Day 5
By Jenny Proctor LukEli K-9
Autonomy is defined as: the capacity of an individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision.
Some degree of autonomy is exactly what I'm trying for with Hank. He needs to feel as un-coerced as possible. Of course, I have to stretch the limits of his comfort every so often in order for progress to be achieved. Today Hank was introduced to a 30 ft long line so as to push forward a bit more on his journey. My hope was that he was unfamiliar with such a long leash and would feel less anxious walking with me and Gracie. The long line allows a dog to feel like they have more freedom (or in Hanks case, more social distance) while teaching them that staying within that 30ft radius (or whatever length of leash you choose) of you is where they should be. It is also very useful to introduce early if you plan on doing any off leash training in the future.
I opened the gate and picked up the end of the line (another bonus of the long line; dogs don't generally realize they're connected to you, especially if the line never gets tight). I walked out the gate with Gracie and called Hank to follow. He remained frozen in place for several minutes staring at me and the open gate. I decided to add some incentive to at least move from the spot he was standing in and threw a piece of cheese 5 ft or so in front of him. The cheese got his feet moving and that's about how the rest of the walk went. Hank would wander forward a bit, stop and stay put, I would call Gracie over and then throw him a piece of cheese and he'd become "unstuck". Once we rounded the corner to go back in the gate he ran right in to familiarity and safety. I was surprised and pleased at how well he did. I'll focus on doing this exercise as much as possible without inflicting too much stress on Hank as I can in the coming days.
Some degree of autonomy is exactly what I'm trying for with Hank. He needs to feel as un-coerced as possible. Of course, I have to stretch the limits of his comfort every so often in order for progress to be achieved. Today Hank was introduced to a 30 ft long line so as to push forward a bit more on his journey. My hope was that he was unfamiliar with such a long leash and would feel less anxious walking with me and Gracie. The long line allows a dog to feel like they have more freedom (or in Hanks case, more social distance) while teaching them that staying within that 30ft radius (or whatever length of leash you choose) of you is where they should be. It is also very useful to introduce early if you plan on doing any off leash training in the future.
The first step of my plan required me to get the long line on Hank. Attaching a leash to a collar seems an easy task until you have a dog that wants you and your hand no where near him or his neck. Hank is leery of me when he sees any sort of leash in my hand and was unwilling to approach me while I held the clasp of the line. I know Hank is familiar with having the leash attached to his collar while in the kennel and tolerates it, albeit begrudgingly, so I walked near his kennel and he entered and sat down in the back. Luckily, I am getting good at hooking the clasp using only one hand, since approaching Hank with both hands is still too threatening for him. I successfully got the line hooked. Doing this while he's in his safe space is certainly not ideal, but time is limited and I felt confident he could handle it and that this wouldn't be detrimental to his progress. After I finished, Hank surprised me and walked right out of the kennel and out the back door while dragging the line. Next step, a stroll around the house with me and Gracie!
I opened the gate and picked up the end of the line (another bonus of the long line; dogs don't generally realize they're connected to you, especially if the line never gets tight). I walked out the gate with Gracie and called Hank to follow. He remained frozen in place for several minutes staring at me and the open gate. I decided to add some incentive to at least move from the spot he was standing in and threw a piece of cheese 5 ft or so in front of him. The cheese got his feet moving and that's about how the rest of the walk went. Hank would wander forward a bit, stop and stay put, I would call Gracie over and then throw him a piece of cheese and he'd become "unstuck". Once we rounded the corner to go back in the gate he ran right in to familiarity and safety. I was surprised and pleased at how well he did. I'll focus on doing this exercise as much as possible without inflicting too much stress on Hank as I can in the coming days.
Dog training requires small, incremental increases in duration, distance, and distraction, one at a time, for each behavior you train. Gradually, over time, the distance between Hank and whomever is holding the leash can be decreased a little at a time with the goal of being able to use a 6ft leash regularly without issue.
Stay tuned for more of Hank's progress coming soon!
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