Wagging Tails and Clapping Hands

I truly love coaching pet parents and their dogs in building a relationship together.

💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕

A testimonial from a recent client of the Growl to Grow Dog Training and Support Program:

Our story is a little long and convoluted, so to spare you from the details, I will share just a piece of our journey.
Arges came to us in March from a local rescue. He was a street dog in Mexico, the only survivor of his litter, approximately 8 weeks old. He was so young and fragile. Broken in a lot of ways, physically and mentally. His life on the streets were short, but left a huge impact on him, as you can see from his lack of eyeballs, and scars on his body.

He is a gentle, loving soul. We’re not new to rescue, but I haven’t been a pet parent to a blind dog before, so we were doing our best to navigate through this. Making sure Arges could be cool, calm, and confident no matter where we are. He loves other people, and other dogs so much, almost to a fault.
We had Katherine come and assist us with a number of things, some not pertaining to Arges.

Just the initial phone call with Katherine put us at ease. She is so incredibly knowledgeable, kind, and patient.
We went through the growl to growl program, and Arges (being a big ham) soaked up every minute of it. He has grown so much, not only physically as he matures into an adult dog, but mentally. He is still wild and silly (teenagers 😏) but he is really coming into his own.
He has flourished so much while we worked with Katherine, she has been so flexible and willing to assist us in so many ways.

We are going to be continuing our journey with Katherine.

I can’t express how grateful I am that I made that initial phone call.

Finding Yourself When Caring for Another

You are exhausted, both emotionally and physically.

You are feeling totally consumed by your dog’s behavioral concerns.

Everyday it seems as though its another thing.

Another day where your dog chewed on something he shouldn’t have and of course it was your favorite pair of boots.

Another day of your dog having an “accident” and you swear your dog is only doing it out of spite.

Another day of feeling frustrated because your dog woke up in the middle of the night just to go sit outside. You have such a big day ahead, you don’t know how you’re going to function!

Another day of hearing the barking from your dog. ALL. THE. TIME!

Addressing your dog’s underlying emotional distress so you can have effective behavior change can be exhausting.

One thing after another piles up on your shoulders.

The light at the end of the tunnel seems like a flicker at this point.

You may feel guilty for not doing “enough”.

You’re not alone.

Caring for another being does take a toll and can become emotionally overwhelming. Especially when you are coping with and addressing multiple issues, severe behavior concerns, a multi-dog household or have immediate family members who are not onboard or are not sharing in the care taking duties.

Primary caregivers are carrying the weight of these responsibilities can make you feel you’re in a valley. Really feeling the low.

Getting to the heart of behavior change with your dog may dip into some self reflection and finding out what you need in order to keep going.

Give yourself some grace and make sure to put a plan in place for yourself.

💗 Schedule time where you can go for a walk by yourself.

💗 Listen to music or read a book in another room away from your dog.

💗 Take a yoga class!

💗 Keep a gratitude journal where you write down all the things you’re grateful for each day!

💗 Put up a Good Dog chart on your fridge with the behaviors listed out you want to see from your dog. Put a gold star each time you observe your dog doing this exact thing!

💗 Find a FF pet sitter and take extended time away to recharge.

Recognizing the good things going on will shift your thinking.

Seeing how your dog is making a good choice, no matter how big or small, will help you refocus and start anew.

Show up and meet your dog where he is at without expectation of what your dog will do or how he’ll act, will save you a bit of frustration.

Let your dog be your guide and live in the moment as they do.

http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/coping-with-compassion-fatigue-dont-overlook-the-comfort-of-a-cuddle

Have you come to the end of your rope, but you still have hope?

Do you want to help your dog, but don’t know how?

Do you also need a bit of support too?

Schedule your Discovery Call: https://fourpawsandyoudogtraining.as.me/

To Greet or Not to Greet!

Do‘s and Don’ts in Greeting Unfamiliar Dogs

🟢 Do ask permission! Asking the pet parent if its ok to meet their dog is first. Also, ask the pet parent what to do. This will allow the pet parent to make sure the greeting is smooth and comfortable for the dog as well as an opportunity to refuse. The pet parent knows their dog the best, respecting their decision and guidance is first and foremost.

🔴 Don’t straight up approach with arms stretched out and squealing or using a high pitched voice. This can cause a dog to feel distressed and overwhelmed with the situation. A dog that is uncomfortable doesn’t make good choices.

🟢 Do remain calm and keep your hands by your side. This will give the dog an opportunity to come say hello if he/she feels inclined to do so. By allowing the dog to make the choice to greet will help the dog stay safe and relaxed.

🔴 Don’t bend over, hover over or bend down and stick your face or hands into the dog’s face and ask for kisses. I witnessed a grown adult do this to an unfamiliar dog and I was shocked. Luckily for the lady, the dog is pretty easy going, but the dog didn’t approach and was not interested in saying “hi”

🟢 Do keep the greetings short. I would say 3 seconds, if and when the dog approaches and seeks out attention from you. By limiting the time the dog is being touched and petted by you, will allow you to do consent tests to see if the dog wants more from you. If the dog doesn’t continue to move into you, but rather is stationary or even moves away from you, the dog had enough and this is ok.

🔴 Don’t wrap your arm around the dog’s neck as though you are hugging the dog. This can cause the dog to panic and feel trapped. Also, don’t pat the dog’s head or come up over the top of the dog. This can make the dog uncomfortable.

🟢 Do follow the guidance of the pet parent on where the safe places to pet their dog. Commonly, dogs are most comfortable with petting on the chest or under the chin.

💥 Be safe and consider the dog’s point of view.

Not every dog wants to say hello, just like each of you wouldn’t enjoy a random stranger running up to you and giving you a hug and a kiss.

https://fourpawsandyoudogtraining.as.me/