:))

Having been a dog behavior trainer now for just over 4 years (I started Professionally training people and their dogs in April of 2011), with my first Craigslist post.  I am posting that next.

I have helped many dogs and owners get through the rough times when dogs don't  listen to their owners or when the owners don't know how to get and keep their dogs attention.  Most dog owners want to have better relationships with their dogs but they have either:

#1. Never had a real connection with their dogs in the first place,

#2. They have lost their ability to keep their dogs focused on what the owners require of their dogs, like stay off the furniture, or don't tear that up or go pee outside and not inside... or

#3. The owners have never given their dogs any rules to guide them by, from the very beginning of both their times together.

Any or all of these situations causes friction in the Dog and dog owner relationships, and the dogs end up just living in and around their owners, doing what they want to do when they want to do it and the owners learn to just deal with it.  As you can imagine, this will cause great problems and issues for themselves and their friends and family and neighbors who get to deal with the outcomes that follow that kind of reckless dog engagement.

From the dog's point of view, it's a one dog pack surrounded by humans trying to harsh it's mellow...per se.. It's version of "The Man is Holding me down!"  LOL  So, then when owners step up and place guidelines and limitations on their dogs activities, and demand in a calm way that the dog hears them and understands and acknowledges them, and the dog begins to react according to the owners commands, then the rules are set and the repetition begins to move forward, and in two months or less, depending on how dedicated or lax or uninterested or overwhelmed or afraid you are, you and your dog(s) will find yourselves firing on all cylinders, and your connections will be opened and established, and you'll discover that sweet harmony and understanding and respect that then falls gently upon the land...(Your Home).

Always remember that Dogs will be dogs...it's what they do, so expect that the dog(s) may initially put up resistance to the change that you seek, and depending on how much they fight and scream and whine etc, they will all tire and will relent in their own sweet way and time. The dogs will eventually give up their quest to remain independent or dominant, and when you stay firm to your commitment, your dog will soon fall in line with the new program that you offer them.  It is then imperative that the owner, reminds their dogs(s) of it's new position as a Follower and not the Leader.  The dog owner must maintain the "top dog" position in the home from that point onward and must remember to always lead with a calm and assertive nature going forward.  All the time.

You can't fake being a leader.  Dogs can see through a nervous Captain, it can spy a teeth chattering Chief, or can be turned off by a Dictatorial Director.  Don't be those kinds of a "Leader".  Learn to become what I call being a "Benevolent Dictator".  Be Firm and Fair and loving!  Believe you are the leader and your dog will believe that you are a leader too. This method, in my opinion,  is how to have the best chance at a loving and learning experience between you and your beautiful animal!

BE WHO YOUR DOG LOOKS UP TO!

www.sheashome.com

Author Joe Ozier Biography

                      Joe Ozier Biography

Credit to smashwords                                                                      

Joe Ozier has been a writer since his early teens, having dabbled in Science Fiction, Poetry, Lyrics and Haiku’s. He graduated with a degree in Geology in 1981, then turned his focus to Video production for the next two decades. He began writing Stage Plays and Musicals after moving to Florida in the late 1990’s, to pursue acting. Joe’s career as a Stage, Film and Television Actor, as well as Print Model, gave him an invaluable education in the importance of presentation to one’s audience. Joe has produced nine original stage plays and musicals to date.

Joe’s love for dogs and his developing knowledge of their behavior began with his family dogs. From his childhood experiences, this led into his first show and a ten year endeavor entitled, “ Shep The Musical”. Joe spotted Shea at the local Humane Society and realized that Shea had “that something special”. Shea was a runaway that was caught just a week earlier. As he quickly discovered, Shea was also an escape artist. Shea’s savvy street smart spirit became the true story of Shea’s Lounge. In 2011, Joe began professionally connecting dogs to their people under the name…Way of a Dog. Joe loves going to work and teaching dog owners how to get into their dog’s heads. Shea’s Lounge, a Family and Children’s book, is Joe’s first professional publication.

Where to find Joe Ozier online

Website: https://www.Sheashome.com
Facebook: Facebook profile
Blog:  http://wayofadog.blogspot.com/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/SheasLounge1

Google+ :  https://plus.google.com/117286099888646042062/posts

Where to buy in print   

Blog created by Robert Vaughan 04/20/15

An up close and personal with Joe Ozier the author of "Shea's Lounge"

What can I say about Shea, the runaway? 

I was lucky enough to have Shea for 10 years, and she absolutely lived a good life.  I took her and Shep on my sit on top kayak, through some of Florida's most pristine waterways and some rivers with water so clean you could drink right out of it…seriously.  Shea got to live the theater life alongside Shep, the wonder dog.  At first, Shea and Shep ignored each other, and occasionally growled at each other, but Shea just kept escaping and giving me a clear sign she wanted to be somewhere else.  

I had the option of returning her within a month, and I was only three days away from that possibility.  In the months after I decided to keep her, Shea’s attention to all of the details on the wind became less and less, and into more of howling ghosts she had rather forget.  I saw her face change from happy to terrified to curious and nerve racking…I even watched her begin shivering and I was facing a dilemma because I wanted to give her comfort but I also had the curious scientist side who wanted to observe nature in the raw.  

Her thoughts were so interesting to watch as her ears and face and head tilted as if she was taking dictation from the wind, and there were many times I stared at her without her noticing, and watched her eyes dash and her ears twitch to even the farthest off sounds.  She was a master listener, unlike Shep, she could understand a calm assertive voice and she learned quickly.  She wouldn't get distracted to the point of annoyance during lessons and rehearsals I had arranged for her and Shep prior to their live audience shows.  Shea learned to be a performer and to listen and respond on cue, but Shep was keen at his commands and rarely diverted his routine within the 16- 22 performances any play or musical might run over a 3-4 week span.  I could actually see Shea pumping herself up for the audience, whining to get out and begin her shows.  Shep never really swayed much, but when he did… it was big.

Shea was always fairly present and responded to my commands. I tested her everywhere I took my dogs, Shep had gone through the drill years earlier.  I always had them off leash and yet firmly on my voice leash or what I call my extended leash, that can go as far as the dog can either see or hear me.  I had that opportunity to test in Florida because after rowing across the inter-coastal waterway from my home, I would take my dogs to a barrier island named Midnight Pass that had miles of beaches in both directions, and very few people in a mile in each direction.  I found out that Shep is quite the beach comber and having called out to him for many times to come back, Shep just kept smelling the dead fish and sometimes eating them too and continuing his lumbering adventure across the sand and the surf.  Shea in turn, would be following along with Shep and when she heard me, she would stop and sit and listen, then she saw my wave and ran back to me, trotting along in her majestic manner, never breaking out into a full on run that I saw, but Shep just kept going farther away and walking over to any of the  people’s blanket and hunted around in the bags for something to eat, and basically stomping on everything.