Comments for Behavior Adjustment Training (BAT)

Comment on BAT Steps for Reactivity by Grisha

Grisha — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:06:22 +0000

Hi Julie,
Feel free to post this on the BAT Yahoo group. You’ll get a lot more answers and help along the way. http://functionalrewards.com/yahoo-group/

The function of the reactivity seems to be fun/contact/moving closer. You can either give her one step forward as a reward (just one human step, both feet move once) or you can do an equivalent reward, by running away and playing. Or run away and feed if she’s not toy motivated. If she goes ballistic if you go forward, you may be starting too close to the trigger. Good luck!

Comment on BAT Steps for Reactivity by julie

julie — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:02:17 +0000

I have a frustrated greeter, and don’t quite understand how to incorporate a reward for her. If we’re close enough for her to notice the trigger (another dog), ANY movement toward the dog tends to get her amp’d up. I’ve been trying to reinforce her disengagement response with treats, but it seems like it’s completely missing the BAT aspect of functional reward.

When we pass places she usually sees other dogs (who get her super-wound-up), if the dog isn’t there (she always looks for them) and she disengages I can reward with moving closer, but it doesn’t really feel like it’s helping with the real problem.

BAT completely makes sense to me for a fear response, but I’m not quite understanding the approach for frustration.

Comment on Woofs! by Lori Fricks

Lori Fricks — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:11:59 +0000

Thanks to Grisha Stewart, I have an incredible new tool to add to my collection of CC & D, LAT, LTT etc. for help with reactive dogs. One client had used 5 trainers previously who used a number of techniques for their leash-reactive dog including CC & D to no avail. The owners felt the cause was hopeless, and were resigned to forever living with a dog who reacted violently to every dog he saw. However, we saw amazing progress during the first session of BAT! Continued BAT training has resulted in a dog who calmly and happily greets other dogs while on leash. Simply amazing!

Comment on Woofs! by Monica Barger

Monica Barger — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:17:24 +0000

I used BAT for the first time in a private lesson yesterday w/a highly reactive dog with a dog bite history. When I started w/this client I told her I had heard of a new method for working with reactivity & that I’d research it & see if we could utilize it…so I went in search of & found BAT! This is the first method of dealing with reactive dogs that I’ve felt full “buy in” for! From a behavioral & K9 learning standpoint, it stands up for me! Dogs acknowledging their triggers, learning new emotional responses in the face of those anxiety producing moments & making choices? My kind of training! AND…I am finding the method extremely easy to teach & coach for my client! Awesome!! I can’t wait to see what else I can apply it to!! this method combines some of my strongest beliefs in dog training…1.) Learning is most efficient, effective & durable when the reward is based on inherent/internal drives & needs. 2.) Training is most efficient & durable when dogs can engage in active thought processes and make choices on how to respond in any situation. & 3.) training that enhances trust & respect between owner & dog is the ultimate goal! Thanks Grisha!
Monica – K9 Funatics, Nebraska

Comment on Woofs! by Renee Hall, CDBC, CPDT-KA

Renee Hall, CDBC, CPDT-KA — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:26:09 +0000

BAT brought me back to aggression training after a hiatus. I was unhappy with the slow progress of traditional CC/DS programs and the typical GROWL class options I had learned in my initial training. While researching and revamping my class structure, I read about BAT. The process made perfect sense to me and I love the real life response changes we can gain as well as the speed of learning. I am thrilled to add BAT to my toolbox and am recharged about working Reactive/Aggression problems again!

I have implemented a new class system which uses BAT and have been overwhelmed with the progress we are experiencing-thank you Grisha for spreading the word and offering an integrative, natural approach to behavior modification.

I am in Lehigh Valley PA and offer private as well as group classes.

Comment on Woofs! by Christa Wendlandt

Christa Wendlandt — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 03:47:33 +0000

I am working with BAT for about 18 month now. I’ve had some great success but still have a way to go with some of the dogs. I do lots of impromptu BAT on walks but my success is much higher with set ups.
So at this point I will be helping people at no charge in exchange for being a subject for the dogs I am working on. As I said, its so much more successfull if one can control the subject (dog or person)
I’m in the East Bay Area near San Francisco but I’m willing to travel.

Comment on Woofs! by Caroline Spark

Caroline Spark — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 16:43:33 +0000

I am a dog trainer and behavior consultant and have worked extensively with my own Recovered Reactive dog, using a variety of different approaches. When I first encountered BAT I felt it was something I was already doing myself — except I wasn’t! Many of the elements were there, but I wasn’t combining them in the elegant, well thought out, scientfically sane and accessible way that Grisha has. I think one of the beauties of BAT is how easy it is to slip into it, like a dance. Of course the dance can get more complicated, and some people like dancing more than others, but I am finding that most clients take to it easily, and we are seeing good results. I also love the community support element – I know from personal experience that the emotional side of living with reactivity/aggression can be stressful and lonely.

Comment on Woofs! by Leonard "Buzz" cecil

Leonard "Buzz" cecil — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 09:25:49 +0000

I’ve been using BAT with behavior modification clients since around April 2011. I’m located in Basel, Switzerland as was incredibly lucky to be able to host Grisha here for a 2-day seminar in August 2011.

While techniques such as D&CC (dessensitization and counterconditioning) and LAT (Look At That) are very important and work well, adding BAT to my toolbox has also been a boon to my clients’ everyday life with their dogs. BAT is, in it’s various stages and types of application, extremely flexible for the everyday life with the dog and allows itself to be, with the proper instruction, used by just about any client. Moreover, I’ve found, that even if not entirely properly used by the client, the basic effect is still present. This is huge, because once we’ve worked together, demonstrating these strategies in a set-up (leaving the obvious benefits the dog receives from these set-ups for the moment), the owner herself takes over the actual training on a day-to-day basis and all I have to do is add more ideas and do some tweaking. This means I don’t have to worry about the occasional mistake or misunderstanding. It may slow progress, but doesn’t stop it.

Thanks so much for this new addition to my toolbox and hope to see you here again!

Buzz Cecil (and Vela)
Ettingen, Switzerland

Comment on 2 BAT Talks at APDT by Grisha

Grisha — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 21:04:27 +0000

Thank you so much! What a lovely, eloquent thing to say. You made my day!

Comment on 2 BAT Talks at APDT by Lynn Dowrick

Lynn Dowrick — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 20:42:26 +0000

Grisha, your presentations were a huge highlight of the APDT conference. I am so impressed with how well BAT works, for dogs as well as people. It’s a dynamic exercise in confidence building at both ends of the leash, and deserves a solid place in dog trainers’ array of training tools. It was also great to meet you after the Q&A for book signing~both Jennifer and I are thrilled to have copies hot off the press!
Best,
Lynn