ReactiveDogs

07/02/2022

An article written by Turid Rugaas about Social Walks

18/07/2021

17/07/2021

Druk bezig geweest om het hele blog over tuigjes te herschrijven en te verbeteren.

Nu extra nadruk gelegd op de nadelige gevolgen van anti-trektuigjes en de fabeltjes rondom een hondentuig, zoals: "van een tuigje gaat een hond juist trekken!" en: "als een hond trekt moet je gewoon keihard corrigeren met een slipketting" en: "met een tuig heb je geen controle en kan je niet corrigeren".

Ook een stuk toegevoegd over de zogenoemde 'trainingslijn' of 'sliplijn' die je bevestigd hoog in de nek achter de oren, waar de nek het minste beschermd is.

Dit hele artikel bevat veel interessante & nuttige maar ook confronterende informatie die niet elk baasje weet.

Benieuwd?
Hier vind je 'm: https://www.dierenoppasamersfoort.nl/hoe-vind-je-het-beste-tuig-voor-je-hond-hondentuig-online-bestellen/

Delen mag 🥰

06/06/2021

[YOUR DOG IS WATCHING YOU]

Dogs are incredibly good at communicating with their bodies. We often mention the calming signals they use. But it is also true that dogs are very good at observing and understanding the body language of others, including us, humans.

We tend to pay very little attention to our own movements and facial expressions. Yet unconsciously we are constantly communicating something to our dog with our body language. And it can mean a lot to our dogs! 🤨

Imagine being in a foreign country and not understanding a word of what people are trying to tell you. You would also look very carefully for nonverbal cues.

For our dogs these include:

🔸 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 - dogs will pay attention to the direction of your face and body and will usually follow you. Therefore, when calling your dog or asking your dog to follow you it makes more sense to face the direction you would like them to go instead of facing and looking at your dog.

🔸 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 - dogs will often understand how you feel from how you breathe: breathing quietly will communicate calmness while if you breathe excitedly or heavily it will likely make your dog more excited or worried. So taking a slow, deep breath in stressful situations to calm yourself and your dog is a good idea!

🔸 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤 - studies have shown that dogs will follow the pace of a person walking with the dog. We often say - if you want your dog to slow down, start by slowing down yourself.

🔸 𝐓𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 - dogs will notice if you are tense and still. They will likely get suspicious or worried, too. On the other hand, a relaxed body and movement will make a dog more relaxed as well.

🔸𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 - dogs often find it threatening when people bend over or look down at them, even when people mean well. It's best to avoid leaning or bending forward when you are near dogs. We can squat or sit down to make our communication more pleasant when we need to get close to our dog.

🔸 Dogs notice tiny movements of our faces and look at 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 to understand how you feel and what they can expect from an interaction with you. For example, some dogs love it when we smile and feel good, and others would hide once they see their caregiver has an angry expression on her face.

🔸𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬 - dogs do understand when we are being polite and using certain calming signals - for example, it's very polite to curve when you approach a dog instead of walking in a straight line. Another polite gesture is looking to the side instead of staring directly at the dog.

These small things we do can make a big difference in the relationship with our dogs. It is especially relevant for sensitive or fearful dogs, but all dogs will appreciate our polite communication skills. 😎

10/05/2021

Give your Dog confidence with our online course!

29/04/2021

If you have a reactive dog you probably didn’t sign up for this. You probably didn’t take them on knowing how your life would change and how hard many aspects would be. You’ve probably changed your expectations about your life as a dog parent, going to the busy park on a sunny day and sitting in a busy pub garden may be off the menu for now. Although this is incredibly hard to adjust to and it’s stressful at times, life with reactive dogs teaches us lessons that will impact on every other dog we ever share our lives with. As well as working with so many reactive dogs I’ve had 3 of my own so I know all too well what life with them is like and it’s hard, really hard at times but it’s not all negative.
You learn to celebrate the small victories, you don’t take for granted your dog walking past another dog and staying happy and relaxed- it’s a win that makes your day!
You find the quiet walks that no one else knows about and where you won’t meet anyone and your super ninja senses mean you see things that other people may miss.
You don’t just enjoy a walk on a gorgeous sunny day and you find the beauty in a grey, rainy day walk as you know you won’t meet anyone!
Your understanding of canine behaviour will increase immensely- we’ve had clients who have become as good as the best trainers and whose understanding of the science behind their dog’s behaviour equals that of most behaviourists. They read, they learn, they listen and they take it all onboard and these skills will help every other dog they ever care for.
You will have such understanding and empathy for other owners of reactive dogs and you may help them in their own journey. Reactive dogs owners are the best at acts of kindness to other owners; long after your reactive dog is gone you will go out of your way to give an onlead dog space and offer a nod or a smile to someone else who is trying their hardest to manage their dog on a walk.
You will know your dog better than you could have ever imagined; your ability to read their every mood, their subtle changes in posture or that extra wrinkle on their brow would be totally missed my most people but not by a reactive dog owner as they are so in tune with their dogs. I miss my previous reactive dogs each and every day, life wasn’t always easy with them (although they improved so much) and I’m always thankful for the lessons they taught me.

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26/03/2021

26/03/2021

No need to teach a reactive dog a "watch-me"-cue:

Dog Decoder - learn to read your dog's body language.

22/03/2021

PROVIDING DISTANCE

Does your dog appear anxious when visiting new places?

By reducing the amount of sensory information that they need to process it can give the brain more time and capacity to decide on an appropriate action and make a proportional response.

One way of doing this is by providing distance. Distance from things within the environment that your dog is unsure about (as this gives more time for decision making), but also gradually over time, distance from you (which provides your dog with more autonomy).

Of course you’ll still be present and managing the environment so that it remains safe, however a little bit of distance (such as that provided by using a loose long line) removes the expectation that the dog must focus on you for instruction, which as you can imagine – takes up a lot of brain bandwidth! 🧠🐶

12/03/2021

Did you know that there is no scientific evidence to support the idea that spaying or neutering is an effective strategy for reducing aggression in dogs - check out this article by Dr. Jen

Today’s topic is a juicy one with lots of real-life relevance, so I hope you’re excited! If you’re a dog owner, or someone who works with dogs, how often have you heard some variation of the follo…

05/03/2021

Village dogs are essential genetic resources that help us understand dog evolution:

Amanda Pendleton and Jeffrey Kidd explain how they utilised new genomics technology - and village dogs - to address how wolves became dogs.

26/02/2021

How a grave gave an insight in the horse domestication process:

Genetic study reveals what Iron and Bronze Age peoples were selecting for. Learn more: http://scim.ag/2qcADQGRead the paper: http://scim.ag/2pmAA1O