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Addressing Emotional Reactivity

I previously wrote about what is meant when we use the term reactivity and some of the different factors that influence reactivity. This month I’ll be talking about how we can use this information to improve our ability to work with reactive dogs. As a reminder, my preferred definition of reactivity is that of affective… Continue reading Addressing Emotional Reactivity

Trauma, Chronic Stress, and the Brain

Working with animals that suffer from high levels of anxiety and fear is heartbreaking. They are suffering in a very real way and, as much as we want to help them, dramatic progress is often difficult. There are many possible causes of intense fear and anxiety, but in this blog post I’m going to focus… Continue reading Trauma, Chronic Stress, and the Brain

The Terrible Teens – Adolescence in Dogs

Image by Alexander Droeger from Pixabay

Over the years, I have been increasingly interested in adolescent dogs for a number of reasons. First, this is a hugely challenging period of time for dog guardians – and an age when many dogs are given up. It’s also probably a challenging time for the dogs themselves. That would explain why their behavior often… Continue reading The Terrible Teens – Adolescence in Dogs

Reading Your Dog – Episode 1

How many times have you looked at your dog and wondered what’s going on in her head?  My husband frequently asks me if I think our dog is happy.  This can sometimes be a difficult question to answer, but training yourself to read subtle signs in your dog can go a long way toward understanding… Continue reading Reading Your Dog – Episode 1