Does your dog love stalking and chasing things?
Ever heard of the Predatory Sequence??
#TorontoDogTrainer #RunningDogs #ForceFreeTraining #EvidenceBasedTraining #RewardBasedTraining #SnackFeederNotPackLeader #GiveYourDogARaise #WellPaidWellBehaved #AnimalBehaviorConsultant #LetThemSniff #RespectYourDog #TheFutureIsForceFree
Woke up to some great news!!
Here's the link:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/12/animals-to-be-formally-recognised-as-sentient-beings-in-uk-law
#ecollars #banecollars #ecollartraining
#ecollartechnologies #ecollardogtraining
Oooo!! This one is perfect: #ecollarfreedom
#ecollarsareawesome 🥴🥴
#TorontoDogTrainer #RunningDogs #ForceFreeTraining #EvidenceBasedTraining #RewardBasedTraining #SnackFeederNotPackLeader #GiveYourDogARaise #WellPaidWellBehaved #AnimalBehaviorConsultant #LetThemSniff #RespectYourDog #TheFutureIsForceFree
I stole this from the brilliant @brenebrown !!
She was not talking about dogs, but as I am often inclined to do, I made it about dogs🤷
In the podcast I was listening to Brene was telling a story or running a group w some christian (relevant) outreach workers and asked them this:
👉Do you believe everybody in the world is doing their best?
followed by:
👉Think of a specific person who you really believe could be doing better, someone who isn't doing their best.
She proceeded to do something that I thought was so brilliant. She so effectively managed to get these people (and me, and maybe every other person who listened to this podcast episode...) to "try on" the opposing opinion:
👉Now, image God came to you and whispered in your ear "that person you're thinking of... That person is doing their very best, without a doubt."
This just wrecked me when I heard it💔
My take away was to be more aware of how I judge people, consciously and unconsciously, when do and don't I give people the benefit of the doubt, how sh*tty is it to not give someone the benefit of the doubt (especially when find you were wrong).
I think we could do better by our dogs if we extended the same belief to them. It won't change anything about their behaviour, but it sure as hell could change how you see them, how you care for them and teach them things, how you help them with tough times.
They are doing their very best❤️
#TorontoDogTrainer #RunningDogs #ForceFreeTraining #EvidenceBasedTraining #RewardBasedTraining #SnackFeederNotPackLeader #GiveYourDogARaise #WellPaidWellBehaved #AnimalBehaviorConsultant #LetThemSniff #RespectYourDog #TheFutureIsForceFree
I mean, how do I not gush about this!!?!🥰
I cannot overstate how incredible it has been to have Denise Fenzi @raikasmom @fenzidogsportsacademy on tiktok recently. If you're not on tiktok it's worth it just to tune into her account. Denise has made herself so available there; constantly responding to questions, hosting such insightful *lives* and generally just elevating the dog training conversation, while engaging w everyone regardless of training philosophy.
It's truly been an inspiration beyond training! And I was so flattered to check my phone this morning and see this post✨
Oh! And for those of you who are excited about dog sports, Denise is developing a new program called @thehighdrivedog Check it out!!
#DeniseFenzi
#TorontoDogTrainer #RunningDogs #ForceFreeTraining #EvidenceBasedTraining #RewardBasedTraining #SnackFeederNotPackLeader #GiveYourDogARaise #WellPaidWellBehaved #AnimalBehaviorConsultant #LetThemSniff #RespectYourDog #TheFutureIsForceFree
*POSITIVE PUNISHMENT PT. 2*
A few days ago I asked you all to offer some examples of *positive punishment* (P+) in our lives, examples that didn't involve dogs.
The results were great, but also pretty sad. Examples of P+ don't conjure good feelings for anyone.
There is a point that I was getting at with all of this. In human societies, actions that could be described as having the effect of P+ are rude, unkind, mean, etc at best! Violent at worst. And I'm just considering citizen to citizen interactions.
There are countless examples "in the home" with kids, partners, family members but I'm not going to even go further on that topic.
Think about professional conduct! Teachers, therapists; care workers for kids, seniors, people w disabilities... P+ type action could easily get you fired, easily warrant civil or criminal action.
And yet whole contingents of the dog training world proudly defend their intentional use of positive punishment.
#TorontoDogTrainer #RunningDogs #ForceFreeTraining #EvidenceBasedTraining #RewardBasedTraining #SnackFeederNotPackLeader #GiveYourDogARaise #WellPaidWellBehaved #AnimalBehaviorConsultant #LetThemSniff #RespectYourDog #TheFutureIsForceFree
Help me w this brainstorming experiment 🙏🙏
List some examples of #PositivePunishment in the comments!
Okay first, what is Positive Punishment (P+) anyway? P+ describes ONE of many ways in which all organisms learn through *consequences*
You are more likely to do things that have historically yielded favourable consequences, and less likely to do things that have resulted in unfavourable consequences.
Trial & Error is an easy way to think about this.
So! *Punishment* describes the unfavourable consequences. *Positive* tells us that something was added to make for the unfavourable consequence.
One time I touched a hot stove😫
🔥heat was added (resulting in pain) and I never did that again🙅
the reduction in future stove touching behaviours shows us that that added heat was
👉punishing👈
I would love to hear from you! What are some examples of P+ in our day to day life??
If you're feeling especially nerdy about this, add 3! A personal example, a professional example, and an institutional example🤓
*Hint! There are a lot of punishers out there that are not P+, a lot of punishers in our world are *Negative Punishment* - fines for example, punish behaviour through the *removal* of your hard earned 💰
#TorontoDogTrainer #RunningDogs #ForceFreeTraining #EvidenceBasedTraining #RewardBasedTraining #SnackFeederNotPackLeader #GiveYourDogARaise #WellPaidWellBehaved #AnimalBehaviorConsultant #LetThemSniff #RespectYourDog #TheFutureIsForceFree
Holy sh*t, do we live in a world of #FakeNews or what!?🤦 Y'all remember ~5yrs back when that 🍊 buffoon flipped "fake news" to cast doubt on his critics who had coined the term!? Feels like an eternity ago but I'm still astounded that that was so effective. Really made me think about the world we live in, a place where millions jumped on board w #AlternativeFacts perferring to just float about in such a baseless, fictious reality.
Cognitive dissonance took on a whole greater meaning to me.
Moreso now than ever we're swamped with information! All of that access should be so empowering but there has really just been a shift of burden. Seems to me the information age has just progressed too quickly for our critical thinking skills and digital literacy to keep up! And in that lag opportunists have flourished 😒
Vinny here of @sayitoncedogtraining doesn't even try to boast any actual expertise, his website says more about his hockey experience than anything dog related. And yet, he's been quiet successful reaching millions confidently serving up decades old, out of date, harmful advice as the self proclaimed "CEO of Dog Behaviour"
I'm honestly stunned by this brazen performance of self importance 😵💫
Can I blame him? Sure, a bit. Especially when he doubles down on this "misinformation" #FakeNews trash. But just like the 🍊buffoon he's only able to thrive in an environment that values loud talking, "no nonsense" dudes... even when they openly promote harmful nonsense in the face of evidence and actual experts.
Crazy world we're living in.
#TorontoDogTrainer #RunningDogs #ForceFreeTraining #EvidenceBasedTraining #RewardBasedTraining #SnackFeederNotPackLeader #GiveYourDogARaise #WellPaidWellBehaved #AnimalBehaviorConsultant #LetThemSniff #RespectYourDog #TheFutureIsForceFree
I had it wrong this whole time!😵💫😵💫😵💫
The mental gymnastics performed to justify the use, and avoid the acknowledgement of how prong collars work is one of the more elaborate performances to observe in comment threads today!!
I find it useful to pretend that I'm @davidattenborough observing birds of paradise. "Such a grand and unusual ritual it is!"
Of course, it's not that unusual at all. We're hardwired to defend ourselves, our ideas, and our values against challenges and threats. It's in our nature. Of course, if we practice listening, and critical thinking; embrace evidence over myth, we can actually grow and learn and accomplish so much more... But that's clearly easier said than done🙄
Prong collars provide an undesirable (aversive) stimulus when tension is applied. This can effectively reduce (punish) the behaviours than came immediately before the aversive stimulus. Best case scenario the dog finds that there are a number of ways to behave that allow it to live without that aversive consequence (R- "escape/avoidance" behaviours). Worst case, the dog isn't able to avoid the aversive stimulus, the stimulus is regularly present in its life, stress is regularly induced resulting in reduced psycho/emotional and physical health. This can cascade into a host of welfare issues.
Consider this: when a dog's behaviour is successfully punished what is the resulting behaviour, and why was that not being targeted for positive reinforcement from the beginning??
#TorontoDogTrainer #RunningDogs #ForceFreeTraining #EvidenceBasedTraining #RewardBasedTraining #SnackFeederNotPackLeader #GiveYourDogARaise #WellPaidWellBehaved #AnimalBehaviorConsultant #LetThemSniff #RespectYourDog #TheFutureIsForceFree
Tenny has very strong feelings about @salttobacco our local #Cabbagetown pizzeria... I'm sure you can understand 🍕🤤😆
I moved to this part of town right around the same time this soon-to-be neighbourhood landmark opened its doors. It was a sweet coincidence that one of the proprietors had actually adopted a dog, through me, at the @toronto_humane_society right around the same time I had adopted Ten!! Nearly 9 years ago!
Small world!!🌍
Also, really reminds me of how incredible it was to be an adoption counselor. That was hard, emotionally demanding work. But, I had the privilege of running into plenty of those dogs and people over the years, even maintaining relationships w some.
The day you bring a new dog into your life is a big day!! Being involved in those very first moments of the beginning of a dogs new life, and a person's too... It's special 🌟
#TorontoDogTrainer #RunningDogs #ForceFreeTraining #EvidenceBasedTraining #RewardBasedTraining #SnackFeederNotPackLeader #GiveYourDogARaise #WellPaidWellBehaved #AnimalBehaviorConsultant #LetThemSniff #RespectYourDog #TheFutureIsForceFree
#ComfortYourDog !!!
It's okay, they won't fall to pieces! And they could probably really benefit from it in the short term and long term!
#TorontoDogTrainer #RunningDogs #ForceFreeTraining #EvidenceBasedTraining #RewardBasedTraining #SnackFeederNotPackLeader #GiveYourDogARaise #WellPaidWellBehaved #AnimalBehaviorConsultant #LetThemSniff #RespectYourDog #TheFutureIsForceFree
Ten and I have multiple recall cues of varying "potency." There are a bunch of really casual ones that work in most situations, but aren't that resilient against distractions. Then we have others that have been trained more carefully, and used sparingly... Reserved for emergencies!!
This "fox whistle" is our second strongest recall cue.
#TorontoDogTrainer #RunningDogs #ForceFreeTraining #EvidenceBasedTraining #RewardBasedTraining #SnackFeederNotPackLeader #GiveYourDogARaise #WellPaidWellBehaved #AnimalBehaviorConsultant #LetThemSniff #RespectYourDog #TheFutureIsForceFree
⚠️Resource Guarding⚠️
@thelivesofwilddogs recently posted a video of some subtle guarding behaviour and I knew I had to find this video to share! There's a bunch of subtle body language to spot in here aaaaand some not-so-subtle body language 😂
I have to tell you that living with these two is like living on the set of a Discovery Channel special some days! Both Tenasi and Touton can have strong feelings about precious things...
*at this very moment Touton just left a marrow bone to creep on something happening in the kitchen and Ten, who was "sleeping" just leaped to his feet to check on it! Then he went upstairs, to which T responded by running upstairs to "check on him"?? Which I'm pretty sure is actually some sort of atypical guarding tendency, but that's for a whole other post!*
I digress!
👉Management!!👈 is the most important thing to consider with dog-dog resource guarding; prevent potentially problematic situations from ever occurring. Sometimes this is much easier said than done, at the dog park for instance, but at home it's not hard. Ten and T don't eat meals in the same space, they don't get bones or bully sticks, or food stuffed toys, or enrichment puzzles in the same space... Bc I don't want to worry about them having a disagreement, it's a thing I do for them, but it's also a thing I do for me. This is just the easiest, most stress free way about it.
But! In the times that a new toy like this precious spikey ball enter the scene, I'm not actually THAT worried about these two bc they have a long history of navigating these sorts of situations without incident. Ten and T are, to some degree, constantly stealing, guarding, relinquishing items between each other. It's actually quite a fascinating, fluid relationship they have around precious items. Technically, this is a great example of the fluid nature of dominance!
I said it!! DOMINANCE!!😱 "an individual's preferential access to a resource over another"
#TorontoDogTrainer #
Puppies are HARD!! 😵
Obviously they are also heart warming angels!! But I think it's worth repeating again and again: puppies are hard work!! And while there are definitely best practices, there is no easy work around for the seemingly endless needs of a new pup!
This BB's name is ✨Siena✨ and she recently found her way into the most perfect forever home w @BiancaTrainsDogs 🤩🤩🤩 you have to follow along on their journey together!
I have to shout out @BenevolentBullyRescue for being one of the most stand up rescues I've come across to date!! I really mean that‼️ @BenevolentBullyRescue is at the top of my list w very few others🌟 Check them out (right now!)
#TorontoDogRescue
Puppy people out there, take a deep breath! It gets easier (but also harder in new ways!😂)
"If I could go back, I'd tell myself that even if I did every single thing right, it'd still be damn hard!"
☝️☝️
Some one said that in response to a *questions* story @bravodogtraining posted ages ago. I've been using it ever since👌 (Renée, if you recall this pls thank this follower of yours!🙏)
#BullyBreed #F**kBSL
#TorontoDogTrainer #RunningDogs #ForceFreeTraining #EvidenceBasedTraining #RewardBasedTraining #SnackFeederNotPackLeader #GiveYourDogARaise #WellPaidWellBehaved #AnimalBehaviorConsultant #LetThemSniff #RespectYourDog
