Hi She had all these qualifications, and had many years experienced,I thinkthere so many schools of thought regarding training, that it is mindblowing everyone has a differant slant on how to get the bestfrom the dog,butat the end of the day,the dog lives with youand yourun your household,so youset the rules and boundaries that you feel comfortable with.In mypost,what I meant to say was I mistrust people of that Ilk,because unless you have a detailed questionaire,you really do not know which school of thought that trainer may hold and it may not be the right one for your particular set of problems.Her feeding habits are disturbing,I have changed the metal bowl,and she has an earthenware one,but she still snatches a bit of food and runs off with it and eats it usually behind the sofa,she mistrusts your hand as I have wrapped her up in a towel and then tried to hand feed her,trying to make her feel secure I then ditched the towel,she ran off then came back leaned against me,and took food,but every day is a challenge.crystalgirl

The only right way is scientifically based methods that are calm fair and effective. if you search APDT or APBC that is what you will get......and if you are not happy you have a way of addressing that.

If your experience with that trainer happened fairly recently I would be considering taking the matter further. Any one who calls themselves a trainer, charges you £500 and says they need to stay with you for a week, plus you pay their travel is a cowboy out to fleece you. .....and a disgrace to the title trainer!

And I am even more disgusted that she tried to make you feel bad and belittle your ability to be a pet dog owner because or your mobility issues! It seems their equal rights opinion are as archaic as their ridiculous dominance theory based methods....and then to suggest you rehome a puppy! Absolutely disgusted and I would happily name and shame as loud and wide as I could!

Hi I can see what you are saying,but it was a choice I made,due to one of her clients letters praising her,re there puppy.Its very difficult when your pet has been traumitised,not by humans but by a another dog,but every day she is making small steps,Ithinkit was just over a weekago we actually saw her tail,before it had been tucked away,now she wags it and its the most beautiful tail you will ever see,the other day she crawled under our duvet to get to us for a cuddle.so little steps At least the problems she is experiencing isnt down to us humans,but a french mastiff who her previous owners thought could babysit her when they were out at work. crystalgirl

You have received some great advice here, all i can add is a shorter version of Jackbox's advice:

Use BAT techniques - Behavior Adjustment Training.

Use when trigger (another dog, cat, or whatever) shows up unexpectedly or when you are in a tight spot and when your dog is most likely to react....

Step 1. DOG PERCEIVES TRIGGER
(Or ask the dog to look at trigger using "look at that" cue)

Step 2. MARK the instant the dog sees the trigger, using a clicker or verbal marker.
(The click cues the dog to turn his head away from the trigger and back towards you)

Step 3. WALK OR RUN AWAY
(Functional reward - DISTANCE from trigger reduces stress)

Step 4. PRAISE & TREAT/TOY!
(Bonus Reward - The treat, use high value - chicken, liver etc, or favourite toy, this comes after the functional reward)

This is great advice. the only sticking part will be the running away because he won't budge. the only direction he will go in is towards the other dog.....hence my problem if I could run away I would lol )))

When your dog freezes, you can try stopping a few feet in front of your dog and waiting. If he shows any signs of moving toward you, click or say “Yes!” and reach toward him to deliver a treat. Walk a few more feet away in the direction you want him to go and again wait for your dog to voluntarily move toward you. Praise and reward him with high value treats only for forward movement.

Which is where the double lead and headcollar should come into play

I'm going to buy the lead and collar today, got the head collar. Just really nervous he will slip it during one of his frenzies. He almost has once before, then what do I do if he goes over to the dog?? think I will put his harness on too just in case....

he shoull not be able to slip out of the correct fitting "dogmatic" , if he does slip the headcollar off, you will still have the other end of the lead attached to either his normal collar OR the harness..

That`s what a double ended lead is for, to attach one end to a collar, one end to harness......harness /headcollar.... collar/head collar... which ever combination you feel safest with.

In effect you have two leads attached to two collars