Lori is trying to make me something fashionable to wear when we go to Corpus Christ for Realms con in three weeks and realized she forgot to get thread for the jean material! She's a stickler for being frugal so she is trying to make a collar and little paw-wristlets from one of her old work jeans that ripped beyond repair. She now has jean shorts to wear around the house! Dogs are only allowed at the hotel, which I will most likely be the only non-service dog there, but since we will be at an anime and steampunk convention she figured I might as well have some dazzles to fit in when she takes me out to potty and for walks. If she has time and figures out how to make one I'm gonna have a hat though I'm not too sure about that idea!
I have been on several trips with Lori to visit family or take short trips to places like the coast but never to a crowded hotel like during a convention. Lori is packing treats but more importantly small flashlights. When I get spooked or nervous treats don't work with me, even though pros like Cesar Millan says the best way is through a dog's nose. Lori found that my hunting genes did give her a tool to snap me out of it. I can become obsessed with chasing small lights and just the hint of a flick will get my attention and if I focus on it then I'm out of my fear zone. Lori can turn the light off and I forget what made me nervous. She'll most likely have to do this a lot to get me used to the crowds and costumes and give me treat rewards to stay focus on her. But she knows it works, I used to be such a coward and now I can sometimes be too social and demand attention of strangers once I'm comfortable!
I'm finally here! My human is helping me do this comment using her new software that types for her as she speaks, so she can rest her arms from her RSI – it's not bad,huh? But it does still make mistakes and my human has to keep stopping to correct it so it's a bit annoying and very slow – it takes us double the time to do the same thing! So please excuse any funny words or spellings in my comment!
ReplyDeleteI think it's actually very common for lots of doggies to ignore treats when they are feeling too stressy or when they are somewhere that is too exciting and they're too distracted. It's why all those trainers who just believe in shoving treats in our faces don't always get it. My human often finds that it's more helpful for her to give me an instruction – like a command I ready know – when I'm in that kind of state, because it helps to focus my mind and then she can reward me for doing something rather than just trying to stuff treats in my face. I think your human found something that works for you and that's good. As long as you've got something to help you focus and calm down – and then she can reward you for the CALM behaviour – then that works too! Good luck! I think it's great that your human is still trying to socialise you to crowds and those kinds of environments.
Slobbers,
Honey the Great Dane