-
“Conditioning through communication” training methods
I have a question – my niece has a pit mix that is around 6 years old that has severe separation anxiety. He destroys the house when put in a room when she leaves (tearing into the drywall, holes in the doors and floors, does not do well in the crate). I recommended a veternarian behavorist that does online consultations and gives a full report after answering questions and uploading videos. The behaviorist recommended about 6 online force free trainers. My niece decided to ask her vet for a trainer instead where she lives because she wants to meet in person. The trainer recommended uses “conditioning through communication” traing methods and tries not to use treats. No aversives either. I am not familiar with this approach. Any advice?
Also this dog has bitten their toy poodle and there is now a 3 month old baby in the house. This dog was rescued from a shelter at about 6-8 months old
Thank you!
Jackie Congdon
-
4 Replies
-
Jackie, I moved your question into a discussion forum so it will stick around a little longer. Folks can jump in here with ideas for you!
-
Hi @JCongdon ,
I’m not familiar with “conditioning through communication” either. Have you scoured his/her website to try to gather more info, including educational background? Could you see if your niece will allow you to contact the trainer directly to ask some questions?Just fyi, based on what you described, this pit mix requires meds, prescribed by someone expert in selecting them for SA and for this particular dog. Has the VB prescribed meds?
I’m sure you’ve already told your niece how absolutely necessary it is to manage exposures between either dog and the baby, and that ZERO unsupervised access is ever allowed. Does she have specific concerns about the pit mix’s behavior around the baby, or is bite to the toy poodle solely driving the concern? Do you know the severity of the bite and the context in which it happened?
There’s a lot going on here. I hope she gets expert, professional support in person.
Virginia -
Thank you for putting my question out there. Yes the dog is on meds prescribed by the vet by recommendations of the behaviorist<font face=”inherit”>. I am digging into this trainer’s philosophy to better understand it. My niece absolutely understands the dog must be supervised at all times. Her husband wants to rehome the dog but she won’t </font>hear<font face=”inherit”> of it. Thank you for sharing your comments and expertise! </font>
-
Ah, that’s hard when there’s not agreement between family members about keeping the dog.
I hope the meds will begin to kick in and be helpful before too long. Please keep us posted on this, @JCongdon . I’m rooting for your niece and this dog’s success.
-
Log in to reply.