Dog trainer

Can anyone recommend one who works with fear aggressive dogs?  My rescue was attacked in a shelter, and now he's reactive to other dogs.

There is a Veterinary Behaviorist, Dr. Emily Levine, who practices at Animal Emergency and Referral Associates in Fairfield. This is precisely the kind of situation she and her staff deal with. 

Thanks, I saw her name, but thought she might be a bit too far/expensive for what we needed; I'll check her out.

It's about a 40 minute drive, give or take, and I don't know about price. I'm sure it's not cheap, but of course we all have a different idea of what constitutes "expensive".

Whatever you decide, on behalf of your dog I'd ask you to please be sure you don't use an aversive trainer. Those methods may appear to help in the short run, but over time it very, very often makes the problem much worse. (And a lot of those dogs end up going to see Dr. Levine anyway.)

Best of luck to you and your pup. 

It might depend on the dog. I used the same dog trainer on both my dogs, one who is now gone and the other who is still with us. Unfortunately, that dog trainer died a few years ago. He advocated using a mix of negative and positive reinforcements. This method worked for both of my dogs. My current dog is the best behaved dog some people have ever met. She is obedient and gentle, and she hasn't misbehaved in so long that I don't remember how long it has been. I don't attribute this entirely to the training technique, as I'm sure her temperament as a greyhound is a factor.

I'm using Sarah Matters, she's local in Maplewood and has extensive experience with all kinds of animals. her company is called Training Matters.

How do you like Sarah?  I've heard she's good.  Has anyone ever used Janice Wolff?

Okokokok said:

How do you like Sarah?  I've heard she's good.  Has anyone ever used Janice Wolff?

I've used her 4 out of 6 sessions so far. She definitely knows her stuff. A very different approach, because it's purely positive reinforcement-based. You should definitely contact her about your issue and she what she has to say. Good luck