desensitization

Creating The Foundation

By |2009-05-15T19:50:49-04:00May 15th, 2009|Categories: Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

Sunny is one of the lucky fearful dogs that landed in his forever home straight out of the rescue after the hoarder that had him and 476 other dogs got busted for operating what was most definitely not an 'animal sanctuary'. It was not the plan and like many other foster caregivers for a fearful dog I could not part with him. Not ...

Taking It Slow

By |2009-05-11T22:43:15-04:00May 11th, 2009|Categories: Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Early during my search for information about how to help my fearful dog Sunny, one rescuer of border collies told me that she 'didn't have the time that I had to work with her dogs'. Her point was that all the DS/CC I was doing might be nice but just making dogs deal with things worked for her, and was faster. I never ...

The Basics

By |2009-04-11T13:10:48-04:00April 11th, 2009|Categories: Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

I'm going to keep this one short and sweet. If you are working with a fearful dog you must at the very least understand the concepts of counter conditioning and desensitization. Desensitization is the gradual introduction and increase in exposure to the things your dog is afraid of. The exposure is only increased when the dog exhibits comfort with the situation or object. Go too ...

Guest Blogger Roxanne Hawn

By |2009-04-02T01:00:02-04:00April 2nd, 2009|Categories: Guest bloggers talk about fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Fearfuldogs: Tell me about your dog Lilly. Roxanne: Lilly is a nearly 5-year-old smooth coat border collie, adopted at 6 months old from a progressive humane society in Boulder, CO. She came in as a transfer. So, she lived in two shelters and a foster home before we adopted her. She passed all temperament testing with better-than-average scores even though she did show some shyness/fear. ...

Thinking is Good!

By |2009-03-26T16:48:51-04:00March 26th, 2009|Categories: Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Studies have shown that thinking and learning can slow or even reverse the effects of aging on the human brain. Learning new skills, like playing the piano or line dancing, doing crossword puzzles or brushing up on quadratic equations, is important for humans at any age. It seems that the axiom, 'use it or lose it' is true for our minds. I thought about this ...

My last post on Cesar Millan

By |2009-01-15T14:49:24-05:00January 15th, 2009|Categories: Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I say this is my last post about Cesar Millan because this blog is not about him, regardless of the benefit of the additional hits it may get me from the Dog Whisperer Ambassadors out there. It is not about trying to convince his loyal converts that he is wrong or bad. I agree with him that many dogs in America have less than stellar ...

How Realistic Are Your Goals For Your Scared Dog

By |2009-01-08T19:56:22-05:00January 8th, 2009|Categories: Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

If you're an owner of a fearful dog you've heard it all before- "He just needs love." "Give her some time." "Lots of dogs are shy at first." But you've probably discovered that it takes more than time and love to help a fearful dog. If your dog is just afraid of some stuff, you may, with the understanding of counter conditioning and ...

Bad Advice

By |2008-12-27T14:06:49-05:00December 27th, 2008|Categories: Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Advising someone with a fearful or shy dog to expose their dog to whatever induces fear in them, without encouraging owners to have an understanding of thresholds, counter conditioning and desensitization, is IMHO, irresponsible. Every dog is different and just because someone has had success in improving fear based behaviors with their dog or even a number of dogs, using techniques such as flooding or ...

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