It was finally time for our trainer consultation! Allison and I met through video chat to discuss the situation and let her have a look at Diego at home. We established a plan:
- Install a solid leave it for the reactivity
- Teach Diego that strangers are not scary
- Resolve his resource guarding
- Minimize his overall anxiety by managing stressors in the meantime
- Muzzle train for safety
She shared how fear can manifest in dogs for five main reasons.
- Genetic predisposition
- Learned due to a scary experience
- Stress during mom’s pregnancy
- Mom lacking a nurturing and supportive personality during the nursing period
- Mom experiencing stressors during the nursing period.
The stress hormone can take up to 72 hours to return to a normal level once it’s elevated. Three days! That means every time Diego experiences a new stressor in that period it builds, which is referred to as trigger stacking.
Allison advised that I put up frosted glass on my windows to reduce the amount of triggers that Diego experiences in the home as he regularly gets set off by vehicles, delivery men, and neighbor dogs. My sister told me that for my health I still need to see daylight through my windows. I struggled on that one and ended up putting the frosted glass half way up my sliding doors in my living room in order to still see out the top. Side note: You can pick up window coverings at home stores and put them up yourself if you need to help your dog with triggers.
Diego and I were supposed to work on the passive hand technique until our next session. I would hold a treat in one hand while Diego went under the other to get it. It can feel like an odd thing to practice, but helps with getting used to having motion around him and going under things.
I read how to teach commands like touch and leave it. I read about food training, enrichment, and kong stuffing. I bought him a Kong Wobbler and tried different games to work his mind and mentally stimulate him. I learned about desensitization, dog behavior myths, unintentional reinforcement, barking, aggression; the list goes on.
Last but not least, I would need to research muzzles. I bought him a Top Paw muzzle earlier that made him look straight up evil. They only had three sizes of muzzles at Pet Smart. Three! Small, medium, and large. Just as three sizes of jeans will NEVER fit all women, the same applies to muzzles. We have long noses, short snouts, and tiny teethers. I researched online and all articles were pointing to the Baskerville muzzle. I put my order in so that we could get him started with training.
What I wish I knew then
While I honestly could go for a life without social media, I still find the excuses to stay on, one of them being groups. There are Facebook groups for people with reactive dogs or working on muzzle training. There are advisors that tell you if yours is the right fit for your dog. Many of these groups are private and regulated to be respectful of those in these situations. I strongly suggest searching for a group and requesting to join for some camaraderie at the very least.
Also, if you’re looking for a muzzle there are many other kinds online. I like the Baskerville for the ease of giving Diego treats through it. It was definitely better for training than the first one I had. It comes in many sizes and can be formed to your dog’s nose after it’s soaked in warm water. It comes in at least two colors, black and tan. I have one with a buckle and a lock on it, and another that straps together like a belt behind his ears. You can remove the strap that goes between the eyes, however, it helps hold it in place if you really are having your dog wear it for safety reasons.
Now that I’m part of an online group for dogs with muzzles, I have learned that the Baskerville is not 100% bite proof. A determined dog could potentially get through it, where it might be worth considering an alternative brand. For now, Diego is still in his Baskerville, and it has worked very well.
I’ll say it once here, and again in the future. Your dog does not need to be a bad dog to wear a muzzle. It is a tool that can provide safety and help a dog live more freely.
Megan Kiecker 