Labeling Our Dog’s Doesn’t Help Them - Education Does

Yesterday I went to see one of my clients. He is a big, beautiful, young working line German Shepherd. And like many of these dogs, he has a big personality. He throws himself into life!

However, he went to a boarding facility over the holidays. When his humans returned, he was given a not so gleaming report of his behavior, even though they had been able to view it on camera. They were told that he was "resource guarding" and "reactive".

Those two labels stung his owner. I could see the look on her face when she explained to me what they told her. She looked saddened thinking that her boy had been labeled now with a serious behavior problem.

This is the problem with people without a professional background in canine behavior, who toss out their diagnoses and labels on our dogs - especially on dogs that they don't really know.