Understanding Why Some Dogs Struggle with Unfamiliar Dogs One of the biggest misconceptions in the dog world is the belief that a dog who hesitates to greet another dog is antisocial. In reality, many dogs who struggle with greetings are not aggressive, reactive, or unfriendly at all. They’re simply emotionally sensitive. These dogs often enjoy […]
When Dog-Selective Dogs Meet the Wrong Playmate Read More »
This Sunday, April 19th — something important is happening. And if you’ve ever felt: Then this is for you. Let’s Be Honest About Threatening Barking & Reactivity Reactivity is not random. It’s not disobedience. And it’s rarely “just training.” It’s communication, between dogs. When that communication is misunderstood…sadly, our dogs become less curiousand we begin
If Your Dog Is Reactive… This Changes Everything Read More »
A Practical 10 Step stress-reduction guide for dog owners who want peace and not pressure during the holidays. The holidays bring joy, connection, and celebration to many of us. For our anxious, sensitive or protective dogs, however, they also bring noise, crowds, unfamiliar people, disrupted routines, and overwhelming social expectations. That is not all, now
Peaceful Holidays, a 10 Step Checklist Read More »
I can say for certain, that not every family member feels the same loving attachment about dogs as you do. This means not everyone visiting you during the holiday season will be forgiving when your adolescent dog barks, growls or nips their child. Having owned three territorial dogs, at the same time, I wanted to
Holiday Harmony: Tips for Handling a Territorial Dog Read More »
For Ollie, a highly reactive dog, desensitization has been a game-changer; allowing him to navigate my home environment with a greater sense of calm self-confidence. By engaging Ollie in familiar, enjoyable tricks—like “spin,” “paw,” and “high five”—while he hears but cannot see people or dogs nearby, I gradually helped him get used to these sounds.
Tips for Overwhelmed reactive dog Owners Read More »
My Goal for 2024 is to improve the social well-being of dogs like Greta, an adolescent German Wirehaired Pointer I had the pleasure of working with on New Year’s Eve. Greta was rescued by her humans 10 months ago. They had met with three other trainers to understand why she barked at dogs. They were
Not all barking dogs are afraid Read More »
Understanding your dog’s needs When your dog is on a leash, you may see a change in your dog’s body shape or hear vocalization when approached by an unfamiliar person. The changes in your dog’s body shape tells you how she is feeling. These changes may be dramatic and occur quickly, showing a large change
Understanding your dog’s Sociability Read More »
With Dogs Drake and Jade, my two German Shepherd Dogs, welcomed my daughter’s rescue pup, Ollie, to the family. Ollie is a 10 month old Shetland Sheepdog or “Sheltie”. He is very emotional, noted by his passive, hesitant behavior to move forward. When there is something important to him, however, he becomes pushy and in
Ollie joins the family Read More »
Jade shows a relaxed, confident expression in this photo. This is Jade moments after she recovered from an emotional barky greeting with a scary dress! As Jade and I were sitting on this bench, I noticed Jade close her mouth, narrow her eyes somewhat, and track a women across the road. The young woman had
Purposeful Socialization Read More »
Reactivity Defined: I will define another category of Reactive Dogs. In the past, I have written about dogs who are very social and react because they are “Persistent Players” and love to play with dogs. Our canine friends have different reasons for reacting at the sight of another dog. Once you are able to identify
Every Dog Trainer needs a Pablo Read More »
