I know this isn’t the best quality picture, but I just had to share it. This picture shows just how at peace Loker looks right now. This is a face of pure serenity and happiness. It has been a joy having this dog as my teacher, for without him, change would not have happened.
We had a major break through yesterday on our bike ride. Loker used to get all “puffed up” whenever we approached other people. (Puffed up as in hackles up, ears forward, tail super-straight up.) Before I would correct this behavior, which would always make him escalate even more to barking and growling. The new method I am using is clicking and treating every time we see something that is scary or unusual. This way he has developed a positive association with things that were previously scary. On the bike ride yesterday, we rode by several different types of people. Instead of puffing up, he looked at them and his ears went up, but there were no hackles, growling, or barking! I calmly and happily encouraged him to move forward and continue with focusing on the ride with words like “let’s go” and “good boy” to keep his mind focused on coming with me and not focusing other people too intensely. He did so well! I can feel a change in him and he is not as intimidated by strange people anymore with my encouragement.