Talk Dog

11/02/2025

Making sure that your dog is at a healthy weight, is not just important to their overall health, but is a huge factor in their mobile as they get older.
Being overweight will shave years of their life.
Make sure you feed your dog healthy food once a day and the right amount ❤️

11/02/2025

This is a good one.
Since I normally don't foster/ adopt puppies, but currently do (what possessed me!!), I can relate.
My older dogs are correcting the pup (if I am not close by to do it first) and sometimes, because the pup can be persistent and annoying, the correction is harsher and the puppy screams. You cannot get emotional over it. There has not been a scratch on the puppy, however, instinctual, I also tell the dogs to calm down a notch and the pup that he s okay but needs to settle down too.
As always, great explanation of the video
Pack Leader Dog Psychology & Behavior

05/02/2025

05/02/2025

I NOSE HOW YOU FEEL
One of the most incredible things about dogs is their ability to recognize and respond to our emotions, but just how do they know how we’re feeling?

They may not understand the emotion we are feeling, but their brains are wired to understand whether that emotion makes them feel safe or not.

From an evolutionary perspective; for their survival, it was and still is, important for dogs to know which humans were safe to be around and which were not.

Dogs recognize the different chemical scents we produce through our skin or breath, our facial expressions or body language and our tone of voice.

Although we’re not aware of it, we emit different scents when experiencing positive emotions compared to when we experience negative emotions. Dogs have an amazing ability to recognize these different scents.

A dog's sense of smell is incredibly powerful and far superior to ours. Dogs have +/- 300 million olfactory receptors in their nose, sometimes more depending on the breed, compared to +/- 5 to 6 million in humans. In addition to this, the part of their brain that processes scent is around 40 times bigger than ours.

Dogs also recognize our facial expressions and body language. Just like we might stay well away from or not want to interact with someone who looks really angry and be more drawn and responsive to a happy, relaxed looking person.

Tone of voice – more info on this in my previous post.

Dogs can be such a comfort to us when we need emotional support or aren’t feeling well, but some of our emotions many have a negative effect on them.

Working with or interacting with a dog when we’re feeling angry, stressed, frustrated or having a bad day is not a good idea. It’s far better to wait until we feel more relaxed and calmer.

Dogs have rich emotional lives – just as we should try to be aware of their emotions, also be aware of how our emotions may affect them.

05/02/2025

I just wanted to share a video of my deaf and blind foster puppy Herman.
He is a Koolie cross and approaching 6 months of age (thank gosh those puppy teeth are gone now!)

He s been with me since 10 weeks of age. So obviously he has mapped out my property. But he is also fearless, adventurous and full of life.
He loves having a run and play outside when the other dogs don't want to play. 🤍
He amazes me daily. So much to learn from him.

One of my other dogs is deaf as well and vision impaired in the only eye she has. But she can see some and I can use sign language do a degree.

Herman is being trained with touch and using his nose. ♥️🤍

05/02/2025

👀
Pack Leader Dog Psychology & Behavior

30/01/2025

Ha. I was just talking about that with someone yesterday: the importance of walking your dog.

I have come across a lot of people with a bit of land who think that they don't need to walk their dog, because there is enough room for the dog to 'exercise itself'.
The walk is not really (only secondary) for exercise and fitness. The main reason for walking your dogs is building/ maintaining your relationship and mental stimulation.
Letting your dog only run on your property is just lazy.

Imagine you get to live in your dream house -but you are never allowed to leave it. Still your dream house?

If you are too old or sick to walk - DO NOT GET A DOG ! Or, get someone to walk your dog DAILY for you AND get a dog that matches your energy level.

I will never understand, why old people need to get a puppy, especially when the puppy is 1. most likely to outlive them 2. has far more energy that the human cannot meet and direct to a useful activity.

The walk is the best way to build a trusting, strong relationship with your dog. I don't have much time for designated training sessions - but you know what?! Just walking my dogs daily (offsite, despite living on almost 40 acres), has created such a good bond, that they know my body language and commands and do what I want them to do anyway. Without taking half an hour every day, throwing commands and treats at them.

Walking your dog daily is part of a dog owners/ guardians responsibility - just like feeding them.
✌️
Video source: Pack Leader Dog Psychology & Behavior

29/01/2025

Sanity check

People who are flogging off their puppies on facebook and gumtree are backyard breeders. Period.

'Ethical' breeders have 'sold' their puppies before they are born and are breeding to demand. They usually have a waiting list.

Backyard breeders do not invest money into health checks, gene check (to make sure they are nor breeding an animal with a hereditary illness) or temperament checks. Backyard breeders breed whatever, just so they can make a quick buck.
If you pay attention, you can see the despicable condition in which a lot (not all) of those animals are being kept.
If you buy from backyard breeders, DO NOT EVER complain about animals being euthanised by overflowing pounds/ refuges. YOU are contributing to the problem.

If people stopped buying from backyard breeders and rather get a dog from the pound or rescue (all breeds and ages available on mass!!!) then backyard breeding might slow down and less dogs would be killed for no reason.

I wish people would think more of the animals and less of money. ✌️

25/01/2025

The proper walk is the basis for your relationship with your dog, trust and all other behaviour.
I saw a discussion the other day where people were saying, let your dog pull you to where it wants to go so it can sniff. 🤔 Well, a few issues with that. I am walking 4 dogs. So if they all want to go into different directions, I m in trouble.
It doesn't mean they can't sniff. It s just at my Terms and all in the same direction / spot.
Secondly, a lot of people don't understand the importance of the 'right way' of walking.
If an insecure dog is taking the lead (walking in front) with no guidance or direction from the human, they are forced to take the leadership role, even if they d much rather be a follower. By being overwhelmed with that position of responsibility, they will start lunging and growling at everything that comes their way, trying to protect their pack behind them. Fact.
By putting the dog in a follower position (next or behind you) in a calm and assertive way, the lunging and reactiveness can be stopped pretty much immediately. Tested and proven.

One way to teach your dog how to walk by Pack Leader Dog Psychology & Behavior

17/01/2025

This video is especially for all those experts who think that dominance is a) aggression and b) an outdated concept.
Dominance is very much part of canine behaviour and serves a role. Nothing outdated, no matter how many no pull harnesses and clickers get invented. ✌️

Whilst I wouldn't watch such interaction without stepping in, it shows body language and behaviour and as always well explained by

16/01/2025

This mornings lovely dog walk:
I m happily walking my dogs on leash in an onleash area (small town) when I have a young Cocker Spaniel running at us and into us. No owner in sight. Tried to shoo the dog away, didn't work. Knowing my dogs, I let my dogs make contact. I know they d scare the dog by all rushing back in its face at the same time, but wouldn't hurt it.
When I finally did see the owner, I yelled at her to get her dog and told her to keep her dog on leash, especially when her dog has no recall (which it had not, as she had to catch it). Also, she was not able to see her dog or other people from where she was in comparison to her dog. And that s just ignorant and stupid.
lf any of my dogs had been reactive, and her dog had gotten eaten- guess who would have been blamed?!
Not even 100m further, there was a man with large dog on a harness. It looked like he was trying to train his dog, giving the same command ever 3 seconds (look ahead, go ahead or something like that). He looked at me and said: He is friendly!
(Wanting me to pass him on the narrow path, most likely as training opportunity)
I said : yeah, no. And walked another path that gave us more distance. A second later his dog was growling and lunging and the man could barely hold him.
I saw that coming, he didn't.

I appreciated everyone trying to train their dog.
You make your life harder though, if you cannot read your dogs body language. Their body language will tell you how they ll react before they do.
The Dog was staring at us way too intently and his body language was stiff.
I would have given a correction right there. Problem, a harness is not a training tool and it s hard to impossible to give an effective correction.
When you wait until your dog lunges/ reacts, it s a lot harder to bring the dog back down and under control. Early intervention is the key.
Correct and redirect to wanted behaviour.

I could have been in two dog fights this morning due to one irresponsible owner and one that just could not read his dog. 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️
I keep focusing on my dogs and making sure they know how to behave in all situations and that they know I take charge of the situation.
It s the owners responsibly to be in control of their dog at all times. For everyone s safety. ✌️

08/01/2025

I like this video of my walk because it shows how my dogs keep checking in with me.
Especially the two white ones (Louie, the Bulldog and Sh*ttle the Supermutt) as they are deaf and vision impaired. They tend to check-in more often to make sure they don't lose track of me. ❤️
Nothing but love and respect in my pack. ✌️

08/01/2025

A lot of people think that alpha.or packleader is a bad word. Well, firstly, dog do live in a democracy where they take votes and majority rules. Fact.
By law and for the sake of peace and harmony and for the purpose of being in control of your dog at all times, it is VITAL that you are the leader of your pack.
Leader does not mean that you are mean and beati no your dog into submission until they are scared of you. It means you have a relationship with your dog based on respect and trust, where they have e learned from you what behaviour is expected.
I have high expectations of my dogs behaviour in public, as I want to be able to take them with me everywhere I go. And I know they won't bother anyone and behave in a way I can be proud of them.
There is nothing negative about being the leader of your pack. In fact, it s a must.
How you go about it though, is YOUR decision.✌️

08/01/2025

Same with picking up keys or putting on shoes.
Works a treat! 😀