If you live with dogs, you can relate to a moment of gasping for breath, as you realize someone left the gate open, and now the dogs are gone! These couple of years have left many of us with similar moments of wanting to take in a nourishing, calming breath. To let go a little….
As I was describing in part 1, living with fearful dogs is not an easy task. It requires constant management of some kind, and constantly assessing how comfortable the dog is at a given moment when presented with the scary stimulus. There is so much that one can do (and I would argue should do)…
Living with a dog that is afraid, especially of people, is very hard. It is very hard for the people, and of course, a living hell for the dog. While every case is unique, there are certain things people can do to make everyone’s life better. I am working with a couple who have a…
I am talking to my colleague about a recent case he had. We are discussing different possibilities as to why training or behavior modification might not produce the results we would like. We toss around ideas and I settle for three possibilities: 1. The technique or techniques employed are either not appropriate or they are…
As part of my ongoing education, I attend monthly webinars that touch upon different topics surrounding behavior and training. A recent topic was related to the questions of: Are we asking too much of our pets? And, if so, what specific environments or concepts can put a pet’s well-being at stake? Funny that this particular…
I recently had an inquiry from a potential client that needed to leave her newly acquired dog in good care while she traveled. I met with her and her dog, and based on what I learned during the Initial consult I was on the fence regarding her dog and mine being a good match. There…
I am having a phone conversation and this is the question that is being posed to me. Well, I said: “I am bias to rescuing dogs versus getting a dog from a breeder.” In my mind, the only exception to my bias is when for whatever reason a person is really keen on a particular…
Few of us have the forethought of getting ready in the event of a natural disaster. Here in the Santa Fe area, our biggest concern are fires. With summer days here and temperatures on the rise, the risk of a forest fire also increases. Yet, how many of us have a plan in place for…
Cutting-edge research in psychology has helped us understand the importance of play in general and social play, particularly for the rehabilitation of timid and fearful dogs. I define social play as the engagement between a person and their dog that is voluntary and with no purpose other than to have a “good” time and “connect”…
A dog barking is one of the most (normal) dog behaviors for most people. Part of it is because of how stressful noise is in general and in part frankly because we fail to understand what barking is all about. Barking is not simply just noise coming from our dogs or embedded with one significance….