Phobias and Anxiety in Dogs

This adorable beagle is Boomer.  I was blessed to have him live
with me for about 15 years. He had a severe phobia of children.

Dogs sometimes experience psychological  issues.

The term "Dog Psychology" should not infer that we analyze a dog based upon his reaction to pictures of ink blots. It does not work like that, However, dogs do occasionally suffer from psychological issues.

In this blog post, I attempt to address the psychological issues associated with anxiety and phobias in dogs. Anxiety in dogs factors into a lot of behavioral issues. In order to help the dog experiencing these issues, it is important that we understand a little about dog psychology.

I work with a lot of dogs that have aggression and anxiety issues. Most of the time, these issues can be traced to some sort of trauma in earlier life. However, this is not always the case. 

Genetics

So called, "inherited" fear is sometimes seen in entire litters of puppies. This type of fear is very difficult to address with training. The fear is persistent and tends to be generalized. In other words, the pups are generally fearful and reactive. This particular abnormality is generally observable in puppy-hood . It tends to begin around two to ten months of age and never completely goes away.

Some breeds are generally highly reactive and tend to have this inherited fear. Some examples of affected breeds are German Shepherds and Pointers. However, even in the affected breeds, this does not affect every individual dog in the breed.

Early life experiences

Sometimes experiences in puppy-hood imprint on the dog and have a long lasting effect. Nervous mothers or litter mates can influence lasting anxiety on a pup. Poor nutrition in puppy-hood  can have a negative effect on early mental development. Dogs that are isolated as pups tend to be reactive and very anxious as adults. Pups need stimuli at an early age. Their emotional development is negatively impacted when they are isolated from other dogs and/or  people.

Previous Trauma

Phobias, or irrational fears, in dogs can, in many cases, be traced to some early trauma. This happens because the dog associates a seemingly benign stimulus with a traumatic event. 

For example, a dog that is abused by a child may associate the pain of the abuse with all children. This dog may become extremely fearful of children. I suspect this is what happened in the earlier life of a beagle named Boomer that I adopted many years ago. Boomer was highly fearful of and aggressive toward young children. I did not live with any children so, it was safe for me to adopt him and work with him to address the issue. He was my loyal companion from the time he was nine months old until he died as a very happy senior dog at fifteen years of age. He was really a great beagle and I was somewhat successful in my attempts to help him with the phobia in regard to children. He got much better. It took many years, but he was eventually capable of being around children without growling, snapping, whimpering or getting physically ill. However, he never really became comfortable around children. He always showed subtle signs of stress when children were present. The point is that there was hope for Boomer. In the proper environment, he thrived. He would never have been suited for a home with young children but he was a great companion for me! It is important that we not set the dog up for failure. It would have been unrealistic to have expected Boomer to ever be a good dog for a child. That is something for which he was simply not emotionally nor psychologically capable.

Yes, Boomer's fear was irrational. Not all children would hurt him. In fact many of them distributed tasty treats to him over the years, which he loved. But, he was always, at least slightly, stressed around children. Whether or not the fear is rational makes it no more or less real. Boomer's fear was very real for him. It was important that I understand that and not force him to do more than he could do.

This is Cody relaxing with me.

Dogs also frequently develop a phobia of the veterinarian. This is understandable. The dog is quite likely linking a trauma that the vet was treating with the veterinarian. For instance, shots hurt. I hate needles. Our little Cody also hates needles. He once cried loudly when the vet simply removed the cap from the end of the needle. He associated the sound with the pain. Cody now loves the vet because the nice people at the vets office are always giving him tasty treats. He knows where the treat jar is kept in the exam room and he keeps sharp focus on it the whole time he is in the room. He now associates the vets office with really good, fun, and tasty stuff! 

Effect of the owner's fear/anxiety/phobia

As I frequently mention, dogs take their cues from us. They can sense when we are stressed and this can impact them greatly. This is why it is important that we control our emotions when working with our dogs. If we get overly excited, they in turn, become stressed.

For instance, when working with a dog that is scared of thunder, it is important that during a thunderstorm that you not react to the thunder. If you make a big deal out of the thunder, the dog's fear will be reinforced. You need to remain calm to help your dog remain calm. It really makes sense if you think about it. If the dog sees you reacting he thinks something like, "the person is upset too thunder must be really bad". The best thing to do is to act like you did not hear the thunder. Don't say, "poor baby" or something like that to the dog.  Just let the dog see that the thunder has no effect on you. I do not mean to suggest that this is the magic bullet to correct fear of thunder. However, it will help. There are other techniques that you can use as well. I will be happy to discuss this with you in a training session.

I hope this has been of some help for you.

If you have issues with an anxious dog or a dog that has some sort of phobia, please contact me. I am happy to help you!

-Till Next Time

This is our former foster, Dr. Phil McBeagle after his welcome to the
pack bath. When Dr. Phil first joined our pack he had a phobia of
doorways. We were able to help him get over that fear. He is now
happy in his forever home with an entire pack of beagles.

William

William Moore

Professional Dog Trainer

Co-Owner

Moore Services for Your Money

William Moore Canine Training

fayettedogtrainer@gmail.com

mooreservicesforyourmoney@gmail.com

678-702-4791

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Beagle Adoption Event at Petco in Peachtree City.

The Lovely Shane and I are happy to announce that on March 8, 2014 we will have an all beagle adoption event at Petco in Peachtree City. All the beagles that will be at the event are adoptable through Bullywag, Inc. Dog Rescue. We are calling it BeagleWag!

These dogs are fosters in our pack here at the dog training shack and will all be at the event looking for forever homes. I have previously written blog posts about all of these dogs and the links to the posts are below. Just click on their pictures for a link.

Dr. Phil McBeagle  resting.

Dr. Phil McBeagle is a 5 year old sweet guy.  He was surrendered to BullyWag by people who could no longer care for him. He is a very loyal little guy who really loves people and treats! Dr. Phil is housebroken and does very well on leash! Dr. Phil loves to snuggle with his foster people. Dr.Phil is available for immediate adoption and would love to meet you!

Sammy with his foster daddy just before his
 welcome to the pack bath.

Sammy is a young adult beagle. He was found wandering around in Senoia, GA. He had no microchip or identification. He was very timid and anxious when we first rescued him. He is now getting much better with people! He loves his foster parents! He also loves treats! Sammy really needs a forever home. Come meet him!

Charlie with his foster mommy.

This is Charles the Duke of Fayette County. We just call him Charlie. He is a senior beagle. He has recently recovered from pnemonia and surgery to remove a growth in one of his ears. He recovered very nicely and is ready for his forever home! Charlie is a laid back little guy who loves people, getting petted, and tasty treats. Charlie is looking for his forever home. Come see him!

All of these guys are heart worm negative. They are current on all their shots. They are all neutered. They are all microchipped.  So please come visit us tomorrow at the Petco store in Peachtree City. We will be there from noon until 5:00pm.

There is a reduced adoption fee for the dogs in this event. The adoption fee is $150.00. The normal adoption fee is $250.00

My dog ignores me when I call. The importance of recall.

The Importance of Recall Training

One of the most common things that folks ask me about involves teaching a dog to consistently come when called. Dog trainers (just to sound cool) call this recall.

A polite dog should be very consistent at coming to you when you call. However, like everything else in dog training, this requires consistency in training. The dog must get a consistent message from you. The absolute most important thing to remember is that responding to your come command must not be seen, by the dog, as optional. I am in no way suggesting that you punish the dog for not responding. However, if the dog does not respond, you must be prepared to physically walk over to the dog and get his attention.

Recall is important for the safety of the dog. It is also important because a lot of other things that you will likely want to accomplish in training rely, to a large extent, upon good recall.

I know this sounds like it does not need to be pointed out.... but... I am going to point it out anyway (this is my blog I suppose I can do that :) ) : The dog must respond to his/her name before recall has any chance at all of working. Before you begin your recall training the dog must understand his/her name! 

Does this guy look complex to you? All Dr. Phil McBeagle
really wants here is attention from his foster daddy.
Affection is a great motivator for Dr. Phil. Treats are
not bad either :).

I have mentioned many times before, on this blog, that dogs are not complex. They really are not complex.  You must keep that in mind. They do not understand the English language. Therefore, repeating their names or commands can really be confusing to these little guys. For instance, when I want Copper to come to me, I call his name one time i.e. " Copper" then I give the command (or cue)" Come". Those are the only two words I use.  If I need to get his attention again, I make kissing sounds or whistle or maybe even snap my fingers. I never repeat the command (or cue) or his name. The reasoning for this is very simple. If I repeat his name, Copper may begin to think his name is "Copper....Copper.... Copper" or that the cue (or command) to which he needs to respond is " Come...Come...Come". 

By the way, I also tell folks that it is really important to use a verbal and visual cue. For instance, Copper knows the hand signal for "Come" and if he can see me, I should not have to use the verbal cue. This is part of training for a polite dog. For instance, if I am in a conversation with another person and want Copper to come over, I should not have to stop my conversation to call him, simply using the visual cues should work too.

Foster Boy Tiny and Foster Boy Biscuit playing on the porch.
This is an example of something that is fun for the dogs
and a potential distraction when you call them.

It is really beyond the scope of this post to teach you step-by-step how to accomplish good recall. However, I want to encourage you that it can be done! Sometimes it is frustrating but you can be successful.

A large part of success however, involves setting realistic expectations. You will very likely never get 100% recall from any dog. This is especially true with the scent hound breeds. If a dog is on the trail of some interesting scent, it is difficult. However, you can get really good recall. The times when the dog does not respond should be rare. 

You must also remember that this is a process. You have to first get your dog to come consistently with no distractions before you introduce distractions. There are techniques that allow adding distractions slowly. For instance, the dog should consistently come to you when you are in the same room in the house before you start trying it when the dog can not see you ( i.e. you are in another room). And until the dog comes consistently from another room with a few distractions, you should not expect him to come when he is outside with all the interesting smells and cool fun things to do!

Treats can be a powerful motivator

You also must have some type of motivation to entice the dog to do something that he really does not want to do, like come to you when he would rather play with a pack mate or chase a squirrel. I often use treats in the beginning.  To address my trainer friends who do not like this technique, I will point out that I do not have to use the treats forever. If the dog begins to associate fun things (like getting a tasty treat) with doing what I want him to do, he will be more likely to do it even if he does not get a treat every time. Eventually it will become routine for him. There are different techniques for training. I have found that I have success with this positive motivation method. So, I use it!

If you need help teaching your dog recall, Copper and I will be happy to help! Good recall is essential for a polite dog. I always tell you that " Polite Dogs = Happy People". So, call me and let me help you get happy today!

Till next time,

-William-

William Moore Canine Training

678-702-4791

fayettedogtrainer@gmail.com

Welcome Foster Boy Charlie the Beagle!

The Lovely and Awesome Shane with our newest arrival,
Charlie the Little Beagle.

The Lovely and Awesome Shane, Cuddles the Corgi Mix, Copper the Whopper Beagle, Cody the Little Beagle, Trigger the Dapple Dachshund, Foster Boy Dr. Phil McBeagle, Foster Boy Sammy the Beagle, and I  are pleased to welcome our newest foster member, Charlie the Little Beagle to our pack!

I drove the Awesome Mobile (Shane's Car) to Animal Medical Clinic in Peachtree City, Georgia to pick up this little guy today. He has been in our pack for about four hours. 

The Awesome Mobile parked outside the shack
during a recent snow storm.

Charlie is a senior guy (I am unsure of his exact age). He looks a lot like Cody the Little Beagle. Cody says Charlie is very handsome :) . 

Charlie is recovering from pneumonia. We will have him on antibiotics for a little longer. He seems to feel pretty good and has a great appetite! He has a growth in one of his ears that needs to be taken care of after he recovers completely from the pneumonia.

After he has fully recovered, he will be available for adoption! If you are interested in adding a handsome senior beagle boy to your pack, please contact me for more information on little Charlie!

 Dr. Phil McBeagle in the Dog Training office with
a few of his pack mates in the background ( Cody ,
Copper, and Trigger)

Dr. Phil McBeagle is still available for adoption. His anxiety is much better! He is acting like a typical beagle now :) . He is fully housebroken. His training is coming along very nicely! Copper and I have been working with him. He knows sit, down, stay and leave it. He is beginning to learn the wait command (handy for proper behavior at doorways). He is also getting much better at loose leash walking! Dr. Phil is a very sweet and loyal beagle. He is going to be a very good addition to some lucky person's pack! If you are interested in Dr. Phil, please contact me!

Sammy relaxing in Cody's Basket Bed

Sammy is also making great progress! He is still on antibiotics. He is eating very well! We expect him to start gaining back his weight very soon! His anxiety is getting better. He is slowly learning that not all people will hurt him. Copper has sort of become his mentor. Copper follows him around and takes care of him. It is really neat to watch! Trigger is his playmate. They love to run and play together! As soon as he finishes the antibiotics and gets a little more weight on him, we will take him to the veterinarian to be neutered, micro chipped, heart worm tested and get his rabies vaccine. At that point he will be available for immediate adoption. We expect that to take two or three weeks. If you are interested in adding Sammy to your pack, please contact me!

Charley being visited by Sammy. Charley will be spending most
of his time in the crate until he is fully recovered.

Folks, if you are looking for a new addition to your pack, please, please, please consider adoption! There are so many of these little guys and girls who desperately want and need a forever home! We have three beautiful beagles here at the shack that really need love and attention. We love our foster guys/girls but our ultimate goal is to find them a forever home so that we can save the lives of more dogs. This is truly a life or death issue for these dogs. Were it not for volunteers at rescue groups, many of these guys/girls would be killed in shelters. Unfortunately, that is not at all an exaggeration. I wish it were not true..... but it is true.

If you have a little guy or girl with anxiety issues, as is unfortunately very common in rescue/adopted dogs, Copper and I are happy to assist you! Also if you need help getting your little guy or girl to be a polite dog, please contact me! I always tell you: "Polite Dogs = Happy People". Let me help you get happy today!

Till Next Time

-William-

William Moore Canine Training

678-702-4791

fayettedogtrainer@gmail.com

Welcome Foster Boy Sammy the Beagle!!!!!!

Foster Boy Sammy. This was taken just before he got his
welcome to the Foster Shack bath.

The Lovely and Awesome Shane, Cuddles the Corgi Mix, Copper the Whopper Beagle, Cody the Little Beagle, Trigger the Dapple Dachshund, Foster Boy Dr. Phil McBeagle and I welcome our newest foster pack member, Sammy the Little Beagle!

Sammy relaxing in a nice warm place inside the Dog
Training/Foster Shack

Sammy is a handsome little tri-color beagle boy. He was found wandering around outdoors near Senoia, GA. A very nice concerned man alerted Michelle Crampo of BullyWag. Inc (Canine Rescue) about little Beagle. Michelle then asked The Lovely Shane and me if we would like to foster the little beagle guy. Of course we were happy to add another little foster beagle to our pack!

Sammy was hanging out with the nice man's dogs. However, Sammy was very scared of people and would not come near us the first evening we visited the Senoia location to attempt to rescue him. We even tried to lure him with extra sharp cheddar cheese ( a beagle delicacy) and he would not come near and actually wandered into the darkness.

The next day, the nice man in Senoia called me on the phone to inform me that he had lured Sammy into a kennel. Of course, the lovely and awesome Shane and I got down there as quickly as possible! With the assistance of the nice man, we had no trouble getting little Sammy into the Awesome Mobile (Shane's car)

Sammy with his new buddy, Trigger.

Sammy was as dirty as any Beagle I have ever encountered :) . We picked him up late Saturday afternoon. We were too late to get him to a vet or shelter to have him scanned for a microchip. I will take him Monday morning to make sure that he did not accidentally become separated from his people. If he has a microchip, we will, of course, return him to his home immediately. However, unfortunately, I suspect he does not have a home.

Sammy is extremely thin. We have begun our efforts to put some weight on the little guy. I am administering Nutri-Cal. He has some appetite but not nearly as good an appetite as he should have. He does however love and I mean absolutely love sharp cheddar cheese! It is the only thing I can consistently get him to eat.

Sammy explores the back yard assisted by Foster Boy
Dr. Phil McBeagle (Phil is available for adoption)

He was very much scared of us at first. He would cower and sort of slink over every time you got near him. We are working with him and he is beginning to walk over to us and let us pet him without cowering much but, he has a great deal of anxiety and has a long way to go.

It is difficult for me to estimate Sammy's age with any level of certainty. However, I think he is either an older puppy or a young adult. He is still fairly playful and has been playing with Trigger. However he does have some tartar on his teeth which indicates the possibility that he could be an adult.

He will have to be neutered , microchipped, heart worm tested, and vaccinated soon.

There is a possibility that Sammy may have some abuse in his past. I allow this possibility because of my observation of his behavior. He is very weary of people. Well actually it is a little more than that: Initially when we approached him he would cower and try to get away (i.e. our first attempt to rescue him).

Look closely at this picture and you can
see how thin Sammy really looks. He is the beagle on the left.

It also appears that he has been in some sort of scuffle or fight with possibly another dog. He has scars on his ears and even small chunks of ear missing.

In any case, the little guy is safe now! We are going to get the weight back on him and get him proper veterinary care and then find him a forever home! So, I will keep you folks posted on his progress because one day soon he will be

Copper Whopper carefully supervising the welcoming
of our newest foster pack member from his viewing station
on the back porch.

available for adoption. He will make some lucky family a great pack addition!

If you have a dog with anxiety problems or if you just need help making your dog a polite little guy or girl, please contact me! As I always tell you, "Polite Dogs = Happy People"! Let me help you get happy today!

Till next time,

William

William Moore Canine Training
678-702-4791
fayettedogtrainer@gmail.com

The snow starts at the Dog Training/Foster Shack

Dr. Phil Mc Beagle  bravely fights the
winter weather to explore the many wonders
of the back yard. He chased a pesky squirrel away!

Cody with his favorite blanket getting love from Mommy.

Well, the snow is beginning to accumulate this afternoon at the Dog Training/Foster shack. The whole pack is happy that the Lovely and Awesome Shane made it home safely from work today! The roads are really slick here in north Fayette County, Georgia.  This is quite an event for us here in North and Central Georgia! It is actually pretty dangerous. I grew up in this area. Our winter frozen precipitation is much different than it is up in the northern parts of the USA. It is more dangerous because we do not have the snow removal gear that you folks up north have. It is also typically a different sort of mix than I used to see when I traveled up north on business.

Dog Training/Foster Shack 

There is generally more ice than snow on the roads here. It is really slick. I used to drive on the roads in snow and ice when I traveled to places like Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, Colorado, Chicago, etc. However, I stay off the roads as much as possible here during snow and ice!

Trigger in the snowy backyard.

The dogs here have thus far had mixed reactions to this weather. Phil and Trigger love it! They run around and play. Phil even dug out one his outside balls from under the snow and played with it a while. The rest of the pack is not quite as thrilled with this weather. Some of them have ventured out to take care of certain unavoidable bodily functions but they are not playing like Dr. Phil and Trigger.

Those of you in North and Central Georgia, have fun with your dogs in the snow but please be careful. Remember my cautions about your dogs in this cold weather.

Stay inside, stay warm  and have fun!

Till Next Time

-William-

William Moore Canine Training
678-702-4791
fayettedogtrainer@gmail.com

Some of my Ham Radio Antennas. Top is VHF Yagi. Underneath that is loop for Television.
The wire near the bottom is my HF longwire. No ice forming on the elements yet.... I suppose SWR
should be okay for now. Yagi is sort of leaning toward Aunt Maggie's house :)

Side Yard at Dog Training/Foster Shack

Looking toward Grandma and Grandpa's house from
Dog Training/Foster Shack

The senior pack members on the back porch observing the snow

More Adventures of Dr. Phil McBeagle

Who could not love that face!

The Lovely Shane and I are happy to report that Dr. Phil is progressing nicely here at the Dog Training/Foster Shack!

He is now current on all his vaccinations. He has been heart worm tested and is heart worm negative. He has a cool new microchip. He has been neutered. It has been an eventful couple of weeks for this handsome Beagle.

As I mentioned earlier, he is now on the Copper Whopper diet and exercise plan. I think he is starting to lose a little weight and he is looking good.

He has been to the Saturday afternoon adoption events at Petco in Peachtree City, Georgia a couple of times now. He does very well there. He does not like to be in a crate or a x-pen though. He barks and howls in an attempt to get people to pet him. He stays with me on the leash and loves it! He loves all the attention from people in the store.

Dr. Phil is making good progress in his training as well. He is no longer afraid of doorways. He has learned the sit and down commands. We are now working on the leave it command and on waiting at doorways. He is getting much better at walking on the leash as well!

Dr. Phil enjoying some quality time with Cody and Trigger

As is common with Beagles and Hounds in general, Dr. Phil is very much ruled by his nose. Feeding times seem to be his favorite times of the day! We feed him twice a day as we do with the rest of our pack. He tends to guard his food. We are working with him to address this negative behavior. I think his previous people may have been feeding him three times a day. When he first got here, he followed be around giving me expectant looks around lunch time :) . 

Dr. Phil is a sweet little guy and would make a great addition to your pack! He is very quickly becoming a well behaved and polite little guy. As I tell you frequently, polite dogs = happy people. Dr. Phil will make someone very happy :).

Dr. Phil and his new buddy Copper the Whopper Beagle

If your dog is not as polite as you would like, please contact me at any time! There is hope!

Also, if you would like to add a dog to your pack, please consider adoption! Contact me for more information on Dr. Phil or for the names of some great rescue groups!

Till next time

-William-

Happy New Year and things to remember regarding your dogs this holiday.

The Lovely and Awesome Shane, Cuddles the Corgi mix, Copper the Whopper Beagle, Cody the little Beagle, Trigger the dapple Dachshund, Foster Girl Gracy ( the Georgia Gracy Hound), and Foster Boy Dr. Phil McBeagle wish you a Happy New Year!

The Lovely Shane and I will be observing southern tradition and having collard greens and blackeyed peas on New Years Day.

As I mentioned around July 4, fireworks continue to be illegal in this part of the country. However, this does not seem to stop people from firing them. This may bring out anxiety in your little guys and girls. Our little beagle, Cody is scared of fireworks. We have to try to make him more comfortable at times when they are being fired.

To make Cody more comfortable we will have distractions in the house. We will play some music or turn on the Television set to mask the offending war zone like sounds. It is also important that you not make a big deal about the fireworks. In other words remain calm. Resist the urge to say something like "poor Cody" and put your arms around him when the fireworks go off. This type of reaction makes the anxiety worse. Just ignore the fireworks. If Cody sees no reaction in us, he is likely not react either.

This may go with out mentioning but, I am going to mention it anyway: Please, please, please keep your dog inside during the fireworks. If a dog gets scared he may run off and get hurt or lost in the process.

If you need help teaching your dogs to be polite little boys and girls, please contact me at anytime! I always tell you., " Polite Dogs = Happy People". Let me help you get happy today!

Till next time

-William-

William Moore Canine Training
fayettedogtrainer@gmail.com
678-702-4791

Adventures of Gracy : Housebreaking and Socialization

Foster Girl Gracy in the dog basket.

I am happy to report that Foster Girl Gracy is making great progress! We are very proud of her here at the Dog Training/Foster Shack!

When she first joined our pack, she was not housebroken and needed some work on socialization. As you may remember, Gracy is about 6 months old. She was very sick during the first few months of her life and had to remain in her crate most of the time. As a result, she was never really socialized much and she was not housebroken.

Socialization:

She is a very sweet girl. She loves people. However, she gets stressed when there are too many people or other dogs around. This became apparent when we first started taking her to adoption events at Petco in Peachtree City,GA. The first day we took her to an indoor adoption event, she immediately became overwhelmed and extremely stressed. I had to take her back to the shack after about 10 minutes.

Gracy enjoying the backyard sunshine
 at the Dog Training/Foster Shack

At the adoption event the next weekend, I kept her in a crate right next to a chair in which I was seated. She was still nervous and a little stressed but she did better. I would occasionally let her our of the cage to sit on my lap. The other volunteers also gave her some attention. This seemed to make her more comfortable.

Last weekend at the adoption event we put her in a small pen that was open on the top. She did much better. 

During those three weeks, between adoption events, I was really trying to make her more comfortable around people. She went over to her foster grandma and grandpa's house several times. Each time she became more comfortable over there. She loved the attention and the treats! I also worked with her around other dogs by taking some of the other pack members on walks to grandma and grandpa's house with her. 

She has made a great deal of progress over the last few weeks. However, as with many things in dog training, it takes patience and routine. We have to slowly introduce her to more people and dogs and make it a very positive experience for her.

Housebreaking:

With Gracy, we had a fairly unique but not unheard of issue. Because of the extended time she had to spend in the crate when she was sick, she learned to eliminate in the crate. When she first arrived at the shack, the crate was the only place that she would eliminate. That made for some very nasty clean-ups.

We began watching for signs that she needed to eliminate (i.e circling a spot, stress, etc). When we saw these signs we immediately took her outside. We also took her outside immediately when she had accidents in the house. We stopped keeping her in the crate at night and when we were away. We just left the door open on the crate. We also kept her where we could see her when we were home.

Dr. Phil McBeagle. He has no direct connection to this post
He is just a cute little foster guy in our pack. He will
be available for adoption very soon!

I noted how long it usually takes for her to eliminate after eating  (it was about 5 mins) and I began taking her out 5 minutes after meals.  We also took her out about once an hour when we were home and she was awake.

She still could not make it through the night without accidents. So, we set an alarm for 3:00 am and one of us would wake her up and take her out at 3:00. Most of the time she eliminated outside at 3:00 am. 

Eventually we noticed that she could make it through the night. 

I am pleased to announce that she rarely has accidents inside anymore! We are very proud of our little foster girl. 

Her housebreaking was difficult but, because we were diligent and developed a routine for her, the effort has been very successful!

I am writing this not to blow my own horn but to encourage my readers. If you have a dog with housebreaking or socialization problems, the situation is far from hopeless. I know that it is extremely frustrating but, you can be successful! It takes proper technique, determination and routine.

The Lovely Shane dressed for Christmas working on master
degree classes from the office at the Dog Training Shack

If you need help with the technique please contact me at anytime, I will be happy to help! As I always tell you, "Polite Dogs = Happy People". Let me help you get happy today!

Gracy is available for adoption. If you are considering adding a new addition to your pack, please, please, please, consider adoption! There are many little guys and girls like Gracy who desperately need and want a forever home. If you are in the Atlanta Area please contact me and I will be happy to get you in touch with a wonderful local rescue group!

Till Next Time

-William-

Dr. Phil McBeagle anexity update

The brave Dr Phil McBeagle waiting to cross the scary
kitchen doorway at the Dog Training/Foster Shack.

I am happy to report that Dr.Phil McBeagle is making great progress in overcoming his phobia of interior doorways! The Lovely Shane and have been using the techniques that I described in my last post.

Dr. Phil McBeagle bravely crossing the doorway
from living room to Dog Training Office. He is followed by
Cuddles the Corgi Mix.

After two days of using these techniques, Dr. Phil no longer had to be coaxed using treats. Sometimes he does not even slow down through the doorways.

I think it also helped that he could see that the rest of the pack had no problems at the doorways.

We are very proud of Dr.Phil here at the Dog Training Shack!

I hope that Dr.Phil's story helps to encourage some of you who have an anxious dog. There is hope! With the proper technique, persistence, patience and routine, you can be successful as well!

Dr. Phil is a very affectionate beagle. He really loves sitting next to Foster Daddy and getting petted! He can be quite the couch potato. He loves to watch TV. We do not watch that much TV here at the shack. But, Dr. Phil likes to lay next to me on the bed, just before bedtime, and watch a little TV.

Dr. Phil McBeagle exploring the back yard with Copper and Trigger

We are going to now begin working more on loose leash walking. I really don't think Dr. Phil ever really learned to walk on a leash. He does okay, he really does not pull that much but, he likes to put the brakes on so to speak and not move forward. We are going to work with him using positive reinforcement. I think he will make fast progress on loose leash walking.

He is really a smart dog and wants to please the people. However, as is common with beagles, he can be stubborn too.

We have begun our diet and exercise program. It is a little too soon to notice any results. He is quite an active dog for his age so that is encouraging!

I think it has really helped Dr. Phil McBeagle to be a part of our pack. Copper the Whopper Beagle and the rest of the pack have been really good about welcoming him and helping him to learn how the pack should behave. Phil loves to work for treats with Copper and the rest of the pack. We are working on the down command now. He has pretty much mastered sit and stay. We are going to begin working with him on how to wait and behave properly at doorways.

Remember, Dr. Phil is looking for a forever home. He loves it here as a foster at our place, but he really needs a permanent home with people who love him and can devote lots of time to him :) .

Dr. Phil really loves people and attention! He loves to go visit his foster grandparents! They live next door to us and love to pet our dogs and give them treats!

If you need help training your dogs to be polite, please contact me! I always tell you, " Polite Dogs = Happy People" Let me help you to get happy today!!!

Till Next Time

-William-

William Moore Canine Training
fayettedogtrainer@gmail.com
678-702-4791

Anxiety: Dr. Phil McBeagle

The doorways at the Dog Training/Foster Shack are not nearly
this scary looking. It seems this may be how Dr. Phil McBeagle
sees them.

Our newest foster boy, Dr. Phil McBeagle, seems to have some anxiety issues. I suspect that his fears are the result of some previous trauma.

Even your macho dog trainer friend would be apprehensive
of crossing this particular doorway!

The most concerning phobia that he seems to have involves interior doorways. He is really scared to cross doorways inside the shack. He does not seem to have as big of an issue going inside or outside the structure. In fact he is house trained and has not had any accidents since he got here.

He just appears to be terribly frightened of crossing doorways from one room to the next. Once he is in the room he is okay.

He also cowers if you try to pet him on the head. I suspect that this is also the result of past trauma, Perhaps someone hit him on the head in an attempt to discipline the poor little guy.

It thought it may be helpful to some of you if I write about this problem and how we are going to address it here at the shack.

It is very important that the dog not be forced into a situation that he fears. It will not help to try to force him through the doorway. In fact, in Dr. Phil's case, it is almost impossible to force him short of physically carrying him through.

In Dr. Phil's case, The Lovely Shane and I are using techniques that involve what us dog trainers, just to sound cool, sometimes call desensitization and rehabilitation. Basically, the objective is to help the dog to become less sensitive to what we call, the stimuli (doesn't that sound cool). In Dr. Phil's case the stimuli is the interior doorways. This seems to be what stimulates his fearful behavior. So, our objective is to make him less sensitive to the stimuli or to the doorways. We do this by using a motivator that is desirable to him. In his case, and with most beagles, tasty treats make a very good motivator. So, we have to make him associate the treats and the praise that he gets from us with walking through the doorway. It is not as fast and easy as it sounds. There are certain techniques to learn and the timing is really important. But, with persistence and patience, this method can be very successful in addressing this type of anxiety.


We have already begun this technique and it is beginning to work a little. But, I can not stress enough, this is a slow process. We do not know what sort of trauma the little guy has been through. Nor do we know how long this phobia of doorways has been an issue for him. As with all dog training, patience and routine is essential.

Dr. Phil McBeagle (I still think that is a cool name)

For the critics of my approach, I will state that the treats are only used to give the dog an immediate motivation. The treats will not have to be used permanently. I think that eventually Dr. Phil will not show any outward signs of being afraid of doorways. It is not that he will be going through the doorway to get the treat, it is that he will associate the doorways with good things rather than traumatic things.

I have successfully used this sort of approach for various other anxiety problems in the past. This is the sort of approach that I would use for a dog who is afraid of the veterinarian or a dog who is afraid of the clippers a groomer uses.

It is difficult to state with precise accuracy how this approach, or any other approach for that matter, will work for a particular dog. Each dog, like each person, responds differently to a particular treatment or approach. What is effective for an individual dog may not necessarily be effective for another. However I am very optimistic that this approach will be very effective with Dr. Phil McBeagle!

Veterinarians are not evil aliens.... not sure
about lawyers though :) 

If you have a dog that seems to have a phobia or anxiety, please do not give up! The intent of this post is to inform you that there is hope! Many people get frustrated and give up when dogs have anxiety issues. From our prospective, as humans, it can be very frustrating. This is particularly true if we do not understand the proper techniques. It is important that your dog does not sense your frustration. This is something that you can effectively address!

If you have a dog with anxiety issues, please contact me at anytime! I will be more than happy to help you develop and execute a training plan to address the issue. This is precisely why I am in this business!

Till next time

-William