Comments on: Magic “Touch” for Fearful Dogs

By: Deborah Flick

Deborah Flick — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 04:49:05 +0000

Thank you so much.

By: Leslie McDevitt

Leslie McDevitt — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 22:23:14 +0000

what a great article! i’ve been there too. awesome job deborah

leslie

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Training tips or advice on walking a strong dog - Page 3 - Pet Forums Community — Mon, 18 May 2009 13:11:21 +0000

[...] fearful reactive dogs, and they have made great progress with their dogs using positive methods. Boulder Dog

By: Angela

Angela — Sun, 17 May 2009 20:43:48 +0000

Wonderful post, truly touching (no pun intended). Thank you for sharing.

By: Deborah Flick

Deborah Flick — Sat, 09 May 2009 02:04:30 +0000

Dear Kim

Thank you so much for your moving comments. I’m so taken by what you had to say. Less than 10% of people who have dogs offer any training at all? That’s appalling to me. I hadn’t thought about it before, but now that you mention it, indeed, helping your dog to learn basic life skills should be right up there with spaying and neutering.

And I have to be honest with you. I was so upset upon discovering Sadie was fearful and reactive that I wasn’t sure I could keep her. And, this was long before the first bark-lunge episode. I felt totally overwhelmed. Because I got Sadie from a reputable breeder, had I decided that I couldn’t cope, I would have been required by contract to return her to the breeder. Obviously, I kept her. But, I had a LOT of help. I needed it, and still do. For her and me. Our weekly sessions with Gigi truly are as much for her as they are therapy for me!

Thank you again for your kind and encouraging words. And, please thank Grisha for Sadie and me.

By: Kim

Kim — Fri, 08 May 2009 23:04:58 +0000

Thanks to Grisha, I was lucky enough to have been able to read this post.
I wish that everyone would take such interest, and show the concern you have done, in recognizing what a miserable state it is, for any living being, to constantly remain in a total state of fear. So few people recognize this, and it saddens me that the average, ordinary, person that choses to bring a dog into their life, would not even have considered taking the step of attending “kindegarten” classes. Someone on a list I belong to, after reading my concern for how important it is for people to be educated, as to why the importance of, at least, the basic life skills, is so necessary for successful and rewarding relationships between people in their dogs, reported that less than 10% of people who have dogs, offer any training at all. That is more than disturbing for me and gives more reason for me to feel that if spaying and neutering are part of “responsible” pet ownership, surely proper life skills training should be as well. Both areas help keep the “unwanted” and abandonned, dogs from shelters, and/or worst case, euthanasia.
I feel certain that there are very many people who would not have even given Sadie a chance, or rather, not paid enough attention, and then have had her bite someone, then leading to many negative possibilites.
I can only hope that your blog, along with the type of information Grisha offers, will somehow reach that average person, who would ordinarily not even think to pick up a book on the subject of dogs, or the training of them.
For the life of me, I cannot find a way to really reach these type people and it is such a strong passion within me, to do so.
Please keep up the great blog and of course, I will reach out and allow Sadie to “touch” my hand, if ever the opportunity presents itself.

By: Deborah Flick

Deborah Flick — Fri, 08 May 2009 02:15:22 +0000

Yes! Sadie and I, with our trainer Gigi, have been working on McDevitt’s cue, Look At. OMG! It works so well. Sadie now sees scary things before I do. (I’m always on the lookout She looks and then turns back to me. Of course, we started with clicking her looking at the scary thing and then when she started to look back at me, clicking and treating that. I know you know the relief and joy we feel when our fearful dogs gain a little more confidence and sense of well-being in the world. Pure grace.

Thank you for referencing your videos. All are very helpful.

By: Deborah Flick

Deborah Flick — Fri, 08 May 2009 02:05:04 +0000

Grisha

Thank you so much for your appreciation. And, thank you for sharing this with your clients. There are so many fearful, reactive dogs. Breaks my heart. But, I’m so glad there are people like you who are helping.

Deborah

By: fearfuldogs

fearfuldogs — Fri, 08 May 2009 00:37:30 +0000

What a good problem you ended up with!

Another great exercise for fearful or reactive dogs is the Look At That game made popular by Leslie McDevitt in Control Unleashed.

I’ve put up videos of how I’ve used hand targeting to practice a recall and meeting new people here on the fearfuldogs.com website.

http://www.fearfuldogs.com/targeting.html

By: Blog to read: Magic “Touch” for Fearful Dogs | Ahimsa Dog Training, Seattle | Dog and Puppy Tips from Seattle |

Thu, 07 May 2009 23:17:54 +0000

[...] well she captures the mind of the dog, so you should read it yourself! For the full post, visit the Boulder Dog website Written by Grisha Stewart, Ahimsa Dog Training, Seattle Tweet This [...]

By: Grisha Stewart

Grisha Stewart — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:59:32 +0000

I LOVE this article. You captured the emotional side of having a reactive dog and the joy that comes with normalcy. I’m sharing this with clients who balk at learning Touch!