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Trust Counts

By |2013-12-10T08:52:51-05:00December 10th, 2013|Categories: Dog training, Fostering Dogs, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

Trust is a central theme of soap operas, TV dramas and political relationships. It's lauded as being the keystone of good marriages and partnerships. Teenagers are reminded that they will not be allowed to stay home on their own, or out late, or have the keys to the car until they can be trusted. For many people the realization that trust has been "broken" can lead ...

Fostering Success

By |2013-09-18T12:10:36-04:00September 18th, 2013|Categories: Dog training, Fostering Dogs, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

Giving a dog an interim home while they are in the rescue system is a kind and generous act. Few who do it seem to realize how important the role they play is. It goes beyond providing a safe and comfortable place for a dog to reside while a permanent home is sought for them. Though they are not pack animals, dogs are social animals. ...

What It Takes

By |2013-07-30T08:37:46-04:00July 30th, 2013|Categories: Dog training, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

I had a call recently from a concerned owner with a service dog who was becoming more and more reactive to sounds and changes in her environment. The dog was described as "timid" even on arrival into the home of her new handler. I will not address the reality that someone trained and placed a dog to be a service dog in the community who ...

Missing Ingredients

By |2013-06-13T09:04:50-04:00June 13th, 2013|Categories: Dog training, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It stands to reason that if we have not ever lived with a seriously scared dog that we would not have developed the skills to work effectively with them. Even if we've assisted other people living with a dog like this, there's nothing quite like 24/7 to put our feet to the fire. I regularly speak with people embarked on the bumpy journey to change ...

It’s A Shame

By |2013-05-25T08:40:59-04:00May 25th, 2013|Categories: Dog training, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Imagine creating a website where pet owners could commiserate about their sick dogs. They could post pictures of their dogs to share with others who were also dealing with life with a sick dog. Now imagine that people were also sharing advice about illness in dogs (you don't have to imagine it, just go online) and someone posted in response to an image with the ...

There Are No Secrets To Dog Training

By |2013-04-08T12:55:44-04:00April 8th, 2013|Categories: Dog training, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

There are no secrets to dog training, or weight loss, despite the endless amount of spam trying to sell both. Good dog trainers who understand how to train dogs are like bad poker players grinning like fools and showing their hand with all the aces to the people sitting beside them. We want people to know how to change their dog's behavior and can't keep ...

Freedom To Try

By |2012-11-01T15:12:11-04:00November 1st, 2012|Categories: Dog training, Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Dogs who come from puppy mills or who have lived on chains or confined with limited opportunity to interact with a varied environment, are lacking in many skills. I'm not sure if 'trying' is considered a skill or not, but it's not unusual for a dog who suffered deprivation in their early life, to 'give up' easily. When faced with a challenge, a partially closed ...

The price of a fearful dog

By |2010-03-03T22:18:45-05:00March 3rd, 2010|Categories: Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Years ago a friend decided he was ready to adopt a dog. As a young man he had traveled cross country with his beloved chihuahua and he was hoping to find a small dog to add to his and his children's lives. Small dogs were not easy to find at nearby shelters so he looked online and found what seemed to be a good match, ...

Creating A Climate For Change

By |2009-06-16T16:05:00-04:00June 16th, 2009|Categories: Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

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 ...

Taking It Slow

By |2009-05-11T22:43:15-04:00May 11th, 2009|Categories: Helping fearful dogs|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Early during my search for information about how to help my fearful dog Sunny, one rescuer of border collies told me that she 'didn't have the time that I had to work with her dogs'. Her point was that all the DS/CC I was doing might be nice but just making dogs deal with things worked for her, and was faster. I never ...

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