Behaviour modification involves training to get rid of already existing behaviours that are unwanted. These can include things such as (but not limited to) the following issues:
When dealing with behaviours that we want to get rid of in dogs, your average dog trainer will often not be well versed enough in dog psychology and behaviour to help completely get rid of the problem. This is especially true when we are dealing with more intense reactivity and / or aggression issues.
Eradicating a behaviour that is already present is VASTLY different than teaching a dog new behaviours. This is why basic obedience will often not be the answer when it comes to solving your dogs behavioural woes.
It will often take someone who is highly specialized is understanding dog behaviour issues in order for you and your dog to get the results you are looking for.
When I am working with a dog that has behavioural issues, I am always looking at the entire picture to see what could be causing the problem, and how WE can change to help THEM. The key word here is "WE" meaning; it's up to the owner to make changes to how they interact with their dog in order for their dog to change.
The first most important step to any dog training, is improving the relationship with your dog. Dogs, like all social mammals (including humans), practice dominance hierarchy. Anyone who tells you otherwise has absolutely no idea about how nature works, and how social mammals cohabit.
Because dog packs are not stagnant family units like wolves, it means that they are constantly looking at the pack members around them all the time to see if they need to take a leadership / protector role in that moment. Dogs communicate primarily with body language and space, and for this reason, many people do not realize that they are sending the wrong messages to their dog all day long that the dog should be the leader / protector. When this happens, your average happy go lucky dog will likely just not listen as well to commands because, well, why should they? They are the boss not you!
The major problem occurs when we have dogs who have fears and insecurities about things in our human world. If you have unintentionally told them that they are the leader / protector, they will be reactive and sometimes even aggressive towards the things that scare them.
This is where I come in, to help you understand what you might be doing to send your dog these messages, and to help your dog understand that it is not their job to protect themselves or you, in fact, you have their back and you are their protector.
Through teaching you how dogs communicate, Kristina will be helping you how to clarify your interactions with your dog so you are sending them the right messages.
You must learn from Kristina how to communicate what is and is not acceptable. Then you must apply this and teach your dog the rules and boundaries clearly and consistently.
Once you have the knowledge, skills and tools from Kristina to improve your dogs behaviour, you are to practice every single day. Practice makes perfect!
This is often very different than what most other trainers will try to use to get rid of behaviour issues, which is generally obedience training, corrections or counter conditioning. Without a change in relationship, none of these methods will get rid of the root cause of the behavior issue. If you have already been to other trainers, this might be the missing link.
***PLEASE NOTE: Do not switch equipment before meeting your new trainer as this could cause your dog to become desensitized to the new tool if you are not using the right methods and techniques to make sure this doesn’t happen.
We can, however this is not the first go to tool of choice when we are working with unwanted behaviours. E-collar training requires a lot of time and work before you can actually use it as a corrective tool for unwanted behaviour. If its something you are interested in, it will take some time before we get there to use it in this way. More information on e-collar training can be found here.
Nervous & Fearful Dogs Helping nervous and fearful dogs improve confidence and live life to the fullest. Do you have a fearful or nervous dog? Nervous and fearful dogs that lack confidence will show this in two ways: fight or
Hyperactivity and over-excitability is a state of mind that is often created by the humans in a dogs world. The good news is that because it is often created, it can also be reversed.
While many trainers claim they can get rid of behavioural issues, only very few are successful at it.
E-collar training can be an invaluable tool for training behavioural issues such as reactivity, resource guarding and prey drive. It is also one of the best ways to get perfect recall.
Leash Reactivity / Aggression A contagious but curable and preventable problem What Is Leash Reactivity? Leash reactivity is when a dog will react intensely on the leash towards stimuli in their environment. This can include lunging, barking, growling or redirecting
My family adopted a rescue this past February who was quite leash reactive. We heard about Kristina through a friend of a friend who hired her as a trainer. Kristina taught us the foundations to teaching our dog that we are his protector. From there she taught us how to redirect his reactiveness. Today he is walking by my side beautifully and rarely reacts to another dog. I have even had people come up to me saying how well behaved my dog is.
Lorraine WebbKristina was super knowledgeable and helpful in working with me and my dog to concur her resource guarding and reactivity. Her clear homework instructions were easy to follow and she was always available to help whenever I needed it. Forever grateful for her expertise!
Kayla CarsonWhen we first reached out to Kristina at Hairy Tales, our dog was very reactive to other dogs and animals, so badly that we couldn’t take him outside of the house at all. But after 2 sessions with her and doing the things she told us to do, we are already seeing a lot of improvements. We are now able to pass a dog park without him getting out of control. Highly recommend this place.
Moozhan VilkijiSimply put, Kristina and her training plan changed our lives. We had limited dog experience and rescued a pittie mix last November. He's a wonderful pup, but working through lots of trauma. When we first came to Kristina, we couldn't get our dog to go on walks, eat from his bowl without growling, or play with toys safely. Now he's the happiest pup and we feel empowered to handle any training curveball thrown at us. All I can say is thank you - and if you're thinking about booking a session, just go ahead and DO IT. It will honestly be the best thing you do for YOU and your PUP.
Caitie DreweryWorking with Kristina has done wonders for my dog’s on-leash reactivity to other dogs. Before meeting with Kristina, my dog was very reactive - barking and becoming very anxious at the sight or sound of any dog. Taking my dog out in public had become a stressful and anxiety inducing affair for both me and my dog. Across three sessions, Kristina showed me how to set up more consistent boundaries at home for my dog and manage my dog’s behavior on leash. After each session, Kristina shared detailed notes and was available for follow up questions - she was always considerate and approachable. My dog showed a ton of improvement after two months of consistently applying Kristina’s lessons and now, at the three month mark, has virtually no signs of reactive behavior. She can calmly pass by other dogs on the same sidewalk, is unfazed by other dogs barking at her, and confidently enjoys herself at the dog park. My relationship with my dog is so much better after working with Kristina. Thank you very much Kristina!
Henry ChoiKristina is an absolute gem to work with!!! She gave us very helpful tips to work with our rescue dog and followed through whenever we had additional questions! We felt very at ease at her studio and loved the walk through sessions outdoors as well. She catered exactly to our needs in working with our dog and with her help we've made SO MUCH progress. Our dog no longer pulls during our regular walks and his reactivity has gone down significantly since working with her. We will continue working with her to help build our doggo's confidence and to allow him to be comfortable in different settings and cannot wait for our next sessions ahead 🙂
Hyeyoon BooKristina is super knowledgeable and has helped our Benny immensely! He's amazing and so sweet but was initially very reactive to dogs and humans alike. Kristina takes the time to work with you to establish a better relationship with your dog, and gives you homework so that you have things to work on independently between sessions! Benny no longer pulls on walks and is so calm around other pups. Thanks Kristina!!
VANRIPKristina is the dog whisperer. I started working with her when I was at wits end with my golden doodle puppy -jumping, biting, leash pulling, barking. Over a few sessions she helped us curb the undesirable behaviors and make him an obedient calm puppy. Results were immediate and her follow up helped make sure we were making continued progress on our own. I"m so so so glad I worked with Kristina. My pup turned one today and he's a really well behaved guy,
Kristine CocoWe are so grateful for Kristina and all her help training our 100 pound puppy! She is very honest, knowledgable and really makes training feel simpler. Kristina has been so helpful teaching our dog (and us) all the necessities to have a loving, obedient, trustworthy dog! Everything she has showed us has been so helpful and we cant thank her enough- highly recommended!
laura yorkOur little girl was a rescue with a lot of fear based aggression. Working with Hairy Tales has given our girl the confidence that she’s needed to go on walks, feel safe when visitors come, and allowed us to understand her needs to make her feel safe. We are SO excited to see this change in our Natty. Thank you so much Hairy Tales. Kristina knew exactly what was going on with our girl and helped us every step of the way!!
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