bridey_01 said:
I do rehabilitate "damaged dogs" from fear biters to all out super aggressive ones. I don't sit down and say "okay, I'll have to reinforce this and click that and ignore this and bridge that". Everything is in relation to the dog and his reactions. I agree with Doberluv, desenstizing IS communicating, in one of it's finest forms. I know all about body language and use it regularily. Also, a good trainer should NEVER get bitten, at least not regularily! A bite is a message to the trainer "you've gone too far, you've done something wrong". I've only been bitten four times, each time by dogs that had been "corrected" for growling, or alerting aggressively. I was still a rookie and had missed the visual cues that had pre-empted those bites, and I am willing to admit it was my fault!
Anyway, in regards to training, when I commited to and worked out my methods I thought of one thing, if it was the other way around, and I was a fearful person in THEIR paws, how would I want to be treated?
Thank you for sharing your experiences. I wish all trainers and rehabilitators would do this more often. This is how we can best learn from each other, and gain insight from different points of view. I have personally found no one perfect method for dealing with every dog. And when you throw the dynamic of the owner's personality into the mix, there is often more work involved with training the person, than rehabilitating the dog. Dogs are so much easier!
Not getting bitten is sometimes more of a case of staying out of the way of the teeth, in certain circumstances. Some dogs, usually very dominant, aggressive, and/or spoiled ones, can go into a deaf, dumb, and blind "zone" temper tantrum. Once they snap out of it, they are fine. It's how we react to it that makes all of the difference. This requires true compassion. Being overly sensitive or angry, does the dog no good. And they can sense exactly where you are coming from, who you are, and what you are feeling.
You still have to remember, dogs are not people. I can see a dog through a complete hissy fit, while containing them. Containing them, is not punishing them. I know I'm doing what's best for the dog. In most cases, it's to save his life. Once I have an image of that needle with the "pink death" going into his leg, I don't care what anyone thinks of my methods. And once we're done, it's the love and joy these dogs show towards me, and knowing their life will now be a happier one, that's my true reward.
It takes a lot of love for dogs, to stand up to the biting opinions and condemnation of others. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Cesar putting it all out there for everyone to see. I've never been able to really observe someone else doing this level of rehabilitation.
Some concerns of people trying some of these methods, without professional help are well founded. But, people will be people, and the world is not a perfect place.
