Fear Aggression & finding best trainer for this

[marielrowland]

I would greatly appreciate it if anyone has direct experience with either one of these trainers or if not what do you think of their websites. Thanks ahead of time. Please feel free to pm me.
http://www.toppawtraining.com/
http://www.larascaninesolutions.com/

[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

From reading their about/training information, I would go with this one:
https://www.karenpryoracademy.com/Martinez_Lorraine

I cheated, looked up another person!

I fear aggressive dogs. Feel free to PM me as well!

[jocoyn]

I would ask for references and follow up too!

[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

Yes! And go observe all -- so much to learn from watching.

[Twyla]

I have a FA dog, so can understand the search and the frustration you are feeling. Personally I would opt for private classes. I know how much it has helped with Woolf. His behavior has greatly improved, but more important, I have learned how to safely handle and manage him.

Looking at the links Jean provided, I would first call and talk with, then have an evaluation done by the link Jean provided.

[lzver]

We just went through the process of locating a dog behaviorist and will be having our first private session tomorrow. It was important to me that they use positive reinforcement and I used the APDT site to locate the trainer we are using. We did contact a few references via email and got good feedback.

http://apdt.com/default.aspx

The first site Top Paw Training at least discusses their training methods and they appear to be based on positive reinforcement. The second site doesn’t really discuss their training methods so I would recommend asking them a lot more questions.

When I was interviewing trainers I asked them for an example of how they would address the issue of barking at people when they walk by the house or counter surfing. That will give you a good idea of the type of training they do.

[marielrowland]

Thanks so much for suggestions & whomever I go with I will for sure check with references, so meet & observe & make sure the trainer & I "jive". I've gone the group route but I know we need extensive individual work. Am I crazy to look into obedience boarding school?

[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

Yes, you are. Especially with fear aggression.

While the Top Paw talked about positive training, there were some hints that they don't walk the walk.

Having been there, done that with a few FA dogs, including the much less biddable Chow mixes, I would again recommend talking to the trainer I posted. I have no idea if she's as good as she sounds but I would definitely be very interested in looking into working with her. The nice part is that with her background, she should also be going to give YOU, the owner, some nice positives. I find it is much easier to work with my dog when the trainer is doing that.

[marielrowland]

Jean, thanks I will give her a call. And yes it definately helps to get positive feedback myself. I've really lost my confidence in helping my dog & am worried that I get too anxious & worked up myself & that "amps" her up.

Do you mind explaining why your against boarding while training. I know I must also be trained but it seems that Gertie getting trained 1st by someone with the necessary skills & then myself working with trainer & Gertie together makes sense.
thanks

[Twyla]

Not Jean, but will throw my thoughts in

Training together; it will help you regain your confidence. It builds the trust between you and your dog. She learns to look to you first for direction instead of taking matters into her own paws. You learn to trust yourself and your handling skills as the training progresses.

Having someone else train Gertie to begin with may help her, but when you come into the picture after the training, she would have to start over learning to trust you.

For myself, I would not have wanted to miss seeing Woolf not go ballistic at the sight of a dog the first time, or the first time he actually met a dog.

Now the paranoid side of me also adds that there have been horror stories about dog training and boarding. How can you really be sure about what is happening?