Helping fearful dogs

This past weekend after a presentation I had given at a nearby humane society, a trainer in attendance was kind enough to approach me and compliment on the work I had done with Sunny. I'm not bringing it up to brag, it was just that having someone who understood the challenges of working with a fearful dog acknowledge his progress, was reassuring. Over the years ...

In case I have forgotten to mention, I am writing dog training and behavior articles for Examiner.com. Thanks for stopping by and please share them with your dog loving friends looking for information about the most effective and humane ways to train their dogs.

Last spring I took care of a friend's dog, a young Rottie, named Abby. Abby was living in a family with a senior Rottie and 3 young children. She was a great dog and any challenging behaviors could be chalked up to age and inexperience. While she was with us I treated her as I would my own dogs. We worked on life skills such ...

After a too-long hiatus a group of us started our weekly yoga classes on Friday. During class, while seated in a particularly challenging hip-opening posture the instructor gave us this piece of advice regarding stretching, "You earn the trust of your body by respecting its edges." As I do with many things I immediately thought of how this comment applied to working with fearful dogs. ...

A common misconception that dog owners have is that they, or other dogs, can show their fearful dog, that something is safe. While a dog that is merely inexperienced in a situation may take cues from other dogs regarding how it should feel about or behave around something new and scary, a fearful dog will not. I have watched climbers scale rock faces with the ...

Sunny is one of those fearful dogs that will likely never be totally comfortable with people. He spent the first year of his life in the company of dogs, not people. The mental and emotional development that occurs during that time of life for dogs is important for their ability to interact socially with whatever animals and humans they will deal with in the future. ...

Just thought I'd share the locations & dates of shy dog talks that I'll be presenting. West Swanzey NH, Monadnock Humane Society January 23, 2010 Concord MA, Concord Dog Training Center February 27, 2010 Each 3-4 hour presentation includes information about why dogs are afraid and the most effective and humane ways to help them. Certified Professional Dog Trainers earn 2.5 CEUs

In September I adopted a six year old female, buff cocker named Annie. In June my 12 year old female, buff cocker Sabu had been struck and killed by a car. I was bereft. I knew I could never replace her but the void left by my cuddly, sweet cocker loomed large for me. With three other dogs in our home it wasn't ...

I overheard a woman talking about a visit with relatives during which a 5 month old baby, lying on the floor with a toy, began crying. The woman's son asked her to pick up the baby but she declined claiming, "If I pick him up then he wins." She then went on to prove that she was correct because after being picked up ...

In the years I have been living with a very fearful dog I have often thought that shelters and rescue groups that adopt out dogs like Sunny are doing a disservice to the people looking for a pet, and ultimately to the rescue industry. I hear people say that they will 'never adopt a dog again' after having a negative experience with a dog which ...