Jack and Charlotte’s latest is coming along slowly but surely. Having written a good chunk of it before switching to “Reclamation”, it was necessary to read it over again before getting back to writing. I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the part where Jack and Charlotte meet the executive director of the Bannerman Foundation, and his wife. Miles and Anika are my favorite characters, so it’s always great to see a glimpse of them in other books and through the eyes of other characters. I was disappointed to reach the end, and as always, felt a little overwhelmed at the prospect of picking up where I left off. Thankfully my characters do most of the work, so it wasn’t so difficult after all.
As you may or may not recall, Arctic struggled with anxiety. He went from zero to Red Alert mode in a mere fraction of a second. Stranger Danger was a major issue, some of it stemming from avoiding others during covid, but not all. Walking wasn’t something we did often, because it did more harm than good. He would end up so stressed, he wouldn’t want to go at all. We tried an animal behaviorist, we tried medication, but although he was perfectly happy at home his anxiety and apprehension elsewhere kept him from enjoying anything else. Too stressed to enjoy walks, constant barking on the other side of the door if anyone came over, and only truly comfortable at home and with me, Brad, and Em.
So… a couple of months ago, I found myself facing the reality that unless something changed, this was how it was going to be for the rest of his life. The thought of accepting that sparked anger. I hate failure, especially if it resigns my dog to living a less than desirable life. Giving up wasn’t acceptable, so something had to change. But what?
The answer may surprise you as much as it did me, or not, but the problem was… the method of training. You may now be thinking what on earth did I do to this poor dog, and I’ll tell you; I bought into the positive-only movement, which vilifies correction of any kind. If we’re being strictly literal, even a “no” or the constraints of a leash is corrective, so even the positive-onlies, aren’t. But they claim (often quite piously) that method promises a happy, fulfilled dog that knows how to think. Well… thinking was never Arctic’s problem. He thought too much! It caused him tremendous stress thinking he had to handle every unexpected circumstance himself, without the assistance of a handler. Because what was I going to do, throw treats at it? No wonder the dog was a mess!
I thought I was doing the right thing. He was already prone to anxiety, so the promise of “stress-free, pain-free” training sounded like the sane, sensible, humane way to go. The results argue otherwise. If you’ve tried it and it works for your dog, then I’m truly happy for you. I’m also certain you didn’t start out with a hyper vigilant, anxious German Shepherd! And you might be surprised to know how often positive-only trainers, when faced with a difficult case, say the dog is untrainable and recommend euthanasia. I was SHOCKED to find that out! So much for positive-only!
Having found the method to be insufficient and refusing to accept life was as good as it was going to get for Arctic, I considered the other methods of training I’m familiar with. There’s negative-only, which is completely unacceptable. Anyone who works is entitled to a paycheck. In the case of dogs, that might be praise, treats, or a game of tug—not the mere absence of correction. Negative-only is a relationship destroyer. That, though, isn’t the only other option. There’s also balanced training, which is the method used to train Indy. And that, was the antidote to Arctic’s anxiety.
Tom Davis, with Upstate Canine Academy, is awesome. He has a YouTube channel, and I can’t recommend him highly enough. He is truly talented, and it’s fascinating watching him work. He’s extremely patient and respectful toward both dogs and their owners. His methods are more than ninety percent positive, because correction is meant to teach, not manage. So if done correctly, the dog understands and learns. If done correctly, the dog gains confidence in the handler and in knowing what he or she is asking for. A lot of dogs have no idea otherwise, Arctic being one of them. We used to say when it came to Indy, all he wanted was to be a good boy. Arctic was convinced he was a good boy! Which he is, but he didn’t recognize there are actions that aren’t. Tone of voice meant nothing to him, perhaps because there was no correction to give it meaning.
Tom Davis works with dogs who have behavioral issues such as fear aggression, true aggression (those are fairly rare), reactivity, and anxiety. I watched video after video where he took an anxious, reactive dog (and every other kind, but it was the former that related to Arctic), and calmly and with minimal pressure worked miracles. The behaviorist, for all her qualifications, didn’t actually change behavior because the cause was never addressed. The cause being, “what am I supposed to do? I have no idea, and neither does anyone else, so it’s all up to me! PANIC!”
Managing behavioral issues is for the birds. Given the option, we’ll take behavioral change. I ordered a Herme-Sprenger 2.25mm prong collar, which is amazing. The term pinch collar comes from the method used to attach the links together. It does not actually pinch the dog, and a good prong collar (such as the Herme-Sprenger) does not jab and dig into the dog’s skin or cause injury of any kind. It provides even pressure, and positioned properly, is much safer than a slip or buckle collar. Those two can cause severe damage to the trachea. This does not.
We started out walking in the backyard. When Arctic came to the end of the leash, I said his name, he ignored it, and I gave a swift correction. He was surprised, and started paying attention. He understood, finally, that was what I wanted from him. He paid attention to where he was in relation to me, too. Pulling was no longer acceptable, because if he did, then pressure was applied. I’m not giving detailed instructions here, so watch Tom Davis’ videos for that.
We started on our walk, and Arctic was calmer. It was trash pick-up day, which I forgot about, so there were dumpsters all over the sidewalks. He really hated those, and saw them as a source of concern. But, he got past them without his anxiety building with each one. And then… we came to one that was different, somehow. I said “around” which he knows, but he panicked and went the other way around, catching the empty dumpster with his leash, and knocking it over. It took a second to keep from tripping over it, but when I looked up, he was at the end of the leash, facing me. He wasn’t pulling, which he would have been, if he was in a harness. He backed out of them before, and that was his initial intent. But he wasn’t backing up. He wasn’t in Red Alert, something tried to kill me, I’ve got to get out of here, mode. Given the option, he preferred facing his fear over the pressure he would apply himself, if he tried to run. I righted the dumpster, and we continued. Even more remarkable than his choice not to run, he didn’t carry that experience with him. His anxiety was LESSENED instead. He faced his fear, he survived, he seemed kind of proud about it, and it wasn’t a big deal after all.
It was a major turning point for him. I’ve seen his confidence grow by leaps and bounds ever since. Our relationship has, too. He trusts me to handle whatever we face. He looks to me, and follows my lead. The dog who once had a deathly fear of strollers, now doesn’t. The dog who was terrified of children, walks by them without concern. I say his name, he looks at me. We use a retractable leash now, because of where we walk and because he can handle the freedom. He checks in often, and honestly… it’s like it was with Fox. We had an excellent working relationship, and now Arctic and I do, too. Of course Indy and I did, but Fox and Arctic are more similar. Both were/are guarding breeds, and although Fox was a naturally confident dog, in other ways Arctic reminds us of him.
The other key here, which I didn’t mention earlier… through watching videos by Shield K9 and Upstate Canine Academy, I learned about German Shepherds. Arctic is our first, and I knew very little about them. Em got him, came to realize she was a cat person and he was too much dog, and I bought him from her to make him officially mine. But I didn’t know much about the breed. I’ve learned so much, and what I learned is–there was absolutely nothing wrong with Arctic. He didn’t need a behaviorist, or medication. Everything about him (suspicion of strangers, hyper vigilance, and a host of other things) is not unusual for the breed. It’s not a fault either, when it’s understood and managed with proper leadership. I was amazed to find this out, and frankly wondered why the “experts” didn’t seem to know it! Arctic is now completely off all his medication, and doing awesome.
So. If you’ve hit the end of your rope with your dog, want to have a better relationship, or just getting started–watch Tom Davis’ videos. He’s awesome. I saw him work miracles for others, and through his videos, he worked one for us.