It is often heard and cheerfully given advice: "Keep him under threshold!" Yep. Can do. I think. Maybe. Um, how do I know?
While most of us recognize the dog who has been pushed past a threshold and into reaction, it is harder to know exactly where the sweet spot is, the place where learning and thinking occur, where choices are possible, and where behavior changes (good ones!) can happen.
Is your dog just a bit shy? Stressed? Afraid? Wish you knew how to help? This 2 hour lecture by Suzanne Clothier provides detailed information to help viewers develop empathy, understanding and humane options for their work with stressed or anxious dogs.
When I was a young trainer, there were no veterinary behaviorists. There were no pyschotherapeutic medications. There were tranquilizers and sedatives, sure. Acepromazine was often the drug of choice. But sophisticated medications meant to address serotonin or dopamine imbalances? anxiolytics to get a dog through the Fourth of July fireworks display? Nope.
