# Meet With Behavorist Tonight



## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

The behavorist is coming over tonight for our first meeting.  I'm pretty nervous. Lexi has been very good lately but I know its only because she is in her own territory and I've been keeping her away from strange dogs and people (terrified she will bite someone or pick on the wrong dog and get attacked). Hopefully the behavorist will be able to help us. 

I will let you guy know how it goes.

P.S. I'm about half way through the "Click to Calm" book I got on Amazon. Seems like a really good book. Haven't tried anything from it yet but sounds like lots of good suggestions and there are steps in it on how to train your dog to do the suggestions. I would recommend it to anyone with an aggressive dog. With shipping it was $19 something.


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## RexsMom (Jun 8, 2005)

Good luck tonight! I am really interested in hearing what he has to say. Try not to be nervous you dont want your babies to pick up on that, although I get nervous about everything so I am not one to talk! This will be something to put in there scrapbooks!


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## KimKarr (Feb 4, 2006)

We're all pulling for you and Lexi tonight. Can't wait to hear what it's all about. Good luck!


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## k/c mom (Oct 9, 2004)

Wishing you best of luck tonight!!


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## Maria71 (Sep 25, 2005)

Good Luck!


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## jude'n'jools (Apr 6, 2006)

Good Luck & hope everything goes well


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## CoriMalte (Jun 3, 2005)

Best of luck to you and Lexi tonight!


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## mmo (Sep 4, 2004)

Good luck, everything`s going to be fine


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## kkrize (Feb 4, 2006)

Good luck...you've taken a very positive step...hope it works.


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## CandicePK (Nov 11, 2004)

I'm wishing you and Lexi well. I'm eager to hear how the behaviorist wants to handle Lexi's issues. Good luck and keep us posted.


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## Guest (Jun 19, 2006)

Good luck tonight Kristi! Hope it goes well for you and Lexi! Keep us posted.


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## Brinkley & Neyland's Mom (Jun 14, 2004)

> I'm wishing you and Lexi well. I'm eager to hear how the behaviorist wants to handle Lexi's issues. Good luck and keep us posted.[/B]


Me too!








Good luck!


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## Teddyandme (Feb 6, 2005)

Kristi,

I hope that Lexi does so well tonight...I will say some prayers for a great learning experience


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

I am SO glad that I decided to meet with the behavorist. When she came in Lexi was in her pen. I got her out and put her on her leash. She procede to do what she normally does when there is a stranger around. She barked her head off. The behavorist just observed her for a few minutes and then got out some treats and would toss them around so that lexi had to move to get them. Right away Lexi's behavor started to change. She started being more interested in the treats. In less than 5 minutes she was bringing the behavorist her toys for her to play with Lexi.

The behavorist said she didn't see any really mean type aggression in her body language. She said what she did see was fear. So when Lexi is barking at people she is really scared of them and not just being mean. She thinks that I should be able to pretty easily be able to improve this. She wants me to use a gentle leader (she is coming back tomorrow night to show me how to respond to differnt situations). Dana (the behavorist) also thinks the Resocialization class would be really good for Lexi. They should be having one in a few weeks.

She thinks between the gentle leader, resocialization class and the Click to Calm book I should be able to improve Lexi's behavor a lot. 

Lexi was so good with her. She let Dana hold her (never lets anyone do that but me). Lexi was giving Dana kisses.

Oh, with the barking she basically said to just ignore it (not respond) until they stop barking. When they are quiet then react and praise them. That seemed to work. Basically you are teaching them barking doesn't get you anything.


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## Teddyandme (Feb 6, 2005)

So glad the night went well....sounds like she will really be able to change the behavior.


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## suzimalteselover (Mar 27, 2006)

Sounds like your session, tonight, was a success!







Kristi, you are such a great mom!


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## msmagnolia (Sep 8, 2004)

I am so glad that you were pleased. Good for you for taking aggressive action on your problem.


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## Brinkley & Neyland's Mom (Jun 14, 2004)

I wonder if Brinkley's is fear too?








What body language from Lexi was she looking for?
Brinkley barks at visitors, but also nips at their pants legs and stuff. He is getting better with people who come over regularly, and he is better if I put him in the kitchen as they enter the house and make him stay in there where he can see us just sit/talk or whatever. After a bit, I let him out and he is USUALLY ok with them after a good sniffin'.







I would sure like to nip this too though. Neyland doesn't care who comes in...more people to play fetch with.


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## Caesar's Mommie (Apr 8, 2004)

Awesome! Glad it is going so well!


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

> That is wonderful news.
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God YES!!! I was so nervous about the meeting because she had had me fill out 2 questionnaires that were like 12 pages long. By the time I got done I had agreed with a bunch of situations that Lexi was aggressive in and was like "OMG!!!! Maybe she is a lot worse then I thought!!!". LOL Dana was great though. 

Its raining right now and I'm hoping it lets up and dries off so I don't have to reschedule the meeting tonight. They are forcasting a chance of rain all day. If it is still raining in the early afternoon I'm going to call Dana and see if she thinks we should reschedule because the point of tonight is to go for a walk outside and meet up with other dogs. If its raining we will probably not meet up with a lot.







I really wanted to meet this week. I just looked at the forecast for this week. Wouldn't you know it the only day its NOT supposed to rain is the day Dana isn't free to meet with me. Go figure. Hopefully this mornings stuff will blow over and it will be nice out. [insert smiley with fingers crossed]



> I wonder if Brinkley's is fear too?
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I'm not sure. I will ask her. 

Brinkley sounds a lot like Lexi. She has just gotten a little bit more aggressive lately. But that is what she used to do. Dana said she was seeing behavor like "OMG!! There is a stranger in the house. If I bark maybe they will go away!!!" but in a "I'm scared of the stranger" way. Does that make any sense?







As soon as the stranger is gone (they leave or Lexi leaves, and she knows they are gone, can't see or hear them) she is fine. I will see if Dana can recommend any articles or books for you. 

I do know that Dana and Paula (the behavorist for the Animal Rescue League) both recommended the Click to Calm book. Here is a summary about the book from a website:




> When Emma Parsons, professional trainer and canine behavior consultant, discovered that her own prized Golden Retriever, Ben, was aggressive toward other dogs, and that traditional remedies took his reactivity to nightmarish levels, she turned to clicker training. In the process, Parsons developed innovative and effective strategies to calm, alter, and re-shape Ben’s aggressive displays. Her clicker-based strategies have since helped many of her clients successfully reduce—and even erase—their dogs’ reactivity to both dogs and humans.
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## CandicePK (Nov 11, 2004)

Sounds like Dana is a great resource for you to modify Lexi's behavior. I wish I could find someone like that in South Florida.


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## Bailey Luda (Feb 14, 2006)

Sounds like a great start!!! You lucky cause I havnt seen anyone decent around here for the same type of problem... Bailey is a barker at strangers too even when they give him treats... he munches then goes back to barking... we're working on it









I would love to hear what goes on in your sessions and maybe I can learn a thing or two to apply to Bailey's barking rehab!


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

Last nights meeting went great! Lexi did extremely well with the gentle leader. When Dana got there we worked inside for about 30 min to get Lexi used to the gentle leader and having tension applied to it. We also worked on barking when someone knocks or barking in general. We used the gentle leader for this. 

Basically when Lexi barks at someone in the hall or something outside she can bark twice and then I say "Thank you" and then "Hush". I then apply slight upward tension to the gentle leader to get Lexi to sit and to stop barking. Within a few minutes she was starting to catch on. I'm going to see if I can download some doorbell sounds to get her used to those too. I don't have a doorbell but all of my relatives that we visit have them so I would like to get her used to the sound.

After that we went outside and _tried _to find some people and dogs. We walked around most of the complex and only came across like 4 people and 2 dogs. Lexi didn't react once to the people (normally she would bark her head off). She did react to the dogs though. Dana should me how to react in that situation. When Lexi first starts to react I make her sit and calm down. We then would either go off to the side and sit and wait for the other dog to pass or I would put myself between the other dog and Lexi and walk by. We also went to PetCo to practice with dogs there since for some reason there were none around my complex yesterday.

I'm now going to continue working on this with Lexi on my own, using what I've learned and the Click to Calm book. I will also be taking Lexi to the resocialization class when it is offered. I do have 1 more free meeting with Dana that I can use anytime. This meeting is basically to see how Lexi and I are doing with the gentle leader. I figure I'm going to wait at least a month (probably more) and then meet with her. I want to try it on my own for awhile and see how it goes.

Dana did recommend some books and videos for me:
- "On Talking Terms With Dogs" by Turid Rugaas (She said there is a book and a DVD; highly recommended both)

I also asked her about a good clicker training book and she recommended this DVD: "The How of Bow Wow". She said its the best. They have a basic training one and a tricks one.

Oh I asked her about how to tell if a dog was being mean aggressive or fear aggressive and she said to checkout these articles on her website: 
- How Animals Perceive the World: Non-Verbal Signaling
- Calming Signals - The Art of Survival
She did say that reading a dogs body language isn't the easiest thing. Taking barking...Dogs bark when they want attention and when they are issueing warnings. So you have to be able to tell the difference. She recommended meeting with someone that is trained on dog body language.

My 2 meetings with Dana (time totalled a little less than 4 hrs) cost me around $181 (that includes the cost of a leather leash, gentle leader, and a gentle leader book), but I feel it was really worth it. Lexi is acting so much better already. Hopefully in a few months this behavior will just be a bad memory. [fingers crossed]


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## CandicePK (Nov 11, 2004)

Good luck to you and Lexi. It sounds like you're off to a good start and like it was a worthwhile investment.


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

I just ordered The How of Bow Wow from amazon. It was only $29.20 on there. If its anything like the last time I ordered from them I will get it on Saturday. Dana and the behavorist at the ARL both said this is the best one they have seen.


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## Maidto2Maltese (Oct 19, 2004)

Sounds like the meetings were very productive!!! that's fantastic!


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## ourdonbi (Feb 25, 2006)

> I am SO glad that I decided to meet with the behavorist. When she came in Lexi was in her pen. I got her out and put her on her leash. She procede to do what she normally does when there is a stranger around. She barked her head off. The behavorist just observed her for a few minutes and then got out some treats and would toss them around so that lexi had to move to get them. Right away Lexi's behavor started to change. She started being more interested in the treats. In less than 5 minutes she was bringing the behavorist her toys for her to play with Lexi.
> 
> The behavorist said she didn't see any really mean type aggression in her body language. She said what she did see was fear. So when Lexi is barking at people she is really scared of them and not just being mean. She thinks that I should be able to pretty easily be able to improve this. She wants me to use a gentle leader (she is coming back tomorrow night to show me how to respond to differnt situations). Dana (the behavorist) also thinks the Resocialization class would be really good for Lexi. They should be having one in a few weeks.
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wow i learned so much thanks for posting!
i think im going to get the click to calm book, and look for a behavorist tonight when i get off from work. again thanks a lot for posting. now i really feel confident donbi is not a meanie but she jus just probably afraid.


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

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Yeah meeting with Dana made me a lot more confident that I can help lexi change her behavor. I REALLY wish I would have contacted a behavorist when the problem first started. I did talk to a trainer but after their suggestions didn't work I just kind of gave up. I know now I shouldn't have done that. It hasn't even been a week since I talked to the first behavorist and you would not believe the change already. Lexi actually let one of my neighbors (who she hadn't met before) pet her the other morning. Lexi even kissed her a couple of times. When we went in Lexi was kind of bummed that her new friend wasn't coming with us! That is major progress for her. Normally she would have barked her head off. 

This weekend I'm going to work with the girls separately a lot. I'm hoping to take them a bunch of different places so they get used to being in the same area as strange dogs and people. I might have some strange people (lol that sounds funny) try tossing some treats to lexi. Not sure if we are up to being in a strange place and having strangers pet her. Nikki I think could maybe handle it if she had been there awhile and gotten use to the place.


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## ourdonbi (Feb 25, 2006)

kristi jus curious
how many times do u think u have to meet with the behavorist?
and how much were each sessions esitmate cause the places im calling are asking 200 per session and i dont think that sounds right or i could be wrong.
ps i think its great lexi is having fun meeting new people.


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

> kristi jus curious
> how many times do u think u have to meet with the behavorist?
> and how much were each sessions esitmate cause the places im calling are asking 200 per session and i dont think that sounds right or i could be wrong.
> ps i think its great lexi is having fun meeting new people.
> ...


The first meeting was for 1hr 40 min or so and cost $75. During that meeting Dana observed Lexi's behavior and played with her. We discussed what "treatment" would work best for Lexi. Dana said that Lexi would do well with me working with her using the Click to Calm book and using a gentle leader. She also recommended the Resocialization class.

The next night she was there for almost 2hrs. This meeting cost me $106.43, but that includes a $13 leather leash and $2.50 for a gentle leader book. Dana had given me a gentle leader that one of her clients had given her. So the cost of the meeting was only like $91. I also get a free reevaluation meeting with Dana at a time and location of my choice. I can do it next week or next year, its up to me.


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## Bijousmom (May 29, 2005)

Kristi, I am so glad that this is working for you.







It sounds like it was money well spent to solve your problem. Thank you so much for the information on the books and videos.


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