Hello everyone, I am new to posting on Reddit but I was wondering how many of you have been able to successfully (to whichever degree you measure success by - since reactive dog training is a never ending process) train your reactive dogs without a behaviorist/trainer's help?
Before I learned about the proper training methods for reactive dogs, out of stress and desperation I used all my training funds on hiring "the best trainer" in my area. He ended up just trying to suppress my dog's reactivity through punishment...now that I know better than to listen to him, I have been training my dog with positive reinforcement on my own, with research I have gathered online. I see some people in this subreddit speaking of their trainers or behaviorists, but I cannot afford one. I was wondering if working on reactivity on your own has proven successful to you? Is having a trainer a way to "accelerate" (don't think this is the right word since everything is at the dog's pace) the process to manage your dog's reactivity?
Thank you for any insight!
Before I learned about the proper training methods for reactive dogs, out of stress and desperation I used all my training funds on hiring "the best trainer" in my area. He ended up just trying to suppress my dog's reactivity through punishment...now that I know better than to listen to him, I have been training my dog with positive reinforcement on my own, with research I have gathered online. I see some people in this subreddit speaking of their trainers or behaviorists, but I cannot afford one. I was wondering if working on reactivity on your own has proven successful to you? Is having a trainer a way to "accelerate" (don't think this is the right word since everything is at the dog's pace) the process to manage your dog's reactivity?
Thank you for any insight!