About 6 weeks ago, we started Tank on his journey to try the Protocol for Relaxation. Tank is a real whiner, and is generally obnoxious with how much he whines about everything. We hoped that the protocol for relaxation would help him become less whiney.
When I first printed out the sheet, I thought to myself, “There is no way Tank is going to do this ever.” Yet to my surprise, he managed to get through day 1 just fine, and day 2 with just a couple of repeats.
It took much longer than I anticipated to finish the protocol. Sometimes, Tank would out of the blue refuse to work. Other times, I needed time to sort out where to do the protocol.
Space Constraints
Part of the protocol asks to be able to walk to the left or right several steps. Since I don’t live in a huge barn, and don’t have a huge barn to train in, this proved very difficult. I can come up with one that works inside my house, but for the second location we had to wait for cool days.
On hot days, Tank refused whatsoever to work outside, and I don’t blame him. It’s so hot. Why do we have to do this outside?
Not a Generic Solution
Progressing through the protocol for relaxation made me realize that this is never going to work for Tank. It did help, however, in that I realized his issue isn’t so much anxiety as barrier frustration. He whines when there is a door that is shut, when his leash is on and he knows he’s going out, or when he’s in the car.
I thought the whining might indicate anxiety, but now I think it may be just him releasing his pent up excitement. When we worked on the protocol for relaxation he didn’t whine because we weren’t working with leashes, cars, or other Exciting Things.
Although the protocol did not work in my situation, I do see how it could work. Instead of working in the house, I could work on the protocol for relaxation with a leash on, or while in the car, essentially in the exciting areas.
I do believe learning that he can relax while on leash or in the car would work for him, but I’ll have to modify the protocol since obviously I can’t move 10 feet sideways while clapping and jogging in the car.
I’ll give this another go eventually, but for now I’d say use the Protocol as a starting point to explore whether it will help, and then tailor it to areas your dog needs to relax in.
Similar Posts:
- The Protocol for Relaxation
- How to Kennel Train A Chihuahua
- Separation Anxiety in Chihuahuas
- Dog Vocabulary: Desensitization
- Review of Ask the Dog by Steve Dale
