Conditioned responses...Years of the same behavior being reinforced over and over and over again. Lucas thinks, If I bark and lunge and snarl at this oncoming dog, he'll leave me alone! And it works, time and time again, and now his mind equates his particular crazed response … [Read more...]
Reactive Dog Training: Week 1
When you love a reactive dog, you expend an enormous amount of effort "managing" situations. It becomes second nature. I don't even think twice about sitting in the car in the parking lot of doggy daycare waiting for everyone else to drop off ahead of us, then dashing out the … [Read more...]
My shame: My dog bit someone
I am mortified to even be writing this. Seriously, I am cringing with shame and embarrassment, but if I can't talk to you guys about it...Here goes: Lucas bit someone.Or, at least, he tried to. He grazed the knee of her jeans but didn't get her.We were out for a … [Read more...]
Lucas’ big adventure
Lucas always has been our healthiest dog. (Since he has the most behavioral problems, we think it's a fair trade!)The other day, he started to behave strangely, not his usual self. When he doesn't feel well, he follows us around like a little piece of Velcro on our pant … [Read more...]
Review: A Guide to Living With & Training a Fearful Dog
I have been stalking following Debbie Jacobs through her blog, website, and Twitter for a long, long time. I love that she not only is she a positive trainer, she focuses her work on fearful dogs.I had the pleasure of meeting her at BlogPaws, and she so generously gave me a … [Read more...]