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Be careful of falling into the desensitizing trap.
From what I read here you took steps forward without retreating. And, you may not have predetermined the threshold. Pre-determining the threshold
is an important step because otherwise you will not know if the threshold has changed.
First find the threshold. It is important that you know where it is and not approximate. Mark that spot.
Now go to a spot 5 feet behind the spot you marked. As long as you get no unfriendly reaction mark that as your first approximation. Wait there for some friendly behavior. It must be an active friendly behavior such as eye blinking, cocking an ear towards you or even taking a breath. Then retreat 10 feet. Use that active friendly behavior as your cue to retreat.
Once you have retreated count to 15 before going forward again.
Now, come forward again by maybe two feet beyond where you last marked. Wait there again. Your goal is not to touch her or anything else. Your goal is to get active friendly behaviors. Not leaving is not an active friendly behavior. She may simply be frozen. This is especially true if you have done clicker training for this problem.
Warmly,
Dolores
----- Original Message -----From: Conway, Julie ETo: Dolores ArsteSent: Tuesday, June 02, 2009 12:01 PMSubject: RE: Gracie and CATHi Dolores,I did my first trial last night. I began by picking a distance of about 30 feet from her right side. I then took a step towards her and tried to stay below threshold which I seemed to do. I marked each step by my foot and then once I was certain that she was not reacting, I turned and walked away back to my original position. There was only one time that she pinned her ears, but I waited for any sign of acceptance, turned and walked away from her back to my original position. I was able to get within two feet of her right side within 10 repeats each time returning to my original position. Now, this doesn't surprise me, because I made no attempts to touch her. My thoughts are that if I repeat this trial a few times before a raise my hand to stroke her forehead, that we then might make a change. But, I'm sure I'm getting ahead of myself.So, now, my question is, how many times shall I repeat this exercise, that is, if I've done it correctly. Also, when I do make my attempts to raise my hand, I am thinking that I should approach it the same way - with my arm down as my original position with very gradual movement up towards her forehead (which is her most accepting position on her body). My thoughts are that each time I am able to get to her most neutral position, that in turn is MY original position to start the next trial (unless that is entirely too much for her) or that I can more quickly get to that neutral position and then begin the next trial.Thanks for your help and I am forwarding this to Laurel also. Please feel free to post this on the zenhorsemanship list.Julie
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