~ Private Training & Behavioural Therapy ~
''I've seen a look in dogs eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that basically dogs think humans are nuts."
- John Steinbeck
- pulling you 'every which way but loose' on lead
- finding everything more interesting than you when off lead
- growling/barking/lunging towards other dogs/animals/people
- guarding of territory/food/toys (likely leading to him biting/nipping people)
- being destructive/noisy when left alone
- having fears and phobias
- chasing cars/bikes/livestock!
The mark of a good dog trainer should be about teaching you how to get your dog to do great things... many people forget that when dealing with a problem behaviour, the bigger challenge is changing our own.
Why is a Private Lesson so highly recommended?
- learn how think and speak 'Dog', leading to better understanding
- you have an experienced dog trainer looking objectively at your issues, offering alternative suggestions and strategies - it's never about being a 'bad' dog, your dog's BEHAVIOUR and his PERSONALITY are two very different things!
- most importantly, if you are starting with a puppy, youngster, or have recently rehomed a dog, you can learn how to prevent problems from starting, by knowing what to look out for and learning effective leadership skills and husbandry
- A great start before attending dog classes. The most confident students have had a private lesson beforehand, they know exactly what to expect and know that the class is a great distraction in which to practise what they have already learned
We choose to have dogs; they are our responsibilty, which means finding out as much as possible about this species, and not expecting it to understand how to behave like a human.
So much conversation going on here. Most humans would be scared of this body langauge, and expect a fight. These two do not live together, but know each other well and are very good friends, no blood has ever been drawn...
Dogs communicate in a very different way to us, and learning their body language is key to our understanding of them.
Interestingly although the grey dog is underneath the white one, the grey one is usually successful in this type of situation with this dog. Looking at body langauge the white dog is not too sure... his eyes and head are averted (looking away from her), whereas she is staring directly at him. His tail is low, and his ears are slightly apart. He is not as confident as he looks to us and she knows it! She is definatly the more intimidating dog in this encounter.
Many people have asked me what I would do when I witness this type of situation... No I would not allow it to continue - I would step in, separate tell them '' that's rude'' ''play nice'' or there will be a 'Time Out'.
My Methods
I am known for a professional and calm approach towards both owners and their dogs...
I don't use check chains, prong or electric collars on any dogs, nor shout or handle your dog in a way that you would not be happy with.
I follow the Complex Associative Learning method not 'Dominance' or 'Wolf Pack Theory' which previously relied on forcing the dog to submit to a higher ranking member through aggressive means. These outdated methods have been proven to cause pain, discomfort and may add to behavioural problems, as they cover up symptoms and do not address root cause.
The Wolf Pack Theory was assumed to apply in relationships between dogs and people, that dogs perceived the relationship with their owner in terms of relative ‘status’. More recent research on wolves has found that the natural social groupings is actually based on co-operative family groups of parents and offspring, with very little aggression.
Daily living, observing and interacting with a huge pack of dogs I am blessed to enjoy, I have witnessed them learn a pattern of behaviour with each other, which may or may not vary between different situations, but which does not follow an overall heirarchical or pyramidal structure. If individual dogs were constantly trying to achieve dominance / social status within the pack there would be aggressive outbursts between them regularly, which any visitors will attest, just does not happen.
Aggressive behaviour is very rare in stable groups (Mech '99)