Boggie 2/21/11

Today I did not have to walk Boggie because it was Presidents Day. I didn't. Instead I brought some bubbles and a flashlight for some games and psychology. Boggie has not played with bubbles that I know of, but he gets extremely stressed when a flashlight's light is pointed at something. The owners he had before his current owner didn't walk him. That's a no-no if you have a dog. Walks release pent-up mental energy in dogs. Instead of walking Boggie, they used a laser pointer to exercise him. That made him even more excited and they probably rewarded him when he was in that exited state. I recently read that if you don't face a problem in dogs, it just gets worse. You cannot avoid it forever. The more you face a problem, the faster the dog gets over it. So I shined the flashlight on the floor and body-blocked Boggie when he tried to chase it. He didn't understand what I was telling him to do. I made him lay on his side with his head on the floor. That is a submissive posture for dogs. I didn't pet him and I didn't talk to him except to say: "stay" and push his head back up to the ground if he raised it. I simply let Boggie drink in my confidence and calmness. After a while I would shine the light near his head. If he looked at it I would "bite" him with my fingers and make a little noise. He would whine and whine. I put the flashlight on his side so he would not be scared of it, and I worked on shining the light on the ground. Every time he looked at it I put my hand under his jaw and gently lifted it up to avert his gaze or I pulled on his leash. My aim was to tell him to avoid it in a way he could understand. I brought him outside and walked a little while twirling the flashlight. It was cloudy so he couldn't see the light, but he knew the light came from the flashlight. Overall, I worked on letting out the anguish he had held in for so long; the bad feelings and memories of stress. He was very hyper and a little nervous after that, but his owner came home so we played with him a little and calmed him down. Tomorrow I will use the flashlight again, but only a little. I will use it before(AFTER) his walk, and then(BEFORE) walk all his bad energy off and replace it with good energy. Bye, Boggie!

P.S. I tried playing with bubbles with him and he didn't seem to see them. I left them at his house (sorry) so I will get them tomorrow and try them again. =]


***UPDATE***

I made a big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big (you get the picture) mistake today. It was not too bad, like it didn't mess him up, but it could have been way, way, way, way, way, way, way (again, you get the picture) better. I read in Cesar's Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding & Correcting Common Dog Problems that fixations (what Boggie does with the light) are

"wasted energy, A dog needs to channel her energy into something in order to be balanced and calm-submissive. A dog living with a homeless person walks all day, so that's where the energy goes. A dog that lives with a disabled person has the physical-psychological challenge of keeping her owner safe, which is another way the dog releases her energy. Others who run and walk with their dogs on a regular basis help their dogs drain energy... So the [fixated] dog spends all day just looking up at the squirrel in the tree, becoming fixated on a squirrel that doesn't give a **** about the dog... All her energy is concentrated on the squirrel. That's one way of creating a fixation... If the owner gives the dog a command when it is in this fixated mode, the dog won't respond... I like to compare it to taking the kids to Chuck E. Cheese's versus taking them to piano lessons. Chuck E. Cheese's will have them bouncing off the walls. That's excitement. Piano lessons will be a psychological challenge. That's calm submission... A fixation is just like an addiction in a human, and can be just as dangerous. Think of a gambling addict in Las Vegas, sitting there all night, pouring coins into a slot, and pulling that one-armed bandit, for hours on end. That's a fixation... At the Dog Psychology Center, if we're going to play with a ball, I make sure that before we do, everybody's quiet. If I'm going to feed the dogs dinner, first, everybody's quiet. If I'm going to give affection, first, everybody's quiet. I never give anything to the dogs if their minds are not calm-submissive. That's how I make a fixated dog become normal. Because he never gets anything if he's in that state... We also never play or eat without doing some sort of vigorous exercise -- walking, running, or Rollerblading -- first. Draining energy is vital... [Working on Jordan the Bulldog] With each object, instead of pulling the object away from him, [the owner messed up by doing that, it feeds the dog's predatory instincts] I challenged him to back away from it, thus claiming the object for myself. Every time he moved forward, I corrected him with a tug. This eventually sends a signal to the brain that what I want is submission. I went forward instead of moving away from him. And I stayed with that same calm-assertive energy until Jordan finally got it, but because he had been living in that fixated state for so long, it wasn't easy. I was dripping with sweat by the end of the session... If a dog's problems have been going on a long time, you're going to need to do this again and again and again -- perhaps for months if the fixation is really bad."

So basically I'm going to take Boggie on a nice, long (I mean REALLY long) walk before I help him snap out of it. Then I am going to make him sit and tug on his leash (placed on the higher part of the neck for more control) every time he looks at or goes toward the light. (Don't go toward the light, Boggie! ;p) I will start with it being still, and do that for a while, until he doesn't look at it. Then I will start to move it. If I avoid the problem, he will never be able to get over it. It will take a long time, but I am willing to work with him for however long it takes, for around ten or so minutes every time. Then I will go inside (if I am outside) and I will not talk or pet him until he calms down. After he is calm I will pet him and give him treats and rub his belly and love him a lot. He will be a happy, perfect boy after we tackle this thing! =]