[misc.handicap] Wimp-dog

Carla.Campbell@f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org (Carla Campbell) (12/04/90)

Index Number: 12154

[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

Hi, peoples. A question for yous:

Y'all might remember my talking about my wonderful mutt-guide, Chance
(aka Furrface, Fuzzy Fanny, etc). As I have gloated on previous
occasions, he is a fantastic guide.  He's also quite a character, if a
well-behaved one.

Recently, though, I have noticed a growing problem.  He is _terribly_
afraid of sharp 'cracking' noises-- fireworks, circus-animal tamer-type
bull whips (in a circus setting! sheesh! Get yer minds back outa that
gutter!), gunshots, etc.  He used to just sort of quiver when he heard
such sharp cracks, but he has taken to violently shaking and trying to
hide or run away from them.   The other night we were at the theater,
and two blanks were fired onstage. I thought he was going to tear up the
seats, trying to crawl under them to hide.  Even Scott playing with
Silly Putty and popping the bubbles in it makes him start to shiver and
hide under my desk.  He has not always been _this_ unsettled by such
sounds.

He is unphased by cars back-firing, loud drums, screeching synthesizer
noises, drills, motorbikes, etc. But his fear of the sharp noises seems
to be getting worse. I have no idea what made him so scared of these
things, as he has never been hurt by anything like that while I have had
him, and yet it is getting to the point of being a problem.  I hate to
see him so petrified and, while I can still control him, it is awkward
in theater situations, and the like.  I hate to think of what he would
do if he was actively, rather than passively working when something like
that 'went off' near him. As I have said, he has not always been
skittish like this about these noises-- he spent his first 4 working
years in the theater, where he heard many blanks being fired, and gave
them little notice.  But now I am afraid he will give himself a heart
attack quivering and drooling in terror the way he does.

I pet him and try to reassure him throughout such things as fireworks
displays, but he seems 'beyond reach' when he really gets upset like
that. I try, also, to keep him out of such situations, but the
occasional sound like that is inevitable if you go to fairs and shows,
and I don't relish the thought of limiting my activities to those which
are sharp-noise free.Does anyone have any advice on breaking him of
this?  Would increased exposure to these sounds with accompanying praise
help, or would it just make him worse?  Any advice would be greatly
appreciated.

On a happier note, we discovered today that he _loves_ to go 'biking'.
Scott and I rented a tandem bike down by the beach (we are in Los
Angeles, visiting relatives over the 4-day weekend).  We rode, and I
looped the leash around my wrist. Chance ran alongside and enjoyed the
romp. He was _great_ about not running in front of the bike, behind it,
or pulling to the side. I just called directions to him when we were
about to turn, and turn, he did. He, as when working, ignored the dogs
and children about, and ran alongside us, just at the end of his long
leash, but with it slightly slack.  We had to stop and let him rest more
than we would have stopped if we had left him behind, but for an
almost-nine-year-old pooch, he did quite well-- hardly got winded.  We
stopped two or three times in the mile or so we rode, and he seemed to
love it, romping alongside us and wagging the old tail and tongue in the
 breeze.

 I was, frankly, surprised at how well it worked. I was worried that 'ya
just can't teach old dogs new tricks', and was prepared to forgo the
biking if it looked like it would be dangerous or unpleasant for the
mutt. Now I wanna run out and get that bike I've been talking about for
a year and a half. <grin> Of course, we'd have to limit ourselves to
one-mile trips with frequent stops if we took 'im along... that, or get
a baby trailer for him! (Just kidding! Just kidding! Don't everyone leap
at me at once screaming 'canine torture!"-- for that, I have Silly
Putty. <sigh>)

                                              --Carla

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William.Wilson@f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org (William Wilson) (12/05/90)

Index Number: 12231

[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

 CC> Recently, though, I have noticed a growing problem.  He is 
 CC> _terribly_ afraid of sharp 'cracking' noises-- fireworks, 
 CC> circus-animal tamer-type bull whips (in a circus setting! 
 CC> sheesh! Get yer minds back outa that gutter!), gunshots, etc.  
 CC> He used to just sort of quiver when he heard such sharp cracks, 
 CC> but he has taken to violently shaking and trying to hide or run 
 CC> away from them.

Carla,
    I know someone who had a similar problem to this with their guide
dog, and this is basically the advice she got from Seeing Eye...
    Since this is a fear response, it wouldn't be wise to punish it as
it is occuring.  Likewise, it would only reinforce the behavior if you
praised chance when he reacted this way to the noise.  Therefore, about
the only thing you can do is calm him when it occurs as quickly as
possible and praise him when he is totally at peace again.

     Personally, however, I would look into purchasing ear plugs, or
perhaps a WalkMan tuned to a station normally only heard in elevators
and dentist offices!
                                        Willie
 

... Like a bat out of Bellevue!

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Carla.Campbell@f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org (Carla Campbell) (12/05/90)

Index Number: 12270

[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

 
 WW> Therefore, about the only thing you
 WW>  can do is calm him when it occurs as quickly as possible and 
 WW>  praise him when he is totally at peace again.

Thanks for the advice, Wilie-- that makes sense to me. It just eats me
up to see him so terrified at those times, but there is just no way to
totally avoid those situations.

 WW>      Personally, however, I would look into purchasing ear 
 WW>  plugs, or perhaps a WalkMan tuned to a station normally only 
 WW>  heard in elevators and dentist offices!

Hahahah! There ya go: "K D O G, the station your dog can snooze to!" Can
you see him 'cruisin' down the street, with his walkman (walkdog?)
strapped to his harness, little stereo headphones perched atop his fuzzy
head?

"C'mon, Chance, let me use the dual headphone jack, and we can play a
little Jefferson Airplane... trust me, you'll love this.."

hehheh.

                                                --Carla

... I'm the kind of person my mother warned me about

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Dan.Kysor@f999.n203.z1.fidonet.org (Dan Kysor) (12/05/90)

Index Number: 12289

[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

sorry about that problem with your dog.  i would hazzard that deliberate 
exposure to these sharp noises with praise "may" help or hinder and make the 
situation worse.  this question is uniquely up to that pooch and is an 
individual problem with no pat answer.  sorry if that's not what you wanted to 
here.  my guess is the dog's stress tolerance is lowering and you should 
contact your guide dog instruction department for help in this matter.  my 
golden retreaver developed a simular problem when he was about 6 years old.  a 
couple of years later, he simply wouldn't guide for me anymore because of 
stress, i.e., city noises simply got to him.  i don't think there was anything 
i could do about it... let us know how the situation develops, hope someone 
can help more than i can... dan, out of sight, out of my mind!

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annesit@Eng.Sun.COM (Anne Sitterud) (12/08/90)

Index Number: 12419

Before doing anything else, I would have the dog's ears checked by a
vet.  It seems his sensitivity has been increasing, which is an indication
of a possible increased hearing sensitivity, which could have a physical
cause.  The high pitched noises could be causing him pain, which would
account for his increased fear.
--
Anne Sitterud
annesit@thestables

debbie@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (Debbie Forest) (12/10/90)

Index Number: 12421

In article <16069@bunker.UUCP> Carla.Campbell@f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org writes:
>Y'all might remember my talking about my wonderful mutt-guide, Chance
>Recently, though, I have noticed a growing problem.  He is _terribly_
>afraid of sharp 'cracking' noises-- fireworks, circus-animal tamer-type
>bull whips (in a circus setting! sheesh! Get yer minds back outa that
>are sharp-noise free.Does anyone have any advice on breaking him of
[Text deleted]
>this?  Would increased exposure to these sounds with accompanying praise
>help, or would it just make him worse?  

i STILL can't figure out how to email successfully to you fidonet
people (either that or my mail goes through but noone ever answers
me :-) so i guess i have to post this.

first off, you are making a big (but extremely common) mistake.
you shouldn't be comforting him while he is afraid.  dog's minds
don't work the way ours do.  to him what you are doing is praising
him for being afraid.  so by comforting him you are actually
encouraging his behavior.  probably the best thing to do when he is
off in a total panic like that is just ignore him.  if you have to
do something, them make a correction.

now to get him to quit acting that way you have to condition him to
the sound that bothers him.  i have a dog who is TERRIFIED of
thunder.  i'll tell you how the experts suggest you correct this,
the same method should work with your loud noises.

1) make a tape recording of the sounds that bother him.  

2) make sure he IS afraid of the sounds on the tape recording.
play it back nice and loud and make sure he reacts to them.  if
not, try again with step 1, or maybe with a better quality
recording.

3) when the dog is calm and happy, play back the recording VERY
softly.  probably soft enough that you can hardly hear it.  if the
dog reacts, quit, and next time play it even softer.  if he doesn't
react with fear, PRAISE him, play with him, pet him, feed him...
whatever he likes.  make him feel HAPPY with that sound going VERY
soft.

4) every day (if possible, less frequently if needed) play back the
recording just like in step 2, PRAISING him every time he is good.
each day make it just a teeny bit louder.  if he reacts at all
badly, shut it off, then the next day play it softer again.

5) eventually you will get him to the point where you can play it
very loudly and he won't react to it.  by then the noises
themselves shouldn't bother him either.  every time he is around
the noises that did bother him without him acting afraid, praise
him.  if you find a particular noise that still bothers him, make a
new tape that will include just whatever noises still bother him
and proceede like before.

kathyj@pase70.Convergent.Com (Kathy Johnson) (12/10/90)

Index Number: 12427

In article <16147@bunker.UUCP> William.Wilson@f89.n129.z1.fidonet.org writes:
|Index Number: 12231
|
|
| CC> Recently, though, I have noticed a growing problem.  He is 
| CC> _terribly_ afraid of sharp 'cracking' noises-- fireworks, 
| CC> circus-animal tamer-type bull whips (in a circus setting! 
| CC> sheesh! Get yer minds back outa that gutter!), gunshots, etc.  
| CC> He used to just sort of quiver when he heard such sharp cracks, 
| CC> but he has taken to violently shaking and trying to hide or run 
| CC> away from them.
|
|Carla,
|    I know someone who had a similar problem to this with their guide
|dog, and this is basically the advice she got from Seeing Eye...
|    Since this is a fear response, it wouldn't be wise to punish it as
|it is occuring.  Likewise, it would only reinforce the behavior if you
|praised chance when he reacted this way to the noise.  Therefore, about
|the only thing you can do is calm him when it occurs as quickly as
|possible and praise him when he is totally at peace again.
| 
|
I don't know where you could get more information, but a few years ago 
I heard about how hunters desensitize their dogs to gunshots.  If you 
contacted your local shooting range, they might be able to put you 
in contact with somebody who could tell you what methods they use 
to desensitize dogs to the normal hunting sounds.  Good Luck!

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Kathy M. Johnson			Unisys has, takes, or claims 
Unisys, San Jose			absolutely no responsibility
					for this posting.

Paula.Mack@f210.n273.z1.fidonet.org (Paula Mack) (01/04/91)

Index Number: 12644

[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

 CC> she got attacked by a pit bull or something like that a few 
 CC> weeks back and she needed some time and medical attention. The 
 CC> good news is that she is ok and she also wasn't going to take 
 CC> any crap from another dog either; she got her German shepherd 
 CC> instincts working pretty fast and gave the pit bull some of its 
 CC> own medicine.     In any event, I am working on getting the law 
 CC> amended to provide serious costs to owners of dogs who can't 
 CC> control them and a "service dog"
 CC> is injured by their neglect. I understand such a law is in 
 CC> effect in New York and we are checking it out.

That is a really good idea.  Where I live in Rhode Island, all the dogs
run around loose, and both my dog and my husband's dogs have been jumped
a couple of times.  there was even an article in the paper about six
months ago about a man who came to visit our town for a day with his
guide dog.  While he was here, a pack of dogs attacked and seriously
injured his dog.  the dog was so traumatized by what happened that his
work was seriously impaired, and he required remedial training.

I don't think most people understand how dangerous loose dogs can be not
only to guide dogs, but also to small children.  Good luck with your
efforts.

Paula

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