Thanks, Will. About 16 months ago, I adopted a rescue dog who’d clearly been mistreated. Initially even the slightest sudden movement from me would see her cowering. She would sit in the corner with her head and eyes down, most of the day. She had no idea how to introduce herself to other dogs and was incapable of play. Very gradually, with help from this channel and my local dog obedience club, she has learned to trust me, comes on signal, walks around with her head up and tail wagging …and plays with me! (Though she won’t fetch 😖). She interacts nicely with other dogs and has the most gentle, friendly nature around other people. The “secret”…Calm, Consistent Leadership with a bucketful of PATIENCE! She still occasionally flinches and her anxieties still show, on occasion, but she is now a well balanced, happy dog.
Will, I can't thank you enough for your videos. It's amazing how far our rescue pitty has come, thanks to your videos. Trainers in the past gave up on him and said he was not teachable, but I refused to send him to another home (we are the 3rd, and final!). Came across your channel a while back and put into practice what you say. Love him to death, and was just laying down with him giving him belly rubs before he went to bed tonight, and then saw this video. Everyone says what a great dog he is, he is so loving and so obedient, and I have you to thank for that! Thank you for this wonderful relationship you've given me and my family with our rescue!! 🙏
We will be receiving our rescue in about 3 weeks time and I'm binge-watching your whole channel in preparation. You are an amazing role model, Will! Thank you so much for these videos. I hope I can do them justice with our Jake.
Your point about calm consistent leadership with all dogs, but in particular with those whose spirit has been damaged, is on point. It’s not cruel, it’s critical to provide the structure they need to feel safe, and to repair their confidence and that allows them to live their best life. Thank you, Will Atherton, you have greatly helped me in my rehabilitation of an emotionally and physically abused bulldog, she has made great strides using your methods. Wishing you all the best from California.
Amazing man. Remaining calm is so important. Not timid, but calm. Breathing helps, maybe some very low calm music via ear phones. The mood travels through the leash. Never give up!
I can't have enough of your videos, you're a beautiful person, with beautiful dogs. I can't wait to have a puppy myself and later rescues! I definitely want to offer some shelter dogs a better life, but for now... I binge all your content ! Thank you for what you're doing.
I have been working with my 2-year-old rescue now (who had a VERY rough start in a humane society her first year without an "normal" in the home experiences) for over a year. Ginger was exceptionally reactive when we got her. She and I work on our leash work every morning. We work on "Calm Girl" girl throughout the day. I did hire a professional trainer for six sessions over the past 6 months and this has helped not only Ginger but me as well. Right now, I am seeing good progress. Your recommendation about being an effective leader has been VERY meaningful for me. I can't thank you enough for your videos and advice.
Hi Will thanks so much for all you share ! How about if your dog is well trained and behaved but you come across other anxious / reactive dogs, could you make a video or paid training for those situations ? Would love to know how to manage and stay a calmed consistent leader on those scenarios when other dogs are the ones being reactive.
I am beyond glad and very grateful to have come across your channel. I hope I will transform to not just a loving pawrent but a responsible pawrent who is able to provide a good home and fulfilled life to my rainbow boye. May your tribe increase 🙏🥂 Godspeed Will. A new sub and well wisher :)
I'm really struggling with my rescue and finding appropriate content for how to deal with her aggression towards me (just me). Really hope there are more videos like this.
Can you do a video about how to go about changing rules if the need arises? Obviously consistency is so important for a dog but sometimes commands need to be changed (in our case we accidentally taught the same command for 2 different actions, so we needed to work to change one of them), or rules need to change (i.e. we moved and no longer have a fenced backyard so we had to change some of the outdoor rules for safety reasons), or other things that require changes to the existing rules. What's the best way to go about changing rules when it's necessary?
Every time I make progress with my dog, it seems to be for nothing. The next day, she’ll go back into heat regressive fear. As though I have screamed and shouted at her and even threaten. She was rescued at 4 months old. Has never really shown interest in my wife and I. We have been through a lot with her. People who had her before couldn’t have been nice people. Problem is. Everyone else she meets are gold. The best things in the world. Then when we try to have fun and love her, she then acts like we have been terrible to her. She’s a hear and a half. We’ve had her most of her life and have been made to feel like shit most days yet we still push through and try to make her happy. She’s no violent dog. Not an ounce of that in her. We just don’t know how to bring her out of it and help her stay out of it. We have a new addition to the dog family to help her with her worries and to see that we have fun together. Puppy is doing well. Learning. First dog loves her to bits too. Just not us. She’s never sat with us in the living room too.
Check out Suzanne Clothier's Automatic Check In and my fearful Dobe is really a different dog because of getting him into Introduction to Nose Work. He seemed to have that split personality that you usually only see with little dogs - pet me now then snap, snap, snap. Also got my Dobes used to the Hound of the Baskervilles muzzle a full week before I ever even snapped it on them. Now they love their muzzles and I think it helps build the growly, less confident Dobe's confidence. Hope that helps.
Will, have you done a video about fear of traffic please? I have a year old border collie who is terrified of traffic. Just walking along a pavement he has his tail clamped down and ears back and pulls as hard as he can on the lead. He doesn't want to go for a walk from the house because he knows we'll have to walk along the road.
Humans are a problem though, my daughter's puppy is now 11 months and can be a bit 'adolescent dog'. We were walking by a river and dog ran off and refused to come back for a few minutes, then when he did a family (man, woman and 2 yr child) were near us and the man put his concertinered umbrella up to ward off the dog. This huge puppy thought the man was waving a stick for him, so when he waived to the left the dog jumped to the left (dog never going near the man), then waived the umbrella to the right at which the puppy jumped to the right - so the man shouted at my daughter about her uncontrollable dog. This dog, thanks to Will, is good mannered , socialised - but his obedience was a bit off for few minutes.
Hello Will, I have a question regarding sound phobia, I’ve not seen this covered on your channel but may have missed a video. My 6 year old collie became fearful of sounds after lockdown. I’ve managed to help him overcome the fear when a plane flies over but now he is fearful of loud car exhausts and motorbikes. Could you make any suggestions or send me in the direction of a link? I hope you see this comment, many thanks.
Hallo Will! I'm enjoing your videos lately.Quick advice needed.I have three adult dogs,different age,different breed.They have never been trained.I wanna teach them on rules,boundaries,commands,etc.Please,tell me where to start!What are the first steps? Much appreciate!
Just wanna sincerely thank You for what You do here! It's been giving me lots of good & clear information on how to be a better leader and approach certain issues. Big luv to You and all Your followers and their doggies!
Hey Will, love the videos, just curiouse because I think this dog might be from the same litter as my one, I got my one from uk yorkshire, its a shame that it has had such a tough life that left it traumatised, do you know the breeds mix it is? And if its up for adoption I would strongly consider it if its my ones sibling so maybe it would feel safe with its bigger brother ? Thanks.
Do you have Merch? Slip lead? Service pup in training vests? I trust your quality and dedication. I’m hoping you have a site, I just can’t find it. We have a 7 month old German Shepard in training for Epilepsy Service pup. Thank you
Makes me feel to go out and be a calm consistent leader, but mission falters when I meet my dog.. she is a brat.. listen some time, and doesn't most of time.. good content in this channel thanks
I have a 5 month old puppy that is fearful of strangers or dogs that show her interest. She seems to be dog and people selective. I want to work on this before she gets bigger and the fear of some people transitions into aggression. I was considering giving strangers that wld like to pet her one of her fav treats to entice her to approach them and allow them to pet while she’s feeding. Would you recommend this? She has now developed a fear and disdain for the vet. I’m not sure if this is just a fearful stage? Any advice or tips provided would be helpful.
Thanks so much for this valuable information because my Bronte, Staffey is fearful, I need to be a calmer leader, I want him to look up to me for guidance!!! Hope to see more on this with you!!!!♥️🐕
Will, my caboodle walks off lead around our neighbourhood, is fine with other dogs etc BUT whenever we go away from our neighbourhood, suddenly he becomes riddled with separation anxiety and will wag his tall at other dogs but if they hang around more than 30 seconds, he will go to nip them. I’m not sure how to fix this. He’s so well trained and behaved at home that people are amazed. Then he forgets all that training whenever we go anywhere.
Hi will I had two black labs two weeks ago we had to have my 10 year old zain but down he had liver cancer we have an 8 year old mylo his personality has changed I know its because he is missing his mate what can I do to help him
I'm the owner of 4 rescues that came to me with all forms of fearfulness and reactive behavior and this is how I approach dealing with them they're all making amazing progress and they have better life behaviors and a better state of mind
thank you so much for the work you do and the infomation you put out on his channel, i rehomed a cane corso mix a year ago she had a lot of problems and was very fear driven, your channel has helped me so much in training her she is now becoming one of the best dogs i have ever had in my life, thank you Will
I have a 11 month cane corso and when he sees a fox my little 7 yr old jack russel runs after the fox and my cane corso looooses it and pulls, jumps , barks and even lightly bites my arm and the lead to try and join my jack Russell in the chase. What worries me is how crazy he gets. I have to try and grab his collar and twist it to stop all the behaviour and get him to sit and calm down. Please please please advise me on the right way to address this behaviour. I know the first thing is to put my jack Russel on a lead ..........I’m all ears
Yes, stop letting the other dog rehearse bad behavior. That should help, just have to be careful that they don't go after each other or you since now they can't go after the fox. Try walking them separately to be sure they're on your page before walking them together. Check out Joel Beckman's Rottweiler named Creed video for loose leash walking and reactivity. Hope that helps.
Late reply as I’m only just watching through these videos now, but just in case you still haven’t got an answer to your question, a lay-by is what Americans would call a ‘turnout’ or a ‘pullout.’
Thanks, Will. About 16 months ago, I adopted a rescue dog who’d clearly been mistreated. Initially even the slightest sudden movement from me would see her cowering. She would sit in the corner with her head and eyes down, most of the day. She had no idea how to introduce herself to other dogs and was incapable of play. Very gradually, with help from this channel and my local dog obedience club, she has learned to trust me, comes on signal, walks around with her head up and tail wagging …and plays with me! (Though she won’t fetch 😖). She interacts nicely with other dogs and has the most gentle, friendly nature around other people. The “secret”…Calm, Consistent Leadership with a bucketful of PATIENCE! She still occasionally flinches and her anxieties still show, on occasion, but she is now a well balanced, happy dog.
Lovely to read your story. Steve. Will's Calm Consistent Leader is a game changer.
Will, I can't thank you enough for your videos. It's amazing how far our rescue pitty has come, thanks to your videos. Trainers in the past gave up on him and said he was not teachable, but I refused to send him to another home (we are the 3rd, and final!). Came across your channel a while back and put into practice what you say. Love him to death, and was just laying down with him giving him belly rubs before he went to bed tonight, and then saw this video. Everyone says what a great dog he is, he is so loving and so obedient, and I have you to thank for that! Thank you for this wonderful relationship you've given me and my family with our rescue!! 🙏
So glad this beautiful soul is in your care!
We will be receiving our rescue in about 3 weeks time and I'm binge-watching your whole channel in preparation. You are an amazing role model, Will! Thank you so much for these videos. I hope I can do them justice with our Jake.
Your point about calm consistent leadership with all dogs, but in particular with those whose spirit has been damaged, is on point. It’s not cruel, it’s critical to provide the structure they need to feel safe, and to repair their confidence and that allows them to live their best life. Thank you, Will Atherton, you have greatly helped me in my rehabilitation of an emotionally and physically abused bulldog, she has made great strides using your methods. Wishing you all the best from California.
You've to always remain calm.
Thanks.
I follow Will from the beginning and I love his knowledge about dogs.
These basics principles are just so correct and helpful. Thanks Will!
Amazing man. Remaining calm is so important. Not timid, but calm. Breathing helps, maybe some very low calm music via ear phones. The mood travels through the leash. Never give up!
❤️ Thank you for helping them. The transformation brings tears to my eyes.
This was the most basic video. Calm. Consistent. Love. Wow.. never thought of that.
I can't have enough of your videos, you're a beautiful person, with beautiful dogs. I can't wait to have a puppy myself and later rescues! I definitely want to offer some shelter dogs a better life, but for now... I binge all your content ! Thank you for what you're doing.
Just sending some LOVE for all you and your team do to help dogs, their owners, and other dog trainers.
I only adopt rescues. My dogs have been loyal and loving and I feel good that I’ve given them a loving home.
I have been working with my 2-year-old rescue now (who had a VERY rough start in a humane society her first year without an "normal" in the home experiences) for over a year. Ginger was exceptionally reactive when we got her. She and I work on our leash work every morning. We work on "Calm Girl" girl throughout the day. I did hire a professional trainer for six sessions over the past 6 months and this has helped not only Ginger but me as well. Right now, I am seeing good progress. Your recommendation about being an effective leader has been VERY meaningful for me. I can't thank you enough for your videos and advice.
Hi Will thanks so much for all you share ! How about if your dog is well trained and behaved but you come across other anxious / reactive dogs, could you make a video or paid training for those situations ? Would love to know how to manage and stay a calmed consistent leader on those scenarios when other dogs are the ones being reactive.
I am beyond glad and very grateful to have come across your channel.
I hope I will transform to not just a loving pawrent but a responsible pawrent who is able to provide a good home and fulfilled life to my rainbow boye.
May your tribe increase 🙏🥂
Godspeed Will.
A new sub and well wisher :)
I'm really struggling with my rescue and finding appropriate content for how to deal with her aggression towards me (just me). Really hope there are more videos like this.
People who hurt dogs, man, they just make me so angry. How could you hurt such a gentle thing?
Can you do a video about how to go about changing rules if the need arises? Obviously consistency is so important for a dog but sometimes commands need to be changed (in our case we accidentally taught the same command for 2 different actions, so we needed to work to change one of them), or rules need to change (i.e. we moved and no longer have a fenced backyard so we had to change some of the outdoor rules for safety reasons), or other things that require changes to the existing rules. What's the best way to go about changing rules when it's necessary?
Every time I make progress with my dog, it seems to be for nothing. The next day, she’ll go back into heat regressive fear. As though I have screamed and shouted at her and even threaten.
She was rescued at 4 months old.
Has never really shown interest in my wife and I. We have been through a lot with her.
People who had her before couldn’t have been nice people.
Problem is. Everyone else she meets are gold. The best things in the world. Then when we try to have fun and love her, she then acts like we have been terrible to her.
She’s a hear and a half. We’ve had her most of her life and have been made to feel like shit most days yet we still push through and try to make her happy.
She’s no violent dog. Not an ounce of that in her.
We just don’t know how to bring her out of it and help her stay out of it.
We have a new addition to the dog family to help her with her worries and to see that we have fun together.
Puppy is doing well. Learning. First dog loves her to bits too. Just not us.
She’s never sat with us in the living room too.
Check out Suzanne Clothier's Automatic Check In and my fearful Dobe is really a different dog because of getting him into Introduction to Nose Work. He seemed to have that split personality that you usually only see with little dogs - pet me now then snap, snap, snap. Also got my Dobes used to the Hound of the Baskervilles muzzle a full week before I ever even snapped it on them. Now they love their muzzles and I think it helps build the growly, less confident Dobe's confidence. Hope that helps.
What a BEAUTIFUL animal! Thanks for sharing.
Everything u said in this video was FACTS , not as easy as it sounds but all FACTS
Ahhhh.. you are fabulous.
Will, have you done a video about fear of traffic please? I have a year old border collie who is terrified of traffic. Just walking along a pavement he has his tail clamped down and ears back and pulls as hard as he can on the lead. He doesn't want to go for a walk from the house because he knows we'll have to walk along the road.
I am having the same problem with my Cane Corso.
Humans are a problem though, my daughter's puppy is now 11 months and can be a bit 'adolescent dog'. We were walking by a river and dog ran off and refused to come back for a few minutes, then when he did a family (man, woman and 2 yr child) were near us and the man put his concertinered umbrella up to ward off the dog. This huge puppy thought the man was waving a stick for him, so when he waived to the left the dog jumped to the left (dog never going near the man), then waived the umbrella to the right at which the puppy jumped to the right - so the man shouted at my daughter about her uncontrollable dog. This dog, thanks to Will, is good mannered , socialised - but his obedience was a bit off for few minutes.
Thanks Will for your knowledge. Still trying to make it work with our rescued! ;-)
Great Pep talk!!
Hello Will, I have a question regarding sound phobia, I’ve not seen this covered on your channel but may have missed a video. My 6 year old collie became fearful of sounds after lockdown. I’ve managed to help him overcome the fear when a plane flies over but now he is fearful of loud car exhausts and motorbikes. Could you make any suggestions or send me in the direction of a link? I hope you see this comment, many thanks.
Hallo Will! I'm enjoing your videos lately.Quick advice needed.I have three adult dogs,different age,different breed.They have never been trained.I wanna teach them on rules,boundaries,commands,etc.Please,tell me where to start!What are the first steps? Much appreciate!
Just wanna sincerely thank You for what You do here! It's been giving me lots of good & clear information on how to be a better leader and approach certain issues.
Big luv to You and all Your followers and their doggies!
🙏🏼❤️🐶
You didn't tell what to do.
Do you recommend any dog behaviourists in Sheffield?
Hey Will, love the videos, just curiouse because I think this dog might be from the same litter as my one, I got my one from uk yorkshire, its a shame that it has had such a tough life that left it traumatised, do you know the breeds mix it is? And if its up for adoption I would strongly consider it if its my ones sibling so maybe it would feel safe with its bigger brother ? Thanks.
What do I do with a dog that's deaf and has food guarding?
Like a boss
@3:09 I see u put ur foot almost in front of him. Is there a reason for this?
He's claiming the space so she doesn't feel she has to be in charge of anything
How to train you doggo
Step 1: Train your fucking family.
There's no way I can make that.
Do you have Merch? Slip lead? Service pup in training vests? I trust your quality and dedication. I’m hoping you have a site, I just can’t find it.
We have a 7 month old German Shepard in training for Epilepsy Service pup. Thank you
You can find all of our products over on our website: www.fenrircanineleaders.com
Thankyou so much Will for all you do for our canine companions and us humans in understanding them!
Makes me feel to go out and be a calm consistent leader, but mission falters when I meet my dog.. she is a brat.. listen some time, and doesn't most of time.. good content in this channel thanks
I have a 5 month old puppy that is fearful of strangers or dogs that show her interest. She seems to be dog and people selective. I want to work on this before she gets bigger and the fear of some people transitions into aggression. I was considering giving strangers that wld like to pet her one of her fav treats to entice her to approach them and allow them to pet while she’s feeding. Would you recommend this? She has now developed a fear and disdain for the vet. I’m not sure if this is just a fearful stage? Any advice or tips provided would be helpful.
I wish there were more people like you in the world
Thanks so much for this valuable information because my Bronte, Staffey is fearful, I need to be a calmer leader, I want him to look up to me for guidance!!! Hope to see more on this with you!!!!♥️🐕
It would be nice to actually tell us what to do!
So glad to realise that some people keep thinking about what is actually still their instinct: they need a leader of their pact, they need guidance
Will, my caboodle walks off lead around our neighbourhood, is fine with other dogs etc BUT whenever we go away from our neighbourhood, suddenly he becomes riddled with separation anxiety and will wag his tall at other dogs but if they hang around more than 30 seconds, he will go to nip them. I’m not sure how to fix this. He’s so well trained and behaved at home that people are amazed. Then he forgets all that training whenever we go anywhere.
Hi will
I had two black labs two weeks ago we had to have my 10 year old zain but down he had liver cancer we have an 8 year old mylo his personality has changed I know its because he is missing his mate what can I do to help him
I want to rescue a dog, but i must be honest here. Im afraid the dog will hurt my kids, me or other dogs. And fear that im not a good leader
I'm the owner of 4 rescues that came to me with all forms of fearfulness and reactive behavior and this is how I approach dealing with them they're all making amazing progress and they have better life behaviors and a better state of mind
I learned a lot from your videos. I have a BC puppy-girl and, seriously, a bundle of knowledge I've gleaned from all the videos on this channel
thank you so much for the work you do and the infomation you put out on his channel, i rehomed a cane corso mix a year ago she had a lot of problems and was very fear driven, your channel has helped me so much in training her she is now becoming one of the best dogs i have ever had in my life, thank you Will
Yay I’ve been asking for a video like this for ages!!
I have a 11 month cane corso and when he sees a fox my little 7 yr old jack russel runs after the fox and my cane corso looooses it and pulls, jumps , barks and even lightly bites my arm and the lead to try and join my jack Russell in the chase. What worries me is how crazy he gets. I have to try and grab his collar and twist it to stop all the behaviour and get him to sit and calm down. Please please please advise me on the right way to address this behaviour. I know the first thing is to put my jack Russel on a lead ..........I’m all ears
Yes, stop letting the other dog rehearse bad behavior. That should help, just have to be careful that they don't go after each other or you since now they can't go after the fox. Try walking them separately to be sure they're on your page before walking them together. Check out Joel Beckman's Rottweiler named Creed video for loose leash walking and reactivity. Hope that helps.
What is a layby?
Late reply as I’m only just watching through these videos now, but just in case you still haven’t got an answer to your question, a lay-by is what Americans would call a ‘turnout’ or a ‘pullout.’