Helping fearful dogs
You would think that after cohabitating for 15,000 years, give or take a few thousand, that humans would be better at understanding their dogs. For as much as we claim to love them and marvel at their abilities, we sure don't know what they are talking about much of the time. At a conference I was attending a speaker on the uses of social media ...
Nibbles the chi-x who was confiscated from a home breeder, along with approximately 25 other dogs, continues to feel more comfortable with me. Along with counter conditioning, desensitization and training, I am big fan of going for walks in the woods with dogs. They appear to love it, and once I determine that my relationship with a dog is positive and I am relevant to ...
Sunny was not the first fearful dog I'd interacted with but he was the first I decided to keep. The extent of his fearfulness propelled me on the path to discover the most effective and humane ways to work with fearful, shy and anxious dogs. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnedJKQslTU?rel=0&w=640&h=510] FYI, Tammy and William Hanson were found 3 years after fleeing their home in AR. They were hoarding ...
As a member of an online group which addresses fearful dogs I routinely see questions by others about what to do when their dog 'regresses'. Your dog is doing great and then suddenly, seemingly with no cause, they revert to an old behavior you have struggled with replacing. Look around and you'll see shattered dreams and dashed hopes scattered all around. Imagine watching a toddler ...
I was reading a blog recently written by a woman who confessed that though she had not always been a dog lover, she now had to greet every dog she saw. If that is truly the case I hope we never cross paths. My dogs don't necessarily want to greet every human they meet. Even my fabulously social and cuter-than-buttons cocker spaniels began to hide ...
I was one of 7 bloggers sponsored by Pedigree to attend the BlogPaws conference this year near Washington DC. I am not sure how many bloggers I am among who are stuck in DC due to hurricane Irene. BlogPaws is an event I look forward to more and more. I have the opportunity to meet my twitter and Facebook friends and I always go home ...
I am attending the BlogPaws Conference in the DC area and wondering whether I'll make it home tomorrow night. While I'm away Nibbles is being boarded with a woman who offers home boarding. He's been there before and it was a fabulous experience for him. He made new and continuing progress. After a few days back with me he began to display behaviors that he ...
During a seminar I suggested that people with fearful dogs reward their dogs for moving away from what scares them. Did I mean reward them for trying to flee? For many this flies in the face of what their goal for the dog is. Don't we want to get dogs closer to what scares them? Well, yes, and no. Working with any dog is a ...
I am trying to keep up with sharing the different things I am doing to help Nibbles learn to be comfortable with people. He's a fairly solid little dog. He doesn't have general anxiety or any phobias. It would seem that he is just lacking experience with people and the things people do with dogs, like put leashes on them and take them for walks ...
Here's a short video update on Nibbles. He spent over a week being home boarded and it was a great experience for him. The woman boarding him understood the need to be patient and non-confrontational with him. By the time I went to pick him up he was snuggling on the couch with her. Nibs will still dart away if approached or reached for. He ...
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