Rescue Dog Rehabilitation » Hairy Tales Training

We Specialize in
Rescue Dog Rehabilitation

Helping rescue dogs and street dogs integrate with their new families.

Why is training for rescue dogs and street dogs so specific?

Most rescue dogs come with baggage that causes them to have some behavioural issues. It is common that these dogs need specific rescue dog rehabilitation.

Sometimes it can be difficult to know what your getting when you adopt a rescue. Oftentimes it takes at least 3-4 weeks before a dog will start to come out of their shell and show their true colours. This period is called the “decompression period”.

During this time, most dogs will not test the boundaries as readily, as they are just getting to know you and their new environment.

It is absolutely crucial to start working on your relationship and leadership / protector skills with them from day one.

Many new rescue dog adopters are shocked when their new rescue dog starts exhibiting new unwanted behaviours at the 3-4 week mark. (Some of the more fearful rescues can take longer than this since their decompression period is usually elongated). This is why it is absolutely crucial to start working on your relationship and leadership / protector skills with them from day one.

If you start your relationship off with them on the right foot, many of these behaviors may not even surface. If they do, it will be much easier for you to nip some of these unwanted behaviours in the bud.

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Due to the common backgrounds of rescue dogs (shelter dogs and street dogs), there are common behavioural issues that tend to pop up when these dogs are integrating with their new families. Some of the common unwanted behaviours we see in rescue dogs include:

Leash reactivity or aggression
Reactivity due to prey drive
Nervousness and Fear
Destructive chewing
Fear of the ouside
Socialization problems with other pets in the home

People Reactive / Aggressive
Resource guarding (food, object or space possessiveness and / or aggression)
Separation anxiety
Over excitement / hyperactivity
Counter surfing or garbage picking
Barking / growling at visitors in the home

Having personally adopted and fostered my own rescues (before I became a dog trainer), I have experienced going through extreme difficulties with behavioural issues and feeling completely lost and hopeless. Because of my personal experiences, I not only have the knowledge, but the understanding of what it's like to be going through difficulties like these. This helps me provide new rescue dog parents with the help and compassion they need to succeed with their rescue dog rehabilitation.

Kristina Rapson

The Hairy Dogmother

Check Out More of Kristina's Personal Experiences...

We've been working with Kristina for about one month now and completed two sessions. After our first session, we've seen so much improvement in our little rescue's confidence and obedience. Dobby is really reactive to other dogs and people outside, it was becoming increasingly difficult to manage him when we had to take him out for walks because he would bark or try to lunge at dogs or people even if they were across the street. He was also barking and protective of the home. Kristina has been really helpful with providing us with the tools to help us succeed and build a stronger relationship with our dog. She is really knowledgeable in dog behaviour and not only provides you with the training tools, she explains why the dog is behaving or reacting a particular way. Our relationship with our dog has become so much stronger since we've started, he really is much happier and less anxious. Kristina also provides detailed homework that you can refer back because there are so many things you need to remember. I highly recommend her! She is our second trainer we've worked with and we probably learned more in one session than we did in our previous 3 sessions with our last trainer. We plan to work with Kristina for as long as we can. Thank you!

Tiffany
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 Webb
We are very thankful for all the useful advice that Kristina has provided to us! We were really struggling with some behavioural issues with our dog, particularly around leash reactivity. After just one session, we have noticed a huge difference! Walking the dog had become really stressful and now we have concrete solutions to help with training that have worked wonders! Thanks Kristina!

Anne Stephenson
I recently adopted a little Shelter dog, who was a real bossy bully of a dog, and walking her turned into a stressful event for both of us. But Kristina help me learn how to pick-up on my dog's body cues/language and help guide her past trigger dogs (i.e. anything bigger than her) in a calm, firm manner. She so much more relaxed on our walks now and I can't thank Kristina enough for her patience and knowledge. She is an excellent trainer and I would recommend her to anyone looking for a dog trainer.

Hanna Young
I have a super reactive dog that has so greatly improved through working with Kristina! Now we are able to pass other dogs where she does not react (except for the very few times, but we’re still working on those lol). So happy to have found Kristina to help me and the family have a much more happy and fulfilling life with our love Muffy 💜

Said Saffarini
Kristina is a knowledgeable trainer and resource. From the video call that I had with her, she was able to provide multiple training exercises to help with leash reactivity, setting home boundaries, and teaching 'settle' to my rescue dog. At the end of the session, she provided a detailed email covering the training exercises we had discussed during the call. She even followed up a few weeks later to see how we were doing! I would recommend her services to anyone!

K C
I had a great experience working with Kristina to train my puppy Alfie - she was thorough, king, patient and incredibly encouraging! She was flexible with the spring weather and sent extensive follow up emails to help with my training at home. She could even check in on how things were going in between our sessions, and always answered my random questions as well. Couldn't recommend her more! Such a great help to me.

Julia Bennett
When 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 Vilkiji
Kristina helped us with our anxious and aggressive rescue dog a few years ago. Her guidance helped us gain confidence and, in turn, give our dog the environment he needed to flourish. We recently reached out for further support and I was surprised that she remembered all about our dog and where we had left off in our training. She is calm, clear and patient (both with our dog and with us) which is so helpful when dealing with stressful behavioural issues.

Sandra Bertoia
Kristina 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 Carson