Goodbye

   
     Henry has been adopted. A young couple has made him a part of their family and it looks like Henry will have a wonderful life. If only I had one more month. A month in which I had all the time I needed to work with Henry. He could have arrived to his new home as a dog that does not react to other dogs. They would have been able to walk him anywhere and not worry about his barking.
     But that month does not exist. Time to spend with Henry was becoming scarce. An important factor in deciding to foster a dog was the fact that I was unemployed. I have since started working part time and have been taking on more and more hours. So the timing of Henry's adoption was fortuitous. And Henry's training is not supposed to be about my sense of accomplishment, it's supposed to be about Henry. There is no reason that his new family cannot train him as well or better than I.
     I could not be home when Henry left, I was at work. I left the house in the morning and when I returned in the evening he was gone. Zico and I went on a walk that night, just the two of us. Zico was in good spirits, he always is. But I cried a little from missing Henry. I still miss him. His new family is writing a blog about him so I can read about him, see pictures, and even video.
     http://sirhenrythehound.blogspot.com/
     I am glad I fostered him. My rhetoric about it being about Henry notwithstanding, it has indeed been a rewarding experience. We gave a temporary home to a being in need. And he moved on, better socialized, better trained, more confident and healthier. In return he gave us his goofiness, his challenges along with the reward of rising to them, and (very occasionally, since he is not demonstrative) his love.
     I still miss him. I probably will for a long time. I might never see him again. But heaven is where I can play with Henry (and Zico, and Davey, and Doobie, and Beta, and Rusty) forever. With no excessive barking.

A Sign

     Henry went to the Arboretum today. It is a good place to expose him to other dogs while keeping an eye on his behavior. As usual, we started walking with the leash held inches away from the collar so the collar stays right behind his ears. After he demonstrated good behavior, i.e. passing other dogs without barking, I gave him some slack. But whenever I saw a dog coming I would put him back on a short leash.
     While Henry was enjoying the relative freedom of the entire length of the leash, he spotted a dog before I saw it. His first reaction was to look at me as if he was expecting a treat. So I gave him one. We had not done rewards-based training in a while. A few monthes ago a trainer showed me the method of plying Henry with treats as we approached other dogs. The idea was that when Henry sees another dog he would learn to expect a treat instead of starting to bark. This turned out to be a good method for getting him to stop barking at cars, but it was not very effective where other dogs were concerned. And it was difficult to implement. If the steady stream of treats was interrupted for a moment, he would start barking again. Keeping him on a short leash and controling his head proved to be a more effective way of managing Henry's behavior.
     But the look Henry gave me this time appeared to be a sign. He is ready for more slack. I let him have it. Previously, I needed to offer one treat after another in an unbroken flow to keep him preoccupied if another dog was in the vicinity. Today, each time we walked past another dog I only gave him between two to four treats. He would look at the other dog, I would call him and he came to me for a treat. Even when the other dog was very close. If the other dog was excited, this did not work. When we approached a yapping puppy, Henry got excited from a distance so I used the short leash method again.
     At the end of our time in the Arboretum, we got close enough to a cute beagle mix for the 2 dogs to interact. We spent about three hours there. We did not do anything strenous but Henry seems exhausted right now. The effort of self-control takes more out of him then our morning run did.

Dedham Dog Park

     This morning, Henry visited the dog park in Dedham. As soon as I let him out of the car, he was overexcited. The prong collar was right behind his ears and I walked him around, away from the dog park until he settled down.
     We cautiously approached the 1-acre, fenced in area. Whenever he showed signs of over excitement, I would switch direction, away from the dogs, until he calmed down and then I would head back. I am getting better at recognizing the red flags, like the direction of his ears. Henry approached the fence but we did not enter the park. We walked around it, on the outside. Occasionally, a dog inside the fence would get close to us, Henry would get excited, and I would lead him away, only to return when he had relaxed. After Henry had walked around the park a few times, staying calm, and even calmly passing a few dogs that were also outside the fence, we went inside.
     I continued guiding Henry on a short leash, walking around the perimeter of the park, this time from the inside. We did not approach any dogs but we did not avoid them either. A few dogs approached Henry from behind to sniff his rear. I kept him moving forward, not letting him face them.
    Several times, when a dog approached Henry, the owner would call the dog back. They probably assume that I am holding him on a short leash because I don't want him interacting with other dogs. (Or maybe they don't want their dogs interacting with one that needs to be on a short leash.) In fact, the opposite is true. It is only by exposing Henry to other dogs that he will learn how to interact politely. When a dog approaches Henry while I am controlling him, he can learn what to do (stay relaxed) and what not to do (bark or mount).
     We walked around the perimeter several times and Henry began ignoring or responding calmly to dogs that we passed. So I gave him more leash. He stayed calm for the most part. He would only become excited if a dog nearby was running, barking or mounting. A gentle correction usually returned him to a calm state.
     I gave Henry the full 6 feet of leash and kept walking. When we passed another dog, he would sniff politely and continue to follow me. And when a few dogs started to jump and play with him I stood still and let them play. And he played very nicely. I saw him roll over on his back for another dog for the first time. He might do that at doggie day-care, but I have never seen him play submissive before, not even for Zico.  He also respected other dogs correcting him. When play got a little too rough for a beagle, the beagle barked in his face and Henry backed off.
     He was behaving so well, I put him on a 15 foot retractable lead, attached to a harness so he could run around some more. He was not ready for that. The additional freedom led him to ignore me. He started barking at dogs that were running out of his reach. So I put him back on the prong collar and 6 foot leash. But as we spent more time there, his play became more relaxed and he seem less interested in dogs that were out of reach. I tried the 15 foot lead again and he behaved well.
     After more time had passed, Henry was staying by my side instead of taking advantage of the longer lead. He was being friendly with all the dogs but not rambunctious. Probably, he was getting tired. But he was behaving so well that I let him off-leash. He continued to behave well off-leash. But he started hanging around the double gate. It looked like he was ready to go.
     We spent around 3 hours at the dog park. Later today, I was hoping to encounter some dogs as I walked him in the neighborhood, but we had no luck. I wonder how long he will retain these new social skills. Unfortunately, I do not have the time to take him to the dog park every day. But fortunately, every day shows new signs of progress.
   

Right Behind the Ears

     Henry has cycled through a variety of collars. The standard collar that he arrived with did not seem adequate since he pulled so much. So he was fitted with a front attaching harness. It helped with the pulling but when his behavioral issues cropped up he started wearing a gentle lead to correct his undesirable behavior. The gentle lead was helping, but because of his excessive barking, it wore out too much hair on his muzzle. So he started wearing a prong collar. It was a difficult decision to put something which looks like a medieval torture device on him. But I tried it on myself. It does not hurt and is probably safer for him than a standard collar.

     Just to try something new, I hitched the prong collar up as high as it would go. This is a position some trainers recommend because it gives the handler better control of the head and therefore better control of the dog. I had tried this when I was a dog walker with little success. Whenever a dog would pull, the collar would slide to the base of the neck. But with Henry I kept just enough tension on the leash so that Henry could not drop his head. And I held the leash just an inch or two from where it attaches to the collar. This way the collar stayed right where it is supposed to; right behind the ears. And it does give me more control over Henry. By keeping him close to me, slightly behind me with no freedom to lunge, he is less reactive to other dogs. And when he does become overexcited at the sight of another dog I can turn him around, both literally and figuratively (behaviorally) more easily. With patience, I have gotten him to walk right next to other dogs with no barking. Once there, I can give him some freedom on the leash and he behaves well.

     Henry went to a dog park for the first time. He still is eager to rush up to other dogs but on a short leash with his head under my control he can not. We approached the other dogs circuitously. When he was overexcited I steered him away from them. When he was more calm, I walked him toward them. One by one, he was introduced to the four or five other dogs that were there. Once he got close enough to sniff them, I could relax the leash and he behaved well. Once he had met all the other dogs I let him off the leash. He played nicely with the other dogs for a few minutes. 

     Then a new bunch of dogs arrived. Henry was overexcited, approached the other dogs barking and he even nipped two of them. (He has a habit of nipping dogs that are running away from him on the flank or back.) When I saw that, I wanted to put him back on the leash but there was no reigning him in. He was running around, ignoring me, having a great time. I followed him, walking, hoping that eventually he would come to me and I could leash him. It didn't happen. But after a few minutes of trying to catch him the need had passed. He was just running around, his tongue hanging absurdly far out of his mouth. He has some room to run freely during his play-dates at Northeast Coonhound Rescue, but this space was much larger. And Henry made use of it. It was wonderful to see him enjoying himself, just running for the sake of running.

   Eventually he ran close enough to Janelle for her to get a hand on his collar. I will have to think twice before letting him off-leash in a space like that. His recall is probably better than average for a hound, but still not good enough to let him run free anywhere. It was important milestone for Henry to have a (mostly) successful day at dog park. And it was a pleasure to see him enjoying himself so much.

Zico & Henry in the car after dog park

  

Good Behavior

     Henry was waiting in the car while I was teaching at the Alexander Technique Training Center. One of the students asked, "Whose dog is in the car outside?" And the director of the school suggested I bring Henry inside instead of waiting in the car. Henry was very hesitant going down the stairs that lead to the studio. (He seems to be afraid of basements.) And once he entered the room he was walking around sniffing everything and looking at the mirrors in the room for about 45 minutes before finally settling down and relaxing. Everybody (about 8 people in the room) loves Henry. He gets lots of attention and compliments on his looks. One student has nick-named him 'little lamb.' He has been back to class twice since. After greeting everyone with a polite sniff, he spends most of his time lying down, minding his own business, on a tiny pillow on the floor. Every time he moves, whether to drink water or to stretch and yawn, he elicits comments on how adorable he is. The most common comment is "Awwwwwww...." When the class takes a break, Henry goes for a quick walk around the block and then begs for food while the class snacks during break. Everyone has been very good about not feeding him. So much of this blog has been about his behavioral problems. Too little has been about his good behavior. He is so good with people. Very respectful and gentle. And everyone who has seen this side of Henry loves him.

Approaching Charlie

     During his first week with us, when Henry snapped at Charlie it was the red flag that could not be ignored and made it clear that Henry needed to improve his social skills. Since that incident, Henry and Charlie have been reintroduced and have played together. They met again this morning and here is now it went.
     Henry and Zico were both on-leash walking around the park. We spot Charlie on the other side of the park and tails start wagging. Henry is about to get over-excited so I call him to me, he touches my hand and gets a treat. (I recently bought a belt-attaching pouch to access treats easily and quickly.) We progress toward Charlie repeating this procedure.
     Zico is also eager to greet Charlie and begins to pull.  I let Zico off-leash because it will soon be difficult to deal with Henry if Zico is pulling. Zico runs toward Charlie and that gets Henry over-excited. He starts barking. But not for long because nowadays I can distract him and quiet him. Formerly this was not the case, once he started barking all I could do was remove him from the scene. I stand between him and Charlie and made him sit and look at me for a treat. Then we continue to progress toward Charlie as before, calling him to me every few steps until we are right next to Charlie.
     The dogs play, only Henry is on the leash. Occasionally he barks at Charlie. This is uncharacteristic of Henry. (Nowadays.) Normally, once he gets close to another dog, he interacts calmly. When he does bark at Charlie, I call him and he sits for a treat.
    Zico is perky this morning! He starts rough-housing with Henry and as they jump around I accidentally drop Henry's leash. There is a moment of anxiety and I start to give chase for half a second. But he is occupied with Zico and not chasing squirrels. I relax and call him to me and he comes.
     The dogs keep playing and Henry barks periodically.  Finally, I realize that since Henry is the only dog on a leash, I just need to keep him moving to prevent him from barking. It is time to head home anyway. We pass two dogs on the street on the way home. I keep Henry distracted with treats and he does not bark at the first one. He also does not bark at the second one but I think he did not even see the second dog, as we walked by it sitting quietly on its front porch.
     All in all, a pleasant morning walk with the dogs.

Distractions

     On our very first walk in the park, there were signs that Henry had a problem with other dogs. He would bark hysterically when he saw another dog. And if he got close enough he would make a dominant move like mounting or nipping the back. The signals were loud and clear but it took me a week to finally accept that he had a problem. So whenever Henry had a bad reaction to another dog I put him on his side in a submissive position. I was not very good at this at first. Sometimes it took a minute of wrestling.
      I contacted Ann from Northeast Coonhound Rescue for advice. She agreed to have Henry come once a week and play with the other coonhounds. The idea was to keep him exposed to other dogs so he could eventually learn to behave nicely. His first time there he needed a lot of corrections whenever he was not being nice to the other dogs. After an hour he settled down and behaved. His second time I had to put him in a submissive position right when we arrived, but he played nicely after that. The last time we went, he behaved well right from the start, needing only few and minor corrections.
     I also contacted a doggie day care center, disclosed Henry's issues and asked if they would take him or if they had other suggestions to help with his socialization. They recommended bringing him to day care. The day care manager is also a professional trainer. As soon as we arrived, Henry reacted badly to another dog although both were on different sides of a fence. In one second, the manager had Henry on his side, submissive. Shortly after Henry entered the play area he tried to dominate a smaller dog and the manager put him on his side again. I noticed how he handled Henry as he did this and my own technique improved after that.
     When Henry was out for a walk and reacted to another dog I would put him in a submissive position. My time got down to 5 seconds. And I don't know if Henry got the message but I felt great about it, I was in control, not helpless about Henry's bad behavior. But as time passed Henry's reactions did not seem to change and I wondered whether I was being effective. Nothing would break Henry's attention from the other dog. Often, he would continue barking as he was on his side with his tail between his legs.
     Henry barked a lot in general. At everything and at nothing. He would look at the horizon and bark, then look at some other point on the horizon and bark. After being with us for about two weeks he started barking at cars. However, I was able to distract him with treats when he barked at cars. Then I decided that on our walks, I would not wait for him to start barking. As soon as I saw a car coming I would call him, make him sit calmly and give him treats until the car passed. I started doing this when he would bark at nothing, too. The walks became much more fun and relaxed.
     I hoped that one day I could distract him with treats when he saw another dog. So in preparation for that day, whenever we were outside, I would call him to me periodically, sometimes every ten steps, make him sit nicely and give him a treat. I started walking him alone, without Zico. That made it easier for me to see things, like cars or dogs, and get treats out before Henry started barking.
     We went to the park and Henry started barking at a dog in the distance. Through a combination of waving treats under his nose and walking in the opposite direction, Henry eventually stopped barking and sat for the treats. Then we were surprised from behind by Sparky. Henry went off again. I put him on his side. He calmed down, then I let him up and he sat for treats with both of the other dogs in view.
     The next day at the park we saw Bodie. Henry started barking but I succeeded in distracting him. And he stayed distracted right up to the point when Bodie sauntered up next to him. Henry and Bodie enjoyed a few treats together and when I stopped offering treats they both stayed calm and relaxed. Bodie's mom generously offered a play date for the dogs to help with Henry's socialization. We scheduled it for this morning.
     Immediately beforehand, Henry and I ran for 3.5 miles. We passed a few dogs and he pulled on the leash but I sped up and there was no barking. The run stopped right in front of Bodie's house. He was in a fenced yard behind the house. Henry and I approached slowly. Henry was eager to get to Bodie but I kept calling him to me and giving  him a treat every few steps until he entered the yard. And the dogs played very nicely. I have seen Bodie many times with other dogs. He is very well mannered and gentle. I gave Henry a few corrections but stopped after I saw Bodie stand up for himself when necessary. Then, if I thought things were getting too rough, I called them both to me to sit calmly for a treat.
     While we were there, Bodie's mom got a call from Nikki's mom. Nikki was headed to the park and suggested we join her. Bodie walked ahead so I could periodically give treats to Henry. We inched closer and closer to Nikki from 200 feet away. This was a more difficult case then Bodie. Henry and Bodie had a few positive interactions prior to this day. But Henry had only bad interactions with Nikki. Henry started barking a few times. If it was just one or two barks I would start running to distract him. If he was barking non-stop, I put him on his side.
     It took about 10 minutes to get within 30 feet of Nikki. While Henry was sitting calmly, receiving treats, Nikki approached us. I kept giving Henry treats, one after the other, until Nikki came right up to my hand for a treat. Then, both dogs ate treats out of my hand. When I stopped feeding them, Henry made a dominant move. I yanked the leash just hard enough to get his attention, then put a handful of treats under his nose. When he was calm, he received a treat, and soon he and Nikki were sniffing each other and then ignoring each other.
    This is a great day for Henry. It shows that an amateur such as myself can properly train a problem dog. It shows that Henry can and will learn to approach other dogs nicely. I will have to repeat this process many more times with many more dogs. (On our way home, Henry did bark at a few other dogs.) But right now I am so proud of Henry's progress on his most problematic issue.