The key that Amy emphasized over and above all others was sequence: Gunfire predicts good things, not the other way around.
Amy, of course, was not the only one on DogTrek offering helpful insights this training. But for some reason, the easy authority with which she explained what we needed to do was especially helpful. This really came through when I posted about an unsuccessful attempt to apply her advice yesterday, and she replied with yet another clear, relaxed post that set aside my concerns and again showed the path we needed to follow.
So this morning, Lumi and I went out for another session, armed with a crystal ball provided by Amy that showed success in our future. Confidence is a great thing.
Based on what little I had learned from previous sessions, and guided by Amy's suggestions, here's how today's session went. For each point, I've also added my subjective evaluation about what mattered with respect to our D&CC training, and what did not:
- We went to a location where hunting is permitted, rather than continuing to hope that no one would hear us and report us at one of the other places we had tried. Our new location happened to be a muddy and heavily wooded area surrounding a "river", actually no more than a stream. Do I think the location mattered? Not really, but I guess it's possible Lumi was more comfortable in the woods than some of the more open areas we had tried before.
- Lumi and I had a lot of company. Dave and his girlfriend Heather, Brookie the Cookie, and Dave's MinPin Athena all took one route through the woods, while Lumi tethered to my belt and Gabriel on a Flexi took another. Do I think all that company mattered? Absolutely. Gunshot after gunshot, Lumi could not help but notice that no one else was bothered by the sound in the least. The more people and dogs showing no reaction, the more normal no reaction must have seemed.
- I didn't bother to bring a toy this time. Instead, I came armed with a variety of treats, especially several sticks of string cheese (mozzarella). Do I think the choice of food versus play, as what the gunfire would predict, mattered? It was crucial. There's no way Lumi would have played after the gunfire during this session, at least in the early going, and even a lower value treat would have failed to interest her. But Lumi loves cheese and this meant that I was able to feed her within a second after each shot, about three little bites of string cheese. I also fed Gabriel, not because he needed it, but to show Lumi that if she didn't eat the cheese, someone else was available to eat her share. I don't know whether that mattered at all, but I don't think it hurt.
- Another reason that I'm glad I tried food rather than toys is because play is about arousal, while eating is about calmness. I think Lumi needed calmness, not arousal, at this stage. Do I think feeding Lumi after the gunfire, rather than before or during, mattered? Based on my observations today, I couldn't say. But based on my faith in Amy's experience in these matters, I have no doubt of it.
- I kept Lumi on leash the entire time. In our previous attempts, she was either on a long line or off lead, and I wish we could have done this work today with Lumi off lead. But I needed her to stay with me, and it would have been too much work, and unpleasant for both of us, if I had to keep calling her back to me. Do I think having Lumi on lead mattered? Without question. It made things so much simpler and easier, especially the fact that it was a short lead. It took the possibility of flight or any other independent action out of the equation, and allowed Lumi to settle in with me the entire time.
- Lumi and I were separated from the gunfire by about 250 yards at first. Not as far as earlier experiments, and with less ambient noise, but I wanted to try it because the woods were so thick and the ground was so muddy. Do I think the distance mattered? Yes, but remarkably enough, in the inverse! After the first couple of reps, I tried moving us about 25 yards closer to the others for the next rep, and to my surprise, Lumi seemed more comfortable at that new distance. After that, we moved about the same distance closer after each rep, and the closer we got, the more comfortable Lumi became. The last time Dave fired the pistol, Lumi and I were standing only about 20 feet away. Lumi started at the gunfire, but immediately welcomed her pieces of cheese and made no effort to move away from the direction of the gunfire. As with all the other reps, Lumi tried harder than normal to press in close to me immediately after the shot, but aside from that seemed her normal self, alert and energetic the entire session.
- I didn't keep Gabriel with Lumi and me for all the conditioning. The closer we got to our other family members, the more that both Gabriel and, yes, Lumi too were pulling on their leads toward the clan, gun and all. At last I called Cookie on the walkie-talkie to come and take Gabriel, so that for the last few reps, Lumi and I were in our own little group and everyone else was with the gun. Do I think it mattered that Gabriel was with Lumi's and my group at first? I don't think so, but I'm not sure. It certainly didn't seem to matter after a few reps, though. If anything, I think it helped to normalize our work to have Gabriel off in the distance with the rest of our gathering, completely at ease and waiting for us to join them.
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