At class on Tuesday, Shane jumped 16 inches and did fabulous. The dogs at the shelter were barking and Shane hardly noticed. He stayed with me. I smiled the whole way home.
Thursday. We entered the field and Shane suddenly started acting strange. Susan's border collies were tied to the fence and Shane did not want to go anywhere near them. (At our last class together, Shane had charged them and one of the dogs put Shane in his place with her foot. No one was hurt.) He remembered. We spent a little time playing "Check it out" but he wasn't buying it. I set him up for his run, which happened to be close to the dogs. Shane knocked the bars at 16 inches. I hadn't seen him jump that badly in months. Gerry said Shane has lost his confidence. Back to 12 inches.
Shane jumped well at 12 inches, but his reaction to the border collies was a new one. Before, when he was afraid, he would get agitated and want to charge. This is the first time I witnessed the flight response to his fears. Not sure if that is a good thing or not. Have to talk to my behavior trainer at our next class.
Sometimes I feel like I'm getting a Ph.D. in Animal Behavior. I bought a bunch more books to read on the fearful dog. I can read behavior in other people's dogs and just cringe at their handling. I want to explain but I know no one wants to hear. Everyone is an expert. Your dog is running off because you are treating it badly. No, she's just being bad. Whatever.
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