aggression

The 3 Steps To Helping Fearful Dogs

By |2018-05-15T13:10:06-04:00May 15th, 2018|Categories: Dog training, Fostering Dogs, Helping fearful dogs, Medications for fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

It has been over a decade since my fearful dog Sunny came to live with us from a rescue camp set up to help care for the animals impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. I met him at Camp Katrina where I went to volunteer several weeks after the hurricanes hit. As much as I thought I knew about dogs and dog behavior, training and ...

High Risk Activities

By |2019-02-20T11:09:31-05:00March 2nd, 2017|Categories: Dog training, Fostering Dogs, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

"I'd rather not." "So?" One of the primary goals I have for this blog, the seminars and webinars, and consults I do for folks living or working with fearful dogs is to help them understand how to think about fear based behaviors. When I am contracted to help someone train their dog I can directly and specifically tell them what to do. But that's just ...

Dog Trainers, Thanksgiving and Tomatoes

By |2015-09-26T18:43:13-04:00September 26th, 2015|Categories: Dog training, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , |

I grew up in the northeast of the United States, in an urban area with neither parents nor neighbors who gardened. The majority of the fruits and vegetables I ate were store bought, with the summer time exception of sweet corn, a staple delight of childhood, food you were suppose to eat with your hands and that usually tasted a lot like butter and salt. I'm not ...

Dog Owners Should Stand Up For Their Rights

By |2015-03-10T09:34:40-04:00March 10th, 2015|Categories: Dog training, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Dog trainers are a notoriously passionate bunch, and I will not deny that I am among them. However what is going on in the dog training industry extends beyond personal passion for the subject and crosses over into what pet owners should expect when they pay for a service. What they should expect is solid advice and guidance based on the best information available to ...

Aggression in Fearful Dogs- No Surprise Here

By |2014-08-15T08:18:45-04:00August 15th, 2014|Categories: Dog training, Fostering Dogs|Tags: , , , , , , |

The older one gets the less in life seems to surprise us. One of the things that should be no surprise to any of us is for a fearful dog to behave aggressively. Aggression is a normal and predictable response to see in animal who is afraid, often terrified, for their life. Brains are designed so that if an animal is experiencing fear, behaving aggressively--as ...

What It Takes

By |2013-07-30T08:37:46-04:00July 30th, 2013|Categories: Dog training, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

I had a call recently from a concerned owner with a service dog who was becoming more and more reactive to sounds and changes in her environment. The dog was described as "timid" even on arrival into the home of her new handler. I will not address the reality that someone trained and placed a dog to be a service dog in the community who ...

The Recipe for Red Zone Dogs

By |2012-11-15T09:58:15-05:00November 15th, 2012|Categories: Dog training, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , |

The term 'red zone' dog has come into vogue to describe aggressive dogs. There is the connotation that these dogs are different in some fundamental way from other dogs. The term is often used to justify the use of severe punishment in order to train them. It's as though, unlike every other dog on the planet, they are only able to learn if punishment is ...

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