The Story of Fonzie

In preparation for the November 16-17, 2018 ‘Help for your dog’ seminar at 5 Star Dog Training, I am collecting stories from dog guardians willing to share their experiences. This story was written by Julia Morton about her dog, Fonzie.

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We got Fonzie in the fall of 2007. He was a one-year old Russell Terrier – a clean slate who hadn’t been trained to do anything. He was described as being good with other dogs, but that he wouldn’t put up with a bully. In other words, he had already been bullied at his young age. Bullies beget bullies. I should have taken that as a warning of things to come. He did, indeed, start out as appearing to be fine with other dogs. I noticed he had an extremely rough play style, though, and had to be separated frequently from his playmates before he became over-the-top. I also noticed his demeanor toward dogs that were younger than him wasn’t good. HE was the bully, and he appeared to enjoy stirring up trouble. As he grew older, his list of triggers grew longer. By the time he was three years old I realized I could no longer walk him off leash. Greeting other dogs off leash had become a routine of charging toward the dog, circling around and nipping the dog’s neck. There was no play involved. On leash, his reaction to most other dogs involved vocalizing, lunging and baring his teeth. I didn’t know how to handle this behaviour. Clearly, I needed help! We enrolled in a Feisty Fido class where I learned all about classical and counter conditioning. At the same time, I taught him alternate behaviours, such as “whoa!” – meaning turn around quickly and walk in the opposite direction. I was also inclined to react when I saw another dog, so it made sense to train him to expect me to say this cue loudly. We practiced this frequently in my backyard before I ever tried to use it when we saw an actual dog. Another training protocol that became useful was LAT (Look At That by Leslie McDevitt). He quickly learned to look at his triggers then look back at me for a treat. We found a wonderful outdoor class called Breakfast Club, where owners of reactive dogs could meet in an area large enough to practice walking past each other. It was great practice that gradually enabled us to walk closer to each other.Through the Breakfast Club I learned a game called The Pattern Game, which is also by Leslie McDevitt. This was a lightbulb moment for me, as it enabled me to keep moving when we encountered another dog. It involved a rhythmic movement –click, toss the treat, cue to “get it” – all while walking. It normally involved walking three steps while Fonzie found and ate his treat, giving me time to get the next treat ready to toss. With practice and training, Fonzie became a really fun dog to work with. We were able to go on to successfully compete in Rally-O and Agility. Off leash hikes became a reality again as he learned to stop and come to me immediately whenever he saw another dog coming our way. The time and patience it took to accomplish this was well worth it. His quality of life improved, and so did mine!