Customer Reviews

Scaredy Dog! Understanding and Rehabilitating Your Reactive Dog

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After being at my wits' end trying to figure out just what was going on in the head of my scaredy-dog, I picked up Brown's book. On page after page, she described behaviors I was seeing develop, and offered solutions to those behaviors.

Fortunately for me, my dog is not as scared as the ones she describes were. That said, many of the techniques she outlines have been saving graces for me. Most importantly, I now use a crate in the car when I drive with my dog. No more barking wildly at buses, motorcycles, other dogs, and trolleys! No more trying to clamber out the window after those offensive pieces of machinery! I have no more fear about how my dog is going to act in the car, and she has a lot more security while being in the car.

There are many other strategies I will consider using with my scaredy dog. If your dog is the kind of dog who reacts unpredictably in a wide variety of situations and you want to keep your dog, other dogs, and other people safe around your dog, this book provides a strong and solid base from which to begin your work. Highly recommended!

I read "Scaredy Dog" feeling overwhelmed with my newly adopted reactive dog. The book clearly explained what was going on with my dog, and the step-by-step way I needed to work with her to overcome her reactive behavior. I was very pleased with the common-sense approach and would recommend this book to anyone struggling with a reactive or aggressive dog. I would also recommend "On Talking Terms With Dogs: Calming Signals" by Turid Rugaas. It helped to explain what kind of signals I was sending my dog when she reacted to other dogs, and how to send the correct signals to calm down the situation.

Aggressive puppy or dog behaviors can be frightening when uncontrollable, but there's hope for the 'reactive dog', as Ali Brown displays in Scaredy Dog! Understanding And Rehabilitating Your Reactive Dog. Tips from dog pros, vets, and even homeopathic applications are reviewed and assessed, with chapters offering explicit tips on conditioning methods which work. From leash and crate work and training management to using clickers and treats, all the basics of dog rehabilitation are surveyed for pros and cons.

So many of us adopt a dog and then find out that he/she is aggressive toward other dogs while out walking. I appreciated learning the word "reactive" because it was so apt. This book should be in the hands of everyone who adopts a dog, particularly an adult dog from a shelter. I figured out how to manage without the book but loved reading Brown's book as a check on how well I handled my dog's spontaneous eruptions whenever he spotted another canine anywhere near. I wish I had read this book at the time I most needed it. My 50 pound ruffian still erupts when another dog gets in his face, but now I know what to do. This is a slim easy-to-read manual that gets right to the heart of the problem, explains it, and tells you what to do. And it works.

I have had dogs for over 49 years and have taken several obedience classes. I found this book to be extremely informative and was helpful in preparing for my "CGC (Canine Good Citizenship) test. My dog was distracted during the test and not interested in doing a very basic command. I used one of the techniques I had learned and practiced earlier in the day with my dog and it worked! I was able to immediately obtain her attention, the evaluator was quit impressed how I was able to change the situation and it helped me pass the test. That alone, was worth the price of the book for me. I strongly recommend this book for all dog owners.

I searched and searched for help with my reactive dog. Nothing seemed to fit with my dogs behavior, so nothing was helpful, not even private training. Then I found this book. It's loaded with information on all sorts of reactive dog behavior. It doesn't just focus on dog to dog aggression as so many other books do. It explains why a dog may react to certain "scary" things and understanding is always the first step to dealing with undesirable behavior. I never expected to get so many answers out of this book. What a great find - I love it!

I did get a lot out of 'Scaredy Dog' but the title was somewhat deceiving. My new (rescue) dog is very skittish but doesn't bark or lunge at the things that scare her. She cowers & tries to run away. I was hoping 'scaredy' would apply more to that type of behavior. Regardless, her tips on how to help the dog when a stranger approaches was still helpful to me. And of all the dog-training books I've read to help me I found, in this one, the most inspirational advice of all. Author mentions how one may wonder, 'Why does my dog have to be the one with this problem?'. Her answer is to just accept it for what it is & learn to deal with it. I have found this to be the most comforting & inspiring thing one could tell me :)

We were frustrated with our dog and didn't know how to handle him lunging and barking at people and other dogs. The author, Ali is very understanding and helpful as she has had the same issues with one of her dogs.
For anyone who has a "scared" dog, this is a MUST read! Easy to read and understand! I read the book three times and keep it handy to reference!
We are lucky to live close to Ali and have met with her for private classes. She is awesome! Start with her book!!

The title says it is "understanding and rehabilitating" your reactive dog. I did not really find this to be true to the book contents. While I do know that counterconditioning can be used very successfully to create positive associations to objects/places/events for a dog (or other species), and this method was used in this book, the book seems to come more from the manage the issue point of view. I think this quote sums up the stance of the author better than the title. "A reactive dog will always be a reactive dog. There is no "fixing" such a dog.The activities and information outlined here will assist you in managing and training your dog."

Her own dog that she uses as an example is in fact still problematic. I don't feel I can learn anything about how to -rehabilitate- a reactive dog from a person that has not done so themselves! All in all it was a complete waste of my money. Nothing new in it for me, and it wasn't actually about rehabilitating reactive dogs, it was about managing them for life.

If you already understand the concept of counterconditioning, save your money. In fact, even if you don't understand counterconditioning, find a better book by a more experienced author.

We just adopted a scaredy dog. Our past experience has been in coping with overly dominant beagles, so we're at a bit of a loss with our scaredy beagle. We've consult a local trainer, who gave us some good ideas and recommended this books.

What I appreciate most about Scaredy Dog is that it moves beyond explaining that my dog is scared. Ali Brown provides very clear advice and exercises to do with your dog. I do wish that the training program had been more clearly laid out. On the other hand, this gave me the freedom to use the various exercises to create a training program that addresses my dog's needs.

I highly recommend this book. I feel like I have goal and a way to get there now.