Spooked

I want to regester Clue as a therapy dog once he is old enough, he's really great with people for the most part, however he gets spooked!

I took him to the dog park the other day and there was a family with their young kids. It was cold, so their little boy was bundled up in a heavy jacket and hood. I think it was the jacket that freaked him out because he just went crazy. He was barking at he poor kid, running up to him with his fur raised then running away. I alpha trained him, told him no, then showed him the kid was alright. He seemed okay after that.

Another example, yesterday I took him for a walk. i live next to a high school so there are teens running around all the time. Well yesterday we were on our way home when a woman with two kids in the special ed program were walking. The two kids were pretty loud and I guess Clue just hasn't seen a person behave that way. Any way, he would stop, stare then walk next to me, stop stare, then walk next to me until we got to the kids. They were excited to see clue and one of the kids shreaked. I couldn't tell if Clue was spooked, or excited but he started spinning circles then ran a head of me, yanking his leash, then turned and tried to run after the kids, again yanking his leash then he tugged all the way back home.

I don't know what to do really to help him stay calm around things he is not familar with.

Anyone have any trainning tips?

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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on March 2, 2012 at 9:40am

I agree also with the rolling over, this is a negative approach. When Sage and I were testing the Therapy Dog Inc. tester also said "let your dog be the judge" if they are feeling unsure let them go on to the next person. Even in agility we were told to not "push the dog" but to reintroduce. Hope this makes sense.

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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on March 2, 2012 at 1:02am

I would start with a basic obedience class and see where that leads you. Sage my Therapy Dog started just going to classes took 3 got her CGC and then had to take 3 tests for Therapy Dog Inc. We both love it(I think) It's funny because once her martingale goes on and her thin leash she seems to know she's "working". Yes, Sage hates helium balloons and will walk as far away from them as possible. Have fun and use the positive reinforcement whatever happens or doesn't you will have a stronger bond:)

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Permalink Reply by Julia on March 2, 2012 at 2:31am

Sometimes it's just the temperament of the dog, and it may be something that you just can't change. Sometimes it's puppy stuff, and more exposure to more things over time can make the dog calmer out in the world, providing the handler reacts properly.

I've never had a therapy dog, but one of my dogs surprised me in this area. My crabby beagle (he had Cushing's disease) would not let anyone pick him up. He was, however, extremely tolerant of anything a child would do, and they were too small to pick him up, anyway. I took him to school one day to meet with my Special Ed students. One girl had the mind of a young child, but the body of an adult/teenager. I looked down to fiddle with my camera, then looked up to find the girl holding the beagle, both of them happy as could be. He seemed to recognize her as a child, even in an adult body. This is not a dog I would have chosen as a therapy dog, but apparently he had a temperament that would have suited.

Go through the CGC training, use positive reward training rather than Alpha training, and see how his personality develops. Therapy may or may not be his thing. You'll know when he's older.