pushing basics

[Drea]

Originally Posted by Heather

His main issue is rough play with the kids, he gets overexcited and jumps on them and mouths them if they run and scream. Also he will occassionally get rough with me and my husband, grabbing our arms or clothes to tug on if there isn't a tug toy in play.

Been there, done that (with Tucker P). If it runs and screams, Tucker will chase and mouth it, which can be scary for a small person. Whenever there are small children around, I tell them to look at Tucker and if they see him about to run at them to tell him "nope", stick their hand out and whatever they want to do, don't run, don't scream. For the most part, this works really well.

Tucker is 2-1/4 years old and a lot of his "manners" have come with maturity. I'm amazed at the progress we've made in just one year. Even today is a good example: we went over to our friend's house who has the chickens and turkeys and Tucker really wanted to chase them (there was excitement all round when we first arrived due to the drive, not seeing Otto for many days, and the loose chickens/turkeys, and fortunately I had the forethought to have him on lead), but Sue made the decision to put them away for the day. Tucker did go over to their yard one time to check them out, but after we went over and took him away, he stayed away for the rest of the afternoon. What really happened was Tucker got bored and wandered over to the chicken house/run and I saw him sniffing around, peeing on plants, etc. Then there was a bit of a chicken/turkey commotion which prompted Sue and I to go have a look. Tucker was "fence fighting" with the chickens/turkeys in their run, but it only took seconds for me to call him away, and walk him back to the house (this is a huge improvement over the last few months...it used to take minutes, not seconds), anyway, we gave the dogs raw bones, and the rest of the day was spent (for Tucker) either chewing on the bones, playing in the acequia with Otto, or napping in front of the screen door. He didn't go back to the chicken/turkey run all day. That was an improvement in my mind.

The only training I really enforce with Tucker is to sit before waiting/eating, and lie down. When he lies down on his own I praise him. He's one of the few dogs I've met that will bark and be lying down at the same time. His bark sounds like he's up, but when I look, there he is lying down with his front legs crossed, barking. Weird.

[neilsattin]

Wow, this has become quite the thread - with lots to talk about.

Heather mentioned looking for a video where you could see tug being done right...that's what the DVDs are for!!!

You know, it's such a fine line, really - the question of whether you're doing box-work/heeling/etc. vs. simply pushing and playing tug. Overall you simply need to pay attention to your dog. Is the heeling that you're doing with Tucker causing him to shut-down? (If you're doing it as demonstrated on the DVDs then that would be a lot less likely than if you're revisiting old heeling techniques) Then scale back, and just focus on pushing/tug/play. Is it helping the dynamic? Then keep doing it!

I'm in the process of writing about this in several different places, but an insight that popped up for me while I was putting the DailyOM course together was how important it is to focus on the "whole" rather than the parts.

The "whole" is the dynamic that you're creating between you and your dog. When you're working/playing together, are you getting in the flow? Do you feel crescendos of energy (building higher and higher), and then do you take rest breaks where both you and your dog can get relaxed, and quiet? It should feel like waves of energy that peak at "really energized and focused on each other" and subside at "fully relaxed and almost zoning out". So all of the various techniques that we do (whether pushing/tug/fetchtug or boxwork or heeling or...) are meant to generate that state of flow.

One obvious way of illustrating this is, in pushing, the "Ready" - followed by the "push". (some of you might be getting an e-mail about this in the near future, if you're signed up for the DVD tips). Sometimes I notice that when people push, they're really intense with the "Ready" part in wanting to get their dogs to stay put while they wait for their name to be called. Then they call their dog for a push. Then they say "Ready!" again, and collect their dog into something resembling a sit-stay before they call the dog again for a push.

Energetically, this becomes a bit like stop/start. Stop/start. Stop/start. If your goal is flow (and it IS), then you might find that pushing this way can have the opposite effect. On the other hand, if you start to see "Ready!" as a "call to attention" (and remember that your dog simply SEEING the palm of your hand can provoke their energy) and don't worry about the "are they sitting and waiting?" part - instead just push more or less right away - then you can use a series of pushes to build up into a higher and higher state of emotional flow. Before you relax and settle again.

It's almost like you're saying "Hey, Tucker!" - push. "Hey, Tucker!" - push. "Tucker!" - push. (say nothing but simply run away then spin and) - push. Then take a breather.

Also a little video, if possible, would be a great way to see if there's anything in particular that you're doing, Drea, to inhibit the push. Sometimes those habits just evolve for some reason, and a simply "tweak" can set you back on the path.

On the other hand, and I know this has been said elsewhere, it's natural for there to be an ebb and flow to your progress. Your dog pushes like crazy, and then needs a break, for whatever reason. So in listening to your dog in those moments, you might strategize ways to get more and more of a push. OR you might also focus on the relaxation end of things. Because evoking more and more profound relaxation creates space for your dog to be more and more energized.

Drea, what you said about your return trip to chicken/turkey-ville - that does sound like huge progress!

As for the mouthing/chasing after children...there are places where it's appropriate to "manage" the situation while you get things sorted out with your dog. And by "manage" I mean ensuring that you're proactive in not putting your dog in situations that you know will be provocative until the basic issue of "give me your energy" is more well-established. And then creating provocative situations with the CLEAR INTENT of using those situations to work with your dog.

And only then, after you see the progress and are extremely comfortable with seeing the dynamic at work with your dog, to try out more unscripted moments.

Comments/questions about all this are welcome. I do have a suggestion, though, that it would be cool for Heather to create a new "Happy" thread about where things are currently at with Happy - and maybe for Drea to start a new "Tucker" thread - and that way it makes it easier for everyone to follow the different conversations and keep it straight. Just a moderator-y thought, but take it, as they say, with a grain of salt. Or two.

Oh - and Sang's words are all, of course, spot on.

Oh, and one last thought about Tucker re: tug (for now). You might try something like this (and variations on this theme). Tug. Tucker wins. Tucker comes back to you with the toy. Physically push Tucker away. Tucker comes back. Grab toy in his mouth. Tug. Tucker wins. Tucker comes back. Push Tucker away. Spin and run to get Tucker to chase you. Pull out food and see if Tucker will push with you when he reaches you (dropping toy to get food). Snatch toy. Get Tucker to chase you. Let him grab toy. Tug. Let him win. Etc.

Again, it's a way to approach tug with one toy where you're still building flow and attraction to you at higher levels of energy.

OK - one more thing - the lying down and barking will change once "down" becomes something that Tucker associates with being energized and in the flow. At that point he'll feel the flow of emotional energy when lying down, and you can add energy to that stable system. Until he's "stable" he'll need to release emotion, through the bark, because he's probably not experiencing down that way.

[Heather]

Hi Neil, Thank you for your input and analysis! I have the DVDs, it is time to re-watch them, it has been a few months and we've made a lot of good progress.

I will start a Happy thread for when I have something to update, that is a good idea.

Right now everything is managed between Happy and the kids. When there is a safe opportunity for "unscripted" interaction outside I get good information on our progress...if there is an indication of excitement taking over I call him for some pushing and tugging, so there haven't been any bad experiences for quite a long time, but we're still quite a ways from safe, supervised interaction outside.