Fall #12

https://go.screenpal.com/watch/cTX3Ypnqrk5

So at the beginning of the track Otis was bucking in all directions. I stopped him at the start without any negativity. I just unclipped him and walked him away. Walked him back and his start was more focused/ better. Had the staring and whining. Although I called him to me, I was nagging him. Tried to be positive while using a calm voice. 

https://go.screenpal.com/watch/cTX3YRnqrpW

Bucking and leaping. Again trying to use a calming voice. He sees a runner approaching and passing and I used unh unh as he stared then started after her. 

https://go.screenpal.com/watch/cTX3rinqr5xu

More bucking and bounding. Called him to me. An attempt to calm him.  He obviously knows where track is. Flipped the article then was so unfocused he couldn’t calm down


to find it again.

https://go.screenpal.com/watch/cTX3rYnqrET

He was spinning, bucking, flipping the article. Finally had him stop and sit. I took the article and put it away. After he made the turn and found the article I offered water, threw out an article and ended the track.

Comments

  1. JudiNovember 22, 2025 at 6:26 PM

    Good decision to end it! And not to worry, we all have days like this (or at least, I do!). Sometimes the best ‘help’ you can give him is to end it. Sometimes the environment wins. So note that in your journal—“ environment 1, tracking 0.” On days it goes well, it’s tracking 1 environment 0. That gives you a way to see if it’s getting better. Behavior is dynamic—this is either getting better or worse. it’s not staying the same (behavior doesn’t do that). Distractions are nothing more than an undesired reinforcer! SO, we just want to know if the incidence of YOUR reinforcers being better reinforcers than the environment is increasing or decreasing. It feels like your reinforcers are winning more often (but that’s what I want to happen, so my view is skewed). Let’s keep track, we can adjust what we do once we see a clear trend.

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  2. JudiNovember 22, 2025 at 6:31 PM

    Another thought, and this is admittedly kinda out there. Have you read Leslie McDevitt’s “Control Unleashed?” I highly recommend it! I might even consider teaching Otis a couple of her games (ping pong or super bowls come quickly to mind) and, when he just can’t focus, switch to one of those games (give up on the track for the day). When there are clear distractions like a runner…..play the game. After you’ve read the book and trained the games…take him to mildly distracting environments and play the games.

    Leslie’s stuff is huge for Fletch when the environment is winning.

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