Poor Bogart traumatized!

[lindamarie]

I think everything is okay now.......BUT WOW! My poor baby!!
We have this sectional that folds in 3's in our hall. It has always been there as you can see into one of the bedrooms from the front door!
So, during the day, we fold it into 2's and leave it standing there as it's inconvenient to move it around.
Bogart is very familiar with this thing and it only bothered him a couple of times when it fell!
BUT! Yesterday.......when I ran to answer the phone that is on FAX and I only get 3 rings to answer........Bogart ran after me and knocked over the sectional!!
It slightly knicked him, and Walt said he leaped from the living room into the kitchen in one bound!
He would NOT leave the kitchen! Hours later he was still in there! I mean...this dog has been trained for loud noises! In his training, he had to endure a cart filled with folding chairs where they let them all loose and he couldn't react.....and he didn't!

I had to lure him across the entire house and pass the sectional with treats. The entire time he was looking for the sectional. WHEW! We made it and things are normal today.
Thoughts? Is he failing as a SD? Or is it natural to have something knick you and be that loud and be traumatized? I have removed the sectional for now....but intend to put it back.......some day!

[SamsonsMom]

Linda - I SO would not say failing as a SD!!!

The excitment of the whole event, you running to the phone, him getting a little knicked, PLUS the loud noise made him a little scared is all! If it was JUST the loud noise, I bet Bogie wouldn't have even reacted, but you couple the noise with a little bit of pain and excitement of you running - and you have a confused/scared lil' guy!

If you want to make a 100% completely sure, you could always make a loud noise and see how he reacts without the excitement.

[Jac]

Poor Bogie!

Well, this is an interesting question...I have had people tell me that when a dog reacts like that it IS a failure for SD...BUT I don't agree...I think it is an indication that there are learning curves that are still needed.

Obviously, the dog cannot be trained to deal with every single thing that life will throw at him...so, when these things happen, it is simply a notification that the training needs to cover things like this...

I would say that you should put him in a stay position and run to the phone or run outside or something similar...let Bogie see you in the same state and know that he has to stay down...no matter what...

We had a dog that was PERFECTLY trained...she could handle anything...or so we thought...but she went to the Santa Monica Pier and froze! The trainer said that was a failure...I said, "No, it means that she needs to get back to the Santa Monica Pier and be trained!"

I think it is pretty silly for us to think that these dogs will be totally unfazed when they are frightened...I know that I would have been startled by the sectional making an unexpected racket and pinching me!

[SamsonsMom]

As always totally right on Jac! Just like people who have been trained to do a job. I am completely experienced and trained at my job; however, never fails there is always a client who asks a question or does something unexpected that leaves me going "UM let me get back to you on that". And I'm back to square one, researching a topic to learn a new skill. I freeze - look unexperienced to the client - re-learn - and than come back and deliver.

Bogie is such a TERRIFIC doodle! And just like with us, if every time we were faced with a situation and didn't respond perfectly someone said we failed, we'd all fail ALL the time.

[lindamarie]

Thanks........The sectional is back up and isn't a problem again. However, it did set ME back!
Bogart has been soooooo exposed to loud noises and things going on that what really shocked me, is not his running from a 6 1/2 foot object falling on him, but that he didn't want to return to it.
First off, he did have to run at least 6 feet to clear himself! Then, the sectional bounced off of a rocking chair and crashed on hardwood floors! Of course, from a human standpoint..........it was loud, done and OVER! But, from a dogs view..........it was a monster coming after him!
Let's put it this way, I'm not sure I would want to keep knocking that thing over and train him to STAY there!

Jac, I can run through the house and have him stay. This was a very casual moment where he may have thought I was just playing and he ran with me. When he was a puppy and it was winter, I use to run around the house in a circle........I could go through the living room, to the bedroom outside the OTHER door of the bedroom, down the landing, through the kitchen and back through the living room to give him exerise!
As he grew older, he would turn around and meet me somewhere in the kitchen and run from me and we played chasing back and forth.
He may have thought it was time to PLAY!! WOW! He found out it wasn't!

I may talk to Vladae, our trainer, and see what he says. But as for now....things are back to normal. WHEW!!

[MaxandMe]

OK.................this is how your dog is SD trained.........sometimes there are UNEXPECTED new noises and bogie did get slightly banged
NOW IF it were any of you? how would you react?

so ino i don't see a failure i see GREAT opporunity for MORE training
as they say if you fal off the horse you get right bak up............so LINDA either you are able to teah Bogie to release this frea
or call your trainer who might have easier suggetions.

Again.............this is a tootally new experince noise which is NOT a normal everyday noise
BOGIE you will see will get over it , IF YOU DO as welll