Positively | Victoria Stilwell | Forum

Think smaller, easier - set the dog up for success. (BTW, great work teaching a 2 min stay - that's actually quite difficult, look at the requirements for an obedience title for comparison) Have him stay, in a lighted room, flash the torch, immediately click and treat before he has a chance to break...

That's a tough one to answer in writing! It's important to realise that most aggression is ritualised and designed to ultimately avoid a serious fight. With that in mind, if it's just a scuffle (noisy, violent, but no punctures, no blood), then walking off calmly and letting it end is probably the b...

Well done! You've taught her some self-control and made a positive association with obedience and other dogs at the same time.

Hi Sadie, it's definitely harder with two dogs at the same time (unless one dog is really, really good at coming back, then you can use a little pack drive to help). It's always a question of balancing what is most effective against what is practical for the owner and the well-being of the dogs. I w...

If you've never had this problem before then you have been incredibly lucky! Most dogs will chase small, furry critters with a passion. Distractions need to be added gradually. Imagine a scale of 1-10 where 1 is a recall in the kitchen at home just before dinner time while you are holding a whole ro...

You're focussed on STOPPING behaviour. Think about what you want INSTEAD of chasing light and shadow. That is training. Have you taught Riley to 'Go to Mat'? What about 'Stay'? Pick a behaviour that Riley has to stay still for. In a lighted room, flash the torch while you stuff his face with little ...

Nala is a COMPLETELY normal puppy. Actually, probably a little bit better than normal :wink: You won't stop her going her for the cat food. I mean, you could, but it would hardly be worth the effort considering the alternative of moving the cat food either somewhere out of reach or into another room...

Obviously, never leave baby and dog unsupervised goes without saying. The dog needs to learn to "trade" toys for really yummy treats. Google "resource guarding", there are lots of good articles on this. You might add "Ian Dunbar" to your search terms. This really solves...

Yes.

You know, we're only part way through series 1 of IMOTD in Australia, but I don't recall hearing Victoria saying anything about "top dogs" or "dominance". The narrator does, but not Victoria. Correct me if I'm wrong? I've heard Victoria say, "if you don't want your dogs to b...

I would be very wary of anyone who thinks throwing a chain and yelling "Bah!" is an effective or humane way to treat a behaviour problem.

I'll let you draw your own conclusions on that.

Aggression begets aggression. If you really want to start a fight, do something like throw a chain and yell "bah!" loudly. I was reading another study just yesterday where the researchers looked at factors preceding a serious dog bite, loud noise was up there with movement. Train. Start wi...

Commands in new places are like brand new commands, but they learn them a little quicker each time you do it. Can you use these same commands in each room of the house? Can you use these same commands in your front and back yards? Can you use these same commands at a friend's house? Can you use thes...

Can dogs display symptoms from the Autism spectrum? Yes. Can dogs develop an Autism spectrum disorder? That idea has been bandied around but no-one can say for sure. Herding breeds in particular are prone to developing light and shadow chasing obsessions. My GSD is a bit nuts about lights, but thank...

Hi Debi, she has unfortunately learned to toilet in her crate. If you want to keep this dog it will be a 'baptism of fire', and could be a whole lot more painful than necessary. If the rescue organisation have a foster home likely to become available, I would take them up on the offer. If they are g...