Started the Clothier Natural Jumping Method today thanks to Jane Adams. Shane has been stressing over jumping and this is supposed to fix it. After our first session, I saw a smile on his face. We had a blast. I'm really looking forward to this program. Just wish I didn't have to tear down my jump chute each week for the landscaping crew.
We've had two classes this week that couldn't have been more different. Tuesday night, Shane was a reactive mess. I just cannot be in classes where dogs are off-leash and doing obstacles while Shane is also off-leash and performing. I wish I could make people understand that everything Shane does is fear-based. He is not a bad dog, he is just terrified. Wednesday night, we ran courses and all the dogs were on leash and calm when they weren't performing. We just had a blast and Shane did beautifully. I stayed with him on the course like Nanci recommended to ease his stress and it really works.
Reactive dogs are afraid. My trainer has me giving Shane treats whenever he is stressed, which is whenever a car goes by, a dog barks, a dog passes by, and joggers run by. It's working because I can now walk Shane around the neighborhood without him going nuts, except for one house with another reactive terrier, which I'm still working on. I'm sick of people yelling at me for overtreating my dog. It's part of his training dammit. I empathize with parents of autistic kids.
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