Ironically Named
Pepper is the least peppery character you’re likely to meet and she could even be placed with a novice or first time owner. She is a Hungarian Vizsla and age 6
She loves people and dogs and would love for you to share to get her out of kennels. She’s been walked and trained for the last month by Rob and the Honest Hounds community would be supporting her new people on their future journey- this could be you!
Apply within!
Does any one else have an ironically named dog? I have a “Baby” 🍼
🌟 SOCIAL WALK ASSESSMENTS 🌟
Have you ever wanted to join a Social Walk but not sure it’s for you and your dog?
We are running FREE Social Walk Assessments this Saturday in Dundee.
What does this include?
▪️15 minute session to discuss your dog and things you would like to work on
▪️An opportunity to briefly talk about body language
▪️A follow up email with next steps on how to move forward
▪️If Social Walks are your next step you will have access to walks that are run every day of the week on different times of the day
Want to be a part of this amazing community? Comment “WALKS” for more info.
Another busy day on our July residential. Lots of off lead for the dogs who never get off lead!
Mind blowing for the owners who have to catch up to their new happy confident dogs!
We had fellow dog training and behaviour expert CFBA member Scott from Ghostforce demonstrating the importance of combining obedience and play for our recent trainer weekend.
Scott is incredibly knowledgeable and as well as many years in the field, is also highly dedicated to the science behind why and how dogs learn.
Look out for our collaborative workshop open to the public very soon, priority as always to Honest Hounds members!
Special thanks to Brad @greaterthandog for being decoy
𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐥
𝘚𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦. 𝘕𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘴.
𝘞𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘩𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴. 𝘈 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘯𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘬, 𝘢 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘻𝘦 – "𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳?" 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺, 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥.
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘴𝘪𝘹 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘦, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵. 𝘠𝘦𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘶𝘴. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘫
Resource Guarding Tips
Yes this is the same dog from a week ago guarding the plastic bag.
You can follow his and other stories on Honest Hounds learning platform, but because I had so many private messages asking “how would you help him” I thought you might like a simple trick that can help build the trust a little.
We call it Skinner’s Coffin, all the dog geeks may appreciate it 🤪😝
—-
Disclaimer
If you haven’t quite reached the point you are confident with this game with food you can do it with your dog muzzled. Dogs are brilliant with being able to get food through it, especially if you cut a treat hole! (🕳️ more info on how on HH)
Www.honesthounds.co.uk
Warning ‼️
This may be upsetting footage. But it’s the dirty part of the job that I need to share; I’m going mad sitting in this parallel part of the universe.
People keep sending dogs to rescue that they can’t touch themselves.
These two came in last week to be assessed for whether they can be helped or should be un-alived.
I don’t want to do it any more.
I’m tired of hearing the same stories; started from young age, they have worked with trainers, used Prozac, tried to do management protocols but it’s got worse and worse. (Out of interest the first dog was on antidepressants here and also in the report they have had great success he’s much better. Except there are enough bites that they no longer want to live with the dog.)
There are no homes. The only way to help is proactively.
As these two arrived two more applications came for vizslas that have bitten. We are drowning and there is no way to swim against this tide.
Knowing we can help but literally have nowhere to put them after rehab… this isn’t fair.
And I know it’s not just vizslas, I know it’s every popular breed in this country that’s having issues. Dogs are biting because people are getting some bad information.
Interestingly both applications for these dogs were for reactivity to being “startled” neither are true, what you are seeing is the body in survival mode and having a huge stress response.
Kills me that some trainers correct the sheet out of this - as if that ever helped anyone move out of chronic stress.
Others working around it because they don’t know how to get the dog out of chronic stress state. So they inadvertently keep the dog in that state because “over threshold” not realising it’s already over threshold Every. Single. Day.
—-
Please when watching remember this is us just meeting these dogs for the first time and assessing them. We need to know what we are dealing with - we don’t hide them away in kennels and pretend to the world
Up north in Forres, Scotland, this weekend for a very enjoyable workshop on Wholistic healthcare for dogs.
We talked about the importance of proactive stretches and warming up/cooling down of muscles for our little athletes and did some self selection and a discussion on supplements, the fascinating world of botany and the science of aromachemistry.
It’s really good for me mentally to be working with owners who are invested in proactive care and genuine interest in the wellbeing and optimal health of their dogs. Most of my life is taken up with firefighting when things have gone very wrong with peoples dogs, and as much as I like helping them it’s a huge emotional toll that came to a bit of a head this week.
Expect more of these workshops, organised in conjunction with the wonderful Diane from Moray Dog Retreat who also is a one of my dog behaviour mentees! We have some cracking case studies to bring back for the others to learn from too. What a weekend 🎉
#moraydogretreat
#dogtraining
#wholisticdoghealth
#massagefordogs
#aromachemistry
Dear Gentle Readers,
I’d like to talk about Euthanasia.
Lots of dogs are getting it done, it’s the new thing just now. The wire haired Daxie here was facing it because of her list of her behavioural issues;
Separation issues
Resource guarding
Human aggression
Dog aggression
(She even was toileting in the house but I haven’t seen that so I’m just gonna say that was likely stress, wrong environment and unlucky in the two vet recommended behaviourists that they invested money in)
So pretty much the whole list. Yup let’s un-alive her because she must be ‘wrong’ or have mental health issues. But let’s drug her first just incase she’s unhinged.
I’m in this parallel universe where this is happening daily and there is no outcry from the public.
What if we take the expectations away, take the responsibility away and just allow her to be a dog. What if we stop labelling all her problems and just teach her how to be socially accepted. Exercise her more and help her sleep undisturbed through the day.
Social Learning is very real and if you’re struggling with your dog and can’t possibly imagine it being able to behave like (her old owners will be watching and not quite believing either) this then Social Learning will help you.
You’re not alone, there is an epidemic of dogs and owners in the same position, dogs that then need homes with no where to go (no one has come forward for her because of her history)
We have created a community who want better, come and learn with people who help dogs get back on track and speak with owners that are on various stages of their journey.
Www.honesthounds.co.uk
The Pack tier is cheaper than any accredited behaviour consultation in the world, and I would suggest you’ll learn more there too!
Looking forward to seeing you there,
Jessica Probst BSc CFBA
Honest Hounds can help you and your reactive dog in so many ways
We are here for all dogs and all owners and we have so many members who are working through their reactivity and having positive changes everyday.
These are just some of the ways that the community think we help them and if you're a member we'd love to hear what your favourite part of Honest Hounds is!
If you have a reactive dog come and join us and start living a happier life with your dog 🐾
𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿-𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆: 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿
Imagine your dog is out for a walk, and suddenly they see another dog. They bark, lunge, or pull on the leash. This is a common issue called over-reactivity. It’s basically when a dog’s stress response goes into overdrive at the sight of something (a trigger) that might not be seem a big deal to us.
Here’s the key: Over-reactivity can be based on fear, protectiveness, or even excitement. But regardless of the reason, simply avoiding triggers won’t solve the problem.
Why? Because the trigger is still there, and the constant state of high alert for the trigger keeps your dog in a stress state.
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Part one video of JessW describing her life for the past few years avoiding people and dogs
𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿-𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆: 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲
Avoiding triggers is like putting a bandaid on a wound. It might stop the bleeding temporarily, but it doesn't address the underlying issue.
The good news? You can help your dog learn to manage their stress response and feel calmer around triggers, changing it’s feelings from Threat to Opportunity (within 6 months Jess now has the opposite problem where she has to excuse her dog for being “too friendly” can you even imagine that?!)
It's important to find a balance between avoiding triggers and providing controlled exposure for training. While complete avoidance might seem like a quick solution, it can hinder long-term progress and of course finding safe places to practise seems daunting but not when you have a team behind you.
Use the Honest Hounds Neutral and Social walks to build your confidence and change your own narrative.
——
Part 2 video of Jess W talking about avoidance and why it kept her and her dog in chronic stressed state.
Continued on Coaching level of Honest Hounds
I’m going to write up the full case study for the affiliates and Mentees on Canis Arcana and how we worked on this.
This is quite an interesting and intense case and obviously we have a long road ahead of us but we saw some great choices this week and most importantly some big changes in the handling skills of his people.
I think this demonstrates nicely our commitment to ensuring the wellbeing of the dog as a priority - no quick fixes, lots of encouragement and an understanding of how to change emotional responses.
Part 2 of reducing stress and increasing confidence through learning about play styles 👀🐾
These dogs from the May residential learned some new tactics for play and each one has a different style to learn and work with.
We can be inventive and have some fun even with the ones who don’t naturally want to play. Tapping into their strengths and abilities.
Learning your dogs play style and getting creative to make life interesting and encourage movement and endorphins is the key to happiness and contentment 🐾
𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲
People come on the residentials for different reasons;
- Some are curious about what we do differently
- Some want exposure in a safe environment
- Some want expert knowledge to learn why their dog does what it does
- Some want a wholistic approach incorporating many aspects including health, diet and breed fulfilment
The one thing they all have in common is that they are aware of the community benefit of Honest Hounds, where owners share their experiences, wins and setbacks. By working within a group, with similar goals, we have the opportunity for so much repetition and ability to counter condition, create positive associations and to help change human approach (in this example) from Threat to Opportunity.
Bruce hasn’t been able to be touched by a vet or the family members he lives with (!) because of his extreme aggressive response.
The first clip is me meeting him to assess his response. Note his extreme reaction to my light touch. The second is on Day 5. Also, good to note he’s off lead for the first time in his life, running and playing with his people.
Special thanks to Liz, our shiastu mentor, who helped him with reconnect his mind-body connection. All our work has been working to regulate his nervous system and activate bio-feedback.
Find out more about his journey and find your community on Honest Hounds
Www.honesthounds.co.uk
A Willow appreciation post.
I’m going through the footage from today and caught this little gem.
This spaniel has been kept away from situations where he might do a bite. He’s been carefully managed and under constant instruction and supervision.
We do things a little differently here. We want to know that without instruction the dog can handle himself and makes great choices.
So we set up humans walking by to see what his actual response is. And we can confirm it would be a bite.
Once we know what we are dealing with we can set up situations to help him get new information and change his perception from “human walking past are Threat” to “humans walking past are Opportunities”
(You can find out how we do that within the week on Honest Hounds!)
Anyway look at the timing of Willow catching that lead. We need to be prepared and able to take action in the moment, which means keeping our heads and not succumbing to emotion.
N.b. This is not a training moment, this is a “what are we dealing with so we can come up with a plan” and our plan doesn’t involve corrections, fear or avoidance.
It does involve endorphins, fun, group work and hundreds of positive set ups!
We have had a little Brittany spaniel join us this week and she is an interesting case. She doesn’t have any anger management issues or “reactivity” although her frustration is causing her to start snapping - she’s actually here to help with her prey drive, her nose gets the better of her and she’s off hunting in the blink of an eye. Obviously a life on lead is not ideal for a dog never mind a hunting breed.
She’s also a sensory seeking personality, meaning she’s very busy all the time. Her owner has done wonderful things with her like agility and scent work. But it’s just made her incredibly fit and even more energetic!
Today we taught her to activate the part of her body that helps her to self-regulate. We then employed the group to bring some 3rd ⭕️ energy which was both amusing and educational 😬👀😊🐾
This morning downtown in Dodge (Dundee, Scotland 😎) we took some dogs, had some fun (and bagels from @heatherstreetfood ) I was recording Tristan walking himself, which I wrote up about on HH… because I was giving very little commands and that is a world away of what people consider “training”. Sure, ‘heel’ work has its place and shows obedience, but a truly confident dog feels comfortable navigating their world without constant instruction.
Strict control can create stress.
The joy of a relaxed dog who can explore while still being reliable, and me not having to watch his every move. True Trust! This is my reward for all the effort I’ve put in over the last two years.
Do you prefer strict and sexy heel work or a dog you can just hang out with?
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https://honesthounds.circle.so/c/behaviour-concepts/traditional-heel-work-showcases-impressive
