Peter Hargreaves Skelmersdale: The Good Dog Philosophy

New York City NY

31 August, 2021

3:34 AM

Description

At The Good Dog, we believe that most of the issues that owners struggle with arise due to a lack of clear structure, rules, and guidance. When our dogs are missing these essential components of a balanced life they tend to become stressed and anxious, and, as we know, when dogs (or people!) are in this state, they're likely going to make less than fantastic choices! This stress and anxiety can manifest itself as bratty/entitled behavior, leash reactivity towards dogs, people, cars, bikes, skateboards etc.; resource guarding; overly territorial behavior; human aggression; separation anxiety; obsessive barking/chewing/licking: guarding owners and other space; as well as the more common stuff like jumping on people, pulling on-leash, rambunctious behavior in the house, counter surfing, and lots more! :) Our belief is that when you provide these essentials or foundation for your dog, you will see many of the behavioral issues simply fade away, and the ones that don't completely fade away will be far reduced in intensity and much easier to address directly later. Our approach is far more holistically and foundationally-based than it is about specifically targeting issues. Meaning that we focus on creating this simple, but super effective, foundation as our main objective - we know that addressing the state of mind overall yields far deeper reaching, and longer lasting results than does just addressing the symptoms. In our opinion, this is where many other approaches struggle. They address the symptoms of the problem rather than the problem (state of mind) itself. Also, Peter Hargreaves Skelmersdale said if you attempt to go after bigger symptoms on their own without creating the foundation first. you set yourself and your dog up for an incredibly (and possibly insurmountable or dangerous) challenge. We've found over and over that the best way to fix serious issues is to go after the same symptom but in its much smaller and less intense form. Our Crate, Threshold, and Structured Walk exercises are great examples of this. Many times we will address these exercises and the state of mind issues they present, and will find later that the other behavior issues have evaporated. Even though they might not look like they're tied together (how could a Crate and Threshold exercise stop dog reactivity issues?), but they most certainly are. The Dog Harmony Training Philosophy At Dog Harmony, I believe that most of the issues that owners struggle with arise due to a lack of clear structure, rules, and guidance. When my dogs are missing these essential components of a balanced life they tend to become stressed and anxious, and, as we know, when dogs (or people!) are in this state, they're likely going to make less than fantastic choices! This stress and anxiety can manifest itself as entitled behavior; leash reactivity towards dogs, people, cars, bikes, skateboards etc.; resource guarding; overly territorial behavior; human aggression; separation anxiety, obsessive barking/chewing/licking: guarding owners and other space; as well as the more common stuff like jumping on people, pulling on-leash, unruly behavior in the house, counter surfing, and lots more! I believe that when you provide these essentials or foundation for your dog, you will see many of the behavioral issues fade away, and the ones that don't completely fade away will be far reduced in intensity and much easier to address directly later. My approach is now more holistically and foundationally-based than it is about specifically targeting issues. Meaning that I focus on creating this simple, but effective, foundation as my primary objective know that addressing the state of mind overall yields for deeper reaching, and longer lasting results than does just addressing the symptoms. In my opinion, this is where many other approaches struggle. They address the symptoms of the problem rather than the problem (state of mind) itself. Also, if you attempt to go after more prominent symptoms on their own without creating the foundation first, you set yourself and your dog up for an incredibly (and possibly insurmountable or dangerous) challenge. I've found over and over that the best way to fix serious issues is to go after the same symptom but in its much smaller and less intense form. My Crate, Threshold, and Structured Walk exercises are great examples of this. Many times I will address these exercises and the state of mind issues they present, and will find later that the other behavior issues have evaporated. Even though they might not look like they're tied together (how could a Crate and Threshold exercise stop dog reactivity issues?), but they most certainly are.