Spending time in uncertainty

Riding the elevator on our way to the walk

Lucia is used to walking about the Bravern at lunch time. When Lucia first came to me I walked her solo, but she quickly moved to walking with my dogs. At first we walked Lucia with one of my dogs and alternated who that dog was, so one day she'd walk with Maya and the other with Sappho. Usually all three dogs walk together now, but I decided to walk Lucia solo so we could do a confidence building exercise.

Let's go Momma!

It took a couple weeks for Lucia to adjust to the amount of people and the loud cars and trucks that roar up 8th Ave, but she worked through her discomfort and has come to really enjoy her walks.  She still will occasionally pause and watch people, or sniff at them as they pass by, and I give her as much time as she needs. Allowing a dog who is fearful or insecure to information gather via looking, sniffing, or even touching until they indicate they are ready to move on is one way to help that dog become more secure in their environment.

Lucia pauses to information gather via watching and sniffing. 

She is done information gathering and ready to move on.

Lucia is a dog who is most comfortable on the floor, and rarely will jump up on objects like furniture or benches. While it doesn't matter if she wants to hang out on the floor or the couch, we have been working on increasing her comfort off the ground as a means of boosting her overall confidence. Her insecurity comes from feeling that she will get trapped and not be able to escape, so we encourage her to jump on objects and remain there, but always allow her the freedom to jump off and move away if she wishes.

Yesterday we practiced building her confidence by asking her to sit on the short wall surrounding the planted sections while people passed by. I never physically place her up on an object because I am taking away her choice if I do so. Instead, I cue her to "Up!" and ask her to "Wait" on the wall. If she didn't do the behavior there is no consequence besides not getting rewarded.

We start the exercise. She is uncomfortable but giving it a try.

You can see the tightness in her face, the ears back or to the side, and the worried look in her eyes. I was standing in front of her giving her treats every few seconds and constant praise.

A person passes by.

At any point Lucia could have jumped off the wall. If she does so I stop treating her but otherwise there is no consequences or corrections. I am asking Lucia to move outside of her comfort zone a little bit and spend some time in that discomfort, but this is voluntary on Lucia's part. She gets great things (food, praise) if she participates, but if she doesn't want to participate then that is ok.

Such a brave girl - she's really working hard at working through her discomfort.

Lucia really did fantastic. A coworker who Lucia has never met came up and asked me some questions about her. Before I could intervene, he reached over and petted her back. I responded by jackpotting Lucia the entire time he was touching her to reinforce her tolerating the touch.

She is reaching her limit.

After the unexpected petting, we spent a few more seconds on the wall and then I invited her to hop down. She spent about three minutes sitting on the wall with people passing by and even being touched, and I wanted to give her a break and a chance to settle herself without pushing her to the point of feeling the need to completely exit the situation.

On the move again!

Great job Lucia! I am so proud of her bravery and willingness to go along with my silly requests!