Don't distract your reactive dog :)
Help them learn the skills they need to navigate life on their own, not just stare at you. This builds confidence, resilience, and better yet, makes it so you don't have to micromanage for life.
I'll keep saying it because imo it is that important!
This is hard for V, but a good level of stress for her. Remember, not all stress is bad and stress let's us grow. When it becomes too hard for her and she gets stuck, I help her move away and encourage another natural behaviour... sniffing!!
#reactivedog #fearfreedogtraining #positivedogtrainer
Next up in Adolescent Social, miss Jigsaw!
We were working on confidence building around other dogs as she is quite uncertain around new dogs. What she is doing in the video can often be misinterpreted as playful behaviour.
It's very important to recognize signs of stress in your dog as we need to help them build confidence and appropriate communication skills to avoid issues down the road.
By the end of the session Jigsaw was handing out with her new friends and able to disengage when needed 🥰🥰
#adolescentdog #fearfreetraining #positivedogtraining #confidence
Adolescent social time!
Mr Greg (Merle Aussie), the life of the party, was working on listening to the social cues of other dogs when they say "no thanks" to playing.
We set him up for success by letting him play with my adolescent first and then doing some kibble scatters with the group to build calm behaviours before letting him loose.
Look how good his choices were!!
Please note, we could use kibble scatters in a group setting because none of the dogs resource guard. You always want to be mindful of this.
#fearfreetraining #positivedogtraining #adolescentdog #australianshepherd #dogsocialization
A common mistake I see people make is distracting their reactive dog.
This includes building an abundance of attention on you.
There is nothing more exhausting (for us and our dogs) to have to micromanage them for life. I love teaching dogs the skills to make great choices on their own and offer natural dog behaviours as an alternative to reactivity 🥰
#reactivedog #fearfreetraining #positivedogtrainer
Can you see all the things I'm doing to help Evie learn appropriate play etiquette?
I absolutely love teaching dogs how to be good communicators and respect each other.
Some dogs are naturals and some dogs need more help. That's okay! If we are patient and consistent, we 100% can teach our dogs appropriate dog etiquette.
These are things I work on with my day trains and also cover in my new adolescent social classes!!
#adolescentdog #fearfreetraining #positivedogtraining #dogcommunication
Who thinks Hughbert should start nosework? 🙋♀️🙋♀️
Love this goof 🤣🥰🤣🥰
#fearfreetraining #positvedogtraining #funnydog #bullylove
Coming SOON to a secure field near you!
💥 Adolescent socialization 💥
We hear about the critical 16 weeks of socializing for puppies, but did you know that continued socialization is important for the healthy development and well-being of our adolescent dogs?
Socializing with other dogs may be rough and tumble play, like Thorin and Joey here. It may also just look like dogs enjoying sniff time together!
This socialization class will offer:
👉 Safe and structured sessions for your dog to interact with other dogs how they choose to (playing versus just hanging out)
👉 Teaching appropriate dog interactions
👉 Confidence around other dogs
💥 Bonus! Some time working on focus with you too, even around dog friends!
Registration opening soon!
#socialization #adolescentdog #positivedogtraining #fearfreedogtraining
Thanks to the Nanaimo Disc Dog Club for a fun and smooth trial, as always :)
Vilya just ran in three games as she has been telling me that is her limit. Not only did she have three great runs, but she was a happy girl the whole time ❤️ Less games made a huge difference for her mentally and I'm so thankful!
Thorin got moved up to the expert division and showed he deserved to be there by beating his sister in our favourite game.
Always grateful for a fun day of disc with friends!
If it is a safety or welfare concern, I'll be on your case about it. Everything else is extra and I fully understand that sometimes life is busy (oh, do I ever understand it)!
I'm here to make your life better, not add stress to it :)
Not sure if you are meeting your dog's needs? Don't hesitate to reach out! This is often a huge underlying cause for reactivity.
#positvedogtrainer
Nosework is so much more than finding the hide!
What I love most about this search:
👉 River's human giving her the time to tell him she was ready.
👉 River doing the entire search without looking at her person (that's confidence and huge for River!!)
👉 River noted a sudden distraction and then went right back to work!
Such an awesome job in a new, larger search area. Way to go team River 💥👌
#nosework #confidentdog #positivedogtrainer
Just stay out of the spear grass patches 😊
#letyourdogbeadog #fearfreetraining #positivetraining #daytraining #doghike
You may be surprised by some of the training exercises I give you... but I promise they will be fun 🤣
We don't just focus on the unwanted behaviours. Your dogs need skills to help cope with stress. There are so many fun games you can play to help build resiliency in your pup.
This is the Team Benny and Hughbert's human trying to clean up after their homework and the dogs still having fun in their own way 🤣🥰
#resilience #behaviourtraining #fearfreetraining #positivereinforcement
Let em sniff! There is nothing I love more than a sniffing dog around their triggers 🥰🥰
#reactivedog #fearfreetraining #positivereinforcement
Although meeting needs and building confidence are a BIG part of many reactivity training plans, building up a few obedience skills is important too.
Here is the important thing... they are still allowed to look!
I WANT them to look!
We don't want our dogs to be surprised or be scared to look at what worries them. The big thing is they have been taught what to do when they look... that is what all the foundation work is for :)
Team Greg rocked their obedience challenge today! What impressed me most was his human reading his body language SO well. She immediately knew when Greg needed a break 🥰
I started working with Gracie in September for severe reactivity and generalized anxiety.
She has the most amazing, patient guardians who have been committed to helping Gracie live her best life.
Here is her story, which is to be continued as her people keep doing all the awesome things with her ❤️
#fearfreetraining #positivereinforcement #reactivedog #miniaussie #emotionsmatter
I'm always so excited when I get to see my board and train pups again and see how they are doing.
Stormy has joined nosework class and her mom has been doing such a great job with her! She was confident, focused on her job and was a pro at solving puzzles.
So happy for Team Stormy!! 🥰🥰
So much fun at disc drop in tonight.
Team Jigsaw absolutely rocked their Frizgility training!
Discs and jumps can be suuuuper arousing for some dogs. We are using food to help Jigsaw learn to control her excitement and also work on that awesome disc hand off 🥰🥰
So incredibly proud of Benny and his foster parents.
He has come a long way in a couple of months and made a new friend this week!
Goals for reactive dogs always look different and you need to take a variety of factors into consideration. Social play may not always be a goal but Benny had showed us he liked dogs and LOVES playing once he feels comfortable with them.
So here we are. Benny making his first new friend outside of his small circle (which will slowly get bigger)!
🥰🥰🥰
Does your dog bark at other dogs?
There are many reasons why dogs do this and it is incredibly important to determine the cause of your dogs reactivity. Why? The training looks different based on the root cause!
Miss Gracie has generalized anxiety and a lot of fear around dogs. She is also a herding dog and they LOVE to control things. That frequently looks like staring, lunging and barking.
Pattern games are amazing for fear based reactivity, especially with dogs that thrive on having a job. Patterns are predictable. Predictability calms anxiety!
Gracie is playing a pattern game called 123 to help her make good choices around other dogs on leash. She knows this game well and as such, is offering better choices (walking away) around dogs she finds scarey!
Way to go team Gracie! 🥰🥰
Everyone nailed the sock distraction test in nosework class 🤣
I love having fun challenging these superstars!
