Harnessing excitement in dog training and understanding arousal lets you create better focus from your dog! Whether your dog gets over the top or seems super laid back, knowing their emotional pathway and what you can do to help them get in the optimal zone will make a world of difference to your training and life with your dog.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
- How understanding arousal levels can improve your dog’s performance in training.
- The impact of the Yerkes-Dodson Law on dog behavior and anxiety.
- Practical strategies to harness and manage excitement during training sessions.
- Insights into recognizing different emotional states in dogs.
- Techniques to help calm an over-aroused dog during training.
- The importance of building a strong relationship with your dog for effective training.
- How to create a balanced training environment for your dog
- Tips for identifying the signs of an overly excited dog and how to bring them back to a calm state.
Recallers Opportunity:
Write to us at wag@dogsthat.com with the subject line Pathways.
Resources:
- Podcast Episode 86: How to Train Unmotivated or Overexcited Dogs
- Podcast Episode 88: Barrier Frustration: Help for Fence Fighting, Leash, Reactivity and Window Guarding
- Podcast Episode 109: Project Calm Dog: Prevent Over Enthusiastic Greetings
- Podcast Episode 219: Self- Regulation Helping Shy, Hyper, Anxious Or Fearful Dogs To A Better Life
- Podcast Episode 191: Get Your Dog To Calm Down With This Common Sense Protocol For Relaxation
- YouTube Playlist: Target Training for Dogs with Susan Garrett
- YouTube Video: Understanding Your Dog’s Reinforcement Zone (RZ) with Susan Garrett
- ItsYerChoice Summit
- Crate Games Online
- Watch this Episode of Shaped by Dog on YouTube
Episode 284 says so much about my GSD, Riley. She goes from zero to 100 in a heartbeat. When she gets focused, she truly does not hear me. I realized this one day when I was playing ball with her, and it started thundering. She is not a fan of thunder. She usually gets very close to me, but because she was so focused on her ball, she truly did not hear the thunder. She just wanted to play ball. Another instance we were playing ball and instead of collar grab or asking her to sit or down, I asked her to spin. Spin is her “go to” move. She spins to go outside or at her food bowl, or anytime she can’t figure out what I want, she figures spin is a good move. I’d never asked her to spin when we were playing ball, so she acted like she had never heard the word before. That really surprised me. We usually only train for short periods because she gets frustrated which gets her over excited. She is hyper alert even when she’s sleeping. She’s not a puppy…she’s 7 years old, so definitely not going to calm down with age. I’ve had her about 4 years. I’ve been using Susan’s training programs for a couple of years now. I wish I had known about the programs when I first got her. I probably could have avoided making some of her issues worse. We are doing much better. I am still not even close to being more exciting than the squirrel or the cat, but we’re working on it. At least I now have a better understanding of where she’s coming from and how I can work with her. We need to work on relaxation!