47% of Abandoned dogs in shelters and rescues were left by their families due to Behavior Issues or “Pet Problems.” This statistic from the ASPCS’s National Rehoming Survey shows that nearly half of all rescue dogs in the Dallas Metro Area are there because the owners felt overwhelmed and eventually gave up on their dog.
This does not mean rescue dogs are bad dogs, in fact; it is the opposite. The dogs were never taught how to function appropriately in their home. It is unfair to a dog to expect them to “just figure out” how to act, how to behave and what they are supposed to do and what not to do.
The real tragedy, besides someone giving up their dog, is most of the “issues” dogs have were created by their previous family. We have an article on this if you would like to learn how to avoid creating bad behaviors in your dog.
If your dog has behavior problems or cannot walk on a leash, jumps on people, bites or just does not know obedience commands there is help.
Here at K-9 Culture, the first thing we determine when obedience training and behavior training with dogs is what is the cause.
There are always two underlying causes to all dog problems: Emotional Based or Behavioral Based
Emotional Based (An Underlying Emotional Issue)
Dog and Human Aggression
Anxiety
Fearfulness
Reactivity
Destructiveness (Emotionally Driven)
Behavioral Based (A Lack of Impulse Control / Obedience)
Leash Pulling and Lunging
Jumping On People
Counter Surfing
Not Coming When Called
Excessive Barking
Digging
Destructiveness (Impulse/Boredom Driven)
Lack of Obedience Commands
Many rescue dogs have a combination of both. We address each underlying cause differently for a fearful dog or a dog with anxiety is not going to get better with just obedience dog training.
Dogs with an emotional issue need help with THAT issue. Our goal is to help the dog overcome and move past their problem but that is not always possible. Like a human with an emotional problem, professional help is sometimes needed to help them. Dogs are emotional and therefor carry the same emotion baggage that we humans do. Our job to teach them how to learn, teach them how to trust and help desensitize them to events or environments that may be causing their emotional struggles.
It is not always possible to “fix” a dog’s emotional issue. When this is determined that the dog cannot be completely fixed, then we teach the skills to better cope with the issue, just like a human would do if we had a similar issue. A great example of this is dog aggression or people aggression.
If a dog truly does not like dogs or humans it would be unrealistic and unfair to the dog to try and force them to love other dogs and want to go play with them at a dog park or to want strangers to pet them. A dog with this personality is not wired that way. They love their humans but not new people so why should we expect them to want to interact with everyone and every dog they meet?
If you hate to sing Karaoke and someone got you to do it once, does that mean you now love doing it? No, you still do not enjoy that activity and it would not be fair of someone to expect you to love singing in front of people just because you did it a couple times. BUT and this is a huge but, you DID do it, so you do have the emotional skill or mindset to be ABLE to do it, you just do not like it. That is fair and that is how we approach true dog and human aggression in the dogs we train at K9 Culture in the Dallas Metroplex area.
We show aggressive dogs how to have good manners in the presence of other dogs and other humans. We do not expect them to love them nor even engage with them. But they can have the skills to be in their presence without losing their minds or attacking or lunging or barking at them. Basically, have good manners and ignore them.
Aggression and Anxiety are the most difficult problems dog owners experience and issues many dog trainers in the DFW area either fail to correct or refuse to work with. We work with dogs like this every single day of the week. We want these dogs to have the skill set to be able to enjoy life like every other dog, they just need to be taught HOW.
At K-9 Culture, All Dog Training Starts With Building a Dog’s Self-Confidence and Impulse Control.
A self-confident dog is less fearful, less anxious, and less reactive. They are more comfortable in new environments and more open to trust new situations, new people, and new dogs.
Impulse Control is not a command but a SKILL that dogs CAN learn. Impulse control is one of the most important skills your dog will ever learn! It helps with aggression, lack of obedience, appropriate behavior and the ability to obey commands with distractions present.
A dog that manages their own impulses instead of having to BE managed is a Dog That Is A JOY To Live With!
WHY OBEDIENCE?
It is STRUCTURE and ROUTINES. Dogs thrive with routines; it removes guessing what to do. Obedience is LANGUAGE and creates the ability to COMMUNICATE.
The more Dependable your dog is, the Bigger their life can be!
K-9 Culture CAN HELP Your Dog have a BIG LIFE!!
The K-9 Culture Family
A Dog That Is A JOY To Live With!
Dallas Ft Worth Metro Area Top Rated Dog Trainers