Last week, as we walked laps around our favorite park, one of the social workers from our adoption agency called John. They had a professional photographer lined up for Saturday to snap some photos to decorate their offices. Were we interested… oh, and bring your dog!
We said yes! Of course!
And then we started to think through the logistics of taking Cooper.
He gets nervous going to new places. His tail tucks, and he quakes like a little leaf in a windstorm whenever we take him to a different park.
He can be hit or miss when meeting strangers out in public. Interestingly, he’s totally fine with anyone who we have over to the house. It’s the out-and-about that causes him anxiety.
He listens almost perfectly at home, but when he’s scared (see: new place, new people), he can dissolve into a neurotic, bouncing, barking mess who can’t focus.
So, in light of those quirks, we started to plan: We had tiers of treats ranging from low value (freeze-dried salmon) to his most valued (squeeze cheese). We decided to get to the park early to walk him around and let him get his wiggles out, go to the bathroom, and start to run some quick cues like sit and down so that he had time to get in the right mindset. Ultimately, we decided to park close to the spot so that, worst-case scenario, we could put him in the car and leave it running with the AC on, music playing, a water dish, and his bed.
The punchline, which you probably guessed from the headline, is that he behaved perfectly. (The pic below is a candid snap I got on my phone during the official shoot!)
Like, if you didn’t know him at all–which the social worker and photographer didn’t–you’d think he was just a wonderful, happy, well-behaved, normal pup–which is what they thought!
He growled at two people; both startled him as they emerged from places in his blind-spots.
Otherwise, he was legit perfect.
He posed. He stayed. He sat. He looked at the camera. He wagged and accepted tons of pets from both women and even allowed the social worker to hold his leash while the photographer snapped a few pics of humans only.
Truthfully?
I really needed this reminder. (Again.)
We work with Cooper in some capacity–whether it’s attentiveness training in the park or impulse control at home, trick training in the living room, or long stays in the backyard, and so on–every single day. Sometimes it’s a few minutes here and there; sometimes it’s concerted, focused training sessions.
I know you guys know, but working with reactive dogs can be so frustrating. It feels like one step forward, two steps back so much of the time. Random new things crop up unexpectedly that leave you wondering if your work is making a difference.
This whole photoshoot experience proved to me that all that work pays off. That sometimes we’ll get off track, or we’ll experience a setback, but ultimately we’re moving forward. Sure, it’s at a glacial pace, but it’s forward progress regardless.
We’ll have the opportunity to purchase these and the rest of the session once they’re all ready, but for now, here are a couple embeds from Facebook showing Coop’s hard work:
With all that in mind, and the reminder that I sometimes need this reminder, how about you? What progress, no matter how slow, have you and your pup made lately? Have you ever had an experience like this that showed you just how far your dog has come?
I’m so glad that things went so smoothly! I love the plan you came up with–that is always the most important thing for me and my dogs! My little dog Rye is reactive to people (seriously, if someone on the other side of the street from us says “Hi Puppy” while we’re walking, she melts down), but recently we went to visit some extended family and there were going to be 12+ people there (and she’d only met a handful of them very briefly over a year ago) and she was great! I had brought her crate to my aunt’s house and had a backup plan of taking her to the cottage we were renting if she needed a break, but she was Miss Congeniality the whole time and loved meeting her first babies and was completed unfazed by my 88-year-old grandma’s walker. She had one brief meltdown when my uncle came in the room after being gone for a few hours, but as soon as she saw my other dog Barley soaking up the love from him, she calmed right now. I couldn’t have been more proud of her! I’m so glad you got to be pleasantly surprised, too–it’s always fantastic when you see your hard work paying off.
What a wonderful experience you had with Rye, and thank you so much for sharing! It sounds like such a fun time and such a relief! 🙂 Love when our pups surprise us in such a positive way!!
How fabulous! The other things about having reactive dogs is that we people become so attentive all the time that it can be hard to recognize the progress. Sounds like the photoshoot was an opportunity for you to see what he could do with all the planning, management and training.
Cooper’s comfort with the process will make these pictures even more poignant to you over the years.
YES! You’re absolutely right. When you pay attention every day, the change blurs together (like when someone you live with starts to lose weight… you don’t see the change until someone else points it out), and the pics will absolutely be such a wonderful memory for me! 🙂
That is a wonderful story. The countless hours you’ve put in to help Cooper deal with the world, and the knowledge you’ve gained in order to set him up for success, just paid off big-time! I am so proud of you all!
Habi and I went through that same glacial pace for several years, then things got easier, then they got way easier, then she was a ‘normal’ dog (except she wasn’t, but with prep and management she could handle almost anything). Habi – a go-anywhere dog?! It seemed like a miracle, but it was all based on those thousands and thousands of hours we had put in. Now, in her dotage, she totters up to everyone, human and canine alike, to say hi.
To be quite frank, we had no idea what we were doing at the beginning, and made (and still make) tons of mistakes as we fumbled our way along. Over time we built up a core group of resources (in person and online), and gradually learned how to modify her emotions to modify her behavior, but we are far from professionals. However, we stuck with her, and we learned (especially to listen to her) – and magic happened. She’s the best thing that ever happened to us.
Your Habi stories are always SO inspiring, Chris. I’m always grateful when you take the time to share the progress that you have made together because I think your experiences are just filled with so much hope and happiness! I really appreciate your time and experience you so willingly share, and please give that sweet lady an extra scritch for me!
Oh, Maggie, I’m so glad you shared this story! It’s wonderful to be able to witness the progress we’ve made with our reactive dogs! And, yes, we all need the reminders at times.
When I came home from my brother’s house, I got to witness the progress I’d been working toward with Ducky. For months I’d been working with her on her attitude toward Shadow. While I was gone, hubby kept telling me how well Ducky was behaving around Shadow. I was cautiously optimistic because Ducky’s jealous streak is usually more apparent when I’m around than when I’m not. But when I walked in the door, they both greeted me with tail wags and kisses and happy, excited barks; and not even a hint of jealousy from Ducky. In fact, she even backed away at one point to give Shadow more space. My heart swelled with pride at that moment. And she was so excited she couldn’t stop barking. I’ve been home 10 full days now and the only times I’ve seen Ducky give Shadow “the stink eye” were last night and the night before when she was feeling a little out of sorts from a little too much time outside. (And a snack of some birdseed!) Otherwise, she’s been a good little sister.
WELCOME HOME! And what an incredible thing to come home to see the progress made from the foundation you created. I’m so happy for you and your lovely family! Give those angels some good ear rubs for me!