Nothing

A couple of Fridays ago, the hubby and I decided to have a bonfire in the backyard.  We love having the dogs outside with us when we can, so we brought the whole troop out to join us. 

DuPont is not known for being calm out of doors.  In fact, he'd probably be remembered by any passing onlooker as a bucking wild child pulling me all over the place.  I mean I can actually hear them thinking to themselves 'Man, I'm glad that's not my dog!' 

Earlier on this particular Friday, I'd watched this video by the amazing Suzanne Clothier.  If you want to know what it's about, go and watch it.  My aha moment was when Sue touches on the value of doing absolutely nothing.  Of actively training your dog by literally sitting your ass down and doing...nothing.  She goes on to talk about how many trainers these days are constantly 'doing'.  Even with Pont I'm guilty of that; I'm constantly trying to teach him something in order to bring him under control.

Armed with this new theory, I put DuPont in his gear and took him outside.  He did the usual song and dance of whining, pulling, spinning, etc.  I went to my camp chair by the fire (DuPont is comfortable near fire) and sat down holding onto the end of Pont's six foot leash.  He would whine and chatter once and a while.  For almost the first hour, he was in a pretty high state of alert anxiety.  Any passing car, squirrel in a tree, rabbit peeking out from a bush was enough to completely overwhelm him.  It's like he's got to take everything in.  There are so many distractions even in a quiet backyard. 

Eventually though, he began to level out.  We spent four hours sitting outside and near the end of the evening, Pont was even laying under my chair!  It was a pretty huge accomplishment.  I would even swear that over the next few days, anytime I took him outside to potty or anything he was noticeably more relaxed.  Alert, but relaxed.  Interesting.

So, that's about all we've been up to lately!  Anytime he can safely join me outside, I bring him.  Unfortunately in a case like DuPont's, where he can become embarrassing and unmanageable in certain situations, a person's natural reaction is to avoid the situation altogether. But avoidance doesn't solve anything. Taking the dog into the situation repeatedly (as long as it's a safe one) is the only way to actively work on correcting the behavior. I think wild and crazy DuPont has been a shining example of that these past few weeks. He's doing phenominal! It's actually been a pleasure to have him with me lately. 

DuPont practicing the art of doing nothing

For inquiring minds, that thing on his face is called a Halti. It does not constrict him in any way, he is free to open his mouth (as long as he's not pulling) and he can eat/drink with it on, etc.  The Halti's function is to prevent pulling and aid in control. When he pulls, it turns his head to the side. It's an effective, safe, painless tool that I totally heart. You may read more about it HERE if you wish.