It's been a slow start, but I'm on my second post! Hooray!
This past month has been an eye-opener for me.
My oldest pointer, Nellie, is fearful aggressive toward other dogs. Mike and I realized we need to take control and hopefully reverse this behavior.
It may sound silly to some, but I have been watching The Dog Whisperer for several years now and while I saw the logic in his methods, I couldn't seem to put them into practice. About a week ago I was watching an episode of The Dog Whisperer and everything just clicked.
Mike and I were not pack leaders.
We had been going about our lives for the past 2 years thinking we were great dog owners, when in reality we were setting Nellie up to become fearful aggressive. She was naturally nervous from the start and we nurtured that instead of demonstrating trust and respect.
Now that we see our mistake, we are taking steps to reverse it. In the past 3 days I have seen dramatic transformation in both dogs. Most of which came from me feeling that I was in control. Before I was too soft and Nellie sensed that and took control. No more! As Cesar says: "Exercise, discipline then affection."
This weekend we have a dog visiting and instead of anticipating disaster, we are choosing to look at it as an opportunity to practice.
