Cranswers with J&F!

Cranswers with J&F!

Do you have a pet health question or canine concern?

Here at Cranimals, we are focused on easing your pet health concerns with a variety of products to target specific problems. An important factor in your pet's maintenance and well-being is their ability to receive proper care, guidance and affection to become familiar with other people, pets and you. Unexpected conditions may have an adverse effect on your pet's behaviour or training, and may leave them expressing an unusual aversion to common socialization. To help Cranswer your pet behavioural queries we've reached out to our good friends at J&F Canine Services. Justin Wilcox is the Chief Trainer at J&F Canine Services here in British Columbia and specializes in companion dog training and behavioural correction. Having dealt with several case studies in the past, Justin is a knowledgeable and trustworthy expert who has partnered with us to help ease the concerns of the Cranimals community!

 Check out our friends J&F Canine Services!

This weeks questions touch upon variety of questions regarding dependency, grief in dogs and erratic behaviour: My partner and I found an abandoned dog on the side of a highway and are raising her. The problem is, the dog is so needy that we can't take two steps without her being under our feet! She follows us everywhere in the house and outside. We will sit on the couch and she lays on our feet or puts her head in our laps. We try, in a gentle way, to lay her down by herself but she turns to us and gives us the saddest look. Trust and believe that she is not lacking in attention! It was very endearing at first, but now is becoming - I feel guilty for saying this - very annoying. What can we do? -Tami The best thing to do is to start claiming your space. If I'm taking up too much room on the couch my wife will give me a push and tells me to move over. It's basically the same idea with the dogs. Be firm, claim your space and don't feel bad about doing it. Every animal needs to learn 'personal' space. My 12 year old German Shepherd is two weeks into our bereavement of our 6 year old girl. How can I help them cope with grief and loss? -Sue Grief and loss is something that all animals experience. Try to keep them active with their favourite tasks such as long walks or fetch and they will be able to move forward with you every day. My husband and I just went on a vacation for 1 week and left our two dogs at our house while my in-laws stayed at the house and dog-sat. When we walked through the door upon returning from our vacation, our one dog was extremely happy to see us while our other dog was apprehensive - growling, barking and backing away. When we started talking to him and approaching him, he ran upstairs and peed all over the place! It took him a while to figure out who we were, after first warming up to my husband and then myself (being coaxed with a treat). He has been fine ever since, but should it happen again what can we do to help our dog feel more at ease and familiar with us when we are away? -Neely The best way to start would be to ignore them and keep to yourself as you arrive at home. Whether your dogs are jumping all over you or completely avoiding you, only acknowledge them once they have relaxed completely. For example, if they lay down by themselves, they are calm enough to acknowledge. If you ignore the dog that is jumping he will learn that jumping does not receive attention and will therefore calm down. You can give him attention when he's in a calmer, more obedient state of mind. For the dog that is avoiding you, let him come to you when he is ready and under his own power. Forcing interaction with a dog only results in his learning to be more apprehensive. When he does approach you, try not to flood him with affection. Just put a leash on him and go for a walk together. This will strengthen the bond between all of you - the peeing should go away as as result. That wraps up this edition of Cranswers with J&F! If you have any questions for a future helping of Cranswers regarding either dog behaviour and training, or general questions about our Cranimals products with regards to pet health send your questions in to [email protected], let us know on our Facebook page, or post them in a comment below! Thanks for your questions Fanimals, and again thanks to Justin for his helpful Cranswers! Be sure to check out J&F Canine Services on Facebook to connect with Justin and become a fan!

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