Anxious  or fearful dogs have often been punished, had an adverse experience with the trigger, or  have not been  exposed in a  positive  way or at all , to the thing they are fearful of eg. dogs who are aggressive have often been attacked or threatened  by another dog, dogs  who are anxious around people have often  been neglected, punished, or yelled at.

Sadly some owners, even those who love their dogs,  admit to  physically  punishing their dogs but minimize the punishment,  because they  are not willing to own any behavior  on their part  that has contributed  to anxiety in their dogs. I am  sorry but if  you have hit  or yelled at  your  dog and  now it  bites  you  or is anxious, your actions are at least part of the reason. Hundreds of studies have proven this . Please stop.

Often anxious dogs  are medicated by vets. Medication is  one  way to treat anxiety  and aggression  but training is STILL  required, which many owners  who resort to medication don’t do.  While I would not rule out medication  for anxiety  in every case, I find many clients tell me that  the level of medication required to  change behavior without training renders the  dog a zombie  but less has no or little effect .  When  we can identify  a cause eg a  dog fearful of people has been  hit , or a  dog fearful of other dogs  has  been  attacked,  counter conditioning (changing  the expectation ) is very effective, because  the reason for the anxiety is known  and the  anxiety is based on  real experience and a realistic  expectation   of what may happen in the future.  I am recommended by a number of vets for aggressive and anxious dogs  because counterconditioning  the triggers   for  these  dogs  using psychological  principles  and reactivity  techniques  is very effective without the need to medicate .

If you have punished your  dog and now it  is anxious, I am happy to show you how to change this .