Helping fearful dogs
I had a great time in Maine this past weekend offering presentations on living and working with fearful dogs. What was clear to me when I spoke to people was that the more you understand about the fundamentals of dog training, the better you'll be at helping your scared dog. One of the common mistakes that people make with their dogs is assuming that their ...
Lasts weekend in both shy dog agility class and a Control Unleashed-based class for reactive dogs there were owners returning for a second set of classes with their dogs. Not only was the improvement in the dogs apparent, their owners were looking fabulous as well. Anyone who finds themselves with a challenging dog will appreciate how simple activities can require special pre-planning and are often ...
Imagine living with someone who scared you every day, even if they didn't mean to, they did. Imagine living with someone who at any moment might put you in a situation in which you were scared, and they did nothing! This is how many fearful dogs live their lives, anticipating being scared and then being scared, by one thing or another. The training advice given ...
In a class for reactive dogs a sheltie was described by participants watching the dog interact with its owner, as 'demanding'. And there was no question that it was. If the owner was not interacting with the dog it jumped and pawed at her and its high pitched bark was enough to make us all cringe. This was the kind of dog that ...
Owners of fearful or shy dogs are often told that they need to build their dog's confidence, but just what does that mean? I start with the definition of 'confidence' which is to my thinking, the ability to reliably predict that your actions will have a successful outcome. A dog's definition of 'success' will affect whether or not something actually helps them feel more confident. ...
If you are living with a fearful dog who has inappropriate responses to the things it's afraid of, cowering, lunging, barking, growling, fleeing, etc., it is important to understand something about how animals (including humans) behave when stressed. When your dog is afraid, it is experiencing stress. When an animal is stressed and needs to respond it is more likely to perform whatever behavior it ...
Something that has helped me with my fearful dog Sunny has been to create 'cues' which change how he's feeling. Most dog owners do this with their dogs all the time, 'wanna go for a walk!?', 'want a cookie?' probably at the very least cause a dog to perk up its ears and pay attention. If walks and cookies are enjoyable for the dog they ...
I recently had a brief, somewhat unpleasant email exchange with someone living with a 100 pound American Bulldog that was aggressive, to the point of having bit the owner in the face. From the description of the dog- it had been a timid, cowering in the corner puppy- it sounded as though the dog had learned some effective methods for keeping people and other dogs ...
I met Sunny at The Humane Society of Louisiana's rescue site, Camp Katrina, set up after the hurricanes in 2005. He was found at the Every Dog Needs A Home 'sanctuary' in Gamaliel AR, run by Tammy Hanson. At the time the authorities and HSUS arrived on the site there were 477 dogs (news reports are saying close to 600 but I think this is ...
Imagine you have to study for a big exam or are trying to learn to use a new computer program or figure out your taxes. Do you pack up your supplies and go sit in the middle of a busy city intersection? Or perhaps more realistically do you invite the neighbor kids over to play video games in your living room while you replay in ...
Learn more about Debbie’s seminal book that has brought hope to thousands of fearful dog owners worldwide.
Copyright Fearfuldogs.com 2022.
