Category: Success Stories ¤
  Author: Debi Davis ¤
   Title: Shy Papillon ¤

socializing/shaping for the show ring for a dear breeder friend in 
Washington.  I agreed to take the pup in because my friend had just lost 
her father, and during the final months of his illness, had no chance to 
train this pup.  

The pup was living in a sheltered environment, and became scared of new 
people visiting as well as strange sounds, sights.  My friend realized 
the window of opportunity for easy attainment of socialization skills was 
fast closing, so shipped the dog off to me.  A lovely, well-bred Pap who 
might easily finish if it gained some confidence outside its "monastery". 

The pup was 7 months old when it arrived at the airport,  after a 5 hour 
flight in the cargo hold.  Traumatized, stressed--the pup came out of his 
crate snarling and challenging everyone to a duel.  He was shaking as if 
he was sitting a jackhammer, his ears laid back and low, hackles erect, 
eyes bugging out of his beautiful head.  Could this possibly be the 
"sweetest puppy you will ever meet" that my friend promised to send to me 
to spend a few months at Clicker Camp?

The first night home was a horror story--pup was so traumatized it could 
do nothing but try to defend against unknown terrors.  I put the pup in 
an ex-pen in the living room, and sank down on the floor next to the pen, 
letting him snarl and growl at me.  I made no attempt to touch him, to 
make eye contact--I merely wanted him to realize that at least one thing 
in the house was not a threat--ME.  

I sat there an hour reading a book and humming quietly, watching him 
watch me out of my peripheral vision.  He seemed to relax visably, and 
came out of his crate (inside the pen) and lay down about 3 feet from me 
quietly, almost peacefully.  The other dogs--well socialized 
Papillons--lay quietly in the doorway, heads on their paws, making no 
move toward the pen holding the new unhappy camper.  

When the pup was finally looking much less stressed, and had finally 
agreed to take a few sips of water, I got out my clicker--not my loud 
one, but my quiet baby-food cap clicker--and c/t'd many times.  I could 
see the pup was beginning to realize the click meant "something good is 
coming", and would look up into my eyes as soon as I had clicked, and 
again after I had treated. Eye contact! Yesssss!

I c/t'd a few more times, just delighted the dog would take food from me, 
then decided to call it a night.  I made no attempt to pet him, to touch 
him in any way.  He was clearly not ready for any physical contact.

The next morning I lured him with a treat to exit the X-Pen, then showed 
him the back yard, where he gratefully did his business.  Just before he 
finished, I c/t'd him, and he stopped abruptly--looked up into my eyes 
and his tail came up into a plume over his back, then wiggled.  He's 
obviously not really sure about me most of the time, but has come to see 
the clicker as a "security blanket" and knows that as long as I have my 
clicker, nothing bad will happen to him.  And, interestingly enough, as 
long as I hold that clicker so he can see it, he will allow me to pick 
him up.  If I put the clicker down, he runs and hides.  I thought about 
having my clicker surgically implanted that day.

In 3 days, he was out of his terrorized funk, and socializing with my 
boys.  He was joining the crew for c/t and learned to sit in about 5 
clicks.  I lured him into a down, c/t'd him several times, then began to 
work these behaviors all over the house, not wanting him to think he was 
safe and happy and could sit and down only in the kitchen facing north.

I take my two dogs out daily for a long walk along our Rillito, which is 
a wide, dry gulch that fills up with water only during rainstorms.  My 
husband Tim handled our two Paps on Flexi-leads, while I struggled with 
the again-terrified pup.  The pup would not leave my side, would not 
sniff the ground, mark a bush--nothing.  Each time it felt the least 
amount of pressure on his neck (from a number one flexi!) he would 
quickly come back into heel position and his tail would drop to the 
ground, ears go back.  Seemed obvious to me that this pup has had a few 
leash pops in its past, so I vow to set him up for success in our next 
attempt at a relaxed walk along the Rillito.  

I take him to Petsmart, fit him with a harness.  That night we try the 
Rillito walk again, and it's like night and day!  The pup, feeling no 
pressure on his neck--begins to relax and lower his head to sniff.  By 
the end of the walk he's finally forging off, exploring his environment, 
marking bushes, having a marvelous time.  Then a cyclist whips by and 
he's a cringing mass of terrorized pup again, belly to the ground, 
refuses to move, barking all the while.  (yes, dogs bark fine lying 
down--growl just fine too!)  

I wait for a nano-second of quiet, c/t, gain his attention and we're 
off--he's forgotten the terror of the bicycle.  Soon a jogger is seen in 
the distance, and I take a moment to set the dog up for success,  take 
out my "big guns"--nuked garlic chicken laced with Grueyere Cheese--and 
c/t for everything I can think of.  As the jogger gets closer, the pup 
catches sight and begins to growl, hackles rise, belly begins to lower to 
the ground.  I quickly, in a happy voice turn around, get him to floor 2 
steps, then c/t and praise, make it into a wonderful fun game--turning 
circles.  He's so involved in it he does not see the jogger pass by at 
first, but finally sees him and realizes it's old news.  We all continue 
on our walk.

Soon a pet owner with a couple of Cocker Spaniels on Flexi's come into 
view and I begin the stepped-up clicker work again, gaining the fearful 
pup's attention.  I know that in his fear, he has become what looks like 
"dog agressive", but what I realize is simply a fear reaction, very 
shapable.  The Cockers are well socialized,  pay little attention to our 
dogs.  The Cockers pass by while I'm clicking the pup, who has this time 
displayed only minimal fear behaviors--licking lips, a bit of 
posturing--but this, in between clicks, is very minimal.  

By the end of the week and 7 walks later, the pup is now allowing 
strangers to give him treats without growling or doing a belly-flop.  
Joggers are able to pass by with few fear behaviors showing.  But we 
still have major problems with cyclists, skate boarders, inline skaters.  
So again, I set the pup up for success by gaining the assistance of a 
skateboarder, a cyclist and an inline skater who agree to help me get the 
pup over his fears.

The cyclist stops, holds his bike and ignores the dog as we try to pass.  
At the point of our approach where I realize the dog is stressing, I turn 
around, c/t for attention, then keep c/t'ing as we make wide arc passes 
by the bicyclist, coming closer and closer each time.  By the end of the 
session (5 minutes), the dog ate a treat off the slowly spinning pedal of 
the monster bicycle!

We did the same with the inline skates--which for some reason terrified 
him as well. 
A skater agreed to remove his skate for us, and set it next to him.  We 
kept making wide arcs, passing closer and closer, and again, before the 
session was over (another 5 minutes), the pup was taking a treat off a 
slowly spinning wheel.

LIttle by little we used the laws of learning to reshape fear behaviors, 
and today--3 weeks later--the pup is not at all fearful of the strange 
dogs, humans and contraptions it encounters while doing our park walk.  

Socialization and exposure to new environments is the major reason the 
dog is here, but in the interim I've managed to put a nice little clicker 
retrieve on the pup, and have him joining in with my crew to do "doggie 
pushups".  Soon we will begin more serious work at "shaping for the show 
ring".  The pup has responded to the clicker so well it just makes me 
weep.  And because he has such confidence that the clicker always means 
good things, he really uses it for his "security blanket" in new, scarey 
situations.  Just it's mere presence has a certain calming quality that 
absolutely delights me.

I have no doubt that this pup will gain enough confidence in the next two 
months to attend the Papillon National Specialty in May and show like a 
charm.  How heartwarming it is to see a shy, reticent, fearful dog come 
out of its shell with OC and +R!

A big thank you to everyone on this list for the wonderful postings which 
have given me so many ideas for working with this little guy.  It's truly 
a shared success.

Debi Davis & the clicker trained service Papillons
Tucson, AZ