29K9 Dog Training

The 4th of July is coming. NOW is the time to plan for your pet's safety so that I'm not crying over all the lost posts. It's also the time to plan with your vet if your dog has noise phobias to help ease their anxiety and stress, he may have medication options that will help. Set your pet up in a secure, quiet spot, providing them with soft bedding, turn a tv or radio on and place a box fan on high so it blows against the outside wall. Get them used to enjoying a freezer treat or chew bone in this spot now so that they are comfortable there later. Noise phobia often increases with age, so the pet that may have been fine last year may freak out this year. It's your job as a responsible pet owner to plan to keep your pet as safe as possible.

While we celebrate this Fourth of July please remember to keep your pets safe. This holiday sees more missing pets than any other day does. Setting up a plan now can help save your pet later. It's not unusual that dogs who were not fazed by the fireworks in the past can become noise phobic as they age. Lets keep them safe inside your home.

Almost 3 years ago RuhRoh and I were traveling. As I was loading up the car in the middle of the night in a dark parking lot, in a strange town, I felt her stiffen. Then she started a low, quiet growl. You wouldn't have heard that growl if you were 10 or even 5 feet away. I felt it more than heard it. I looked around to see what was happening and there was a very sketchy, hooded guy creepin' up on us. I took a step so he could see RuhRoh standing there and suddenly he was backing away asking if I had a cigarette. I would not have seen him coming if she had not warned me. She would not have warned me if I had taught her not to growl. Dogs growl because they are trying to communicate something. Instead of telling them to shut up, LISTEN.

Sometimes something will happen and a dog may struggle where they never had before. After losing Gibbs, and then a week later hubby left town for several days, I realized that RuhRoh had begun to struggle if she was alone in a room. She was suddenly whining or following me everywhere. She used to snuggle with Gibbs all the time. At first it didn't seem to be an issue, but then hubby left town and that seemed to be the last straw. When he got back home she continued to struggle if one of us wasn't in the same room with her.

We had to make some adjustments to make things better for her. If we both are gone then we leave her in the same room as Jeepers, but they are still separated so that his rambunctiousness doesn't accidentally hurt her hip. Per camera feeds, this seems to be working if we both have to leave. There are times, tho, that she has to be alone in the living room while I am busy elsewhere. So I brought out Faux Beau, the life sized stuffed dog you may have seen me post about when working with fearful puppies. I placed him laying on the sofa and this did the trick. Now RuhRoh is able to relax and chill with him for company.

If you realize that your dog is struggling when they weren't before then it's time to check things out and make adjustments. A vet visit may be in store and a trainer or behavior consultant may be able to help you pinpoint what is going on and how to help your dog. In this case we had a very definite cause/effect and were able to quickly adapt for her.

It's been 10 years since we Copyrighted the 29K9 program. We continue to update the program as science evolves and we learn, but our core stays the same. Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better -- Dr Maya Angelou.