New Class, New Approach

Even though Spartacus is dog reactive, we truly hope that we will see other dogs on walks. That's the only way we can work on his reactivity. For some reason, we rarely see any dogs around lately! In keeping with our goals, we knew Spartacus needed to be enrolled in another class in order to get guaranteed regular exposure to other pups. We have been curious to try clicker training with a professional and googled around only to realize a Foundation Clicker Class was starting the very next day in our area. So Thursday of last week we headed out to the introductory class, sans Spartacus, and got the low down from an all positive trainer.

The trainer we are working with has lots of experience and among her specialties, she has worked with many aggressive and fearful dogs. She works with dogs who have killed other dogs and landed people in the hospital - so Spartacus with his showy reactions on leash is nothing to her. The class itself consists of mainly adolescent dogs without any serious behavior issues, and our trainer wanted to do a private evaluation of Spartacus before approving him for this crowded intro course. 

We've recently been managing his behaviors based on what we learned in our Behavior Solutions class, and we are forever grateful for that experience. Still, there are so many approaches out there, and we're really curious about a purely positive approach. Our last class was what I'd call a balance of positive reinforcement and some dominance techniques. The main method of learning was through classical counter conditioning and operant conditioning (I think, it's so confusing to me).

Today I took Spartacus to our new trainer's house so she could observe him meeting her five dogs individually. Armed with hot dogs, I approached test dog number one with Spartacus on his Gentle Leader. He didn't react with barking, lunging, or growling, but his posture was stiff, ears forward, and hackles raised. Rather than cue Spartacus for eye contact, the trainer advised me to just wait for him to offer it. With him on a Gentle Leader, I wasn't too concerned that he would get out of control, so we stayed just a few feet from her Jack Russell. Within a minute or two, Sparty was volunteering eye contact and his posture was showing signs of calmness. Eventually his tail was wagging and he was trying to greet the other dog. We let them get closer. We didn't let the dogs greet on their own, but the trainer picked up her dog and let Sparty sniff her butt so she could watch his response. Spartacus showed positive interest with no sign of aggression. He proceeded to work through the same nervousness around two more dogs - starting off nervous and then settling down beautifully all on his own, wanting to play. Test dog #4 was a little jack rabbit who was bouncing all over the place. Spartacus reacted to this dog dancing in front of his face with a little bark/lunge. The trainer said the behavior itself was warranted, but Spartacus didn't give any warning signs which was problematic. Test dog #5 was a blind geriatric Italian Greyhound with a lame back leg. Most dogs are freaked out by his odd way of walking and acting. The poor old guy was barking in the wrong direction, and Sparty remained calm. Go Sparty! 

He was approved for the group class, and we're also going to do a few private sessions working on Behavior Adjustment Training (B.A.T.) or the variation, Constructional Aggression Treatment (C.A.T.). I like that these methods ask the dog to volunteer behavior. The trainer believes a dog that teaches itself a behavior learns better than a dog ordered to respond to cues. These two training methods also reward the dog for a variety of calming signals, not just eye contact with the owner. It'll be really interesting learning to read all the subtleties involved in dog communication. We've been learning these for a long time, but we learn something new every day it seems!

Have you tried using B.A.T. or C.A.T. on your reactive dog?

Tropical Games

Our special training class for reactive dogs just ended less than two weeks ago. Admitting our dog was reactive and focusing on training him was a bit of an emotional journey. We went a good year and a half in denial of Sparty's mounting aggression. Enrolling in a class and starting this blog helped us recognize our issues, define our goals, and document the huge leaps we've made together - but it's been draining too. After the countless hours of training walks and special trips to the dog park just to work on training, everyone was ready for a short vacation. Within days of finishing class, we packed up the pooches and even our kitty and drove down to visit family in South Florida.

My dad owns and lives on a tropical plant nursery with his who-knows-what-mix Ollie and his Pomeranian mix Sadie.

Spartacus lived here with us the first year we had him and it's his favorite place in the world thanks to all the running, swimming, and sunbathing he gets to enjoy. Delilah thinks it's pretty cool too.

We wanted our dogs to relish in plenty of fun and relaxation, but in keeping with our goals, there was lots of training to work on too. Enter hide and seek.

One of our goals is to develop a bombproof recall with our dogs. In an attempt to make recall a fun command, we started playing hide and seek in our house in the last few weeks. Our dogs can't get enough. We put them in a stay, and one of us monitors them while the other goes to hide and call them over. We use "come" but there are plenty of words and noises you can use for recall instead. Once released, Spartacus is very enthusiastic darting from room to room sniffing out the air with intense focus. When one of them finds us, we throw a party with praise and high value treats and of course the other dogs get rewarded too once they arrive. We thought Sparty and Delilah were seasoned enough with the indoor version to take it out into the nursery. We hid behind trees, tractors, trucks, the stuff nurseries are made of.

Ollie caught on quickly and added even more pep and enthusiasm to the game.

Spartacus seems to use his nose in this game more than the others, so we think he'd be a good candidate for nose work sports eventually.

We did have some issues making this a three player game. Ollie is the world's most happy go lucky dog, but she lacks in training and became a bit greedy with the treats we were dishing out, scaring off our dogs from their reward. Overall, though, the game seems to have a really positive effect on our recall with the dogs. They are coming immediately when called about 80% of the time now, compared to about 50% a few weeks ago. Their recall is 100% for at least an hour after a hide and seek session. We try to always use a spirited happy voice to call them, which also has made a big difference. The best part of the game is how fun it is for us humans too. We feel like little kids again, giggling with our hands clasped over our mouths as our dogs run right past our hiding spot.

What kind of training games do you play with your dogs?

Behavior Solutions Training Class Week 8

Yesterday was our last Behavior Solutions class. We took a field trip to the patio of a popular downtown pizza joint. Athens experienced the first spring weather we've had here in the South, and it felt like the whole town was there with their dogs. This was a perfect situation to test all our new skills. We all hung out in the sunny patio with our dogs, walked them around downtown, and enjoyed ourselves without incident. It was the perfect graduation for a reactive dog class imaginable.

Reflections

We can't say enough how healing it was to be in a judgment free classroom surrounded by others dealing with reactive dogs. Possibly the most important thing we gained from the past eight weeks was the ability to be calm in situations where our dogs are stressed. Before taking this class, our heart rates shot up anytime we saw a dog being walked. We'd anticipate the barking, lunging, and growling, and the harsh stares from strangers whose dogs wouldn't hurt a fly. No doubt our anxiety was transferred through the leash to Spartacus. In the classroom, in a way, we looked forward to a few reactions each class - so we could study them and learn from them. Reactions aren't the end of the world, and now that we can keep our cool, we can prevent them more easily and snap Spartacus out of them quicker. Learning to chill out has been empowering for us, and we know it's the first step in helping Spartacus too.

Of the rave reviews we could provide for our class at Pawtropolis, perhaps their greatest asset is their flexible and balanced methodology. They offer one class that uses 100% positive methods to teach basic manners, whereas our class seemed to borrow from the best of different training concepts. When we asked our trainer if she recommended any books, her honest answer was that mixing and matching different training philosophies is what works best in her experience - so no single book could provide all the answers. At the same time, when we expressed interest in clicker training, she entertained the idea of putting together a clicker class for reactive dogs if there's enough interest.

Overall, over the past eight weeks, we introduced a lot more positive reinforcement into our handling than we had been doing before on our own. Our treat belts reeked of hot dogs week after week.

Here's an overview of concepts we covered:

• Reading dog body language 
• Rewarding every millisecond of eye contact with treats and "yay!" or "yes!"
• Hand feeding to build the bond and teach the dog to understand all food comes from you. Also reinforces eye contact.
• Body blocking to own a space, such as doorways, between dogs, food on the floor, you name it
• Nonverbal leave it
• Heel using "crazy walk" (constantly changing directions) to teach your dog to follow you
• Effective timing for affection/reward and for discipline
• Backing your dog up until they make eye contact as a way to break their attention from their trigger
• Lots of real life practice set ups

After eight weeks of specialized training, we feel that we can take on almost any situation on leash as long as we have a few feet of space from other dogs. Spartacus really benefited from being around other dogs who learned to respect each other's boundaries. In class yesterday, he was sunbathing a couple feet next to other reactive dogs. None of them tried to sniff each other, everyone kept to themselves, and it was beautiful. Of course, 99% of the dogs we pass on the street are pulling towards us, often with their owner's consent, so we still have a lot of counter conditioning to work on. Also, we've learned to be vocal and advocate for our reactive dog with the simple words "my dog needs space". At least we know Spartacus can happily co-exist with other "bad dogs" and that he doesn't inherently hate all dogs on leashes. It took eight weeks to learn that, and it's a beautiful thing!

Goals for Spartacus

Rehabilitating Spartacus has become something like a part-time job. A job we love! Something really clicked for us a few months ago, and we realized his behavior wasn't going to magically change overnight. Every day that we weren't working on training him with focus and commitment, Spartacus had the opportunity to continue practicing and perfecting his problem behaviors. His reactivity and insecurities were holding us all back from things we want to do together like going camping, having road trip adventures, and showing off our gorgeous dogs around town comfortably and safely. This afternoon we have our last Behavior Solutions training class for reactive dogs. Over the past eight weeks of consistent training, our optimism for Spartacus' future has sky-rocketed. As his owners, we have built up confidence realizing that our handling can make a big difference. We see that with our dedication, we can have a happier, more confident dog living a fulfilling life.

In order of importance, here are some behavior issues we still need to work on A LOT before we have a chilled out Spartacus. It's a lot of work, but we're committed to helping our dogs live the best lives they can. Delilah's goals are a separate post!

Leash Reactivity toward Dogs

• Continue to learn more methods, read more books, and implement clicker training while avoiding punishment. 
• At least 10 training walks a week in dog prone areas, working on attention, heeling, emergency exits, sit-stays and down-stays in public places.
• At least 2 training sessions a week in high dog traffic places like dog park entrance and doggy daycare parking lot. Practice auto-watch using clicker.
• Try to set Spartacus up for success 100% of the time, using distance as a tool to avoid going over threshold.
• If instructor agrees to it, enroll Spartacus in 4 week CGC Prep course in May for further socialization and practice.
• Goals: Pass other dogs on same sidewalk eventually. Pass CGC by end of 2014.
  

Recall and Off-Leash Attention

• Develop an emergency bombproof recall by throwing a party whenever my dog comes to me. Use a new word that has a cheery ring to it like "zazoom!".
• Start by practicing in house/private dog parks/yard. Increase distance slowly. Increase distractions over time. Seriously practice at least once a week.
• Use hide and seek to make it fun.
• Continue to build up our bond and trust with positive reinforcement training and games off leash.
• Goal: Have Spartacus come 100% of the time when called in high distraction situations.
  

General Anxiety, Separation Anxiety, and Insecurity

• Start working on Dr.Karen Overall's Relaxation Protocol using a mat and down stay position to make the mat a safe, happy place to relax.
• Perfect "go to mat" command.
• Teach some new tricks for confidence building.
• If instructor allows it, try a dog sport eventually.
• Goals: Staying calm when one of his parents disappears from site, especially in a public place, such as the supervised separation exercise in the CGC. Not to mention, more tail wagging and a less anxious disposition in all situations.
  

Guarding the House, Porch, and Car

• Continue to do time-outs in the bathroom for barking in the house, every time. This seems to be working really well.
• Practice counter-conditioning to dogs while in parked car at least once a week using clicker and auto watch. This can be done outside dog park, doggy daycare, veterinary office, etc.
• As weather gets nicer, do leashed training sessions on the porch. Work on Relaxation Protocol, starting at odd hours and slowly working up to when people and dogs are passing. Also use clicker and work on counter conditioning to people and dogs passing. Practice at least twice a week.
• Goals: No more barking in the car, house, or on the porch.
  

Jumping when Excited

• Perfect the "go to mat" command when visitors are coming.
• Consistently work on down-stays when Spartacus meets someone new who gets him all excited and wanting to hug.
• Goal: No more jumping, ever!
  

Behavior Solutions Training Class Week 7

Yesterday, our special training class for reactive dogs took another field trip. Sadly, this was our second to last class. Say it ain't so! On the flip side, all graduates are welcome to return to the last three classes of all subsequent Behavior Solutions groups for free! Allowing the graduates to participate gives the currently enrolled dogs fresh stimulus and helps the graduates continue to hone in on everything they've learned.

Our group consists of three dog-reactive dogs and one people-reactive dog. The people-reactive Havanese is worst on his own territory, so this week we went to his house. Human students took turns ringing the doorbell and entering the house of the Havanese while the rest of us worked on pass-bys and other dog triggered stuff. Thus far most of the classes have focused on the needs of the dog-reactive dogs, so we were all more than willing to let our trainer spend the whole class with the Havanese and its owners. Until today, we had no idea what this guy's deal was. He was so quiet and perfect in class. Finally his true colors came out - you could hear him barking inside from down the street!

So as our trainer and the Havanese did their thing, we practiced pass bys with safe distances between us, and all went well. Then we tried talking to other owners with our dogs sitting just a few feet from each other. Spartacus had to face two dogs from a past class, dogs he did not know. They couldn't have been further than five feet away. One of the dogs was very friendly and wanted to meet Spartacus, so she was making some eye contact. On our first attempt to mingle with the other handler, Sparty barked and growled when he saw the friendly dog. We did a quick about face and I stood facing Spartacus, his gaze locked into mine. I turned to his side in a heel and let him face the other dogs. When he took his eyes off me, he barked and growled again. Another quick about face and back we were. This time, he was fine. He kept making eye contact with me and blocked out the other dogs sitting five feet in front of him. He accepted that I was going to talk to their owner and he was going to behave. Cheers, Spartacus! Those were his only two reactions all of class.

We were there for almost two hours total, and 99% of that time, Spartacus was completely fixated on us, the bearers of hot dog. We have been working for seven weeks on being more interesting than other dogs. Every millisecond of eye contact has been rewarded. In class that reward is tiny pieces of hotdog, and on our daily walks we use a combination of kibble, hotdog, and diced up Natural Balance rolls. Ladies and gentleman, we are thrilled to report that always stinking of meat has paid off. As we type, we are simply in disbelief. Spartacus successfully passed other dogs ON THE SAME SIDEWALK! He couldn't have cared less when we passed the Frenchie from our class. Six weeks ago he lunged and growled and barked and did his whole freak out dance at this very dog multiple times yards away. Today, as we passed said Frenchie, the sidewalk may as well have been empty for all he cared. Then came the Doberman, a perfectly behaved dog with her CGC who is not in our class. Like Delilah, she's a reactive dog's sibling, and was there for moral support. When we passed the Doberman, which we did three times, Spartacus barely noticed. Granted, we each walked our dogs to our left and there were two people between them as they passed, but that is not a barrier Spartacus recognized in the past. Being on the same sidewalk as a passing dog seemed truly impossible to us just weeks ago. We walked by the Dobie and Spartacus looked to me for hotdog. Then he realized another dog had just cruised by within feet of him. He started to look back. His ears darted. Right at that early sign of targeting, a small snap of his slip collar got him right back to focusing on his handler. No reaction whatsoever.

Eventually, the group sat on the ground in a kumbaya type circle with our dogs relaxing together just feet apart. We asked our trainer if there's any chance we can get to a point where our reactive dogs will actually greet other dogs, do the whole butt sniffing thing, and be normal (on leash). She made a wise point. Our goals are probably different than our dog's goals. We may want Spartacus to be social and normal, but that's our goal. Meeting other dogs on leash is not what Spartacus wants to do. It stresses him out for whatever reasons. Instead, he has been learning to do something else when dogs are near - ignore the dog, look at his owners, and get treats. We have provided a way for him to feel safe around leashed dogs by teaching him that he can ignore them, that he doesn't have to protect us from them. For now, we are going to respect our dog's boundaries and not force him to adapt to our vision of what a dog should be like. Reactive dogs have special needs and if you can manage their reactions and still go out in public with them, you've done them and yourself a great service. With lots of practice counter-conditioning, reactive dogs can function in society and lead fun awesome dog lives.

There are still many months and probably years of diligent  practice necessary for Spartacus to consistently maintain his cool around other leashed canines. If we ever feel that he has become so desensitized to leashed dogs that he can maybe try approaching them for a normal dog greeting, we will bring that up to an experienced trainer. But if that never happens, we'll still be super proud of our boy and love him all the same. Spartacus doesn't have to be a normal dog to be a good dog. Our greatest fear when we started this class was that his leash-reactivity would prevent him from accompanying us on all the walks we want to take with him and all the trips and adventures we see in our future. The transformation in just two months has been profound. Our confidence, along with Sparty's, has reached new heights. Working with a leash reactive dog is incredibly fulfilling. Every small victory brings a newfound sense of hope. So what if Sparty can't do proper meet and greets on leash? If we have to swerve a few feet out of the way when dogs approach, that's a pretty good bargain for having our best friend by our side.

Oh and the territorial Havanese made a ton of progress today, so we're proud of him too!

Behavior Solutions Training Class, Week 6

Our regular Monday night Behavior Solutions training class was rescheduled to yesterday afternoon. Instead of meeting in a classroom setting, our reactive dogs took a field trip to the real world! We met in the condo community of one of the owners, hoping there would be lots of dogs out and about. Why did we remove the dogs from their safe zone at the training center? They're ready to be challenged by real life scenarios. 

Here's what we worked on:

Pass-bys

We had been practicing passing other dogs in our classroom since day one, but trying it in the great outdoors of a condo community changed things up. In class, we sit with our dogs and give them a constant stream of high value treats for paying attention to us. The atmosphere remains calm for the most part. Out and about, especially in a new place, our dogs are easily distracted by the new smells, sights, and sounds, and their attention is harder to come by.

Still, we all managed to do our walk-bys with no discernible incidents. After five weeks of respecting each other's boundaries in class, all the classmates seem very comfortable with each other and don't really trigger each other's reactivity at this point. Luckily, there were three extra dogs in the group today, Delilah included. Some random dogs being walked in the neighborhood also provided new stimulus.

We kept about 5-10 feet distance today in our pass-bys, and did whatever was necessary to redirect our dog's focus if they started targeting. Targeting refers to a dog starting to lock their focus on their trigger, in this case other dogs. You can tell Spartacus is targeting when he raises his ears forward, creating creases in his forehead. Also, if his mouth was open, he will close it. Sometimes his hackles will raise as well. I found that I sometimes need to step in front of him to regain his attention. Then I will walk backwards a few steps, while Sparty's eyes stay fixated on me. We can then resume a normal heel position and carry on with the "watch me" game.

Fence Fighting

The condo community had its own little dog park. It was empty, but the fenced in structure allowed us to work on issues around fences. Spartacus has really improved his behavior around fenced dogs in the last month. He's never been reactive to fenced dogs, but he used to pull us and become anxious when fenced dogs were barking and running the fence. We responded with lots of counter-conditioning in our neighborhood practicing sit stays and down stays with lots of treats next to fenced in dogs. Now, he is overall quite calm when he's on the outside of the fence. I can put him in a sit-stay half a foot from a fenced dog, and pet the dog on the other side while Sparty patiently waits.

Put him inside a fence, and it's a different story. At least in our own fenced yard, he can be very territorial. When we let him off leash by himself in the fenced dog park during class, he was more curious about the smells inside than the dogs passing the fence. However, once we added Delilah inside with him, their excitement grew and they started fence fighting the outside dogs. We quickly resolved this with simple body blocking. We've been working with body blocking in class to basically teach the concept "leave it". We literally just stand in front of our dogs in a strong stance and block them from whatever caught their interest. Our dogs respected our corrections and did not resist our body blocking by jumping up at us.

After our turn off leash in the park, we leashed up and exited, and two other siblings from the class went inside. One side of the little dog park is practically up against a wall of bushes, with only about a foot and a half of walkway space between the fence and the hedges. Several of the dogs in class reacted to the fenced in dogs when we squeezed through this narrow walk-way, including Spartacus. The great thing about being in a training class is we get to recreate scenarios that trigger our dogs until we get it right. Our second time around, I used body blocking to keep Spartacus' attention on me instead of the beagle behind the fence, just half a foot away. He didn't react and was thoroughly spoiled with hot dogs.

Hanging Out

The last portion of class was spent hanging out on a patch of grass while we asked our trainer questions. Two of the dogs who came from the same house were playing, and Sparty tried to be "referee". Sometimes when he sees two dogs playing, he barks like he's got to keep them in check. It's not an aggressive bark, but it's annoying and not what we asked of him. On the other hand, Delilah seems able to just zone out her surroundings and think about squirrels. She was a foot away from the playing dogs and couldn't care less. Sparty wasn't totally calm, but he wasn't aggressive either. Though he was barking a bit, it made me happy to see that he was laying on the ground with relaxed hips within feet of other dogs without responding aggressively. Still, he's got a little ways to go before he can mind his own business like his sister. 

When we spoke with our trainer after class, she seemed really pleased with our progress. She did suggest we keep the Gentle Leader head halter in our pocket, in case we want to try do-overs in public places on our own. We used the G.L. for a long time when we first started training Sparty to heel and anytime we were heading somewhere potentially crowded. For the purposes of his current training, the G.L. allows us to redirect Sparty's head, whereas our current training collar, a parachute cord slip, doesn't affect what direction he is looking in. Overall, I prefer that the slip collar forces us to try harder to get Spartacus' attention, but the Gentle Leader is always a great tool to have as back-up. 

Our last two classes will also be field trips. We love this class so much, and are so grateful we have such a creative trainer who really shapes each class based on the needs of the individual dogs. 

Have any of you taken training classes to work on behavior issues like reactivity?

What's Up with Spartacus?

So what is up with Spartacus exactly? What do we mean by leash reactive?

For the past two years, we've had a very small yard and rely on multiple daily walks around Athens, GA to exercise our pup. A month ago, we dreaded encountering other dogs on these walks. Even dogs across the street. In fact, we hadn't stayed on a sidewalk with an approaching strange dog in over a year. We were constantly on the lookout. Avoiding other dogs was the only solution we knew. Spartacus had consistently blown up ferociously at almost any dog he saw - the best we could do was keep him on a tight head halter and pray it would be over soon. Barking, growling, writhing in the air and lunging in every direction to battle the pull of the leash - that's what we mean by leash reactive.

Today, we can proudly say we've made some improvement. Last night we attended Week 5 of Behavior Solutions class at Pawtropolis, led by the amazing Tamela Boyd. This class is limited to four dogs and is endearingly referred to as "The Bad Dog Class". We love it because it provides a nonjudgmental atmosphere for dogs and owners dealing with behavior that is stigmatized in public. How can you work on leash reactivity if you're relegated to walking your dog in situations where you can't address it's triggers? In Behavior Solutions, we practice passing other classmates at distances we just couldn't ask of a stranger, knowing our dogs might erupt. But through a combination of well-timed discipline and plenty of positive reinforcement, the outbursts are reducing in frequency and severity. We are conditioning our dogs to learn new responses to old stressors.

Practice

The method that we are most focused on is using check-ins to keep Spartacus' attention on us instead of his environment. The idea is simple: every time Spartacus chooses to look us in the eye, he gets a treat. We carry treats and kibble with us on all our walks, and in class he receives a near constant stream of hotdog bits for staying calm and keeping his attention on us. The end goal is to pass another dog and have Sparty just look to us and pay little mind to the other canine. A voluntary check-in from our dog demonstrates his impulse control, but for now it's still okay to use voice commands to redirect Sparty from his battle plans. Though he can't keep his eyes off us most of the walk, we say "Sparty, eyes!" to remind him of the check-in game when dogs are near. And we rejoice when his soulful gaze meets ours.

Careful timing is key. Just a quarter second delay in redirecting Sparty's attention can lead to hysterics. We've gotten better at abruptly forcing a seize fire when he does declare war, but the triumph is better felt when he decides to look to us instead of react at all. This merits plenty of praise and treats, and it feels like this positive reinforcement is creating a real shift in response. We made it through class yesterday with three minor outbursts in an hour and a half. Most of class, Sparty was within feet of other dogs in various staged interactions: two dogs passing each other, walking around a stationary dog, remaining stationary with other dogs practicing tricks around us, meeting a dog and owner behind a fence to name a few. Three outbursts and at least eighty victories.

Patience

Progress is slow, and we still don't feel comfortable passing a strange dog on our side of the street just yet, but we are building new behaviors and learning so much right now. We know many dogs are never truly "cured" of their reactivity, but they are managed so well that no one would know the difference. Yesterday at Behavior Solutions, recent graduates were invited back to refresh their manners and provide some new stimulus for our group. It was amazing to see how far they had come. One 100 pound black lab mix didn't make a peep and acted as the neutral dog for different exercises. Another graduate was so quick to respond to her owner's corrections, it was clear her reactions do not have an opportunity to escalate and she can be managed in public.

As for us, we've been able to transition from a Gentle Leader head collar to a parachute cord slip collar, and we can confidently pass dogs across the street graciously. We are so grateful and optimistic that in just a month we've laid the foundation for this new journey with Spartacus. We know it's a long road ahead, but we are excited for the future and all the hard work it will bring.