Shortly after Cyndi Cashman, owner of The Hairitage Salon in Prescott, WI, won a free BHD session with us at the Chamber of Commerce's Annual Dinner, we came to the salon for a visit to work with her dog, Oreo. Oreo, a lab mix rescue, spends her days at the salon, and by and large is a very good girl. Cyndi was concerned, however, at the increased growling the Oreo was doing when certain clients would come in the door.
After our innitial instructional portion with Cyndi in which we helped her to understand how to relate to Oreo as an animal and a dog, we all went for a structured walk together. Oreo uses a Gentle Leader and is a very good walker, responding well to a light occassional correction. We stressed the importance to Cyndi of keeping her dog at her side during the walk until it was time for some on leash roam room at the 1/2 way point of the walk. In this way, Cyndi will gain more respect from Oreo as Pack Leader and drain the excess energy that builds up in a dog everyday causing them to act out in unwanted behaviors.
One thing we noticed that had to be discontinued, was that they had been encouraging the clients to give Oreo a treat when they came in. In doing so, however, they were actually reinforcing the growling unintentionally.
The big key to our success that day was when Cyndi told us that she had an e-collar in her car that she didn't know how to use. It would be the perfect way to make a correction on Oreo when Cyndi is across the room working on a client's hair. Thanks to Michelle's quick grasp of techi items, we had it rigged up in no time and on Oreo's neck. We set it to the lowest stimulation number that would still work. Michelle and I went outside for a while and then knocked relentlessly on the door while Cyndi was controlling the remote for the collar inside. After only 2 practices, Oreo was responding very well to the mild stimulus of the collar.
Cyndi reports that now Oreo only needs to hear the tone that the collar gives off and she will back down. This has decreased the growling and pacing in the salon as well as in the car while Cyndi was driving which could've presented a danger in traffic. Cyndi can also use the e-collar training with Oreo to reduce the fixation she has with squirrels in the yard as Cyndi can 'invisibly' correct her dog from inside.
We don't need to resort to e-collars very often, but I do endorse them. In this case, it was a tremendous help in eradicating the unwanted behavior that a Oreo was exhibiting and calmed her down, producing a happier situation for everybody- canine included.
After our innitial instructional portion with Cyndi in which we helped her to understand how to relate to Oreo as an animal and a dog, we all went for a structured walk together. Oreo uses a Gentle Leader and is a very good walker, responding well to a light occassional correction. We stressed the importance to Cyndi of keeping her dog at her side during the walk until it was time for some on leash roam room at the 1/2 way point of the walk. In this way, Cyndi will gain more respect from Oreo as Pack Leader and drain the excess energy that builds up in a dog everyday causing them to act out in unwanted behaviors.
One thing we noticed that had to be discontinued, was that they had been encouraging the clients to give Oreo a treat when they came in. In doing so, however, they were actually reinforcing the growling unintentionally.
The big key to our success that day was when Cyndi told us that she had an e-collar in her car that she didn't know how to use. It would be the perfect way to make a correction on Oreo when Cyndi is across the room working on a client's hair. Thanks to Michelle's quick grasp of techi items, we had it rigged up in no time and on Oreo's neck. We set it to the lowest stimulation number that would still work. Michelle and I went outside for a while and then knocked relentlessly on the door while Cyndi was controlling the remote for the collar inside. After only 2 practices, Oreo was responding very well to the mild stimulus of the collar.
Cyndi reports that now Oreo only needs to hear the tone that the collar gives off and she will back down. This has decreased the growling and pacing in the salon as well as in the car while Cyndi was driving which could've presented a danger in traffic. Cyndi can also use the e-collar training with Oreo to reduce the fixation she has with squirrels in the yard as Cyndi can 'invisibly' correct her dog from inside.
We don't need to resort to e-collars very often, but I do endorse them. In this case, it was a tremendous help in eradicating the unwanted behavior that a Oreo was exhibiting and calmed her down, producing a happier situation for everybody- canine included.
~Candiss DelCastillo
Walks & Wags Pet Service
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