Alberta Hanko
05-05-2005, 04:56 PM
Hi all - Well after a bit of a search, and some excellent advice from all on here, I believe I have found someone to help with Linus. As recommended she was both on the APDT list and also an ACABC member. I had sent a very detailed e-mail to the few people on the lists that said they dealt with aggression issues. I described Linus, his problems, what we have been doing with clicker training ourselves and basic obedience and the only type of training I believe in--positive reinforcement and negative punishment. I did realize that we would probably turn a few off, which is exactly what happened, but it was better all was said up front. Renee Premaza was also very helpful (thanks Renee, I know you are busy all of the time and I am sure wishing I lived closer) in answering an e-mail quickly, and making a recommendation for someone. That person was wonderful in answering, all of her ideas (she has a website) were just what I was looking for, but also was a bit far--and could not come out to Long Island. This person I am working with now, came to my house yesterday to meet us with Linus, and spent 4 hours there taking a history and getting to know Linus. She now has us working on advanced obedience inside the house for the next week--2 x per day 15 minutes each time, and easing up on moving forward too quickly. I will continue to walk him in parking lots, so he can see guys there, but we do very well with that--he follows along and we practice our turns, aways, and sits (with cooked chicken liver as an incentive). For now I will back off taking him out to see other dogs at a local park--even from a long distance, because that is the area that is his strongest stressor and oftentimes I am seeing we lose ground, but instead work on his focus on me. Right now we are set up where she will come once a week for an hour or more, for the next 8-9 weeks. I'll let you know how it is going--thanks for everyone's help!
Alberta & Linus
Alberta & Linus