Leash Aggression and Fear - Six Minutes that can save you a lifetime of grief

As a dog breeder and professional Animal Communicator, I often encounter clients who want help with undesirable behaviors such as aggression or fear.  When I connect with these animals, I can find out "why" they do what they do, learn about past life issues, and even often can negotiate some changes in behavior from a mutual understanding at a higher level that the relationship will improve if they behave differently.  However, I often hear them say "What do you expect?  I'm a dog!" (or something to that effect).  So even my dogs have behavior issues that need addressing - I am not
exempt.

I'd like to share something that can prevent or change aggression/fear in dogs, especially if you start at a young age.

Young puppies typically act so wonderful around other puppies.  We all think  that taking them to a class at Petsmart is exactly what needs to be done, and
it  is.  I always recommend that to my clients.  Puppy socialization is critical.  
We need to get our babies out and about to learn how to greet other dogs
and  play, right?  However, once they are moving into adolescence,
sometimes my  clients contact me because their wonderful snuggly puppies
are now acting like  jerks or they are seeing fearful behavior. This is
very common with adolescents,  and you can affect this positively in a big
way.

I want you to watch this very important six minute video and think about what you are doing with your dog now. I have personally dealt with leash aggression, fearful behaviors, and barrier guarding, and if  you've been to my house, you may have seen it in action. What this trainer has  to say is imperative to how your  puppy develops over the next couple of years,  and the way you handle him/her around other people and dogs greatly affects how  well they behave around others.

Don't think for a moment that this same  behavior isn't going to happen to you,
because it eventually will if you have dogs in your home. I love how he describes our training response as a "reprimand sandwich with reward bread on each side". My husband still sometimes doesn't understand why I package my response with a reward when we deal with leash and barrier issues. He sees it as "rewarding bad behavior"; however,  properly timed and executed, this handling as a trainer can save you a lot of  problems down the road.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfSFw5NJ01w&feature=player_embedded

Dr.  Sophia Yin also has some wonderful videos on her site to help you avoid and deal  with aggression and fear. Please go there when you have some time and look over  her free, short videos as appropriate. You will have a better
future with your  puppy if you invest the time now. http://drsophiayin.com/about

Much thanks to the Dog Star Daily for allowing me to embed this great video
here!