[Susan Klavon]

My vet OK’d a trial of Solliquin, and it’s on its way. 🙂 I feel better having verified it with her, and thanks for your suggestion.

We had class today, so I got video of us practicing the treat toss game on the start line. First off, I want to say I am pleased that I opted to keep things in Avery’s wheelhouse. Today’s course was pretty challenging (several of my classmates described it as “hard”). After walking 3/4 of the course, I decided that Avery would likely shut down and I see way more value for her being able to run right now. So I asked the instructor if we could run a different course, and we did. It was a good choice for Avery. 🙂 I put my comments about our start line experience in captions on the video. Overall, I think the treat toss game worked well. I look forward to your comments, as I am more than happy to make changes to benefit Avery.

If you’re interested, I also included a clip of a handling error I made (this clip starts around the 1:58 mark). In response to my error, Avery started sniffing. Since we don’t have the “find my face” game installed enough to use in this context, I had to think about what to do…and opted for treat tosses. I felt that once I started that game, she bounced back nicely. But once again, I’m open to feedback.

I really appreciate the games to help us overcome our “not perfect” agility moments. Trying to be a perfect handler just puts too much pressure on me…and I’m human, so errors happen. I am grateful to have options to help fill those spaces in positive ways for Avery. 🙂

Thanks!!
Susan

[Susan Klavon]

Interesting. I always assumed that Avery needed more help in balancing her arousal level at the start line since she wasn’t responding to cues (sit or anything else). But since she’s able to respond to cues when she starts running, it makes more sense that the start line is a CER issue.

I was planning on getting a Cato board later for some winter training in the house, so I opted to order it today. But I am wondering if there are any other changes I should make to our start line routine (which is kinda non-existent anyway)? My instructor has wanted me to cue her to do fun things, but that hasn’t gone anywhere with her. I know there is value in predictability, but I can’t seem to put anything together for her on the start line to make it fun and predictable. I can run with her at the start, but that doesn’t feel so predictable to me. Thoughts?

Finally, we are still getting rain so I won’t be able to get to the video of interspersing use of the snuffle mat with training at home. How much of that do you want to see in the video? You recommended 2 min of training, 2 min of snuffle mat, repeat both. I don’t think you want to watch 8 minutes of that. 🙂

Thanks!
Susan

[Susan Klavon]

I hope that you are feeling better!

I assume I should check with my primary care vet re: use of Solloquin to make sure there are no interactions with her car ride meds (Cerenia, ondansetron, mirtazapine, lorazepam), right? After we got Avery stabilized on her car ride med cocktail, the VB turned over Avery’s care to our primary care vet.

To clarify, Avery’s stay at the startline is usually fine. It’s getting her into the sit. 🙂 She is challenged in consistently responding to any cues on the startline (even a hand touch). When I took her out of the ring for not responding to those cues, I felt it was way too punishing for her. Coming up with a startline routine for her has been challenging, and I’ve been experimenting with various ways of getting the sit. Within the past 2 months, I’ve been kneeling on the ground with her, which keeps us connected and keeps me from stepping into her space to get the sit (which she doesn’t like). At this point, I usually cue sit with both a verbal and hand signal. Once she sits, I remove her leash. This process helps a lot, but her ability to sit quickly on just one cue is still inconsistent…I would never bet $100 on it when she’s in the ring. She usually is barking on the startline, which I don’t mind, except I wonder if that’s an indication that she is tipping into overarousal and can’t operate well in response to cues.

I was at a trial yesterday and played the treat toss pattern game before we went in the ring. (Avery has been playing this game for 2+ years in the agility environment, although for a different reason, so I felt comfortable trying it in this context.) She sat nicely on the first cue in her first run; for the 2nd run, she only needed 1 cue, but her response was slow (although I think she was running out of bandwidth by then).

Here’s a video of some of our startlines from this year (many people don’t start the video till she sits, so I have limited examples): https://youtu.be/djK9vySsNPw

Thanks!

[Susan Klavon]

You wrote: You mentioned in an earlier post that a Veterinary Behaviorist shared a study to help you better understand Avery. Is Avery on medication? If not, would you consider medication for her?

The study by the VB was on the highly sensitive trait in dogs. Normally you don’t treat that trait with meds (just like you wouldn’t treat introversion/extroversion with meds). Avery leads a normal, happy life…she’s fine outside the ring, she’s playful when we get home from a trial. She has a bit of vet anxiety sometimes that I treat with 100 mg gabapentin 2-3 hrs before the visit. So while I am in favor of using meds to help a dog, I don’t think her profile warrants it. But we can discuss further if you see something I don’t.

As an FYI, Avery has severe motion sickness and a boarded VB developed a 4 med cocktail to treat her symptoms but without sedation so that she can still do agility. (Her meds are Cerenia for motion sickness; ondansetron to cover any nausea the Cerenia doesn’t; mirtazapine for drooling; and lorazepam for travel phobia.) I sometimes re-dose her with lorazepam (0.5 mg) before her final run of the day so that we can get out the door after we finish, and I don’t see it making a significant impact on her performance (although you could argue that I run her before it takes full effect).

You wrote: Relaxation Conditioning- I am not sure why you are standing. Sitting next to Avery, is less stimulating

I felt she was staring at my hands too much while I was sitting and that was inhibiting relaxation. I videoed both positions b/c I was feeling uncertain. I will stick with sitting and see where it leads. Thanks!

Thanks for the info on the snuffle mat, we will work on that.

And thanks for the start line games, those are great! But before I start that process, I feel that I need to nail down a sit on one cue at the start line. Do you concur? It doesn’t make sense to me to put more pressure on her until then.

Thanks again!

[Susan Klavon]

Thanks for the suggestions. I want to be honest that I am becoming very fatigued from working on Avery’s challenges (I’ve been doing a lot of concentrated work since Dec 2021). Yes, we’ve made some great improvements, but there are still so many gaps. So I appreciate you redirecting me to these tasks…that keeps me motivated. (Like Avery, I am food motivated, which doesn’t help online, does it? 🙂 So focusing on what I can do is a good solution.) Also, the live session last night was helpful — I can commit to a game for 2 wks to see how it is working (that feels very reasonable and from there we can decide to tweak or eliminate it as needed).

Per your request, video of RC (6th day): https://youtu.be/hvtdpy5Kpe4

I experimented with delivering the treats while standing up as I did with the RP for my other dog (first 5 minutes of the video). You can see her alert to me moving toward the container of treats. I then sat on the floor with her for the last 5 minutes. Around the 7:19 mark I show my hands so that she knows there are no treats in them (I felt she was staring at my hands). She maintained a sphinx down for the entire 10 minutes without a whole lot of body movement. (Stillness is her default behavior, so that part of the exercise is super easy for her.) I was utilizing calming signals during the entire session (some of my yawns were quiet genuine, lol). When I release her, she is ready to pounce on the treats on the floor, which is typical for her.

Questions r/t snuffle mat work:
1. Is there much difference between using a snuffle ball vs. a snuffle mat?
2. Other people I have worked with have strongly recommended that Avery’s reinforcement strategy include as much movement as possible. They want her chasing after treats, running to get her treats…even putting treats in a toy that I can keep moving as she tries to get them. The snuffle mat approach is the opposite of this…so even though we are not at the reinforcement strategies lesson yet, I feel I need some feedback. When my brain sees a disconnect in the approach like this, it keeps stalling out, trying to solve that problem. I then become slow to respond/cautious/thoughtful, which Avery picks up on and interprets that something is wrong. I am willing to try new things, but I want to avoid that icky “I’m so uncertain” brain space, please!

I will work on the snuffle mat/training at home exercise early next week (weather permitting). My instructor is on board to add more objects/people near the start line in class to help Avery get more comfortable with that type of pressure, although I think I need more of a plan to help her in those moments. She is so food motivated that I can generally manage any issues outside of the ring quite well. Once we get in the ring where I can’t use food, I often feel like a deer in the headlights. Thanks!!

[Susan Klavon]

OK.

Avery already knows the treat toss game and snuffle mats. I don’t know that the RC is going to work for her b/c she is intense in the presence of food, so she may not relax at all (even though I am just using kibble).

If I should be doing something different, please let me know.

Thanks!
Susan

• This reply was modified 2 years, 6 months ago by Susan Klavon.

[Susan Klavon]

Per your request, here’s a video of Avery running at home and in class:

I took the home video today. It’s a simple figure 8 sequence that I am practicing as part of a handler focus course I just finished. Avery really wants to stay connected to me at trials, so I have been working hard on improving my focus skills to give her what she wants/needs. I am able to get much more distance from her at home…at a trial/class, I stay within 6-8 ft of her (the “bubble” that her instructor says she needs), unless she’s showing me a lot of confidence. At a trial, she would really slow down for a pinwheel, she finds them very demotivating.

The class video is what I shared in our intro video. Avery periodically has these really fantastic classes where she feels great and performs really well. This is one of them. I’d like to get more of this more often (obviously).

My goal for her is to have fun and enjoy herself. Neither of us have that much fun when she gets 1 MACH pt in JWW (which happened this weekend). She is sooo excited to do agility when we are at home, I’d like to try to expand that feeling outside of our zip code. 🙂

[Susan Klavon]

Relaxation conditioning assignment…

As an FYI, Dr. Overall dx’d/tx’d one of my Shelties for obsessive-compulsive disorder. So I did the RP (successfully!) with that dog and have that experience under my belt. She said that when dogs learn that calmness feels good, they will often choose it. My OCD dog did get to that point (in some situations).

video link: https://youtu.be/wSfXdFk97BA

This is our 2nd attempt at your relaxation exercise (10 min session). Avery has experience with mat work, so she’s settled into the process fairly easily. But she is VERY food motivated and will stare at my “treat hand” to will food into her mouth. (I’m using kibble for this exercise right now.) The audio may not have come out very loud; just so you are aware, I am playing relaxing piano music in the background, speaking to her softly, and periodically exhaling slowly. I know your process suggests not looking directly at the dog (watch TV instead), but that’s not how I learned to do the RP, so that’s a tough transition to make.

I have questions/concerns:

1. A VB recommended that I try to shift Avery from stillness/thinking (her default) to “doing.” I’ve invested a lot of time/effort into rewarding her for offering behaviors. The VB didn’t feel she would get much out of relaxation work, especially since she spends a good amt of time at home in calmness. So while I understand RP work as a general recommendation, in your opinion, do you think Avery could benefit?

2. With my social work hat on…meditation can have some negative side effects (there has been some research on this recently). If Avery should be doing this work, do I need to look out for any negative side effects? And people can rarely use meditation to good effect in moments of overarousal (generally self-regulation/grounding/interoception skills are better suited for those times). So the point of the exercise is to try to change the dog’s baseline, instead of using it as a tool for challenging moments, right?

3. And a question not related to homework…we were at a trial this weekend and I could pretty reliably predict what about the course environment was going to be hard for Avery. (Examples: start jump 10 feet from the ring barrier with people behind her; 20 foot dark blue tunnel as obstacle #2) She would, of course, handle challenges like this well at home. So at this point, is there any value in training at home, beyond having fun? I can’t figure out how to gently apply pressure to the home environment so she can build resilience. And when she encounters these challenges at a trial, I feel bad/concerned. I am trying to figure out what is best for her (stop trialing for awhile? move to preferred? try to trial under “run and gun” judges only?), b/c I want her to have fun. BTW, it’s OK if you suggest we wait to have this convo until a later point in the class.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by Susan Klavon.

[Susan Klavon]

I appreciate your concern for Avery! If it’s OK with you, though, I’d like to skip making the video you suggest because of her sports med wellness schedule. 🙂 She will have chiro/massage on Oct. 1 and is due for her annual sports med check up in October as well. While I appreciate your suggestion, it makes more sense to me to get hands on her.

I strongly suspect that what you are seeing is worry. Awhile back we did a consult with Tom Mitchell (VB/sports trainer in the UK) who noted that she tends to jump high as opposed to flattening her arc to take jumps fast. She has quarterly chiro visits with a vet and was checked out by a vet/CCRP at the end of July and there have been no real issues noted. She has a regular fitness program and I am not seeing problems there, either.

If you agree to this plan, I can report back on the findings of her wellness visits. Or if you feel there is a more pressing concern, I can do the video. (I realize that you may want to see her run in the backyard anyway to get a sense of her movement baseline.) Let me know and thanks!!!

[Susan Klavon]

You wrote: “It’s hard to say exactly why Avery is struggling. Likely, there are shifts in her arousal while she is running in the ring. … What we can focus on is building her resilience, which is what we will be doing in this class.”

I agree with your assessment. And it is so nice to feel understood. 🙂

Question: Will this course go over self-regulation skills for dogs? If not, can you direct me to any resources? I ask because like you, I often look at the human lit for help (I have a Masters in Social Work). Highly sensitive people often use self-regulation skills to cope with good effect. I’ve seen comments about K9 self-regulation skills in the behavior world, but I have yet to find good resources.

Measuring Resilience Homework: https://youtu.be/b2IHgP-OpRo
(all examples in the same video)

#1: April 2022, T2B
* known stressors: judge held up the ring for over a minute to discuss something with the table, I tried to keep Avery up during that period; after she took the wing jump to turn back, I could see that she was checking out (this was my club’s trial and I can’t think of anything back in that corner to distract/worry her)
* stress reaction: she began to skip past jumps (she has a history of this)
* duration of stress reaction: 9 seconds (counted from her turn after the wing to when she took the spread, when she started to look more focused to me)
* severity of the reaction: 8 out of 10 (multiple jumps involved on an easy line)
* after she skipped past the 2nd jump, I made a line to the finish jump b/c she clearly wasn’t feeling it

#2: July 2022, Mas JWW
* known stressors: none that I am aware of
* stress reaction: stopping in the weaves to sniff a piece of fluff (note: she was the last dog in the jump ht to run, and this fluff didn’t disrupt any other dog, assuming it had been there the whole time)
* duration of stress reaction: 7 seconds (counted from start of sniff to when she turned to move with me, demonstrating that she had reconnected with me)
* severity of the reaction: 9 out of 10 (she was very deeply absorbed in that sniff)
* that was the first time she had done something like this, although I have noticed several instances of her sniffing at class (even today, she made a short stop for a sniff and then took the jump)

#3: July 2022, Mas Std
* known stressors: judge’s movement (her movement disrupted other dogs); previous day’s courses required a lot of collection, which puts Avery into a cautious mindset (she prioritizes accuracy over speed); she felt the loss of connection from me as I turned to the next part of the course (yes, I am working very hard on my focus/connection skills since Avery benefits when can constantly feel my support!)
* stress reaction: drifting off her line, looking a bit confused
* duration of stress reaction: 2 seconds (counted from her head turn toward the judge until she started moving in my direction)
* severity of reaction: 6 out of 10

Question: For examples #2 and #3, I left a bit of video after we got back on track to show that she seems to show speed after an error. Is this telling me something (other than she feels relief of pressure and thus feels more comfortable going faster)?

Yes, I see a lot of positive progress in these examples. My instructor and I have done a lot of work to help her learn to keep going when something doesn’t go quite right on course.

[Susan Klavon]

Can you tell me more about Avery’s sensitivities?
Highly sensitive individuals share the following traits:
* notice subtle differences in the environment (so any agility equipment stored near start lines will cause split focus; “obstacle clutter” in advanced courses will also split her focus; she will stop during our walks in the neighborhood to point out to me new things in people’s yards)
* “big feelings” (either positive or negative; Avery’s primary emotions are joy and worry/fear)
* tend to get overstimulated/overwhelmed (b/c of external stimuli and big feelings)
* depth of processing (when you are experiencing so much, your brain needs time to sort it all out)

She is a very aware dog who notices a lot, gets easily overstimulated, and thinks a lot about things. Since I can’t always predict her responses, I need to stay in the moment and support her as needed.

A vet behaviorist has validated a tool for high sensitivity in dogs. Here’s a link to one of her research articles: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-62094-9

What exactly do you think impacts her behavior? Being highly sensitive. We’ve done a lot of work on that and had a good amt of success. It’s not about changing her, but me learning more about how to read her and meet her needs.

When you run a sequence in class, do you always run with a toy in your hand? No, I try to vary when I have food on me. It was raining that day in class, and to be on the safe side, I always run with food on me in case thunder starts to scare her.

What does Avery prefer? Toys? Food? Avery is totally food motivated (and then some). The toy in my hand is a Lily treat dispensing toy from Clean Run (the only toys I use in training dispense food). At home, Avery brings me toys mainly to show me (“look what I found!”); we can sometimes tug for a bit, but her joy seems to come in finding/showing me what she finds. It’s very sweet and I always try to make a big deal out of her finds b/c this is very important to her/makes her happy. One thing that Avery prefers in training is to chase to me. I’ve modified our start line routine in the past 2 months to add in the element of I’m sneaking away from her to start a chase game, and she loves that approach. So the more playful I am with her at trials, the more she tends to focus on me and less on the environment.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by Susan Klavon.

[Susan Klavon]

Your feedback on Avery skipping past jumps was most helpful, thank you! I can talk to my instructor about working on those skills you mention (she’s already working on my arm position).

I have an MSSW and have done a lot of work on my performance anxiety. Both of my first two agility dogs had significant behavior issues affecting agility (first dog with serious shyness issues, second with OCD and overarousal issues). My history is that their behavior issues exacerbate my performance anxiety until I learn how to handle their stuff. 🙂 So it sounds like I should interpret her skipping past jumps as a sign that I need to improve my handling for her, as opposed to fearing that she’s overly anxious?

And do you have any suggestions on how often to use a snuffle mat with her at a trial? Usually my OCD dog is trialing at the same time as Avery, so I need to start thinking about how to coordinate their routines.

Thank you for your help!!!
Susan & Avery

[Susan Klavon]

Avery was entered in only one run today (CPE Jackpot level 2). The trial was held where she takes classes and had a small entry.

Our morning was extremely compressed. We needed to get a challenge measurement for her P-card (her temp measurement was incorrectly recorded as 16″ jump ht and Avery is only 13″ tall); she wasn’t on the measurement list, which resulted in discussion with the judge; and then I had to get her moved into the 12″ jump ht in her class before it started (and her class was the first one of the day, with only 5 dogs entered). So we did the best we could with doing stuff before her run. (BTW, I can never, ever crate Avery in the car…she has severe motion sickness and travel phobia so crating out of the car would be a huge stressor for her.) I used a snuffle box instead of a mat, and the box is a much better choice for us — I was able to shred some boiled chicken and break up freeze dried green beans so the snuffle ration was reasonable from a calorie perspective.

What I would most appreciate your input on is why Avery periodically skips past jumps and what I should do about it in the moment. She hasn’t done this for awhile in class or at her ACT1 tests (2 rds in a location that was new to her), but she skipped past 2 jumps today (captioned in the video). When this happens, *I* tend to have a meltdown and as you’ll see in the video, the first skipped jump led to me making a handling error. If I better understood what was going on, I think I’d feel more confident (I tend to doubt myself and stress when she skips a jump) and would make fewer subsequent handling errors and avoid overhandling jumps.

Thanks!
Susan & Avery

[Susan Klavon]

I am not clear on how BAT 2.0 is supposed to fit in with the next assignment (and is that referring to taking the show on the road?)…

Thanks,
Susan

[Susan Klavon]

I’m not a fan of freeze-dried raw foods, so that option is out. Kibble has been the best option for snuffle work b/c she has to work to find it (the darker colored kibble blends in with the fleece, as opposed to string cheese/boiled chicken) and it’s a good use of her daily ration. We do all the exercise etc you suggested, but unfortunately, she gained a pound in 6 wks for unknown reasons and I have been working to get that excess wt off. She is going to be spayed in January, so it’s important to me to keep on top of her calories. I will make her a snuffle box (with a solid bottom in it) so that I can sprinkle treat crumbs in and try that.

She’s entered in one run at a trial on 12/27, so I’ll try to get video for our assignment to take things on the road. Is there a specific plan I should be working? I feel like I have pieces, but not a cohesive plan. And what should we be doing for hand targeting? That was mentioned in the assignment to take things on the road, and I don’t recall seeing that discussed before.

Thanks,
Susan & Avery

• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by Susan Klavon.

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