Happy Dog Javea

30/04/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/cXDAmAeXbWUwYZ4e/?mibextid=WC7FNe

LANGUAGE OF THE LICK

Dogs usually lick their lips when food is about to be served, when a tasty treat is imminent, when those soulful eyes are begging you to share whatever you’re putting in your mouth, or when that last morsel of food stuck on their nose needs to be captured.

Maybe it’s just an itchy nose or a pesky bug that’s irritating them, but sometimes lip licking can be an important sign that there’s something else going on.

The amazing vocabulary that is dog body language is often spoken through subtle signs that are so easy to miss, but when noticed can provide us with important information as to how our dogs are feeling.

Lip licking is part of a group of calming signals that dogs use in an attempt to avoid conflict, calm themselves and others down and generally indicate that they’re feeling anxious or uncomfortable about something.

We also often use this type of body language without even being aware of it. Fiddling with our hair, nails or ears, biting the end of a pencil, tapping feet - may all happen when we’re feeling uncomfortable in a situation.

Sometimes lip licking can provide a warning that there’s an underlying medical condition like gastrointestinal issues, dental or mouth problems or pain somewhere in the body.

Take note of lip licking in different situations. It may be as simple as seeing a lip lick when you just can’t resist kissing that adorable face, but your dog is telling you that they really don’t feel comfortable with your way of expressing affection.

Take note, listen to their language and do what you can to improve their emotional state.

29/04/2024

Wonderful post by Rebecca 🐶🐕🥰

We have all been brought up in a world where we are fed information that affects the way we think and feel. We all know the damage that images of beautifully airbrushed women on the front of magazines do to the confidence in women. We are all aware that the perfect relationships we see in films and hear about in songs gives us unrealistic expectations of what love in the real world is.

The same media that makes us and our lives often feel inferior does the same to our dogs. We are brought up through our culture and through T.V, media, films, and books, that our dogs should behave in a certain way, and we should behave in a certain way with them. Dog trainers show us perfectly behaved dogs, walking perfectly by their side. T.V personalities show us how to ‘fix’ bad dog behaviour in a matter of hours or days like they were just a damaged boiler that needed a new part. Films show us dogs heroically protecting their owners from intruders and the news only shows us that one in 100 dogs that saves a person’s life.

Dogs are as unique as we are. No two dogs are the same. They all have strengths and weaknesses; they all have different genetics and have experienced life in different ways. Our expectations of them are often extremely high, people often expect their dogs to be better behaved than their children, even though we humans have a huge cognitive brain and can communicate verbally with each other.

We have spent thousands of years evolving beside these amazing animals and yet we still struggle to understand them. We are quite frankly, pretty bloody useless at it. We have some bizarre idea that they should behave in certain ways just because we want them to.
We expect them to be polite, understand what we are jabbering on about, do as they are told at all times, know what we want even if we haven’t taught them, and generally not actually act like what they are, dogs.

We often expect them to not do all the things that are actually perfectly normal and natural behaviours for dogs. We don't like it when they scavenge through bins, bark, dig, jump up to greet, roll in smelly things, drink, and eat what we consider disgusting but to them are delicacies. We don't like them trying to find the most comfortable place to be, running freely saying hello to everyone they meet, chasing things, chew things and sniffing bums. We want them to fit into our cookie cutter idea of what we want a dog to be. We want them to have all the dog traits that we find cute, without any of the dog traits that do not fit in with our human sensibilities.

It amazes me how brilliantly they adapt to live in our lives. How much of their normal behaviour they have to curb because of us.
Having expectations on how they should behave can cause frustration, anger, and resentment and generally break down our relationships.
Yes, we can teach them, yes, we can guide them, yes, we can reduce or stop some unwanted behaviours with management, good teaching, and patience. But when you next get annoyed at your dog, just remember how amazing they are to live in our world, and put up with our weird, quirky human ways.

They often read us a lot better than we read them. Thank them regularly for being a much more adaptable, patient, and tolerant species than we could ever hope to be.

25/04/2024

Congratulations to Chewie & Lola for getting their 1st level diplomas 📜 and to Gasparo & Ollie for getting their Bronze level diplomas 📜
You and your humans are all P’AWESOME 🐕🐕🐕🐕🐾🐾🐾🐾🥰

16/04/2024

This is so true and knowledge is so important 🐶🐕🥰

I find it hard to understand why some people still use and firmly believe in old fashioned punishment-based training methods when science clearly shows there is a better, kinder, humane, ethical and far more effective way.

The key principle of force free or positive reinforcement based methods is “first, do no harm”, not just physical harm, but emotional harm too.

Punishment amongst many other negatives, creates stress. Stress inhibits learning. A dog that is feeling stressed from being punished will struggle to learn.

Positive reinforcement methods release the hormone, Dopamine. This “feel-good” hormone drives the reward and pleasure-seeking system.

Dopamine also increases the brain’s ability to learn, improves memory function and motivates a dog to repeat a behaviour.

The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behaviour states that punishment-based methods may cause several adverse effects, including “inhibition of learning, increased fear-related and aggressive behaviours, and injury to animals and people interacting with animals”.

One of my favourite quotes with regard to dog behaviour is by Dr Carolina Galvez Vidal - "Any idiot can suppress behaviour. It’s so easy: That’s why most humans on the planet think they are expert dog trainers. But to truly modify a behaviour without suppression…Ahh, that requires true talent, knowledge and skills".

We are all individuals and don’t all have “true talent” or “skills”, but the key word for me in this statement is “knowledge”.

Knowledge is not that hard to find these days. Be willing to put in the effort to find out how to build a trusting, secure and positive relationship with your dog, remembering to "first do no harm".

12/04/2024

Gorgeous girls 🐕🐕🐕🐕 ( heading towards their adolescent phase 😳) Lola, Luna, Saartje & Tia did really well in class working on the 3 D’s ( duration, distance and distraction) on the life skills they have learnt over the last few weeks. They then had a short walk outside the training area working on a loose leash ( harnesses do not cause pulling) and not reacting to passing traffic. 🚙 🛻 🏍️ 🚴
A quick play session when they got back into the secure area followed by looking for treats in tyres to bring the adrenaline levels back down for a final chill before home for a snooze 💤
A complete class helping dogs navigate our human world using positive methods ( no choke chains, no slip leads , no halti’s , no prong collars ) 🥰

10/04/2024

Teenagers ( hormones 😜) Chewie, Bibi , Noa and Leo had a quick off-lead play session after working on their longer stays, wait and recall cues.
Then looking for treats in the tyres to bring the adrenaline levels down and some more nose work looking for tasty titbits under tins 🐕🐕🐕🐕🥰

03/04/2024

Yes , yes , yes 🐶🐕😊

02/04/2024

This 👇is so true 🐶🐕🥰

There’s a huge amount of conflicting information about dog training online and for owners seeking help it can seem hard to know what to follow. But, ultimately, it all boils down to a single question....

"𝘼𝙢 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙮 𝙙𝙤𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩, 𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣?"

If a trainer uses…

• Slip leads
• Choke chains
• Compressed air sprays
• Rattle cans
• Water sprays
• Prong collars
• E-collars / shock collars
• Anti-bark collars
• Sharp tugs on a flat collar

…then they 𝗮𝗿𝗲 using discomfort, fear, pain (or the threat of these things) to teach dogs. Because that's how these tools are designed to work in order to change behaviour.

It’s a simple question. What’s your answer?

28/03/2024

This 👇……training using positive methods takes time …..there are no quick fixes (unless you use aversives 😡)

There are currently 3 different dog training approaches.

1. Aversive ➡️ everything is done by way of punishment, fear, stress, intimidation, pain or discomfort. This approach often involves 𝙛𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 and results in complete emotional withdrawal, shut down and learnt helplessness by dogs. This mostly focuses on stopping behaviour X “now”.

Results are 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙙 as instantaneous.

But hey, it’s ok because it’s all about the hooman ego, right?

2. Balanced ➡️ positive reinforcement methods will be used 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙨 ( for as long as the dog does what they are required), and failing to achieve that, aversive measures are used.

This approach shows lack of solid & comprehensive understanding of dogs, dog behaviour, dogs learning processes, genetics, evolution, and to some extent is also focused on stopping behaviour X.

I always call this approach “I know bits & bobs about positive reinforcement, and I’ll use them but if I can’t get the dog to do what they are told, I’ll use aversives”.

Results are also promised as quick, but may take a few sessions.

3. Positive reinforcement / force free approach.

This takes a deep understanding of dog behaviour & dog learning processes, understanding the the importance of a holistic approach to an individual dog, understanding genetics, ethology, understanding the links between health & wellbeing vs behaviour, understanding that every individual has a different history, experiences, background and learning capacity, understands the impacts of stress on body & mind, and understanding that FF is the only way to change behaviour long term, even if this takes some time.

This approach is about putting welfare of an animal first, hooman needs and wants second.

But you know what? Any behaviour takes time to change for both dogs, and their hoomans.

Those are the facts.

You make the choice for your dog.

27/03/2024

Love this …… high ✋ to all of you wonderful dog guardians that do these things 🐶🐕🥰

27/03/2024

…….and then people wonder why they have no clothes, no curtains, countless cuts and bruises 🤦‍♀️ ….. genetics matter people! 🐕

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/zv5YfwZCUUr6izyo/?mibextid=WC7FNe

24/03/2024

Happy Sniffy Sunday everyone 🐶🐶 🥰

23/03/2024

NEW PUPPY COURSE STARTING SOON 🐶🐕

Basic life skills training & socialisation classes for young puppies 🐶🐶

ONLY 2 places remaining

Please send a PM or a WhatsApp to + 34 696525511 for more details. 😊

21/03/2024

Congratulations to Maxi for getting his Bronze diploma and to Whiskey & Rex for getting their 1st diplomas ……you and your humans were all P’AWESOME 🐕🐕🐕🤩

19/03/2024

Dogs pull because we let them!
It’s not intentional but when they pull and we extend our arm out and then bring it back in because our arms don’t stretch, this gives dogs the constant feeling of tension and this is how they think walks go.

Dogs need to be taught how to walk on a loose leash and this means we need to learn what that means and then teach it.

Harnesses are much safer and more humane than collars.
A flat collar sits on their trachea and is putting pressure on their trachea and why you often hear them cough. It hurts! ( don’t even get me started on using retractable or slip leads to teach loose leash walking!!! 😤)

A well fitting (not tight) harness doesn’t sit on the trachea or their shoulders (which also causes pain), but allows for complete freedom of movement offering a pain and stress free walk.

I always recommend a Y shaped harness with 2 attachment points and a multi position leash ( with a clip each end)

Loose leash walking isn’t easy , it’s a difficult thing for people and dogs to learn but it’s important to keep practicing and in the end you will have a dog that walks on a loose leash. 👍🐕😊

17/03/2024

To all the dogs I work with…..

I will do my best to teach you in a way you understand.🐶

I will help you to understand the rules of the human world you live in and do it kindly and gently. 🐕

I will never use a prong collar, slip lead, choke chain or shock collar on you.😞

I will never hit, scold, poke or kick you.😞

I will never shout at you or use fear or intimidation to train or teach you. 😞

I will do my best to pass on my knowledge to your human in a way they can understand and implement. 😊

Our dogs live in a human world. We bred them, changed them and reared them for that purpose so let’s always try to do the best we can to help them live happily in our , often very complicated , human world 🐶🐕🥰

11/03/2024

This is brilliantly written and completely how I feel about the methods I use 🐶🐕🥰

Why FORCE FREE?

In light of recent events and queries that have arisen about the labels we apply in the dog training industry, I wanted to explain as clearly and succinctly as possible why I identify as a FORCE FREE trainer and behaviour practitioner and what it means to me. Others may have a slightly different view, but this is my understanding, based on many years in this field and from interactions with colleagues and friends who identify with this philosophy:

What does it mean?
To me FORCE FREE means that in my interactions with the animals I work with (mainly dogs), my aim is to avoid using physical force or psychological intimidation (force, fear, pain) at all times. Whether I am teaching a simple behaviour or trying to resolve a complex behavioural issue, I will always seek to avoid causing harm from an emotional or physical point of view. Harm may be transient (momentary anxiety, fear, discomfort) or long lasting (generalised anxiety, fearfulness, depression, frustration, stress and the deterioration of physical health over time). For me, neither of these is an acceptable short- or long-term outcome. If a dog is presented to me in such an emotional state, my first priority is to relieve those feelings and help the owner create a relationship and environment that is conducive to positive emotional states and optimal welfare.

A couple of simple examples:
If I were teaching a puppy to lie down, I would never physically manipulate the puppy into a down position by pulling their legs out from underneath them, pushing them down or pulling the lead down. Physical force would not be an option open to me to use and a “hands off” approach where the puppy is always free to move as they choose would be used instead. This might mean luring the puppy into a down position with a treat or gradually shaping lowering of the head and body towards the ground, but at all times my hands would be off the puppy and he or she could move away and disengage if they wanted to.
If I were assisting someone with a dog that was resource guarding (a more complex behaviour issue), I would not go in with the idea of punishing the dog’s behaviour by means of physical corrections, psychological intimidation or negative punishment (removing food if the dog guards), but would prioritise helping the dog to feel safe and secure, to alleviate any causes of stress, anxiety or frustration and build trust so that the underlying emotional need could be met and the dog helped to feel more comfortable around food resources.

Why do I believe in FORCE FREE and happily identify with this label?
When I first became involved in dog training over twenty years ago, everything was taught by means of physical manipulation and psychological intimidation. Dogs were literally controlled through physical force and “hands on” methods. The result was dogs that were often stressed, anxious, frustrated and compliant only when they were within reach. Dogs did not enjoy learning. They did not willingly engage. Success was a shut down, robot animal. If you have never experienced this kind of “training” it may be hard to picture just how awful it is.

FORCE FREE is the polar opposite of this. It is giving the animal choice to engage and making it worthwhile for them when they do. It is meeting the needs of the dog first and a commitment to do no harm. I firmly believe that there is never any need for me to put my hands on a dog to manipulate them physically into doing anything and so for me FORCE FREE means being “hands-off” and giving the dog the opportunity to learn that choosing to engage has massive benefits and is fantastically fun and enjoyable.

Why am I passionate about this? Because first and foremost I want dogs to be emotionally and physically healthy. I want them to have choice and autonomy in their behaviour as far as possible in a human dominated world. I want them to feel happy, safe and secure when around their people and in the world at large. Furthermore, I believe a dog that is raised and worked with in this way is FAR LESS likely to develop behaviour issues which make them unsafe to be around, so this approach benefits not only the dogs, but people and society at large as well.

The question we are always asked is: “Wouldn’t you grab a dog and pull them back if they were about to run in the road?” The argument being that this is force, so how could we claim to be FORCE FREE? I have to point out that there is a huge difference between responding in a once off moment to prevent immediate harm and a deliberate training strategy of using some device to repeatedly pull or yank on a dog to teach a behaviour. If a child was about to run in the road (or any person for that matter), of course I would grab hold of them to save them from harm, in that unplanned moment – this is no way equates to putting a choke chain on a child, walking them down the road and yanking on the chain every time they wander ahead or look at a car. I trust the difference is obvious.

So, while many may argue about the nuances of terminology, I will state that we are proudly FORCE FREE and will always seek to put emotional and physical welfare first, regardless of popular opinion or pressure from elsewhere.

09/03/2024

This is a great post …..

Unfortunately many people just have what they consider to be a problem with their dog and want it to be fixed quickly! These people just want the end result by any means and want their dog’s training to be like they see on the TV. A big macho man turns up, fixes the issue in an hour and then leaves without having ‘fixed ‘ the ‘problem’ …..all they have done is surpress it using aversive methods 😞

A question for the general dog owning public....

𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝗴𝘀?

A well known lick mat company currently has a PR nightmare on their hands due to their decision to promote a high profile aversive trainer* on their stand at Crufts.

The company's response has been that they were "𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨" in approaches to teaching dogs. Which lead me to wonder how widespread that lack of awareness is.

Do the general dog owning public know that there are different approaches to teaching dogs? Do they understand what those differences are? Do they actively seek out trainers who fit with their own ethos? Or do they believe that all trainers teach in broadly the same way?

The rise in aversive training (and it is on the rise) suggests one of two things. Either people genuinely don't understand the training techniques being used on their dogs. Or they do but remain willing to subject their dog to them.

For trainers like me, who want to promote a non-aversive way to live with and teach dogs, it's an important distinction because in order for people to make a choice they first need to know there's a choice to be made!

Thoughts?

PS there’s no shame in not knowing what you don’t know and admitting a lack of knowledge is a strength, not a weakness

EDIT - I have deliberately not named either party so please don’t mention them in the comments. Thank you x

* 𝘣𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥, 𝘦.𝘨. 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦, 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵, 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘦𝘵𝘤 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨

06/03/2024

Happy Hump Day! 😁
Hu***ng: we can be very awkwardly British about this. Lets take the time to learn what it really means and accept its a very basic form of canine expression and communication. Yes we may prefer to interrupt or distract when we can but its also very normal 👍🐶🐕😊

HU***NG HOUNDS - It’s not always what it seems

Some dogs do and some dogs don’t, but if you have a dog that humps at the most inopportune times it can be downright embarrassing or annoying.

Other dogs, other people, visitors, toys, cushions, furniture, anything that can be mounted and clung to may be fair game.

As people, it’s natural to assume that this behaviour is of a sexual nature, that our dogs must be oversexed, sexually frustrated or the all-too-common incorrect belief that our dogs are just trying to be “dominant” or “the alpha”.

Hu***ng, like many other dog behaviours does not always have a simple reason. It can be a complex behaviour which is usually emotionally or socially based.

Looking at what may be triggering the behaviour should always be the first step before finding ways to change a behaviour.

The solutions will depend on the cause. It may be finding ways to reduce stress or anxiety levels, increasing mental stimulation, teaching calm behaviours to prevent over arousal, ensuring your dog is getting enough sleep, using management or in some cases a veterinary check up to rule out any medical causes.

When hu***ng is annoying another dog or person or causing frustration, discomfort or harm in any way, then obviously this behaviour needs to be immediately addressed, but sometimes we may need to ask ourselves – is it really something we need to stop our dogs from doing just because we see it as socially unacceptable?

Is it a harmless way of relieving stress or anxiety after a difficult day or a way to expend pent up energy that is not causing anyone harm?

Is a little hump now and then okay if it’s not causing any harm?

If we prevent this, correct it, or at worst punish this behaviour are we removing a harmless natural outlet and risking another unwanted behaviour taking its place?

Hu***ng is one of the most misunderstood behaviours.

Very often, behaviour is not about the way it looks, but the way we perceive it from our human perspective.

01/03/2024

Great post …..please take care when looking for a trainer for your puppy or dog.
This profession is unregulated 😞 and there are many aversive trainers out there 😠

CHOOSING THE RIGHT PERSON TO WORK WITH YOU AND YOUR DOG

Sadly, selecting a good, qualified professional is not the straightforward task it ought to be. Finding someone who is well-qualified and follows kind and ethical, up-to-date, science-based training methods is an absolute minefield because the dog training industry is currently unregulated.

Scarily, anyone can set themselves up in business as a dog trainer or behaviourist, without the need for any accreditations, certifications or experience.

Yes, you read that correctly.

This is why we have to be so careful when looking to enlist the help of a professional to entrust with our precious pooches.

Unfortunately, people are not always as they seem, so it is necessary to become a bit of a detective. Often, it isn’t obvious from social media pages and websites what training methods are employed. Some trainers describe themselves as "positive", "gentle", and "science-based", yet when you look more closely, there are clues which tell a different story:

⚠️ A narrow slip lead placed high up behind the ears.
⚠️ A head collar with thin straps which tighten on a puppy's delicate muzzle.
⚠️ Reactive dogs being exposed to other dogs in close proximity until they shut down.
⚠️ Shock/prong collars in use to suppress behaviours.

The list goes on.

A flashy social media page with lots of followers, coupled with a trainer who talks the talk, can be very convincing. But do they walk the walk? Or, is it a case of smoke and mirrors?

The suppression of behaviours through the use of punishment, or over-exposing a dog to triggers, known as flooding, can seem to be an effective quick fix; before and after videos can be both appealing and misleading. However, the body language exhibited by these dogs will tell a very different story.

Remember: suppression is not the same as behaviour modification.

An ethical, knowledgeable trainer will not place your dog in compromising situations which will cause him stress in order to see an issue in action, nor to facilitate the capturing of videos which portray before and after comparisons for clicks and shares on facebook or tiktok.

True behaviour modification takes time, skill, and empathy, so beware those who claim to be able to “fix” reactivity in a set time frame.

Our reactive dogs are not “broken”.

They do not need “fixing”.

Every dog will be different, according to their individual needs, prior learning experiences, health challenges, and so on.

In this blog, I discuss this further, and take a look at how you can protect yourself and your dog from falling foul of those who lack understanding and empathy, and whose training methods are punitive and prehistoric:

https://www.trailiepawsforthought.com/post/buyer-beware-selecting-a-good-qualified-professional

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26/02/2024

Shake it…shake it off…

A recent study by two researchers in France looked at sniffing, pulse rate, and leash length on walks. Sixty-one dogs were taken on three separate walks, five minutes each walk, once with a 1.5m leash, once with a 5m leash, and once without a leash at all (walk order was randomized for each dog). Off-leash dogs sniffed the most, more than 3x as long as the dogs on short leashes. Dogs on long leashes spent nearly as much time as unleashed dogs sniffing, almost 3x as long as dogs on short leashes.

This study also found that sniffing resulted in lowered pulse rates, and the more intensely they sniffed, the more their pulse rates lowered. Pulse rate was also lowered when dogs “shook off” during walks on all leash lengths. The “shake off” behavior was often seen when the dog’s pulse rate was particularly high.

Read more about it below!

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1HX77kp2HBDiTxmq/?mibextid=Le6z7H

https://www.tuftsyourdog.com/everydaydogcare/giving-your-dog-time-to-sniff-on-walks-will-literally-soothe-his-heart/

What else can we learn about dogs from their walking behavior? Take your best friend on a Sniffari and see what you observe!

23/02/2024

Barking is a 𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙡 & 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙡 dog behaviour.

Barking is how dogs communicate amongst themselves, with other animals and with us. But why is it that one of the main perks of the whole reason we domesticated dogs (alerting us of things / threat / predators) through barking, is now so commonly deemed an “undesirable” behaviour??

Over thousand of years we considered alert barking of domesticated dogs nothing less of a job well done.
Except these days we want the dogs to never bark, except when there is real danger. But what that danger may be to us seems to be constantly changing.
It’s a bit of an impossible task for dogs, reading minds to know what we deem a danger today vs next week, don’t you think?
Dogs have already evolved so much from their ancestors, they fit into our lives perfectly, but our expectations keep raising the bar to what seems an impossible level….

We need to understand that certain behaviours, so deeply rooted in their history, will not just stop because it’s convenient for us.

So whether your dogs bark to alert you of the postman, out of fear of visitors, out of pure excitement when they see their favourite friends in the park, or bark at passing traffic remember - this behaviour 𝐡𝐚𝐬 a function. Finding what the function is will help you to unpick the reasons why your dog may be barking is specific contexts.

Please, let’s allow dogs the freedom to express themselves. Barking is not a 𝙗𝙖𝙙 behaviour. It’s just A behaviour. 🐶🐕👍

22/02/2024

Great class today …..the pups ( all under 6months) and their humans were all P’AWESOME
Saartje, Tia, Lola, Chewie , Cosy and Luna 🐶🐕🥰

21/02/2024

Maxi & Rex ( 10month olds full of hormones 😉) had a great run around after practicing their longer sit/stays , down/ stays and recall.
Then it was time for some sniffing and enjoying tasty chewy treats that they found under tins to calm down after.
You were both P’AWESOME 🥰

20/02/2024

Great post 👍🐶🐕😊

18/02/2024

Great advice from Ruth at The Dog Geeks 🐶🐕🥰