Our dogs bring us joy and happiness, and they also need a lot of our focus and attention. You love spending time with your furry friend, but sometimes there’s just not enough time to work on training. Wouldn’t it be great if someone else could handle the teaching while you enjoy all the fun stuff?… Read more »
Aggressive dog behavior calls for compassion
Let’s talk about aggression. I was recently asked to comment on a rather prominent case of a dog biting people. I was lucky enough that a couple of my statements made it into the story. But of course, my brief comments barely scratch the surface of what is, most likely, a very complicated situation. All… Read more »
Anxiety and Arousal
Originally published on ArlNow.com I’ve been having a lot of conversations with people about their dogs getting into trouble. Not little trouble like chewing up a shoe or stealing a sandwich. That’s easy stuff. I’m talking about big trouble. Like biting the neighbor’s dog while on a walk or biting a friend who is over… Read more »
There’s help for dog reactivity
Originally Published on ARLNow.com A reactive dog is a dog that reacts to specific things in their environment by becoming highly aroused and in most cases, barking and lunging. These dogs can appear to be aggressive, dangerous and “out of control.” It is a scary situation for both passers-by and owners. Some reactive dogs are… Read more »
Living with an aggressive dog
Originally published on ArlNow.com What if you can’t keep your dog because of aggression? Every year, almost 4 million dogs end up in shelters in the U.S. Some of these are the result of poor decision making and irresponsible dog ownership. But that’s not what I want to talk about today. What if you… Read more »
Dog Training vs. Behavior Modification
Originally published on ArlNow.com I get a lot of inquiries asking how many lessons it will take to solve a certain problem. My answer is always the same: it depends. It depends on: what the problem is how severe the problem is how compliant the owners are, and whether it is a training issue or a… Read more »
Preventing dog bites
Originally published on ArlNow.com There is was again. Another story about a dog attacking a child. This time it was in Texas. A Border Collie. A five year old. In the face. But location, breed and age don’t matter. It happens everywhere, with all breeds of dogs, and all ages of people. What I found amazing… Read more »
How to help the shy or reserved dog
Originally published on ArlNow.com I found myself talking to a lot of people with shy and reserved dogs this week. I was repeating the same advice over and over again so I thought I would share it here. Shy and reserved dogs will exhibit similar behaviors. They may back away, duck out from under an attempt… Read more »
Walking with a dog-reactive dog
Originally published on ArlNow.com Some dogs react to the presence of specific stimuli with aggressive barking and lunging. When a dog does this specifically in the presence of other dogs, we call it dog reactivity. There are many reasons why a dog might be reactive. Fear, a lack of early socialization or a traumatic event are… Read more »
When a dog bites “out of the blue”
Originally published on ArlNow.com When it comes to aggression, trainers often hear the same thing. “Rover bit me out of the blue,” or “Fluffy growled at my son and never gave any other indications he was uncomfortable.” Both of these situations are highly unlikely since dogs very rarely do things without prior warning signs. More likely,… Read more »
On-leash greetings
Originally published on ArlNow.com Urban living can be tough on our dogs, and one of the toughest situations our dogs encounter is meeting other dogs on leash. Dogs meeting on leash is a completely artificial situation for them. The leash and the resulting close quarters means that dogs can not greet each other in a natural… Read more »