Welcome Dog Owners!
You have come to the right place for information to help you become more effective in the rehabilitation and training of dogs and other animals struggling with fearful, shy, reactive, or aggressive behaviors. The information you’ll find here is effective and humane. No animal needs to experience pain, force or intimidation to learn new skills. Welcome to 21st Century training.
Training Consultations
Do you have a dog or other animal struggling with fearful, shy, reactive, or aggressive behaviors? Are you struggling to help them feel and behave better? Getting started on the right track is critical. Don’t be confused or misled by varied and conflicting information. Contact me to set up a consultation in person, online or by phone.
Books to Help Fearful Dogs
Fearful Dog books by Debbie Jacobs include “A Guide to Living With & Training a Fearful Dog” in both English and Spanish, in digital and print. This book was a finalist in the 2008 Dog Writers Association of America writing competition.
Debbie’s other book is “Does My Dog Need Prozac? Musings and sound advice on living with a shy, anxious, fearful or reactive dog.”
Facebook Group
Fearful Dogs is one of the most respected and recommended groups on Facebook for anyone with a fearful dog. Created to provide a supportive community for fearful dog owners and trainers the group also includes groomers, pet sitters, fosters, veterinarians, and veterinary behaviorists. Members have access to educational group files and documents.
Articles, Posts & Other Resources
Fearful Dogs offers a large collection of behavior and training resources specifically for dog owners struggling with problem behaviors. You’ll find information on how to work with aggressive behaviors, how to get started helping fearful animals, dogs suffering from sensitivities, the role of medication to help fearful and anxious animals, calming products, and much more.
How To Choose a Qualified Trainer
It is important to find trainers who understand how to work with fearful dogs. Anyone can call themselves a dog trainer, but it doesn’t mean that they have studied the current literature on dog learning and behavior. Learn what tools and terminology to be wary of, and what questions to ask a trainer before you hire them.
Become a Patron
Get exclusive content for patrons only, including live, private webinars, chats, patron-only blog, recordings and behind the scenes access to Debbie and her work helping owners and trainers work with problem behaviors. Patrons support important projects like the Walking In The Woods with Dogs Podcast and low cost training for rescue groups and foster caregivers. Patronage begins at $3/month.
Upcoming Events
Helping Dogs With Fear, Aggression or Reactivity
Join Sara Matters, MA, ABCDT, Debbie Jacobs, CPDT-KA, RBT, and BCBA presenters for 1-2 days of evidence-based information and practice related to learning and behavior change. Pet owners welcome!
Webinars
Live and on-demand webinars on working with animals with fear-based behavior challenges and other problem behaviors, along with topics of interest to anyone committed to science-based training. Currently available webinars include “Beyond the Basics: There’s More Than You Know” and “Fear: Its Impact on Behavior.”
Pet owners welcome!
Walking in the Woods with Dogs Podcast
Topics of interest to pet owners as well as animal trainers and behavior analysts. Featuring a narration of B.F. Skinner’s Science and Human Behavior, among the most important texts for anyone interested in behavior analysis.
