Over the years I have instructed people in a variety of skills. I was a life guard and swim instructor and have taught white water canoeing and how to roll a whitewater kayak. I've introduced people to the joys of cross-country skiing and rock climbing. Several of my young relatives learned to drive a stick shift in my vehicles. The instruction for each of these ...
One of the striking things for me at the recent BlogPaws conference was not only the number of people willing to go out on limbs for animals (or swing from dangling fabric), but how young many of them were. When the pre-teen took the stage and shared her dream of helping animals I wanted to hug her mother. After passing the half century mark I ...
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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
Sunny is one of the lucky fearful dogs that landed in his forever home straight out of the rescue after the hoarder that had him and 476 other dogs got busted for operating what was most definitely not an 'animal sanctuary'. It was not the plan and like many other foster caregivers for a fearful dog I could not part with him. Not ...
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 ...
I'm going to keep this one short and sweet. If you are working with a fearful dog you must at the very least understand the concepts of counter conditioning and desensitization. Desensitization is the gradual introduction and increase in exposure to the things your dog is afraid of. The exposure is only increased when the dog exhibits comfort with the situation or object. Go too ...
I never gave much thought to the risks of using corrections when training dogs until Sunny, my fearful dog came into my life. Even the casual 'uh uh' that I would use when one of my other dogs' noses was getting precariously close to the cheese on the coffee table, would have sent him cowering off. I had to find ways not only to get ...
Learn more about Debbie’s seminal book that has brought hope to thousands of fearful dog owners worldwide.
Copyright Fearfuldogs.com 2022.
