Positively | Victoria Stilwell | Forum

I'm sorry you aren't enjoying your dog, that's certainly not the relationship you want to have! I agree, don't get into wrestling matches with a dog, if you hadn't gotten bit in that scenario I would have been surprised. To get things back from a dog who doesn't want to relinquish I do one of two th...

If it were me and he's allowed on the furniture in his own home but you don't want him on yours I'd just get something to cover your couch with...a blanket or something. It's going to be a lot of work to break that habit just for a temporary dogsitting gig.

Try your best to make outside pooping the only option. Block off the basement, crate him over night. During the day while you are working either crate him or empty him really well before work by walking him and see if that works. If he doesn't poop when you take him out then supervise him super well...

Oh yeah, my dog is dog aggressive, just walking by them on the other side of the road is a chore. So you're doing better than me!

I have a very stranger aggressive dog who goes nutso when people come over (and is a slight bite risk). Here is our little routine for when guests come over. We always have LOTS of treats cut up and ready when we are having guests over. If you tend to have people come over unannounced then you shoul...

You'd first want to teach the dog to pick something up and bring it to you in a calm environment. That can be done through shaping with a clicker or by taking advantage or your dog's natural inclination to fetch if she has one. Does she already fetch when you guys play? Once I know that I can give m...

Definitely freeze the kong, they last MUCH longer. You might need to tinker around with fillings since her tummy is sensitive. I usually do cottage cheese or yogurt mixed with some larger chunks of stuff, usually leftover meat from dinner.

So when does he start snapping? Is it a situation where they are sniffing in greeting and he just goes after the other dog or does it occur when the other dog is trying to play with him? Is it if the dog sniffs for super long? Or does something else trigger his behavior (the dog running or barking p...

In addition to the above mentioned suggestions you may also want to encourage him to put a toy in his mouth when he starts getting frisky. It's helpful for dogs with low self control as they don't really need to control their mouths, they just need to fill them with a toy. We did this with Tucker be...

I would definitely start giving a frozen kong or other special long lasting treat when you have guests to help him keep his mind off of them and also to make their visit a more positive experience. Just give it to him in a place where people will not be walking close by him, you don't want him feeli...

Since not much chewing is done with the canines that may be difficult. Some dogs may scrape them when eating very large bones with minimal meat (recreational bones like knuckle bones) to try and grab the small amount of tissue off the bones. So you could give that a try. Just monitor to be sure she ...

Who tries to pet a growling dog? It could be a case of barrier frustration. I'd say all outside time needs to be supervised, and work on a very strong recall so you can call him away from the fence. If he will not respond to your cues when someone walks by then keep him on a long line so you can bri...

Yes, I would never crate Jessie or Charlie around Lola given their unease around other dogs, but Lola sounds very friendly. For some reason I thought Lola was younger (I thought she was a young puppy), at her age perhaps it would not be best. You'll have to use your discretion.

I think it sounds like you are doing the right things, parallel walking is great. Initial greetings should be VERY short sniffs, like you say you've had. The hardest part about those is ending the sniff, you need to be able to stop them after a couple of seconds. Often time pulling a reactive dog ba...

A dog should be able to tell the difference between your yelp and the squeak of a toy. In any case the most important part of the bite inhibition training process is the removal of attention, not the yelp, so even if the yelp becomes useless it shouldn't matter, you can just silently remove yourself...