Plenty In Life Is Free

[brody_smom]

I got a really NILIF feel from the other three sites - you get no help until you pay them money, positive trainers websites just don't feel like that, compare them with Sue Garrett, Emily Larlham, Jean Cote, and the one I just listed.

Still thinking about this and my previous post I remember (probably not with the right terms ) that Stephen Covey (7 Habits of Highly Effective People) describes people as having either a starvation attitude (trying to keep everything to themselves because there is not enough to go round) or a plenty for all attitude, now which of these types of people are more likely to use NILIF and which will favour training using PILIF? Now I've thought of that if I see a starvation attitude in a dog trainer's website I'll be very very cautious.

This is brilliant! You are so right about this. I would never have thought of it this way, but that's exactly what it is. The really great trainers don't see their knowledge and experience as something to be hoarded and sold, but something that can help people and their dogs, so it should be shared. Of course, they can't give it all away, they need to make a living. But they do make so much available for free, that it makes me want to support their businesses.

 

[running_dog]

The really great trainers don't see their knowledge and experience as something to be hoarded and sold, but something that can help people and their dogs, so it should be shared. Of course, they can't give it all away, they need to make a living. But they do make so much available for free,

Exactly

 

[running_dog]

She sounds really awesome, and is willing to come out to see us on Wednesday afternoon.

That is fantastic. I'm really looking forward to hearing how things go for you and Brody on Wednesday.

She echoed many of the things you said, running_dog, about exit strategies. What she thinks might have happened when we had our last visitor here was that Brody had been flooded, and what I thought was calmness was actually him shutting down. When he bit our visitors hand the next morning, that was spillover from the previous day's excitement and stress. She suggests keeping Brody away from visitors for the most part, allowing him into the room, perhaps letting him take a few steps toward them, call him back, reward then remove him to another room.

Do you think she would give me a job
Shutting down? That makes total sense. I could see what Brody needed but couldn't explain why, she can . I think she is right. I like it when people can start to figure out what is happening inside a dogs head. She sounds good.

 

[brody_smom]

Shutting down? That makes total sense. I could see what Brody needed but couldn't explain why, she can . I think she is right. I like it when people can start to figure out what is happening inside a dogs head. She sounds good.

Right! The exact same thing happened on another occasion, but I didn't recognize it then either. My 18 year old daughter had a friend stay over night. In the morning, the girls were downstairs watching the Olympics, and I took Brody down, on leash, with a little bowl of cheese bits. I gave the cheese to the friend (Brody had met her before and allowed her to throw the ball for him), then sat with Brody in a chair a few feet away. He was pulling toward the girl with the cheese, so I let him go, still holding the leash. He rubbed his head all over her legs, then jumped up beside her on the sofa. He let her pet him and scratch his ears and give him a massage. My daughter and I were nearly in tears, we thought he was doing so well. Later in the day, I was in another room with Brody with the lights dim, and he was sleeping on the sofa beside me. The visiting girl came up and saw him sleeping. With a handful of cheese, she leaned over him and tried to offer him some cheese. Well, he awoke abruptly and snarled and snapped at her. Good thing I still had him on leash! At the time, I thought it was because he had been sleeping and she was leaning over him, but now I realize that if he had been shutting down earlier when we thought he was relaxed and comfortable, this could have been overload as well.