Fearful Dogs Logo
Fearful Dogs Logo

Is Food Really the Problem?

By |2013-08-25T15:40:00-04:00August 25th, 2013|Categories: Dog training, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

Guess what these dogs are looking forward to getting? From the comments I've been hearing and the stuff I've been reading on the internet one would be inclined to think that the use of food in training poses great problems or risks. I cannot think of one conversation I've had with a trainer who laments that their clients reinforce behaviors with food too ...

My I Have Your Attention Please

By |2013-06-11T09:52:15-04:00June 11th, 2013|Categories: Dog training, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Stop in for a visit to any one of the thousands of forums or groups devoted to dog training and behavior and you're likely to bump into a discussion about whether or not it's acceptable to punish dogs during training. There will be both reasonable and unreasonable comments from either side of the table. Punishment is a very effective consequence to apply in order to ...

Good Enough?

By |2013-06-05T21:47:30-04:00June 5th, 2013|Categories: Dog training, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Childhood milestones in my life could be measured by learning how to swim. There are grainy, black and white home movies showing me leaping up, wiping the hair out of my eyes after demonstrating the newly gained skill of putting my face in the water at our lakeside cottage. I remember learning the "deadman's float" and pretending to swim in the shallow water, my hands ...

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 ...

Support Systems

By |2013-03-30T09:34:19-04:00March 30th, 2013|Categories: Dog training, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

There is so much progress that needs to be made in regard to how people "think" about animal behavior and training that it can seem overwhelming. But seven years ago I had to seek out and search for information regarding the most humane and effective ways to help dogs with fear based behavior challenges, whereas today it streams on my Facebook page and twitter account. ...

Bite Me!

By |2013-03-18T10:11:55-04:00March 18th, 2013|Categories: Dog training, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

I recently had the unfortunate, albeit educational experience of being on a radio show with three other dog trainers. When asked if we'd ever been bitten I recounted the story of being bitten when I was a kid, another trainer spoke of his experience with sharp puppy teeth and his nose, but it was the last trainer whose response was most disturbing. This self-proclaimed dog ...

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 ...

Surviving Adoption

By |2012-12-02T10:42:52-05:00December 2nd, 2012|Categories: Dog training, Helping fearful dogs, Puppy mills|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Ray Coppinger studies the world's population of free-ranging dogs. These are the domesticated dog (as opposed to wild dogs) who are not under the reproductive control of humans. There are millions of them and they represent over 80% of the world's population of dogs. He has looked at how dogs end up living as pets. The most common thing that happens is that dogs adopt ...

Think You’ve Tried Everything To Train Your Dog? Doubt it.

By |2012-08-14T14:23:46-04:00August 14th, 2012|Categories: Dog training, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , |

Looking for fish is rewarding to Annie. The fish reinforce this behavior. Dog trainers hear it all the time- pet owners who have 'tried everything' or declare that positive reinforcement training doesn't work because they've tried giving their dog treats and still have not been able to get the behavior they're after. I can say with 100% certainty that if you are among ...

Adding Accountability

By |2012-06-27T10:57:10-04:00June 27th, 2012|Categories: Dog training, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , |

I have been involved in 'rescuing' and finding home for dogs. I have worked with shelters and on my own. I have been negligent in performing the things I am going to address in this blog post so my high horse is not quite as tall as it sounds. I acknowledge the good intentions, hard work and struggles that most people involved in animal rescue ...

Go to Top