Bad’s already happened
A common misunderstanding about ways to work with dogs who are fearful is that we can show them that they don't have any reason to be afraid of something. We think of it like this (you can replace anything that might scare a dog for the 'man with hat'). Dog sees 'man with hat'-feels fear-nothing ...
What’s your standard?
Standard- an accepted or approved example of something against which others are judged or measured. I was recently contacted by someone who was starting a rescue group for dogs with mild to moderate behavior challenges. I'm not sure how 'mild to moderate' was being quantified and nothing about the information they readily shared gave any ...
Don’t teach them to run before they can walk
When I was growing up it was likely you'd find a box of wooden 'strike anywhere' matches in any household. For kids these matches provided hours of recreation and skill building. First we had to learn to light them using the rough siding on the box, but we didn't stop there, we were determined to ...
Poor puppy
I have the opportunity to talk to many people about their fearful dogs. One thing almost all of them have in common is that they waited too long to get help for themselves and their dog. I'm not pointing a finger of blame at them, I understand the delay. Most of the dogs we've lived ...
Sorry about that!
For those of you who got numerous notices about a blog post please accept my apologies! Not sure what happened as I hadn't even intended to publish the post, it was an as yet unedited morning rant I was having with myself. Something did cause my computer to freeze up and I suspect you can ...
Hoarder update
Apparently irony is lost on Sunny's hoarder Tammy Hanson. She is suing the sheriff's department and others for cruel and unusual conditions she claims she was subjected to while in prison for cruelty involving dogs she had collected on her property. Certainly jail time is not meant to inflict the same conditions on someone which ...
Celebrating diversity in dogs
For over a decade I worked at a summer camp in New Hampshire. They were blissful summers, as summer is often remembered by New Englanders who get too little warmth and sunshine the rest of the year. I had different jobs. Some years I traveled with groups of teenagers exploring the world and introducing them ...
Placebo effects
Given the recent news about antidepressants and the 'placebo effect' I thought I'd go there first before folks get themselves all in a lather about those medications and their usefulness treating dogs with fear, phobias and anxiety disorders. That there are other ways to treat mild depression other than medication is not news. Research demonstrating ...
Tread lightly
There seems to be a rash of redemption videos making the rounds online. Dogs who once fearful are transformed into confident, huggable dogs by the deft handling and/or love of their savior. The savior varies, from well-intentioned pet owner to professional dog handler, of one kind or another. One thing most of these videos have ...
