Happy Hills Hounds

23/09/2025

Good message about touch - does your dog actually like the interactions that you're offering? 🐾🐾 ,

03/09/2025

To get the best out of our doggos we need to give them what they need and reward them for offering what we need. Win win for both species

26/08/2025

Happy International Dog Day!!! 🐕‍🦺❤️ How lucky are we humans to have such an awesome companion. If you're struggling to LOVE your pup please reach out

Send a message to learn more

05/06/2025

So true!!

It’s easy to label a dog’s behavior as “bad.”

They bark, they pull, they chew, they growl, they ignore cues. And we’re quick to call it disobedience.

But what if we stopped looking at behavior as something to correct… and started seeing it as something to understand?

Because the truth is, behaviour is communication.

It’s your dog’s way of navigating a human world that doesn’t always make sense to them.

It’s how they express their needs, emotions, fears, and excitement. It’s their voice.

When a dog jumps on guests, they may be overjoyed and unsure how else to say hello.

When they pull on leash, they’re excited, curious, or possibly anxious.

When they growl, they’re saying, “I’m uncomfortable, please give me space.”

None of these behaviours are “naughty” or malicious.

They’re messages and signals. Opportunities to listen.

Yet too often, these behaviours are punished or shut down without ever asking why they’re happening. We silence the symptom without addressing the cause.

And in doing so, we risk making things worse: not only suppressing behaviour, but suppressing trust.

When we shift our mindset from "disobedience" to "communication," our entire relationship with our dogs transforms. We move from frustration to empathy.

We need to teach our dogs that they can trust us to listen when they’re struggling. We become their safe place, not their source of pressure.

So the next time your dog “misbehaves,” pause.
Ask yourself: What are they trying to tell me?

Because every bark, every growl, every moment of resistance - that's not defiance.

It’s dialogue. And dogs are desperate for us to hear them.

26/03/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1J5rC4pbUi/?mibextid=wwXIfr

🔥 You Can’t Reinforce Emotion—Here’s Why! 🔥

It’s a common myth in dog training: "If you comfort a scared dog, you’re reinforcing their fear." But that’s not how learning works!

🧠 Emotions Are NOT Operant Behaviors

Reinforcement strengthens voluntary behaviors in operant conditioning (e.g., sitting, coming when called).
But emotions are involuntary and shaped by classical conditioning—which means they can’t be reinforced like behaviors can.

💡 Example: If a dog is scared of thunder and you offer them comfort, you’re NOT reinforcing fear. Their emotional response to the thunder is an emotional response, not a voluntary behavior.

✅ In fact, research shows that social support - like letting your dog cuddle with you when scared - can decrease cortisol (the stress hormone) and improve an animal's ability to cope with stress.

26/02/2025

This woman fled from
QLD and now in Victoria & was last seen in Mooroolbark Cole’s. FYI. They join lost pets groups and pick up dogs that have been found. Keep an eye out and share. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=122139999284498722&id=61564961684533

Please look after your dogs and do your utmost to NOT let them wander by having secure fencing or keeping them indoors whilst you’re not around. Makes me sick to the stomach to think of my dog being caught up in this! We have the power to not let that happen

07/02/2025

The doggos enjoying their regular social outing in Kalorama 😁🐾🐾
, ,

02/02/2025

So true

"I didn’t believe it at first, but it’s true—having a dog makes a difference," I said, watching the light catch on the old leash hanging by the door.

At first, it’s just a dog, you tell yourself. Just another thing to care for in a world that already demands too much. But then they work their way in. Little by little, they show you parts of yourself you didn’t even know existed. The softer parts. The patient parts. The parts that needed someone to just sit beside them without asking for a single thing in return.

You notice it most on the days when life feels too heavy. They’re there, waiting, looking at you like you’re still worth something even when you’re not so sure yourself. They remind you how to keep going, not with words or grand gestures, but just by being there—steady, present, and unshaken by whatever storm you’re caught in.

And that’s the difference. They don’t fix you, but they remind you that maybe you don’t need fixing. That maybe love, in its simplest form, is all you needed to feel human again. And it’s a kind of love you don’t forget. The kind that stays with you long after they’re gone..

R.M. Drake 🐕

Artist Credit: Pascal Campion

06/09/2024

Haha 😂

18/04/2024

A dog's reaction while over a threshold is not them "being bad". Rather than punishing them, what should you do?

11/04/2024

https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/behavior/comfort-your-dog/?fbclid=IwAR3QfTYUq0KfdwZeefDgUdsa4gm8BkUjXwo16f3aptMcWQw_NP3UcgZhJM4_aem_Abw7u4Td346-BykVTwbOHxnLNCDvXsSu9TMPKIuOLEewPXZJRvWuJECE3oEAskxyCGs

training

Whole Dog Journal‘s mission is to provide dog guardians with in-depth information on dog food, training, behavior, health, and more.

07/02/2024

Oh 🤫