Fearful Dogs

Help For You & Your Dog

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Add a link to the Fearful Dogs Website and receive a gift from Sunny!

Helping A Fearful Dog

Is your dog shy? Nervous? Anxious or Protective? Would you like your dog to behave calmly around people and other dogs? Are you looking for ways to help your dog learn to be happier and more confident?

A Guide To Living With & Training A Fearful Dog is an eBook containing training advice and activities compiled by Sunny's owner including games, how to begin when working with a fearful dog, how dogs learn and how to help any dog with fears. It is an informative resource for owners and rescuers.

This book is a finalist in the 2008 Dog Writers of America Writer's Competition!

Here's what readers have had to say:

"Thanks! I feel like you have given me a roadmap with real directions to a destination."

"I read the book last night (before and after agility class). I found it
thorough, informative and well-written. So, thank you again! Almost
everything you wrote resonated in some way with me and my dog."

"I am writing an all around general care guide for canines one of my sections is about shy/fearful canines..when I read your BRILLIANT article I was thinking it would be amazing to have that in the guide along with your website."

"Thanks for your wonderful website as it was recommended on the BC boards page. Have you collected all your pages into a book?"

"I visited your fearful dogs website & have bookmarked it in my
favorites."

"Loved the book!!!! Very good reading, you need to get published in hard copy."

"I find myself feeling a bit more hopeful after reading through your site. I am so grateful to have this information."

Don't be misled by training techniques that scare or hurt your dog. Be your dog's best friend and learn how to effectively change your dog's behavior by changing how he feels. You CAN help your dog!

Order your copy now!

click here for more information.

Look for the latest articles written by Debbie in:

Off Lead & Animal Behavior Magazine

The Yankee Dog

West County News, MA

 

Training Resources

Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists can provide effective, scientific, state of the art help to understand, prevent, and manage your pet’s behavior.

Trainers

It is important to find trainers that understand how to work with fearful dogs. Anyone can call themselves a dog trainer, but it doesn't mean that they have studied the current literature on dog behavior. A bad trainer can make matters worse for you and your dog.

These are trainers that have experience working with fearful dogs and understand how positive reinforcement is used to help a scared dog learn new behaviors and become more confident.

I welcome feedback on any trainer on this list. If you are a trainer and would like to be included on this list, or know a trainer who should be, please contact us!

California

Amy Cook-Oakland

Go Fetch Dog Training- San Francisco

Pawsitive Tails-San Francisco

Braveheart Dog Training-San Leandro

R+ Dog Training-Davis

C.H.A.C.O Dog Training-Berkeley

BADDogsInc Family Dog Training & Behavior- Riverside County• Inland Valley • San Bernardino County • Eastern Orange County

Paws and Praise Dog Training- East Bay, Oakland, Alameda, Walnut Creek, Berkeley

The Sophisticated Dog- West Side of Los Angeles, Bel Air, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica & Westwood

Whole Dog Training- San Diego

Colorado

Bolder Dogs-Boulder

Waggin's West Dog Training-Denver

Maryland

Pat Miller-Hagerstown

Laurie Luck-Mount Airy

Special Paws-Gaithersburg

Massachusetts

Jill Haley Rose-Westfield

Liz Shaw-Belmont

Ann Dupuis-Greater Boston, Metrowest, and

Metrosouth/South Shore

Marjie Alonzo-Somerville

Vera Wilkinson-Brookline

Dr. Amy Marder-Boston

Kim Melanson-Boston

MSPCA -Boston

Terri Bright- Boston

Jo Jacques- Greater Boston & North Shore

Caryl-Rose Pofcher-Amherst

Leea Foran-Lenox

Carolyn Barney- Groton

Minnesota

Wallflower Class-Golden Valley

Missouri

Kim's Canines- St. Charles

Nevada

Robin Baizel-Reno, Sparks

New Hampshire

Dee Ganley-White River Junction

Sharon Winant-Monadnock Humane Society-Keene

Anne Firestone-Acworth

New Jersey

Sit and Stay- Bergen, Hudson, Union, Morris, Passaic and Essex counties

The Trained K9

New York

Viviane Arzoumanian-Brooklyn

Jamie & Stephen McKay-Westchester

Peg Munves-Greater New York City area, including all five boroughs, Fairfield Country and Westchester County.

Parvene Farhoody

Rewarding Behaviors-Binghamton NY

Give Paw Dog Training-Brooklyn & Metro NY

Oregon

Country Dog City Dog- Portland

Companion Animal Solutions- Portland

Pennsylvania

Ali Brown- Lehigh Valley, Allentown and Bethlehem

DeDe Crough- Glen Moore

Leslie McDevitt

Faithful Companion Dog Training- Lancaster County

SilverSkyk9- Lancaster County (will travel as needed)

Texas

Be Kind To Dogs Training-Dallas

Utah

Anna Bettina Johnson-Salt Lake City

Vermont

Deb Theriault-Jacksonville

Bill Grant- Putney

Virginia

Kari Koulmentas-Williamsburg

Washington

Ahimsa Dog Training-Seattle & Bellevue

Companion Animal Solutions- metro Seattle & Vancouver

Kathy Sdao- Tacoma

West Virginia

Kitty Bowman-Falling Waters

Canada

Ontario

Lucinda Glenny-Markham

Ruth Wozniak-Newmarket

More Resources

You can also find a list of positive trainers here.

The Association of Professional Dog Trainers provides lists of certified trainers around the world. The Certification Council For Professional Dog Trainers also lets you search for trainers in your area.

Questions to ask a trainer

How would you describe the type of training methods you teach?

You want to hear 'positive reinforcement', 'relationship based' or 'clicker training' somewhere in their answer. These are not the only ways to help scared dogs but are less likely to cause your dog's behavior to become worse, as can happen if dogs are punished for their behavior.

What was the last training book you read? What did you think of it?

Do an online search and see who wrote the book and when it was written. Read it yourself.

Who is your favorite trainer? Which trainers have you learned the most from?

Names of well-known positive reinforcement trainers incude; Patricia McConnell, Jean Donaldson, Ian Dunbar, Pat Miller, Karen Pryor.

Avoid Cesar Millan enthusiasts (most professional trainers do not believe he's as wonderful as TV audiences do).

How long have you been training dogs?

Do you have experience working with fearful dogs? Have you been successful helping these dogs?