Body Language

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

It's Thursday...that's dog training day for us.  It seems like every week I learn something different, and I always come home with my head spinning with ideas.  Today was no exception.  For the past few weeks we've been working to strengthen Murphy's focus on me....in all kinds of distracted situations.  Today we decided to try Petco....the ultimate challenge for my big guy.  My trainer said that his main job was to watch Murphy and share with me everything that he saw with his body language so that I could better understand what he's trying to tell me and react in response to his cues.  This is much harder than it sounds.  In a situation like Petco, I've very focused on trying to do all the right things to prevent him from getting excited, sniffing, and reacting to other dogs.  I've really not been watching Murph's subtle signals.  So, here are some of the things I learned about my guy...

• He was in a state of "alert" from the time he got out of the car.  He was obeying my commands, but he was nervous.  His body was tense, his tail was stiff, his head was forward, his ears were forward, his eyes were looking everywhere but at me.  Yes, he was in a "heel" but he was ready to react at any moment.  This "state of mind" is not acceptable.  So we spent the next 10 minutes just getting him to relax, look at me, and know that I was taking care of things.  That meant I had to relax too.  We put him in a sit and just waited.  As I saw the tenseness leave him, he got treats....cheese his favorite.  We were over in a corner of the store for this part of the exercise so he would not have to deal with other dogs until he was in a better frame of mind.
• When we saw that there were no other dogs in the store we started heeling him around.  He could not get in front of me at all...if he did, I corrected and refocused him.  What was interesting about this was watching his ears.  They kept moving back and forth.  That was because he was moving from a calm state to an alert state quickly.  He would start to get nervous and then his brain would tell him to calm down.  As soon as the ears went (and stayed) back and his tail relaxed, I would stop and give him a treat.
• After about five minutes he did truly relax.  His reward for that was that he was allowed to sniff as we took him down the treat aisle.  He still couldn't be in front of me, but he could sniff.  As soon as his body started to tense again because he saw something, he went right back to working mode.
• The trainer noticed whenever we passed other customers who were men, Murph moved very close to me....actually touching my body.  This was insecurity, and it happened every time.  I had never noticed it before.  Not a good thing.  It was his way of telling me he was not comfortable.  I can't "fall for that", because it's not good for him.  I corrected from then on whenever he did this.
• Then it was time to introduce the "other dogs".  We practiced walking right up to other dogs, putting Murph in a sit, having him look at me, and when he was calm he got a treat.  This actually went better than I would have expected.  He would see the dog and his body would tense but after the first few times he knew to look right at me.  The whole idea of this is teaching him that there is no need to get reactive around dogs....Mom's praise and cheese are a way better option.
• Then we stood right by the front door.  Of course he was in an excited state...so we just waited.  Eventually he calmed down and actually lied down all on his own and just watched as people came and went.  That was our "positive" ending....so it was time to leave.

So now, not only do I have to figure out what to do (physically) in these situations, but I also have to be able to watch what his body cues are telling me.  I know that this exercise is something we'll have to do over and over in lots of different places, but that's okay.  The good thing is that I used to spend more time watching the body language of the other dogs to try to anticipate the ones who might be a problem.  I no longer do that.  Who cares?  I need to watch my dog and have the confidence that I can control HIM no matter what the state of mind is of the other dogs he may encounter.  It's just amazing how little I really know about my own dogs....but I'm learning...and it's so much fun.

[Mimi Linna, Lilly and Lolly]

wow..thanks for posting. this is all so new to me and reading about murph and your experences is helping me to better understand the workings of how dogs react.

[Jeanne, Tura and Dolly]

Excellent info here. Thanks.  Sounds like a great exercise for everyone to try.

[BG and Gavin]

Great post!  Can you clone your trainer and send him to Canada?  Does Murphy sleep the afternoon away after these training sessions?  Or maybe you do!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

What a lot of hard work, but how rewarding accomplishment feels.

[Ann ~Oliver & Rosie]

What a rewarding training session! I agree it's fun to see what our dogs are capable of doing with a little help from our friend Ben! I love reading about your new adventures, I don't know how you find time to fit it all in! I think it's time I give up my job, so I can work more with my dogs:-)

[Carol and Banjo]

Wow, great training session Jane. (OH how I'd love to have your trainer!!)   This may sound like a silly question...but I've wondered about it for a while....if you're heeling Murphy....is it difficult to "read" his ears from that position?   I'm thinking that (with Banjo anyways) that furry head seems to hide the subtle movements of his ears.   Is this an issue?    I'm going to practice watching for these clues on our walk tomorrow.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

With Murphy it's not an issue....he has big, reactive ears.  It's much more difficult with Guinness whose ear movements are pretty subtle.  The whole thing behind watching the ears with Murphy is that it is his first sign that he is about to react to something and lose his focus on me.  This signals me to get real serious about engaging him....it's when I first put the treat up to his nose and then up to my face.  It prevents the reaction before it gets started.  If he does not respond and continues to escalate, then he gets a collar correction, but most of the time now I can divert him.

[Carol and Banjo]

Jane,  Are you using a verbal cue when you're bringing the treat to his nose and then to your eyes?   

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

No.  I was saying "look", but the trainer told me that just wasn't necessary and it was just creating excitement for Murph.  I tend to show a lot of excitement in my voice and it's very hard for me not to.  That is fine for Guinness who actually reacts favorably to this...he gets more focused.  For Murph it has the opposite effect...excitement for his is a bad thing  because he "loses" what he's supposed to be focused on.