The Polite Dog

04/09/2024

Grumble and Growl Zones. Do you have a child and a dog? Or are you expecting and have a dog in your home already?

Check out this Family Paws handout and see if you can recognise the potential grumble and growl zones in your home

12/08/2024

💪⚡This is a piece of information that will keep you from banging your head against a wall over and over again and this knowledge can really help ALL dogs.
Reactive dogs.✅
Anxious dogs✅
Over excited dogs✅
I know the terminology used by some in the industry is complicated (esp if you are just beginning to help your dog through this difficult time) and this page will always try to break down often difficult/complex issues so they can be more easily understood.
Understanding this concept will change how you work with your reactive dog.

Many clients attempt desensitisation work or begin counter conditioning when their dog is already over their threshold and the trigger is way too close.
We cannot dictate where to start this work....your dogs body language will let you know.
If your dog needs 20 metres from another dog to be at a 2 - 3 great !
If they need 50 metres from a trigger to be at a low level, then insisting on a closer interaction will not help them, they decide what is too close to a trigger, not us.

Distraction is NOT a long term solution for reactivity.....it sometimes has its place, but hiding and distraction are very temporary "solutions”.
If you have a reactive dog, there is hope, you can do this!

🙂Unmarked graphics are available for $ 1.20 USD or $ 2 NZD each (approx), these are then able to be used off Facebook for client handouts, posters etc. Please visit ABC Dogs Patreon Shop for our collection of graphics.
Everyone is free to share these posts on social media, however off social media use is protected.
Screen shots are a violation of copyright.
Please respect that these graphics take time and effort to make . All graphics belong to ABC Dogs NZ and are under copyright.

06/08/2024

Fear is the easiest things to condition in dogs and the hardest to resolve. Fear can come from many places, many of which we don't control. This infographic is my most downloaded and shared resource. In fact, many vets and Veterinary Behaviorists use this handout with their own clients! Link in first comment to grab your own copy.

16/07/2024

15/07/2024

Cognitive dysfunction can affect senior and geriatric dogs. Here are the signs to look for.

11/07/2024

Though it may seem like a fun thing for kids, dogs are NOT meant to sit on. EVER!!! Please do not ever encourage a child to sit or step up on a dog. This can cause pain, fear and conflict. All can increase the chances of a dog bite.

Is your dog “tolerating” what is happening in a situation? Or is the dog really telling them they're uncomfortable and want this to stop? We encourage families to observe their dog's body language so that they can understand what their dog is telling them.

How do I know what to look for if they’re uncomfortable?
❗Half moon eyes, your dog is leaning their body away from what is going on,
❗Yawning when they aren’t tired
❗lip licking

There are many body language signals that dogs display to us if they are uncomfortable, and even if they are enjoying something. Dogs use their bodies to communicate discomfort, stress and joy. Maybe they are happy and content and come over to you while you are holding your baby and get some pets, or they are happily wagging their tail with a loose body.

Recognizing how your dog uses their body to communicate is an important way to build and strengthen bonds. Looking for more information? Join us on July 18 at 7pm ET/4pm PT for Dogs & Toddlers webinar taught be a licensed Family Paws Parent Educator! This is perfect for those whose baby's who are becoming more mobile (crawling, walking and all those exciting milestones!). We have some wonderful ways to safely include your family dog in this journey. Sign upbit.ly/registerdogstoddlers

03/07/2024

This is one that needs to be put to bed once and for all. It pains me to think of all the dogs who suffer unnecessarily because of the prevalence of this myth.

If you are afraid of something and someone hugs you and comforts you with gentle words, does that make you more afraid? Of course not. It helps calm you and makes you feel better.

So, let's keep this in mind as the US heads into the holiday and all the scary booms.

COMFORT YOUR DOG.
COMFORT YOUR DOG.
COMFORT YOUR DOG.
COMFORT YOUR DOG.
COMFORT YOUR DOG.

Stay safe.

28/06/2024

Dogs kept as pets have restricted control over their lives, as they are subject to the decisions and regulations of their owners.

Their activities, diet, and socialisation are all managed by their owners. When we keep dogs, we need to meet their natural needs to ensure their physical and mental wellbeing. Meeting their natural needs helps to provide them with a sense of security and comfort, reducing stress and anxiety, as well as preventing boredom by providing them with physical and mental stimulation.

23/06/2024

As a licensed Family Paws Parent Educator and a certified behavior consultant whose speciality is fear and aggression, I work with a lot of families with dogs and kids. Often I'll get called when the baby is approaching toddlerhood and the dog is struggling. Many families are surprised at this because often the dog was comfortable during infanthood but then struggles during toddlerhood as the child gain mobility and independence. Let's be proactive not reactive. Plan ahead to keep everyone safe and prepared.

If you are expecting, I recommend scheduling my one-on one pre-baby or toddler prep session: https://rescuedbytraining.com/project/pre-baby-toddler-prep/ to help set you and your dog up for success.

11/06/2024

I was lucky enough to speak at my girls’ pre school for Career Week. I felt privileged to share my experience so far as a dog trainer but also chat about dog and child safety when living with a furry family member or interacting with them. Sharing how to train animals with kindness was key and how we can read their body language to get an idea how they’re feeling. Naturally, they had so many questions, many of which were just stories I couldn’t help but laugh at and try stay on track with our conversations as most were related to animals farting or toileting habits 🙈🤷‍♀️😂

11/06/2024

New film premiering soon... TEEFS 😂

21/05/2024

20/05/2024

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but I keep seeing the advice of “don’t avoid your dogs triggers” floating around.

Every time your dog reacts, their behaviour is rehearsed and a pattern continues.

To the best of your ability, if you are not training around triggers when your dog is in the “green” learning zone (work with me to find out what that is), you are doing more harm than good.

Incremental training plans.
Training set-ups.
Ruling out underlying issues.

If you set your dog up to react and then try to “correct” the behaviour, it’s the same as tossing a kid into the deep end of the pool that can’t swim.

✅ If you want to fully understand the truth behind reactivity and the lies that have been told to you for other’s financial gain, head to my website to book.

20/05/2024

Doggie fun fact! Let them sniff. 👃🏽 🐾

Next time you’re out on a walk, try to let your dog sniff more and avoid rushing them along. Sniffing is not only natural for dogs, but will also help tire them out more!

17/05/2024

17/05/2024

When a dog's ears are tight around the base and held high and erect, behaviours are likely to be less thoughtful.. This is linked to engagement of the sympathetic nervous system as opposed to the parasympathetic nervous system.

As a dogs ears rise, and tighten, and the space between the base of the ears narrows, an internal change is occurring. Dogs are more likely to move towards more automatic behaviours such as herding, chasing, ragging, mouthing, grabbing and running.

25/04/2024

Here’s a PSA on behalf of all dogs.

Stop correcting your dog for sniffing.

Stop it. Please.

How would you like it if I corrected you for looking around a room? Imagine if you raised your head to look around a new place and I popped you or shoved you or said “HEY! PAY ATTENTION” You’d get pretty upset pretty quickly I’d imagine.

Dogs don’t smell because they are ignoring you or being stubborn. We humans primarily depend on sight, but dogs use smell AND sight to assess their surroundings and communicate. People spend more time interpreting visual data than olfactory information. Dogs are just the opposite.

Dogs devote lots of brain power to interpreting smells. They have more than 100 million sensory receptor sites in the nasal cavity as compared to 6 million in people, and the area of the canine brain devoted to analyzing odors is about 40 times larger than the comparable part of the human brain. In fact, it’s been estimated that dogs can smell anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 times better than people.

Scent gives information. Smelling is normal. Smelling is necessary and natural. Smelling is relaxing. Air scenting is HUGE for recovering reactive dogs. LET YOUR DOG SMELL!

Correcting a dog for sniffing is one of the worst things I watch people do. It’s another example of how controlling we try to be in our dogs lives. If you don’t want your dog to smell, teach him to focus on you instead for part of the time, and then give other ample times to smell. If he’s pulling you to smell, use a different tool that inhibits pulling but still allows for some nasal exploration. Even better work on collar pressure work too so your dog learns to smell when there’s less pressure! Walks on a long line on a dirt road or in a field for your dog to zig zag back and forth on to smell is MUCH healthier and more tiring for them as animals than trying to keep them within 6 feet of you on a neighborhood walk.

Please accept that smelling is normal and work WITH your dog on it, rather than just trying to suppress it. Just because that blade of grass or tree isn’t interesting to YOU doesn’t mean your dog deserves a correction. Who cares if you don’t walk the extra block - spend those 5 minutes on that one tree if you need to. Your dog doesn’t complain when you watch YouTube videos of kittens for hours or read the news or binge on Netflix, so let him get his scent binge in to.

Happy smelling pups!

21/04/2024

Often my first recommendation is a vet visit or I like to find out when the last visit to the vet was

As a dog behaviourist, ruling out medical causes for behavioural changes and challenges is really important. By working in partnership with the dog's vet and other professionals involved in the dog's life as well as the owners can not only give a holistic picture of the behaviours that are being dis...

20/04/2024

I get this question all the time from parents:

"My dog growls at my kids. How do I stop this?"

Instead of asking how to stop the growl, ask how to STOP THE REASON the dog is growling in the first place.

For example, If your kids are too close, ask them to back up and invite the dog to them instead.

Parenting kids and dogs at the same time is hard.

Reach out if you are overwhelmed as a parent or as a dog pro without lots of kid experience. You are not alone - I can help.

19/04/2024

Did you know this?

12/04/2024

"His tail is wagging, so he probably wants to say hi, right?"
Not necessarily! The tail is just one part of a dog's complex body language repertoire, and a moving tail doesn't mean friendly intentions. Understanding body language subtleties and intricacies is key to working through behaviour challenges and to having a trusting relationship with your dog.
#

12/04/2024

"My goal as a trainer is not only to teach dog owners how to get 'obedience,' but to learn to communicate better with their dogs and strengthen their bond with their dogs while maintaining or increasing their dog's happiness and enthusiastic spirit. I don't expect dogs to sit obediently in line in my class. I look for alertness, enthusiasm, inquisitiveness, happy faces and positive interaction between the dogs and their owners."

Cindy Ludwig, Canine Connection LLC www.clicker.solutions

11/04/2024

Putting this back up in recognition of Dog Bite Prevention Week. 💥
A very important topic. ‼️‼️
Bites...they can change everything for you and your dog.
This escalation may only take seconds.

"My dog bit out of the blue".
"There was no signs at all"
"She just bit out of nowhere"

Many of these comments are because the signals and signs given were not received, either by us or not received by the other dog involved.

Just as some humans may struggle to read these signals, some dogs struggle too.....especially if over aroused or "over socialised/poorly socialised" as a puppy or young dog.
Some people think all dogs are able to read other dogs signals clearly......most do not and there are a variety of reasons for that.

Breed differences.⚠️
Dogs may not be able to recognise facial tension or posturing in dogs which have vastly different shapes than them.

Over excitedness.⚠️
Overly aroused or "hyper" dogs may interact immediately rather than waiting to read the circumstances and watch how this dog interacts.

Hormones.⚠️
Hormones have the capability to change a dogs behaviour drastically.

Not learning when enough is enough.⚠️
This is a skill and needs to be taught early. Every dog should learn when play is too rough, one sided and is turning.

Learning to be calm.⚠️
Calmness is a skill and cannot be expected if your dog has not learned this either naturally or taught by you.

Bites will change everything in your world and in your dogs world. Please take bites seriously, especially in smaller breeds. Sometimes when people have smaller breeds, the damage a bite can do may be minimal...that isn't an excuse not to address the behaviour.

No matter what the size of the dog....a bite is a bite.

Please respect that these graphics take time and effort to make. Everyone is free to share on social media🙂, however off social media use of these marked graphics is prohibited.
Unmarked graphics are available for $ 1.20 USD or $ 2 NZD each (approx), these are then able to be used off Facebook for client handouts, posters or for personal use.
Screen shots are a violation of the copyright.
Please visit ABC Dogs Patreon Shop for unmarked graphics. All graphics belong to ABC Dogs NZ and are under copyright.

10/04/2024

When we focus on making dogs happy, it’s better for them and us.

08/04/2024

It's sad to see people being told to invade all areas of their dogs life. Let's assume that like us, they want agency, undisturbed rest and that they have the right to manage their meal without strange human interruptions.