Training Howard

Howard's training consists of multiple daily sessions of operant conditioning with positive reinforcement that mainly focus on desensitization. On his first day, we spent about eight hours (with lots of breaks in between) working on doorways. It took something like an hour and forty five minutes for him to walk through his first doorway and come into the house.

Today, doorways are a matter of course, and Howard walks through them both of his own accord and on command with little fuss. The only time they become an issue is when he encounters a traffic jam of canines trying to pass through a doorway at once. He doesn't like to linger in passages, so he will hop over everyone else and bound ahead. He can jump over Jackson with all four feet without even coming close to touching him. Jackson is not a small dog.

Right now, Howard's main training involves practicing looking at a leash, collar, or other similar threatening object and then getting treats. David and I drape the leash or other rope-like Scary Thing over our wrist and offer a treat. Howard will only approach the Scary Thing for a very high value treat. It is not hard to find Scary Things around the house. Anything that vaguely resembles a leash or collar will do--a tiny kitten collar with a bell attached, a shoe lace, a hair tie, and a piece of ribbon are all Scary Things. We also spend time taking Scary Things--even real collars and leashes--and attaching them to other pets, buckling and unbuckling them and jingling tags while ignoring Howard and praising whomever is having their collar adjusted. Our dogs enjoy this a lot since they already like having their collars adjusted, so this is a free reward for them.

Another part of Howard's training is the "Let's Put This Thing Over Our Head" game. This game involves putting objects that are not Scary Things over the heads of various members of the household, including Howard. Objects that are not Scary Things include blankets, towels, and t-shirts, among other things. Howard is pretty good at this game.

Meanwhile, Howard's personality is emerging as an affectionate, obedient, gentleman of a dog. He loves contact with humans and other animals, and interacts politely with both. He's a good communicator, and it's pretty easy to understand him and get him to understand us now, though a lot of his language with humans is different from most dogs. (That will probably be the subject of another post.) He definitely enjoys being with people,  likes to snuggle on the couch when we call him up there, and sleeps happily on the big dog bed that we keep at the foot of our bed. He's lovely inside the house with no interest in chewing or marking. In short, he's a terrific dog that's been trained to have some very specific fears, so our job will just be to retrain those.

Welcome Howard

The kittens all went to homes several months ago now, and after that, I needed a break. They had eaten all of my house plants and left their marks on my furniture, and I needed time to make repairs and allow for regrowth. Then there was a busy time at work which just didn't allow me the time for fostering, so I told the powers that be at the rescue I'm most involved with that I had to have a break. Of course, that didn't stop requests from coming from people and animals needing help, and those kept coming every day. Then, the time came when I could actually answer those requests, and the most immediate and demanding was for Howard the dog.

Howard is a Great Dane, and an exceptionally tall one. He might be the tallest dog that we've ever had.

Howard was abused. It would not be inaccurate to say that he was tortured. Some guy owned him and decided to "train" him with an electro shock collar. I don't know exactly what happened. Some part of that training involved dragging Howard by the collar toward a boundary and shocking him repeatedly, then dragging him back and doing it again. I've also heard that he used a leash to beat Howard. I didn't see it and I never met the guy and hopefully never will. A vet tech with diplomatic skills that should be used in the Middle East stopped Howard's first owner when he came in looking for a stronger shock collar because he thought the one he had wasn't working since the dog wouldn't "obey." She convinced him to give her the dog. She deserves an award.

The end result was a very giant, very nice dog with an extreme pathological terror of passing through doorways or being held by the leash. If you put a leash on Howard and he thinks you might lead him to a doorway, he will flop down on the ground like a 165lb dead fish and will press his neck as hard as he can into the ground to prevent a collar being put around his neck.

I went to pick him up from the vet's office earlier this week expecting a dog like the other abused dogs that I've handled. I thought that he might be spooked but that I could handle him by being gentle but assertive, and sending him plenty of calming signals. I imagined myself gently slipping a lead over his head and leading  him around.

Nope. That was not happening. He became terrified if someone touched his collar and would run away.

He is big, strong, and toothy enough that he should command plenty of respect. Fortunately he is a really nice dog, but it is prudent not to push that. Howard doesn't choose to pin me to the ground and drag me places, so I am not going to do that to him.