{"id":2245,"date":"2012-07-27T01:01:00","date_gmt":"2012-07-27T01:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testmaria.satemporary.online\/2012\/07\/27\/2012-07-27-small-changes-produce-dramatic-results-2\/"},"modified":"2024-04-27T17:25:19","modified_gmt":"2024-04-27T17:25:19","slug":"small-changes-produce-dramatic-results-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testmaria.satemporary.online\/2012\/07\/27\/small-changes-produce-dramatic-results-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Small changes produce dramatic results"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Jeff Gellman of Solid K9 Training, Jeff specializes in dog training in RI<\/span><\/a> as well as anywhere in the US.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Solomon\u2019s story.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Meet Solomon. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Solomon was given up on.\u00a0 His owner was supposed to teach him, protect him, and love him but instead decided to schedule for Solomon to be killed<\/strong> on Friday, July 20<\/span>th<\/sup><\/span>, 2012 at 12:30 pm in Long Island, NY.\u00a0 \u00a0 Last Chance Animal rescue heard of the news and called me at the last minute, desperate to save this young, healthy dog just two hours before he was to be euthanized, which, in my opinion is not the right term.\u00a0 Solomon was to be executed.\u00a0 He would be disposed of like an item tossed in the garbage and forgotten about. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0I told Last Chance Animal Rescue to make sure that vet appointment was kept, but instead of killing the dog, have the vet check him over and update his shots.\u00a0 Then I found myself in New London wondering what kind of person would rather kill a dog than actually teach a dog as I awaited the 5:40 ferry to greet Solomon, who arrived both terrified of his surroundings and frightened for his life.<\/span><\/p>\n

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So what do you do with a dog that has extremely bad habits such as biting children (eight, to be exact), initiating dog many fights, and generally acting out due to extreme stress and improper socialization?\u00a0 Many people and dog trainers<\/a> would try and coddle a frightened dog.\u00a0 They\u2019d attempt to gently coax him out of the crate, toss treats in, use clickers and sweet talk the dog. Well guess what?\u00a0 This tactic will not work because this won\u2019t actually comfort a dog.\u00a0 Little do these folks realize that by baby talking and tossing treats to the dog in an attempt to dissolve the fear and defensiveness displayed by the dog, they would actually be reinforcing the dog\u2019s current state of mind.<\/strong> Then to make matters worse, more often than not, when the dog remains miserable after days, weeks or even months, they will give up on the dog, assuming that the dog will never change.\u00a0 Then they execute the dog.\u00a0 It\u2019s unfair, unjustified and horrific, yet it remains a truth every day.\u00a0 Millions of dogs are given up on when each one of these dogs deserved a chance.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A dog should never, ever be given up on.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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If your dog is having behavior problems and your training approach is not working, then you need to try a different approach.\u00a0 You can dramatically change the behavior of a dog if you choose to also dramatically change how you interact with the dog.\u00a0 Instead of reinforcing the dog\u2019s bad habits, be proactive<\/strong> and lead <\/strong>the fearful dog by immediately bringing new structure and new ways of training into the dog\u2019s life. Change his world, break the old patterns, and teach him new, healthy habits that will be long lasting and life saving using balanced training. \u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Always remember that when you want to modify a behavior that small changes produce dramatic results.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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When you have a dog with a history of biting kids and fighting other dogs, the last <\/strong>thing you should do is avoid kids and other dogs.\u00a0 Instead, you should take the dog out of the kennel, be the leader, and teach the dog to be around other dogs and kids in a peaceful and structured manner, showing him there is a better way to cope with his fear and stress in any uncomfortable situation.\u00a0 Rather than keeping Soloman completely confined and separate from everyone and everything, we had to immediately immerse him into real world situations here at Solid K9 Dog Training<\/a>.\u00a0 Here, he has been spending twenty- four hours a day with other balanced dogs and eighteen hours a day around balanced humans, including kids.\u00a0 Each and every one of us on my property is rooting for him, with positive, mental attitudes, and Soloman can pick up on this state of mind. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We introduced the structured walk.<\/span><\/p>\n

We taught him the \u201cplace\u201d command, which is important to bring down a dog\u2019s adrenaline levels.\u00a0 When a dog\u2019s adrenaline levels remain high, it usually will lead to undesirable behavior.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the most therapeutic training techniques we do here is teach a dog to swim.\u00a0 I introduce every dog to the water, and Soloman was no different.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the course of just five days we have made small and consistent changes, because as we all should know by now, there is not one instant solution to any problem with a dog.\u00a0 It takes patience, confidence in the dog and diligence.\u00a0 Small adjustments.\u00a0 Soloman went from being fearful and withdrawn to smiling and interacting with myself, other dogs, and even my daughters.\u00a0 There is still work to do, but in just five days, Soloman has made incredible progress, and will make someone a wonderful companion when he is ready to be adopted.\u00a0 Remember- this was a dog that was to be executed last Friday afternoon at the hands of his owner.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Once again, remember that small changes over time produce dramatic results.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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There is a superstar in every dog.\u00a0 Every dog deserves to live out the life they were meant to live, and to never be given up on.\u00a0 Soloman represents the millions of dogs that are killed or in other words executed every day because they didn\u2019t have the chance to be lead, to be taught, and ultimately to be loved.<\/span><\/p>\n

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