Dog training hackâŠBefore you start implementing any training plan, ask yourself the questionâŠâAt this time in my dogs life or in this moment, are they in a state that we should be allowing to recover? Or are they in a good place and ready for us to add things in for them to grow?âIt matters because if we have a dog on our hands who is drained emotionally, physically and/or mentally then asking more of them in that moment may push them closer to breaking point. It may exasperate an issue further. Whereas taking stock, taking a step back to go forwards once theyâve recovered, allowing them to recover and regroup could actually be exactly what that dog needs.Itâs the same for us and this simple question (which should be asked not just once but frequently) can be the difference in success and failureWe all want to see healthy growth in our lives but it shouldnât be played like a finite game, itâs an infinite game of knowing to push and when to hold back
Itâs taken a few days to be able to write this but last week we had to say goodbye to little Django.He came into my life before I met my wife, before our baby girl came along and we became a little team right from day one. He was there for some of the hardest moments of my life and through the best as well.Anyone who met him will know what a special soul he was. He had an amazing calm about him in every situation. Other dogs, cats and animals could pick up on this every single time and he always had a calming effect on everyone. He loved people, kids, other dogs, cats and even made friends with Poncho the rabbit. He really was our little unicorn. He brought nothing but joy into our lives for six years. I picked him up from the shelter when he was sick with kidney and liver failure, heâd had 13 teeth removed and he was hairless on his back end. I thought he had a couple of years in him so as time went on and he got healthier and healthier his first nickname was âbenjiâ after Benjamin button. As his energy levels increased and he started evolving from a sick and lethargic pup to a bouncy happy hound he got his next nick name âBillyâ after Billy Elliot as we loved the sound of his tap dancing claws on our floors.He grew in and out of nicknames over the years and each one has a special place in our hearts. He was the best big brother to Otis and Isla and his impact on all of us will live on.RIP My little friend. We love you so much â€ïž
Is your dog trying to protect you?Unless thereâs a guarding tendency in their DNA itâs not that likely. Not impossible, but not that likely.Some breeds really struggle with lots of variables and crave predictability in their world.And dogs whose behaviour thatâs gets labelled as âtrying to protect their humanâ are often just doing what they have learned to get rid of variables and unpredictability. These donât need support in ways that help them desensitise their world, help reduce anxiety and increase their confidence and independence.That plan looks very different to that of a guard dog weâre trying to help learn âyou donât need to guard meâ so getting the diagnosis is very important if you want to make significant change in their behaviour Book a free initial assesment if you need help with this or any other dog training issues
If you listen to their whispers they wonât have to shout!
What does your dog tell you subtly?
Socialisation is tricky!
It can be tricky socialising your dog out in the real world!
You never know if the other dog in the park is going to be too rough, teach bad habits, aggressive or just not a good influence on your pup.
Itâs also tricky when youâre not sure what good and bad play looks like, when to keep your dog on leash, when to let them off and how/when to step in and interrupt a game.
Thatâs why weâve created our socialisation classes.
A class in which we focus solely on this
There are lots of classes out there that focus on obedience, recall and all of that traditional stuff. And theyâre great⊠but this is different.
In these classes weâll teach you:
â
how to how handle a leash for on leash introductions
â
how to regulate play and step in when necessary
â
what good and bad play looks like
â
about the best way to socialise YOUR individual dog
If you want to learn how to socialise your pup⊠head to the link in the comments
Port Gut Health + Frustration = Poor Mental & Emotional Health = Unwanted Behaviours
Picking things up with with their mouths is normal for dogs
Ingesting non edible items isnât, especially if it keeps happening
If it is, then itâs worth looking into why.
Two common factors we see are:
1. Poor gut health
2. Frustration
We often see when the gut health of the dog improves this behaviour decreases.
When it comes to frustration, we often see people panic when their dog starts doing this and begin to withhold and restrain the dog from natural behaviours.
We see people not leave anything out for the dog to chew at all, snatch things out of their mouth, hold them on tight leashes when walking and never letting them off leash, each exasperating the frustration further.
The more frustrated the dogs get, the more this behaviour increases and we see things get worse.
So instead, we what we can do is supervise them chewing items we know are safe, ensure we donât give them access to things they can pick up that they shouldnât (đą pick up your socks people), watch where theyâre walking and teach them to look at you and reward them when walking past things they might scavenge and use a long leash in safe places to allow for freedom of movement.
Port Gut Health + Frustration = Poor Mental & Emotional Health = Unwanted Behaviours
If we reverse this, we will see the unwanted behaviours decrease by addressing the underlying cause.
Will your dog rest when theyâre tired?
Will your dog rest when theyâre tired?
We see a lot of dogs that âwonât stop playingâ or âwill just keep chasing the ball as long as we throw itâ
And this isnât necessarily an issue
Unless, we acknowledge that this dog needs help to settle and relax and that help isnât provided
If we have a dog in our care like this, we will probably have to facilitate environments and situations for them to be able to rest, decompress and recover quite deliberately rather than relying them on just doing so when theyâve had enough
Our modern world is stimulating and can be OVER stimulating to many dogs
Learning to rest, decompress and relax is a behaviour that can be trained just like any other.
Think of it like skills in our life that help us decompress like meditation or reading, itâs possible, we just need to first of all acknowledge itâs necessary and then practice it
Giving our dog physical and mental stimulation and exercise is really important As is time to rest, decompress and recoverToo much exercise will cause stress & exhaustionToo much decompression will cause frustration Both are essential and itâs our role to be aware of what our dog needs are at the time Routine and patterns are great for predictability but sticking to them too rigidly may cause us to do things because âitâs what we always doâ rather than what the dog actually needed
