like cutting up treats, he can hold a down stay for a very long time and doesn't get worked up at all. But during the stays I'm doing for the protocol he sneezes, his tail start wagging, and he stars offering behavior. What should I do about that? If I continually praise him it seems to help a bit. As does turning away and fiddling with the treats on the counter. But I'm not sure if I'm "supposed" to do anything like that. Right now he does not have an official stay cue. I just tell him to lie down and he's expected to wait until he's released. Do you think teaching a stay cue and using that before the stays would help him understand that he's not supposed to be doing anything?