Welcome DC Dog Lovers! Useful tips from a DC dog trainer.
Welcome to my new blog. I hope you find it interesting and informative.
I remember when I got my third dog several years ago, and I was confident that I knew all about dogs. Training them, interacting with them, etc. - I had lived with dogs before, I watched a lot of Dog Whisperer, and read a book or two about obedience training. But I was sorely mistaken - and very unprepared.
Riis (named for Riis Park in NY, where I'm from) is a mutt that I adopted from a rescue organization. He was found with the rest of his litter in a cardboard box on the side of a road in Memphis, Tennessee. By the time he got to me, he was about four months old, ten pounds, and full of fear and anxiety that manifested itself in a whole host of behavior problems. He was reactive to other dogs, had severe touch sensitivity - would flinch when touched anywhere on his body, and completely freak out when you went near his ears or paws - and was generally fearful of any unfamiliar noise or movement to the point that he was literally stopped in his tracks a dozen times a day.
Nothing I did to train or modify his behavior was working. All the information I found was either really distasteful (using shock collars and other aversives) or I didn't understand enough to really believe it would work. I felt guilty for failing to help my dog and myself, I felt confused about why I couldn't change him using all the expert advice I had come across.
Finally, I found a trainer who employed positive training methods. For once, her reasoning made sense to me. So much so that it changed the course of my professional life. I've been working with dogs ever since, and it has made me a more observant and compassionate person to people and dogs alike.
The contents of this blog, then, should hopefully provide some comfort to dog owners who feel like they're out of ideas, at the end of their rope, or just want to learn more about how they can interact and understand their dog in a more positive way.