Bombs Bursting in Air

A shorter one, this time.

I don't know about your city, but Oakland on and around July 4th lights up with pyrotechnic artillery about a week prior and several days after. Pretty much around sundown each day, our neighborhood echoes from block to block with the snap, crackle pop of contraband fireworks of all caliber. Sometimes we climb up on our roof to watch the major explosives our neighbors somehow get hold of, and usually give it up eventually after a bottle rocket whizzes too close past our heads.

Dog-wise, I kind of wanted to try and nip this one in the bud. Mine doesn't do the catatonic hiding-in-the-closet shivering thing that I know some dogs do, so I can't claim any kind of miracle working, but he does hackle and puff every time stuff goes off. And, well, I don't want a dog afraid of  noises. Today when the kids started up, I took him out back, hitched him to a post, and brought out a bunch of tasty meat scraps. Every time firecrackers started: push for food. I got the timing down to where I'd hear the start of the whistle, have him strain on the lead for the food, and then let him get it just as the "pop" went off. Fireworks mean success. We ran out of food and I switched to having him bite a tug and having him "speak." Fireworks mean, bite the tug. After a while I unhitched him, played a little, let him carry the tug around, and called it a session. I think I spent all of ten minutes, and now he is much calmer. I wish I had started this three days ago, because I'm pretty confident that by tomorrow we'd have it solved. But he's not hackling at the fireworks anymore.

It's satisfying, because the reason these tools were so readily available to me is that I've spent the better part of a year opening those channels. Laszlo now is able to feel that particular context: "oh, this is that thing where I solve the problem by pushing for food/biting/etc." It feels good to him because it is familiar, surmountable. And I've come to realize that ALL good dog training consists of showing the dog again and again and again, "this is where your energy goes. This is where your energy goes. This is where your energy goes." A million times. Like playing scales, until eventually your fingers get stronger.

So, kids, push with your dog and play tug, and when you BBQ tomorrow save some hot dogs for training the pooch. You don't really want to eat those things anyway.