Today's Cloud

I think I've made a mistake.

Wow. There's a shocker.

Monster isn't really enjoying the retrieve training so much. He tends to shut down, lie down and look away, or get frustrated and start pawing at me and trying to get me to play. We have trouble with this quite a lot, I believe it's a combination of Monster severely lacking in confidence and me being very bad at structuring training effectively so it's challenging but not too difficult. No doubt, I'm much worse at this when I'm working toward a specific goal. And when I don't reinforce Monster enough he loses even more confidence.

So I'm doing a take-back on the resolution. No more retrieve. Instead, I'm going back to something Monster really seems to enjoy - and something that's really hard even for me to screw up: free shaping. More specifically free shaping with objects. I just pick a thing, any thing, place it in the training area, and reinforce Monster for interacting with it. I find that we can't get shaping to work without an object, presumably because I put too much pressure on Monster (staring at him and waiting for him to do something), since Monster just lies down and basically plays dead. I suppose we could work on that, but I'm not sure it would be a good idea - the point is to make him more confident acting, not being passive. The reason for only doing free shaping is of course so it won't be quite so easy for me to pile on the pressure and raise the criteria too quickly. If I don't know where we're going it's pretty hard for me to hurry to get there.

I may not look like it, but I actually enjoy shaping.

So, new resolution for this week is having three free shaping sessions, with an object, every day. Today Monster has learned to balance on a snow shovel (out in the garden), and put his head inside a cardboard box. There should be a third thing, but the day isn't over yet.

Whuh?

Today's Sunshine

Monster and I have been doing some good work on the retrieve today. And by that I don't mean we've made amazing and speedy progress, but rather that I've managed to keep it very simple. I'm always eager to move forward, and it's always a bad idea. Getting to the goal without completing the course just means you've rushed through without actually learning a solid behavior. Today we've only worked on take and return from my hand, holding no more than a second, and only in the living room. In fact, I think this week we won't push it much farther than that, instead focusing on varying the retrieve object. Not actually retrieving anything, just getting a solid hold on anything I ask him to grasp - probably not even training outside the house.

Believe it or not, but this is progress for me.

Today's Sunshine

So. This has nothing to do with Monster, or even with me. But I think it's wonderful, and I make (and break) the blog rules, so there.

Crufts shows some sanity!
And then does it again!

While it's tragic these dogs are so unhealthy, it's an amazing development that they won't be rewarded for it anymore. There is sure to be wailing and complaining from a whole host of outraged breeders (in fact it's already started), but I personally have never understood how breeders who deliberately breed for exaggerations that cause dogs physical (and mental) discomfort - not to mention outright suffering - aren't guilty of animal abuse. It's a mystery to me. If a vet can look at a dog and say it's actually suffering, and this is a situation the dog's breeder has deliberately put the dog in, how is this not covered by the laws that protect animals?

But apparently that's not how it works, so we have to fix the situation some other way. Namely, stop rewarding bad behavior and start rewarding the good instead! So, this is the first step in the extinction of an unwanted behavior. And now, let's sit back and watch the extinction burst...

Those poor dogs, though. Not so many decades ago the Neapolitan Mastiff

There is a dog in there. Somewhere...

looked a lot more like the Cane Corso

Duuuuude... What happened to you!?

It's a fucking tragedy, and I won't apologize for my language in this case.

Let's all just hope The Kennel Club doesn't back down again once they realize how many dogs will have to be excluded (but surely they already knew). And that it's not a temporary PR stunt and the madness will return to "normal" once they feel people aren't looking anymore.

Today's Sunshine

Monster and I have met with our trainer again today! It's pretty exhausting for both of us, but it feels great to see the progress.

We were again BATting against a staged dog (as well as whatever the surrounding world would throw at us), and I think this really is the way forward. While there certainly were a few failures, when Monster overloaded and couldn't tear himself away, he's overall a very different dog with this technique. He'll release tension much quicker, and he's more willing to engage with me even with distractions all around.

It was also nice to see how he greeted the trainer once he arrived! I won't say Monster was polite. He goes for the airborne attack eleven times out of ten, unfortunately.

I'm gonna get your nose!

But he was happy. Monster does like people, but on leash, out of his territory, with people he doesn't know very well, there's... a certain edge to how he views people, and especially people walking towards us. But as soon as he spotted the trainer (I've got to find a name for him soon, don't I? How about... Teach?) he perked up. And when Teach got close enough Monster could be certain he recognized him, he started doing the full body wagging and happy snorting reserved for Monster Favorites. While I suppose it doesn't really matter if Monster likes the trainer or not I think it says something about how Monster feels about this training. He's only met Teach in this specific place, doing these specific exercises. If Monster found these sessions unpleasant, I don't think he'd respond like this to him. So at least in my mind, if Monster loves the trainer, Monster loves the training. Plus, it's just nice to see him happy.

Of course, once Teach got close enough, Monster became a rubber piranha.

Today's Sunshine

Monster and I tried BATting at some horses in a paddock today. I'd thought Monster found horses exciting and interesting, and really wanted to get closer to them. Turns out he hates horses and wants nothing to do with them, just like his Mom! (Seriously, they keep trying to kill me!)

Right there with you, Mom!

Well, that might be an exaggeration, but he responded well to distance increasing rewards and not at all well to distance decreasing rewards, so he really doesn't want to be around them. Fine by me, honestly. But after three passes at them, he walked calmly by without paying them any attention, so BAT continues to be incredible.

Today's Sunshine

After learning some new tricks from our trainer last time, we had some nice experiences today out walking. When given the cue to turn around and ignore the dog he was looking at, Monster actually turned away before me! And he really seemed to appreciate this new method.

If you haven't already checked it out, I really recommend BAT. I couldn't get it to work with Monster without the trainer's help, and regardless of the fact that you're all smarter than I am it may be a good idea to get some help at least initially. I frankly haven't quite got it yet (next trainer appointment is already booked), but Monster seems to read faster than I do...

You do not want to go up against me in an IQ-test!

Today's Sunshine

Today Monster and I were in the garden when our neighbor came out to his garden to work. This neighbor is an old man and very hard of hearing, which means he moves strangely (to Monster's eyes), he shouts very loudly (and so do I when talking to him), and he keeps coming closer and closer (to try to hear better). In short, he's Monster bait...

But, today I managed to get a very good reward situation going with Monster, where he'd look over and remain calm, and continuously accepting rewards. Towards the end he even looked and then turned back to me a couple of times! So, so wonderful, when ordinarily he'd be bouncing around along the hedge separating the properties and screaming his head off with no ears open for my opinion on the matter.

Check This Out!

I just found a goldmine!

Behavior.org | Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies

This seems like a great resource. I've only browsed around a little so far, but I think I'll be able to find lots of interesting things here. Hopefully it'll at least help me understand enough to make it easier to continue learning more.

It'll be nice to have some more solid sources than silly little books about being nice to the poor little puppy (not my words), and shove them down the throats of the "one good correction will teach him his place"-people!
(Hello, there's that aggressive primate.)

Shaping Is Fun! (aka Today's Sunshine)

Monster and I have been working more on base position through shaping using a platform (I told you about this yesterday, keep up). While it's still far from complete, I finally get the charm of shaping!

Shaping has never really worked for us before. If Monster isn't being given cues and guidance, he'll just shut down. I assume this is a result from our unfortunate time of correction based training, and I'd more or less given up on Monster ever conquering this. As I told you yesterday, he did the same when I first introduced the box. Instead of experimenting and offering up a score of behaviors to try to find the right one, as you read about in all those smug, braggy (not really, I'm just jealous) explanations of shaping, he'll just become passive and either wander off or lie down and look at me mournfully.

But now! As soon as I walk near the box, he'll do an amazing flying stomp to get on it and then look at me expectantly. It's so great it's actually making me tear up! (I've had to put the box away when we're not training now, since he just won't leave it alone.)

Well, click already!

I've tried to use the camera to capture it, but it's really hard since the focus still has to be on Monster and rewarding everything he does right. However, I discovered something today I just had to share. Well, I've noticed it before of course, I expect everyone has. Tail position. Yeah, advanced stuff, right? But see, while I know dogs "talk" with their tails, and I can read Monster fairly well, today's training really drove home how precise it is, and how much it tells me about how the training is going. I couldn't catch an example of everything, so I'm using some other photos too. Check this out:

*Should be a photo here, but I don't have one. It looks almost identical to the next one, except the tail is limp and close to the body.*

Above should be an illustration of what it looks like when he doesn't understand, and is also unmotivated to try, perhaps even a bit uncomfortable. This would be how he looked when I first put the box in front of him and he shut down.

I don't get it...

Here his tail is pretty low, but he's holding it a bit out from his body. It says he's interested in the situation, but has no clue what's going on. This is what his tail looked like when he first started interacting with the box at all.

Hang on...

Here his tail is stiffer, and he's holding it out even further. This means he's fully engaged and actively trying to figure out what pays.

All right!

This tail is held almost straight out (looks like he has gas), and means he's really thinking. Once he's reached this position, he's working hard and figuring stuff out and learning. And enjoying himself!

Not sure if I'm doing this right, but who cares - it's fun!

Once the tail goes higher, it means he's either so sure of the behavior he no longer has to think about it, or he's become exhausted and can no longer focus. In either case, he becomes goofy instead of concentrating.

I rule the world!

And once it's high and tense, there's just no hope of working with him, he'll just jump, bark and be generally obnoxious. Too stressed.

I find that I get the best results if I try to keep him going between "Hang on..." and "All right!". If he goes lower than "Hang on..." it means he's not understanding, and if he goes higher than "All right!" it means he's either learned it already and isn't being challenged, or I've worked him too hard for too long and he's stressed out.

Our result from today is that Monster now realizes that the reward comes for moving his back paws, he'll now step around the box with his back paws while keeping his front paws on the box (and occasionally falling off).

So tomorrow - no scratch that. No planning while Dobie is here. Next time I'll try to get him to seek base position next to me, and follow me when I move away. We'll see.

But honestly, even if he never gets base position, I don't care because this has been an awesome experience!

(No, not really. He has to get good base position for us to be able to do pretty much anything... But you know what I mean.)

I've been working hard today!

Today's Sunshine

Another step backwards. I decided I wanted to back up in training and get a really good base position. And this time, I was going to shape it and work on a platform...

So, this morning I introduced Monster to a box on the floor, and stood by with clicker and treats at the ready. In the first training session he eventually laid down and sighed in confused frustration, never having even gotten close to the box. Now, I'm not good at shaping, so I cheated (I think?) and tried to make the box interesting, pushing it around and playing with it before our next training session. By this evening, Monster now steps up onto the box and moves his back paws around!

Yeah, it's not actually a base position (or even close), and I'm pretty sure he hasn't twigged to the fact that moving his back paws (as opposed to trying everything) is the point, but I still love it. It was a lot of fun, and I think we got pretty far in one day. Monster also seems to have enjoyed it.

(Didn't get any photos, since I was too busy being an awesome trainer and all, but Monster's so pretty it doesn't matter if the picture has anything to do with the post!)

You know that's true.

All Sunshine, All the Time

Monster and I had a great training session today! It's not that we had any major breakthrough or anything - or even that it went all that well to be honest, but it just feels good to be doing something more. We'll see if it pays off, but right now I'm hopeful.

Plus Monster had a lot of fun, deciding that the new trainer was a great new (treats dispensing) toy...

I'm gonna get you!

(I'm not posting a Cloud today, because it would be about health and I don't want to make the worst of the situation... Also no resolution for tomorrow, for related reasons.)

Today's Sunshine

Tomorrow Monster and I are meeting a new trainer, and we'll be working against a training dog... No telling how that will go, so I might as well be happy about it today before anything's gone wrong.

It's exciting, and I'm looking forward to it. Not sure why, because I do understand that one training session tomorrow won't magically fix anything. Still, I suppose I can be happy about actually trying something more organized than wandering around at home and hoping for the best. Hopefully this will go well, and I'll learn some things I'm doing wrong. I've been trudging on and not getting very far for some time now, so help to see my mistakes is much needed.

New Day, New Goal

In light of my great disappointment with my weak character (it's not like it's news, but I suppose that's all the more reason to do something about it), I think I'm going to try something new. I'll set up a goal each day, a kind of mini new year's resolution. Nothing big or impressive, just something small I'd probably do anyway. And it has to be concrete, no "I'll get better at x" or "I won't do y so much".

I'm hoping this will help me both make sure I get one specific thing done each day, and that the emphasis on this goal being reached (even though it's small and everyday) will act as a positive reinforcement on myself, making me better at... Well, everything ideally!

Wait seriously? I knew she was kind of dim, but...

Today's mini resolution: I will... stop three times while out on our midday walk and work on obedience with Monster. No less than five minutes for each break, no more than ten.

(To be clear, this is not all I do with my dog in a day, it's just highlighting one thing. If you're new with dogs, and you're looking around to see how much time you have to spend with them, this is not enough.)


Aaaaannnnd..... Mission accomplished! Good Monstermom!

Today's Sunshine

We've been working on a trick for a while, nothing impressive, just Monster sitting up straight (with his front paws off the ground). He got the basics of it quickly, however I've been having trouble getting him to stay up for any time. If he doesn't get the reward straight away, he'll try other things, either bouncing up and down alternating, or combining them and doing for example a silent bark while sitting up straight.

Now, unfortunately this is not a post where I tell you I have now succeeded in making him understand what's expected of him. It's a post where I tell you he showed me a better trick and I caved in!

It may not sound like Sunshine - in fact it probably isn't -  to change intentions in the middle of training like this. But I like it, so you can all suck it!

What? You got something to say?

This evening, Monster began applauding while sitting up straight. He claps his front paws together repeatedly, and it looks adorable! (Yes, I said "adorable". Live with it.) He quickly responded to reinforcement of this behavior, and after three short sessions, he now offers it fairly reliably. It may have messed up the chance of him ever doing the trick as I intended it, but I don't care - Monster's idea was better.

Is this what's called shaping?

(No photo, unfortunately. Not quick enough with the camera.)

Today's Sunshine

Monster did great with eye contact today while out walking. He finds eye contact a little unpleasant at times, and it's hard to get him to keep looking, especially away from home. Mostly I have to be attentive and reward the smallest glance.

(If you ask my mother it's another story. "He's looking at me again!" She finds his eyes super creepy, and apparently he won't stop staring at her. Heh. Good boy!)

But today he kept eye contact for maybe 15-20 seconds at a time, while moving! I like it!

I see you...

Beware, bewaaaare!

One thing which happens when you find yourself with an aggressive dog, is that others gain power over you. You so desperately want it to just stop, you're willing to listen to what anyone has to say as long as they say it with authority. And if they're trainers, you pay them to tell you what to do and what to think.

I could have used that money...

In my case, I was fairly convinced the answer to our problems could be found in positive reinforcement. I didn't know too much about using it to solve a problem behavior, just about using it to learn new things. But it just so happened that we were already enrolled in a dog training class, advertising positive reinforcement and clicker training (which was why I chose it in the first place), scheduled to start some weeks later. Perfect! I contacted the trainer and told her about our new problem, Monster's behavior towards other dogs. I wanted to make sure both that we were still welcome, and that we could get some help. No problem, come on over, seen it before, know just what to do. Well then, soon our problems would be over!

Oh no!

At this class, I was told first of all I needed to immediately neuter my dog. Now, neutering has no guaranteed effect on behavior. And even if you do see a change, it's not necessarily going to be for the better. I was not willing to experiment and hope for the best, which I made clear. (Every subsequent meeting for the class I was again told I needed to neuter my dog, to my annoyance.)

Secondly, I was told something very familiar: I needed to become the boss of my dog. In all things he was to be behind/below me. If we were walking, he must walk behind or beside me. If I was eating, he mustn't eat until I'd finished. You're starting to recognise this too, right? Yeah, this is old school alpha theory...

But what did I know? As I said I didn't know much about the base theories of positive reinforcement training. And we were going to get help!

Next thing actually did seem new to me, so it had to be clickery stuff: when Monster lunged at other dogs, I should let him. With positive reinforcement you never give attention to incorrect behaviors, so when my dog was showing aggression I should just stand there holding the leash and ignore him.

Oh, you're gonna ignore me, you say?

The explanation actually isn't wrong, but the application is horrible. Acting out aggression is self rewarding, meaning you can't ignore it away. Every time your dog lunges at another dog, he becomes more likely to do it again. You can interrupt bad behavior without punishment, which is what you should do.

And do you have any idea what it feels like to have an 80 pound (he was younger then) Cane Corso repeatedly throw himself at another dog while you're holding the leash? He wasn't just barking and growling, he was throwing himself off the ground, being stopped by the leash in mid-air. He and I both were injured, repeatedly.

And how does this weekly experience help him relate better to other dogs?

Not to mention what it did to the other dogs in the class! For hours they had to perform tricks and behave, while a few feet away a complete maniac five times their size was screaming he was going to get them... I'm sure they won't remember that.

It seems insane now that I'm writing this. In fact, you're probably thinking I'm a complete moron for continuing to go there. I did actually find it questionable at the time, but they could point to things showing them that the method was working. I wanted to believe them (again, with an aggressive dog you become desperate to find help), and they were the experts after all...

I think I'm staying home today, Mom...

So off I went, week after week, putting my dog through hell. Helping him, you know. And from time to time he'd stop attacking, lie down, even roll over on his back. I was told this meant he was beginning to get better. When he acted like that he was starting to behave normally.

Of course it was normal behavior! He was fighting for his life, surrounded by enemies, in absolute mortal terror. You'd collapse too. Sooner or later, you too would try to surrender. But it. Just. Wouldn't. Stop.

I hope you're not surprised when I tell you he kept getting worse...

After a couple of months the class was over. (The above was not the only strange techniques we were taught, but I can't handle dragging the rest up right now. Letting Monster aggress freely was by far the worst, and what I regret the most.) This finally woke me up from the dream that they were going to help - the class was over and Monster was not better.

Is it safe to come out now?

Well, now I'd tried that newfangled clicker nonsense! Clearly, it was ridiculous. But no more! Oh no, time to get some real help!

Positive reinforcement hadn't worked - in fact it had been downright idiotic. So, I contacted the strictest (please note, this does not mean the most violent) old school dog trainer I'd ever heard of, packed Monster into the car, and drove off to get some  real help...

You whaaat!?

Now, I write this post for several reasons. One is that writing it down and making it public is a bit of a relief somehow. Another is that I believe in admitting my mistakes, it's too easy to hide from bad decisions. Third, I think it's a fair illustration of how most aggressive behavior isn't built in one day, and it often is a cumulative problem for the dog in question. And finally:

I hope my blog can help someone else struggling with their aggressive dog. And I hope you read this post in particular, because it isn't a jungle out there, it's an insane asylum. You need to find a good trainer. Make sure you have some understanding of the underlying theories. Be clear on how you expect to be helped. Do your research. Before writing this post I looked around at some sites advertising dog training with "positive methods", "clicker methods", "positive reinforcement", and so on, many specifically mentioning training aggressive dogs (or "reactive"). They're lying to you. Or at least they're very wrong. Don't be a sucker like me, so desperate to have someone offer a cure you'll buy the snake oil...

And if you can't find a good trainer, a bad trainer is not the next best thing. You can learn on your own, the information is out there.

I know I keep telling you she's an idiot, but this part's actually not wrong.

You can train in the old school way using techniques from the positive reinforcement methods, like clickers. At a glance, I'd say this is what most trainers are offering. It's not what you want, it's not what you need, it's not going to help you! And if you're unlucky, it may really harm you...

So What's The Secret?

I keep saying I've stopped correcting, and things are getting better with our new method, but what exactly are we doing now then? Well, let me tell you, I've discovered this amazing, brand new and groundbreaking method! For just $19.99 you can learn it too!

I'm gonna eat well tonight!

No, of course not. What we're doing is following one of the very first things you come across when you start looking into the "softer" side of training. Positive reinforcement methods mean that you reward your dog for doing something good, and if he's behaving badly you try to address the reason behind the behavior. In our case the reason can be boiled down to "Dogs are bad!". Instead of correcting the behavior and telling him "I don't care if dogs are bad, you just shut up!", I'm telling him "Actually, dogs are great!". The way to do that, simply put, is to reward him for seeing another dog. If there are dogs around, you're in candyland!

I see a poodle!

But if it's that simple, why did I waffle back and forth, trying this and that, abandoning positive reinforcement for stricter corrections?

Because it's stupid, that's why! Or possibly because I'm stupid, I'm a little fuzzy on the details... No, see, I didn't really get it. I thought I did, I was willing to try it (even though I wasn't entirely convinced it made any sense), but I really didn't. Eventually I found a great instructor who could show me exactly what I needed to do. It was the same things I'd read about, but she could make it make sense for me.

A few things which tripped me up:

• When do you reward? When your dog experiences something to which he associates negatively, a Bad Thing.
• But what if he's too busy acting like a Monster? You've made it too hard for him.
• Alright, see a dog, get a treat. Then what? Then he looks again, and he gets another treat.
• But he's looking the whole time, should I just keep mashing sausage into his maw? You're still doing it wrong. Give the reward for Bad Thing so he has to look away to take it. Then you'll get a defined moment for his next reward - when he looks back up.
• But he wont look away to take the treat. If I give to him while he's looking, he'll eat it, but if I hold it away from the Bad Thing he'll just ignore it. Again, you're making it too hard. If your dog won't stop looking, you're too close. Increase the distance to where he'll look away to get his treat.
• Actually, he won't accept any treats at all. Even if I shove them into his mouth he won't chew, they just fall back out again. He looks ridiculous. I don't think this is working. Listen, Ive said this before, but you clearly weren't paying attention: You're too close! Work at a distance where your dog will show interest in Bad Thing, but has attention to spare for you and your treats. You like chocolate? Do you find eating chocolate a pleasant experience? What if I walk up to you while you're folding laundry and shove chocolate into your mouth, would find that a pleasant experience? No, give the dog treats when he wants them, otherwise it's not a reward. If he doesn't want them you're doing something wrong. Knowing you, I'd say you're too close, but that's just a guess...
• All right, I'm getting the hang of this now! See a dog, get a treat, see a dog, get a treat, lather, rinse, repeat. But we are out on a walk after all, eventually we'll need to pass that other dog. That means getting closer to it. In fact that dog is getting closer to us as we speak. No! Why won't you listen? You do not have to pass the other dog, you're not even out on a walk, you're training! When you're out walking with no other dogs around, you're just out on a walk. When a dog turns up, your walk becomes training. Keep your working distance to the other dog, reward your dog for being around Bad Thing for maybe ten reps, then turn around and walk away! 
• I'm not sure what's happening here, but now he wont even look at the other dog! He just keeps begging for treats. Now what? Now you move closer, until you find the distance where he starts becoming interested in the other dog again. This is the whole point, he's begging for treats instead of focusing on the other dog because he now feels comfortable with other dogs at this distance. So you make it a little more challenging aga - no, not that close you moron! Oh, for the love of...

My Mom's an idiot!

As you may have picked up on, it was nearly impossible for me to accept that we had to keep a working disance. Part of it was that I wanted to push it, just a little more. If the lesson was harder, he'd learn more, right? No, the point of the training is to form a positive association. If I put him in a situation where he feels uncomfortable because a dog is too close, treats won't suddenly make it better. We need to be where he's aware and interested in the other dog, but no more.

Another thing I just couldn't grasp was that the working distance really is how close we'll ever get to other dogs. I was fine (eventually) with training Monster at a distance where it wasn't too hard for him, but then I wanted to stop the training and just continue on with our walk. No matter if that meant passing another dog 10 feet away, he'd just have to suck it up and deal with it. It wasn't like running away from the problem was going to solve anything! All right, training him when we're too close to another dog won't work, fine. But that just means we won't train when we're that close!

Yeah, that's of course not how it works. Monster can't learn that being around other dogs is great if he freaks out about other dogs all the time. There's no point telling a dog Bad Thing is good for five minutes, and then spending five minutes telling him Bad Thing is bad (which is what he experiences when he gets too close to something which makes him feel bad). You may as well just give up on the whole thing, it won't work. I did.

But like I said, I did find a trainer who could speak Idiot. She managed to get me to understand what I was doing wrong, why I couldn't get a result. It didn't take that long either, I knew all of it already - it just wouldn't come together in my head. We are now using only positive reinforcements, and while I'm not very good at it (I'm clumsy and slow, and it still doesn't come naturally to me), it's working. When we started, we needed to keep other dogs far, far away (around 1200 feet, maybe). Today our working distance is about 100 feet. If we have an accident, where we perhaps meet a dog unexpectedly around a corner, Monster will certainly react and behave badly - but at his worst he's still nowhere near the frenzied maniac he was before, and he winds back down again much faster once it's over.

(And that's another thing I had trouble grasping. You must not let your dog get too close to Bad Thing, but you can't actually control the world! There could be a Bad Thing around any corner. What then? Well, you accept you screwed up/had bad luck/wasn't paying attention, and you move on. You should be prepared for possibly needing to make training a little easier again, but it's not the end of the world. Don't let it happen too often - that's not unfortunate, it's careless - but don't stress about the occasional accident. Shit happens.)

So, what I think you should do to help your aggressive (or just frightened) dog stop his bad behavior:
Figure out what his Bad Thing is, and start rewarding him for being around it - without letting him get too close!

And read something written by an actual expert, or look up a good trainer... Cause I'm kind of an idiot.

You should see her trying to screw in a lightbulb...