Even though Lic almost bit his veterinarian and barks and growls ferociously at other dogs and people, he's really a good boy. He's just terribly afraid of everything and growling is his way of protecting himself. Like most fearful dogs, he's not afraid of dogs and people he lives with. When working with dogs like Lic, we find the distance at which they are comfortable being around other people and dogs and we work with them right at or outside this distance. We set up specific situations where they see dogs and people and reward them for good behavior. It's important to keep the unfamiliar people and dogs at a distance where the fearful dog is still comfortable because once these dogs show extreme fear, they can't learn. They're so busy barking, whining, growling, or lunging that they don't have a chance to do something we can reward such as sitting and looking at their owner. So how to you get these dogs to the point where they're good with unfamiliar dogs and people up close? You gradually decrease the distance. Some dogs only take several weeks to retrain while others take months to years. The biggest difficulty in counter-conditioning Lic is that he lives in the country so his owners have trouble finding dogs and neighbors who can help them. Also, when the owners take Lic on walks, off leash dogs roaming the area frequently come too close to Lic so that Lic reacts fearfully. If other owners would keep their dogs on lead, then Lic's owner could control the distance between Lic and the other dogs. Then every dog sighting would be a chance for them to practice.