Ottawa Dog Training for Aggressive, Anxious, Obsessive Dogs
Dog Training Sessions In-Your-Home with Karen Rosenfeld
Specializing in Working with Dogs that Exhibit Over-Threshold Behavior
Insecurity
Anxiety
Insecurity
Anxiety
Aggression - Aggressive-Reactive
Obsessive Behavior
I
offer a full range of in-home dog training and puppy training socialization sessions for:
Having a difficult time dealing with your puppy’s or dog’s behavior?
You've already done dog obedience training elsewhere?
You need...
- Dogs of all ages.
- All breeds, including Pit Bulls.
- Able bodied and physically challenged dogs.
- Single-dog households.
- Multi-dog households.
Dog and Puppy Obedience Training Sessions
- Obedience Training is appropriate for puppies and dogs currently experiencing a normal range of behavior.
Dog and Puppy Behavior Modification Sessions
Having a difficult time dealing with your puppy’s or dog’s behavior?
You've already done dog obedience training elsewhere?
You need...
- Behavior Modification Training for puppies and dogs experiencing medium intensity behavior issues.
Dog Psychological Rehabilitation Sessions
Is your puppy or dog experiencing:- High intensity behavior?
- Insecurity leading to anxious behaviors?
- Obsessive behavior ?
- Aggressive-reactive behavior resulting in biting?
- Psychological Rehabilitation Training session for dogs experiencing high intensity to red-zone (over-threshold) behavior issues.
In its natural state a dog would learn social
grace and life-skills from his/her adult canine family. However we humans
interrupt that process of learning when we separate the puppy – at a young age,
from its canine family. In addition, historically dogs had to work to survive –
in order to eat a dog had to hunt. Work in the form of the hunt provided both mental
and physical exercise.
While the present day canine is primarily a companion
animal – both physical and mental stimulation remain an essential need of the
dog, as is structure and the presence of one who can be the dog's coach and mentor...
Access to true leadership is essential for a dog's overall well being...
In the absence of opportunity to learn life
and social skills from other dogs, the role of coach and mentor becomes the
humans responsibility but:
- What if the human is not a good communicator?
- What if the human does not understand all of the ways in which both humans and dogs communicate?
- Voice is not the most effective means of communication, nor is it the primary means of communication among dogs.
When a puppy, teenage, adult or senior dog
begins to acquire undesirable, unhealthy behaviors the root cause is almost always human error.
Failure of this nature is comprised of
multiple elements, but the main cause is a lack of understanding of the true nature,
intelligence and sensitivity of a dog.
Lack of Understanding is Really the #1 Critical Failure.
This
can be categorized into two major elements as follows:
- Communication
- Understanding Your Dog as an Individual
Within these two elements many sub-elements co-exist and also great opportunity to leverage success or to create
failure.
Dogs and mankind are very similar as both
species require the same basic building blocks in order to evolve as happy,
well-adjusted individuals. A human who lacks the guidance of a good role model,
who does not have access to calm, considered, communicative mentoring, who is
devoid of constructive physical and mental stimulation, who instead is flooded
with stimulants that create excitement and constant emotion, who has not been
fairly taught rules – that human becomes very unstable…and so too for a dog. Being
in a compromised state becomes the norm – an altered state of normal becomes
reality. Traumatic incidents can also trigger instability – however if the
proper support is available the trauma can be not only lessened but reversed.
Dogs are excellent and very aware
communicators – a human that has not been trained to be an aware and insightful
communicator can inadvertently and unknowingly create insecurity in their dog.
I
have yet to work with a client who has not
been the creator or (in the case of an adopted-rescue dog) the magnifier of
their dog’s unbalanced state of being. Imagine if you are not consciously aware
of all of the ways in which humans communicate, if you do not understand all of
the ways in which a dog communicates – this lack of knowledge places both you
and your dog at a great disadvantage.
Each dog is a unique being, an individual. And
just like humans each individual dog has its own distinct combination of personal
attributes, pre-disposition of various qualities – some desirable and some not.
When a human is not aware of how they enable the less desirable pre-disposition
of their dog (i.e. anxiousness), the human inadvertently enables the
development of that undesirable trait. In addition – each dog, like every human
being is an individual with his/her own unique combination of acquired traits.
When Un-Healthy Behaviour Develops:
- The unique combination of traits have not been recognized, identified and the undesirable traits have not been properly discouraged – instead those unwanted traits have been enabled.
- Instead focus must be placed on enabling and growing positive traits – but the enabling and encouraging must be done in the right way.
When a dog or human is in a state of prolonged
or constant stress (aggression, anxiety, obsession are all stressors) the
immune system may become suppressed thus placing the physical body under
additional strain. When an unbalanced diet, poor or inappropriate food stuffs
(i.e. grains, sugars, trans fats, food colouring, etc.) are combined with acquired
toxic load both body and optimal brain function is further compromised.
The Dog is Not Bad, he Is Instead Misunderstood and Misdirected...
Having
read the above you can start to understand that unwanted and unbalanced behaviours do
not occur because the dog is bad, nor because the dog is of a certain
breed…i.e. a Pit Bull. Did you know that Pit Bulls were breed to be
non-aggressive towards humans? It’s true – aggression is not breed specific…nor
is it hard-wired into a dog. Aggression, anxiety, insecurity and obsession are primarily
acquired, encouraged (either inadvertently or intentionally) behaviors.
Inadvertently
many people fail in the roll of coach and mentor as the direction provided to the dog has serious fail
points, for example, the direction provided:
- May not be consistent;
- May lack firm, considered, patient confidence;
- May not leverage the intelligence of the dog;
- May be provided from and emotive state of being.
Consistency is required in all its
nuances and is not defined as a singular entity – i.e. the fact that you always tell your dog to ‘stop’ does not
qualify as constructive, effective directive consistency. Direction must be
100% free of contradiction; must consider and leverage the great intelligence
of a dog and should incorporate the communication techniques most commonly employed by dogs.
When
a dog ‘misbehaves’ the dog does so simply because it has not been taught
another way to navigate thru the situation. In addition, when a dog does not
have structure or protocols for dealing with low intensity situations the dog
will have little to no opportunity to behave in an acceptable manner in medium
to high intensity situations.
Approximately 50% of my client's have had their dog(s) since it was a puppy - the other 50% acquired their dog(s) past puppy-hood - i.e. a teenage, adult or senior dog.
Many of the people that become my
clients come to me after experiencing the trauma and hurt of dismissive
pronouncements on their dog’s ability to evolve past unwanted behaviors. Many
have been told to get their dogs medicated or to euthanize the dog. These
people have gone to trainers and behaviorists who have used either dominating
tactics (pinch collars, e-collars, dragging, forcing and yes kicking the dog,
etc.) or reward-based treat techniques…neither of these approaches honors the
intelligence of a dog. You do not have to ‘break’ a dog to get it to 'behave
well' nor do you have to constantly shower the dog with treats and praise. A dog
knows when a human is proud of her.
Dogs do have memories, they do
associate feelings, outcomes, states-of-being with inanimate, animate objects
and locations but a dog does not hold a grudge like a human does…hence the
saying ‘dogs live in the moment’. What does that mean? Well basically because
dogs do not hold grudges dogs are able to accept a new way of approaching and
viewing a situation, thing or location. This is fundamental to understanding a
dog’s ability and enduring willingness to adopt a new behavior. From this also
arises the importance of teaching a dog to deal with a situation rather than –
as many humans seek to do – avoid the situation. Confidence cannot be gained by
avoidance it can only be attained by learning how to safely, comfortably and
effectively cope with situations in a balanced ‘normal’ way.
My Method
We humans have a
wonderful opportunity to learn to use these more effective forms of
communication - for the benefit of our dog and ourselves and this is the basis for my success in working with dogs and their people.
I believe in
providing my clients with a comprehensive and cohesive learning experience…
Did you know that dogs are better
communicators than most people? – I teach you how to be a better communicator…
- Awareness – yours and your dogs;
- Facial expression and body language (yours and your dog’s) – identification, recognition, understanding and effects;
- Learn to direct your dog without speaking (voice is not the best way to direct a dog).
- Understand all of the ways in which humans actually communicate and how it affects your dog;
- Know how to occupy space to communicate effectively;
- Know how your state of mind affects your dog;
- Know when your dog is asking for direction.
- The dog has become further embedded into the behavior or developed additional behaviors as a result of the inappropriate methods used by the trainer/behaviorist;
- The dog's people have been to multiple trainers, spent a lot of money and time, only to have their dog's state further compromised,
- The people are stressed, skeptical, and very often in a traumatized emotional state.
"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semi-human. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming part dog"
Given that dogs are actually better communicators than most people - dogs have much to teach mankind...the lessons I have learned are invaluable and when you work with me it is part and parcel of the value that I pass on to you and your dog. What you learn from me will not only help your dog, it will help you in every aspect of your life.
Holistic Behavioral Services for Your Dog
For information about my holistic behavioral services, visit my holistic behavioral services page.
For dogs of all ages, sizes and breeds.
My behavioral services are available worldwide via video consultation.
🌎 USA | Canada | UK | Europe | Australia | New Zealand | Asia | South and Central America | Africa | UAE
📱FaceTime | Facebook | Skype | WhatsApp
To set-up your holistic behavioral session get in-touch via email, go to my contact me page.
Holistic Diet, Nutrition, Wellness Services Tailored to Your Individual Dog and Cat
For information about my holistic diet, nutrition and wellness services, visit my holistic wellness services page.
Maintain good health | Address acute and chronic health issues | Pre and post surgery support and recovery
My holistic wellness services are available worldwide via video consultation.
🌎 USA | Canada | UK | Europe | Australia | New Zealand | Asia | South and Central America | Africa | UAE
📱FaceTime | Facebook | Skype | WhatsApp
To set-up your holistic wellness consultation get in-touch via email, go to my contact me page.
Affiliations to Companies
✓ None.
✓ I don't sell food, supplements, or other products.
✓ I'm not aligned with any companies.
Article and graphics by Karen Rosenfeld.
