I always hear lots of stories of ‘encounters’ that dog walkers have with either other dogs or other people that leave a mark in their memories and a somewhat bitter taste in their mouths.
The story I tend to hear most often is of the ‘offlead dog’ and there are two variants.
Story one, is that they were walking their fearful/dog aggressive dog ON THE LEAD when a bouncy dog comes over wanting to play and gets a bit ‘in yer face’ - obviously this is detrimental to the fearful/dog aggressive dog …

Tail positions are another means by which dogs can communicate a ‘message’. There are some tail positions which have more than one meaning depending on the circumstance. For example, when a dog’s tail is down, it could be that the dog is resting or relaxed but, depending on the other signals, it could also mean that the dog is stressed. Aloff explains stress signals by stating ‘This animal is stressed: eyes averted, ears held out to the side, tail down. There is a rigidity…that tells us these are not signs …

There are various approaches that try to explain canine aggression. The nature approach argues that canine aggression is inherited from the parents and therefore part of the dog’s genetic make-up. As Fogle states, ‘Dominance aggression is primarily influenced by genetics…the dog’s natural genetic predisposition is to find his place in the pecking order, the dominance hierarchy.’ (Fogle, 1990, p. 11-12)
This would indicate that the behaviour is innate and therefore difficult to resolve. Fisher asserts that ‘There are two areas of aggression where a complete cure is almost impossible, we …

There are many advantages to using positive reinforcement rather than any other form when training. As Karen Pryor states, ‘Behaviour that is already occurring, no matter how sporadically, can always be intensified with positive reinforcement.’ (Pryor, 2002, p. 1) This is supported by Richardson & Cole who argue that ‘By using positive reinforcement, we increase the chances of a particular action occurring again.’ (Richardson & Cole, 2001, p. 149)

Dogs carry out behaviours that bring them the highest reward, so if we use positive reinforcement – that is to say, …

Why is it that many dog owners I come across pride themselves on being the next Cesar Millan?
It frustrates me no end to hear how successful they are at being ‘pack leader’ and how they always, always, ALWAYS go through doorways first and eat before their dog - because if you don’t, he might just usurp you and take your place as ‘dominant dog’…
Even yesterday, my other half was speaking to one of these ‘alpha leaders’ and told her quite bluntly what a load of old codswallop it all is. …