Following on from my blog post "What the 'experts' said...." where I shared the training advice I have been given from four trainers, one of them being a qualified behaviourist from this website - http://www.apbc.org.uk/apbc
When Ben first showed signs of aggression, I should have gone straight to this website and sourced a qualified behaviourist. I shouldn't have seen the gun dog trainer who choked my dog or the trainer that wanted me to spray him with water. Obviously I did not know what methods they were going to show me in order to help Ben, which is why its so important to go with someone who is qualified and registered as a pet behaviour counsellor with an organisation such as the APBC. Its important to check what methods are used, they should be positive and force free. No shock collars, choke chains, spray collars, no hitting your dog, no pinning him/her to the ground, no shouting in your dogs face......the list is endless. You need to build a trusting relationship with your dog, your dog needs to know you will protect him/her.
Imagine if you are scared of heights, someone made you stand at the edge of a high cliff. You are feeling very worried and like you might fall at any moment. You are sweating and shaking from the fear. Then imagine someone causes you pain at the same time and starts shouting at you. How would you feel? Would you feel better? Or worse? You would definitely feel worse, it would not help your fear of heights. But say you were standing near the cliff, and someone was calmly reassuring you and letting you go to the edge at your own pace to look down, letting you decide when you are ready. This would be better for your fear.
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