Roz is getting to a point of looking forward to when Jeremy comes into the house and enters a room (something that ALWAYS sparked a reaction of barking / growling in the past). We are working on a counter conditioning protocol using her meals so that she eats breakfast and dinner with new people (not out of her bowl). In the beginning she wasnt comfortable enough to eat anything with him in sight, then she wasnt comfortable unless Jeremy was very far away, then he worked his way closer and closer and now he is able to feed her from his hand. If she became reactive before we would take it back a step and try from a more comfortable threshold (farther away). If she was not able to calm herself down when given that extra space we would simply put her away and try again later. So that way she learns that she does not get anything worthwhile out of reacting that way. The less she reacts (or not at all) the more food she gets :) - until her meal is consumed!
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 16:34:18 +0000