The Dog Listener training system is all about giving your dog leadership. If the dog sees you as the leader, then he is relieved of those duties. In the eyes of the dog, someone has to be the leader of the pack, the dog or you.
The calm freeze is a way of taking control of a situation and telling your dog that you are in control, that you are happy with the situation, and that the dog does not need to worry.
Here are a couple of examples.
I like to take my chocolate lab, Maisie, for walks in the country. Living in Guildford there are many wooded areas. Most of the nearby roads are quiet. Occasionally a car will travel to or from nearby fields. At this point, I silently call out to Maisie, grab her neck by her side, and pat her on the shoulder. I look at the car, not Maisie. When the car has passed, Maisie follows her path.
In this way I have created the quiet freeze. I’ve told Maisie that I’m in control, that I’m monitoring the situation and that I’m happy and in control, so she doesn’t need to worry.
The second scenario where I use a calm freeze is with horses. The problem with horses is twofold: 1) they can get scared, although many horses are comfortable with dogs around them, 2) they can kick the dog, in which case I want to protect Maisie.
So with horses I use calm freeze. When I see the horse in the distance, I draw Maisie’s attention, back away if necessary, and have Maaisie come to me. Once again, I hold her by her collar, pat her on the shoulder and watch the horses go by, telling her that I am in control of her, that I am happy and that she does not need to worry.
The Calm Freeze is a great tool and should be used when your dog gets excited. The Dog Listener technique has 4 pillars that you must learn, hunting, food, status and danger. Calm freezing is a tool for coping with the dog’s perceived danger. When you understand why a dog does what he does, then you can influence the dog’s behavior.
The Dog Listener approach helps people understand how dogs behave.
