Owning a fearful dog can be very stressful and confusing for pet parents. It is not always clear how or why the dog became fearful, which can make treating the condition quite challenging. Fearfulness manifests in a number of ways in the canine world. Some dogs are more passive and their fear causes them to retreat, cower and avoid the things they are fearful of. Other dogs become defensive and their fear triggers what appears to be an aggressive response - barking, lungi

If you’ve stepped into the world of dog training and taken a look around, even briefly, you’ve probably noticed that there is a great deal of controversy surrounding the various training methods. Perhaps one of the most controversial of these methods is the E-collar, also known as a shock collar or remote collar. This device would fall into the category of aversive/punishment-based training methods. Essentially, the dog learns to be obedient in an effort to avoid something

Welcome to the first installment of K9 Holistics Dog Training Q&A. If you have a question about dog training or behavior, you can submit it via email or through our Facebook page (please include your email address, dog's breed and age). Today's question comes from Claire Papargiriou via Facebook. Claire writes: "5yrs. Neutered Eng. Bulldog male. Rescued at 11 months, lives now w/ fixed bossy female, Maltese. Not dog friendly. Can't go to vets without him barking & pulling t

Separation anxiety is a fairly common problem for today's modern dog. There are many factors that contribute to this specific form of anxiety, and it is an issue that typically takes a lot of persistance in fully resolving. If your dog is suffering from moderate to severe seperation anxiety, I would strongly advise you to seek the help of a professional. For mild cases, or for the sake of prevention, here are some tips to help ease the symptoms of this problem. 1. No big

"Hi there, my name’s Christine Fasan and I’m the owner and dog trainer at K9 Holistics. It is a beautiful, rainy, thunderous day here in Florida, and I thought I would take the opportunity to talk a little bit about thunder phobias. I see it all the time, it’s a very common problem, and if you live somewhere like St. Petersburg, Florida where we have thunderstorms pretty much daily, that can be a really challenging situation for you and your dog. Obviously there can be a

Several of my clients have asked me this week what they should do about their firework-phobic dogs this holiday weekend. I thought I would share some trainer tips on how to deal with this issue without having to resort to doggy xanax (always a last resort in my book). 1. Exercise. It's always the first place to start. Make sure your dog is totally pooped by the time the sky starts lighting up. Take a super long walk or run, have a rowdy play session, and finish it off wi

I was exercising a client's dog last weekend, enjoying the peaceful morning sun and appreciating the dog's calm, relaxed energy. When all of the sudden, I was rudely jolted from my blissful state by a crazed little Yorkie bounding toward us at full speed, barking like a banshee. Didn't take me long to realize that the poor little guy was contained via the modern day canine torture device known as the electric fence. This highly over-stimulated pooch would race toward the e

Dog's don't bite without good reason, and the key to preventing dog bites is proper education and a thorough understanding of what causes them in the first place. Here are some tips to help keep you and your family safe. As we know, dogs cannot communicate with us through words. Instead, they communicate through body language, vocalizations and if necessary, with their mouth. Whenever a dog bite occurs, you can bet that the dog gave fair warning first with his body languag