Ruff Justice Positive Pet Dog Training

01/12/2024

Friday 🐾💖

01/10/2024

🐾🐾 Paws ... and pawnder 🐾🐾

01/08/2024

Monday morning🥰🐾

01/03/2024

🐾🐾 Paws ... and pawnder 🐾🐾

RESEARCH REQUIRED!

Choosing a dog just because of the way they look.

We wouldn’t choose a partner or make a commitment to sharing our lives with someone based purely on the way they look – (I suppose there could be exceptions in some cases!)

We would first really get to know them, what kind of personality they have and who they really are before making that sort of commitment.

Yet people continue to choose dogs just because of the way they look.

Maybe they saw a dog like that in a movie that they enjoyed or maybe they just really like the way they look, without having any understanding or thought to learn about what that particular breed was selectively bred to do and what behaviour might be expected.

The way a dog behaves is not always specific to the breed. Dogs are individuals, with their own unique personality and their behaviour is shaped not only by genetics, but by specific life and learning experiences and environment, but problems can happen when the traits of that breed and their specific needs are not taken into account.

Some breeds may just simply not be compatible with a particular person or family’s needs, lifestyle, environment or expectations.

Is it fair or ethical to need to suppress, train out or even punish breed specific tendencies, calling them behaviour problems, when we hold a dog in a captive environment that is unsuitable for them.

First research the breed and learn all you can about potential traits and what to expect before making that choice.

12/30/2023

Happy New Year!!!!💖🐾

12/28/2023

12/25/2023

Christmas Monday morning🤣🐾

12/22/2023

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!!!💖💖

12/20/2023

🐾🐾 Paws .... and pawnder 🐾🐾

WHAT’S IN A NAME ?
Changing a rescued dogs name can be a good thing.

If a dog has come from an unpleasant or abusive background, or even an unknown background, they may associate their name with negative experiences.

A previous owner may have shouted their name just before doing something unpleasant to them.

Changing a dog’s name can be a fresh, new beginning and can provide an opportunity to rebuild broken trust and build new bonds.

There may be concern that changing a dog’s name will confuse them or may cause some form of emotional distress, but dogs really don’t see their names in the same way that we do.

Dogs really don’t care what we call them, as long as that name is associated with positive experiences it will be a good name.

A dog’s name is more important to us than it is to a dog. A name is really just a cue to get your dog’s attention so they respond.

The way a new name is introduced and taught is important. Care should be taken not to attach any negative associations with the new name.

The new name should always be paired with something positive whenever your dog hears the sound. Call the new name and every time your dog reacts, responds or looks at you, reward this with a treat, lots of praise, a game or a toy.

Keep repeating this and dogs will quickly begin to associate their new name with something good about to happen and will start responding to the new sound in a positive way.

“It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to.” - W.C. Fields. This quote sums up the importance of pairing a name with something positive so that it will always be what a dog wants to answer to.

A previous name may always be linked to a traumatic past, but a new name can be the beginning of a happy ever after and forever home.

12/18/2023

Monday morning🐾🥰

12/13/2023

🐾🐾 Paws ... and pawnder 🐾🐾

WHEN CAN YOU STOP REWARDING YOUR DOG?

Is it after your dog has learnt a new behaviour, is it when your dog knows what you expect from them, is it because you don’t want to have to carry treats around forever, is it because you don’t want to spoil your dog?

Many people are initially quite happy to use rewards when training a puppy or teaching a dog a new behaviour, but often seem concerned about when they can stop doing this.

The focus is often on - The sooner I can stop doing this the better or surely my dog should just be obedient and listen to me, or I don’t want to spoil them.

A common analogy used to explain why you should never stop rewarding is that of a person starting a new job.

You’re offered a good salary and you’re enthusiastic, motivated and quickly learn the skills required.

Your boss is really happy with your work and you are rewarded at the end of the month with a good salary.

At the end of your second month, you are told that you will no longer be earning a salary.

You are told that because you now know the job and really perform well, it's no longer necessary to pay you.

How would that effect your motivation, your mood, your willingness to continue performing at a high standard or even showing up for work?

The same applies to our dogs. To maintain a behaviour, to maintain motivation and to keep communicating in a way they understand, we need to reward the behaviour we are looking for.

Yes, there are different ways to manage rewards and reinforce behaviour if we want to get technical – successive approximation, fading, fluency, intermittent schedules, random, jackpots etc, but this post is not about technicalities, it’s about the principle of rewards and why we should never stop rewarding.

12/11/2023

Monday 🐾🤣

12/08/2023

Friday 🐾💖

12/06/2023

🐾🐾 Paws ... and pawnder 🐾🐾

EMOTIONS MATTER!
Dog’s emotions really do matter, far more than we may realise.

Emotions matter because emotional states drive behaviour.

Think about how our emotions have a direct affect on our behaviour – we may lash out at others because of the emotions of fear, anger or frustration. Be irritable if we are tired or in pain. Struggle to focus or learn something new if we are stressed or anxious, shut down or over react if we feel insecure or unsafe ….

When a dog’s emotional needs and well-being are not supported and not addressed, behaviour problems are often seen.

Unwanted behaviour shouldn’t be looked at independently or as a specific problem that needs to be fixed.

When needs are met, when emotions are recognised, when body language is understood and listened to, a dog’s emotional state will change, which will in turn bring about positive changes in behaviour.

These are the foundations on which behaviour change is built.

12/04/2023

Monday morning🤣🐾

11/29/2023

🐾🐾 Paws ... and pawnder 🐾🐾

ANYBODY CAN SUPPRESS BEHAVIOUR
THE PERILS OF PUNISHMENT

It’s really easy for anyone to suppress or stop a behaviour by using punishment, force or pain and say that it works, so why even bother to do it differently?

Punishment based methods may well “fix” the behaviour quickly, are far easier, require far less effort, less knowledge, less education, or even just be based on traditional belief, but these methods come at a great cost - destroying trust, creating insecurity, fear, anxiety, provoking aggression, causing dogs to shut down or feel helpless and prevent dogs from learning an alternative, more acceptable behaviour.

“A tradition without intelligence is not worth having” - T. S. Eliot

There is so much scientific evidence to support force free, positive reinforcement methods as being the most effective and successful way to modify behaviour.

There is nothing admirable, ethical or intelligent in physically or emotionally forcing any sentient being to comply.

Take the time and make a commitment to understand and learn about positive, force free, science-based methods.

There is so much information available, if we just take the time to look.

11/27/2023

Monday morning 🥰🐾

11/22/2023

🐾🐾 Paws .... and pawnder 🐾🐾

AGE ISN’T JUST A NUMBER
Aging in dogs is really not that different to the way that we age, but the sad reality is that when our dogs age, it all seems to happen so fast.

Considering their life span, we really have so little time with them.

It’s important to be aware of the changes that come with aging and do what we can to make this time of their lives as comfortable as possible.

Senior dogs often have a more difficult time coping with things that didn’t seem to bother them before.

Many behaviour changes in this life stage are due to an underlying age-related condition that is causing pain or from a decline in hearing, sight or perception.

Unexpected touch, movement or noise may cause already sore or stiff areas to jerk or tense up in response. That touch, movement or noise is often associated with more pain, creating a new negative reaction.

Managing any medical conditions through regular vet checks, feeding a balanced, age-appropriate diet, increasing mental stimulation to slow down cognitive decline, shorter, slower walks, allowing lots of time to sniff, keeping predictable routines and supervising children or other animals so they don’t bother our senior dog are just some of the things we can do to help our dogs navigate this stage in their life.

Much like how we should be patient and understanding and adjust the environment to accommodate the changing needs of our human seniors, we should be doing the same for our senior dogs.

“Dogs' lives are too short. Their only fault, really.” - Agnes Sligh Turnbull

11/20/2023

Monday morning 🤣🐾

11/15/2023

🐾🐾Paws ... and pawnder 🐾🐾

I Ain't Misbehavin'… I’m just misunderstood

What we often think of as misbehaviour is often just a dog behaving like a dog naturally does.

We expect so much of our dogs when we bring them into our lives, forgetting that they are a different species that doesn’t interact with the world in the same way that we do.

We hold them captive in a confined, unnatural space and become frustrated when they don’t behave the way we expect them to.

We become frustrated when our dogs don’t walk nicely on a lead, don’t get on with every other dog or person they meet, steal food from counter tops, don’t give things back, guard resources, dig, chew or destroy what they shouldn’t, bark, howl or whine too much etc.

We need to replace our frustration and our need to train away or fix unwanted behaviour with understanding and patience.

Understanding that dogs naturally behave in a certain way and patience in guiding them to learn a different behaviour using force free, positive reinforcement methods or by better managing their environment.

Providing outlets to engage in natural behaviour, providing mental, physical and social stimulation and understanding why dogs behave the way they do will make a huge difference to their lives.

One of the greatest gifts we can give our dogs is our understanding.

11/10/2023

Lest we forget 💖🌺🙏

11/08/2023

🐾🐾 Paws .... and pawnder 🐾🐾

BORN THIS WAY?
Why is a dog the way they are? Why do they behave that way? Are they just born that way?

Genetics certainly play a part, but it’s so much more than that. Genetics, environment, life experiences and individuality all play a role in their behaviour and who they are.

Dogs are unique individuals, each with their own personalities, emotions, likes and dislikes, sociability, preferences or different health issues. These can also change over time.

Just as we learn through our life experiences, so do dogs. Negative or positive life experiences, trauma, stress, learned habits, training methods, trust, feeling safe and secure, predictability and stability are all part of how life experiences affect their behaviour.

Many dogs live in environments that are not compatible with their genetics or are not meeting their needs.

Genetics are not always predictive, but they can provide insight as to what to expect.

We selectively bred dogs to do important jobs like guarding, herding, hunting, pointing, scenting, tracking or companionship. When dogs that were bred for specific jobs, find themselves “unemployed” and have no outlet for what they were originally bred to do, this often leads to pent up frustration and behaviour problems.

Conflict between the environment and a dog’s genetics are an increasingly common reason for behaviour problems in our times.

Yes, a dog may have just been “born this way”, but always look at the whole picture to understand the why of behaviour.

Genetics, environment, individuality and experiences – they all matter.