What I usually lead with nowadays is, “What are your motives?” Because if you’re not honest with yourself about your motives, you’re going to put some unreasonable expectations on a dog, and that’s just not a way to work a relationship.Īnd then, what’s your lifestyle? There are certain dogs that are appropriate for certain lifestyles. Matt Beisner: I’m not really a good model for this, because I have five rescues right now. Do you have any advice that you generally give people to help them know when (or whether) they’re ready? InsideHook: Let’s start with the people reading this who don’t yet have a dog, but want one. Our conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity. But if you’re just looking for some advice and intel of the more general variety, refer to the wide-ranging interview below, in which we asked Beisner to walk us through a veritable 101 of pandemic dog ownership, from crate-training to lack of socialization to whether your dog is likely to experience separation anxiety if and when you go back to the office. If you’re among that class of people, good news: Beisner is now hosting private, in-person training sessions from the Austin chapter of The Zen Dog, as well as virtual ones for anyone, anywhere. Dog adoption from shelters and fosters skyrocketed last year as Americans suddenly found themselves stuck at home, and we’re now seeing the fallout from that: a wave of new and first-time dog owners suddenly confronted with the realities of taking care of a living, breathing, possession-destroying animal for 24 hours a day. His practice, of course, could not have arrived at a better time. has become a go-to for the Hollywood elite (including, notably, Lena Dunham), and earlier this year, he opened a second location in his new home of Austin. Over the last 14 years, his facility in L.A. Not the introduction you’d expect from one of America’s most renowned dog trainers, but that’s exactly how Matt Beisner - founder of The Zen Dog and host of Nat Geo’s Dog Impossible,which wrapped its second season last week - recently described himself on a phone call with InsideHook.īeisner, like so many celebrity dog trainers before him, specializes in taking aggressive and problematic dogs under his wing and nursing them back to a happier, healthier place. “I started out as an adult who was afraid of dogs.”
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