Behavior Modification

While the meds are definitely helping Langley that doesn't mean that we don't have to do any behavior modification work with him.  Drugs are helping to control his anxiety but now that he is calmer, we needed to develop a training regimen that will teach Langley the skills to be a more centered, relaxed dog.  To do this trainer Blair Meek came to visit Langley in our home, see him in action and assess him.

Her input has been a great help to us and Langley and we now have a training plan that includes lots of games and training exercises. His main issues are the OCD and that he has almost no impulse control.  When left to his own devices he gets anxious, runs around feeding his compulsions, and when that doesn't lesson his anxiety, it gets worse and he continues to ramp up.

To help him keep this anxiety under control Langley needs a lot of structure and then he needs to learn some impulse control.  Blair gave us quite a few exercises to work on to develop this skill and since Langley is such a smart boy and is very food motivated he has quickly picked up these exercises and now I'm working to increase their difficulty.

It's a lot of work for a young dog but Langley actually is really enjoying this training as it give him something to focus on and he's better able to connect with people, which also helps him feel more relaxed. And some of this structured time isn't training - it's things like playing with puzzle toys, working to get his food out of a frozen Kong or chewing on a bully stick in his crate.

The happy news is this Behavior Modification work has relaxed Langley to the point that he no longer is needing the tranquilizers and extra short acting anxiety meds in addition to the fluoxetine.