Long-lasting triggers

I am starting to recognise that certain triggers will leave George unsettled for quite some time.

Dog stands in garden with purple toy at his feet

The main one we are struggling with at home is the neighbour's house at the back of our house. We have a small garden and the fence backs immediately on to our neighbour's kitchen window.

 

They have a privacy blind which means you can't see in clearly (which is great) but if the light is on you can see the figures moving around.

 

To George, I think it looks like someone is encroaching on our garden. He hates it. He will also react if the light is on but there is nobody there.

 

They must have another blind/curtain as it hasn't happened in a while. I suspected that they may have got fed up with being barked at and pulled the full blind down. But in recent weeks (maybe because of George's improvements?), they haven't bothered.

 

I try to check before letting George in the garden but sometimes I haven't been able to avoid it if he is already out there.

 

It doesn't happen very often. But I've noticed that if he does see a figure at the window, he really struggles to resettle. If the light is on, he is on high alert. If he sees it the night before, it can even affect his behaviour in the garden on the following day.

 

I really need to try and avoid him seeing this trigger if possible for a while before working on counter-conditioning. I can't block the view unfortunately as that would block all the light to their window (and there are likely rules and height restrictions on trees etc). I don't feel I can ask the neighbours to pull their blind down (or not go in their kitchen!).

 

So I need to try and make sure George doesn't go outside if the light is on. I go out with him in the evenings so I have a chance of redirecting him so he can't rehearse the behaviour.

 

It has made me realise that all triggers are not equal. Some he can shake off quite quickly now, like neighbours walking past (although a lot in quick succession is different) and some have a longer lasting impact.

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