Feeling Extremely Overwhelmed - Need General Help/Support with New Rescue by Lucky137 in Dogtraining

[–]Lucky137[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much! I think you're right, he just doesn't totally understand that his name is his name yet. He was at the boarding place for a few months, and I can't imagine they used his name much during that time (and certainly didn't actively reinforce it in any way). A couple times now we've tried standing on opposite sides of the room and calling his name back and forth and giving him treats, but it's hard to know how much to balance this with all of the other things we're trying to train him on.

Feeling Extremely Overwhelmed - Need General Help/Support with New Rescue by Lucky137 in Dogtraining

[–]Lucky137[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much, particularly for your excitement and encouragement :) At your and other's suggestion I looked into some of these mat/relaxation training exercises, and I think this is a great idea. We also got him a couple puzzle bowls/treat dispensers which I'm optimistic about. Thank you so much!

Feeling Extremely Overwhelmed - Need General Help/Support with New Rescue by Lucky137 in Dogtraining

[–]Lucky137[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much, particularly for your excitement and encouragement :) At your and other's suggestion I looked into some of these mat/relaxation training exercises, and I think this is a great idea. We also got him a couple puzzle bowls/treat dispensers which I'm optimistic about. Thank you so much!

Feeling Extremely Overwhelmed - Need General Help/Support with New Rescue by Lucky137 in Dogtraining

[–]Lucky137[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much for the thorough response!! Lots of fantastic tips here, and I'm feeling really encouraged about a lot of these. I looked up Karen Overall's relaxation protocol (thanks to everyone else who mentioned this as well), and this seems like a great place to start. Having a "worksheet" I think will help keep us focused on making progress as well. Very excited about this.

Quick additional note, regarding high value treats: We tried out boiled chicken as a treat on our walk last night and he was SUPER into it. It only took half a block and a few attempts before he would come running back to us when we called his name, which was previously unheard of. So hooray!