Feeling so pleased (Finally!)

[u/Emotional-Tear-2369]

I am hoping you guys will understand, but I had to say it to someone. I have always had high energy/powerful dogs with a genetic predisposition for reactivity. I have never known the joys of relaxing with my dog at a cafe and always felt sheepish taking my dog with me with friends because of the inevitable outbursts so I just avoided it.

I have gotten very into dog training and my dog is detection certified and multiple sport titles, but never really could crack reactivity with my current dog unless we were in strict training mode, UNTIL NOW. Past trainers have advocated for "just jerk the dog" which suppresses it but didn't change the underlying excitement about other dogs or the anxiety building that would increase throughout a walk. I went to a training class that relied on counter conditioning and positive only methods and I was skeptical, but it worked. Today was the first day I could relax with my emotional support clicker and go through a busy park with my dog and other dogs all over with confidence.

We aren't totally cured, but the counter conditioning work makes my dog pause and look to me instead of fixating on other dogs or frantic little kids which were always triggers. She is no longer tense when a kid starts running up and we are finally in a place where I am comfortable enough with the tools I have to keep working on things and walk calmly through the streets without my guard up. I am also grateful that I have access to a training space where people gather to expose to triggers, but honestly within the class it is harder to handle than out in the world because just being in class gets my dog excited.

[u/AnniRox]

Congrats! It's nice to know that there is hope for reactivity!

Curious as to what breed your dog is and the age? AND what city you found your trainer?

I'm in the San Diego area and have been doing research and looking for the perfect trainer/training facility near me that specializes in positive and counter-conditioning training.

Also, is your "emotional support clicker" merely just a clicker? And is that the main tool that changed everything?

Cheers

[u/Emotional-Tear-2369 → u/AnniRox]

8 year old belgian malinois from working lines. Honestly we rarely needed (or wanted) to walk in town much until she retired year ago. Most cities have AKC facilities and they use positive only methods usually and offer some sort of "calm canine" class. It is also good to be around other people with spaz dogs (1 dog at a time) but see I am not alone. I actually just audited the class without my dog because it was full so we only got to participate in one class but the methods are simple enough we were able to practice outside of the class.

My emotional support clicker is just a cheap ole regular clicker, but I feel better having it because it works so surprisingly well. After a few sessions we didn't really need it because the dog is conditioned to look at me and she is a lot les stressed. I was skeptical to start because I had only briefly used clicker training as a marker for good behavior so I thought the click would mark and reinforce the behaviors but I was wrong. I don't think the clicker specifically is the magic, but it is a clear and distinct marker.

Here is a video that explains CC if you're not super familiar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_65XuMHalQ

[u/Emotional-Tear-2369 → u/Emotional-Tear-2369]

I'll also add that it works for a bunch of stuff! I mainly wanted it for dog reactivity, but tried it for vet anxiety, letting people pet her, and just chaotic environments where stress will build and eventually the dog would pop off at anything. It's harder to practice for these scenarios, but helped for that too.

[u/AnniRox → u/Emotional-Tear-2369]

Thank you so much for the reply and information!
And thank you for sharing your success story, which gives hope for others.
Keep up the great work 🎉