If your dog is stressed, anxious or reactive, there’s so much you can do to replace that stress, anxiety and
reactivity with confidence. Two things are super important to help our dogs become confident, and those are our mindset and training clarity. Believing in your dog will help you bring out their best in any situation.
In the episode you'll hear:
- About thinking the best about our dogs and the best about ourselves.
- How to throw away any negative feelings you might have about yourself.
- That you are doing the best you can and to ignore society’s judgment.
- About the unrealistic expectations people have about dogs.
- How to see the dog you love everywhere you go with that dog.
- Why to know what your dog will do when they are overwhelmed.
- That you need a plan to replace food lures and props in your dog training.
- About breaking behaviors down and how that applies to walking on a loose leash.
- Why we want to help our dogs recover from failure fast and how it starts with ItsYerChoice.
- A review of the arousal curve, so you can be aware of your dog’s emotional state.
- Why we need to believe our dogs and learn from the information they give us.
- That our dogs are always doing the best they can in any situation and change is possible.
ItsYerChoice Game:
Resources:
- Podcast Episode 167: Reduce Your Dog’s Stress And Anxiety In Training
- YouTube Playlist: Reactive or Aggressive Dogs: Key Insights with Susan Garrett
- Podcast Episode 163: Unsolicited Dog Training Advice: How To Protect Your Confidence And Your Dog
- Podcast Episode 78: How to Train a Rescue Dog with Behavior Problems
- Podcast Episode 114: Dog Agility Training: 3 Big Mistakes All Dog Owners Should Avoid
- Podcast Episode 3: How Hollywood Made Life Tough For Dogs
- Podcast Episode 76: Leash Walking: Distracted, or Reactive Dog? These Games Will Help!
- YouTube Video: Perch Work (Pivots and Spins)
- Podcast Episode 86: How to Train Unmotivated or Overexcited Dogs
- Watch this Episode of Shaped by Dog on YouTube
I am so grateful for you Susan!!! My dog saw my sister in law today and he jumped and lunged at her! I was so embarrassed. I’m working with a trainer and I hope I can build his confidence! He’s a 13 month old Great Dane so all things are bigger and louder!
I understand and agree with all the psychology and background information about why these dogs need confidence and need reshaping.. to be able to help my dog, I need to know detailed information about what to do. She knows it’s your choice, she knows the color grab, she knows all the foundations. However when she is being triggered on a walk she could care less about playing it’s your choice or any of those other games. I am at a loss of what to do. I have been actively playing games with her and doing layers and layers of learning with her. But they do not fix her triggers. She was even on medication for a while which made her worse. This is a BC that is even afraid to go for a walk unless it’s in the evening when there are very few distractions. She will be two years old this month and behaves like she’s never been trained when she’s on a walk. But when she’s in the basement in the living room and in our Greenbelt she looks like she’s one awards in Obedience. I can’t seem to transfer the value to me when she sees joggers, bikes, dogs that she does not know. She goes into lockdown and becomes the ground. I cannot even get her to move. In training she knows the turn in towards me and he is a pro at it but he is not remotely interested in turning away from her triggers. She wants to go into a down position wait till they get closer and then lunch at them.
I have enrolled in any of your courses and have watched all of your blogs many of them more than once, and I agree with everything you said. But I just need more details about what to do when in that situation.