Self taught behaviours

Paige has developed a number of the behaviours that I wanted ultimately wanted to teach her all on her own.

She quickly figured out that when we stop at a till or a sink or a … that she needs to be flat against the counter and lying down. She developed a behaviour chain all on her own that I named “counter” and we use it all the time.

Another behaviour that she has figured out is blocking. Every time we stop, even if we’re just walking down the side walk, she will stop so she’s standing across the front of me. We went to the bookstore on the weekend to go to a family friend’s book signing. So excited for her (the friend). I can’t wait to read the book. Needless to say, there were a lot of people there that I knew and ended up talking to. A number of times, without prompting, Paige would stand between me and the other person. If we stood there for any length of time, Paige would end up lying down between us with her back towards the other person. Doing this, she guaranteed me space and was still able to watch me and what was going on behind me. It was very comfortable. She seems to know instinctually how much space I need and places herself properly. And our new, custom order leash is a perfect length for her to be doing this.

She has started doing a similar behaviour when I’m at the till at work or if I don’t ask for a counter when at a counter. She lays down behind me, typically facing away and keeps my back safe. It’s really nice at the till at work, the till is open to a partially blind hallway from the back. You have no idea what may be coming up behind you. Paige likes to lay in that hole and insure that everybody has to walk around the till where I can see them. She may not actually be thinking like this, but this is exactly what she’s doing.

Another behaviour that she’s taught herself is “guard my back”. This is where the dog stands in a heel position facing backwards. Paige does this when I’m unlocking the door on the apartment building. This is supposed to be a mildly difficult behaviour to teach. Happily, Paige has decided that she should just do it on her own. Now we just need to work out a better way for her to let me know that there is something going on behind me. Right now I can feel her tense up, either to say hi or to tell somebody to back off. It would be nice if she would lean into me or back up a bit or something similarly unobtrusive that doesn’t involve approaching the “threat”.

All of these behaviours have ended up helping to reduce my anxiety about being out in public and about talking to people or being in a place where my back is open. This is such a liberating experience! I would recommend it to somebody who needs this kind of support and has the ability to deal with training their SD. I was getting towards a point where I was getting worried that soon I would need to add anti-anxiety drugs to my cocktail. I didn’t really want to do this. I thought that a dog would be an excellent support but I had no idea how much. Paige has been life changing for me.