Todays walk with noise-phobic MJ, playing the What was that? game to make strange noises the predictor that a treat is coming (stuff that = hotdog is not so scary!). It is always essential that you carry out any desensitisation and counter conditioning of this kind under threshold (at a distance/volume where the dog is aware of the trigger - noise in this case - but is not stressed by it) but especially in MJs case as once she has heard a noise that was too loud/unidentifiable and become stressed to the point where I cannot convince her that its ok with the what was that? cue/marker, she cannot recover and we just have to go home and end the session. We have been practising this game with noises that dont upset her (ones that I make by banging on things where she can see or playing them quietly on my laptop) so usually, when something happens were not expecting, I can use what was that? retrospectively and MJ thinks oh, were just playing that game again... hotdog please. She was doing so well today (I dont know if you can hear the noises with the wind but there were buses, can doors opening and closing and people shouting) but then a street cleaner turned up and chased us round the block so game over!
Posted on: Thu, 23 Jan 2014 19:36:26 +0000
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