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Odin's personality continued to emerge, and Dawn and Mark weren’t sure they’d be able to keep him. “I would say that there’s probably a lot of reactive dog owners who feel that they have the wrong dog,” Dawn said. “And I would say that they probably don’t, they just haven’t figured out the language yet, but at the same time, I’ve been there. I felt the same way. We were worried that if we couldn’t figure it out, we’d have to find Odin a new home because we weren’t the right home for him."

Then Odin scared Mark, who had been bitten by a dog the year before. Odin latched onto his arm, tugging. “We thought it was aggression,” Dawn said. “I was like, ‘Oh my god, we have to go put this dog down because he just bit my husband.’ Turns out, he had literally no idea what to do with his mouth. He was so overstimulated and he’s a reactive dog who was like, ‘Oh we’re playing tug now? Let’s play tug REALLY HARD.’"

They had some hard discussions and then reached out to Dana Falsetta, a close friend of Mark’s and a dog trainer and then a manager with Philly Unleashed. “She fielded a lot of phone calls from us at 10, 11 o’clock at night in tears, because we just didn’t know what to do,” Dawn shared. “I wasn’t a trainer yet. I had no idea. I was reading all of the books, reading all of the articles. It was a very intense year.”

Read more: https://telltaildogtraining.com/embarrassed-we-got-a-handful/

Special Guest: Dawn Heiderscheidt.

Empath_N_Drake: https://www.instagram.com/empath_n_drake/
Odin_Pup: https://www.instagram.com/odin_pup/
John Is For the Dogs: https://www.instagram.com/john.is.for.the.dogs/

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Previously, when he looked at another dog, he’d get a correction because a look would lead to a reaction. If he was tense walking down the hallway, he was supposed to get a correction. If he was on edge at all, he’d get a correction. “He was constantly being stimmed,” Lauren shared. “It was so unfair. … It felt like we were constantly in conflict.”

Now, she tries to honor him and work on building him up. When he looks at another dog, she can tell if it’s curiosity or about to lead to a reaction. By inviting him to look at her instead, she can let him know he’s safe.

Lauren also manages Drake’s behavior by:

• Giving him as much space as possible. If anyone is walking towards them, she uses space to manage his reactions and reward him for eye contact.
• Knowing his thresholds. (https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/behavior/5-things-to-know-about-a-dogs-threshold/) A threshold is just the point where a dog has engaged in fight, freeze, or flight, and may struggle to think or process his surroundings. This is where a dog won’t take treats or can’t focus.
• Avoiding trigger stacking. (https://pawsandreward.com/trigger-stacking-your-dogs-threshold/). Trigger stacking just means a dog is unable to recover from the stress of reacting to a trigger before facing a new trigger. This means reactions get more and more intense as the dog gets overwhelmed.
• Utilizing decompression walks. (https://www.dogmindedboston.com/blog/2019/5/27/the-life-changing-power-of-decompression-walks) These sorts of walks allow for freedom of movement and engagement for dogs, allowing them to use their nose and mind and thus ultimately recover from any triggers. As a result, they’re much more mentally able to face any new challenges or triggers.

Read more: https://telltaildogtraining.com/embarrassed-the-only-reactive-pitbull-in-atlanta/

Special Guest: Lauren.

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It’s tempting to be embarrassed about that, too. My dog isn’t a "cool dog". He’s a dog with a distinct personality and likes and dislikes. He’s growled at people for picking him up. Also embarrassing. But he’s never growled at me for picking him up, and we have a special cue for it when I do. Everyone else has done it without his permission, and he let them know.

It can feel particularly embarrassing when:

• Your dog is particular about other dogs or doesn’t like other dogs or
• Your dog doesn’t like all people or most people or
• Your dog has triggers that have to be managed.

I get all of that. I’ve experienced it with not only Jeeves, but with other dogs I’ve lived with. He’s the one that taught me that I need to advocate for him. If I had told the people not to pick him up, he wouldn’t have had to use his voice to do it. He doesn’t have to be okay with just anyone grabbing him.