I’ve finally narrowed down how I plan to go about working with Johnny on his reactive issues. CARE for Reactive Dogs, Relaxation Protocol, Muzzle Training and of course Trick Training. I think each of these work hand in hand and will help him be more rounded and able to handle many different situations. There is so much support from all the different facebook groups and fellow bloggers and having a plan in place has really helped me get excited and motivated to work through this! This afternoon we went on a walk with CARE protocol in mind and it was much less stressful for Johnny, my fiance and myself. Ill post about that later tonight!

The beginning of the CARE Protocol states you should:

C- Consider the Dog’s History

A- Analyze and Arrange

R- Respite and Relaxation

E- Equipment

Johnny’s history? He walks great on leash, doesn’t bark or pull lunging to get at people until they are within his strike zone,

Johnny’s Triggers? Stranger, Dogs, Kids. This is the order we are going to work with him as well. Once he’s calmer around strangers then we’ll work on dogs and then once he’s more reliable try desensitizing him with kids. He doesn’t seem worked up around moving objects or noises which is great! Continue reading →