I came across this video with Suzanne Clothier (of Bones Would Rain From The Sky fame) and I thought it might be of interest to some people.
She is just great, isn't she? Did lots of just hanging out with Bramble in the early days, sometimes I would just sit on the grass and enjoy a bit of mindfulness. I don't if that is why Bramble is so calm now, but she has no trouble switching off
I think Duggan has this as well. Lol he’s on Trazodone at the moment and still hyper on three legs. I believe his energy is actually slowing the healing process because he can hobble a lot quicker on three legs than he can walk on four so it’s becoming a real problem with him not using the leg that was repaired. I can’t imagine dealing with this without the added assistance of the medication. I secretly want to give it to him forever. Hehe.
She is isn’t she, I did lots of hanging about with Mabel too. In fact I still do. I sometimes think I have a dog that is queen of going over the threshold so it certainly helps. I bought some of Suzanne Clothier’s seminar notes. They were inspirational.
I adore Suzanne Clothier. *Even* after reading her article on “He just wants to say Hi.” That was a tough pill for me to swallow. She writes beautifully and with such insight. And if I were to buy a GSD, I’d want one of hers - perfectly raised puppies.
Never heard of this lady but will look up more videos, thanks, she' my kinda gal. What I do with Maisy is 'wait' while I unlock the door, then when we are outside and locking the door we 'wait' again, she is really good with this. Unfortunately the in between bit when we go over the threshold is when she zooms out the door. We do apply the 'wait' practise all over the place though, sometimes I just stop and 'wait' for no reason then reward, it is helping with waiting for trains and crossing the road and maybe keeping her focussed on our partnership when we are out, just chilling together. The posture advice is really helpful, I will put more effort into this now. (I thought this was about going over threshold when I saw the thread title.)
It is, that's the second "threshold" in the title Basically, you can do nothing (as long as the dog's not going completely batshit crazy) and allow it to go over a bit, then come back down and eventually realise that it's OK to relax.
I understood it as that you train the beginning and end but leave out the middle. ( not withstanding her awesomeness and there doesn’t have to be a middle) but there is and that’s the part we omit.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot. If your dog is wired up, how does just waiting and doing nothing teach it to relax? She speaks about it choosing its own posture, not to force it - yet I often read about the standing-on-the-leash tip. So I’m confused here. I know if I’m hyped up, telling me to relax will make me annoyed!! I need to “do” in those cases so that I eventually work through whatever stresses me. How does a dog work through the stress? A walk or a training session calms Snowie down. But what if I want to go a cafe and have him simply lie there and do nothing when he’s feeling hyped? In those cases he’ll do anything I ask like a highly-trained dog: sit, down, stand at lightening speed cos he’s hyped up. But simply lie quietly of his own choice. No.
That's why she says telling them to sit (or whatever) is counter-productive - she uses the example of how she feels herself about being told to sit down if she's wound up. I don't think she's saying put them in a situation where they're completely ramped, but if they're in a place where they are just a bit stressed (either eustress or distress), it's OK to let them work through it and find their own settle. Standing on the lead doesn't force the dog into a position, it just prevents them from jumping up.
They take their cues from you. If you are relaxed and clearly going nowhere they will also find their own ‘settle’ position, wherever you are. Last weekend we were on an extremely busy airport train full of people and suitcases, standing room only. Keir settled down and went to sleep. We do a lot of this with GD pups in all sorts of busy places, as a large part of their job is to happily settle at work, in cafes, the gym, restaurants etc .
Very interesting and helpful, thank you. I find the most difficult thing with all these minimal training methods is consistency from everyone in the household. The method of dealing with new things as described in this video for example is excellent so long as everyone understands and goes along with it. My OH is often, 'Come on, lets get on, no time for hanging around aimlessly', so the whole process is ruined. OH needs more training than the dog
