Debbie Tails #2P - Learning Calm Greetings

 Working on my calm greeting exercise at the Foster Dog Alliance

Jen!  A new person! That means I get to greet and jump and go wild.  Click. Oh, now I remember I'm at my Foster Dog Alliance class.  For weeks now Sarah Stoycos has been teaching me a new way of greeting people....a calm way of greeting people.  The click I just heard was a signal that I'm doing good.  As part of positive reinforcement training, I get a "click" followed by a treat for my choosing to stay calm.  Although I was on the brink of jumping up, I was actually still laying down and in position so that earned me a click-treat.  A perfectly timed click-treat can not only reward me, but can also help me stay focused.  

I'm now a pro at this exercise with the main trainer Sarah Stoycos.  It seemed impossible at first as I used to be so jumpy but expert  Sarah knew that if I could lay down and hold it together while she was far away that little by little I'd be able to maintain that same level of self control closer up.

Starting at 20-30 feet away, when trainer Sarah saw I was laying down, she'd very very slowly start approaching me, pausing to stop from time to time and never looking directly at me as she knew eye contact was prone to excite me.  She would often side step or walk backwards to me which was less likely to rev me up.  Every time I looked at her but didn't bolt, I'd get a click and treat.  In the event that I'd get too excited and lunge and jump up, my foster mom would use a cue such as "touch", "with me", or "let's go", followed by "lay down", to lure me to my starting point.  Sarah said it was important not to yank me, but rather to let me use my brain.  If I did bolt, Sarah would move out of range and turn her back to me, thus not giving me the satisfaction of jumping on her.

It became obvious how close Sarah could get to me before I'd have trouble holding it together. At that point, instead of continuing to slowly, ever so slowly, move toward me, she'd casually stand in place and look away from me.  Her body language was calm which helped me. Sometimes almost 5 minutes would pass between the time she started and when she ventured into the "zone".  She knew the advantages of taking it slow.

We learned that the hard work came when Sarah was on the boundary of "the zone" (a little over 3 feet from me).  I'd get a click-treat for continuing to lay down, remaining calm.  Sarah would watch my body language and wait until my body was less tense and my breathing wasn't as rapid before taking a mini side step towards me.  At the beginning, it was not uncommon for me to spring up three separate times (with me being recalled and re-positioned before each new try).  Still, this gave feedback.

Once I settled in, conditioned to what was expected of me, Sarah was able to fully approach me from the side, come down on the floor to my level, and gently stroke me.   Success! I got to the point where I'd see Sarah across the room and instinctively lay down!!

Now I see Jen.  I just got a click-treat for continuing to lay down and for remaining calm.  Jen's doing a great job.  She's approaching from the side, avoiding direct eye contact with me.   I try to stay calm but I just can't help it.  I spring up and try to jump on her.  She expertly takes a step away from me.  My foster mom instinctively recalls me with the cue "touch" (boy, by now I've given my foster mom lots of practice at this).  Once we are all re-positioned  Jen takes a mini step towards me, I get a click-treat and then I signal I'm ready for a greeting.  I roll on my side and lift my back leg.  That's my sign that I'm ready for a belly rub!  Yeah!  Success!  And that belly rub sure felt good for both Jen and myself.

It took a lot of repetition with this exercise, and a lot of willing greeters, such as Jen.  But it worked!  And this how I learned calm greetings!