dutchman
12-10-2000, 10:43 PM
Hi everyone,
Most of you are aware that I am working with my newest addition Tanner to overcome some fear aggression problems. Last Saturday I decided we would brave the crowds and venture to Pet Smart for some Santa photo's. Before venturing to Pet Smart we first made a trip to our local feed store to shop for a muzzle. I was looking for a wire muzzle but Tanner needed a size 1 and the store's selection jumped from a 0 to a 2. We tried on a nylon muzzle and ended up taking it.
Our trainer had confirmed the week before what I had suspected. Holding tanner on my knee or in my arm to attempt to socialize him is not a good approach. By holding him he is getting positive reinforcement if he does become aggressive.
We headed to Pet Smart and put the muzzle on just before entering the store. We walked around the store for a long time wearing the boys down then waiting for a slow time at the Santa booth before getting our photos taken. The muzzle came off and I held my breath as I passed Tanner off to Santa. Tanner was not too sure about Santa and was leaning away but he never growled or got aggressive. The muzzle went back on after the photos.
We must have spent close to two hours at Pet Smart and Tanner did very well. He appeared to know he couldn't defend himself if he tried to pick a fight with another dog and only got excited and baked at a couple of dogs. He also was very clingy hugging my ankles and standing between my legs. He was much more open to receiving attention from strangers with the muzzle on. I think we thought he could sweet talk someone into taking that awful thing off for him.
We did a return trip to Pet Smart today and had very similar results. It appears to be something we will continue to use part time when we are going into a large group where it can be difficult to provide all the attention an aggressive fellow requires.
Tom and the boys (Frank and Tanner)
Most of you are aware that I am working with my newest addition Tanner to overcome some fear aggression problems. Last Saturday I decided we would brave the crowds and venture to Pet Smart for some Santa photo's. Before venturing to Pet Smart we first made a trip to our local feed store to shop for a muzzle. I was looking for a wire muzzle but Tanner needed a size 1 and the store's selection jumped from a 0 to a 2. We tried on a nylon muzzle and ended up taking it.
Our trainer had confirmed the week before what I had suspected. Holding tanner on my knee or in my arm to attempt to socialize him is not a good approach. By holding him he is getting positive reinforcement if he does become aggressive.
We headed to Pet Smart and put the muzzle on just before entering the store. We walked around the store for a long time wearing the boys down then waiting for a slow time at the Santa booth before getting our photos taken. The muzzle came off and I held my breath as I passed Tanner off to Santa. Tanner was not too sure about Santa and was leaning away but he never growled or got aggressive. The muzzle went back on after the photos.
We must have spent close to two hours at Pet Smart and Tanner did very well. He appeared to know he couldn't defend himself if he tried to pick a fight with another dog and only got excited and baked at a couple of dogs. He also was very clingy hugging my ankles and standing between my legs. He was much more open to receiving attention from strangers with the muzzle on. I think we thought he could sweet talk someone into taking that awful thing off for him.
We did a return trip to Pet Smart today and had very similar results. It appears to be something we will continue to use part time when we are going into a large group where it can be difficult to provide all the attention an aggressive fellow requires.
Tom and the boys (Frank and Tanner)