Advice on Guarding/Aggression Situation

[skinnydipper]

I've just seen this book on Amazon, don't know if it's any good.

Don't Eat That! Simone Mueller

• Why your dog loves to scavenge.
• Ways to prevent your dog from devouring food they come across outside.
• Fun training games to keep your dog motivated while they learn.
• How to teach your dog to cooperate with you when they find food.
• New emergency cues and how to apply them to real-life scenarios.
• How to make your walks more enjoyable again!

 

[CorvusCorax]

Re trainers, I'd rather see a trainer interacting with their own and other peoples' dogs and if they have achieved anything in competition or in terms of tangible results, how many dogs have qualified in sports or service rather than what qualifications they have, there are plenty of people with certifications who can not train ivy up a wall.
If I had a quid for every person who told me they had worked with the police or police dogs, or that their dog was a failed or former police dog, I would be a millionaire. Police training used to be boot bang wallop, now it has gone completely the other way and neither of these two extremes are good for dogs. They need clarity and fairness.
Good trainers will not mind you asking their credentials or show you themselves doing a bit with their dog or someone else's.
My trainer/mentor was a retired PD trainer/handler and guarding was just not on, it just wasn't happening, they learned that from day one and these were very tough dogs, BUT he had such a good relationship with his own dogs and a FEEL for what was appropriate for the dog and an ability to be 'in the dog's head' that no one can learn in the classroom or from a book and not everyone has it, I certainly don't have it naturally and it is something I have had to work on, as my dogs tend to be a bit wild and I add too much drive lol.
He and I disagreed in terms of, if a dog growled at him over an item, it would never happen again 'that's mine, I bought it, I have the receipt', whereas back then I wanted to have a warning if the dog was unhappy or not and my relationship was never as good with my dogs as what he had with his because dogs like black and white and I was a bit beige some days and turquoise on others.
He was also coming at it from the point of view that when he was at work, he needed a dog to be certified and on the streets in a matter of weeks and that a dog who showed aggression to the handler or redirected in a crowd control scenario or property search etc was a proper safety risk to humans and of course to an investigation. Whereas the stakes were not so high for me, I had a pet that I was mucking about in sports with. He was better at that than me, too

 

[SaddlePsych'D]

there are plenty of people with certifications who can not train ivy up a wall.

Having seen her try to scale a fence once, I think she doesn't need too much help there Sorry... sorry...

I'm having a bit of a wobble about it now, it's so hard to know who to trust and I share the dubiousness about people with a looooong list of certificates. Looking at some of these courses some of them almost have MLM type vibes. I looked up one and thought, I may as well cut out the middle (wom)man, their £180 fee, and just do the £30 online seminar myself!

I found a news article which suggests this person was in the police dog department but of course how do I know what they did there or if they really did what they said they did. There are videos on their facebook page but it's all of clients' dogs. They don't have the great long list of certificates either. Not sure if that's better or worse tbh. Unsure if this is fair, but I find the use of halters for loose lead walking off putting.

I've lost count of the amount of times I've looked into training options and then get scared off every time! Last time it was Dogs Trust silly position on XLBs. Previously it's been struggling to find someone with a background other than 'I have a dog and did lots of online courses' or working out whether I can justify £200 just for an assessment when day to day we don't have significant issues.

 

[CorvusCorax]

. Looking at some of these courses some of them almost have MLM type vibes.

Well spotted

If you like the look of the videos and the person seems legit there's no harm in making an inquiry and asking some friendly questions on their credentials or style or who they trained under.

The way we have it is that you get at least one free visit without the dog and if you like the look of the training, come back and we'll assess the dog, if not, no worries. No one should have anything to hide.