"Issues" of fear & aggression in dogs. Understanding the two forces at work: nurture and nature.
As far as whether or not training can "fix" a dog with SEVERE issues is complicated. In short, the answer is "yes and no." And owners that have dogs with severe issues need to understand realistic expectations. We are dealing with two forces here: nature (genetics) and nurture (the way the dog is raised/experiences the world). Nature and Nurture have powerful impacts on a dog and its behavior. Things like aggression, fear, anxiety, etc can be genetic. They can also be learned
Just Because You & Your Dog are "Happy-Go-Lucky" doesn't mean everything around you is.
Just because you and your dog are "Happy-go-lucky" does not mean everything around you is. When you take your dog to a busy location, you need to be HYPER-AWARE of your dog and your surroundings. I had a client share an unfortunate story with me about 3 weeks ago & I wanted to share it via a blog as it is a good lesson about how important it is to be aware of our surroundings when we are out and about with our dogs: One of the owners took the dog (on leash) to a very busy par
