Mack in Class

 We started class off with some more BAT training on Saturday.  A wonderful man, who is also in the class, agreed to be the scray stranger.  He is a man, he was wearing a baggy coat, and he had a hat--all things that might potentially scare a pup.  Mack does tend to be more wary of men than women.  In this exercise, you are trying to get the dog close to whatever scares them without flooding them and causing them to go over threshold.  You want them to know that you will keep them safe so you do not force the dog to walk right up to what scares them and be pet, for instance.  In Mack's case, we walked him to about ten or fifteen feet from the man and then when he offered us a calming signal, like putting his nose to the ground or looking away, we walked him away from the man and gave him a treat.  By doing this, we are encouraging Mack to show us what he needs to be safe in a calm, collected manner, instead of teaching him that we will not pay attention to his needs and that he needs to get defensive or unruly to protect himself.  Sometimes, when you are doing BAT training, you may decide that you are doing it with one person, like the man, and the dog will actually be paying more attention to something else, like the audience, and then you refocus what you are doing to fit whatever the dog is fearful of.  It is important that you do not force your dog to get too close to whatever scares him in this kind of training.

We also did another exercise where we would stand apart from the man.  We would walk about halfway to him, he would say "Mack," and then he would throw a treat just past Mack.  The dog is being rewarded by the stranger and is still being taught to retreat, instead of move towards what scares him.  This worked out great for Mack.  In no time, he was smitten with the treat-throwing-man and wanted to be his best buddy.  It became difficult to get him to walk away.  Food is friendship, haha.  We gave him a break and let the other dogs in class have their go.

 

Then, we took all the dogs on a walk around Freedom Park.  There were a lot of people and dogs, but Mack did not seem to mind.  He was just happy to be away from the shelter.  He was pulling on his leash though, so we know he still needs some leash work.  It is difficult to train a dog in a shelter setting because you have to get everyone who interacts with the pup to do the same things you are doing.

Unfortunately, as will happen sometimes in real life, Mack did have a negative experience with another dog in class.  Mack does well with dogs, but this other dog is not entirely confident with others and it can turn into aggression.  He freaked when he saw Mack and went over threshold.  Meredith and his owner were able to calm him down quickly and within eyesight of Mack.  Charlotte and I were also able to calm Mack down and start helping him to feel secure again.  We did not want to leave on a bad foot so we did some more training with that dog when we got back to the training facility and then, when Mack got back to the shelter, we made sure he played with one of his best friends, a dog named Skye, who is also available for adoption through PAWS Atlanta.

Mack is currently being weaned of an anti-anxiety medication he has been on for some time and seems more active and happier when he gets out of his kennel.  He is still a nervous wreck in the mornings and when a stranger walks by his cage.  We are weaning him off the medication now in hopes that we can change it to something more effective or in hopes that he does not need to be on it at all.  Mack was diagnosed with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever ( a tick-borne disease) and has been undergoing treatment, which is nearly completed.  He may have some long-term effects from the disease, but nothing that cannot be managed fairly easily with medication.  He is an amazing candidate for fostering.  If there is anyone out there who would be willing to help save Mack's life by taking him into their home temporarily and helping with his training please contact Laura at lmckelvey@pawsatlanta.org.