I have to warn you. This is not a “touchy-feely, warm and fuzzy” book. Running safe and successful aggressive dog classes is hard. This book will ask you many questions about your own creativity, sensitivity and skills – as a trainer, a confidant, and a mind reader to both dog and human. I will be asking you to be honest about your limitations and your expertise.

Just because you want to do something, doesn’t mean you can (or should). I always wanted to be a runway model, but at 5 feet tall and usually about 5–10 pounds overweight, it just wasn’t going to happen.

My tone may seem a bit blunt or snippy, but it isn’t meant to be that way. However, it is meant to make you think, really think about all that’s involved in working with aggressive dogs, leading an aggressive dog class and help you decide if you should run such a class. This will require a great deal of thought, soul-searching and planning on your part.

I don’t mean to scare you off or discourage you, but I want to make sure you understand the severity of the situation when working with an aggressive dog. When something goes wrong in a pet class, like spilling water or peeing on the floor, it’s no big deal, but when something goes wrong in an aggressive dog class, it can go very wrong. The stakes are higher and you could be looking at serious injuries and a lawsuit.

This is not a “how to” book. It’s a book that poses the questions, “should you?” I will be asking you really hard questions about your own training chops and expertise with aggression.

Pamela Dennison