# Look At That!



## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

Yesterday Duncan and I stopped by the vet clinic. We are starting a new obedience class and I needed to get his shot records. Duncan loooves to go into the vets! He just loves the girls that work the front counter.

Anywho....there was an elderly lady in there that was using a walker to help her get around. Duncan had never seen a walker before and growled at it. If the lady hadn't been so frail I would have worked with Duncan a bit and "introduced" him to the walker...but didn't feel comfortable doing so...and I don't think the elderly lady was open to it.

So, I am starting to work on this technique. I'll start out with basic simple objects and move to more stimulating ones. My goal is that whenever he sees something that he's not sure of for him to look to me rather than be reactive to it and growl or bark.

What do you guys think of this?
Look at That! A Counterintuitive Approach to Dealing with Reactive Dogs « Dog Training for Dog Lovers Blog

Thanks for any insight! :biggrin1:


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

Without looking at the book they reference, it sounds like exactly what you need. Without knowing any more than I do, I would highly recommend it.


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## MackenzieAndRiley (Jan 27, 2011)

The "Look At That!" game is one of my favorite's. In fact, every exercise in McDevitt's book, "Control Unleashed" is great. There is something in that book for everyone. So yes, this sounds like it would work great for you!


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

when your dog is being reactive use that time
for socializing and training.


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## Khan (Jan 17, 2010)

Yep, you're doing the right thing. Khan's trainer actually has a walker, cane, scooter, umbrella etc. she breaks out every so often when the dogs are in a "down" she walks around the dogs with these items to get them use to them. She will pop open the umbrella as an example so the dog later doesn't get so startled with the noise or action of the item. It is also part of the CGC test.
Happy Training!!


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## CavePaws (Jan 25, 2011)

I play "Check it Out" regularly with my nervous, reactive dog. I can't do this with other dogs...for obvious reasons, as making an aggressive dog "Check it out" - it being the other dog, isn't fair for the dog who is about to be bit. However I do it with many objects. Example, an umbrella, I toss treats into and around the open umbrella and say "Check it out!" in a happy tone. I think redirecting your dog to give you attn. is a good idea, however, I don't think it's necessarily directly addressing your dogs fear of things. I agree you are doing the right thing for most situations, but if it's an object you can get your hands a hold of to do the "Check it out" game, I'd do that instead. 

For the record, my dogs as feral puppies were extremely fearful of most things they would have encountered in normal life situations. The "Check it out" game has done wonders. A lot of the time when my dogs have gotten used to "Checking it out" I will add a nose touch on command to the object. Indi is scared of the heater when it turns on...I strapped her Thundershirt to her and made her "Check it out", eventually adding a nose touch. She's much less fearful of it now.


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