Sunny Paws Dog Training

06/05/2022

Puppies and adolescent dogs go through multiple fear periods where they are suddenly going to be startled and fearful of things that they previously did not care about. Your puppy will act scared, maybe run away or they may start barking and lunging at what is worrying them. These fear periods typically occur in two windows:

➡ 8-12 weeks
➡ 6-18 months

This is a estimate only. Your puppy or dogs behaviour will tell you if they have entered one.

How you handle these situations matter. You will either be building your dog up, growing their confidence and their trust in you. Or you are going to do the opposite.

☝ If your dog does not trust you to make their situation better they will not look to you for guidance and confidence in times of stress.

With the best of intentions I often see over the top and/or harsh handling that in the long term is going to damage your dogs confidence and their relationship with you. Just because your dog may look like an adult at 12 months does not mean they are mentally. Especially for large breed dogs who won't fully mature until they are around 2-3 years of age. So mentally they are still puppies.

In these situations I often like to think about how I would handle it with a small child.

❌Am I going to pick them up and tell them "aww its ok, its ok, you poor thing"? No.
❌Am I going to smack them on the back of the head and tell them to cut it out and toughen up? No.

Unfortunately I see both of these responses regularly.

✅What you do instead is help them to work through it in a way that builds their confidence and trust in you.

🎳 My favourite way to do this is through play and games!

Depending on the severity of response and the environment I will either stay where we are or add a little bit of distance. Then we play games. My go to is usually our 'Get It' game which is just throwing food to chase and eat. Or I may pull out a toy and play. We want to create a positive association and make it fun. If they can't engage with you, that is fine. Just let them watch from a distance until they are comfortable.

🙎‍♀️ If you are ever worried that your puppies behaviour is abnormal get in touch with a professional trainer.

28/04/2022

🤪 Multidog households are not easy. And sometimes they are out right chaotic. And I've been there... the multidog house of chaos.

It doesn't have to be that way! With some structure, training and clear boundaries things can slowly get better.

👇 These are my key tips to reducing the chaos.

👨‍👦 One on one time with each dog.
Make sure you spend enough time bonding with each dog on their own. Dogs will bond much easier to each other than to humans. This can work against you when it comes to building a solid relationship and training.

🧱 Establish clear boundaries and train.
Write down where all the chaotic points in the house are and prioritise one at a time. For example, rambuctious play in the living room, door dashing, counter surfing etc. Pick one, develop a management plan to prevent rehearsals, come up with a training plan and spend 5 mins a day training. Thats all you need to do. When you start seeing improvements add into the mix the training for the next issue.

🛏 Strong place skill.
Place skills are simply sending you dog to a bed or mat. This has been a life saver in my house as it stops pestering guests for food, allows me to clean the house unobstructed and is something I've used extensively to prevent conflict between dogs when I can see a situation escalating.

🚧 Management (sometimes referred to as structure)
Simply put management is changing the environment or controlling the dog to prevent unwanted behaviour. Crates, xpens, baby gates and leashes are my go to for when my dogs are still learning.

Don't forget habits take time to change. How long it takes you to make meaningful progress is a product of:
⌚ how long your dogs been rehearsing the behaviour (the reinforcement history)
🚧 the management in place to prevent rehearsals
📝 your dogs individual learning ability and history
🤹‍♀️ our skills as trainers

☝ Remember training isn't just happening in the 5 or 10 minute sessions we put aside to actively work on things. Behaviours are being learned and rehearsed 24/7. Get in the habit of paying attention to the good choices your dogs are making throughout the day, mark and reward them.

15/04/2022

Got to meet this beautiful girl Charlie today to work on a few things including our leash walking skills. She is a black German Shepherd and as I'm sure you can tell they are my favourite 😍

With some clearer communication using markers, appropriate motivation and movement this girl was beautifully engaged and walking nicely with her owners 🥰

Charlie's owners have done such a fantastic job with her overall and I have no doubt her walking will improve quickly.

13/04/2022

Boundaries are the rules we set in life with our dogs that we want them to follow. It is important that when we bring a puppy or dog into our home that we think about these and start establishing them from the start.

Some of the boundaries I establish with my dogs include:
❌ No door dashing (all doors in the house through to the doors on the crate and xpen)
❌ No chasing the cat
❌ No stealing food off my plate or off counters (I do allow my dogs to sit next to me while I eat)
❌ No pestering other household pets
❌ No jumping on guests
❌ No intense play in the living room (you can play quietly on your own but any escalation will be interrupted)

👉𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝘂𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝘁, 𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲.

In this video my 12 week old puppy is demonstrating the boundary I have established for the side gate. I have been building this from day 1. This did not happen over night. Initially it was a brief sit and an immediate release as I opened the gate. Slowly I have grown this to now be sit while I open the gate completely and release on her word 'ok'.

☝ 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗴𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘆 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂.

In general for puppies your expectations should be low and the behaviour built slowly.

12/04/2022

I've had my puppy for over 4 weeks now and guess what? We've only had 5 toileting accidents in the house! And the last accident was over 3 weeks ago...

🤯 You want to know the secret? Management! In fact this is the secret to solving most challenges you will encounter over the lifetime of your dog.

❓ So what is management? Management is about removing choice from your dog or puppy if there is a wrong choice they are likely to make.

You do this one of two ways:

➡ changing the environment
🔸putting up baby gates to restrict access to certain areas
➡ structuring them
🔸putting them in a crate or xpen
🔸putting them on a leash

☝𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝘂𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝘀𝗼. 𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹.

They will learn to:
💥 jump all over your visitors
💥 steal food from the counters
💥 pester other dogs in the household
💥 chase the cat
💥 chew and destroy valuable items

‼️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗼 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝘂𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝘀. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘆𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿.

I love the first puppy stage because they are soo much fun and with proper management you can too. Don't get me wrong, there will always be moments where you want to pull your hair out but these will be minimal.

👉 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗮𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝗿.

𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀:

✴️ How do I prevent this behaviour from being rehearsed?
✴️ What do I need to train my dog to do instead in these situations?

08/04/2022

When you are selecting a dog or puppy to bring into your home you need to research & understand the breed. Dogs are a predatory species & as a result have what is called a predatory sequence of behaviour:

𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 ➡ 𝗲𝘆𝗲 ➡ 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 ➡ 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 ➡ 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗯-𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗲 ➡ 𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹-𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗲 ➡ 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁 ➡ 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲

👉 𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 &/𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 100𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴.

Some of the most popular breeds of dogs are working breeds. This means they will have amplified traits in this sequence that are going to be present from a very young age & can make them challenging dogs to live with.

Following are some popular breed choices & what we have amplified:

🐶 Border Collies ORIENT-> EYE-> STALK-> CHASE-> grab-bite -> kill-bite -> dissect -> consume

🐶 German Shepherds ORIENT-> eye -> stalk -> CHASE-> GRAB-BITE-> kill-bite -> dissect -> consume

🐶 Jack Russel Terriers ORIENT-> eye -> stalk -> CHASE-> GRAB-BITE-> KILL-BITE-> dissect -> consume

❓ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀?
👉 𝘐𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 & 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 & 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.

😵 To add further nuance to this are behavioural differences within breeds based on the breeding lines. Different lines will give variations in drive, arousal, energy & hyper-vigilance to movement. This will impact their suitability in a pet home.

Can working breeds make great family pets? Absolutely... BUT this is contingent on meeting their biological needs.

‼ So if you live a sedentary lifestyle don't get a German Shepherd from military & police breeding lines. Don't get a Border Collie from parents that work sheep all day. These breeds need their mental & physical needs met every day. When there is a deficit they become neurotic, frantic and anxious dogs. This is when we start to see serious behavioural issues manifest.

30/03/2022

𝗔𝗻 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱/𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗱𝗼𝗴𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀. 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆.

👉 𝘚𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴. 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘸 10 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘱𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

To split you simply move behind a visual barrier and add what ever distance you need. This is where you start to build your positive associations with the trigger using what ever fun but low key activity your dog loves.

When your dog is comfortable you can then introduce the visual component. Depending on the severity of your dogs behaviour this may be in one session or over a number of days, weeks or sometimes months.

In this video you will see Akame:

➡️ 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳
➡️ 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘻𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺
➡️ 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘈𝘍𝘛𝘌𝘙 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳

When we came back to the original spot we played some games to loosen her up:

🍖 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 - "𝘎𝘦𝘵 𝘐𝘵" 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦
🏃‍♀️ 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴
🧸 𝘛𝘰𝘺 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘵𝘶𝘨

🍽 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵.

As you will see she was comfortable, midly curious and readily able to engage with me.

🤜 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗱𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗺𝗲𝗱. 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗳𝘂𝗹.

28/03/2022

It's important when we are trying to build reliable behaviour in our dogs that we take a step back and consider things from their perspective. Sometimes what we think is reinforcing may actually be punishing.

Consider the following examples:

➡ Example 1:
You are on an offleash hike with your dog and you want to practice recalls. So you are calling your dog to you on a regular basis and giving them a pat on the head before releasing them again. Do you think the constant calling back to you for verbal praise AWAY from an enriching environment they don't often get access to is reinforcing or punishing? Too many repetitions from high value activities can be punishing.

➡ Example 2:
You have a dog with incredibly high prey drive, let's say a Jack Russel Terrier or similar. You are out with them, they spot some wildlife and start pursuit. You recall them and when they come back you hand them a piece of food. How do you think that piece of food compares to the act of engaging in predatory behaviour? What if instead of food you engage in a game of chase and tug? Try delivering a reinforcer that more closely mimics the very behaviour pattern your dog was just about to engage.

Strategic use of positive reinforcement to build behavior is:

🤑 𝙫𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙧𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 - 𝘵𝘰𝘺𝘴, 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺, 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 and food play, 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦

🛍 𝙫𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙚 - 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘷𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘣𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘷𝘴 𝘵𝘶𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘺

🎞 𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 - 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘢𝘨

🎭 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧s - 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵

☝ 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿: 𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗴𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺.

‼️ A lot of dog training challenges are a motivation issue. Not a stubborn, recalcitrant or dominant dog.

25/03/2022

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗽𝘂𝗽𝗽𝘆!

One of the main contributors to puppy frustrations such as toileting in the house, chewing inappropriate items, over stimulated biting and harassing other household pets is too much freedom. This is where crate training or the use of an exercise pen is a game changer! I can't imagine raising a puppy without one.

Benefits of crate training:

➡ 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘳 (𝘪.𝘦. 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘵, 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘨, 𝘵𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦).

➡ 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺.

➡ 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 (𝘪.𝘦. 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦).

➡ 𝘚𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.

➡ 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦.

It is much easier to set boundaries and expectations from day one through preventative methods then it is to undo bad habits in an adolescent dog that has been rehearsing them for months.

👉 𝘽𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚.

19/03/2022

Puppies have a critical development period thats starts from around 8 weeks of age and ends between 12-16 weeks. This is our key window for socialisation.

Socialisation is about giving our puppies a snapshot of the world we expect them to live in. Puppies not socialised well will lack confidence and can be developmentally disadvantaged for life depending on their breed AND temperament.

𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲.

✅ You should be at a distance where your puppy is comfortable and not overwhelmed.
✅ They should be able to calmly observe the environment.
✅ Take their meals out with you and feed them while they relax and watch the world.
✅ Engage in play in a variety of locations.
✅ Start in less busy places and then slowly increase going at the pace of your puppy.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝘂𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘃𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱.

You can expose them to the world AND protect them from disease by:

➡️ Letting them watch from the car.
➡️ Getting a wagon that they can sit in while you push them around.
➡️ Using a large picnic mat and having your puppy on a leash.
➡️ Using a puppy carrier bag.
➡️ Using a crate that you setup somewhere.

𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗡𝗢𝗧:

❌ Letting every person come up and handle your puppy.
❌ Going to a dog park and letting strange dogs overwhelm your puppy.
❌ Taking your puppy to a dog friendly cafe where they are meeting and greeting every dog and every person and getting overwhelmed.
❌ Uncontrolled and intense play till exhaustion with other dogs.

Learning to interact appropriately with people and other dogs is also a part of the picture but is usually focused on too much.

❌ Do not expose your puppy to strange dogs, out of control hyper aroused or temperamentally unstable dogs.

𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝘂𝗽𝗽𝘆! 𝗗𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗽𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀. 🥰

18/03/2022

**Client Rehome**

Bruny is a short-haired sable German Shepherd. She is a beautiful, intelligent and happy, 8 month-old girl, who loves people. She travels very well in the car and sleeps in her crate all night. Her loose leash walking is coming along but, typical of an adolescent dog, she sometimes becomes over excited. She is social with other dogs but needs to dial down her enthusiasm at times. She has completed Puppy School and has started group obedience classes. She has a lifetime membership with Jordan Dog Training in Brisbane and this would continue with a new owner. She is a good companion at home and particularly enjoys sitting on the verandah, watching birds and passing people.

With her exuberant personality and youth she does get overexcited at times but she has never shown any signs of aggression to people or dogs. She needs an environment in which she is stimulated both physically and mentally. She is highly food-motivated and loves to play with her toys. She would thrive with space and plenty of working activities and would make a great sporting prospect for someone interested in Agility, Rally O and the likes. Bruny is not suited to a home with young children.

Bruny is:
Fully vaccinated
Microchipped 
Has a Suprelorin implant for contraceptive control.

Like all German Shepherds, Bruny has intelligence, loyalty and companionship to offer to the right person, who can give her the care and lifestyle that she needs.

For all enquiries please contact Ellie:
0422 459 106
[email protected]

Price on application.

12/03/2022

Last night I welcomed a new addition to the Sunny Paws family... Akame a black working line German Shepherd 🐕

With the best of intentions we can sometimes overwhelm our new puppies and introduce them poorly to existing pets in the household.

Here is what I've done to protect my puppies confidence and ensure the relationship with my existing dog and cat is getting started on the right foot:

➡️ 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙚𝙩𝙨.

Introductions can be stressful on both dogs and puppies. Let them meet through barriers like baby gates or exercise pens initially.
Some puppies come in too high and chase the cat or pester an adult dog that does not want to interact. Don't allow this to happen.

☝𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴.

➡️ 𝘿𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙮.

The first time away from mum can be pretty stressful. This means they may go off their food and they make act a bit fearful and unsure. Let them come out of their shell on their own time. Don't drag them to inspect things or people they're unsure of. And don't constantly offer them food. They will eat when they're ready.

☝ 𝘈𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘢typical 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.

❤ 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙚𝙣𝙟𝙤𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙂𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢, 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮, 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙬𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤𝙮𝙨.

07/03/2022

This is Wilmington! He is such a cool dude! A big personality in a little body with some big feelings about the world 💝 But very loved by his family 🥰

Looking forward to seeing how you progress lil guy 😊

02/03/2022

☯ Enrichment ☯ is the third key aspect to my approach working with dogs. This is about meeting our dogs biological needs.

🐕 There are multiple ways to achieve this including food enrichment and environmental enrichment.

🍖 Food enrichment is about delivering food to our dogs in a more natural way that mentally engages and tires them.

⛳Environment enrichment is about enriching the environment that our dogs spend most of their lives in.

🏔 Lastly is allowing our dogs freedom of movement out in nature. This means our dogs can walk or run and freely engage with the environment.

The things we want to enable our dogs to do through enrichment activities is:
➡ Foraging & Sniffing
➡ Digging
➡ Shredding
➡ Chewing
➡ Licking

☕ These all provide an outlet to relieve stress and tension.

☝ This is especially important for anxious, fearful, reactive and/or aggressive dogs.

❗ Providing enrichment should be just as important as training our dogs, if not more. Because a dog that is lacking biological fufilment is often a dog with behavioural issues. This deficit will exaggerate these problems and in some cases be the sole cause.

26/02/2022

My favourite breed! The German Shepherd 😍

☝Did you know that German Shepherds are a herding breed?

🐑 Yep! They were originally bred to tend to sheep. This means they acted as a living fence to keep sheep contained within certain areas to graze.

👩‍✈️Nowadays German Shepherds bred for work are primarily bred for police and military roles. Bred for high levels of drive, resilience, energy and intelligence. Some of these traits are often not compatible with the average pet home. And if you find yourself with a German Shepherd from working lines you can quickly find yourself up sh*ts creek without a paddle.

🏇 The needs of dogs bred for work far exceed those of the average pet dog. Simple obedience and a walk around the block is not going to satisfy these guys. And this leads to problems...

😔 Poor training and lack of biological fulfilment creates frustration day in and day out. This constant state of frustration can lead to anxiety and many other behavioural problems.

📈 Often this appears as a frantic dog that goes from 0 to 100, jumping, vocalising and an owner at the other end doing their utmost best to maintain control. Often with little affect. This is not a good place to be. Because this level of over-arousal and frustration with no where to go can lead to aggression. It's also not a healthy state of mind for a dog to constantly be in.

🐶 My first dog was a working line German Shepherd... oh boy did I learn quick! She was my biggest teacher. But she helped me to discover something I loved doing and the type of dog that I love. Unless you want a complete lifestyle change heavily centered around a dog I don't recommend one of these guys.

👨‍👩‍👦 There are some lines of German Shepherds being bred with traits more suitable for typical pet homes. However they are one of the most popular breeds of dogs and as a result there is a lot of poor breeding. This results in dogs with poor temperaments and poor physical health.

👉 Do your due diligence on who you choose to purchase from. And if you don't want a complete lifestyle change and a lifetime of hard work DON'T get a German Shepherd from working lines.

17/02/2022

Does your dog jump all over you and people that come to your home? This is a great example of one of many ways you can change this from Jacqui at Dog Sense Training and Behaviour. Create a predictable pattern that over time will become their default behaviour.

🧍‍♀️Person comes over and handful of treats is delivered to a spot away from the door every single time.

🕓 Overtime people coming over = yummy treats away from the door.

🍖 Food also helps lower arousal/excitement and this is going to help condition a new emotional response to people coming over.

☝ Practice often with fake setups and pretending people are there.

🥳 Don't forget to have fun! Training should be a fun relationship building activity. Laugh at mistakes and note down changes for next time to make sure your dog is successful.

10/02/2022

09/02/2022

❓ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁?
Using food to reinforce behaviours we like is one of the most practical and powerful tools at our disposal in dog training. But not all dog treats are equal, here are our tips:

❓ 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗴𝘀 𝗱𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱
Wherever possible, use your dogs daily food as their training rewards, don’t spend money on expensive treats that don’t add much (if any) nutritional value for your dog.

❓ 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀
Don’t cut your treats too big. Our medium - large sized dogs work for treats the size of our pinky fingernails. You don’t want your dog to fill up and become satiated before the session is over.

👉 𝗗𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀
Your dog may work for kibble at home but in new places with distraction (like in class) this may not cut the mustard. Using something with more flavour can make your job easier in the beginning.

👉 𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙙𝙤𝙜 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙨…
In this case the environment may be too difficult for your dog to concentrate. Start in a quieter space and develop your skills further before coming back to the more difficult place.

🐾❓ 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥?
Our go to food for training is Prime100 dog roll. These rolls are good quality, nutritious and cost effective. They can easily make up part or all of your dogs daily food intake and are highly palatable to most dogs. You can pick them up at most pet stores in the fridge section.

07/02/2022

💣 Reactivity Tip 💣

‼️ Don't make every time you go out with your dog a training session.

➡️ Working through reactivity can be very stressful and exhausting for a dog (as well as the human).

➡️ If everytime they leave the house they get overwhelmed and rehearse their reactivity then this will be the emotional state they associate with leaving the house.

➡️ This leads to dogs who at the sight of the leash become a frantic mess incapable of engaging with you and responding to anything.

➡️ How you start your walk with your dog sets the tone for the entire walk. If your dog can't engage and respond to you the moment they leave the house, on your driveway or even at the door with the leash on, this is where your training needs to start.

➡️ Without this engagement your dog is setup to fail.

ℹ Set your dog up for success and build strong foundations of engagement that transfer out into the world. Don't take on challenges your dog does not have a solid education for.

‼️ Working through reactivity is not just about changing behaviour, it is also about changing emotions.

01/02/2022

Communication is one of the three key aspects to my approach working with dogs. This is one of the things we muddle up most with our dogs 🙈

This where a well-defined 📣Marker System📣 and 💰Reinforcement Strategy💰 comes in.

Providing clarity and motivation is when we can start doing our best work.

If you feel like you're stuck doing the same thing over and over again and not getting anywhere… reach out or call now. Together we can change that 😊

☎️ 0423 696 864
📧 [email protected]
💻 www.sunnypawsdogtraining.com.au

   

30/01/2022

Today we did what I call an enrichment & relationship building activity.

This is where I go somewhere and just hang out with my dog without any agenda, no training goals and no structure. We are on a long line and my dog is free to choose where to go, free to sniff and free to move his body at whatever pace suits him.

When he is comfortable and ready we engage and play. I acted a fool and put on quite the show for anyone who happened to pass by 🤣 But we had fun!

As little as 30 years ago a lot of pet dogs were free roaming. They had a home base but when their person left for work they roamed. Studying the current free roaming dog populations of today we know they can cover up to 10km a day, sniffing, foraging and running around.

Nowadays dogs live in increasingly smaller and smaller spaces with less and less freedom. And sometimes a walk around the block has them coming home more stressed than before they left.

It's super important that we take time a few days a week to give our dogs the ability to decompress. Enabling them to move freely, engage with their environment to sniff and forage allows our dogs to relieve stress and tension.

This type of activity is one of many things we can do to provide our dogs with biological fulfilment.

I am an independent dog trainer located in the Western Suburbs of Brisbane. I take a holistic and mo

27/01/2022

There are three aspects to my approach for solving challenging dog behaviour. These also underpin how I raise and train my dogs.

These are:
💞 Relationship
☎️ Communication
🏔 Enrichment

Today I will talk about 💞Relationship💞

A good relationship with our dogs is built doing mutually enjoyable activities together. We are having fun and our dogs our having fun. Or we are content and our dogs our content.

If everytime we leave the house there is constant tension on the leash, constant frustration and constant conflict then this will be damaging the relationship.

We sometimes lose sight of this in our pursuit of the finish line... the 'trained' dog or the 'fix' for a behaviour issue. But there is no finish line. Living with and raising a dog is a journey not a destination. Don't sacrifice the relationship with your dog for a race that doesn't exist.

This is not to ignore the fact that there will be some things that we have to do that our dogs are not going to enjoy. This is the reality of living in our world. But this should not be the norm.

Find the right balance and don't let the pendulum swing too far to one side for too long. This is where quality of life will suffer.

Find the joy with your dog... it is there waiting for you to uncover it.