We have a 5 year old reactive Labrador and a soon to be 1 year old Labrador. They do get on very well but Shiko (reactive dog) needs time out. Luna (1 year old) is still in a crate/pen which she managed to escape from today and I know for sure (pretty sure) that she would have hassled Shiko. Luna is still in a crate/pen as she can’t be trusted to have total freedom when we are out. My question is how do we mamage this. We were going to start letting Luna out of her crate/pen at night but we are fearful it’ll set Shiko back with her progress of reduction in reactiveness. Thanks x
Hi @Tammy several questions. How did one of the dogs manage to get out of the crate? The crate should be virtually bomb proof. Second, what training method have you used to reduce the anxiety of the reactive dog? Third. is your house designed such that the two dogs can be in separate rooms at night?
Good morning Michael 1). Luna is nearly a year old now and we thought the crate/pen was bomb proof, solid metal dog pen and very large crate. Joined together with zip ties and connected to crate. No problems until yesterday. Four solid sides - however no roof - roof has now been installed so hopefully no more escapes. Very safe, completely bomb proof now - fingers crossed. 3). Regrettably there is no option to separate the two dogs as the house is open plan - we have thought about this also but we feel there would be more disruption to both of their well-beings if they were to be separated. However we are thinking of moving and this will be taken in to consideration in the move. 2). Shiko is a reactive dog, we have had her from 2 years of age. She was taken away from her mum at 6 weeks old and the environment she was brought in to wasn't the best environment to breed in. Don't know much more than this i am afraid. Before she came to us i don't think socialisation was done early enough or significantly enough - but again I can only comment on what we know - from how she is I just feel that this was the case. She was also attacked by other dogs 1-2 times with previous owner and i think this effected her greatly. I also think with being taken away from her mum and siblings too early has prevented her from being taught how to play and interact acceptably. So in the 3 years we have had her drastic changes have occurred. When she came to us her pads were soft and not broken in, she was underweight and she had minimal fur She now has a thick coat of fur, her pads are well worn and she is a good weight for her size. She was happy but we needed to do some further training to reduce her reactivity and to enable her to be more at ease with herself. So we try to walk the girls separately during the week so we can spend time focusing on each dog properly. This has really helped as it allows us to focus on them and only them rather than trying to control two big dogs unsuccessfully. They are walked together at the weekend with me and OH. The main training we have used is clicker training and i cannot stress how successful it has been. We have been seeing a behaviourist as well, which reinforces clicker training and separating the two dogs until Luna grows up and matures and until shiko's re-activeness lessons. We came across a website called clickertraining.com and purchased a book from the site called Click to Calm: Healing the aggressive/reactive dog and we haven't looked back since. We also take some aspects from CARE -CARE stands for Counterconditioning and Positive Reinforcement (R+) are Essentials for reactive dogs.....which can also be found on the internet. We are currently discouraging long stages of play inside the house, as this increases Shiko's Dopamine levels and increases her re-activeness. Since doing this she is sleeping better and is well rested and therefore the production of melatonin in her body increases and her stress levels are significantly reduced. I am no expert on this topic what-so-ever but it has certainly helped Shiko Many Thanks
Hi @Tammy Cooke Thanks for the detailed report. You've been doing really well with a difficult situation. Fortunately the two dogs do not seem to be fighting with each other. But that could change. I would be inclined to keep the younger one in the crate in order to avoid her hassling the reactive dog. Ideally the two dogs should be in crates sleeping in the same room. Putting them in separate rooms is likely to increase the anxiety of the reactive dog. If both sleep in crates you can be there to supervise their interactions. The crates should not be viewed by the dogs as a form of punishment. Continue to keep each crate as a place of security and comfort. Offer Kongs filled with food in each crate so that the dogs perceive the crate as a rewarding place. If the younger one stays in the crate and the older one sleeps in the same room, I presume there are no issues between the two dogs. The one in the crate will not see the situation as a continuing loss of rank. So you do not need to uncrate the younger one to restore/maintain equality. We think that way. I believe dogs do not perceive situations in terms of equity and rank. I am aware that I have not seen the interactions between your two dogs. I would ask the trainer for advice. The trainer knows the two dogs.
Thanks Michael, No i don't see the crate of a form of punishment - in fact she loves her crate/pen as this is where she feels safe and she takes herself off to it every evening. We do give Kongs to occupy them - they have a dog walker half way through the day and are on their own for no longer than 4 hours. We will keep plugging away and see where we go. Unfortunately there is no room for a second crate/pen but we will see what happens over next few weeks
Hi @Tammy Cooke no need to apologise. Ideally, one would see a detailed written report from the owner, and view and observe the dog in situ. In time a follow up would be organised. In the absence of such it is difficult to determine what is taking place, the constraints, and owner's expectations, and limitations. For that reason one ought to be somewhat cautious in following the advice given on sites such as even this one. Let me be clear, I find this site refreshing. An unbelievably high degree of cooperative spirit flows through the threads and folders. Malice and nastiness rampant on some websites is absent here. And the moderators do excellent work. Consequently, I don't believe any member here sets out to give poor advice, but in some cases there isn't really any substitute for talking to the owners at some length, actually observing the dog, and observing the owner's interactions with the dog. In their absence the more information the better. In addition, when one writes down things about one's dog, the process sometimes helps to cast light on the source of the problem, and posible solutions.
