Petopia

20/05/2022

Great information !

12/05/2022

These two need a new home together. Bitch and dog. Ages 5 and 6. Both have been recently vaccinated and both have been fixed.
Dexter and Mia are very sociable dogs but I wouldn't trust either one around cats or other small animals.
Dexter loves to play with balls and is very playful. Mia is more of a shy dog. Both are very loving.
If you know of a suitable home, let me know.

26/04/2022

19/04/2022

So true …

We appear to be a species obsessed with behaviour, it's my job to observe behaviours, but why is behaviour so important? And are we missing it's most important message?

How often do we comment on other animals behaviour, including other humans?

Did you see how 'friend' was behaving today? she was so rude, her behaviour was totally out of order.

Did you see how that child was behaving today? Swingging things around, shouting. My child would never behave like that.

Did you see that dog barking and lunging? They shouldnt be allowed out if they cant control their own dog.

Could we ask different questions?

I wonder if our friend was worried, stressed or sad about something today? I wonder if there is anything we could do to help?

I wonder if that child is feeling hurt, scared is struggling with something? Maybe I should ask if the parents need any support?

I wonder if that dog was feeling frightened, was in pain or frustrated about something? Perhaps we should give them some distance and a reasuring smile.

By focusing on just the behaviour we miss the most fundamental thing about sentient beings. Having feelings and emotions. Using these to empathise with other individuals. Having the ability to care and possibly even make a difference.

We often label people, children and dogs with words like, naughty and bad, horrible.

By asking the question why is this individual behaving this way?
By trying to understand the emotion driving the behaviour we can be so much more productive.
We can start to support, understand, care, empathise, love.

12/04/2022

This is a good illustration of puppy socialization needs, shared from Good as Gold Training, but I would also add that all of the listed exposure and experience needs to feel *safe* for the puppy. If s/he is nervous, tentative, or fearful the fear should be handled by backing off a little and reintroducing very slowly and with lots of praise, food and patience. Sometimes, for the sake of "socialization", owners push their puppies too far and too fast, and it can backfire. Good socialization requires that we "read" our puppies and help them feel safe as they navigate the sounds, textures, people and animals in their new world.

31/03/2022

The word aggressive is often used for dogs that bark and lunge at other dogs. I have even used it to advertise the support I offer for dogs that present with these types of behaviours. But I dont like the word, I use it because it's a word that people recognize. But aggressive really isnt very descriptive.

Aggression is an intent to harm, which is rarely the case, even when we see dogs fight, they often do not want to cause damage.

The word aggression doesn't explain the motivation or emotions that an animal is feeling. It's an overused term that doesn't actually tell us much at all. Dogs can look aggressive and bark and lunge at other dogs for various reasons.
They are feeling nervous, fearful, suffer with anxiety.
They can feel frustrated, unable to get to what they want. Unable to collect the data (often scent) they need from the other dog.
They can feel trapped, restrained and unable to carry out normal Canine communication.
They can want to play but lack the proper social skills.
Many people like to blame the guardians but a mixture of genetics, early and later life experiences, and health, all have a part to play.

We also like putting our dogs emotions into neat little boxes. Hes fearful, he is just excited etc. But when do we ever feel only one emotion at a time? We can be excited and frustrated, Happy and a little anxious.

So if you see a dog barking and lunging. Show empathy for both the dog and their guardian. They may look aggressive but they will both be having to deal with a whole host of difficult emotions. Guardians often struggle more to support their dogs because of the judgement and lack of understanding from others, and when we become stressed it makes the situation even worse.

If more people were supportive in these situations then guardians would be much better equipped to support their dogs. Also understand that they need space. The further the trigger is away, the better the dog and guardian can cope with the situation. I am able to cope with a wasp buzzing near by but if he starts coming towards me I can start to look a little unhinged. I also become very loud! Am I being aggressive towards the wasp?
No, i dont mean to harm him, I'm just trying to get them away from me. I may even run towards them to try and make them go back. I rarely think logically in these moments, I just panic.

So be kind and create distance because one day you may have a dog that needs extra support.

16/03/2022

IS COMING BACK WORTH IT?
There are many reasons why dogs don’t come back when you want them to. A dog’s genetics play a big role in this when an environment is far more stimulating and exciting and listening and coming back to you disappear into the background as genetic instinct takes over. An exciting scent or seeing something to chase can all override a response to you.
Genetics aside, a common reason why dogs don’t come back when called is because it’s not a good experience for them. I often cringe when I watch owners trying to get their dogs to come to them when they call. They call and call and get increasingly angry and frustrated as their dog keeps ignoring them. When their dog eventually does come back, or has been chased and "captured” by their owner, they get screamed at, yanked about, smacked or punished in some way for taking so long and not listening. Why would a dog want to return to someone who does this to them!
Make coming back to you worth it by always making it a rewarding experience. Have a little patience if it takes longer than you would like, let your dog finish what they’re doing before calling them, practice in different locations and environments and never reprimand or punish them for coming back. These things won’t guarantee a perfect recall, but will really improve the rate of success.

09/03/2022

TEACH CHILDREN TO BE DOG FRIENDLY
“How can I make my dog more child friendly?” The question really should be - “How can I make my child more dog friendly?” It makes far more sense to teach children how to behave around dogs before teaching dogs how to behave around children.
This is a subject that I feel very strongly about and I cannot stress enough how important it is to teach children how to behave around dogs. I often see children treating dogs like toys, jumping on them, pulling them, poking, kissing and hugging, screaming and encouraging dogs to chase them and then tears and stressed parents when the dog nips them or worse. It’s usually the dog that gets the blame when this happens and it really isn’t the dogs fault.
Dogs don’t come with a built-in ability to know how to interact with children and it’s up to parents to teach their children how to interact with dogs. If children were taught from a very young age how to interact and respect a dog’s space there would be far fewer incidents of dog bites.
Children often like to show dogs love by hugging, kissing or leaning against them - this is the human way of showing affection, but most dogs find this stressful and frightening. This normal “human” behaviour could easily lead to a dog bite, which is why it’s so important to always supervise young children around dogs. When a dog is feeling stressed or frightened and their attempt to communicate this through their body language is ignored, they may see no other way to make the scary situation go away than to snap or bite.
Teach children that dogs don’t like being hugged, kissed or sat on. Teach children that dogs like quiet, soft, calm voices and that shouting and screaming scares them. Teach them never to disturb dogs that are sleeping, eating or chewing something. Teach them that dogs are not toys and don’t like to be jumped on, pulled or pushed, chased or teased. Teach them to respect dogs as one sentient being to another.

07/03/2022

06/03/2022

So true…..

17/02/2022

Interesting!

17/02/2022