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Plenty in Life Should Be Awesome

By |2013-05-29T11:20:14-04:00May 29th, 2013|Categories: Dog training, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

In order to simplify training for pet owners, and to incorporate training into daily life, eliminating the need to set aside a specific time for it many trainers recommend the Nothing In Life is Free protocol (NILF)*. It has its merits, though an unfortunate name. Tagging along with the technique is a fuzzy notion of "we're in charge here and the sooner you figure that ...

Old News

By |2013-04-24T10:16:28-04:00April 24th, 2013|Categories: Dog training, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

After years of flipping through the magazines strategically placed at the check-out in grocery stores, it was impossible not to notice that generations of young women are being schooled on how to apply mascara, bake a no-fail chocolate cake, and on what turns men off, assuming any of this matters to them. The faces on the covers have changed, but the information hasn't since any ...

Relationship Capital

By |2013-03-16T20:10:50-04:00March 16th, 2013|Categories: Dog training, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

When I was in my 20’s I worked as a guide on the Wanganui River in NZ. One day during a hike, one of the participants on the trip, a woman in her 60’s commented to me that she thought I “weighed too much for a girl my age” and went on to give me dietary advice which consisted primarily of switching from butter to ...

Snooper Sleuth

By |2013-02-02T09:13:12-05:00February 2nd, 2013|Categories: Dog training, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , |

Anyone who has lived with and cared about a dog has experienced moments when they are looking at a dog and wondering what the heck is going on. A trainer friend shared a story with me about a client's dog who had started barking, at seemingly random times, at the refrigerator. We had been griping about the reasons some vets or trainers come up with ...

The 7 Habits of Successful Fearful Dogs

By |2013-01-19T10:42:13-05:00January 19th, 2013|Categories: Dog training, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

"Not sure why you want me to do this, but ok, whatever." On my book shelf is a CD by Wayne Dwyer on the power of intention. It’s an inspirational presentation. But as powerful as intentions are, given the right set of circumstances, habits will win out. Recently I moved the app icons on my iPod around. I deleted a few and moved ...

Webinar-Medications To Treat Fear Based Behavior Challenges

By |2013-01-12T16:06:22-05:00January 12th, 2013|Categories: Alternative treatments for fearful dogs, Dog training, Helping fearful dogs, Medications for fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Yes, yes I know, people use too many drugs. People think drugs are the solution to everything. Drugs have side effects. I won't dispute any of those statements, but at the same time drugs can save lives and the side effects of some conditions are worse than the possible side effects of some drugs. Being scared is no way to live. The reasoning ...

Are Trainers Responsible For The Death Of Shelter Dogs?

By |2013-01-06T10:35:52-05:00January 6th, 2013|Categories: Dog training, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , |

In the dog training world, which has a number of difference sects, stone tossing between them is a common occurrence. I confess I've lobbed a few myself. Some of the criticisms voiced are valid and important, others less so. In many cases there is a fundamental agreement between camps, with differing implementations. The number of unwanted dogs killed daily in shelters around the country is ...

Project Home Life

By |2012-11-24T12:25:15-05:00November 24th, 2012|Categories: Dog training, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Photo by DVGRR I love this. Flat out love it. At the Delaware Valley Golden Retriever Rescue in Pennsylvania adult survivors of puppy mills are provided with skills to make the transition to being pets. Not only does DVGRR accept mill survivors they actively seek them out and make relinquishing these dogs easy. Their no questions asked acceptance policy means that more dogs will ...

Take Me To Your Provider Of Consequences

By |2012-11-20T08:55:29-05:00November 20th, 2012|Categories: Dog training, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Language is important. The words we use to convey ideas matter. Times change and language changes with it. It is helpful to know that when someone is describing something as fat, they mean it's phat. There's nothing wrong with being gay and happy, or gay and homosexual, but using the word gay as an insult, as in that's so gay, should be discouraged, even if ...

The Beautiful Flow of Experimentation

By |2012-10-26T11:57:16-04:00October 26th, 2012|Categories: Dog training, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , |

When we are living with any dog, but especially a fearful dog, we need to be prepared, at any moment, to reinforce behaviors we like. This is what behavior modification is all about. If you sat two children down, one with a pile of marbles, the other with a bucket of tennis balls and gave each the task to put these objects into a milk ...

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