"We brought Huey to class completely dog aggressive. He couldn't walk past of go near a dog without going nuts ! After this 6 week course he is a completely different dog. He actually WANTS to go up to dogs now and sniff. He listens to us so much better ! I am so happy we brought him to Seize the Leash. He is so much more focused !! Thank you so much !!"

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"I generally enjoy owning 2 dogs and lost my female lab mix in June of 2010. As much as I wanted another dog, my old male mixed breed had an aggressive disposition to most dogs, especially when they came onto our property. I enrolled Charlie in Jaime's reactive dog class for socialization and to learn dog language, cues and behaviors. Jaime trained me to support Charlie in his behavior change. I'...ve adopted a 1-2 yr old Terrier mix 5 wks ago. Jaime came to my home to observe and spend time watching the dogs. She recommended a gradual blend of the dogs in positive situations to build an early relationship. We have transitioned over the weeks to a coexistance that I thought impossible. At this point, I still observe them and they argue a bit, but they spend a fair amount of time together off leash and are overall establishing a relationship. Jaime gave me confidence to work with my dog who I thought would never allow another dog in our house. I am thrilled! "

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"Hello, our names are Leetah and Lloyd and we own a beautiful female American Pit Bull Terrier named Maggie. She is 3-years-old as of right now.

We got Maggie when she was 5-months-old from a friend. She was a hyper, lovable puppy who got along with everything. She didn't know the word stranger and she didn't know that the world wasn't all rainbows and happiness.
When she was around 9-months-old we got her a friend who was a little younger than her but around the same size. We asked his owner if he had any special needs and she told us no. We found out a little while later he had food aggression and attacked our baby girl. This was the first time Maggie learned that not all dogs were friendly. She did not kill him and he wasn't hurt to badly so we called the woman back and told her that she needed to get him to a vet and the next time she tried to give him away to tell the new owners of his food aggression.

She was attacked by 3 more dogs and that was when everything changed. She became fear aggressive around dogs (except Chihuahuas) and we will admit that we did not help by not taking her out and resocializing her. It grew to the point that she was afraid of noises and would bark and growl at anything.

These were not her only problems. She would pull constantly while walking and after a year or two my wrist was really feeling this and so I stopped walking her because it hurt to much. Once our neighbor moved away Maggie also had no more children to socialize with and so she never truly understood the difference between rough and gentle play or the different things that children will do and how to react to them.

Since we didn't go out much and we did not know how to handle our reactive dog we became reclusive and she became more of a burden then a beloved pet and family member. Once we came to Tucson it got harder since we couldn't afford her to have her own yard like in Oklahoma, which took care of her need to run and jump, and we had children all over the place making noises and running by like crazy. We were not only afraid for them but we were also afraid for the quality of living for our dog.
While looking for a safe place to relinquish our dog we came across Pit n' Proud and was told that they could help us put Maggie in behavior modification classes that would handle the fear and would teach all of us to be more confident. We were ecstatic and accepted.

The first Wednesday we will admit we were skeptical since we didn't believe that Maggie would be able to get over the fear or that we would either. Boy were we proven wrong!

Seize the Leash is where we went, and after almost being late because we stink at directions, we were welcomed and our eyes opened. Maggie is a new dog because of Pit n' Proud and Seize the Leash. She is so much calmer and confident. The barking has dropped by 95%, she doesn't lunge at dogs anymore, and the children where we live have all met and become friends with Maggie. The leash pulling we are still working on but now my wrist doesn't hurt since we learned how to hold the leash and she isn't dragging me but instead just applying some pressure telling us to walk faster. Still gotta find that medium speed we can all agree on.

Maggie is like a new dog! You can see the shine of life and wonder back in her brown eyes and she is excited about everything. We go to parks now, we take walks, we enjoy life again with our beloved family member. Thank you Rachel, Jamie and Deena for giving us the gifts you have!"

There are 1000 ways of teaching your dog obedience.  You can use a clicker, an e-collar, leash corrections, pushing the dog around, food lures, etc.  There are also 1000 ways of dealing with the behaviors your dog does that don't quite fit into your world.

We've started a new program here at Seize The Leash called C.L.A.S.S. which stands for Canine Life and Social Skills.  This is a program that has been developed by the Association of Pet Dog Trainers.  In reviewing the program before becoming an evaluator, I wanted to see what methods of training were recommended and what the goals of this program are.  There was so much about this program that fit with my views of behavior and training, that I couldn't pass up the chance to use it.

This program revolves around play training.  There are over 100 games involved in teaching the skills required to pass the three levels of testing (BA, MA and PhD).  Each game is so much more then just a game, it's Real Life Set-up.  Games such as Pizza Delivery, Bagel Recall, Theme Parties, Do You Really Know Sit, etc.  Each games has one or two specific skills it teaches and strengthens.  Each games uses a part of the human world as a distraction or a teaching tool.  This is the stuff of magic.

I already use games in my classes, especially Reactive Dog, Shy Dog, Righteous Recalls and Out Of Control class.  No one walks away at the end of the hour without having learned something new and improving someting they learned in a previous lesson.  And everyone has fun, including the dogs.  The dogs get desensitized without boring repetitions of encouraging calming signals or trying to stay under threshold.  The dogs get counter conditioned without the humans even realizing it's happening.

Think outside the box, don't limit yourself to someone else's idea of what the solution to your dog behavior problem should be. There are 1000's of ways to solve problems, to calm a dog, to desensitize a dog, to redirect a dog, to teach a dog. Setting limitations can set you and you dog up to fail. Be creative, think outside the box.

C.L.A.S.S. is an educational program designed to promote training focusing on the use of positive reinforcement and to strengthen relationships between humans and their canine companions. The mission of C.L.A.S.S. is to promote positive relationships through positive training methods. This approach both develops and safeguards harmonious relationships by maintaining trust and mutual respect.

To learn more about C.L.A.S.S., visit the program web site at www.mydoghasclass.com. Sign Up Here

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What Happens Here At Seize The Leash

It's really interesting to watch my students as they navigate through either a group class or private behavior training. Almost every one of them takes, in about six weeks, the same journey I as a behavior trainer have taken in my exploration of training and behavior of animals and in particular - dogs. The first session, they are all about the mechanics - how do I do this, how did you get him to do that, what are the steps and how do I do them. This first session there is usually no desire to understand the dog or the theory behind why the mechanics exist. In the second or third session - depending on whether the human is really invested in changing their dogs emotions about things, they start asking why and actually listening to the explanations. Then around week five, the light bulbs start going off and understanding of what is happening not only with their dog but themselves starts happening. This is why I try very hard not to do marathon sessions for changing behavior like you see on TV. This is the progress that is necessary to actually get permanent behavior change. In my experience, it takes 6 to 8 weeks for the dog to change his emotions backed by the change in emotions of the dogs humans. Both changes have to occur and the human has to start understanding body language, emotions, energy and the mechanics. Mechanics alone, which is all that can be learned in a marathon one day session, does not give permanent change.

Some of the training here at Seize The Leash is based on Natural Dog Training, a branch of dog training that looks at behaviour in terms of energy. It is, in many respects, similar to Natural Horsemanship, which looks at horse behavior in terms of the dynamic relationship between predator and prey, but transposed into the dog's world. It is therefore based on the hunting behaviors of dogs - why they chase, chew and tug... things.

Natural Dog Training looks to answer two fundamental questions in a dogs life.

•What do I do with my energy?
Knowing what to do when the world around is unnatural and confusing leads to many problems that owners can struggle to deal with.

•Where is the danger?
The second question centers on fear and the need for safety.

Natural Dog Training aims to answer these questions, resulting in a happy dog that knows how to behave appropriately and make choices that reflect it's knowledge and understanding of the human world.

The Natural Dog Training philosophy holds that a dog’s social energy, which governs his desire to learn and obey, is inextricably linked to his hunting instinct. By playing games that stimulate and satisfy the emotions contained within a dog’s prey drive, we automatically restructure the emotional dynamic between owner and dog. This, in turn, creates focus from dog to owner and a strong desire for harmony between the species.

How we utilize Natural Dog Training is in creating an understanding in the human that the dog isn't out to dominate and control everything. That a dog is a social creature who's nature is to be attracted to certain environmental stimuli and social groups. We teach both the dog and the human how to related to each other, play with each other and create a bond that supercedes anything the environment can provide.

One of the first things dogs and humans learn from us is leash manners. Many problems are created by mis-handling the leash on a walk. It seems like a gut reaction for humans to always jerk the leash and yell at the dog.whenever the dog reacts/lunges/barks at another dog while on leash.

Turn your walk into a dance with your dog and most of these issues disappear. The very first lesson all group students learn is how to dance, how to create an understanding in the dog that there doesn't have to be any pressure or pain in the neck and shoulders, and the human learns how not to create that discomfort and yet still have the dog willing to walk with the human. This takes on average about 20 minutes.

During this first session, why the dog is reactive is addressed. Most fearful dogs are under a lot of stress. Stressed dogs don't respond to praise, treats, toys or much of anything. Nearly their entire focus is on looking for the danger. You must first reduce the stress in the environment before you can start any training or behavior program successfully. Teach the dog to focus on you so that you can answer the two questions most dogs have - please help me with all this energy and take care of the danger.

Those two questions are completely answered in session 2 when the humans learn how to take their dogs energy and show the dog what to do with it by use of targeting. Targeting is the most useful skill you can teach your dog. It helps them build focus, confidence and self control, it shows the dog that you can control the environment all around him so he doesn't have to, it teaches him to work near you or away from you and that it can be fun to work away from you and it allows you a method of redirecting the dog away from reactivity or danger.

Too many humans have required that dogs conform to a different set of rules – rules that come from the human world, not the animal world. This attitude of human only adds a stressful dimension to a dog's existence that can eventually move them from calm intent, to frustration and eventually into aggression. This attitude gives humans an excuse not to "listen" to their dogs, so as communication after communication goes unnoticed or unrecognised, dogs become behavior problems.

Structure, more then leadership, is what helps dogs relax and understand the human world. Structure, like leadership, involves consistency and predictable consequences. Dogs do not need or want to be completely “free” and unstructured. Most dogs value structure over pure freedom. Structure handles anxiety and fear of the unknown and the future. A shelter dog put into a new home situation and left to his own devices can suffer a mild meltdown. Shelter dogs are not in shelters because of too much structure--they are often there because they never received enough. For children and pets, proper structure is a gift of love.

Week 3 is all about structure, confidence and movement. Our world, the human world tends mostly to be flat, but at best is mostly right angles with long stretches of flat. Our dogs need spaces to move where they have pot holes to avoid, branches to jump, trees to dodge around, different surfaces, textures, smells and interesting things to chase. With the use of TTouch, The Playground For Higher Learning, Massage, scent games and agility equipment, we show you how to create a world that is closer to what is natural for a dog.

The Natural Dog Training philosophy holds that a dog’s social energy, which governs his desire to learn and obey, is inextricably linked to his hunting instinct. By playing games that stimulate and satisfy the emotions contained within a dog’s prey drive, we automatically restructure the emotional dynamic between owner and dog. This, in turn, creates focus from dog to owner and a strong desire for harmony between the species.

The best way to train a dog is to do it while its prey drive has been activated. Work on obedience and other behaviors during a game of tug-o-war or fetch tug, and use the games themselves as the reward for compliance. Feed your scent hound its meal by sprinkling it on the lawn and practice behavior cues during the hunt. Teach recall by running away from the dog or moving away or making a noise resembling a prey animal. Find out what your dog really likes to put its heart into and train while it’s driven and can win by obeying.

With Seize the Leash, the prey drive, the need to chase, catch, shake, bite and most of those things we humans seem to need to control, are addressed in weeks 4, 5 and 6. With the use of games, the flirt pole, learning how to play tug and retrieve so as to redirect and control your dogs need for the hunt, both the dog and the human learn that a dog can still be a dog in a human world without stress.

"We’ve been taught to believe that a dog’s wild essence needs to be tamed, and by taming it he will become the perfect companion. But it is this very wildness that makes the dog social and allows him the ability to live with us in the first place. It’s this essence that needs to be nurtured and loved, not trampled and suppressed. The irony of course is that most dog owners will tell you that they love dogs, when the truth of the matter is that they actually live in fear of them. And dogs being our mirrors, what does that tell you about who they really fear?" Sang Koh

After six weeks of learning how your dog thinks, what it responds to instinctively and individually, how to get and hold your dog's attention and then direct that attention to safe and fun channels, build his confidence and yours and how to play again, you'll have a different dog and the dog will have a new life.

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