If you have a dog experiencing anxiety, reactivity, aggression, resource guarding, or other behavioral issues, it’s important to go into your dog’s recovery journey with reasonable expectations.
In this week’s video, I break down the TRUTH behind what to expect in the recovery of anxiety with your dog. Working through dog anxiety can be very stressful so if you want to learn more about what this may look like for you as well as some helpful tips to guide you along the way, this is for you!
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How to Read Dog Body Language & Behavior https://youtu.be/SlAjwZluyDg
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Do you have a dog dealing with anxiety? Is your dog reactive to dogs, people, or sounds? Maybe your dog is dealing with aggression. Or perhaps your dog has separation anxiety. Then you might be the right fit for my signature program, The Recovering Rover Program. In the RRP, we coach you on how to treat your dog’s mental health. The program is open for enrollment in March, June, and September. To find out more, go to https://www.getacalmdog.com/
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Disclaimers: Jenna Romano is not a veterinarian. Always consult a veterinarian before giving your dog any food. Use of this information is strictly at your own risk. Jenna Romano will not assume any liability for direct or indirect losses or damages that may result from the use of information contained in this video including but not limited to economic loss, injury, illness or death to you or your dog. This video is not instructional. This video is for entertainment purposes only.
If your dog is experiencing reactivity Aggression separation anxiety resource Guarding other behavioral problems as a Result of your dog experiencing frequent Or chronic anxiety then this video is For you i want to give you some Reasonable expectations of what you can Expect in your recovery journey with Your dog here is the truth about What you can expect in your recovery Journey working through anxiety let’s Get into it [Music] What’s up guys it’s jenna with dog Liaison where i coach you on how to Enhance your dog’s mental health i’m a Professional dog trainer at this point In my career i work exclusively with Dogs facing anxiety-related disorders in My signature program the recovering Rover program for dog anxiety we coach Our guardians through a six-month Program on how to treat their dog’s Anxiety related disorders and i found a Lot of trends in my plethora of rovers That i have worked with And i think that the number one trend i Find in guardians at the beginning of Their recovery is that they don’t have Realistic expectations of what their Experience will be like In the recovery journey they perhaps Have realistic understanding of what Their dog experience should and will
Look like But they feel a little like they’re Flying blind on what they can expect for Themselves so i want to do both i really Want to address what are we doing when We’re treating your dog’s anxiety what Are the like what is your dog’s Experience what is the logistical Training end of it and what can you Expect from you what are the emotions You’ll encounter what are the obstacles You’ll have to overcome what will you be Doing apart from actually training your Dog what are some of those outside Activities that you’ll be doing Independent of having your dog on a Leash that’s what i want to get into in This video the first truth that we need To address is that loving your dog is Not going to be enough to get you Through the recovery journey if i had a Dime For every single time i heard a guardian Say I just really love my dog i would be a Very wealthy woman and i think that’s a Good start like i want to be very clear That i think loving your dog is the Foundation it is step one if you if you Don’t have an unwavering unconditional Love for your dog then you really should Just consider rehome right out of the Gate because treating anxiety is an Obstacle and if you don’t have like the
Starting point of loving your dog and Having compassion for your dog You’re not gonna make it through okay so Loving your dog is definitely like step One check that box i think i’m gonna go Ahead and assume that anyone watching This video would say i love my dog so Much she means so much to me he is my World he is my baby and That is just the beginning what it’s Going to take for you to actually work Through your dog’s recovery requires so Much more than love for starters it Requires motivation and determination Once that motivation dissipates because Motivation is fleeting and you will have Waves where it comes to when you’re like I’m gonna go training and then you will Have crashes And you’re gonna feel like you’ve hit a Plateau and this kind of leads me into My first logistical tactful advice which Is that when you’re actually treating Your dog’s anxiety you’re gonna need to Be collecting data period i really don’t Know how you can do science back dog Training and not be actually Implementing any science If you want to Really be able to track your dog’s Progress identify what are your exact Dog’s criteria and i want to be clear i Don’t just mean triggers because there’s A difference between a trigger and a
Criteria you can say all day that your Dog is reactive to other dogs but Reactive to other dogs is merely a Trigger it is not a criteria in fact Being able to say um today i am working On Dogs that are small below you know Beneath 15 pounds black and are walking Parallel to us at 50 feet away That is a criteria that is not a trigger And so being able to get into the Nitty-gritty of it being able to Articulate exactly what the criteria is Of the trigger you’re working with and Being able to measure that progress Along the way is going to require you to Implement data collection you’re going To need to have an efficient log in the Rop we call it the alleviate training Method you’re going to need to create Your own training plans this kind of is Something that’s very arguable i Understand but My point on this is If you expect Only dog trainers to be creating your Training plan you will be forking out Money for the rest of your dog’s life And here is why your dog’s anxiety is Not going anywhere it’s gonna be a Recovery journey there are going to be Phases in your dog’s life where you Notice that the anxiety is is more Intense than others so for example your
Dog has an anxiety disorder you may work Through a lot of issues in one house and Everything is going swell in one home And then six months later you move to a Brand new home and your dog has now new Phobias it’s not that the training Didn’t work that your dog has an anxiety Disorder are you just gonna go find a New dog trainer again to create you a Brand new training plan for these new Phobias what about a year after that When your dog has manifested another Anxiety-inducing event are you gonna go Bring a new trainer for that too instead You need to be learning how to create Effective training plans on your own you Need to confront the reality that your Dog has an anxiety disorder that is not Going to just be cured in a matter of Weeks In a matter of months and in a matter of Willpower in fact your dog is probably Going to be confronted with high Inducing stress at different phases of His life forever we would never say to Another human well Hopefully not in 2022 we would never Hope to say to another human that if They are dealing with an anxiety Disorder that they just need to get over It and that if they just do these one to Three things everything will be Hunky-dory and they’ll never experience Anxiety ever again in their entire life
Everything will be rainbows and Butterflies we wouldn’t really say that And the same is true for dogs you need To confront the reality that this is a Journey that is going to be with you in Some capacity for the rest of your life And so the faster you can become skilled At treating your dog’s triggers at Desensitizing your dog’s phobias at Getting your dog to be more confident And comfortable in the world The faster you can acquire that skill on Your own the less money you’re gonna Have to pay other people it’s just as Simple as that the less heartache it’s Gonna be Because it’s just a skill that you now Have you’ve acquired it And we do this by Collecting data by understanding the Minute information about your dogs and I’m not just saying like Understand dog behavior i’m not just Saying Understand what a stress means i’m Understand i’m saying what does it mean For your dog In this context at this time a couple of Weeks ago i did a video on how to read Dog body language track that all here It’ll also be in the description box Below highly recommend you watch that Sooner rather than later because it’s Imperative that you understand how to
Set your dog up for success for the rest Of his life not just for the short term And the way you do that is by knowing What your dog’s stress and braver Behaviors look like now let’s talk about What protocols you’ll actually be Needing to implement in your dog’s Training so for starters it should Always be rooted in counter conditioning And desensitization protocols these are Like step one square one science 101 if It’s not rooted in counter conditioning And desensitization protocols it’s Probably not science fact because kind Of conditioning is Rooted in classical and operant Conditioning desensitization is rooted In systematic desensitization both of Those can incorporate ethology and Neurological processes so we need to be Starting off with a science-backed Approach but what does all that mean Because those are just big fancy words Right what that actually means is that We are changing your dog’s association Of how he feels about that trigger and We are giving him an alternative Behavior to do in the environment when That trigger occurs because in many Cases in many anxious dog cases it’s not Enough to just say you’re safe here’s a Treat rainbows and butterflies and just Throw the treats in the air and call it A day i know that some positive
Reinforcement trainers do that i don’t Recommend it because it doesn’t actually Change anything it doesn’t actually tell Your dog what they should be doing Instead it is a two-part process we have To first change the association of the Event and then give your dog an Alternative behavior or behaviors to do In that environment now when we are Giving our dog the opportunity to Display behaviors i say behaviors plural On purpose the first is that we want our Dogs to be able to Feel Normal and Most existing events don’t require us to Do the exact same behavior in the exact Same way every single time we do it Often there are subtle differences we Want our dog to express those Differences what do i mean by this for Example if every single time your dog’s Trigger occurs you put your dog in a sit That’s not realistic for the next 15 Years of your dog’s life what if Sometimes when a trigger occurs you want Your dog to just stand by your side Because it’s dirty on the floor you Don’t want them to sit what if you want Them to loosely schwalk what if you Don’t want them to give you eye contact Do you want them to go sniff there’s a Whole you know library of reasons and And ways that you can get your dog to do
Different behaviors so it is important That we are giving our dog choice Choice to be able to make a decision for Himself and his body and what he wants To do with it this leads me into my next Logistical strategy for you which is Empower your anxious dog with the Ability to make decisions not all Anxious dogs are able to make decisions Easily and there are a lot of reasons For that which i won’t get into here It’s true that there are some dogs that Are going to be able to make decisions Easier and more efficiently than others That said all dogs should be able to Have critical thinking skills and have The ability to make decisions and so if You’re finding that your anxious dog is Not confident in being able to make Those decisions the question is why how Do we give our anxious dog those Critical thinking skills that is what You should be expecting on your recovery Journey with your dog giving your dog Opportunity to Think critically about his environment About his body about his situation and About what to do in those situations Returning to a more Mindset emotional capacity for yourself And what you will need and not so much On the logistical end something that You’re going to need my friend is a Community of support something that i
Find all the time with guardians is that They do not really have a support system For what their experience is with their Anxious dog now they might say oh i have My husband or i’ve got my kids to be Honest there are a whole lot of reasons Why that might fail and why they may not Be supportive for you in the way that You think they will but even if they are They are too closely connected to the Issue to be an outside objective ear and In fact if they are actually supporting You if they are actually in it with you They are going to need relief from that Stress as well and the reason is is Because working through your dog’s Anxiety recovery is a very emotional Experience for you it will have a roller Coaster of emotions and again this is Going to come back to how motivated you Are and even when motivation is fleeting Are you still very dedicated are you Still pushing through are you still Showing up do you still have the Capacity to show up because perhaps You’re running low on energy and on Mental health availability so instead You need to have a collection or a Community of people one of the reasons Why the rrp is a community is because When i was working with clients One-on-one and i was working with Clients individually i realized i was Not able to be their entire community i
Was not able to provide them all of the Emotional support that they needed one Because there just wasn’t enough time For that but two because the reality is Is that i have never actually owned and Like worked with my own dog that had an Anxiety disorder And so while i have a lot of empathy and While i have been able to really listen To their stories and understand their Stories i don’t quite have that sympathy Component and so in that regards it’s Nice for them to talk to other guardians Who are in the exact same boat as they Are at that exact same moment guardians Who are working through the same issues Guardians who have Experienced uh perhaps you know a week a Month a couple months ahead of the other Person and they can say oh i just did That i just experienced that here’s what We did instead that community that Collaborative effort is a sanctuary it Brings you safety it brings you Compassion and it’s not something that Just one dog trainer can provide you i Implore you that if you are dealing with Your dog’s anxiety that you seek out a Program or an environment for that Matter that a community of like-minded Individuals are together because if you Can collect people with similar values And similar philosophies and similar Experiences to what you are going
Through with your anxious dog you will Find it is not as Difficult for you to get through those Low moments you will find that it is Easier for you to recover and be Prepared for that next logistical issue You have calmed your central nervous System and you are ready for that next Logistical issue another way for you to Connect with community is to follow my Podcast the dogly is on podcast while my Youtube channel is dedicated to all Canine research and all canine Behavioral problems that could occur my Dog liaison podcast is exclusively for Guardians of anxious dogs all we talk About is anxious dogs on there so i Really implore you to check it out i Will have it linked down in the below if You enjoyed this video do me a favor hit Like consider subscribing if you hit the Notification bell you’ll get notified When i drop a new video and i’ll see you Guys in the next video