Chill Out Fido!: How to Calm Your Dog (Dogwise Training Manual)

I now have my second German Shepherd - I'm a huge fan of them. My first one was easy breezy to train and manage! My second has some issues. She is basically very obedient, especially when treats are involved. She's now 15 months, very large and has dog fear aggression - I've tried many types of training to resolve this. She is also terrified of common noises - garbage trucks, cars passing. It just started one day and I didn't recognize the early warning signs. No big event, it just happened and keeps getting worse. She definitely wasn't raised to have issues - we did everything right - I thought. She is well socialized, exercised daily, fed an informed diet, won first place in her beginner obedience class - she's really got the good life! She's excellent, EXCEPT when she's in that fear state - she's out of control & very strong. It's really hard to walk her because we can't avoid seeing other dogs and with having a small yard, walking has been a huge part of our life.I looked for a long time to find a book like this. So far it's a really easy, good read. It goes into a deeper understanding of the "why" your dog acts that way, with a logical approach, and then you get to the "how to" modify the behaviors. There is also a worksheet that is eye-opening, rating the behavior of your dog(s). After reading the first several chapters, I quickly realize now that walking my dog while she is stressed-out about seeing other dogs, is actually a backwards approach. Raising your voice at an already stressed dog gets the reverse of what you want to achieve. If calm is what you want, try this book. I mostly use hand signals now, it works much better with my dog. I can already tell the stress level for my dog is so much lower now and she can focus on what I really want her to do.Before you hire a behavior expert educate yourself, this book with help and is already helping me. Depending on the instructor, behavior training can be confusing and stressful. I understand much, much more than I did. I was going completely clueless into behavior training sessions (not obedience training, it's different) where it was unclear what I was doing for my dog and why I was doing it. The instruction in the book appears to address any issue you may have. I'm also using it on my small rescue pup (who can't have treats right now and needs some minor training) and so far it's going really well.Will try to update on progress at a later date...

As a professional trainer and groomer, I am either routinely asked about how to correct behavioral problems or I experience unpleasant behaviors directly when handling pets on the grooming table.Most of the undesirable behaviors seem to arise out of a general problem of the dog not being able to cope in a stressful environment (contextual), unable to recover from stressors, or are, in general, unable to pull their energy in to calm down and listen/learn. Behavioral questions are usually not simple to answer in a short, over-the-counter conversation. A lot of questions must be asked by a skilled trainer and the learner must also be assessed as to whether they comprehend and/or are able to carry out a training plan.A great big thank you to Nan Arthur for writing a book that I routinely recommend to clients. After they read the book and they still need help, at least we have a common ground to start from and to refine...and I know they are invested if they have made the effort to read the book. Without the book, training often takes much, much longer in expensive private lessons.The title says it all. She includes information about getting started with a clicker? Fantastic, then I don't need to cover this ground or recommend a 2nd book to my clients. The best part is that Nan takes into account all of the things I would like my clients to be aware of: internal and external factors that affect behavior.So many dogs end up in the shelter because their owners think they are beyond help and have likely expressed either neurotic/destructive behaviors or have possibly embarrassed their owners in public for the last time. They presume their dog is exceptionally "bad."Nan makes my job easier. She lays the foundation for creating a sound, stable pet and an owner who is on the same philosophical page before I begin working with a new client. I can help clients help clients to either train new, fun behaviors or help them to refine what they have been exposed to in her book.This book should be in the library of every dog trainer. I'll continue to recommend this book to clients who are serious about getting to the root of the problems so that they can discover humane and practical ways to re-shape their dog to be the dog that they cannot imagine living without.

This book was recommended to me when I needed some tips on helping my dog to calm down and behave in a less hyperactive way.The book is organized into two parts. The first talks about the causes of the unwanted behaviors, stress responses, and training basics. It is easy to read, and presents the ideas in a clear and concise manner. There is a section on feeding and its relation to behavior, as well as an introduction to positive, clicker based training techniques. The second half presents a series of exercises meant to help the dog and owner work on calm, interactive behavior. The exercises are broken down into steps that build on each other to achieve the desired results. Training schedules, treat management, and what to expect are clearly expressed and easy to understand. Later exercises use the early ones as stepping stones to better behaviors.The real question, though, is does it work? I would have to say: yes. It’s not an instant fix for an excitable dog, but then, with all dog training, nothing really is. The owner has to be willing to put in the time and effort to work consistently with the dog to shape the desired behaviors. But if you are, then I can say that this book should help you and your dog. My dog, while not perfect (yet!) has learned a lot since we’ve been working on the exercises in this book. His behavior is better in many ways, and I think, as we continue to work, it will only get better.If you are looking for a clear and understandable method for helping your dog learn to react in a less hyper manner, I would recommend you read and practice the methods and exercises in this book. If you take the time to work through them as outlined, you will see the good dog in yours begin to show.

I absolutely love this book and it has quickly became one of my favourite training manuals for our rescue staffordshire bull terrier. When we got her home from the rescue centre she was a hyper, anxious "velcro" dog who was completely unable to switch off. She had also never been trained so we realised there was a huge challenge ahead. To begin with, I needed something that would help me teach her to relax and calm down otherwise training would be an impossible task. After working through the exercises, which are clear, easy to follow and written in a very user friendly way, the difference in our dogs behaviour (both indoors and outside on walks) has been amazing. She is now a calm, chilled out dog who listens to us and is very responsive to training. Excellent result!!! I'd highly recommend this to anyone who needs to help their dog relax.

This book seemed to me to be written for an American audience. My springedor needs more than 10-20 mins walk per day and I make her work for her food with games. If I didn’t take her out for an hour a half per day she would be bouncing off the walls

A gentle approach to dog training and very measured - recommended for first time dog owners, helped us sort out 'settle' for our Viszla but there are lots of other aids too.

I was having issues with my overly-excitable pup when I first saw this book and thought it was worth a read. When I first got the book and looked at the contents I was slightly disappointed thinking that there was nothing revolutionary in there, but as I read through it and actually went through the exercises with my own dog I found it very good to have all the simple ideas in one place to work through with hints and tips on how to do this and trouble shoot any problems. Very good book for anyone with a nutty dog!! :)

Definitely recommend this book