OliveVeryFearfulMixAdult

  Dog lovers know that a dog's physical appearance as far as size, hair length, hair color, ears shape, curly or flat coated, age, and so on.   Dog's are also individuals, and these internal characteristics do not show on their outsides.  These personality traits and temperaments can vary wildly from playful, wary, suspicious, defensive, resource guarding, driven, active, laid back, and so forth.   Add to the mix that some dogs have some training or real life experiences that may be useful as a dog owner or trainer creates a training plan.  Recently, one of our blogs went over  why there are so many different methods, techniques, and tools  that help a dog owner to train their dog. A professional dog trainer will look at the dog you have right now (as best they can in the time they have) to determine the right path to start down.  A dog owner who is honest with themselves can begin to assess this too.   None of these traits det...

Calming or relaxation exercises benefit all dogs, unless you have the rare very relaxed dog in any situation.  In the majority of dog or puppies though, learning to relax is a very important skill.  It helps those dogs of sound temperament, it helps dogs with behavioral problems, it helps young puppies, and it helps those older adults not exposed to the concept of self chilling. I always hope to influence very young puppies with these exercises, but you don't always get that lucky.   Many years ago, I myself had not discovered the very value benefit to my dogs of doing these.  I discovered the value, when trying to figure out how to calm my dog, Jackie, before we got into the ring to do obedience and earn his Companion Dog title.  This was the key to his success in that area, but this is also the key to a well rounded, confident dog, who has been exposed to many stimulus's that get most dogs all riled up, and cause dog owners many unneeded problems....

  I have had four Dobermans that came from a rescue shelter,  Doberman Rescue Unlimited . Two of them were two years old when they came here, one of them was nine or ten years old, and one of them was weeks old, Boris. Our first dog, while not from a rescue, was a three year old female Doberman that we bought from a breeder, when we were checking out her puppies. Our first dog, Jazz, did not think my husband was the center of her universe at first (for a good three months or so while we figured it out). Our second dog, Neptune, had some handling issues that took some time figuring out.  Our fourth dog, Jackie CD, did not bond with my husband for six months (he had been returned for this several times after not bonding quickly to other men). Our fifth and sixth Dobermans, Boris and Stormy, did happen to instantly feel at home.  Whether it was Jazz,  Neptune, or Jackie CD or the hundreds of dogs that come through from clients, my love for dogs ...

  If you spend time working with the dog you have, you will grow to appreciate them for who they are. A professional dog trainer will be able to design a training plan that will help you maintain an incredible working relationship:) I have said before, I do not see dogs as a listing of their faults as their total personality or "the real dog".   I always see dogs as them plus their potential.   That being said, not every dog's potential is to be the idealized "bomb proof" dog who loves everything and anybody no matter what.   A dog with behavioral problems does have a very statistically high probability of dramatic improvement in some way.  If we get beyond the point expected for the team, I will gladly take that.   Sometimes and not often a dog does much better than I imagined for them.   Owners should take that kind of success, if it happens but should know not to expect more of their dog than they can deliver realistica...

For the purposes of this article, I am talking about fear (not fear [with] aggression , which has both positive and negative definitions in dog training , behaviors OR aggression behaviors) . Nor the fear that a resource is going to be taken away, and not dominant behaviors (which in my definition are not necessarily undesirable). A dog's personality or temperament, IMO, can not be described as simply "fearful", "dominant", "abused", or "aggressive". Dogs have rich lives (or should have) just as we do, and are not put into one simple box definition. They may have behaviors that fit that definition (and will have other behaviors and characteristics beyond those), but dogs (themselves) can not be IMO defined this way. There are many environmental, medical, neurological, and genetic factors that can push a dog towards fearful behaviors. It's important for owners to know that things they may do can make (one would hope inadvertently) a dog mo...