Quote:
Originally Posted by marcerella02  1. They need to be able to drop a metal bowl 6 feet away from her and not have her react... well Layla is afraid when a baggie falls on the floor... any ideas on how i can get her used to this... i'd say it is beyond normal fear... it is something that can affect her whole day.... if we are using a fly swatter to kill a fly.. she is done for the dya... this all started last christmas when we were in Florida and she heard a firecracker.. we were outside peeing (ok SHE was peeing) and she wasnt ready for it.. before this she could care less about thunderstorms... and now... she is a complete mess... anyways.. an ideas on the bowl would be great |
This reminds me EXACTLY of "breaking" a horse (though I hate that term). With Layla, like horses, you want them to learn that in the presence of chosen stimuli, they are safe.
For ex., for a horse, you'd be hanging onto it's rope, take a plastic grocery bag and start introducing it - mildly at first, progressing to waving it all around their ears and face - all in one session often. They simply learn, very quickly, that there is nothing to fear - even though it's a new noise. You're basically extinguishing skittish behavior.
So w/ Layla:
*sit w/ her and bowl in your lap - move bowl around, wave it around
*Layla in lap - start tapping bowl on floor; continue until "flinch" response stops
*make louder, unexpected noises w/ bowl (Layla still in lap); toss bowl etc.
*progress to her out of lap and you making noises w/ bowl
You're truly teaching her that she is safe among this noise.
Good luck!