Spooky Spirit

So Saturday I worked with a little guy who is having much trouble letting strangers approach or touch him. This is due to some painful physical issues that he had early on:( At this point, it has become a learned behavior. Just because he is in health now, does not mean that he realizes that touch does not equal "ouchy painful" anymore. AT one time anyone who touched him equalled "ouchy painful".

He's an interesting case in that he demonstrates what most people do not understand about dogs. Just because they love you, and the dog trusts you to touch them DOES NOT MEAN they trust you to keep them safe for others. Many times owners reinforce this distrust by forcing them on a person. The owners mean no harm, they just think if they hand over the dog to another, the dog will immediately feel that they are safe because their owner has done that. NOT SO, IN THESE SITUATIONS.

The best thing to do (and the directions to the owner are seperate from this blog) is to have them accept people walking up to them (or to take it down a level) past them first without approaching. You want to see the dog instead of becoming defensive or trying to bark and scare them away to become interested in them, and wonder why aren't these people interested in me? In this instance, this dog is happy to take food from someone, but that does not equal trust. We need to take the food out of the equation.

Now to type up the observations and directions to the owner on the first lesson.

Dogs with no abnormal problems, and dogs with behavioral issues, we handle them all!! Call Maine Dog Trainer, Robin, at 207-361-4395 or e-mail mannerly_mutt@yahoo.com for your dog training needs!