A Trainer Referral Appreciated For Baby Girl

From a retired trainer of 30 years.

Be careful, any dog trainer will tell you:"Yeah, I can do that. No problem."

If they say that run, and fast.

Aggression is one of the hardest issues a trainer will face. If a trainer says they can solve it, I would politely ask for 3 or 4 references of past clients that he/she was successful with aggression, specifically. Then call them.

Be willing to be very active in the training for best results.

This link may help.
APDT Pet Owners Resources

It sounds like you may be talking about fear aggression. That is a little different than straight aggression. But...it can be hard to determine what is going on via posts.

I think what you might get more benefit from is a behaviorist. Have you asked your vet for a referral? If not, do that. Your vet will have a better chance of knowing someone local that you could work with in person.

Training is helpful and can be a great way to build confidence and provide structure....I have nothing against training. The difference is that a behaviorist will take a broader look at what is going on with your pup and your relationship with her.

Code2High wrote:
It sounds like you may be talking about fear aggression. That is a little different than straight aggression. But...it can be hard to determine what is going on via posts.

I think what you might get more benefit from is a behaviorist. Have you asked your vet for a referral? If not, do that. Your vet will have a better chance of knowing someone local that you could work with in person.

Training is helpful and can be a great way to build confidence and provide structure....I have nothing against training. The difference is that a behaviorist will take a broader look at what is going on with your pup and your relationship with her.

With all due respect, a good trainer will also explore the behavior. It is critical to understanding the reason(s) for the aggression and then correcting it.

Thanks so much for the replies.

A behaviorist is a good idea...something I haven't thought of. While she does have a regular vet when we are in Sour Lake, we're not always here. Fear agression is a possibility.

Couple of examples of Baby Girl being agressive: we can be walking down the road and as a car, somebody on a bicycle, or someone running is coming to her she becomes agressive. To test for fear agression, the other day as we were walking and a car was coming to us I got her on to a side road so the car would pass us, not come directly to her. She did nothing; just stood and looked.

We can be out talking to some people and she'll sit by my side, if one person moves quickly in a direction to her, she becomes agressive. In that same kind of situation, if a person reaches out to me, she becomes agressive.

Those are the main issues. I've used the spray water bottle with some success. I'm also wondering if I should be more proactive in managing her when we get in a situation that I feel she could become agressive.

Overall she is very sweet! All input is greatly appreciated!

A behaviorist is a good idea but the are things you can address on your own. Our last Bouvier had similar fear issues in that he would lunge after cars and cyclists. I had not noticed this when he was with me but my very small wife had some issues and asked me to give her a hand with him. I took him down to the highway where cars were whipping by at 40-50 mph. He lunged after every one that approached him from the rear so I deduced that we was afraid of things approaching him that he did not see. Consequently I had him sit there on the side of the road and face the traffic. After about 30-40 cars he settled down. I did the same thing for the next few days and his fear went away. On a walk on a bike trail I discovered he had those same issues with fast moving bicycles so I took him to a bike race, problem solved.

As to how Baby acts towards people, you need to get tuned in to her emotions and how she reacts when people approach. She may change her stance, she may set her feet solidly, watch her ears and tail set and after a while you should be able to know when she's going to go off on someone and be proactive and address the situation before she reacts.

It will take some time but you should be bale to correct some of the issues before you see a behaviorist.

Exercise the same patience with Baby Girl that you did with your students and you should do fine. Remember it's all about teaching/educating, use the same principles on Baby Girl that you did with your difficult students.

Greyghost said, "Exercise the same patience with Baby Girl that you did with your students and you should do fine. Remember it's all about teaching/educating, use the same principles on Baby Girl that you did with your difficult students".

Well said! I certainly enjoyed turning on light bulbs and that was the best part about teaching in the travelling circus. While what Greyghost said may have been in the back of my mind, he brought it to the front. I appreciate that! THANK YOU!!!

I'd like to share this story that happened during my teaching days at DeQuincy Elementary. I've used it as an addendum to my resume and the moral is fitting here. This is a link to my Facebook notes section.

On another note; don't know if you age allows you to remember a TV series, "Grey Ghost"...it was a favorite of mine...black and white...Civil War related.

You just touched the index card in my memory bank and yes I used to watch it. As you stated, it so rewarding to see the light come on in a student. It's like a switch was thrown and they're ready to move forward.

Greyghost wrote:
You just touched the index card in my memory bank and yes I used to watch it. As you stated, it so rewarding to see the light come on in a student. It's like a switch was thrown and they're ready to move forward.

While I have lost some enthusiasm for being in a public classroom, I HAVE NOT lost the excitement of designing strategies to reach a learner. My best moments while teaching with the travelling circus was just that! When students really understand...the light bulb comes on! I've always compared teaching to being a rock star on stage. That light bulb switching on is a rock start moment.

Don't want to completely change the thread...but I view this as important! Thank you for bringing it up!