Ottawa Dog Training for Aggressive, Anxious, Obsessive Dogs

Dog Training Sessions In-Your-Home with
Ottawa’s Dog Whisperer

For all Breeds of Puppies from Tea-Cup Yorkies, to Pitbulls, to Great Danes and every breed and size in-between. Dogs of all ages - puppies, teenagers, adult and senior dogs. For people with one or multiple dogs - no additional fee for households with multiple puppies/dog.

  

Specializing in Working with Dogs that Exhibit Over-Threshold Behavior
Insecurity
Anxiety

Aggression - Aggressive-Reactive

Obsessive Behavior

Insecurity is the #1 cause of aggression, anxiety and/or obsessive compulsive behaviour in dogs. The most effective way to deal with these undesirable, harmful behaviours is to address them in a manner that respects the true intelligence, sensitivity and nature of a dog. 

In its natural state a dog would learn social grace and life-skills from his/her adult canine family. However we humans interrupt that process of learning when we separate the puppy – at a young age, from its canine family. In addition, historically dogs had to work to survive – in order to eat a dog had to hunt. Work in the form of the hunt provided both mental and physical exercise. 

While the present day canine is primarily a companion animal – both physical and mental stimulation remain an essential need of the dog, as is structure and the presence of one who can be the dog's coach and mentor...

  

Access to true leadership is essential for a dog's overall well being...

In the absence of opportunity to learn life and social skills from other dogs, the role of coach and mentor becomes the humans responsibility but:

• What if the human is not a good communicator? 
• What if the human does not understand all of the ways in which both humans and dogs communicate?
• Voice is not the most effective means of communication, nor is it the primary means of communication among dogs.

When a puppy, teenage, adult or senior dog begins to acquire undesirable, unhealthy behaviours the root cause is almost always human error. 

Failure of this nature is comprised of multiple elements, but the main cause is a lack of understanding of the true nature, intelligence and sensitivity of a dog. 

Lack of Understanding is Really the #1 Critical Failure. 

This can be categorized into two major elements as follows:

1. Communication
2. Understanding Your Dog as an Individual

Within these two elements many sub-elements co-exist and also great opportunity to leverage success or to create failure. 

Dogs and mankind are very similar as both species require the same basic building blocks in order to evolve as happy, well-adjusted individuals. A human who lacks the guidance of a good role model, who does not have access to calm, considered, communicative mentoring, who is devoid of constructive physical and mental stimulation, who instead is flooded with stimulants that create excitement and constant emotion, who has not been fairly taught rules – that human becomes very unstable…and so too for a dog. Being in a compromised state becomes the norm – an altered state of normal becomes reality. Traumatic incidents can also trigger instability – however if the proper support is available the trauma can be not only lessened but reversed.

Dogs are excellent and very aware communicators – a human that has not been trained to be an aware and insightful communicator can inadvertently and unknowingly create insecurity in their dog.

I have yet to work with a client who has notbeen the creator or (in the case of an adopted-rescue dog) the magnifier of their dog’s unbalanced state of being. Imagine if you are not consciously aware of all of the ways in which humans communicate, if you do not understand all of the ways in which a dog communicates – this lack of knowledge places both you and your dog at a great disadvantage.

Each dog is a unique being, an individual. And just like humans each individual dog has its own distinct combination of personal attributes, pre-dispositions of various qualities – some desirable and some not. 

When a human is not aware of how they enable the less desirable pre-dispositionsof their  dog (i.e. anxiousness), the human inadvertently enables the development of that undesirable trait. In addition – each dog, like every human being is an individual with his/her own unique combination of acquired traits.  

When Un-Healthy Behaviour Develops:

1. The unique combination of traits have not been recognized, identified and the undesirable traits have not been properly discouraged – instead those unwanted traits have been enabled.
2. Instead focus must be placed on enabling and growing positive traits – but the enabling and encouraging must be done in the right way.

When a dog or human is in a state of prolonged or constant stress (aggression, anxiety, obsession are all stressors) the immune system may become suppressed thus placing the physical body under additional strain. When an unbalanced diet, poor or inappropriate food stuffs (i.e. grains, sugars, trans fats, food colouring, etc.) are combined with acquired toxic load both body and optimal brain function is further compromised.

The Dog is Not Bad, It Is Instead Misunderstood and Misdirected...

Having read the above you can start to understand that unwanted and unbalanced behaviours do not occur because the dog is bad, nor because the dog is of a certain breed…i.e. a Pit Bull. Did you know that Pitbulls were breed to be non-aggressive towards humans? It’s true – aggression is not breed specific…nor is it hard-wired into a dog. Aggression, anxiety, insecurity and obsession are primarily acquired, encouraged (either inadvertently or intentionally) behaviours.

Inadvertently many people fail in the roll of coach and mentor as the direction provided to the dog has serious fail points, for example, the direction provided:

• May not be consistent;
• May lack firm, considered, patient confidence;
• May not leverage the intelligence of the dog;
• May be provided from and emotive state of being.

Consistency is required in all its nuances and is not defined as a singular entity – i.e. the fact that you always tell your dog to ‘stop’ does not qualify as constructive, effective directive consistency. Direction must be 100% free of contradiction; must consider and leverage the great intelligence of a dog and should incorporate the communication techniques most commonly employed by dogs.

When a dog ‘misbehaves’ the dog does so simply because it has not been taught another way to navigate thru the situation. In addition, when a dog does not have structure or protocols for dealing with low intensity situations the dog will have little to no opportunity to behave in an acceptable manner in medium to high intensity situations. 

Approximately 50% of my client's have had their dog(s) since it was a puppy - the other 50% acquired their dog(s) past puppy-hood - i.e. a teenage, adult or senior dog. 

Many of the people that become my clients come to me after experiencing the trauma and hurt of dismissive pronouncements on their dog’s ability to evolve past unwanted behaviours. Many have been told to get their dogs medicated or to euthanize the dog. These people have gone to trainers and behaviourists who have used either dominating tactics (pinch collars, e-collars, dragging, forcing and yes kicking the dog, etc.) or reward-based treat techniques…neither of these approaches honours the intelligence of a dog. You do not have to ‘break’ a dog to get it to 'behave well' nor do you have to constantly shower the dog with treats and praise. A dog knows when a human is proud of him/her. 

Dogs do have memories, they do associate feelings, outcomes, states-of-being with inanimate, animate objects and locations but a dog does not hold a grudge like a human does…hence the saying ‘dogs live in the moment’. What does that mean? Well basically because dogs do not hold grudges dogs are able to accept a new way of approaching and viewing a situation, thing or location. This is fundamental to understanding a dog’s ability and enduring willingness to adopt a new behaviour. From this also arises the importance of teaching a dog to deal with a situation rather than – as many humans seek to do – avoid the situation. Confidence cannot be gained by avoidance it can only be attained by learning how to safely, comfortably and effectively cope with situations in a balanced ‘normal’ way.

Two Big Mistakes

One of the biggest mistakes people make is waiting too long to properly address unwanted behaviour – when left unaddressed or when addressed improperly, the behaviour gets exponentially worse, leaving the dog no choice but to escalate to the next stage of behaviour. 

Using treats or dominance to attempt to correct the behaviour very often results in a worsening of the dog’s condition. 99% of the time the unwanted behaviour is inadvertently created by the human – the root cause is not the dog. Therefore it is of the utmost importance to address the issue in an all-encompassing manner and quickly – the longer you wait the more time, effort and money is required to fix the problem, the more psychological and physical damage is done – needlessly. In the end the dog and people suffer and all too often the dog will end-up hurting someone and can be court-ordered for euthanasia. Which, in my mind is a terrible loss of life as the dog is not bad; he/she simply never had the chance to learn how to properly navigate through situations. Given the opportunity to learn from someone who can direct it properly, a dog will choose to go back to their true nature – that of a socially well-adjusted being. 

While a large majority of trainers and behaviourists attempt to teach a dog and then correct unwanted behaviours by using dominance or treats – neither of these methods are effective. Psychologically well balanced dogs (a dog in its natural state, not having been unduly set off-track by poor human instruction) will rarely if ever resort to forceful physical intervention to teach another dog social skills and life skills – instead the dog relies on more subtle and affective forms of communication. And dogs do not give each other treats to teach each other life-skills. 

My Method

We humans have a wonderful opportunity to learn to use these more effective forms of communication - for the benefit of our dog and ourselves and this is the basis for my success in working with dogs and their people.

I believe in providing my clients with a comprehensive and cohesive learning experience…

Did you know that dogs are better communicators than most people? – I teach you how to be a better communicator…

• Awareness – yours and your dogs;
• Facial expression and body language (yours and your dog’s) – identification, recognition, understanding and effects;
• Learn to direct your dog without speaking (voice is not the best way to direct a dog).
• Understand all of the ways in which humans actually communicate and how it affects your dog;
• Know how to occupy space to communicate effectively;
• Know how your state of mind affects your dog;
• Know when your dog is asking for direction.

Each dog is an individual with its own unique personality and it is for this reason that a standardized inflexible approach can and does so often lead to failure. I believe that when a trainer fails to help a dog it is not the dog that is at fault - but instead the failure is a reflection of the limited abilities of the trainer. A large percentage of the dogs that I work with have been subjected to the standardized approach adopted by many trainers and behaviorists - not only do the methods prove to be ineffective they also prove to further damage the dog. As a result my task - to bring the dog back to a state of normal, may be made considerably  more difficult.

• The dog has become further embedded into the behavior or developed additional behaviors as a result of the inappropriate methods used by the trainer/behaviorist; 
• The dog's people have been to multiple trainers, spent a lot of money and time, only to have their dog's state further compromised,
• The people are stressed, skeptical, and very often in a traumatized emotional state.

Yet in the space of one 4 to 5 hour session I succeed where others have failed. This is only possible because I use my experience, instinct and intuition to make on-the-spot relevant decisions to decide what will work best. My quick, keen aptitude to observe, analyze and create in the moment ensures that I can succeed where others fail.  

Dogs do live in the moment and are highly adaptive beings - when one learns respect for a dog's way the ability to understand and assist a dog is increased exponentially. It is my fundamental belief that Edward Hogland got it right when he said  

"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semi-human. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming part dog"

Given that dogs are actually better communicators than most people - dogs have much to teach mankind...the lessons I have learned are invaluable and when you work with me it is part and parcel of the value that I pass on to you and your dog. What you learn from me will not only help your dog, it will help you in every aspect of your life.

In-Your-Home Boot Camp Session
  

I offer an all-encompassing 4 to 5 hour ‘Boot Camp’ session (in your home) where I will address everything – from physical to psychological to diet/health. This type of session is invaluable as it addresses every aspect of daily life with your dog and ensures that you and your dog learn how to put the proper structure and rules in-place to resolve behavioural issues. A boot camp session provides the time needed to work through issues such as:

• Anxiety or over-excitement and/or motion sickness in vehicles; 
• Barking; 
• Begging for Food, Food Surfing (tables, counters, from children, etc.) 
• Bolting out your door; 
• Chasing your cats, and other small animals; 
• Chewing/ biting your hands, feet, clothing etc.; 
• Crate Training; 
• Dog-to-Dog Aggressive-reactive Behaviour; 
• Dog-to-People Aggressive-reactive Behaviour; 
• Fear of People, Places and Things; 
• Food Aggressive-Reactive Behaviour; 
• Grief; 
• Unwanted Guarding Behaviour of people, places and things; 
• Inability to Settle-down (calm) and Relax…’hyper activity’; 
• Inappropriate Behaviour with Guests;
• Obsessive Behaviour, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD); 
• Marking in the House;
• Poor Leash-walking habits (pulling, weaving, flopping);  
• Separation Anxiety; 
• etc.

Session Cost
All-Encompassing Boot-Camp Session - $400.00 (+HST)

Fees above are as per my standard service area (i.e. Ottawa, Hull, Alymer, Barhaven, Arnprior, Bells Corners, Carp, Fitzroy, Orleans, Kanata, Renfrew, Smith Falls, Stittsville, Manotick, Vars, etc.) If you reside in a further outlying area, depending on the exact location – I may need to add a km/time surcharge .

I Offer Three Payment Methods for Your Convenience

• Cash,
• E-mail Money Transfer, and;
• Credit Card via Paypal.

Session Bookings
Sessions can be booked on weekdays and weekends.

Pre-Assessment
I do not do pre-assessments. As I work intuitively and can shift my methods and techniques on the fly to suit the individuals, I have no need to pre-assess. 90% of my clients have been to 2 or more trainers and/or behaviourists prior to finding me, they come to me because the trainers/behaviourists methods either did not work and/or made the dog’s behaviour worse or because the trainer/behaviourist gave up on the dog.  I work with dogs in extreme states of distress – and have never let a dog and its people down.  

Session Follow-up
Post session I send my clients articles that reinforce what we went through in the session. My clients know that if they have a question that they can call or email me. As my method of training/teaching is very thorough I rarely get after-session questions…but I do get a lot of wonderful after-session progress updates from my clients! 

Working with dogs and their people is not just my ‘job’ – making sure your dog is healthy and happy is my passion…20 years experience living and working with dogs.  

You can contact me at…
The Ottawa Valley Dog Whisperer
Karen Rosenfeld
email:   ottawavalleydogwhisperer@gmail.com

office:   613-622-7958
cell:       613-293-3707

Please note that I check my voice mail and email regularly throughout the day and normally respond to requests within 24 hours or less. If you have emailed me and do not receive a response from me within 24 hours please make sure you check your email in-box as well as your email spam/ (junk) in-box. 

Recommendations / Client Comments

Hi Karen!

Thank you so much for all of your wonderful help and guidance in yesterday's session. It was so informative and really left us with concrete examples and practical ways to work with Rupert on overcoming his issues. We felt so comfortable with you, and really felt as though our time together was valuable. Thank you for sending all of the great articles and literature to keep us on track as well. We'll keep working on the tips you gave us and will send an update in the coming weeks to let you know how Rupert is (and how we are) doing.
Thanks so much once more, and take care!

- Melinda, Andre, Rupert & Fiona

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Hi Karen
Thank you once again for the great information and for your help with Floyd. These techniques are much better for us all.
The techniques are working and oddly enough Floyd is responding very well with Rachelle. We are going to the cottage this weekend so we will be able to practice these techniques with Stella being around.

Thank you
I'll keep you posted on our development.

Roger

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Hi Karen,

I just wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed meeting you as well as our very informative day.  I am a visual person, so now when I look at your articles I know exactly what is expected of me and my dogs.  My husband too was very impressed.  Now, if and when I can get my two little darlings out of bed (they are completely exhausted with their first day at school) we will begin to work on all you have taught us.  I actually had to laugh at them earlier this morning.  I was packing to go the cottage and took out their leashes to pack them and usually they get so excited, but this time they only rolled over in their beds as if to say "not right now mommy" as they continued to sleep. 

Last night when we ate our supper, I wanted them to lie down away from the table, well they actually decided to lie just outside the kitchen in my hallway.  Tyke just stayed there but Benny actually did ask for permission to come into the kitchen when supper was over.  He's a pretty smart little guy....stubborn but smart.  He also asked permission to come on the couch later in the evening.  I am so-o-o impressed!!!  Tyke however was quite happy to just snooze in his bed.  He didn't even want to play with his treat ball....he was just pooped. 

Thank you again so much for your patience, time and advice.  We certainly appreciate it.

Sheila

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Good morning Karen,

Toby is a different dog after the session we had with you! Thank you very much for sending this great information after the session....slowly reading through it....you have a good web site!!!
We are having great success with Toby, all thanks to you!!

Manuela

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Hi Karen,

I just wanted to thank you again for everything you've done to help us. You're such a beautiful and dedicated person. I was extremely pleased with the session and although it was a lot of information, I did learn a lot and it certainly built my confidence up. After work this morning, I took Nikita for a walk with the "let's do this" and "not giving a crap about her reaction or the other dog" attitude and it really helped. With my head high and back straight, we marched right by dogs and of course she reacted, but I kept her going and looked far ahead, and didn't let it bother me. It felt great to walk her this way and I look forward to seeing her transition into a more balanced dog. I'll keep you posted on her progress!

Thanks again!

Shawna

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Hi Karen, 

Thank you so much again for the session and for all of the info you sent! I'm starting my 2 weeks of vacation next week and will have more time to do some reading. Jazz is doing great! We ordered pizza Sunday night and when the doorbell rang she just looked at Ben &I, not a peep! We had her in a down stay and both went upstairs and she didn't move!! We are noticing a big difference in her already and are so proud of her. Our session with you was one of the best things we have ever done for her and OURSELVES! You are amazing!  Thanks again and jazz sends a big kiss back :)

Cheers

Jen & Ben

Sent from my iPhone

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My two year old chihuahua Abbey has had severe car anxiety from the day we brought her home at 12 weeks. It was been miserable as we like to travel to see our kids and I also enjoy taking my two chihuahua's where ever I can. I tried everything, the spray, the tape, the jacket, strong tranquilizers and those did not even work! She always wanted to go but once in the car she would cry and whine non-stop, while her sister would just enjoy the ride and love the warm sun. I was miserable, Abbey was miserable and giving her drugs was not my idea of a solution as it is dangerous to give such a small dog these drugs. Well I followed Karen's advice, I did everything she said, it did not happen overnight but all of a sudden I realized my car was quiet and I looked back and she was snuggled up with her sister enjoying her outing. We were at our wits end as this was going on for two years and to pay a sitter to come to the house is 100.00 a day so it made it very expensive when we could of taken her and we all would of been so much happier. I have referred Karen to many of my dog friends and they are all amazed at her gift of understanding the relationship between the owner and the dog. I knew it was something I was doing but just did not know how to fix it. When ever an issue comes up as dogs are like kids always learning or I am still learning this is where I find the answers. Thank you Karen from Abbey and Maggie and especially mommy! We think you are the best dog trainer out there :)

Nancy Lucky

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Karen, 

I have to thank you so much for you time! You are so great! And so fast! It shows that you are truly dedicated to the betterment of the dog It is such a warm feeling to know that there are people who think as you do in their approach to dog training. I have learned so much from your expertise! It just reiterates what I believe in. Dog training is my heart and soul and it's all about the dog! Please feel free to visit my web site. I would love to stay in contact with you.... maybe you could mentor me! Again thank you so much for you efforts. They are priceless!!!!!

Jeremy Majors

            Majors Academy Dog Training

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Learn, grow, create balance for the good of your dog, for yourself, for a life-time