What to Expect
When Working with Fearful or Aggressive Looking Dogs
When working with a fearful or aggressive dog, we work to change the underlying association between the dog's emotions and the "scary" thing.
This takes time, and we work at your dog's pace. We also pay special attention to how we work through the behavior change plans for them to be effective. Our goal is to get to the root of the fearful or aggressive looking behavior and help your dog feel better. Think about this as healing an old injury instead of slapping a band-aid on it. We are here for your dog's long term health and well-being and we will hold your hand and your dog's paw to get there.
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Read the tips below to get to know our approach and what's helps success.
What's Needed to Succeed?
Kindness
Kindness is the foundation of all training at Wiggle Butt Academy. Not only is it important to use kind methods and tools, it's also important to empathize and consider behavior from your dog's point of view.
Click this image to see more from this scared dog
Most of aggressive behavior is rooted in fear. The dog displays aggressive looking behavior to increase distance between himself and the trigger (aka the scary thing). In our work together, we will discover the subtle signals he gives before escalating. Then, in our work, we will work at a level that does not elicit fear responses - this is how we help your dog relearn that the scary thing is actually safe, and can even predict great things. Going slow and working at safe exposure levels is being part of being kind. We don't want to intentionally cause your dog any additional fear, stress or anxiety.
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Being unkind to a fearful dog only makes him more fearful. Imagine a child fearful of spiders. If someone yelled or spanked the child for being afraid - it doesn't help him feel better. Fear doesn't heal fear, so let's do what works, the kind way.
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Be Kind To Yourself, Too
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This type of work can take its toll on our emotions. It can feel exhausting at times. Know that it's ok to feel this way, it is hard. We want you to be as kind to yourself as you are to your dog. If you find yourself with a short fuse or short tempered, this is your body saying take a break. If you need to take a few days off to recharge, do it. You will be kinder and more prepared afterwards. Ask for help when you need it. We know you can do it, because you asked for our help. Please, take care of yourself, too.
Patience
With fear and aggression work, your dog sets the pace. We can make some educated guesses about how fast we'll see progress, but it is completely up to your dog. S/he will tell us when she is ready to progress by communicating with body language. We will also track some indicators using some analytical tools like behavior logs. Your dog's language and our behavior analysis helps keep us on track.
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We will celebrate seemingly very small gains. Why? Because slow is the new fast. By pacing slowly, it's less likely that we will have to go backwards and rework prior steps. If we move too quickly, we may push your dog too hard and maintain the fear or aggression which is effectively strengthening it. Every time your dog "practices" the behavior, it is reinforced in some way. If it wasn't, it would stop on its own.
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The fastest way to the goal is to go slowly.
Perseverance
You will have to do the work to help your dog feel better. There is just no way to get around that. Dig in and get it done - that's why you're here. We will be both your coach and your cheerleader along the way.
As you progress, you may find yourself thinking, "this is easy for my dog!" If you are thinking this, you are correct. We want your dog to succeed at each and every step in his training plan. If it seems easy, you are executing the plan perfectly.
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Some people struggle with perseverance when a step is taking a bit. This is completely normal. Stay the course, and remember that the time invested in your dog will pay off for the rest of his (and your) life.
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