Stay! Just a little bit longer. How adding duration to the Place and Down commands help stressed dogs.
By Maggi Forootan
Adding duration to the Place and Down commands is one of the most important components of my system of dog training. This by far is where I see the most dramatic shifts in dog behavior. The tricky part in understanding this is that it doesn’t look like anything ground breaking is going on. I mean the dog is just there, on its bed or mat, or lying in whatever place you have asked him to lie in. But the truth is, there is a lot going on. Let me see if I can break it down for you.
Most, if not all, dogs that are struggling with some type of behavior issue are living in a state of near constant internal or external, reactivity, alertness, and anxiety. Everything going on around them…sounds, smells, shadows and light…becomes a trigger. It starts with the big stuff…like guests coming over and ringing the doorbell, or the UPS truck pulling up to the house. They practice their explosive reactions over and over. Before long, the smaller stuff starts to cause them to freak out too…distant sounds of children playing or other dogs barking, gardeners working on lawns, birds singing. They start to become conditioned to being on edge most of the time. This over-adrenalized state of mind becomes addicting to the dog. They start to like how it feels…just like human thrill seekers that get a charge out of bungee jumping, or driving fast. The adrenaline is like a drug that they are addicted to, and they want more and more.
You can compare it to humans who live high stress lives. Many times these individuals develop behavior problems as well. But, instead of biting the mail man, or tearing up the couch with their teeth, people engage in things like over eating/drinking, nail biting, road rage, and snapping at their family members. Humans however, have many ways to deal with stress in a healthy way. We can meditate, exercise, call a friend and vent, or take a dip in the Jacuzzi.
So how can we help our dogs learn to access a calm state of mind and let go of stress? The answer lies in the magic of adding time to the Place or Down command. Making Place or Down with duration non-negotiable is the key. The dog must realize that no matter what they are not allowed to leave the Place or get up from the down. There is usually resistance at first, because they’ve become so accustomed to reacting, and they’re addicted to the charge they get out of reacting. But once they realize that they can no longer practice this behavior, they surrender…and that is a beautiful thing indeed! They surrender to calm, peace, and the realization that there is no need to be concerned about what’s going on around them.
This counter conditioning, over time, forms new emotional habit patterns in the dog. Eventually they learn that the only option is to just relax and observe all that is transpiring in their world without the need to get involved. I sometimes like to think of it as an emotional and mental re-boot for the dog. As if new neural pathways were being created so that the default behavior is calmness instead of anxiousness.
So if your dog is struggling with anxiety, stress, reactivity, and even fear, try having them stay in Place or down…just a little bit longer.
The transformation is profound. The reward for the dog is priceless…a life free from constant emotional turmoil.
What could be better than that!
Lead and Love K9
www.leadandlovek9.com
Family dog training in Orange County, California