Afraid of Water Run off Grates in the Street

[magicre]

ok. i will definitely try picking him up before rigor mortis sets in.....that sounds good.

ok. i will do this....

i see now the distinction between bribing and rewarding.....that's more clear to me now....we were bribing...not rewarding....ok.

believe me..he's come a long way......we are down to single fears rather than bundles of fears....

i had taken to putting him back in his kennel thinking he might feel safer....would you recommend that? or is there no reason to put him in his kennel, since it has nothing to
do with this particular fear?

[Jester's King]

i had taken to putting him back in his kennel thinking he might feel safer....would you recommend that? or is there no reason to put him in his kennel, since it has nothing to
do with this particular fear?

I'm not clear, are you bringing him home from the walk and putting him in the kennel?
I wouldn't recommend making a big deal of it in any way. Just do the training (praise/treat) RFD mentioned but when he freaks out over something, I would try to move onto acting as though nothing happened and not spend too much time comforting, as you don't want to reinforce the fear... It's like telling him "you're right that was scary how can I help you feel better."
-Bryan

[RawFedDogs]

i had taken to putting him back in his kennel thinking he might feel safer....would you recommend that? or is there no reason to put him in his kennel, since it has nothing to
do with this particular fear?

This crate thing is new to me. Explain the crate problem.

[magicre]

I'm not clear, are you bringing him home from the walk and putting him in the kennel?
I wouldn't recommend making a big deal of it in any way. Just do the training (praise/treat) RFD mentioned but when he freaks out over something, I would try to move onto acting as though nothing happened and not spend too much time comforting, as you don't want to reinforce the fear... It's like telling him "you're right that was scary how can I help you feel better."
-Bryan

if he walks right by the grate and hasn't reacted at all....we just keep on walking.....i agree with that...

if he stops....we do that bridal step i described before....i coax him past, telling him how brave he is and once he's past it....(this part is different because before i coaxed him past with food)...now, once he's past it, i praise and treat....that seems to be working better....

doing it this way, i think he'll be fine soon...he is, however, a smart little bugger....so food driven...sometimes i swear he actually thinks...should i stop to get a treat? :) i know he isn't but it seems that way.

This crate thing is new to me. Explain the crate problem.

as to the crate? we used to have him sleep in his crate.....because when we got him at two, he was not housetrained....and once he was, he slept in the bed....

so it would be at night time.

this is not the first time we've used the crate at night for him....and we'll do it for a week or so and it seems to comfort him. it's not for punitive measures at all.

the only other time we use it is when we're not home, because he eats the house contents

[RawFedDogs]

if he walks right by the grate and hasn't reacted at all....we just keep on walking.....i agree with that...

This is an important time you need to praise and treat. Anytime he performs a behavior you want repeated, you reward. Rewarded behaviors are always repeated. You can praise and treat without stopping walking.

if he stops....we do that bridal step i described before....i coax him past, telling him how brave he is and once he's past it....(this part is different because before i coaxed him past with food)...now, once he's past it, i praise and treat....that seems to be working better....

Cool

Doing it this way, i think he'll be fine soon...he is, however, a smart little bugger....so food driven...sometimes i swear he actually thinks...should i stop to get a treat? :) i know he isn't but it seems that way.

Another reason to praise and treat even if he doesn't stop.

this is not the first time we've used the crate at night for him....and we'll do it for a week or so and it seems to comfort him. it's not for punitive measures at all.

Why not leave the crate door open and let him enter and leave when he wants to?

the only other time we use it is when we're not home, because he eats the house contents

Yes, a good use of the crate. Continue using it for that purpose.

[magicre]

This is an important time you need to praise and treat. Anytime he performs a behavior you want repeated, you reward. Rewarded behaviors are always repeated. You can praise and treat without stopping walking.

we did and he did better....i'm becoming most dextrous....we stop after we've passed the grate, treat and praise. it's going to be fine after a few more times.

Why not leave the crate door open and let him enter and leave when he wants to?

we do and he doesn't. but it's a moo point now because he's back in the bed.

we are going to begin kenneling both dogs since they've started keeping us up at night..... malia has started jumping on and off the bed and it ceased to be fun the first night and he can't be trusted not to eat the contents of the bedroom unless he's either crated or in bed with us.

i'm going out today to get a bigger one, so both of them fit. i don't like it when my dogs are left alone, so the larger size is for my comfort...:)

Yes, a good use of the crate. Continue using it for that purpose.

otay.

[magicre]

update.

some grates he walks by and no reaction at all.

some he stops before even i can see them. he's in it for the food, i swear..this is a smart little boy.

if i switch sides and i walk next to the grate and say come on bubba...he trots right by, sits down and waits for his reward.

[luvMyBRT]

Could it be something other than the grates....or do you know for sure that it is? It sounds like your making progress....great progress!

[magicre]

Could it be something other than the grates....or do you know for sure that it is? It sounds like your making progress....great progress!

it could be his dog died last week and we cried and right after that, he became afraid....

it could be his favourite cooking show has bright ads...

with this dog it could be anything.

i'm pretty sure, this time, it's the water running under the grates and something spooked him, maybe sasquatch....

he can now smell a grate thirty feet away, knowing there is food.

the food distracts him, which i presume is the point...he doesn't get any...i just get in front of him....give him a click click with my tongue and he smells the food and trots right past the grate.

i think a few more days or a few weeks and he'll be fine again .....with that, at least...then he'll find something else to be afraid of...and we'll just start again.

he's not been with us for a year yet....i think it will take a little longer for this guy to feel truly safe.

[RawFedDogs]

It's great to see you are making such good progress ... and so fast too!!! Congratulations.