Last night, a friend and I went for a ride around the lake in the Hansen Dam basin. It was a pretty low-key ride but there were some good opportunities for Max to become further de-sensitized since we would be passing by a vey busy set of soccer fields and a crowded parking lot.
Max performed flawlessly and all the various people running around and flying soccer balls didn't seem to faz him any. After working our way past the soccer fields and through a series of parking lots, we made our way along the base of Hansem Dam. At several points we were passed by kids riding bikes and pleasantly enough, Max didn't react at al. My theory in regard to this issue is that it must be more of a space issue than anything else. I note that the times he has blown up at bikes, it's been on narrow trails or fire roads- it must puncture his comfort zone. I think the thing to do now is to work on getting Max used to getting closer to moving bikes where he won't feel threatened.
This was one of the few times that I can say that a ride was completely relaxing for both Max and I. :-)
Max performed flawlessly and all the various people running around and flying soccer balls didn't seem to faz him any. After working our way past the soccer fields and through a series of parking lots, we made our way along the base of Hansem Dam. At several points we were passed by kids riding bikes and pleasantly enough, Max didn't react at al. My theory in regard to this issue is that it must be more of a space issue than anything else. I note that the times he has blown up at bikes, it's been on narrow trails or fire roads- it must puncture his comfort zone. I think the thing to do now is to work on getting Max used to getting closer to moving bikes where he won't feel threatened.
This was one of the few times that I can say that a ride was completely relaxing for both Max and I. :-)
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