Metro Dog

Nigel has had two sessions with his private trainer, Alison Smith at *Metro Dog *. B and I also call her the family therapist. We've been going to her because we're addressing Nigel's fear issues. He's a little dog that we treated like a big dog. Who knew? I guess that being around big dogs growing up, I just thought that they were the same. I guess I never realized the obvious.... he's little... like 9 pounds little.

We've learned a lot, but here's some things that we have to do now....

+ No crazy kids can pick him up. Only if he is 100% comfortable.
+ No crazy adults can pick him up. Only if he is 100% comfortable.
+ People who like dogs, want dogs to like them. That's a people issue. Protect Nigel over insecure dog people.
+ Need to protect and not put Nigel in situations he doesn't want to be in so that he can trust us.
+ When people give him his space, he can suss them out and decide if he likes them.
+ Face to face contact is a human thing that we force upon dogs. Face to face contact for dogs is confrontational.
+ I nurture him too much.
+ Sniffing a lot is a fear thing.
+ Marking territory everywhere on walks is a fear thing.
+ Ears forward and stiffness when seeing another dog is a fear thing.

ain't nothin' but a fear thing, baby. So, is this worth it? YES. Alison is awesome, and Metro Dog is the bomb. We learned that Nigel will never be the type of dog that will be super social, and we have to accept that. But hopefully, he'll gain some more confidence... one day at a time.