Management Once your eXtraOrdinary Dog has had a thorough physical exam to rule out underlying illnesses that could cause or contribute to fear-based behaviors, management is the next step in the quest to provide the best quality of life possible. Set Your Dog Up to Succeed Every time your dog practices any behavior, it allows […]
The 5 M’s of Working with Fearful Dogs – Part 1
Medical, Management, Modification, Medication, Modification (yes, Modification is included twice!) This is the first of a four-part series that will help you and your eXtraOrdinary Dog minimize or overcome behavioral challenges in a systematic, completely force-free way. We will use the framework of The 5 M’s for easy reference: Medical Assessment; Environmental Management; Behavior Modification; […]
How To Help a Shy and Fearful Dog Choose To Move Closer To You
The goal of Treat and Retreat is to get the dog to become comfortable enough to VOLUNTARILY move closer to you, at her own pace. It may take one session for your dog to want to get close enough to you to sniff, or it may take several sessions for her to move even a few inches away from her bed, but she should never be coerced to come closer than she feels comfortable. It also helps dogs who are “stuck” or “frozen” to start moving in normal ways as they seek out the treat with their eyes and nose, and use their bodies to turn, moving freely forwards and backward.
Sweaty Paws, Racing Heart: The Neurology and Physiology of Fear
False Alarm or Truly Threatening, It’s All the Same to Your Dog Dogs exhibit behavior, any behavior, because it achieves results that they believe to be most beneficial to them. All animals react to a threat, whether it is perceived or real, in one of four ways: freeze, flight, fidget/fool around or fight. Fear serves […]
You Are Not An Alpha Dog
Debunking Dominance Theory What started out as a walkthrough with a drywall contractor ended as lessons in debunking the outdated dominance theory and introducing modern, scientifically proven behavior theory. It was also a major step outside my comfort zone. During a meeting to discuss an estimate for drywall installation, the contractor and I struck up […]
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