Breakthrough! With Cheese!

I've been using string cheese this past two weeks... since I've been too cheap to buy something else for him. It's worked fairly well. With the mozzarella I was getting my normal check ins... but with the colby jack I tried tonight? Oh wow. The checks ins were bam-bam-bam in the beginning... then we crossed an outdoor cat and he lost his brain for a good portion of the walk. It set him right about his threshold, maybe a little over, and he forgot I existed as he smelled down the variety of stuff dumped in people's yards. However, we always get to this spot where I'm preparing to cross over to the next block and there is this LOUD dog (not visible) across the street from us. He sounds vicious and then to top it off, there are sometimes a whole group of dogs behind a fence (visible) in the house we're trying to cross over to. Add that to the fact that we don't always continue the walk and choose to turn instead of cross the street and that place is a very stressful place for Toby to walk.

He's desperate to continue the walk, and at times can be pushed over threshold. Lately I've been treating for every time he hears a dog bark in that area and it's helped him stay calmer... though he still pulls like a madman across the street, determined to keep his walk going. (We normally turn back there on our shorter walks, because from there on out the walk gets more 'dangerous'). Tonight I got lazy and stuck what was left of the string cheese in front of his nose and let him nibble when he heard the dog. For the first time EVER Toby walked at my side, nibbling on food while we were outside. He's one of those eat and run dogs, that you have to build up to having the dog stick around for a chance at seconds. Heartened by my success I released him, called him back and gave him a few more steps of nibbling, released him again, and then called him back and let him nibble his way across the street. It was the calmest walk we've had walking across that street. I was stunned.

Now... sadly, that left me without any food rewards for the rest of the walk home but thankfully outside of two enclosed dogs and some kids playing basketball there was nothing worthwhile to send him over the edge. He did fairly well the rest of the way home. I'm definitely trying that again!