The Pawer of Love dog training

11/02/2025

Lab grown meat in dog food.

23/01/2025

Do you have a clicker in your toolbox?

Dogs learn quicker, remember better and can be more enthusiastic when you train with a clicker.

They learn that the sound of the clicker means that something good is going to happen. It results in dopamine release which is a feel good hormone.

I recommend to get a quiet clicker, like the ones in the picture. You can get one that you can put on your wrist, fasten it onto your trousers with a carabiner or use a lanyard to put it around your neck.

In this way you don't have to juggle the lead, clicker and treat at the same time.

21/01/2025

20/01/2025

What's your dog's mood got to do with his behaviour?

If we are in a bad mood, we make different choices, we behave differently than when we are in a bad mood.

The same applies to our dog.

If a dog is in a bad mood, an approaching dog can be perceived as a threat and the dog will bark and lounge.

However, if we change his mood, we will change his perception of the same event.

Mood can be influenced by how they are feeling physically- a vet check is advised if your dog becomes constantly grumpy-, if they are worried about punishment or if they didn't get enough sleep.

Just to mention a few.

Dogs that learn through positive reinforcement, given a choice whenever possible and are listened to, are generally in a good mood and make choices we like.

Which dog would you prefer?

19/01/2025

Hugging your dog. Good idea... or not?

Humans are primates and we like to touch and hug other creatures.

Hugging can be scary for dogs because when we hold them tightly, we are restraining them. Dogs associate being restrained with being caught by a predator. When they can die.

Hence they don't like it. At least most of them don't like it.

Some tolerate it, a few love it.

In my experience, generally they try to avoid it.

How can you find out if the dog loves being touched not just tolerates it?

Do a consent test.

Touch the dog gently for three seconds. Gentle touch releases feel good chemicals like oxitocin.

Stop.

See if the dog moves towards you for more or moves away, freezes.

Then you'll have your answer.

You can try to touch different body parts and see how they react. Some dogs don't like to be touched on their head but love a nice bum scratch.

All those videos on the net where children jump on the dog, hug them, go into their personal space when they are clearly stressed about it are hard to watch.

Listen to your dog.

They will tell you how they feel in an interaction.

Do you want to learn more about dog body language or consent test?

Shoot me a message and I'll let you know how I can support both of you.

15/01/2025

Stop blaming the harness!

I am an admin and moderator in a puppy group and I also joined a few dog related groups.

What really annoys me is that when a post comes up with a dog on a harness people jump on to blame the harness if people cannot control their dog.

The most common reasoning is that dogs put their weight in the harness and they can pull harder. While this is true, the reason for pulling is not because the dog has a harness on.

It is lack of training.

Plain and simple.

Most dogs pull on collars, slip leads, head halters as well because they do not have the skills not to. They haven't been taught.

Pulling on the collar can cause injury to the neck and spine so if your dog pulls, a harness can be the best option. (Of course we need to consider how strong the person is and how big the dog is but generally the harness is a good option to avoid injuries.)

It is important to fit the harness properly and that it leaves free movement to the shoulders (a Y or H harness is recommended not the ones that have a stripe across the chest).

There will always be people who look at the harness with a stigma that it encourages the dog to pull rather than looking at what skills the dog has.

If they don't have a skill, it is not the fault of the equipment.

12/01/2025

Sometimes I feel, as a behaviour counselor. that we are fighting a very long, hopefully not lost, battle against outdated advice that is still out there.

Just today someone with an 8-week old puppy complained about the puppy biting and growling and how they turn her over to expose her belly as a way to deal with her behaviour.

That's called an alpha roll.

It's been around for decades and started with the flawed study of captive wolves. (If you want to know more, check out Schenkel's Wolf Behaviour Study from the 1940's).

The Alpha Roll does nothing but harm:

- damages trust between the dog and people

- increases fear and anxiety in the dog

- can be a potential bite risk because it can trigger defensive aggression. It depends on the dog but they can struggle and bite when they are forcefully held down.

If we touch the dog to control their behaviour, it's not training.

It's either management or abuse.

18/11/2024

Behaviour change. Is it always a training issue?

14/11/2024

Three emojies to explain your life with your dog right now.

No cheating 🙂.

03/11/2024

Do you want to improve your dog's focus and build their confidence?

Have you tried pattern games?

Pattern games are simple, repetitive activities that dogs can easily follow. They offer a structure, predictability and empower the dogs by giving them 'I can do' attitude.

They also release dopamine in the brain, speed up learning and improve memory.

In the video you can see an example of a pattern game.

Other examples can be the 1-2-3 or the Up and Down game

TIP: start in an environment where your dog can learn and keep the sessions short.

21/10/2024

🐾 ONE TO ONE DOG TRAINING POWER HOUR🐾

Hey amazing dog guardians!

Got 60 minutes? Let's make it count!

Join me for a Dog Training Power Hour designed to focus on specific skills and behaviours with your dog.

Whether it's basic puppy training, recall training, or resolving problem behaviours, we'll work together to start you off on the right path in just one hour!

🐶 Who it's for: Everyone looking to see improvement or fine tune their pup's skills.

🐶 What to expect:

🐾 Personalized training with real-time tips

🐾 Focused attention on key areas

🐾 Fun and engaging activities for both you and your dog

🐾 Follow up email about what we covered

🐾 An opportunity to message me any questions related to training we did for a week

🐶 Why it works: An intensive, focused session gives you the tools and confidence to practice and reinforce what you have learned.

🐶 Investment: £60 for a zoom session, £80 for an in person session.

Don't miss this opportunity to bond with your dog and level up their behaviour in a single hour!

Message me to book your spot today.

13/10/2024

The amount of 'cute' puppy (or dog) videos I see when they are stressed, uncomfortable around things is scary and concerning.

If you don't understand dog body language, you won't be able to recognise when they need our help and they might not have a choice but to escalate the situation to a growl, snap or bite.

Then we will label them as aggressive or bad or dominant. Or something along that rubbish.

Dogs generally do not want to cause harm or get into a fight. It will risk them getting hurt too and they want to avoid that.

They need us to respond to their body language so if they are stressed, you can recognise what they need and do something to reduce that stress.

If they know we have their back, they won't resort to unwanted behaviour.

Do you need help with understanding their needs and help them to fit in the human society?

Send me a message to discuss how I can support you both.

06/10/2024

Common mistakes people with REACTIVE dogs make.

1. Thinking they will grow out of it

Dogs are reactive mainly because they feel uncomfortable, fearful in a situation. If every time they react and the 'scary' thing goes away, their behaviour is reinforced by feeling better because the distance between them increased.

If a behaviour is reinforced constantly, it will become stronger and stronger. They will not grow out of it.

2. Social isolation

I don't mean to put your dog together with one or several of their triggers (e.g. dogs, people). That would be flooding which is a very dangerous path to go down on.

In order to teach your dog the proper skill around their trigger, they must have the chance to be trained around them from a safe distance.

Everybody's safety is paramount and distance is always your friend if you have a reactive dog.

3. Using aversive equipment

In my book causing pain and discomfort to a dog in order to change their behaviour, is not the way to help them.

Yes, punishment does work but I wouldn't want my dog to be fearful around me.

Examples for equipment I would not recommend:

retractable lead

shock collar

choke chain

slip lead

Do you need support to help your reactive dog? Drop me a message to discuss how we can work together.

30/09/2024

What's happening on the other end of your reactive dog's lead?

Let's talk about you. How your behaviour and feelings can affect your dog.

If you are struggling, it's very likely that your dog is struggling too. If you are frustrated, angry about their overreactive behaviour, remember they need empathy too because they are not feeling great either.

There was an interesting study done on horses but this can also relate to dogs.

There was a pathway where people either lead their horse up and down or rode them. They walked or rode up and down four times. However, before the fourth time they were told that somebody will open an umbrella as they pass them. The umbrella was not opened but there was an increase in heart rate for both the people and horses. (Link is in the comments.)

It shows, even though nothing happened, how much effect the people had on their horses.

The same happens in our relationship with our dogs.

If we put tension on the lead, breathe rapidly or 'forget' to breathe, the dogs will pick up on it and will start to get stressed even before they see the trigger.

Simple things like taking a deep breath can help you and your dog stay calm.

Our dog needs us to be confident, they need to know that they can trust us and that we have their back.

It all comes back to our relationship.

26/09/2024

What is REACTIVITY?

Reactivity is a word that is used a lot to describe a dog's behaviour that is inappropriate in our society.

If a dog reacts to external stimuli in a way that is out of proportion, they are overreacting. I find this word more appropriate. This involves uncontrolled emotional reaction, immediate response without conscious thought.

So how I see it is reactivity is normal and conscious thought is involved but overreactivity is an inappropriate, immediate reaction to a stimulus without conscious thought.

If your dog is overreacting they can exhibit the fight, flight or freeze response. We often tend to miss when they freeze because it is not as obvious as lunging, barking or trying to get away from something. If your dog stops moving around other dogs, people, gets rigid, they need your help to get them out of there.

What can be the CAUSE for this behaviour?

Pain and behaviour are strongly linked. If your dog is in pain, they won't respond to behaviour modification. You have to rule out pain first of all.

Lack of sleep. Just like us, we can get snappier if we don't get enough sleep.

Lots of stress inside the house. For example you're renovating your house and it involves people coming and going, making all sorts of noises that can upset your dog. Or you had a new baby and there is a change in the routine- less walks and/or attention.

Learned behaviour. It can happen in just one experience. Your dog was attacked, scared by another dog and they don't feel safe around other dogs any more.

Hormones, genetics can also play part.

Overreactivity is mainly caused by fear. Your dog puts up all this show but their aim is to make the 'scary' thing go away. They don't want to hurt others. They just want distance to feel safe. It doesn't mean that it can't lead to aggression though.

If we don't listen to our dog, constantly put them in situations where they feel they need to protect themselves, they can escalate the behaviour to nip or bite.

It can take months to change this behaviour. The sooner you start working on it, the less they can practice this unwanted behaviour.

Get in touch if you want to discuss how I can help both of you to achieve this together.

21/09/2024

Teach 'touch' for recall, reactivity.

21/09/2024

Reactive dog: sit or not to sit?

12/09/2024

Faster recall tip.