I am sitting at a local eatery waiting for a friend to arrive. A group shows up with a dog and sits almost in front of me. I like the fact that the owner of the dog immediately positions the dog next to her and away from foot traffic. Nice! I think to myself. Someone…
Category: Fear
Dogs at Play- A visual presentation
Come learn how to: Differentiate dog play from poor dog-to-dog interaction Observe different styles of dog play Understand how to manage your dog when playing How to be safe at the dog park How to best intervene if your dog gets into a fight When to call a professional to help your dog with his…
Backyard Dogs
Dogs are incredible social beings that thrive as companion animals. Isolation for this reason is very hard on most dogs and as such a welfare issue for the dog. Isolation is hard on dogs at all stages, but is extremely difficult on young puppies. We can for sure make the lives of “outside dogs” more…
Allergies and Dogs
When a member of the family develops allergies to dogs their doctor most often recommends the following measures: Containment of the dog – preferably by keeping the dog outside at all times Bathing and brushing the dog often (sometimes too often!) Removing carpets and replacing furnishings with fabrics (such as sofas) for non-fabric ones Preventing…
Will My Dog Ever Be Able To Do That?
Most of the work I do for clients is to teach their dogs the skills to better cope with difficult situations. The goal of the training, of course, is to reduce displays of fear and aggression because the dog has been able to learn other behaviors that are more social and acceptable. It is important…
What and When Questions Are Smart Questions When It Comes to Training
A few weeks back I wrote about the “why” questions: People love “why” questions. Perhaps because we are curious, because we think “why” questions help us understand our own dog better (which sometimes they do, of course!) but most of the time it’s because we’d much rather our dog not do something and we think…
Why Questions Are Silly Questions – Mostly
At some point or another we all want to know why our dog is doing this or that behavior. Perhaps we are just curious and want to know. However, most of the time we want to know because we would rather our dog stop doing the behavior in question. Under these circumstances the “why” question…
What is SEC and Why Do You Need To Know About It?
SEC is an acronym for Sudden Environmental Contrast. In plain English it means that something changes in the environment and it happens so sudden that it raises concern or plain fear in an already distressed dog. SEC could take place in many forms but it does have the above signature as its underlining characteristic. I…
I Need a Guarantee
Today I got a voicemail message from a potential client that told me I needed to respond ASAP. When I get on the phone I realize that indeed this is kind of an emergency. Apparently this dog has been living with little to no supervision since she was a young dog. The dog is now 4 years old. Her…
You Can’t Hurry Love
I am having a conversation with John who works in the solar industry. We are discussing the fact of how safety protocols – which are abounding in his profession – are sometimes in conflict with what the client wants: less downtime and more production. As he is sharing with me this everlasting conflict, I begin…