I recently attended a Suzzane Clothier Seminar on Reactive Dogs that I must say blew me away. The reasons why, however may surprise you. It's not because she performed miracles, it's not because she cured a dog of anxiety within a 1/2 hour consultation... it was because of such a marvelous insight into the minds of not only dogs but other domesticated animals and how we humans handle them. The way in which she broke down the training progressions was insightful and right on the mark. One very profound statement that she made will always stick with me in regards to reactive dogs in particular and it went something along the lines of ... sometimes we just need to accept that we have to make the dog's world smaller so that they can feel safe. I see the opposite all the time including in myself. We all want our dogs to be the best, we want them to be happy, freindly, outgoing and obedient but sometimes we push them too hard for our own sake and ego, not theirs. If you have fallen in love with a reactive dog or one that had a poor start to life in one way or another, maybe the best thing we really can do for them is ... make their world smaller.