Ranger

In Ranger's owner's own words:

"When I first met Ranger, a Shepherd/Lab/Akita, he was 80lbs of unbridled energy, mixed with large quantities of anxiety. Super smart, enthusiastic, affectionate with people, and largely untrained, he had had four homes and three long shelter stays in his 6 years of life. He was 24 hours from euthanasia due to kennel aggression, when he was placed in foster care with me.

I had had little experience of working with aggression and reactivity in dogs before Ranger came into my life, and actively avoided dogs with these problems. They scared me too much. Ranger’s big problem was other dogs, especially on leash. When confronted with the sight of another dog, even at a distance of three or four blocks, he would go into a silent frenzy, pulling, lunging, salivating. It was as if a switch had been flipped, and he no longer seemed to hear or see anything except the other dog. He certainly paid no attention to me, an inconsequential human flailing at the other end of the leash.

At first, I thought that I would do some basic training with Ranger and that that would sort out his aggression problem, or that he would be adopted and become someone else’s problem. I did not want to deal with an aggressive, hard-to-manage dog. I was still grieving for my beloved old dog who had died recently. But no-one even inquired about Ranger. Working with him every day, I began to bond with him, enjoy his nature, and see him as a friend and teacher instead of a problem. I decided to adopt him.

I jumped, like a cartoon character off a cliff, and once I was in mid-air and couldn’t turn back…. whoaoaoao!!! I found out what I was in for… the long haul, where things don’t get magically fixed, where there are lots of ups and downs, where I have to learn more than I ever bargained for, find courage, persistence and patience I think I don’t have, and change myself, not just my dog!

The first thing that helped me on this journey was getting support from knowledgeable, non-judgmental people. I consulted a dog trainer who was highly recommended by trusted friends, used positive training methods, and had experience working with aggressive dogs. Ranger and I had a few private sessions with her and her dogs, and then went to a beginner’s training class. Later we also did a beginning level agility class with her. She was always willing to answer questions in between sessions, and helped us deal with our fears and uncertainties. She never pushed us, saw the potential and beauty in Ranger when I just saw a problem dog, helped us to go slower rather than faster, and was encouraging of small successes. She was also very savvy about managing dog-dog dynamics in class. Ranger stayed behind a barrier in the class until he was confident and calm enough to be with the group. Also she made sure there were no accidental interactions between dogs in class.

The other most helpful thing I did was joining the K-9 aggression e-group. It was great to have a place where I could express my feelings and ask for information and support. I also kept a kind of journal – still do. It is not particularly regular, but I maintain a file on my computer where I write down what Ranger is learning, how he is doing, and what I am experiencing and learning. Sometimes it is encouraging to look back and see that we have come further than I think.

I read a lot and continue to read what I can on dealing with aggression problems, positive training methods, healthy diet, how dogs learn and communicate, you name it…! I know that’s not for everyone, to get so gung-ho about things, and it can be confusing, reading too much. But I think it does help to take a holistic approach – to do as much as we can to try and understand how dogs think and learn, and find out what makes them feel safe, well and comfortable in the world (instead of just focusing on “fixing” the aggressive behavior.

At first my expectations of Ranger were way too high, confusing him and frustrating me. I tried to go too far too fast, which set us back sometimes. I wish I had known earlier what I have now found out from experience – I read it so many times, but it didn’t sink in till I really tried it. Going SLOWLY, breaking things down into small steps, setting goals which the dog can reach, training in short (as short as 3-5 min), fun sessions, and training often – these all proved much more effective than longer “military style” training sessions. I still get amazed by how much a dog can learn in a short amount of time (especially if the experience is positive, if dog and handler are relaxed, if signals are given clearly and calmly, and if rewards that the dog really likes are used). The other thing I learned was that if we end a training session on a positive note, a lot of learning takes place in between sessions. I find that when I come back to something we have been working on before, Ranger sometimes does better than he did when we left off.

One of the scariest things for me when walking Ranger was surprise encounters with unleashed dogs, and after getting some good advice from the trainer and the K-9 aggression list, I tried some things which gave me more confidence and enabled me to notice my role in the situation. These included using a gentle leader, walking on streets where I could see well ahead, avoiding close encounters by turning Ranger away from an oncoming dog BEFORE it was close enough for Ranger to start reacting, and rewarding Ranger for doing what I asked. Having a plan for what to do if a dog came up to us off leash (including rehearsing what I would call out to the dog’s owner) also helped me feel more prepared.

Most of all attending to my own state of relaxation and confidence (or lack of it) seemed to be a key thing – whatever I was feeling always transmitted itself to Ranger, and was sometimes harder to change than his behavior. So for me, working with Ranger’s reactivity has also meant dealing with me. I gradually saw how tense and scared I was, or how I was being a perfectionist or ambitious for his success. I saw how much my own attitude and body language affected him. Here is an excerpt from one of my posts to the list which tells a story about this:

Today I tried something different when I was walking Ranger. It was anyway a beautiful day, full of sunshine and spring blossoms - which helped the general mood of the day … as I walked along I deliberately relaxed my shoulders, arms, face, let my body go loose like a gumby doll… Then I had a realization – my left arm/hand (holding the leash nearest to my dog) was always slightly stiff and straight, communicating my tension about me and Ranger “getting it right”. So I let that go loose and relaxed.

Then another realization – if I let him, Ranger is training me – to relax, be alert, be more “in” my body etc! I have been so focused on him “getting it right” – instead, I could focus on me – am I relaxed? What is my body doing? Every time he stiffens, or pulls slightly, it is my cue to check myself and relax even more. He needs me to be relaxed, I need him to relax and learn the things that will make him safe and happy living in the human world.

So it made me think that training is in fact a mutual process, once I accept the responsibility of being a leader. He is teaching me about me and him, I am teaching him about him and me. I think good leadership is probably always a mutual process in the end – you must be responsive to whom you are leading, otherwise you won’t be accepted or effective. …

Anyway, there I was relaxing and philosophizing -- we kept walking, the sun was shining, we saw a dog or two about a block away – we turned, no big deal. Walked on – then suddenly there was a dog, who had come out of a house with his person, and was heading to us from behind about 20 feet away. Just a little dog, with not much conviction. His person called him right away and he stopped. Ranger saw him, turned to face him, stiffened, pulled a little – and then responded to me turning his head away (he was wearing a gentle leader), and saying “Ranger, Look !” to ask for eye contact with me. Then he settled down in a minute or two, no lunging and carrying on. He got a big treat, and I walked home singing.

That was one of our earlier breakthroughs. It’s 9 months since Ranger came to live with me. His problems aren’t all solved, we are still working on things together. He is basically a happy, healthy dog who is learning at 7 years old what he should have begun to learn when he was 7 months old – how to focus his abundant energy and relax. He is a much less anxious dog than he was. Deference and relaxation protocols, along with lots of love, things to learn, fun and exercise, have made his world more calm, consistent, and secure. Other dogs on leash are still difficult for him, but less so, and I think we trust each other more to manage the situation so nothing “bad” happens. Having put some management strategies in place, and worked on basic training and trust, I am trying to work more with behavioral modification as well, but this is new for us and we are going slowly.

There have been times when I have regretted making the decision to adopt Ranger, and times when I still feel frustrated, angry, afraid, overwhelmed, inadequate, scared, freaked out, or despairing. Days when I am too tired or too busy and feel I am letting Ranger down. There are also times when I celebrate the tiniest breakthrough as though I have won the lottery! And days when I feel so lucky to be with such an amazing being as Ranger. I know every person, every dog, and the relationship between them, is unique, but I hope some of what I have shared about my experience with Ranger is useful for others too. "

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