Positively | Victoria Stilwell | Forum

From the little island here called Australia. Hi and welcome.

Hi. A big reward in general can be relief from stress, and access to SAFELY sniff and explore the environment. I'd double/triple endorse a very fine awareness of safe (from the dog's point of view) distances away from possible triggers, including to the front, behind, and to the sides (an extra pair...

Holy smokes. The other day I called in to a local dog shop (nice shop, humanely raised meat and bones and meat products, but dog training principles that include wolves and packs and show em who leader etc. and a minimum of modern training meathods) to have a good harness fitted to my Max the GH. Th...

OK, Kelly would be the larrikin worker.

Max would volunteer to be supervisor.

Hi. Stress signals can be lowering the head and lowering to the ground, walking away, sniffing and/or scratching, stopping/freezing, many many more. Pilo-erection means a high level of stress. Dogs can have conflicting emotions, and so conflicting behaviours follow, but the main message I get from y...

Hi. If your dog reacts at a distance of four metres, stay seven or more metres from the trigger. If the bark&lunge distance is ten metres, stay fifteen or more metres from that trigger. Barking and lunging events mean stress overload, but every trigger causes a spike. Stress builds quickly and d...

Hi. Apart from the issue of fear/defensive behaviour the vet, an easy quick way to reduce barking and lunging on-leash is avoid the triggers, or at least take a wider berth around possible triggers. Try HARD to see potential sources of angst before your dog. When training, if your dog looks at a tri...

Hi. How about a German Short-haired Pointer, or Labrador?

Sometimes you just have to make a choice and run with it.
How about both going through the shortlist and rating each dog from best to worst, then compare ratings with your sister's to find one 'winner'?

EDIT: OK. A Setter it is.

How about a Boxer dog?

Hi. I think there's probably much more communication going on than I can sense, between dogs leading up to and including greeting. Barking and lunging is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to stress and fear behaviour. Try google something like "how adrenalin and cortisol affects dog beh...

Hi john333. I've was on all sides of the fence in the early days :( RE dog behaviour theory, and training. Pack type theory and aversive meathods tend to dumb dogs' behaviour down and keep it there, typically subordinate to a master (human). Different dogs and breeds have different talents and skill...

That's a good question. For me I think the heart played a role but the head made the decisions. I was dog-less for many adult years before adopting my Kelly dog (KelpieXStaffy) from a welfare shelter at 13months old. She was apparently bounced between some people and places before being surrendered ...

Hi. Pup is in good hands. Hopefully the needle teeth stage doesn't last too long.
Cheers.

Hi. I'll say that I haven't personally used a Thunder-brand wrap, but calming aids and/or various techniques should help to create less anxiety, more calmness (not just stillness) and relaxation. Every dog is different. If you think this Tshirt isn't working with this dog, don't use it. OR familiari...

Damn. Kelly dog is generally more stable than she used to be, so I stupidly (in hindsight) tied Max the GH and Kelly's leashes together, thinking it would keep them safely together. While cleaning up a dog doodoo I heard scraping and looked up to see 22kg Kelly dog dragging 35kg Max across a concret...