During a recent visit to my local pet shop, the clerk, after spending some time with my dog Princess, commented, €She€s just such a calm and confident dog.€ I often get similar comments when we are ou... Read More
During a recent visit to my local pet shop, the clerk, after spending some time with my dog Princess, commented, €She€s just such a calm and confident dog.€ I often get similar comments when we are out. Things haven€t always been this way!
I adopted Princess from a shelter two years ago, she had been surrendered from an abusive home and had spent 23 hours a day in a cage at the shelter for the past year before I adopted her. Understandably, she came with some anxiety issues, including a bite history. She was afraid of being restrained, rain, lightning, thunder, hiking trails, bathing, towel drying, and more! I got her for a reduced prince because the shelter was unable to get a muzzle on her or restrain her to update her vaccinations.
All dogs have issues and, in the case of Princess, I was looking at a good dog who had been let down by society and, if not able to find a good home, was about to be let down again. Furthermore Princess€s issues would not simply take care of themselves.
Both my veterinarian and the Humane Society recommended The Behavior Clinic.
From my very first phone call, which wound up being with Rachel (our soon to be trainer), I knew that I was in good hands. Rachel did an excellent job of making me realize that there was hope and that I was not alone with my problem.
The Behavior Clinic practices positive reinforcement only! My first-hand experience has shown me that there are some very good reasons for this! Princess now handles restraint well, tolerates having her blood drawn with no issues, and can be muzzled with no problems if need be. Also, she can easily be bathed and dried with a towel. She eagerly jumps at the chance to hike on trails and is either completely or largely improved with respect to rain, thunder, and all the other issues she had. She is safe around people and loves other dogs.
I firmly believe that none of this would have been possible without a strict adherence to positive reinforcement! Anxiety seems to be at the heart of many behavioral issues and, unfortunately, many €traditional methods€ of responding to unacceptable animal behavior (verbal reprimands, standing over, harshly staring at our dogs) do nothing but add more anxiety to an already over-anxious situation.
The training we did largely ourselves. We were trained by Rachel as to what to do. We were given clear instructions and objectives at each visit. The training itself proved to be very straightforward. It did not find it to be very burdensome in terms of time/effort. It involved many short-term sessions (just a few minutes each) just done consistently over time.
I realized that positive reinforcement can work wonders and is the best route for lasting, long term solutions. However, positive reinforcement it is a specific, clinical approach that can be easily misunderstood/misinterpreted if not done with the help of trained professionals. I thought this was particularly true with respect to the question of desensitization and, €what do to do if your dog misbehaves?€ Some of the advice I was given at times seemed counter-intuitive to me but I did it anyway and, absolutely, it did work! Also, Princess€s treatment involved training that was augmented by prescription medication, an approach that can only be achieved by an organization like The Behavior Clinic that utilizes €both€ certified, €positive reinforcement only€ trainers and a licensed veterinarian who specialize in behavioral issues.
If you have an animal with behavior issues, Princess and I would strongly recommend enlisting the help of The Behavior Clinic! Read Less