So Friday night the trainer brought over a dog with which to taunt Axl. Actually on Friday she brought 2 dogs. We did the first one until Axl calmed down then she brought out the second one. The first one was a yellow lab and as it typical of that breed, pretty calm and mellow. It took Axl a while to calm down but he did. Then she brought out the second one, a border collie. That dog is a high energy dog just like Axl and Axl would not calm down. I believe that is when he bit me, with the second dog. We really pushed him on Friday night. We let him go wild though because the trainer wants him to learn how to settle himself down. When he loses his mind I just ignore him, keep walking and hold the leash so he can't get at me. Because he doesn't have a lot of confidence in himself, she feels him learning to calm himself would be better for him. I agree because when he reaches that state I can't get through to him at all, so him being able to settle himself would be best.
Last night we met up with her again. She brought just the yellow lab this time and Axl was much better. He never escalated to the point of insanity like Friday night. He was still a little anxious, you could tell because he whined a little, but overall he was good. He also started sending out calming signals to the other dog. That things that dogs do to let the other dogs know they are not a threat. When dogs are loose, like in a dog park, it's easy for them to send the calming signals because they can move around freely. When they are on a leash it's a little harder and they have to learn how to do it. Well last night Axl was doing it. It was really great.
His basic problem is that he just has no self confidence (for lack of a better term). He sees another dog and he thinks he needs to show them he's not someone to mess with. Also, if another dog shows any sort of fear Axl will move to exploit it, just like if they sense fear in people. Anyway, it's very interesting to really understand what's going on in his head, and what we've been doing wrong that has been no help at all. The hardest thing for me is when he's feeling anxious is to not sooth him. When he's in a hyper state of any kind soothing him, or speaking nicely to him reinforces that behavior. When he's like that I need to ignore it and let him work it out for himself. It's hard but it makes sense. Any kind of acknowledgment for any kind of behavior becomes a reinforcer for that behavior. By ignoring it you are taking away it's significance and eventually he will figure out that behavior gets no results and therefore is not worth the time and effort.
Anyway, things are going well, it's going to take time but I'm okay with that. They are only 1 year old so I would rather invest the time now then for them to live a life where they can't go anywhere. Also, I'm feeling a lot more confident with him. I now know what to do when we encounter those situations. I know how to handle it and so am not as apprehensive - something he can pick up.
The only drawback with these training sessions is that they are getting a lot of treats. If we keep having sessions like the last two nights we are going to need to look into diet pills for Axl and Lola. Dad already calls Lola a little roly-poly. More treats and she will be :)
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