A Scientific Approach

I realize most of us grew up with a dog or new a friend that had a dog.  I often had six or more dogs running around our horse farm as word spread that my mom worked in rescue.  Many different breeds past through my home, much like they do today.  While I currently own 3 dogs, I always have a foster dog or two.

However, growing up with dogs does not make me an expert in dog behavior.  The truth is most of what I thought I knew was very skewed into what I wanted to believe.  Only when I began serious, full-time study and work in the practice of canine behavior, and gained experience working with hundreds of dogs and their owners, did I become an effective trainer.

3 Territorial dogs in training

The fact is, that unless you study canine body language, follow current research, work closely with veterinarians, are open to the fact that a thorough history is essential to your success, you may be making matters worse.  If a doctor treats a patient for arthritis when they actually have a torn tendon, this patient will not get better.  Similarly, if you treat a dog for dominant aggression when he is actually territorial aggressive you will not have success.

I recently met a lady who had just put her chocolate labrador to sleep for aggression. When I asked her if she had tried some behavior modification, she replied "yes, we have spent 6 months with a trainer."  When I asked her if her dog had made any progress, she replied "well, he had some good days, but he was actually getting worse, that is why we had to euthanize him."

Through my experience I know that when dog training is based on a scientific approach it is much much more effective.  One dog is not a scientific experiment, so while your neighbors, family and friends are all well meaning, please consider that their knowledge is limited.

If something is not working then consider the fact that the history or diagnosis may be incorrect.