The Girl and the Wasp - Shutting Dogs Down

Once upon a time there was a young girl who was terrified of wasps. You see, her parents used to compete in gardening events and they took her along to all of them. In the summer, this girl has been chased and bitten by wasps, for just playing in the gardens. Over time, she developed an extreme phobia of flying stinging insects.

One year she met her new family and they are very loving people but they don't really understand this girl very well. She's a weird one. She connects with animals better than people and would rather spend hours reading than interacting. You could say she has always had her head in the clouds, dreaming. Her family? They love her but that doesn't mean they get her. The girl's new family loved to have picnics and dinners outside on their patio. Every summer the wasps would come and the girl, she would run for the house, often vocalizing her fear loudly. "GO AWAY, you nasty stinging insects!!!" she would scream. She would scream and sometimes swat at these horrible stinging insects and try to get them away from her. Often times she would resort to having to eat inside the house, with the window open so she could still be with her family.

What did her family do about this? Well, her family thought her behavior was pretty annoying. They wanted to have nice, quiet dinners with polite conversation. They would complain loudly at her and shame her for being afraid. Often times they would tell her that she was "just doing it for attention". They would tell her she was being ridiculous and to come back outside and every time the girl would give in to her fear, the wasps would come. Her family did try some wasp traps but they were never enough, there were always too many.

The girl was VERY embarrassed by her phobia. She hated that these flying insects would make her scream and act out. She was shamed by her family and she was SO ashamed of herself. Often she would wonder why she couldn't just sit outside and enjoy a meal with everyone without being terrified. Eventually the girl was shamed so badly that she would sit outside with her family and when the wasps came she was still terrified of them but she sat in silence, often screaming inside her head, absolutely afraid to move or vocalize her discomfort because it was always met with ridicule. It's not polite in our society to scream and dance around in fear. She was still terrified of the wasps but her family had effectively shut her down. So there she would sit, silently terrified, wishing the flying stinging things would all die and leave her alone.

What does the girl and the wasp have to do with dog training? Well funny you should ask. Every single time a person "corrects" their dog when they display behavior out of fear or anxiety, they are only shutting that dog down. They are stopping behavior without addressing the underlying emotions. You have stopped the dog from moving or vocalizing but they are still screaming silently in their heads, just like the girl and her wasps.

When dogs are anxious in their crates and make noise and their person whacks the crate to shut them up, they might shut up but they are still anxious. Just because you've stopped the dog from vocalizing does not mean you have fixed the anxiety, you've likely made it worse. When you squirt your dog with water or jerk the leash for reacting at another dog, you may have stopped the reaction but you have not made the dog feel better, you've likely just associated your dog's trigger with more fear and pain. The dog learns that they can't trust their owner. Their owner gets mean when their trigger is present. Often times we see reactivity get worse and worse and the owners keep having to escalate the punishment to get the dog to "stop".

We need to remember that our dogs did not ask to be a part of our family. We went out and chose our dogs and we owe it to them to be loving humans worthy of their trust. We owe it to them to use kind, humane training methods. When your dog displays unwanted behavior, you have to figure out what the underlying cause of that behavior is and you have to address the emotions behind it and if you can't figure it out on your own, you owe it to your dog to find a trainer who uses humane methods to assist you.

The girl might have eventually learned to live with the wasps, she might have been able to get over her fear had she been supported through her phobia. She was not and she is still terrified of flying/stinging insects. The girl loves her family dearly but she doesn't visit them as often as she should and she avoids any activity with them that requires eating outside. Everyone has lost in this one. The girl does not blame her family for not understanding her or behavior. It just is what it is. The girl does her very best to never use aversive punishment on her dogs or shut them down because they are scared and displaying unwanted behavior. The girl continues her education and tries her best to be worthy of her dogs and to pay it forward.

Sunny Obama Bites A Family Friend! Dogs Don't Like Hugs!

Sunny Obama. Photo Courtesy of Google.

I just found out that Sunny Obama bit a family friend in the face. The news outlet stated that the friend tried to hug and kiss the dog. An article I read about the incident even went as far to say that Sunny is a bad dog and that she was even hard to potty train. Potty training has absolutely nothing to do with the bite and if she is having trouble being potty trained that is a human problem as most dog problems tend to be.

I feel bad that the girl was bitten but I don't believe Sunny is a bad dog. Dogs do not like hugs and it is so important for us to teach our children this! Any animal with teeth can and will bite. It happens over and over again. A kid or an adult attempt to hug a dog = dog bites person. Why do dogs do this and more importantly why do we keep ignoring all the research that tells us that dogs do not like hugs? Why do people stick their faces in a dog's face that they do not know very well or at all?

I believe that many people don't recognize the signs that a dog is uncomfortable. I also think that so many people feel compelled to pet every dog they see and some of them don't really care how the dog feels about it. A lot of people out there are all about meeting their own needs and for some reason there is just this obsession with dogs. People are not seeing the signs that dogs are not comfortable with this and the dog will learn that humans don't listen so they have to escalate to get their point across. Depending on the level of discomfort that escalation can happen in seconds.

In a perfect world all dogs would be socialized, taught to be comfortable with handling and come from good genes but unfortunately we don't live in perfect world. Dogs are animals who have minds of their own and they don't always act how we think they will. I feel like it's best to err on the side of caution when dealing with a dog you do not know well.

Any dog can become uncomfortable with being handled at any given time. Even those happy-go-lucky social butterflies who have all the good genes and socialization in their favor. All dogs have good and bad days, just like we do, even dogs who are socialized and handled from a young age. Sometimes they just don't feel like being messed with or they don't feel good. Or maybe something stressful just happened to them and they are trigger stacked. It's very important to learn dog body language and always be cautious with dogs you do not know. 

If you google "dogs" and  'hugs" you will find a hundred or more pictures of kids and adults hugging dogs and although I don't have time to look through every single picture, most of these dogs look uncomfortable. You can see it in their eyes, they are either very wide or the white in their eyes will show. A few of them are giving a hard stare. A lot of them are looking away from the person doing the hugging and are tense. Some are panting heavily with their lips pulled all the way back. I even saw a photo that looked like the dog was struggling to get away. None of the photos I saw were happy, comfortable dogs. Yet, we keep hugging them! Are we hugging the dogs for them or us? I would say for the most part that we are hugging the dogs for us because it makes us feel good. Can dogs be trained to like hugs? Sure, they can but we are not going to get into that here and just because your dog will let you do it doesn't mean they want every Joe they meet on the street to hug them, too.

Dogs don't like hugs but why doesn't anyone believe this? All the research points to dogs considering hugs as rude. You don't see dogs going around hugging each other. Hugs and grabbing is a primate behavior. We humans are primates and we like to grab stuff and hold onto it. Dogs are not primates and do not enjoy this. I think because dogs will tolerate a hug from trusted family members, people think that all dogs like hugs but that doesn't mean they actually do. They are just putting up with it because it makes us happy. The next time you go to hug your own dog, pay attention to their body language. Maybe even set up a camera so you can see what they are doing when you hug them. I bet your dog might surprise you.

It is so important for us to teach our kids and educate ourselves on how to properly interact with dogs. There are so many educational videos and infographics out there. There are so many amazing dog trainers available to learn from. We are bringing these animals into our homes and most people don't even understand what they are trying to tell us. It's important that in addition to teaching dogs our language that we also learn theirs.

Photo Credit: http://www.4pawsuniversity.com/

Always listen to the owner of the dog and respect them if they say you may not pet. Even better, "listen" to what the dog is saying. The owner may say yes but the dog might say no! Watch their body language, remember that a wagging tail does not necessarily mean that the dog is happy and friendly. Phoenix often wags her tail when she's anxious! If the dog looks relaxed and wants to come up to you then that's a good sign. If they don't want to come up or look nervous, leave them be.

When in doubt keep your hands off the dogs and definitely keep your face out of theirs! Don't bend over and get in their space, don't try and reach for the top of their head. Let the dog come to you if they want to and if they allow it, pet them around their chest area or along their back. Never push yourself onto a dog who is acting fearful. It's important to remember that a dog out and about with it's owner is NOT public property and you're not in a petting zoo. If you really love dogs, admire and respect them from a distance. Always exercise caution when interacting with a dog who does not belong to you and always teach your children to respect dogs and to not put their faces into a dog's face. Dogs are not stuffed toys, they are thinking, feeling beings with a lot of sharp teeth. They give us so much and they deserve to be respected and protected from unwanted handling from strangers.

Sunny Obama is not a bad dog and I really hope that the family takes time to understand her. Hopefully everyone learned their lesson and they will take steps to help her become more comfortable around strangers. 

How do you help your dog stay safe and comfortable around strangers?

A Change in Perspective (There's Nothing Wrong with Phoenix)

For years I've called Phoenix "my reactive dog", "my challenging dog", "my fearful one", "Zoe's evil twin" and basically insert any other words here that mean "difficult". It's true that Phoenix has been a little more challenging than Zoe because of where she came from and because she experienced trauma. However, after working at my work for a couple of months and having a lot of conversations with the awesome trainers I work with, I've begun to have a massive change in perception about my dog. There is literally nothing wrong with Phoenix. There, I said it. There's nothing wrong with her.

Phoenix can be nervous of other dogs and she would rather large dogs not be in her personal space bubble. She's basically an introvert who loves and trusts her immediate family and friends. Phoenix is a normal dog. Not liking other dogs, that she doesn't know, in her personal space is not abnormal. Her level and intensity of reaction to having a strange dog in her space is also completely normal.

I am nervous of strangers and I don't like them in my personal space. If a strange person ran up to me and threw their arms around me, I'd probably snap at them, too. Just like humans, our dogs should be able to say "no" to other dogs as long as they are appropriate about it.

I think as a society we've decided that any time a dog snarls and snaps that it's "aggression" and then that dog is immediately labeled as a bad dog. We need to immediately "correct this 'aggression'" and dogs are not allowed to show any signs of being anything other than our happy-go-lucky companions.

The reality is that dogs have only so many ways they can communicate that they are unhappy. Their subtle body language cues often go ignored (by people and other dogs) so then they have to escalate to get the message across. People think that dogs are being aggressive when the reality is that they are just displaying agonistic behaviors, social behaviors, that are completely normal. These dogs only want to achieve one thing "give me space". That is not aggression. How else are they supposed to communicate to another dog who isn't listening to back off and that they don't like what that dog is doing?

True aggression is defined as "intent to cause harm" and "inflicting damage on another individual". In all the time that I've had Phoenix (going on 4 years) and in the context of greeting other people's dogs, she's never injured a single one by being snarky. She's never drawn blood and she's never left a single mark on another dog. That is not us getting lucky. If a dog truly wants to do damage or hurt someone, they can and will. Most of the time, dogs know exactly how strong their jaws are and they know exactly where they are placing their mouths. If a dog air snaps and misses you, they meant to miss you. If a dog bites you and gets you, they meant to bite you. By being snarky (and seriously inhibited snarky, at that), all Phoenix wants to achieve is telling the other dog that she needs space or that the way they are interacting with her is inappropriate. (IE: Male dog trying to hump her). Phoenix displays behaviors related to avoidance, behaviors that only mean she wants distance. 9 times out of 10 when we go to the off leash park, she will choose to get away from another dog versus greetings and interactions. Phoenix is not an aggressive dog and she does not have any intention to cause harm or inflict damage. She just wants her personal space bubble respected. We can't blame her for that.

In the past there have been three injuries to other dogs in relation to play, two of them were caused by Zoe and only one might have been caused by Phoenix. Zoe used to get very over-aroused during play and she would play too rough. She caused scratches to two separate dogs, both belonging to friends. Phoenix may have nipped a dog during a game of chase but every dog was chasing the dog that was running and nobody saw which dog nipped her. Unfortunately, these sorts of things can literally happen to anyone who goes to the dog park. Play injuries are more common than anything else. Dogs get banged up playing with each other. It's a thing.

An appropriate, face-to-face greeting.

So what does all of this mean? Am I going to stop training my dog? The short answer is no way! I'm still going to do everything I can to make sure that Phoenix has good interactions with other dogs. Just this past week we went on a nice long walk with my co-worker and her dogs. The dog that a few months ago, Phoenix snapped at. At the beginning of the walk, Phoenix partially displayed her teeth exactly one time. She didn't snark or snap, just lifted her lip and only slighly. By the end of the walk, they were all walking side by side. I'm hoping we can do these sorts of walks on a regular basis because my co-worker's dogs are so calm and they are perfect helper dogs. The more positive interactions Phoenix can have where she doesn't have to display agonistic behaviors the better.

Basically, I am just removing the labels I've put on my dog. I'm not going to stop training. We live in a society where there's a dog and a person around almost every corner. Being prepared and having training to deal with those situations is extremely important.

When I first got Phoenix, I decided and committed to dealing with her and training her as if she was a normal dog. Somewhere along the way, I lost that when I decided to label her as reactive. We could literally label every single dog that has ever lived as reactive. Every dog has at one point or another displayed behavior we could call "reactive". I really want to be done with labels as much as possible. Labels don't describe behaviors. Labels don't train behaviors, either. I've even stopped speculating with people on what breeds my dogs are. I'm just over it.

I've realized that I've become fearful of other dogs and other dog owners because of people marching their "rude" overly enthusiastic "must greet everyone" dogs into her face and her reactions to that. Social pressure made me decide that she wasn't normal and I was scared of what other dog owners would say or think about her. I was scared of confrontation with other dog owners. I've come to realize that my dog is normal and that it's not her fault our society thinks all dogs need to be friendly with each other, that all dogs must greet every single dog they meet.

So what can you do to help other dog owners? My best advice is to give other dogs and owners as much space as possible. Assume all dogs you come across are unfriendly until proven otherwise or the other owner gives you their permission to approach with your dog. Avoid on-leash greetings with other dogs if you can. Leashes make dogs feel trapped and they are more likely to be uncomfortable and display behaviors that mean "give me space". Teach your dog to be neutral to other dogs and to ignore other dogs as they are passing. If you see someone working with their dog alone in a field when there's a dog park 5 minutes down the road, assume that their dog does not want to be friends with your dog. Leave them alone and don't unleash your dog on them or trudge through there. Lastly, never force your dog on other dogs and people. They definitely do not need to meet every single dog or person they see and it's best to start training them for that as soon as you can.

My journey with Phoenix is far from over and we still have a lot of training to do but I really need to celebrate all her successes and how far we've come. She's an awesome little dog, she loves to train and play with me. She's the best snuggler a person could ask for and really she's just a regular dog. She's so fun and happy, she loves belly rubs and a warm blanket just like any other dog. I'm really glad that I have her in my life. 

Disclaimer: I do work for a dog training facility but none of my posts are endorsed by the owners. All opinions and experiences are my own.

Zoe Hates Puppies! A Photograhic Lesson In Canine Body Language

Double Trouble!

Today I have some photographs of canine body language to share with everyone! Zoe has always sort of disliked puppies, they are just not her thing. She thinks they are really annoying and after dealing with too many adolescent dogs who do not listen and are rude, she doesn't like putting up with them. We had a young puppy run up on us when we were hiking and these are some of the photos I got of them communicating with each other.

NOTE: This puppy ran up to us when his owner was all the way across the park and he was not under any sort of control. This is considered an off leash trail/park but dogs are supposed to be under voice control. The greeting between the dogs only lasted 5-10 seconds before my husband called our dogs away. I try to never put my dogs in situations where they will fail and because we know Zoe isn't thrilled with puppies we kept their interaction very brief. Luckily the puppy got the memo immediately and wanted to be my friend instead. 

You can totally see how clear Zoe is with the photo above. She was not thrilled with this stranger running up on us. Her eyes are kind of intense, she's got "whale eye" (the white part of her eye showing), she's got a bit of a mohawk on her butt and her tail is really high. She's clearly saying "you better not mess with me, kid!"

Phoenix is also pretty worried about the greeting, in the first photo she's pretty much "who the hell are you and what do you want" but she is a lot more tolerant of puppy shenanigans and calms down quickly. If you notice in the second photo, Phoenix has one paw raised and that is often a sign of anxiety and/or being unsure.

The puppy has great body language, too. He's telling both of my dogs that he is not a threat. His ears are back, he has whale eye and is body is a nice curve. His tail is also loose. 

In this shot you can see both Zoe and Phoenix's faces. They are clearly unimpressed with him. Phoenix has a bit of a whale eye, too! You can see the total change in the puppy when he spotted me! He's not showing any aggression with baring his teeth he's giving me what's called a "submissive grin". He really wanted to be my friend! His ears are back, he has whale eye and he's screaming "I'm not a threat, I'm friendly but a little nervous, will you be my friend?"

I'm so sad that I didn't get these photos completely in focus but I think you can see the differences in the puppy's body language pretty well! After dealing with those grumpy females, he spots me and he's completely relaxes, his eyes are soft and he's smiling at me.

Here's another adorable shot of this guy. I loved him and wanted to steal him! It's not very often that I find a dog who is good at communicating with my dogs and listening to what they are "saying" too. He was perfect!

My husband calls our dogs away and the puppy's owner makes an attempt at getting him back.

After the owner of the puppy finally collected him, you can see that Zoe was still listening for him. The owner was directly behind Zoe and sort of to the left. Her ear is back and she's paying attention to what is going on behind her. She also still has a butt mohawk but her tail has gone back to being more loose. You can also tell by looking at her face that she is still unimpressed. 

Once the puppy was gone and the doggie Dad broke out some treats, the girls were much happier! 

I think dog body language is fascinating and it's so important for us as owners to be able to tell what our dogs are saying! If you would like to learn more about dog body language, Modern Canine Training made a great video on the subject: Understanding Dog Body Language (Zoe and Phoenix make a cameo at the end). I would recommend checking it out!

Parents! Kids and Dogs! Kids interacting with Dogs!

Dear Parents of Human Children,

When your child asks me if they can interact with my dog and I say, "No. She is afraid of children." That means you need to STOP what you are doing and come get your child. That does not mean your child may come up and get into my dog's face. Your child did not listen to me and we didn't have anywhere to go. We are lucky she is just shy and not reactive. I know it's my responsibility to socialize my dog and I am doing that but it is also your responsibility to parent your child. This is not a petting zoo and my dog is not here for your child's entertainment.

I was polite. I didn't scold the child, yell at the child or say anything mean. Children are generally not my forte and I am never sure what to do or say. I asked her again to please leave my dog alone and told her that my dog was not interested in being friends. The child would not take no for an answer and the parents did NOTHING. They stood there and watched me make repeated attempts to escape from their child and they never said a word to her. They heard me tell her multiple times to please leave us be. They actually went back to unloading their groceries from their car! Leaving me to deal with their child. A complete stranger with a dog. I couldn't believe it.

Parents of Human Children, please if you don't teach them anything else, teach them to respect dogs! If someone says "no, you may not pet my dog" then the kids need to listen and you need to take an active role and parent. Over 4.6 Million people are bitten by dogs every year and I really don't want your child to become one of those statistics. Small children move and act differently than adults, they make different noises and many dogs are afraid of them. It's not just my dog! Not only that, a child is generally right at face level with dogs and it's usually their face that is bitten. Any dog can bite, especially if they are cornered.  Being on leash in a dog's mind is being cornered. So please keep that in mind. If they cannot escape from you or your child their options are very limited.

Dogs are family members and if a dog were to bite your child, he/she would likely lose their life over it. Someone would lose a family member over your child not listening and because you didn't do your job as a parent. Your child would probably go through a lot of pain and suffering. Many bites require corrective surgery. I don't want any of those things to happen! It is SO important to teach children how to behave and interact with dogs. It is important to teach them that NO means NO. It's important to be right there with your child if there are dogs present. It's important to parent.

Please, teach your children that dogs in public should be admired at a distance. Just because a dog is in public, doesn't mean he or she wants to be petted by strangers. Not all dogs are safe with children and many dogs are afraid of them.

If you love dogs, respect them from a distance.

I'm busy over here teaching  and working with my dogs. If you could do that with your kids, too, that would be awesome!

Now let's imagine a world where all the kids did a good job with dogs and no one ever got bitten! Now that's a place I want to live!

Thanks so much!

Dog Mom of Zoe and Phee.

Littermate Syndrome and the Importance of Getting Dogs Out Separately

When I was thinking about getting a second dog, someone told me "two are easier than one!" She was wrong, SO wrong. Let me tell you, two are not easier than one, especially if you get two littermates. (My two dogs are NOT littermates.) Sure, having two dogs and watching them cuddle and play is wonderful but it's not all rainbows and butterflies. Let me explain. Two dogs are actually three times the work! Each dog needs separate walks and training sessions but they also need to walked and trained together!

In the past, I didn't do so good with the separate walks and outings. The past few weeks I've been trying to get better about it and I've been walking the girls separately in the afternoon. When we first got Phoenix we took her wherever Zoe went and she learned a lot of things from Zoe. Zoe taught her that not all strangers are evil and not every dog is bad. It's been really good for her but I've also recently learned that she depends on Zoe for her confidence. She's is very unsure of what to do without Zoe around. Zoe does a lot better than Phoenix on her separate walks. We had a few moments of "hey, where's the other one?" but Zoe was mostly fine and actually happy to be out by herself.

We hung out together, played and did tricks!

Littermate syndrome is a real thing. I've seen it in client dogs and we are experiencing a mild form of it when the girls are separated. There are different types of littermate syndrome and your dogs don't actually have to be littermates to have it. It can happen with family dogs just as easily. I generally don't recommend getting two puppies at the same time but sometimes it can work out if the family is dedicated enough. Each dog needs individual time with the owner and the puppies should be separated every single day. Teaching dogs that it's okay to be alone should be a part of everyone's training program.

One type of littermate syndrome that is common between two female puppies (it can happen with male/females and male/males but it's not as common as female/female) is hate for each other. This happens all the time. The dogs were fine when they were little then suddenly they got older and they were no longer fine. People go on dog forums and contact trainers to find out what they should do and usually it is recommended that one of the puppies finds a new home. I'm not a big fan of crate and rotating but that can be an option for some people. I've personally seen serious fights between two female dogs who grew up together and most of the time they required a vet to patch them up. If the dogs have decided that they hate each other and they are fighting, please get a pro trainer or behaviorist to help you.

Don't take my sister away!

Another form of littermate syndrome is hyper-attachment and depending on the severity you might need a pro trainer here as well. If you can't take one dog away from the other without them freaking out, you have a hyper-attachment problem. It's a lot like separation anxiety and I've heard of some cases where one dog was removed and another destroyed an entire door trying to get out to find them. Or barking and screaming endlessly. This is not healthy. At some point in your dogs lives, they might need to be separated. One of them might get sick and have to stay at the vet hospital. You might have to take them to the groomer and they need to be crated separately for their safety. At some point they may need to be apart and preventing an anxiety attack is important.

When you have multiple dogs, you should be doing separate walks, separate training sessions and they should each have one on one time with you. When we got Phoenix she was so skittish of us that we relied on Zoe to help us out with her. We needed Zoe to show Phoenix that she could trust us. I did separate training sessions with each dog but I didn't do a whole lot of separate outings. It was a mistake and I'm lucky they are not hyper-attached to each other. They both experience some mild anxiety when the other dog leaves. I think the anxiety on Zoe's part is more that she wants to go and she can't. Zoe is actually fine if I leave her with a stuffed kong and she is able to eat. Phoenix is very attached to both Zoe and myself and is definitely upset that I'm taking Zoe away. She will not take a stuffed kong and she doesn't want any other special treats either. She is better if I stay home with her and it's my husband who is leaving with Zoe.

I love separate walks with mom!

So what do you do with a dog who freaks out when the other dog leaves? I'm treating it just like separation anxiety and we are doing a separation anxiety protocol. The link I provided goes into great detail on how to work with the dog and it's an amazing article. There's also a great video by Kikopup on training your dog to love being alone and you can find it here: How To Train Your Dog to be Left Alone

With doing the training, it can sometimes take me a little while to get out the door with Zoe but I'm noticing that Phoenix is less worried about it. She's not thrilled that we are leaving without her but she does okay. When we started this training I began with very short outings with Zoe. We would go out and come right back in and then I gradually increased the time we were gone. I'm hoping that by continuing to do this, Phoenix will be confident going out into the world without Zoe and also be okay with staying home when I take Zoe. I'm wanting to do dog sports eventually with them and they would likely be attending separate classes so this is a really good start.

If you have multiple dogs, I would highly recommend doing the separation training. It's good for them and they need one on one time with you. I've been loving spending time with each of my dogs on our own and we've been having fun. I always feel a little guilty right as I'm leaving but it passes pretty quickly.

If you have any questions or need help, feel free to email me. I also have additional resources on my training page.

Stress In Dogs

I would normally have a Fit Dog Friday post for everyone today, telling you about some sort of fun adventure and exercise we've had during the week. Unfortunately, this was the 4th of July week and we've had a rough week with two very stressed out dogs and we didn't do much. We didn't go on any adventures. We stayed at home, only taking short leash walks around our complex. That way if we heard any bangs we could hussle home where the dogs feel safe. I wanted to make sure the dogs were feeling better after being traumatized for several days in a row by explosions of fireworks in the neighborhood before taking them anywhere. We finally managed a short walk at the big park last night after the girls seemed to be more calm.

It can take several days for the stress hormone "cortisol" to work it's way out of a dog's system and I know from experience that when Phoenix has been stressed out she will make poor decisions. Zoe will tend to be hyper vigilant when she's been stressed and she has a hard time following my cues. When dogs are really scared they are unable to learn so it's better to let them calm down before attempting any training. I would prefer them to both be feeling better and back to normal before we do any off leash stuff. Both dogs were completely worn out anyways from being so stressed out and on edge that they spent most of the past few days sleeping.

So let's talk about stress. 

You Get What You Pay For! Phoenix's Reactivity

No, not merchandise! Behaviors! Well, merchandise too but today we are going to talk about dog behavior.

Recently one of my blogging friends and I were talking about dog reactivity and I said that I used to use a gentle leader on Phoenix. My friend wanted to know how I faded it out while maintaining the behavior. It took me a while to figure out how to answer her. It was around 2 years ago. I wish I had started the blog back then and logged the process more thoroughly. It's a pretty long answer and I figured I'd share it with everyone.