Conditioned Relaxation

I've already started to work on this months ago but not on a regular basis because it was hard for me to remind me doing it when Lisbeth was relaxing.

But today I know that this is an important tool for our anti-stress training. I think it will not work in environments were Lisbeth feels stressed at all but I need it for particular situations to bring her back to a state of mind where it is possible for her to think. I think of meeting strangers on a calm walk, or a walk with a dog friend, finding deers tracks on our way. This and a lot of other things stimulate Lisbeth that much that it is no longer possible for her to think. This results in beeing reactive or a very hard player and things like that. Having a chew or making a break together can help to calm her down again but it would be nice to have something which works a little bit faster.
I think most of you have heard about conditioned relaxation.... This does not mean that your dog falls asleep when you say a special world but that he relaxes in one way or the other.
We train it by putting on a special collar with a special smell (lavendula) and by repeating a special word when Lisbeth relaxes.

This can be when she is close to sleep, or when you pet her, or when you brush her. You have to do it very often and like all other behaviours you have to use it in different situations and at different places. Its easier and more effective when you combine the word with other senses, like the visual, the tactile and the olfactory sense (like we do). I hope we will be sucessfull with this because one of our biggest issues is not the stress per se but her inability to relax after stimulating situations.