Anita Frank

Understanding aggression in dogs     Aggression always sounds like a vicious dog at first. Our brain immediately builds a picture of Cujo with this word and this image is usually associated with fear.   We want to see our dogs as these wonderful animals that simply have nothing to do with this evil, this […]

If you ask around, you might think it would be so easy to prevent dog bites. You simply ban certain breeds (e.g. Staff, AmStaff, Rottweiler) and nobody is ever injured or even killed again. This can only occur to someone who doesn’t want to acquire knowledge but would rather set up a scapegoat (by the

Fortunately, severe dog bites are really rare. Nevertheless, we read/hear again and again that the dog bit without warning. Understandably, people are unsettled, trust is destroyed and fear spreads. Living with a potentially dangerous creature that you can’t assess is no fun. On the contrary, it puts everyone involved under enormous stress. It is therefore

If you have invited a fearful dog into your life, you are in for an exciting journey together. There will always be highs and lows, and fear will shine through from time to time even with very good training and that is why it is so important to avoid mistakes that cost you trust and

When our dogs lunge on leash like crazy, bark, growl, or otherwise act out whenever they see other dogs or people, there are reasons for it. Our dogs never misbehave because they want to annoy us. Only when we understand this, can we help them turn this behavior into relaxation and become a reliable companion.

Why behavior on the leash is not the real problem.   When our dogs pull like crazy or loudly scare other dogs away, almost knocking us down, it’s a very obvious sign that something is wrong. But the obvious is not necessarily the real problem.   I often see leash manners being trained with a

And how we can help Unfortunately, it is not uncommon that there is trouble in paradise with our dogs. One barks like crazy when he has to stay home alone, the other goes nuts on leash when he sees other dogs (or people) and many live extremely restricted lives due to fear.   For us

Lately, I’ve been reminiscing more often about my time in Vienna… that is, Sammy’s beginnings with me. We lived in a suburban district. There is a lot of green everywhere, you are quickly on field and meadow paths and there are not as many cars. The air is cleaner and you feel a bit freer

Is there such a thing as THE aggressive dog? Not really, because aggression is never a permanent condition (you wouldn’t survive that for long). Aggression is a normal behavior… Who of us has never gotten angry during a Facebook discussion, while driving or waiting in line? Nevertheless, we are shocked when a dog growls at

When fear prevents the dog from living, we need to help urgently.   But when is a dog a fearful dog at all? Are there differences between fear and insecurity? And what can we do about it?   Definition of a fearful dog For me, a fearful dog is a dog who lives in fear