Help Me Rhonda

10/12/2023

We got our Xmas 2023 photo done 😍

02/03/2023

15/08/2022

Love this Group! Take care❤️

11/07/2022

“A cookie won’t stop an aggressive dog from attacking” is something I hear frequently as an argument against positive reinforcement-based training.

Here’s a little secret:

I have yelled at my dogs.

I have scruffed them.

I have yanked their leads back.

I have told them “no”.

Of course I’ve done all these things at some point in the past two decades of dog ownership. I am only human, and management fails sometimes.

If a dog is about to eat something dangerous, I might yell. If they have slipped their collar, I may have to scruff them to catch them. If a dog I’m handling lunges at traffic, I’ll probably yank the lead back to prevent us both getting run over. If they are about to walk over something dangerous, like broken glass on the road, I may shout “no”.

The thing is, these things occur when something’s gone wrong. If a dog is in a situation where they are about to cause harm to themselves or someone else, you can bet that I will use force or a very loud voice. It’s a last resort, but I’m not just going to be stood there waving a cocktail sausage, and I doubt any trainer in the world would.

That’s not what training with positive reinforcement means, it’s not just relying on treats when a dog sees red, hoping it’ll mitigate the situation.

It’s about avoiding the dog seeing red, gently showing them better and safer coping mechanisms. It’s about not having to mitigate a situation, but instead culturing an environment where force, aversives and punishments aren’t required. I will use force if management seriously fails to prevent a catastrophe from occurring, but I’m not relying on it to teach dogs. Just because I’ve had to do it as a last resort, doesn’t mean I’d ever choose it.

I totally agree, a cookie won’t stop an aggressive dog from attacking. But carefully timed cookies, given at an appropriate distance over time can counter condition the aggressive response. It can help dogs at an emotional level, not just at surface level. That’s the training. Not thoughtlessly throwing in treats like you’re throwing notes at a stripper, whilst the dog goes mental.

Yeah, I’ve punished my dogs. I’m not proud of it. But it will never be part of my training plan. It’s a last resort, for when things have totally gone wrong. Good dog training is more complex than putting them in a situation where they’re set up to fail, then punishing them for behaving exactly as expected. I aim for errorless learning, where the dog is helped as much as possible to make those good decisions, so they’re more likely to choose that option in the future. But sometimes things don’t work out that way.

If a dog is about to eat something dangerous, I might yell, but then I’ll set up a training plan to help with impulse control around food.

If they have slipped their collar, I may have to scruff them to catch them, but then I’ll work harder on recall to ensure there’s a better measure if it happens again.

If a dog I’m handling lunges at traffic, I’ll probably yank the lead back to prevent us both getting run over, but then we will do a lot of counter conditioning around traffic to help prevent them feeling the need to lunge in the future.

If they are about to walk over something dangerous, like broken glass on the road, I may shout “no,” but then we will go home and practise emergency stops so that we are prepared for next time.

A cookie won’t stop an aggressive dog from attacking, but lots of them given at the right time, paired with good training can help prevent the dog from feeling the need to react in the future.

Shared from Positive Force Free R+ Dog Training Library Group by Robyn Metcalf Horth, an amazing FB group!!!

01/05/2022

Walking your dog, it’s about them! Find places where your dog can have fun like this:

Check out the link in my bio to learn more about your dogs mental health and not just how to train them because that doesn’t prevent mental health problems ...

19/04/2022

I loved this post that I saw in Force-Free Training for Giant Dogs:

Have you seen statements like “Bully breeds need an assertive and experienced handler”? Or “power breeds” need a strong hand?

Or maybe the opposite, like, “Golden Retrievers are sensitive and easy to train because all they want to do is please you.

Every living being learn the same way: by association (classical conditioning) and by consequence (operant conditioning).

If we can teach a dog or a grizzly bear with these core principles, why would there be a difference between dog breeds, which are much more closely related?

When people suggest that they are experts at training specific breeds we are inclined to believe that they are trying to talk about breed TRAITS. Each individual dog will have traits that may or may not fit within their breed standard. When we think about breed specific traits, we might be talking about things like prey drive, dog aggression, herding, tracking, retrieving etc.

We tend to see a higher probability of these traits coming out in breeding programs that breed for purpose and function. However, there is always a chance that even purpose-bred dogs with strong genetics will NOT show these traits. Any breeder will tell you that there can be tremendous variation even within the same litter (think about it – does every human brother/sister have a similar personality?).

An example of this can be seen in service dog and police dog breeding programs. Despite having a specialized, controlled breeding program, many dogs simply do not make the cut because they do not exhibit the necessary traits to succeed. Even with genetics and a controlled environment, the pass rate for these dogs is low.

And of course, in our community we are not typically dealing with dogs from ethical, purebred breeding programs. In fact, it is the opposite. The majority of the dogs in our population are not from purpose-bred litters, are mixed breed, or are from unknown origins. Or all of the above!

So why get hung up on breed specific traits and training methods? Most of the breed specific training methods are outdated and use techniques that can really harm the human canine bond.

We believe that training programs and owners would be more successful if they addressed the traits of the dog they have in front of them. Whether that dog’s behaviour stems from breed genetics, their individual genetics, a need not being met, an instinctual drive or a learned experience, we will almost always use the same steps when developing a training protocol.

There’s one possible exception to this. If you do have a dog that is purpose-bred and you wish to compete seriously in dog sports – scent work, agility, herding, hunting, etc – by all means look for a trainer with deep experience working with the sport and the breeds of dogs that are typically used for it.

Otherwise, there’s no real reason to worry about “breed experience”. Find a trainer that uses humane methods, has relevant experience, and whose approach clicks with you and your dog.

06/04/2022

So many showers and baths right now with the mud! Love adding a peanut-butter or plain yogurt covered likimat to the side of my tub or shower to keep them inside while they get a wash.

Photo from one of my favourite FB pages, Shay Kelly’s Canine Enrichment.

19/02/2022

Repeatedly throwing a ball for a dog to chase will burn off energy and wear it out right??

WRONG , to much hard physical exercise does more harm than good.

Apart from the obvious physical issues and injuries it causes in the joints, there are many other issues associated with repetitive ball chasing.
When dogs can get over aroused, their heartrate and respiration will rapidly increase, and they will have very poor impulse control.
They may jump around or on you, could have dilated pupils, chattering teeth, be mouthy, spin, pace or circle, or be very vocal.
When a dog gets in a hyper aroused state the body releases adrenaline, then with the repeated exposure to this adrenaline from continued ball chasing, cortisol gets released into the body.
These hormones can hang around for hours even days or weeks.
Therefore if your dog is engaging in these activities daily, the body never has time to recover so dogs are over excitable or reactive.

There are other more mentally stimulating and enriching ways to exercise your dog's.
A walk to gather scents and go exploring,
Try a "your choice" walk and let your dog decide which way to go.
Go "seek seek" find the toy games.
My boys love training walks because of the fun interaction with them.
You can still sometimes play ball games with your dog, but try a ball on a rope and bring the game back to you.
https://www.pawandordercornwall.com/

Do more and have fun with your dog 😊

01/02/2022

I was thinking of a way to summarize Positive Reinforcement Training, and came across this post I’d like to share, it sums things up quite nicely!

There's No Such Thing as Being the "Alpha" for Your Dog.

Unfortunately, the idea that a human must assert dominance over their dog and "be the alpha" has yet to fade from our collective memory, and many trainers claim you must punish your dog to establish your place as leader of the pack. They’re simply wrong. In fact, Dr. David Mech, wolf expert and one of the original researchers behind pack theory, has since denounced it. You can train your dog just as effectively — and have more fun doing so — by using positive reinforcement training methods. Your dog will thank you for it!

Busting More Myths

Positive does not mean permissive

Positive and force-free training doesn't mean that dogs don't have structure in their routines or boundaries in their environment. There are consequences for unwanted behavior. But it's a different kind of consequence than the aversives I discussed above. A good force-free trainer will utilize what's called negative punishment.

Positive Reinforcement = adding something your dog likes to make a behavior increase
Negative Punishment = removing something your dog likes to make a behavior decrease

But an even better force-free trainer will set up an environment where a dog has less likelihood of making mistakes and performing unwanted behaviors. This means there are more opportunities to reinforce the wanted behavior, leading to a dog who chooses the right thing rather than misbehave. Once we have a solid foundation built, that's when we begin to generalize and practice these behaviors in different environments and contexts.

So yes, positive reinforcement and force-free training sometimes means the training process takes more time than "balanced" or aversive training. But in my experience, this hasn't been the case. Most often, delayed success in training is due to the human side of the equation needing more training in management, mechanics, and timing. And if I have to spend a couple of hours more working with a dog without causing them pain, discomfort, or fear? Well, that's more than worth it to me and better for the dog.

25/01/2022

I saw this post and had to share!

Training Tip of the Random Day
Be more interesting than a burger wrapper on the ground.
There’s a lot of stuff out there that is very interesting to dogs. If you want your dog to walk nicely on a loose leash, one of the things you will need to do is make yourself more interesting than all that stuff.
How do you make yourself more interesting and please post if you have a good idea!

Here are some ideas to make yourself more interesting:
Think of a few things your dog loves. Then use them, randomly. Generally, treats are the most useful, but intersperse the treats with something else that your dog loves (ie playing tug).

Have a variety of treats. Don’t always have 1 kind of treat – boring boring boring. Have some low value, some high value. If your dog doesn’t know what’s coming, your dog might work harder to get the good stuff.

Call your dog in a high excited voice and start running and let your dog chase you for a short spurt. Dogs love to chase! Reward him when he ‘catches’ you with lots of affection.

Run backwards for a little bit, dogs love to chase and when dog catches up to you, treat!
Have a quick game of tuggy.

Cue a trick your dog loves. Some tricks are reinforcing for dogs because they’ve had such fun doing them.

What else?

24/12/2021

Ask me anything! Looking forward to hearing from you 😊

23/12/2021

Presents for your dogs - keeping them busy while you’re busy!