Puppy Education with Valerie Vdawg Wilson

31/12/2024

New block of our Pet Gundog class starts on the 12th of January ‘25. Book your place now😊

31/12/2024

30/12/2024

Sound advice Laura!

👍Teach your dog 'Do this' instead of 'that'
Reward a behaviour you would like to see and it will grow.

🛑Not that.
NEVER punish the unwanted behaviour. Instead Prevent opportunities to rehearse unwanted behaviour with good environmental management. Whilst Rewarding the behaviour you'd prefer.

✅Training a behaviour we would like instead of focusing on the unwanted behaviour.

🔸️When Milo first joined us he REALLY wanted to jump all over the (elderly) cat.

1. We used stair gates to prevent opportunities to jump on the cat and supervised all interactions.
2. We trained, rewarded reinforced the preferred behaviour.
3. RESULT
Milo now goes to his mat when the cat 🐈 comes in to eat.
He waits on his mat and is rewarded for that choice.
If he stays there calmly he will be given her leftovers on his mat.
grows where reinforcement flows.

24/12/2024

22/11/2024

When living with a dog who has lots of energy it can seem logical to think that they need more exercise to tire them out - longer, faster walks, more throwing of a ball (or using a ball chuckler), always more, more, more...

While this does on the surface seem to make perfect sense, when following that advice what we are actually doing is making the situation worse. Think about how an athlete works to increase their fitness - they do more and faster. Now think about throwing a ball for the dog repeatedly. This is much like the shuttle runs those athletes do to increase their speed and fitness levels.

The great news is that there is another option for these high energy dogs. Yes, they need physical exercise, but they also need mental exercise. Luckily, mental exercise is a fairly easy thing to provide for all dogs, and we can even fit a great amount in on our daily walks.

Sniffing is an activity suitable for all dogs. Scent is the primary way dogs analyse and interpret their world, with an olfactory capability way better than that of humans. Simply giving your dog time and space to sniff on a walk gets that brain working and that will tire your dog more than you might realise. My own Border Collies (one of whom is the young dog sniffing in the image) will relax and snooze as much after 20 minutes of sniffing as they will after a 2 hour mostly off lead walk.

There are lots of ways to provide mental exercise for dogs, but this most powerful form is something that we can access free at any time, just by giving them the time to investigate their surroundings in the way that works best for them.

22/11/2024

Wanting a behaviour from our dogs to stop is common. Sadly, there are so many 'trainers' who appear on television or have massive social media followings who will advocate using devices and methods that 'will stop it fast'. Let's be honest, as humans we are often results driven, so I can see why these would appeal to people who don't know why these things should not be recommended and used. The reality is that they can make the situation so much worse.

Suppressing a behaviour doesn't mean that the reasons that behaviour happened aren't still there, just that the dog can't do what they feel they need to in that situation. That can lead to increased frustration, stress, fear - depending on what the driver for that behaviour is. Think of it like a pressure cooker, adding more and more pressure, with no way to reduce that pressure. Eventually there comes a point where the pressure is just too much and boom.

If a behaviour is something we can't live with, there are things we can do without suppressing that behaviour. Manage the situation so that the dog is not in a position to practice that behaviour - for example baby gates to stop them jumping up at arriving guests or finding quiet areas to walk if your dog is uncomfortable with other dogs close up. If there is something you would prefer them to do in that situation keep using the management and then, using kind and ethical methods, teach them what you would like them to do instead. If the behaviour is not something that we can simply train an alternative for - a dog who reacts to other dogs around for example - find a behaviour consultant who uses modern and kind methods to help the dog no longer feel the need to use that behaviour.

Behaviour suppression is never the answer.

Here are links to a couple of blog posts that explore the topic a little further:

https://www.goodguardianship.com/post/the-first-question-to-ask-wtf-what-s-the-function
https://www.goodguardianship.com/post/why-we-should-look-beyond-stopping-behaviour

07/11/2024

Great advice from a great trainer!😊

01/11/2024

Love the growl as it can prevent the bite, if you listen and take heed…..

WHY WE SHOULD BE GRATEFUL FOR THE GROWL

Being on the receiving end of growling is no fun, and can actually be quite a scary experience, even when it is our own dog doing the growling. When we love and care for them so much, it can be difficult not to take it personally when it happens.

In this blog, I look at the feelings we might experience, what the growling may mean, how it can help us, and how best to respond:

https://www.trailiepawsforthought.com/post/why-we-should-be-grateful-for-the-growl-it-s-a-gift

There is a common saying that we should reward the behaviour we like and ignore what we don’t like, but we need to realise that growling isn’t disobedience or poor behaviour; it is a reflection of how they are feeling, and it is vital communication which should be heeded and acted upon. Often, all that is needed is some distance from a trigger in order to help them feel better.

Attempting to suppress the behaviour through punishment in the form of a telling off is never the answer, as it does nothing to address the emotions at the root of an issue. It does, however, make it increasingly likely that the dog will escalate his efforts to make himself understood, and is more likely to skip the growling stage and go straight to a bite. Growling is actually one of the last communications on the “Canine Ladder of Aggression”, so we should be very careful to respect the growl and treat it as a gift, rather than trying to stamp it out. We need as much of an early warning system as we can get!

Learning how to recognise and understand canine body language is an essential skill for guardians and professionals alike. If we can spot the more subtle signs of worry and stress, we can take action to remove our dogs from any situations in which they feel pressured or uncomfortable, reducing the need for them to escalate their behaviour.

You can read more about canine stress here:

https://www.trailiepawsforthought.com/post/the-science-of-stress-part-one

https://www.trailiepawsforthought.com/post/the-science-of-stress-part-two-spotting-the-signs

© Trailie Paws For Thought
www.trailiepawsforthought.com

I'm very happy for all of my content to be shared, but please do not copy and paste (to avoid sharing from source), screenshot, or download any part of it. THANK YOU! 🐾 🐾

30/10/2024

The benefts of Scentwork…….
Why should we do scentwork with our dogs?
Sniffng is how dogs “see” the environment. His world is through his nose!
-A dogs sense of smell is estimated at 10,000-100,000 times stronger than a human's.
Every time a dog sniffs, he is taking in and processing information about the world around him. He is learning about who has been this way, people, dogs, other animals, how many, their health status, their emotions, life stage, s*x status, etc.
-It is therefore an outlet for existing behaviour, tapping into a natural ability and then teaching them how to react and respond to it.
-Sniffng improves happiness and mood, whilst relieving anxiety and promoting calmness.
-Scentwork helps to improve focus. It helps to engage the “thinking” brain, improving calmness and confdence and helps switch off the stress response (Fight/ Flight/Freeze etc.).
-It gives him a “job”. It teaches him to refne his abilities and confdence to detect and differentiate odours.
-It encourages thinking and choice and it helps to build the all important human-dog bond.
-It is enriching, it activates the brain parts that other activities and training don't do.
-It is a feel good activity for any dog and especially helpful for anxious, fearful and easily aroused dogs.
-Sniffng and scentwork is tiring for the dog too!
15 minutes of constant scentwork = approximately 1 hour of physical exercise = a calm, contented dog!
The beauty of Scentwork is that it can be done anywhere, indoors and outdoors, so we don't have to be curtailed by weather or lack of daylight hours.

21/10/2024

Pet Gundog Foundation Skills classes, new 4 week block starts on Sunday 3rd of November at 6.30pm in Kilmarnock.
I have just one space available.
If you would like to join us, please message me for more details.

19/10/2024

Canine Emotions

16/10/2024

WHY WE SHOULD DO AWAY WITH DOMINANCE THEORY

Dominance/Alpha theory is one of the biggest myths, and probably the most damaging, in the dog training industry. It continues to be perpetuated, despite being thoroughly debunked several decades ago.

Unfortunately, the meaning of “dominance” in dog training has been blurred and misunderstood. Dominance theory is commonly thought to be based on the belief that a dog behaves in the same way that a wolf would; this belief stems from early, flawed studies carried out on captive grey wolves, to demonstrate how they live and behave within their family unit.

Dominance is not a personality trait, it is a fluid state dependent upon the value of a particular resource at a given moment. Beware of anyone calling themselves a professional, yet refers to "dominant dogs". Run like the clappers!

For further reading on this topic, take a look at my blog:

https://www.trailiepawsforthought.com/post/why-we-should-do-away-with-dominance-theory

©️ Trailie Paws For Thought
www.trailiepawsforthought.com

I'm very happy for my content to be shared, but please do not copy and paste (to avoid sharing from source), screenshot, or download any part of it. THANK YOU! 🐾 🐾

12/10/2024

Allowing and even encouraging our dogs to sniff is ethical and kind. A basic welfare need is met when they are able to practice that very natural behaviour. It's much better for dogs to have a shorter sniffy meander than a long speed march.

Read my books: https://amzn.to/4eX6rh1