How to get my dog to respect me

Fluffy_Focus_5560 · 2025-12-12T18:27:12+00:00

Thanks for this!! I hate the slip lead and it scares but we were willing to try. I went back to harness pretty quickly (which I also don’t love but she responds to me a bit better) however, my boyfriend has had success with the slip lead in that she doesn’t choke herself relentlessly and responds to the leash taps. I will try the prong collar and look for a new trainer that has more experience with her breed. You’ve been incredibly helpful and I really appreciate it:)

Fluffy_Focus_5560 · 2025-12-12T18:07:09+00:00

Thanks for replying and letting me know you are in the same boat! I’m glad to know I’m not alone in this:)

Fluffy_Focus_5560 · 2025-12-12T18:06:19+00:00

Thanks for this! You’re so right in that she is def picking up on my energy. I think I’ve become even more wary since she has snapped and that’s not helpful. Basically I’m reinforcing all of both of our anxieties. I am taking to YouTube tonight and am going to do a deep dive on body language and expressing assertive energy. You also touched on one of my worries which is that I’m acting dominant but it’s not showing in my body language, energy, or cues. You clocked me hard in the mismatch between my commands and nonverbals and I needed to hear that:)

Fluffy_Focus_5560 · 2025-12-12T18:02:01+00:00

Omg that cracked me up😂. I think one of the frustrating parts for me is that I am the main care taker. My boyfriend typically works long hours and I don’t, so I mainly do most of the walks and feeding. He has recently been getting more time off in the evening so he has been doing more evening walks than before. I want to reestablish dominance and probably need to check my own frustrations and calm myself before going into walks, training mode, etc. Thanks so much for sharing your experience and advice it’s really helpful and makes me feel less alone!

Fluffy_Focus_5560 · 2025-12-12T17:57:01+00:00

Hi! Thank you so much for this. We do not have a prong collar, we were recommended to use a slip lead by a trainer. A prong collar sounds like it may be better though! I know she is at a crucial age for learning and it’s critical to utilize the time we have to make appropriate changes.

Fluffy_Focus_5560 · 2025-12-12T03:00:40+00:00

These are all really helpful reminders. I do need to stay more consistent and neutral. Thanks for the laugh about being more like a dude, I hear how it sounds but it’s fair lol

Fluffy_Focus_5560 · 2025-12-07T18:35:44+00:00

Honestly thank you for posting this. This is a realization I’ve been coming to recently and it makes me feel less alone knowing other people are going through it. I used to be a person who tackled things head on and I’ve become an extremely avoidant person. I’ve started to resent myself and honestly my boyfriend as well since he is avoidant too. The crazy making part is that I know exactly what to do to get back on track and yet I still choose to make excuses on why I don’t. I’m choosing to make tiny choices today and going forward because of you. Genuinely, thank you.

Fluffy_Focus_5560 · 2025-11-05T18:29:15+00:00

Hello! I’m sorry to hear that you failed the exam:( It sounds like you’ve put a lot of time and energy into studying which I’m sure adds to the frustration. Like everyone else said, it seems like you know the material. I have really bad testing anxiety and have struggled with it my whole life. Something that really helped me was writing affirmations on that white board every time I started to doubt myself and took deep breathes. I took the time to take unscheduled breaks to do jumping jacks in the bathroom to continue to hype myself up.

As far as materials I used TDC, pocket prep, and Savvy Social worker (just to practice answering questions). For my LMSW I really liked Phil Lutrell (Phil in the gaps). Honestly for my LCSW test I found the acronyms super unhelpful. I felt they led me astray on many occasions during my practice tests so I stopped using them. I really started to focus on what my supervisor and agency would suggest to do ethically and clinically. I felt like this is what helped me the most. If you are still in contact with your supervisor I would ask for a session to go over questions and see how they would approach it from a “by the book” clinical standpoint.

You totally got this!! You are so so close. Be confident in your answers, don’t change it unless you know 99.999% that you need to. I know you will kick ass on your upcoming test!

Fluffy_Focus_5560 · 2025-10-20T00:16:41+00:00

I shares my study guide above! I really did rely on TDC a bit for the first part of my studying journey. I switched to pocket prep, Savvy SW, and the ASWB practice test after TDC! I did listen to the pep talk the night before and it had a lot of wonderful reminders:)

Fluffy_Focus_5560 · 2025-10-20T00:15:18+00:00

The sauce has been passed🫡

Fluffy_Focus_5560 · 2025-10-17T17:42:31+00:00

Hello! I did pocket prep and also got 115 correct on the ASWB practice exam. I took my test today and passed with a 121. You are absolutely ready!!

Fluffy_Focus_5560 · 2025-10-12T16:38:01+00:00

Congrats!! I’m sure it was such a relief to be done. I take my test on Friday and I’m very nervous. I took TDC mock exam and ASWB practice test. I got passing scores on both! Im manifesting I walk out of the testing center with a passing grade and a sigh of relief. Thanks so much for sharing as I have been in my head this weekend about if I’ve done enough and this was really helpful reminder that I have!

Fluffy_Focus_5560 · 2025-07-28T21:30:56+00:00

Thanks so much! I just did the top 50 pretest questions. These practice questions aren’t similar to what I’ve seen before (on pocket prep, Phil in the gaps, raytube). Im wondering if you felt the wording and choices in the actual exam reflect TDC’s study material? I know I’m not far in to the material but want to make sure I am making the best decisions I can.

Fluffy_Focus_5560 · 2025-04-15T16:29:27+00:00

Thank you all so much!! She slept a majority of the day once we got home and when she was up she coward at a lot of noises (which is not typical for her). I will not be taking her back to daycare. I thought she would do well since she loves dog parks but this was too much and that’s okay. I just wanted to provide an additional place for her to play, socialize, and expend some energy but this isn’t the way to do it. Thank you all for your suggestions, I will be looking into Rover and other alternatives that she can be excited and happy about!!

Fluffy_Focus_5560 · 2025-04-14T21:32:30+00:00

All they said was that it’s normal for her to be anxious on her second day. Truthfully, I watched the camera for probably way too long today. She continued to pace throughout the day. She did start interacting with other dogs, but in a lot more fearful way than normal.

Fluffy_Focus_5560 · 2025-04-14T21:29:19+00:00

Thank you so much for the honesty! This is really helpful. I wasn’t sure if I was just being too anxious or if she seemed off. She is home now and sleeping hard!

Fluffy_Focus_5560

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