The 5 Minute Dog by Personable Pets Dog Training

Case Study: Luna the Anxious Mini Aussie

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How does a reactive Mini Aussie go from barking at everything to calmly navigating the world? Luna's transformation journey provides a masterclass in addressing canine anxiety at its root.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to the 5-Minute Dog Case Files. This subscriber exclusive takes you into the training room with me, so let's dive in. Hey there, and welcome back, and thank you so much for being a subscriber. Your support really does keep the show going. In this case study, I'm going to walk you through why the client reached out, what we found during the evaluation, the training plan that we agreed to, and how things played out in real life out in real life. So let's start with why Luna's family reached out.

Speaker 1:

Luna is a 12-month-old mini Aussie who's been living with her family for almost a year, and her owners reached out because they were struggling with two big issues anxiety and excessive barking. Anxiety and excessive barking Now, if you've ever met a Minayasi, you know that they're smart, high energy and often very sensitive to their environment. So the barking wasn't entirely surprising. But Luna's behaviors were making day-to-day life stressful, and Luna's owners are very social people. They love to be out and about with their friends and family, but Luna's barking and constant nervousness was starting to impact their ability to take her along. Now it was time for an in-person evaluation and once I met Luna, it became pretty clear that the barking wasn't limited to just one scenario. She would bark when people walked past the car in a parking lot just regular people walking by while she was sitting inside. She also had this intense panic bark. Anytime one of her owners walked away, like even a few feet of separation would set her off, even though she was still with the other owner. And then there was the random street barking Barking at people, barking at dogs, barking at nothing. In particular, sometimes it seemed like she was just barking because she could. But as we talked and as I watched her, it became obvious that the barking wasn't really the main issue. It was more like a symptom. What Luna was really dealing with was underlying anxiety, and the barking was her way of reacting to things that concerned her. She also had a lot of nervous energy and that constant adrenaline rush made it hard for her to relax and make good choices in everyday life choices in everyday life.

Speaker 1:

Now let's move on to the training plan that we agreed to. We decided to introduce the leave it cue, start desensitization and counter conditioning to all of her triggers, and we will refer to that as DSCC. Going forward, we were going to implement the wait queue for a little bit of impulse control and incorporate the clicker for the DSCC sessions. We needed to introduce Luna to the leave it queue because that would be our plan B going forward. That is how we will interrupt and redirect her if she starts to bark. Leave it is always plan B because we really want Luna to start feeling so comfortable in all of these situations that she doesn't feel the need to bark to begin with.

Speaker 1:

Our plan A is desensitization and counter conditioning DSCC. This means changing Luna's emotional response to other people, dogs, etc. We teach her that all of those triggers actually equal good things, so there's no need to bark. And this is where most of the training hours will be spent. We're also going to spend time training the wait cue Wait going out the door, getting into the car, etc. Wait is a great way to teach our dogs impulse control, for them to stop and think before they act, and this is something that most dogs are not genetically born to do to think first and act later. And finally, the clicker. I am a huge advocate of using the clicker when working reactivity cases. The clicker allows us to mark appropriate behavior much quicker than if we tried to use good boy or good girl. Studies have shown that noises will penetrate our dog's brains faster than words. So the clicker will allow us to be much more efficient in marking and rewarding those moments of calm around a trigger.

Speaker 1:

Now let's discuss the actual training. In that very first session we introduced Luna to the leave it. Cue Leave. It may be our plan B, but it's a critical part of the training plan and we will use it in those moments when we cross threshold and Luna starts barking Leave. It is simply an interrupter. It's not punitive. It doesn't mean Luna has done anything wrong. We just need to interrupt whatever is going on, like barking, and then redirect her to something else. Introducing leave it is very easy. At first, when we cue leave it, all we want is for Luna to turn around and look at us. If she's looking at us she can't be barking at someone else. So we just wait until Luna is looking at anything other than us and then we cue leave it, sometimes in a higher or squeaky tone just to make sure it penetrates the brain. And the moment she looks at us, good girl, or click, and then she has to come to us to get her reward treat.

Speaker 1:

Then we started on the DSCC, but first we had to introduce the clicker. Teach her that every time she heard the click she'd earned a treat. Then we stepped outside the studio and we started walking. Then we stepped outside the studio and we started walking, and anytime she looked at anything other than her humans they would click and give her a treat. We wanted her to learn that looking at things could earn her food. So now she had two options when she saw another person One she could bark, or two she could turn around and look at her owners for a treat. And we also worked on that tricky problem of barking at people walking by the car. So I had them park in an empty parking lot and then I started walking around the car lot. And then I started walking around the car. I stayed 20, 25 foot away from the car at first and anytime she looked in my direction they would click before she could bark and then give her a treat. And as she started to calm down I would slowly move closer. If she started barking I would back away and we'd try again.

Speaker 1:

When we first start working on DSCC. It's imperative that we have a controlled environment so her owners know exactly what's going to happen and when. That way they can just concentrate on clicking and rewarding and not have to worry about the unpredictability of real life. The goal is to help them understand when to click and why, so they can continue the training between our training sessions. Then we tackled that separation sensitivity. Luna would panic, bark if one owner walked away. So we practiced that too. One person would slowly walk off while the other stayed and click-treated Luna for staying calm. We built up the distance and duration a little at a time. Within a week, when one owner would walk away, luna would tense up a bit and think about barking, but then turn around and look at the other owner instead, almost saying okay, he's leaving, give me a treat.

Speaker 1:

And finally, we added in the wait queue, especially at doors and when getting in and out of the car. When getting in and out of the car, luna had a habit of launching herself out the door anytime it opened, and Wade helped her learn to pause, check in self-regulate crucial skills for any anxious dog, and it's a great way to teach a dog to slow down and think first. And then there was homework. Every week the owners left with new challenges For example, increase the value of the items and situations that we were asking Luna to leave, and taking Luna out into public on a daily basis, even just for five-minute training sessions for some DSCC work exposed her to things she would usually bark at.

Speaker 1:

But the key to these sessions was controlling the environment. To set Luna up for success. That meant at first success. That meant at first going to locations where Luna could see other people and dogs, but that she wouldn't be so close that she would panic and bark Then every time she looked in that direction, click and treat. Once she could watch people calmly at 20 foot, we would go to 18, 17, etc. But there were some challenges along the way. We talk a lot about training the dog, but in reality the owners are learning how and when to interact with Luna, how to manage her environment. That can be a lot at first.

Speaker 1:

So here are a couple of their training sessions that didn't go so well and what they learned. First, luna was making progress, so they decided to take their clicker and their treats and Luna to a local winery and meet up with friends. They sat on the patio and ended up having to leave early because Luna could not stop barking. What did they learn? Having a controlled environment and distance is critical at this stage of training. I suggested they return to the same winery but maybe hang out in the grass closer to the parking lot where they can watch all the activity but not be in it. And as Luna gets more and more comfortable they can move closer to the patio with each session.

Speaker 1:

Two after their first week of training they decided to take Luna to a big box store, thinking they would see a lot of people for that DSCC work. Unfortunately there were too many people, too many noises, carts, cars, pa system, etc. And not to mention all the people trying to invade Luna's space so they could pet her. This was all too much for Luna and again they had to leave early. I suggested they return to the box store and hang out in the parking lot for some DSCC work and then when Luna started to calm down outside with all the people and the traffic, they could revisit actually going into the store at a future date.

Speaker 1:

And three we were working outside one day, one owner standing up one sitting and Luna just hanging out on the leash in front of them. And then someone walking by spotted Luna and headed straight toward her. They were locked in visually, making direct eye contact, smiling and then asking questions like what's her name and what breed is she and how old is she. As they continued their approach and here was the issue the owners got so wrapped up in the conversation. You know they were friendly, they were talking, they were answering the questions. They never noticed that Luna had retreated and was now hiding under the chair. I had to step in and stop the person from getting any closer and gently point out that their dog was panicking. She wasn't just uncomfortable, she was in a full retreat mode, trying to get away, and they were inadvertently ignoring her. So they learned they had to temper their natural social tendencies and instead pay attention to Luna. This could mean stopping people's approach so that Luna doesn't get overwhelmed. And they also learned that they should have been click treating the whole time to let Luna know that approaching people equals good things.

Speaker 1:

Treats. Notice, I referred to all of the things that we just discussed as challenges and not failures. There's a learning curve while training for both the dog and the human, and the issues that we just discussed are very common and usually repeated with almost every new DSCC case. While we teach the dog that there is no need to bark, clients are also learning a brand new way to interact with their dog and for their dog, and that can be a lot to take in all at once by our final session.

Speaker 1:

The transformation wasn't hard to miss. Luna didn't bark at all, not once. She let out a little whine here and there, but it never escalated to full-blown barking, and that's huge for a dog who used to react to every little thing. We were able to walk down the street, pass people, and she stayed calm and checked in with her humans quite a bit. In fact, when she saw something that would have triggered her before, she just turned and looked at her owner like hey, where's my treat? And that's what success looks like in real life. And we practiced the separation exercise again as well. One owner slowly walked away and you could tell that Luna still felt a little unsure, but instead of panicking, she chose to stay calm and engage with the person that she was with, waiting for her click treat.

Speaker 1:

That's emotional growth. Now is the training complete? No, they still need to practice in more distracting environments, places like a local park or a winery patio where people and dogs are everywhere. But the foundation is solid. Luna has the tools and her people know how to use them. Luna has the tools and her people know how to use them. Thanks for listening to this case study. I hope it gave you a few new ideas or at least some reassurance that you're not alone in the messy yet rewarding process of dog training. If you have questions or if you want to hear a case similar to your dog, let me know. Until next time, happy training.