So I've talked a bit about the behaviorist now lets talk about the trainer.
We go to training every Tuesday evening and let me tell you Tuesday evenings are my least favorite. Watching my trainer with my dog is terrifying to me. That woman is fearless and I'm lucky to have found her.
So the first session she tells me, "give me the dog," and I'm like I don't think this is a good idea, he's not ready. She very nicely but very firmly told me to shut up and sit down. She then proceeded to touch Chingu which he of course didn't like and didn't handle well and he tried to bite her. Since he was muzzled he was unable to be successful and she didn't flinch at all. She then started to do this dog massage stuff and within 5 minutes he was relaxed, calm, and OK with her touching him. I was in awe.
Now normally I'd be like doggy massage? Then I would roll my eyes and call it voodoo. Well I became a convert that day. I give Chingu a massage every night before bedtime and not only does it strengthen our bond but some of these touches really do help calm him down in stressful situations. It also helps him to learn touch from people is positive not negative.
So at this point I was hooked, but watching Chingu bite (which he always does at least once every session) is hard for me. Its hard for me to watch him be like that and I of course only want to put him in situations where I know he can't fail. This lady though in every session pushes him to the edge which is terrifying at times to watch.
But while its scary to watch every time she's pushed he's succeeded.
Tonight we went there and there were two other dogs present. A chocolate lab and an English-mastiff-mix (enormous!) and she asked to take the leads from me and she started walking him around the room.
It was so scary. When we walk I'm terrified of running into off leash dogs and a dog fight breaking out. Chingu doesn't speak 'dog' very well and I know he'll be aggressive on a leash. He also always lunges and pulls when we see other dogs. Well this time he only tried to lunge once and actually sat calmly next to the other dogs! For him this is huge. Not only that but he went nose to nose with the dogs and has started to learn to actually be civil to other dogs. The mastiff did sniff his butt which he didn't like and he did try to bite at that but aside from that he's backed down to growls and snarls. Sure the growling and snarling aren't pleasant to hear but his warning system is kicking in before he bites and thats fantastic. I'd love for him to start growling regularly rather than bite 'without warning'.
But Chingu is making huge strides and he's done this all within about a 2 month time frame. I think about where I was 8 weeks ago with that vet saying I'd probably need to put him down to a point now where he can calmly sit next to other dogs and people without lunging and his bite threshold improving and I'm just so proud of him. He of course still can't be trusted off a muzzle and he will probably have to wear it for a long long time before he can have that trust but yay for Chingu. So I think the lesson that keeps being reinforced as we progress each week is never give up.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Spider Steps
So now I've posted about the who and the why but not about the how. How do you help a fear-aggressive dog? Well like you would if you were an alcoholic you work steps. So Chingu is on what I like to call the spider step program.
We found a great trainer and a great behaviorist and I'm going to explain it like the behaviorist did to me.
Lets say you are deathly afraid of spiders. Then lets say someone puts you in a room full of spiders. Whats going to happen? Well you're probably going to act out in some way such as screaming. Now lets say someone punches you in the face each time you scream. Eventually you will stop screaming but you'll still be terrified of spiders.
Its like that with Chingu. To him people (especially men) are big giant spiders that scare him. His reaction is to bite to make the spider go away. Now in the past this has been an effective tool for him so if it ain't broke why fix it? But if I were to punish him every time he tried to bite he might stop but he'd still be afraid of spiders/people.
So going back to you and the spiders. If instead of getting punched in the face every time you screamed around a spider I sat you down and gave you $100 for just looking at a picture of a spider you'd probably stop screaming. But not only would you stop screaming you might even start to feel ok about the spiders, or at least OK about pictures of spiders. The goal is not to just get the behavior to stop but also how you feel about the trigger to the behavior. Because if how you feel never changes then one day when you know you wont get punched in the face you might start screaming again. Or it might be that even if you know you'll get punched in the face you're just so scared you can't help but scream.
Thats my goal with Chingu. I don't want the behavior to just stop, I want him to feel safe around people/spiders. So instead of a $100 he likes hot dogs. So what our first step was is we'd go people watching. We would stand at a very far distance and every time he looked at a person he would get a piece of hot dog. We would do this everyday several times a day for a week. Then if I felt he was comfortable we'd move a little closer and each week we'd take a step closer.
Now you don't want to move too fast with something like this. Sometimes its hard because you think he's got it, lets keep going. But Chingu has a threshold of whats acceptable and you don't want to accidentally cross that threshold so you need to make sure each step of the way he's been fully desensitized and counter-conditioned. That might mean taking an extra week on a step if you're not sure, but thats OK.
Anyways right now we're at the step where people still don't touch him but instead toss him treats. We've just started this and instead of taking a week on this one we might take two. Ideally after this then people will be able to feed him treats through his muzzle and then eventually pat him on the head while giving him treats and maybe one day touch his body. We might never get there, but we'll take it as far as it goes.
But I'm proud to report that there has been progress also in the additional training we do aside from the desensitization/counter-conditioning. I've been working for weeks to teach him the down command and while recovering from his neuter he finally got it! Not only that but while tossing treats Chris asked him for a down and he gave it to him! Thats huge progress for him as down is a very vulnerable position for a dog and for him to feel comfortable enough to follow the command is real progress. So yay Chingu!
We found a great trainer and a great behaviorist and I'm going to explain it like the behaviorist did to me.
Lets say you are deathly afraid of spiders. Then lets say someone puts you in a room full of spiders. Whats going to happen? Well you're probably going to act out in some way such as screaming. Now lets say someone punches you in the face each time you scream. Eventually you will stop screaming but you'll still be terrified of spiders.
Its like that with Chingu. To him people (especially men) are big giant spiders that scare him. His reaction is to bite to make the spider go away. Now in the past this has been an effective tool for him so if it ain't broke why fix it? But if I were to punish him every time he tried to bite he might stop but he'd still be afraid of spiders/people.
So going back to you and the spiders. If instead of getting punched in the face every time you screamed around a spider I sat you down and gave you $100 for just looking at a picture of a spider you'd probably stop screaming. But not only would you stop screaming you might even start to feel ok about the spiders, or at least OK about pictures of spiders. The goal is not to just get the behavior to stop but also how you feel about the trigger to the behavior. Because if how you feel never changes then one day when you know you wont get punched in the face you might start screaming again. Or it might be that even if you know you'll get punched in the face you're just so scared you can't help but scream.
Thats my goal with Chingu. I don't want the behavior to just stop, I want him to feel safe around people/spiders. So instead of a $100 he likes hot dogs. So what our first step was is we'd go people watching. We would stand at a very far distance and every time he looked at a person he would get a piece of hot dog. We would do this everyday several times a day for a week. Then if I felt he was comfortable we'd move a little closer and each week we'd take a step closer.
Now you don't want to move too fast with something like this. Sometimes its hard because you think he's got it, lets keep going. But Chingu has a threshold of whats acceptable and you don't want to accidentally cross that threshold so you need to make sure each step of the way he's been fully desensitized and counter-conditioned. That might mean taking an extra week on a step if you're not sure, but thats OK.
Anyways right now we're at the step where people still don't touch him but instead toss him treats. We've just started this and instead of taking a week on this one we might take two. Ideally after this then people will be able to feed him treats through his muzzle and then eventually pat him on the head while giving him treats and maybe one day touch his body. We might never get there, but we'll take it as far as it goes.
But I'm proud to report that there has been progress also in the additional training we do aside from the desensitization/counter-conditioning. I've been working for weeks to teach him the down command and while recovering from his neuter he finally got it! Not only that but while tossing treats Chris asked him for a down and he gave it to him! Thats huge progress for him as down is a very vulnerable position for a dog and for him to feel comfortable enough to follow the command is real progress. So yay Chingu!
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Chingu
"It's just a dog," if I had a dollar for every time I heard that phrase then I'd have Chingu's neuter and trainer paid for and then some.
So who/what is Chingu and how do you say that word? Well Chingu (say it like ching + goo) is my dog. His name means friend in Korean although I don't think you could use the word friendly to describe him. Although he's not a cuddle buddy and he's not really into people he's my friend and thats all that really matters to me. I prefer to describe him as, "not an emotional whore."
So I know I haven't updated in almost a year but during this year is when I got Chingu. When I first arrived in South Korea I swore no pets and after Abby I didn't really think I was ready. But then I saw a post online. A post with a picture of a beautiful dog that needed help. He was just so beautiful I was sure someone else with more resources and more space would take him but I offered up my home as a last resort. Well as it turns out my offer was the only offer. At the time I couldn't take him immediately and his foster home wasn't working out so he had to be taken to the shelter and wait til I could come meet him.
Let me tell you folks, going to a shelter to meet a dog is a huge mistake if you don't really want to take one home with you. You see all those sad sad dogs there and you want to give each of them a home.
Well I guess our first meeting foretold of things to come. When I very first met him he nipped at me (he was expressing his dislike of being chained back up to the tree). So my reaction was no way am I taking this guy home. But I figured I'd come all that way so I might as well try and walk him. So I did and he was so happy to go on a walk he kept turning back and 'smiling' at me. That was the end. That smile melted my heart and I knew he was mine.
After that Chingu was pretty good. There were a few more nipping incidents in the beginning but they were easily corrected and after he got over his fear and realized I was there to help him we became pretty close. Chingu has done a lot of good things for me and I believe we have a pretty deep bond.
Anyways 8 months and over 1000 miles walked later I returned home from South Korea with Chingu and about 50lbs lighter. Unfortunately Chingu didn't take the move so well and he bit Chris badly (7 weeks post bite and there is still a scab).
That bite was a real wake up call about how bad his fear-aggression was. It was even suggested by one vet that he be put down. Well in my opinion you don't just put down a dog without giving him a fighting chance. So instead we found a behaviorist, we found a trainer, and we found a different vet and right now Chingu is going through 'rehab'. So now this blog is about our journey together. I know Chingu will never be a dog that loves everyone and in some ways it makes me sad to think not everyone can know what a wonderful, sweet, loving soul exists inside Chingu but thats OK, because I know it.
I like to think Chingu isn't broken but instead just bent. So for the moment my travels have been suspended as Chingu and I work to get over his fear of people (particularly men) and we work through this thing. So therefore the purpose of this blog has changed too. This will be about our journey through Rehab and I hope to come out of this successful. So *fingers crossed* I hope this next year I've committed to bringing Chingu around will be one that finds a happier more secure dog at the end of it.
So who/what is Chingu and how do you say that word? Well Chingu (say it like ching + goo) is my dog. His name means friend in Korean although I don't think you could use the word friendly to describe him. Although he's not a cuddle buddy and he's not really into people he's my friend and thats all that really matters to me. I prefer to describe him as, "not an emotional whore."
So I know I haven't updated in almost a year but during this year is when I got Chingu. When I first arrived in South Korea I swore no pets and after Abby I didn't really think I was ready. But then I saw a post online. A post with a picture of a beautiful dog that needed help. He was just so beautiful I was sure someone else with more resources and more space would take him but I offered up my home as a last resort. Well as it turns out my offer was the only offer. At the time I couldn't take him immediately and his foster home wasn't working out so he had to be taken to the shelter and wait til I could come meet him.
Let me tell you folks, going to a shelter to meet a dog is a huge mistake if you don't really want to take one home with you. You see all those sad sad dogs there and you want to give each of them a home.
Well I guess our first meeting foretold of things to come. When I very first met him he nipped at me (he was expressing his dislike of being chained back up to the tree). So my reaction was no way am I taking this guy home. But I figured I'd come all that way so I might as well try and walk him. So I did and he was so happy to go on a walk he kept turning back and 'smiling' at me. That was the end. That smile melted my heart and I knew he was mine.
After that Chingu was pretty good. There were a few more nipping incidents in the beginning but they were easily corrected and after he got over his fear and realized I was there to help him we became pretty close. Chingu has done a lot of good things for me and I believe we have a pretty deep bond.
Anyways 8 months and over 1000 miles walked later I returned home from South Korea with Chingu and about 50lbs lighter. Unfortunately Chingu didn't take the move so well and he bit Chris badly (7 weeks post bite and there is still a scab).
That bite was a real wake up call about how bad his fear-aggression was. It was even suggested by one vet that he be put down. Well in my opinion you don't just put down a dog without giving him a fighting chance. So instead we found a behaviorist, we found a trainer, and we found a different vet and right now Chingu is going through 'rehab'. So now this blog is about our journey together. I know Chingu will never be a dog that loves everyone and in some ways it makes me sad to think not everyone can know what a wonderful, sweet, loving soul exists inside Chingu but thats OK, because I know it.
I like to think Chingu isn't broken but instead just bent. So for the moment my travels have been suspended as Chingu and I work to get over his fear of people (particularly men) and we work through this thing. So therefore the purpose of this blog has changed too. This will be about our journey through Rehab and I hope to come out of this successful. So *fingers crossed* I hope this next year I've committed to bringing Chingu around will be one that finds a happier more secure dog at the end of it.
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