ILearn Dog behavior & training practice

18/04/2024

Let’s talk about puppy biting.

While puppies can bite for a few different reasons, I want to narrow down the most common two problems that lead to puppies biting.



Everybody thinks that a puppy biting means that they are bored, and this isn’t always the case. I would actually say that puppies tend to bite more, not out of boredom, but out of being overstimulated and tired. Puppies need to be sleeping as close to 18 hours a day as possible. Because there is a large number of families that have somebody that works from home, puppies are nowhere near this goal. When puppies are tired, you’ll see a lot of biting, whining, barking, and generally just annoying behaviors. When your puppy starts to act out, ask yourself when was the last time that this creature went into the crate for a nap? If your answer is over 60 ish minutes ago, it’s time for a nap. Give them something to eat (frozen rubber you), and allow them the opportunity to rest by putting them into the crate without any interaction from you for the next 2 hours.

When your puppy comes out of the crate, this is another really common time for puppy biting! Because now, they are full of p**s and vinegar, you need to give them an outlet for the next 15 minutes to get rid of the energy in a productive manner. This is where it’s the best time to train, Play, or take your dog on a walk. Put the energy to good use, because your puppy is not smart enough to put the energy into productive manner without guidance from you. If you’re sitting on the couch and your puppy bite you after coming out of the crate, it’s a good reminder that you need to do more.

We also need to establish that the word no, actually means no.

01/03/2024

Look into their point of VIEW !!!

30/01/2024

Dogs are not here to be commanded or to be forced into a "good pet" shape.

They are not here for one sided relationships with us at all.

Dogs are here to teach us a much deeper lesson than that.

They are here to teach us our humanity, our kindness, our ability to nurture someone with less power over their lives.

Dogs are here to teach us to be be better people.

But we have to listen to them, to learn from them.

There are way too many people forcing their messed-up selves onto dogs in the name of dog training.

The truth is though, if we respect and care for our dogs, they will tell us what they need and when we know that we can meet their needs.

It only takes a little learning.

A little slowing down.

A little personal growth.

Do you want to change the World for the dogs who need YOU?

Ask us for help in the comments.

28/01/2024

Speak dog !

15/07/2023

Dogs are incredibly loving and loyal animals. They become an integral part of many families, offering unconditional love and companionship. But when it comes to their training and behaviour, it’s important to understand that dogs respond to certain forms of punishment negatively and that their wel...

15/07/2023

Οπως εμεις το καλοκαίρι αλλάζουμε τις συνήθειες μας λογω θερμοκρασιών ετσι και τα σκυλιά το καλοκαίρι δυσκολεύονται και ΠΡΕΠΕΙ να αλλάζουμε τις συνηθιες τους.
*Περπάτημα και περιπάτους ειτε πριν τις 8 το πρωι ειτε μετα τις 8 το βράδι.
(εκτός θερμοκρασίας, τα πεζοδρόμια καίνε τις υπόλοιπες ωρες)
* ΚΡΥΟ νερό διαθέσιμο όλες τις ωρες της μέρας.
* ΣΚΙΑ και ξεκούραση ( ύπνος αρκετές ωρες σε δροσερό μέρος.)

Πολλοί προτιμούν τα frenchies για κατοικίδια. Τωρα με τις ψηλές θερμοκρασίες δώστε τους ιδιαίτερη προσοχή !!!!!!

Τα βραχυκέφαλα σκυλιά είναι πιο πιθανό να ανεβάσουν θερμοκρασία επειδή συχνά δυσκολεύονται να αναπνεύσουν, ακόμη και σε κατάσταση ηρεμίας.

27/06/2023

Πισω απο συμπεριφορες που δεν καταλαβαίνουμε η μας παραξενευουν μπορει να κρύβεται μια αδιαθεσία η πόνος. Πριν θυμώσετε η φωνάξετε στο σκυλί σας η το χαρακτηρίσετε σαν «ξεροκεφαλο» ελέγξτε για την πραγματική αιτία.

14/06/2023

MIND YOUR MANNERS!

The safe and polite way to interact with a dog.

Would you like to have a choice in the matter and give your consent to a stranger invading your personal space or touching you? Would you feel safe if a stranger behaved like this? What would you do if someone did this to you?

If your attempts to communicate that this wasn’t ok were ignored, would you perhaps react aggressively to make that person go away?

This all makes sense to us, but so many people fail to see that dogs can feel the same way when approached by someone.

Dogs are so often not given a choice or have not indicated their consent to being approached or touched and then we are shocked when they may react aggressively.

One of my dogs is highly sensitive and reactive towards strange people and other dogs. I continually repeated to visitors at home- please give her space, please don’t stick your hand near her, please ignore her and let her decide if she wants to interact with you.

My words were so often ignored and sometimes resulted in an aggressive reaction to that person.

The person would be really shocked at her reaction. I’ve even been told – “I thought you were a behaviourist, what is wrong with your dog, why is she behaving like this?”

She behaved like this because she was not given a choice to interact, did not give her consent and her personal space was invaded – she didn’t feel safe. She reacted in the only way she knew how, to make that person leave her alone.

As people, we expect this right, yet often fail to understand that our dogs are also entitled to this.

Consent and choice are a right of every living being. Consent and choice = feeling safe.

30/05/2023

I NEED TO FEEL SAFE

Like all living creatures, dogs just want to feel safe – it’s a basic need.

When we think about feeling safe it’s natural to just think about not being harmed or being in danger, but it’s not just about physical safety - feeling safe emotionally or psychologically is just as important.

While physical safety may be obvious and simpler to address, emotional safety is far more complex and not always easy to recognise or identify.

The same applies to our dogs – they are sentient beings whose behaviour is very often triggered and driven by an emotion.

Many behaviour problems that we see in dogs stem from them feeling unsafe.

A dog that lunges and barks or behaves aggressively with another dog or person is probably doing so because they feel unsafe. They are trying to make the scary thing go away.

A dog that is guarding resources is doing so because they are afraid that the resource will be taken away – they don’t feel safe when another animal or person approaches that resource.

A dog that is reacting to fireworks or thunderstorms or other noises is doing so because they don’t feel safe.

The same can be said for separation anxiety, certain types of aggression and other behaviours.

We can help our dogs feel safe by acknowledging their fear even if that fear doesn’t make sense to us.

We can be a source of comfort, predictability, allow them to make choices where we can, never force them to face a fear, never use punishment but positively reinforce their good choices, all while doing what we can through management, desensitisation or counter conditioning to help them feel safer.

Some dogs may never get over a specific fear, but doing what we can to help dogs feel safer in our world is so important.

Be the person that your dog can rely on and trust to help them feel safe.

Be a secure, reliable, stable base that they can count on when they feel unsafe.

29/05/2023

Don’t be silent. They need our help. When you see something, say something!
Thanks to Mighty Dog Graphics for this great poster.

29/05/2023

Ανθρωπομορφισμος ειναι η απόδοση ανθρωπίνων χαρακτηριστικών η συμπεριφορών σε μη ανθρώπινες οντότητες οπως τα ζώα.

Οι έρευνες που γίνονται με θεμα τις γνωστικές και συναισθηματικές λειτουργείς των εγκεφάλων των ζώων ( cognitive ethology) μα δείχνουν οτι αναμφίβολα πολλα ζώα βιώνουν πολύ πλούσια και βαθιά αισθήματα οπως και οι άνθρωποι.

Το να αποδίδουμε αυτά τα συναισθήματα στα ζώα θα μας βοηθήσει να συμπεριφερόμαστε και να αντιλαμβανόμαστε αλλα και να συνυπάρχουμε καλύτερα με / στα ζώα.

Research shows that anthropomorphism challenges traditional wildlife management.

18/05/2023

Ολα τα σκυλιά έχουν την δικη τους «αόρατη φούσκα ασφαλειας» που ειναι η απόσταση που χρειάζονται για να νιώθουν ασφαλη. Ο μη σεβασμός της «φούσκας» αυτής προκαλεί ολα τις μη αποδέκτες συμπεριφορες που ακούμε συχνά ( δάγκωμα, έντονο γαυγισμα, γρύλισμα, επιθετικότητα)
Σεβασμός στην φούσκα ειναι η λύση.

24/04/2023

Πολλές φορές βλέπουμε μια συμπεριφορά στο σκυλί μας που μας παραξενεύει και πολλές φορες επαναλαμβάνεται χωρις καποιο «εμφανή» λογο.
Αν ομως γνωρίζουμε καποια σημαντικά και βασικά πράγματα, πχ. Γλωσσα του σωματος, μπορούμε να αντιληφθούμε, να εξηγήσουμε και να καταλάβουμε συγκεκριμενες συμπεριφορες και αντιδράσεις των αγαπημένων μας φίλων.

Γιαυτο παντα λεμε οτι η δίκη μας εκπαίδευση ειναι παντα απαραίτητη αλλα και αναγκαία γιατι έχοντας τις γνώσεις μας διευκολύνει στην αναγνώριση συμπεριφορών που μπορει να παραπέμπουν ακόμη και σε πόνο,αρρώστια η δυσφορία του κατοικιδίου μας.

03/02/2023

“I thought I had to wait until my puppy was fully vaccinated to start training?!?”

👉🏼ABSOLUTELY NOT!

A healthy puppy that is at least 8 weeks old and has started on their vaccine schedule can begin training! It’s actually not recommended to wait.

The position statement on puppy socialization can be found at the link in my bio. Both the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior have the position statement available on their websites.

Quotes from the statement 👇🏼
“The PrimAry And mOST imPOrTAnT
time for puppy socialization is the first three months of life. During this time puppies should be exposed to as many new people, animals, stimuli and environments as can be achieved safely and without causing over- stimulation manifested as excessive fear, withdrawal or avoidance behavior.”

“For this reason, the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior believes that it should be the standard of care for puppies to receive such socialization before they are fully vaccinated.”

Safe socialization, exposure training and of course learning their house manners and working on communication (obedience training) can all be started asap. I have videos already posted on something’s you can start doing.

❌I DO NOT RECOMMEND OR SUGGEST GOING TO DOG PARKS, HEAVILY DOG TRAFFICKED AREAS, ALLOWING YOUR PUPPY TO MEET RANDOM/ STRANGE DOGS. That is NOT proper socialization and is high risk.

✅ PROPER SOCIALIZATION AND EXPOSURE training actually requires very little interaction with strange humans, dogs or other animals.

Want more tips or to check out out puppy programs?

📸puppies pictured (Honey Bee and Charlie) are currently enrolled in our puppy board & train program.
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21/01/2023

Ένας τρόπος να σταματήσει το σκυλί μας να κανει μια ανεπιθύμητη συμπεριφορά ειναι να εμποδίσουμε την επανάληψη της και να του δείξουμε άλλες, επιθυμητές συμπεριφορες, που εγκρίνουμε, για να την αντικαταστήσουν.

We expect a LOT out of our dogs and tend to say "No" frequently! No barking at the Amazon Driver, no jumping on visitors, no stealing from the counter, etc. We often just want them to stop doing things, but rarely do we replace the behavior we want less of, with something we want more of!
So, instead of focusing so much on getting your dog to stop a behavior, consider what you would rather have them do instead! "Instead of jumping on visitors, I want my dog to sit for greetings." This gives us a goal to work towards and gives your dog something to do other than jump!

21/01/2023

Ειναι η εποχή που υπάρχει ευαισθητοποίηση για την κακομεταχείριση μεσα στις σχέσεις των ανθρώπων.
Η σχέσεις ειναι ιδιες σε ολα τα ζωντανά πλάσματα ομως.
Οι κακές συμπεριφορές, και η κακοποίηση το ιδιο ΜΗ ΑΠΟΔΕΚΤΕΣ ειναι ανεξαρτήτως σε ποιον απευθύνονται. Ο φόβος και το άγχος ειναι υπαρκτά και στα ζώα.

03/01/2023

Πολύ ωραία και πραγματική σύγκριση ! Θα λέγαμε αληθεια το ιδιο για το παιδί μας η οποιοδήποτε παιδί ?

14/12/2022

Want to change your dog’s behaviours? Help their emotions.

Your dog’s behaviours are driven by how they feel- their emotions are like the bottom of an iceberg 🧊!

When your dog is showing unwanted behaviours such as reacting, growling, or barking- stop and ask why! Often, when our dogs show these behaviours, we simply react or label 🏷️ them without thinking like calling them “crazy”.

If your dog is fearful, stressed, anxious, distressed, frustrated or overaroused/overwhelmed- this means they cannot cope with the situation and need your help.

By addressing your dog’s emotional state by comforting them, reinforcing alternative behaviours, or creating distance from the trigger or situation- you will positively help their behaviours!

Not everything that affects our dog’s behaviour is visible to us!

If you want to learn how to help your dog’s emotional state- contact us for a consult!

24/11/2022

He definitely needs a reset 😄😄

20/11/2022

The one-hour training session we do with you and your dog is basically just an opportunity to raise your awareness of certain things and to give you the tools you need to cope with them when you are on your own.
What we need to make sure you know.. is that your dog is always learning. Training is happening 24/7.
If you don’t train your dog, life will.

23/10/2022

04/10/2022

Happy animals day folks 🐾

09/09/2022

Όλες οι σχέσεις βασίζονται στην επικοινωνία και η καλύτερες σχέσεις ανθίζουν μέσω της ξεκάθαρης, απευθείας επικοινωνία που δημιουργεί συνεργασία και κατανόηση. Το σκυλί σας ασχέτως ράτσας η συνδυασμού ρατσων επικοινωνεί μέσω της γλώσσας του σωματος και των εκφράσεων του προσώπου του. Καταλαβαίνοντας πως να εξηγήσουμε αυτή την γλωσσα και εκφρασεις, ειναι ένα πολύ δυνατό κλειδί στην δημιουργία και διατήρηση μια όμορφης σχέσης ζωής.

Find out what your dog is trying to tell you with our informative article on interpreting dog body language. Learn how to read their facial expressions, what they do to indicate when they’re feeling relaxed, confident, happy, anxious or depressed, and spot the signs of anger before an incident ari...

30/08/2022

Look for this kind of a trainer / Αυτό το είδος εκπαιδευτή να ψάχνετε 🐶 🐺 🐩 🐕 🐕‍🦺. 🐾

20/08/2022

😆

27/07/2022

Πόσο σημαντικό ειναι να αφήνουμε τα σκυλιά να μυρίζονται οσο θέλουν στην βόλτα !