It’s Not Just The Dog That Feels Better
Lasts weekend in both shy dog agility class and a Control Unleashed-based class for reactive dogs there were owners returning for a second set of classes with their dogs. Not only was the improvement in the dogs apparent, their owners were looking fabulous as well. Anyone who finds themselves with a challenging dog will appreciate ...
I’ve Got Your Back!
Imagine living with someone who scared you every day, even if they didn't mean to, they did. Imagine living with someone who at any moment might put you in a situation in which you were scared, and they did nothing! This is how many fearful dogs live their lives, anticipating being scared and then being ...
Choose Your Words Carefully
In a class for reactive dogs a sheltie was described by participants watching the dog interact with its owner, as 'demanding'. And there was no question that it was. If the owner was not interacting with the dog it jumped and pawed at her and its high pitched bark was enough to make ...
I Can Do That!
Owners of fearful or shy dogs are often told that they need to build their dog's confidence, but just what does that mean? I start with the definition of 'confidence' which is to my thinking, the ability to reliably predict that your actions will have a successful outcome. A dog's definition of 'success' will affect ...
Practice Makes….More Likely!
If you are living with a fearful dog who has inappropriate responses to the things it's afraid of, cowering, lunging, barking, growling, fleeing, etc., it is important to understand something about how animals (including humans) behave when stressed. When your dog is afraid, it is experiencing stress. When an animal is stressed and needs to ...
Guest Blogger Veronica Zimmerman
Over the years I've been working with my own fearful dog and learning about fear based behaviors and how to change them, I've corresponded with many others who are doing the same. There is something to be learned by each of our experiences with our dogs and Veronica's post addresses many of the important components ...
Cue Happy Please!
Something that has helped me with my fearful dog Sunny has been to create 'cues' which change how he's feeling. Most dog owners do this with their dogs all the time, 'wanna go for a walk!?', 'want a cookie?' probably at the very least cause a dog to perk up its ears and pay attention. ...
Pill Popping
I am a member of an online group devoted to discussing fearful behavior in dogs and offering support and advice to owners. After reading several messages about a particular dog it sounded as though it would benefit from the use of a behavioral medication. A reply to my suggestion was posted, lamenting the 'automatic' response ...
In A Court Of Law
I recently had a brief, somewhat unpleasant email exchange with someone living with a 100 pound American Bulldog that was aggressive, to the point of having bit the owner in the face. From the description of the dog- it had been a timid, cowering in the corner puppy- it sounded as though the dog had ...
