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In today’s episode, Kayla and Marissa are joined by Kayla’s client Caroline to talk about Caroline’s dog Sonic. Sonic is a four-year-old chihuahua with a variety of different anxious and fear behaviors. They discuss what Kayla and Caroline have done so far for Sonic, as well as what their plans are going forward.
Sonic’s triggers are many and varied, but the main goal is to improve his response to other dogs. Kayla and Caroline have been working on:
- Tracking Sonic’s life in a spreadsheet to find attempt to find patterns with his triggers and reactions
- Engage/disengage work around a dog park
- Start button behaviors to allow Sonic choice on when to approach other dogs
- Parallel walks with unknown dogs
- Relaxation in new areas
Marissa also suggested nosework, which Caroline plans on adding into training soon. With COVID-19, Caroline also plans on helping Sonic understand start button behaviors using non-dog triggers around the apartment.
Mentioned in this podcast:
Anxiety vs. fear – drinking from the toilet podcast
Kayla founded Journey Dog Training in 2013 to provide high-quality and affordable dog behavior advice. She is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant who’s worked with hundreds of private clients, thousands of shelter dogs, and dozens of working detection dogs. Kayla’s dog and cat behavior advice has been featured in NPR, the Chicago Tribune, and Pet MD. She’s an avid adventurer who is currently doing #vanlife on the Pan-American Highway with her two border collies and a cat. Aside from running Journey Dog Training, Kayla also runs the nonprofit K9 Conservationists, where she and the dogs work as conservation detection dog teams. You can get 1:1 advice with a Journey Dog Training team member here.
