Pawsitive Behaviour

31/12/2021

Dog training requires dedicated teaching sessions (they really only need to be a few minutes a day!). Most 🐶 guardians put thought into WHAT they're teaching but not how to stop ❌ teaching.

Ending training can leave your dog asking for more or wondering what to do next. You can prepare a toy, treat or activity for the end of the training session to avoid this.

06/12/2021

Life is pretty great when your 🐕 is perfect!
But what if your dog wasn’t perfect? Think about that. It’s hard to have a dog who isn’t friendly.

If your dog is off leash in an on-leash area, it’s good etiquette to leash your dog, recall your dog or move off the path with your dog when others approach. Responsible pet owners choose leash-only areas to walk their dogs for a variety of reasons:

• small dogs can be injured by larger dogs
• reactive and fearful dogs need distance
• working on training skills
• do they really need a reason?

And let’s not forget that not all people like dogs. I know 😱 right? But it’s true.

Your friendly dog is amazing. But reactive, fearful or small dogs may not appreciate the approach of your dog and you can spoil a walk, undo training or worse, cause a dog to react to yours with aggression that could have been avoided.

Get out there with your dogs and be courteous to others! 🐶

22/11/2021

This is so well done!

11/11/2021

Should you show a pushy, rude or demanding dog “who’s boss”⁉️

🙋‍♀️The answer: Absolutely not!

“Dominance theory” is an outdated methodology that combines incorrect research about wolf 🐺 behaviour with a lack of understanding about dog 🐶 behaviour. This misinformation led dog owners to punish, alpha roll, dominate and misunderstand their dogs.

Studies 📑 on captive wolf packs resulted in the belief that wolves use aggression to win the rank of “alpha”. These studies were flawed because captive wolves don’t display natural behaviour. Later studies done on wild wolves found that wolves are rarely confrontational or aggressive to members of their pack and there is no alpha wolf. Behavioral studies comparing 🐺 and 🐶 have shown that there are fewer behavioral and social similarities between the two species than previously thought. In short, dogs aren’t little wolves.

❓So what does it mean when your 🐶growls, snaps or shows it’s teeth to you❓

It’s important to realize that these are normal ways of communicating for dogs. Anxiety, fear, discomfort and insecurity are often the precursors to these behaviours. Punishment makes anxiety worse, increases pain or discomfort and erodes trust between the dog and its owner. Punishment or force can escalate the situation into bites or attacks. Punishment can surpress behaviour resulting in a dog who no longer gives a warning growl and bites “without warning”.

❓How do you deal with these behaviours❓

1️⃣ KEEP SAFE. Avoid and prevent all situations that result in aggressive behaviours by your dog.

2️⃣ SEEK HELP. Talk to your veterinarian to discuss hidden medical issues and get advice from a certified trainer, behaviour consultant or veterinary behaviourist.

3️⃣ IMPLEMENT CHANGES. Reward behaviour you like and ignore or redirect behaviour you don’t. Apply the training and behaviours modification techniques that are suggested to help teach your dog correct behaviour.

27/09/2021

Dealing with frustrating dog behaviours?

Barking
Pulling on leash
Lunging at other dogs
Aggression
Separation anxiety

These types of dog behaviours can be frustrating for you and your family. There is help.

Pawsitive Behaviour provides behaviour and training solutions that are based in science and created by a multi-certified dog trainer and behaviour professional. Virtual and in-person training available.

Visit www.pawsitivebehaviour.ca to get started.

20/09/2021

🙀Afraid of the vet??!!

As a guardian of a pet that is fearful of the vet (or groomer), you recognize that your pet is afraid and maybe you feel powerless to help them. 🩺 ✂️

The fear your pet feels develops naturally over time. The vet clinic or grooming salon is a strange place with weird smells which can make an animal feel scared or uneasy. There are scary strangers 🤡 that touch them (in sensitive places like feet, ears, belly and mouth!) and then give them needles💉 or use loud equipment (clippers and dryers) . Repeat this a few times and the emotional response of fear becomes obvious.

Getting started on the path to fear free visits is as easy as 1,2,3:

1. Rule out health problems.💊
Have your veterinarian rule out any health changes that may be responsible for your pet's reaction to vet and grooming appointments.

2. Work with your vet or groomer. 👍
They're your allies for making visits fear free! They should be willing and able to be part of the process.

3. Use positive reinforcement methods.🦴
Ask a positive reinforcement based trainer to help you create a training and behaviour modification plan that can change how your pet feels about vet and groomer visits.

For more on Fear Free vet visits, grooming and training. Visit the Fear Free Homes website (it's also FREE) www.fearfreehappyhomes.com

18/09/2021

Why Foundation Behaviours?

Watch little Stella show off her loose leash walking, name recognition and eye contact. ❤️❤️😍❤️❤️

These core behaviours are the building blocks 🧱 for good manners, general obedience and for working on behavior problems.

Foundation Behaviours are (to name a few):
👀eye contact
🐶 name recognition
🐕 loose leash walking

And they’re all part of the series of Foundation Behaviours that we can teach and use to achieve your training goals!

Submit a free behavior or training evaluation at www.pawsitivebehaviour.ca today!!!

13/09/2021

Wait? What? Aren't muzzles for "BAD" dogs? Heck no!

It's true that some dogs have more triggers or a lower threshold for stress and may be more likely to attempt to bite. A muzzle is a good management tool for dogs with triggers like other dogs, strangers or a low tolerance for being handled. But all dogs have teeth and all dogs can choose to use them in the right circumstances. Pain, stress and fear can cause even the friendliest dog to bite. A muzzle is also a great tool for friendly dogs who may be fearful of vet visits, the groomer or just because who knows what life may throw at them!

While it’s a very responsible act to cover up the bitey end of your dog to prevent bites, the underlying emotions and reason for the behaviour still needs to be addressed. It’s VERY important to incorporate a training or behaviour modification plan developed with your vet and a certified positive reinforcement dog trainer! We must ask “why does the dog feel the need to bite?” and work towards a solution. For dogs afraid of vets and groomers, ask about Fear Free Visits to their facility (yes, this is a thing!).

If a dog only encounters a muzzle in unpleasant situations, they can quickly learn to dislike it. Positive muzzle training prepares a dog for wearing a muzzle happily. There are some amazing resources online (see below in the comments) and I'm always available to help with a training plan regardless of why your dog may need to wear one. Muzzles are for EVERY dog!

12/09/2021

Did you know that providing daily enrichment opportunities like food puzzles are part of a pawsitive training or behaviour modification plan? Activities that use your dog's super-powered nose and intelligent brain can be more exhausting than a walk!

"Box toys" are a simple (and recyclable!) way to create a fun puzzle for your dog. Ideas for inside the box include: stuffed Kongs, long lasting chews, a favorite toy or smaller treats hidden inside of towels, smaller boxes, egg cartons, packing paper or toilet paper tubes.

*Shredding boxes and paper may not be a suitable activity for dogs that eat foreign objects. Always supervise!

30/08/2021

Those of us who train with positive reinforcement will occasionally hear a dog owner say two things:

☝️They want their dog to work for them not food and…

✌️They don’t want to carry treats all the time

We don’t expect humans to do things “because we say so” anymore. Research has shown that to truly motivate a person to learn or change their behaviour we must reward correct choices. For people, rewards can be verbal (“Good job on that project Jane!”), food or prized objects (a sticker or 🍭 for a child learning a new task) or even the positive emotional feeling of personal accomplishment (that 🏃‍♀️ felt GREAT!). For some people, a paycheque at the end of the week is the reward for getting up each day and heading to the office. Reinforcement drives behaviour so Jane tackles another project, the child strives for another 🍭 , we run again tomorrow and we roll out of bed and go to work.

The vast majority of dogs find food reinforcing. Like the human examples above, if we provide a food reinforcer after a behaviour we increase the likelihood they’ll do it again. When we teach our dog with food rewards we have a dog who is happy to respond to our cues because there is a history of good things happening. We DO have a dog who wants to work for us, because learning with us is fun and rewarding!

As our dog becomes more proficient with a skill we can make the reinforcer less predictable and less frequent. They’ll still do the thing because now it feels good to do it. Periodic training sessions are all that’s required to keep the behaviour sharp (even pros need coaching right?). We use treats for training, not finished behaviours, so we don’t have to carry treats all the time!

To learn more visit us here:
www.pawsitivebehaviour.ca

14/08/2021

The American Veterinary Society for Animal Behaviour (AVSAB) has released new position statements! The Humane Dog Training position statement should be read by every dog guardian. I highly recommend all the resources they suggest and of course I absolutely agree with their recommendations for involving your veterinarian in your dogs emotional health and behaviour modification.

Read the position statements on Positive Vet Visits, Puppy Socialization and Dominance Theory here:
https://avsab.org/resources/position-statements/

09/08/2021

"My dog is very protective of me" is something many dog guardians believe to be responsible for their dog's barking or leash lunging behaviour. I know it's hard to believe that your dog is thinking more about themselves than they are about your safety, but that's most often the truth.

Let's dive in a little deeper shall we? Barking at the door or fence, or barking and lunging at people and other dogs when on walks, is a behaviour practiced by many dogs that are actually afraid of strange people and dogs. To those dogs, it doesn't matter that the scary thing has no intention of doing them harm, it only matters that they feel uncomfortable and yelling like a fiend tends to make the scary thing go away (because who wants to approach a barking, lunging dog!). Over time, what may have started as imperceptible body language that your dog used to communicate to scary things to "back off" becomes more frequent, louder and maybe even becomes an embarrassing display of barking and lunging that seems to be without cause. But to your dog, this strategy works perfectly!

The good news? There is help. I use positive reinforcement training strategies that can make your walks more enjoyable, your home quieter and give your dog some inner peace too. www.pawsitivebehaviour.ca

09/08/2021

This is a great little read with some powerful messages. Many of us started our journey into animal training the same way: believing dogs were wolves, believing we should behave like dogs, believing in “pack leadership” and believing we needed to force our dogs into complying with our commands. Today, our knowledge of dogs, their behavior and the science of learning have given us so many more (positive and force free) tools for our training toolboxes. Animals trained in a manner that allows them to succeed and gain reinforcement learn better, retain their knowledge longer and develop trusting and deep bonds with their trainer or handler.

Check out these 10 tips!

Ten tips on modern dog training and how to care for your dog.

03/08/2021

Mythbuster Monday:

A harness doesn't encourage a dog to pull on leash.

But, a harness WILL prevent your dog from putting pressure on it's sensitive neck structures until you can train them to walk nicely. A positive reinforcement trainer can help you train your dog to head out on adventures on a loose leash. Need help? Contact us for private, in-person or virtual lessons!

28/07/2021

This speaks to me.

28/07/2021

An amazing way for dogs to help other dogs. If you’re dog is a candidate, consider being a blood donor.

Central Veterinary Services is looking for a blood donor:

We are currently looking for 1 more dog to donate blood at our August 24th Canine Blood Donor Clinic with the Animal Blood Bank (CABB) at 5:20pm! 🐶🩸

We are ALSO looking to expand our donor list in hopes of holding more donor clinics in the future, so even if you can't make this clinic please reach out to us and we will add your dog's name to the list so that we can contact you about subsequent clinics! 😍

Have you been thinking about signing your dog up? Now is the time! There is currently a shortage of blood supplies across Canada and canine donors are needed.

The CABB would love to enlist every healthy dog as a donor but for the safety of both donor and recipient they must select donors meeting the following criteria:

- Calm temperament as dogs must lie still for 5 minutes with modest restraint and without sedation.

- Deemed healthy and suitable by your veterinarian. Our vets love completing the required donor registration forms to ensure your dog is able to save the lives of other dogs across Canada!

- Weigh a minimum of 25 kg. (55 lbs).

- Be between 1 and 8 years of age -donors are retired at 10 years of age.

- Vaccinations must be current.

- Must be Heartworm tested (typically offered complimentary for donors at the spring clinics) and on Heartworm preventative annually.

If you are interested in signing up your dog or if you would like more information please email [email protected] and we'd be happy to assist you with this process! 🙂

26/07/2021

Muzzles are for good dogs (and great dog guardians)! If you think your dog needs a muzzle, you’re probably right. If you want more info check out The Muzzle Up Project!

If you have questions about muzzles or need help muzzle training, drop a comment below or send us a message!

Being matchy matchy with your human is VERY important in the doggy fashion world 💅

📸
Muzzle - .steele

25/07/2021

Dog whispering? No.
Speaking dog? No.
Listening to your dog? YES!

Does your dog have behaviours that make you scratch your head? Tell us about them.

21/07/2021

Wonder what to do with your dog on hot days? Or rainy days? Or any day?

That glorious sniffer on the end of their face provides sooo much information to our dogs. Dogs are scavengers by design (I see you Labradors!) and sniffing and snarfing are normal behaviors. We can use their superpower to our advantage. Feeding treats in the grass provides enrichment and an opportunity for our dogs to do what they’re designed to do - search for food. Just listen to little Stella’s nose in the video!

Things to keep in mind when snuffling in the grass:

1. Choose a safe patch of ground. Inspect your lawn or any other area you may use before dropping any goodies. Avoid very long grass, unfamiliar areas, high human traffic areas and area with a lot of dog use (parasites).

2. Know your dog. Dogs who resource guard, show food reactive behaviors towards other dogs, or dogs who eat ANYTHING they find are likely not good candidates for this activity unless you manage the environment before tossing food down.

3. Feed your dog this way! 20 minutes of snuffling for breakfast uses your dog’s nose and by extension, their mind. Sniffing is hard work!

4. Try a snuffle mat for indoors. Buy one ready made or make your own to whatever size you want. Bigger is better!

16/07/2021

Scan the yard before your dog goes outside. Go out in the yard with your dog frequently. Keep in contact with your neighbors and report suspicious activities. Teach your dog a reliable “drop” or trade behaviour.

A Winnipeg family is warning others in their neighbourhood to be on high alert, as they say they found their dog eating a brick of rat poison in their own backyard. The family says this isn’t the first time it’s happened.

12/07/2021

5 ways to make life exponentially better for your dog. Do you do all 5? If not, we can help!

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

10/07/2021

Well, dogs are my kinda people too ;)

06/07/2021

Trish McMillan’s tips for choosing a shelter dog for your family. Need help adopting?

This week on the Pooch Parenting Podcast, I talk with dog trainer and shelter dog expert, Trish McMillan about what families with kids should look for when adopting a dog from a shelter. Some of what we discuss can be controversial, but we both agree that the stakes are too high to take a risk with the wrong dog when kids are in the picture. We tackle popular concepts such as “adopt don’t shop” and “forever home” and address how both of those can set families up to fail – or feel like failures. Fortunately, there are lots of ways families can find the right dog, and we chat about options that can leave families feeling guilt free.

Listen to this episode ( #27) of the Pooch Parenting Podcast on my website or on the podcast player of your choice.

06/01/2021

Imagine standing on the edge of a rooftop and you're terrified of heights. Your heart is pounding, your knees are weak, you start to sweat...let's face it, you're panicking. What if, instead of saving you from the scary experience, I put a spinning wheel in front of you and said I was going to teach you to spin wool? At best you may not be able to focus very well and at worst...you might lash out at me! When we work with fearful dogs, we don't pile on top of their fear with more expectations. We recognize the emotion and do what we can to change how they feel about the scary thing they're experiencing.

Pay attention to emotions and timing when training a fearful dog. Here's what to do.

03/01/2021

It seems intuitive that feeling badly, or experiencing pain, would make anyone feel short tempered. But imagine not being able to verbalize that you're sore and someone kept moving you, bumping you or touching you where it hurts. Sometimes "bad" behaviour is pain. We always recommend a thorough vet examination especially when behaviour changes are sudden or result in aggression.

We argue that there is currently an under-reporting of the ways in which pain can be associated with problem behavior, which is seriously limiting the recognition of this welfare problem. A review of the caseloads of 100 recent dog cases of several authors indicates that a conservative estimate of a...

19/12/2020

02/11/2020

Us humans are mortified if a dog doesn't want the attention and love we want to lavish upon them but some dogs don't like being touched. Consent tests can tell us a lot about how a dog feels about our advances. Give it a try! Does your dog consent?

14/10/2020

Do you know someone who works at a Doggy Daycare, shelter or rescue? This FREE course teaches you how to form healthy playgroups between dogs. An excellent resource for anyone who loves dogs and loves to watch them play.

Description: This is the first of a two-part workshop series on the implementation of enrichment and inter-dog playgroups in shelters. During this first session we will review the components of a shelter enrichment program and discuss how inter-dog playgroups play a role. Additionally, we will take....

17/08/2020

A short course on the domestication of the dog and cat.

17/07/2020

To neuter or not to neuter. We encourage conversation with your veterinarian about the topic and to follow their recommendations.

Neutering (including spaying) of male and female dogs in the first year after birth has become routine in the U.S. and much of Europe, but recent research reveals that for some dog breeds, neutering may be associated with increased risks of debilitating joint disorders and some cancers, complicating...