Project K9 Dog Training

02/24/2024

Fernie, come out and join the conversation! Link in bio for tickets - limited seating.

Perfect for: Anyone with a friendly, but reactive dog; anyone with an adolescent dog just beginning to show reactive or less confident behaviour; anyone with a puppy looking to prevent unwanted behaviours from showing up; anyone interested in learning why dogs do what they do!

Presented by Valerie Barry (Dog Partners), Katie Guille (Project K9 Dog Training), hosted by Barkside Pets in Fernie. Sessions are classroom style (no dogs please), and half the proceeds go to the Emegency Medical Fund at the Cranbrook Animal Hospital.

This will be a discussion on why friendly dogs become reactive on leash. We will provide training suggestions, prevention strategies and give you some tips to help manage, prevent and work on this challenging behaviour.

Leash reactive behaviour does not go away on its own, and it can easily escalate – spilling over into off-leash behaviour, too.

Friendly dogs commonly start displaying reactive behaviour when they’re adolescents. Our discussion will include tips on how to prevent this behaviour before it starts.

Katie and Valerie both specialize in working with behaviour issues from the mild to the extreme. They participate in regular continuing education to ensure we have the most up to date and relevant training information.

We hope to see you there! Please feel free to pass along any discussion topics that interest you for future Talks. 😁🐶

02/13/2024

Get tickets here: https://acuitygeneralschedule.as.me/dogtalk

08/31/2023

Hello everyone! Dog Partners and Project K9 Dog Training are once again holding our Terrific Teens class this fall and have 3 spots available on Thursday evenings beginning Sept. 14 at 6:15 pm. This is a class for friendly dogs aged 5 months to 2 years of age. We focus on the challenges of the adolescent stage of maturity - working on social skills, obedience and manners training. Classes are held at the Fernie Outdoor Rink. You can go to the class link here to register is you’re interested: https://fernie.dogpartners.ca/group_training. Any questions, you can email me at [email protected]

11/23/2021

Do you have clients who believe electronic collars are more effective? A recent study finds that positive reinforcement works more quickly.

11/18/2021

Not all dogs are “dog park dogs.”

By Rachel Brix The Experimental Dog Park at Ohlone Park in Berkley, California, which is generally acknowledged as the first leash-free American dog park, was created in 1979. Since then dogs parks…

09/27/2021

The enduring appeal of showing your Chihuahua who is boss.

07/22/2021

Denise McKay is offering beginner agility classes starting next week! The registration form will be added in the comments.

06/12/2021

Now more than ever, as the world starts to return to work and other life activities, the prevalence of separation anxiety has the potential to reach epidemic proportions.

05/29/2021

“Whale eye” is always my first indication that my dog may be uncomfortable with what my kids are doing. Learning your dogs body language allows you to intervene before the dog feels they need to escalate to a verbal warning.

It's smart to learn dog language so you can avoid a dog bite at home.

05/28/2021

Ad-hoc counter-conditioning and relaxation training work, say owners, but many other treatments don’t.

05/26/2021

Fernie dog trainer recognized by BC SPCA

05/24/2021

With many people going back to work soon, it's important to remember that getting a second dog will not help your first dog overcome any signs of separation anxiety. This is one of our most asked questions, which I go more in-depth on in this blog: https://bit.ly/3nNBFhf. Not only will getting a second dog not help your first, but it may also make the whole situation worse! Click the link to learn more!

05/11/2021

Puppy’s first walk: Puppies, with their developing joints, don't need lots of road walking. Rather, they need to go on little adventures somewhere they can be safely on a long line, where they can run, play and explore, then sit, rest and watch the world go by. - Sally Bradbury outlines some basic training steps to help a puppy get used to the big wide world as well as how to walk on a loose leash.
Read it now in May BARKS: https://barksfromtheguild.com/barks-digital-membership-2021/

Not yet subscribed? Sign up for your lifetime digital subscription today! https://barksfromtheguild.com/subscribe/

04/27/2021

Would anyone be interested in a complimentary remote training session for basic obedience and manners? I’m testing out a format for remote training and need a video for a project. First person to pm me will get the session. Thanks!

04/21/2021

This group of behavioural scientists used both biological and behavioural measures of welfare to understand how dogs trained in different ways were affected by the training.

The 3 groups of a combined total of 92 dogs were trained using either "aversive-based" (training based on use of physical punishment as primary motivator for learning), "mixed" (a mix of punishment and reward), and "reward" (with rewards as the primary motivator for learning).

Training sessions were filmed, and behaviours which are understood to indicate stress levels or negative emotional state were measured.
Immediately before and after training, a sample of saliva was taken in order to measure Cortisol (a hormone released in response to stress).

Additionally, dogs were exposed to a scenario to understand their optimism vs. pessimism - the latter being understood to be more likely when you expect a greater chance of loss over probable reward,

It was found that the dogs in the "Aversive" group showed more instances of panting and negative behavioural state than either the "mixed" or "reward" groups, but that even the "mixed group" showed the same inclination for low welfare measures.
The same was true in the non-training scenario, where dogs in the "aversive" and "mixed" groups showed poorer measures of welfare than the "reward" trained dogs.

Negative state behaviours included:
- tense & low body posture
- moving away from the handler

Cortisol measures found significant increases in cortisol levels for dogs in the "Aversive" group, compared to the "reward" group.

Interestingly, only the "mixed" group used pinch/prong, and Ecollar, whereas the "aversive" groups used check chains.
However, it was also seen that no matter the group, the higher a proportion of punishment was used, the more stressed the dog.

The implications of the study suggest that rather than pain from physical punishment being the reason that dogs find this style of training so stressful (yelping was rare, and whining found no differences between groups - both common signals of pain in dogs). Dogs find the use of physical punishment, especially when in high proportion, emotionally damaging.

The use of physical punishment seems to have far-reaching effects into a dogs life, even affecting its cognitive bias (optimism vs. pessimism) when facing a new situation.

There are numerous other studies suggesting the use of physical punishment can increase the likelihood of a dog showing aggression - simply go into Google Scholar, and search "aggression punishment dog".

Link to the study I am referencing:
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0225023

03/30/2021

  Will your dog stop on cue when trotting, loping or full-out running away from you? I consider it an essential tool for any dog that is ever off leash. (When I say “running away,” I mean “running with their faces turned away from their humans, not “running away” as in packing up their do...

03/19/2021

A few weeks ago, I started seeing posts on social media from dog trainers I know and admire, warning people about a new show on Netflix called “Canine Intervention.” The show features a dog trainer named Jas Leverette, who says, “I help the dogs that no one else will.” I watched the first th...

03/11/2021

Your dog may be the apple of your eye, but let's be honest: she is an animal, with her own instincts and idiosyncrasies, and there are going to be times when she makes you want to tear your hair out.

03/05/2021

TV shows have the power to influence how dog guardians view their dog’s behaviour and what training method they will use to solve problem behaviours.

03/03/2021

Cancel Netflix's soon released show: Canine Intervention - due to inhumane animal training

02/24/2021

There’s a new dog training show premiering on Netflix today called “Canine Intervention”. The featured trainer operates a training facility in California and his “modern training” techniques do include aversives such as prong collars and e-collars. If anyone has any questions about this show and it’s content please reach out. I would be happy to discuss.

Here is a link to the position statements of The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behaviour: https://avsab.org/resources/position-statements/
From AVSAB position statement on the popularized Cesar 911 show:
"Punishment-based training methods may be advocated by those without an appreciation of the current status of science in dog training. Although such methods can be effective in the short term, science tells us they are likely to exacerbate an animal’s fear and actually increase aggression in the long run. When the problem behavior involves a negative reaction to another animal, attempting to elicit the bad behavior so it can be “corrected” is not only ineffective, it puts the target animal at risk of injury. Such training methods are unacceptable."

These position statements were developed through the cooperation of the members of the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) and reflect the opinion of this association on a variety of topics related to the field of animal behavior. If you would like to order color copies, click on....

02/23/2021

02/22/2021

You’ve probably heard the phrase “Demand Barking”, and if you happen to have a dog, or have been within twenty meters of a dog, you’ve probably heard the real thing, too. Demand barking occurs when dogs have learned that barking serves to get them what they want. It’s not the same as the o...

02/18/2021

This illustration is a great reminder to always practice responsible dog ownership and proper etiquette while out with your dog.

02/09/2021

Training tip Tuesday from the CCPDT.