Click to calm?

I just ordered this book.

This pom I have is one of the most radical dogs that I have ever seen.  This is also my first small dog and I have no clue what I am doing.

I look at this dog and think, thank god Zeus doesn't act like this. Due to his size, he would be deemed dangerous.

So, I look forward to working with the click to calm.

I have this book and really enjoyed it! Emma Parsons gives her information in a straighforward way and there's loads of drills included. In all honesty though, the most influential part for me was the introduction part where she shared the store and revealed her feelings about her dog-aggressive Golden. It's about "healing the aggressive dog" but you can definately apply the same concept to exciteable dogs.
 
The concept is so basic that after reading it, I thought "why on earth couldn't I put these things together" but the book is definately worth it!  Reading this book is a start but there is still lots you need to change as the handler. You need to look at the aggression as a simple behaviour and stop getting upset/stressed when your dog does react.  You have to be prepared to analyze your dog's triggers and comforto zone, then work up to exposing him/her to them (as far away as necessary). You must also be committed to making those drills a part of your everyday life (possible forever).  And I needed friend's to help out by using their dogs to "practice" with.  It does take a lot of work but I did see results almost right away - we just didn't continue to improve at the same rate.  We still have "bad" moments when I didn't read the situation right, or got uptight and I think we always will but this book did give me the confidence to do something about it!

I have that book.  It starts of by explaining the writers experience with her own dog and then goes on to start from the beginning with basic commands like "sit” an on to other commands.  I liked the book and even if you don't use a clicker (I don't) you can still apply what you learn from it to the training.

It's a great, great book. I love every aspect of it, and while it's aimed at aggressive/reactive dogs, there is something in it that could benefit anybody's dog. I bought it specifically for my fearful girl, and have used some of the concepts in it with great success. Really most of the concepts in it are things that most dog owners should do and practice as I do feel that some of these techniques can work to prevent aggression from ever occurring from the beginning.

It's not really "a technique", but rather a multitude of things you can do with your dog, as well as certain behaviours you can teach your dog, to accomplish a long-term goal of changing your dog's aggressive behaviour into acceptable behaviour.

A great read, and a book that has a place on any dog-lover's shelf, aggressive dogs or not.

Kim MacMillan

When I first bring a puppy home I practise "heel" and "sit" in the house and garden.  When I take him for a walk and see a possible trigger, I "heel and sit" and reward the dog (treat) for behaving so well in the presence of the trigger and staying focussed on me.  We keep as far away as possible at first to increase his chances of success.  Gradually that distance decreases and we move to gradually more busy areas.  Is that the sort of thing the book entails (only incorporating a click-treat instead of just a treat? )
 
I was particularly interested by a seemingly common misconception that clicker training is only good for producing enthusiastic, drivey excited behaviour.  I was interested in the whole concept of using a clicker to calm an aggressive/exciteable dog, (the opposite effect).  I know people do it, although I've never used a clicker to achieve it myself.

This book was very helpful for me and I have never used a clicker. I don't see anything wrong with using a clicker I just started my dog's training without it and never saw a need for me to use one. What is great about this book is that you don't need to have a clicker to use the meathods. The concepts alone helped me understad the whys of my dog's behavor. I'm sure if I did use a clicker the resuts would be just as effective or even better than if I didn't use one.

I read Click to Calm and then I read Scaredy Dog, personally I preffer the second one. I felt like Click to Calm was wirtten too much as a recipie book and not enough theory behind it, which is great in some cases, but the short descriptions of "where it might be useful" didn't leave me with the feeling that I could put things into context. Scaredy Dog doesn't have as many step by step techniques, it focuses more in the overall mangement phylosophy for a reactive dog. Ultimately I ended up consulting a behaviourist, the excercises she gave us are pretty much a combination of both books, plus some other stuff that came out of a more clinical type book.

Excitable is exactly how I would describe the pom.

Every time someone goes in and out of a door, he goes into a circling/barking frenzy.  Sometimes he can hold a sit but has to bark through it.

I've never seen anything like it.

The only thing that I can think of is the previous owners kept him locked in a bathroom all day.  So a closing door means who know what to the poor thing.

Sometimes Zeus looks at him like, "I am soooo going to put you out of your misery one of these days"

Hopefully there will be something in there that will help.

Sometimes Zeus looks at him like, "I am soooo going to put you out of your misery one of these days"

Off Topic I know, but that reminded me of my previous dog, a ~200 lb spanish mastiff, cool as a cucumber. There was this yorkie in our neighborhood that thought he was 10ft. tall and bullet proof, his name was "Rambo". Anyways, a couple of times while walking my dog, Rambo would get away from his owner, run straight towards my dog and stop just a foot short of being nose to nose, barking his tiny little lungs out, my dog would look at me like asking "is he serious?".

big dog/small dog interaction can be pretty funny sometimes...