We understand how difficult living with an aggressive dog can be. It’s frustrating and heartbreaking to know that your pet, despite your best interests, could potentially cause harm to humans and/or other animals. When we work with aggression cases, we take a holistic approach. We offer full and functional behavior assessments which include:
Detailed functional assessment of the dog, lifestyle, routine, behavioral history, previous training, prioritized client goals, and treatment plan
Educational discussion and material on canine behavior and stress
Discussion on management active and/or passive prevention strategies to reduce unwanted behaviors
Follow up appointments will be recommended to provide you with continued learning and support
We consider all factors when working with aggression cases. What does your home environment look like and is this affecting your dog's behavior? Are there children or elderly family members in the home? How much emotional, mental and financial capacities do you have to work with your pet on these concerns? What perspectives on dog training do the humans need to be aware of or change? Training and behavior modification is much more than just teaching obedience skills. Taking these appropriate steps in the evaluation process will help us provide relief for your family and your dog.
At Free Will Animal Training, we understand that we are working with sentient animals with emotional, physical, and biological needs. It is unethical to guarantee results because of this. Our job is to help you learn how to prevent bites, learn more about why your dog has aggressive responses, teach alternate and appropriate behavioral responses, and create more positive experiences for you and your dog when encountering other humans or animals.
You have a dog that will need lifelong guidance, empathy, and predictability. We can help you and your pet live more harmoniously and give you the skills and knowledge to prevent incidents and to help your pet live their best low-stress life.
We do not use correction collars for training with any aggression/reactivity cases. Tools such as e-collars and prong collars are intended to punish reactions which suppresses that behavior from happening again in the future. Suppression does not help the way your dog perceives their world. It can mask the underlying issue and may result in escalated fear/frustration for your pet. It's a bandaid fix.
Instead, ask these questions:
"Why is my dog aggressive and what are the triggers?"
"Is my dog experiencing pain or discomfort (medically/physically)?"
"How can I help my dog through difficult emotions/reactions?"
Let's take a deeper look into what is actually happening in your dog's nervous system and how we can help them recover from big emotions and not-so-stellar interactions.