Beyond Obedience

Animal behaviorists state that when the emotional brain kicks in, the thinking brain kicks out. Beyond Obedience training is for behavior issues not deriving from lack of obedience.

These behaviors may have developed from emotional distress, abusive previous homes, aversive training methods, negative associations, neurological or physiological (pain) issues, or even genetics. You may have a dog who has suddenly changed his behavior after a traumatic experience (dog attack at the park) or you may have adopted a dog with various pre-existing issues. We will be able to help you in any of these or similar stressful cases.

These sessions will render you a better understanding of your dog’s behavior and its causes. We will implement coping mechanisms and emotional rehabilitation techniques for your dog to feel and therefore behave ‘better’. Here are some of the many situations we cover:

• Separation anxiety
• Nervous tinkle when greeting
• Reactivity or aggression to other dogs on and/or off leash
• Reactivity or aggression to strangers on and/or off leash
• Reactivity to moving objects
• Thunder and/or fireworks phobia
• Dogs with bite history to other dogs and/or people
• Inter species fights
• In-home dog fights
• Shadow and tail chasing
• Car rides motion sickness or reactivity
• Dogs with sudden change in behavior
• Dogs who cannot be touched or handled
• Excessive barking/high level of arousal
• Resource guarding

Important to remember: These are dogs that you may not be able to take anywhere or that you may have to be extra careful with visitors in the house. Or maybe you cannot have visitors at all. Or these are dogs that are incredibly fearful of everything and are so shutdown that one may not interact with him at all. We fully understand how having a dog with these issues affects the household dynamic, your life and the lives of the other animals in the house. We had them ourselves. We have dealt with these issues not only from a trainer’s perspective but more importantly from an owner’s perspective. We understand what is feasible and what it’s not as an owner and what is successful and what it’s not as a trainer.