Thirty Years with Fighting Dogs Book

I read this ages ago but apparently never wrote my review. I was hopeful, but in the end I think this was really a book called "Nerdy things to do with your high energy but very well mannered dog who has strong impulse control and is completely non-reactive to any stimulus around him." Yes, training is always good and keeping an active dog stimulated through new activities and brain-engaging tasks is super important.

BUT... My dog is hyper, but also deals with anxiety, high reactivity, low impulse control, separation anxiety, etc. (I sure do love him, but he is truly a handful and needs special management of his environment to function like a normal dog) A lot of her ideas just won't work for a dog who cannot physically manage even moderate low environments like my pup. No parks, no trips to the pet store, and nothing with wheels, please, or we are wigging out!

I am also not a fan of her negative reinforcement. I might have tried spritzing bitter apple in his mouth, but alas, I can't run as fast as a gazelle to catch him to do it. But, I just cannot abide by smacking my dog in the face for disobeying. The fact is that a lot of the times when he does not behave, he is genuinely not able to reach the logical part of his brain because he has been triggered by a stimulus and he's struggling. I wouldn't smack a special needs child for reacting to a stroller he doesn't understand; not gonna do it to my dog, either, when he's over threshold and struggling to maintain his composure. Especially for a dog who is already anxious, creating more fear in him because mom might pop him one is really unhelpful.

I also thought ideas like "go horseback riding with your dog" or "go cross country skiing with you dog" were idiotic. If I lived on a 50 acre ranch with horses and cross country trails, my dog's issues wouldn't be such a big deal. And, who takes a reactive dog out on a leash while on skis?! One squirrel could mean doom. She obviously has a different kind of hyper dog than I do (and good for her!).

Overall, I was disappointed that this book was really about teaching high energy but well-adjusted dogs new exercises and tricks because it largely wasn't appropriate for a poorly-adjusted dog like mine. If you are a dog owner struggling with reactivity or other anxiety issues (do a search for signs of anxiety in dogs--it was a big eye-opener for me when I realized my "over-happy" dog was actually having the equivalent of a panic attack), I'd encourage you to learn more about WHY your dog is barking at the ceiling fan instead of taking him for another jog that just makes him more over-stimulated. This is unfortunately not going to be the book for you.