Last week something was off with Adele. Was it the creaky floors or the big dogs all around her or? We don't know but she had a very non productive class. It would have been easy to say forget about this but you must persist, expose and be creative. It eventually comes together.
So last night she was waggy tail outside. We brought her into class and she was slinking and reacting. We went oh another non productive class this will be. Perhaps she is just in a fear stage as she didn't react like this before.
Loose lead, high valuable treats and making it fun and upbeat worked. She played recovery quickly and that's your goal not to never react but to play recovery. That moment what is this is normal.
She wanted to say hello to everyone with the waggy, waggy tail. She relaxed about the warped floor and the creaks. She had fun. The old Adele was back. What caused this? We still do not know but we didn't let it get to us. We approached it positively. We still exposed but in an upbeat way. We also upped the treats giving her pieces of hot dog.
We also last week took her on a walk through Kensington Market on purpose to condition her to unfamilar smells, noises etc. She did well there except for manhole covers. She didn't even mind the police on huge horses. Well, you can't assume. All you can do is to socialize, expose and do it in a way that is VERY fun and upbeat. If you are frustrated you need to stop, back off and do it when you are in a better frame of mind. They feed off your emotion.
She also has been walking when its not pouring in a variety of locations around the streets near our home with different dogs each time. We have been busy with her as she was always a dog that was not worried about anything.
So what do I suspect this reaction was? I haven't a clue but you approach it the same way. Remember that Scavenger list we are creating? Well you expose and expose throughout their lives. It's not just a puppy thing.