Train My Puppy

18/06/2024

XL BULLY – NEUTERING DEADLINE APPROACHING

Here’s an important reminder for XL Bully owners in Wales and England, with exempted dogs that were 12 months or older on 31st January this year.

The deadline for neutering your dog is 30th June, and confirmation must be sent to DEFRA by 26th July.

Information about confirmation of neutering can be found here
👉 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/confirm-an-xl-bully-dog-has-been-neutered

We also keep our dedicated page for XL Bully owners updated on our website
👉www.hoperescue.org.uk/advice-for-xl-bully-owners

Please don’t delay and risk losing exemption status for your dog.

18/06/2024

As a licensed Family Paws Parent Educator and a certified behavior consultant whose speciality is fear and aggression, I work with a lot of families with dogs and kids. Often I'll get called when the baby is approaching toddlerhood and the dog is struggling. Many families are surprised at this because often the dog was comfortable during infanthood but then struggles during toddlerhood as the child gain mobility and independence. Let's be proactive not reactive. Plan ahead to keep everyone safe and prepared.

If you are expecting, I recommend scheduling my one-on one pre-baby or toddler prep session: https://rescuedbytraining.com/project/pre-baby-toddler-prep/ to help set you and your dog up for success.

30/05/2024

QUIET AND WELL-BEHAVED? OR SUFFERING IN SILENCE?

When we discuss reactive dogs, we often refer to them as having big feelings, the way in which they behave serving as a reflection of their inner struggles. Typical behaviours include barking, lunging and growling, which are employed as a distance-increasing tactic to frighten away whatever is scaring them. These reactive displays are often frantic and noisy, and it is pretty clear to anyone witnessing them that the dog is having a hard time. But what about those dogs who are unable to express themselves in this way, and internalise their feelings?

It is often believed that a dog who isn’t displaying any obvious behaviours must be okay and coping. A common scenario is the vet visit where the dog is treated without the owner present because the dog appears calmer without their trusted person and “much better behaved”. Another example is the dog who struggles on walks, so he pulls on the lead as a means to try and escape, but when a new piece of equipment which promises to prevent pulling is introduced, the pulling stops. It “works like magic”. The dog becomes a dream to walk and the humans congratulate themselves on a problem solved. But is that dog actually feeling any better about the situation? Or has his behaviour simply been suppressed by the discomfort of the equipment? Nothing has changed, except it now hurts when he pulls, so he simply gives up trying.

We need to remember that there won’t always be an outward display when a dog is struggling; an absence of obvious behaviours doesn’t necessarily mean that the dog is coping. The quiet, seemingly “well-behaved” dog could be struggling just as much as the barking, growling and lunging dog; they may simply express it differently. In both cases, the key to helping them is getting to grips with recognising and understanding canine body language so that early action can be taken to protect their physical and mental health, which will, in turn, keep them feeling safe.

You can find further reading on the topics of stress, understanding canine body language, recognising signs of fear, emotional shutdown, and more, on my blog site: www.trailiepawsforthought.com

© 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! 🐾 🐾

12/05/2024

⚡ THUNDER AND LIGHTNING ⚡ 🥁 MUFFLING SOUND WITH DRUMS 🥁

Ever heard of Taiko drums?

Many believe that the booming sound of these drums could potentially mask thunder and lightning during storms and fireworks.

Consider playing a Taiko drumming video on YouTube (or you can put trainers in the tumble dryer for moderate volume only!) to create a consistent source of noise. This can offer a point of origin for the sound as there is an identifiable source for the banging the dog can hear which helps them cope better with the unsettling sounds.

However, if your dog is exceptionally anxious during storms, it's crucial to approach this method with caution, as it might overwhelm them further. Assess your dog's reaction carefully, and only proceed if it seems to offer them comfort.

Remember, this technique is just one tool in the toolkit for calming anxious pets during storms. Ensure you have a safe space prepared for them and provide comforting support when they seek it- don’t ignore them.

Check out this Taiko drumming video: https://youtu.be/C7HL5wYqAbU

08/02/2024

07/02/2024

🚫 Puppy Pads: A Training Treadmill?
Let's talk about the infamous puppy pads - while they might seem like a convenient solution, we generally advise against them. 🐕

🤷‍♂️ The Confusion Conundrum
Puppy pads can send mixed messages to your pup. Imagine one moment you're telling them it's okay to relieve themselves indoors, and the next, you're expecting them to embrace outdoor habits. This inconsistency can slow down the training process. 🕰️ Plus, the pad's texture could be reminiscent of other indoor surfaces, contributing to a potential misunderstanding of where it's appropriate to toilet.

🌧️ Lingering Odours
Puppy pads often retain residual scents even after use, leaving an indoor scent that may attract your pup back to the same spot even if we cannot smell it; dogs' noses are far superior to humans. This can hinder the transition to outdoor toileting, making it harder for them to differentiate between acceptable and off-limits areas.

🌳 Adaptability Through Exploration
Over-reliance on puppy pads may hinder your pup's ability to adjust to different toileting environments. Gradual exposure to various outdoor surfaces is crucial for a well-rounded training experience. By incorporating diverse outdoor scenarios, you prevent over-dependency on pads and encourage adaptability, so your puppy isn't refusing to toilet on walks or in new places! Strive for a training approach that promotes both familiarity and flexibility.

🧠 Mental Stimulation Through Exploration
Training goes beyond just physical habits. Actively engaging your pup in outdoor toileting scenarios provides mental stimulation. Exposure to new scents, textures, and surroundings reduces reliance on pads and keeps their minds active. A mentally stimulated dog is more likely to embrace training challenges and confidently navigate various environments. 🌐

🐾 Bladder Strength Matters
Consistently using puppy pads without encouraging your dog to gradually increase the time between toilet breaks could impact their bladder strength. While building muscle control is beneficial, it's crucial to strike a balance—avoiding holding on for excessively long periods is equally essential. Prolonged holding can pose risks and potential health issues. Strive for a balanced approach.

🏡 Exceptions to the Rule
Of course, we understand that circumstances vary. For those residing in high-rise apartments, dealing with mobility challenges, or simply out of choice, consider a similar concept to pads. However, it's crucial to recognise that merely leaving pads down isn't a substitute for active guidance. 🚫

🎯 Strategic Pad Training
In cases where pads are necessary, setting up a designated area – say, the bathroom – can be effective. Introduce targets like cones or easy-to-clean objects to signal the desired toileting spot. Additionally, explore alternatives like grass pads; these may help with the distinction between appropriate places to toilet and less favourable places 🌿

🌐 Expanding the Options
Consider a cat tray-style toileting area for quick relief with a young puppy or a furry friend with a weak bladder. Opt for materials resembling their long-term outdoor toileting surface, such as stones. This clear distinction helps them understand where it's acceptable to go. Incorporate lead-guided walks to the area and ensure regular cleaning. You can adapt these setups for dog-safe balconies. 🏞️

Remember, the goal is to instil good habits through guidance and consistency. While there are exceptions, a proactive approach to outdoor training tends to yield quicker and more effective results. 🐶

10/01/2024

UK followers, if you have an XL or suspected, don’t wait too long to exempt. What do you plan on doing if you miss the deadline? The deadline is now MIDDAY 31st JAN but I cannot understand why anyone would leave it this late. Any errors could result in it being refused. Don’t risk your dog being taken and possibly never coming home.

‼️ IMPORTANT ‼️

The government have updated the website to say that all applications for exemption must be submitted by 12pm midday on January 31st.

As there is likely to be a last minute rush which could cause a backlog, system crash or other unforeseen problems. Plus some applications are being rejected due to a glitch, payments not going through correctly or errors on the application, we would recommend leaving it no later than January 20th to apply.

This will give you time to reapply if there are any issues with your application. We don't believe there will be a facility to do this after the cut off date if your application is rejected.

Whilst we understand a lot of you are waiting for news of the legal challenge we don't want any dogs to be put at risk by leaving things too late.

Applications can be made via this link
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-a-certificate-of-exemption-to-keep-an-xl-bully-dog

⚠️ Please note, the above deadline is for online registration, paper submissions must be in no later than January 15th ⚠️

28/11/2023

22/11/2023

ARE YOU A DOG TRAINER, BEHAVIOURIST, OR ARE YOU CURRENTLY STUDYING TO BECOME ONE?

We’re looking for FEAR-FREE dog trainers experienced with puppies to join our moderator team for our puppy group. We want to keep growing the group and need some extra help.

This is a VOLUNTARY role; we don’t get paid to run this group.

PM the train my puppy page or comment if you want to be involved! 🥰

Group: Puppy Training, Help & Advice - Run by Qualified, Force-Free Trainers

03/11/2023

🎆 Fireworks… how should you respond to your fearful dog? 🎆

Each year we see tonnes of posts on Facebook from those saying ‘ignore your fearful dog so you don’t reinforce their fear’ to the well-meaning posts stating to ‘cuddle them, comfort them, stroke them’.

There are now lots of really great information posts on fear, how it works, whether it can really be reinforced etc. These posts are great (I’ll try and link some) but little covers exactly how we should be responding.

Below I have created an infographic covering the four different behavioural responses dogs have to fear, how each one of those will look and how best you can respond. Some we see much more than others, especially in response to fireworks.

Whilst it’s paramount we don’t ignore/reject a scared dog, we also need to be careful how much feedback we give back to them. For some dogs, if we start cuddling, hugging, getting in their space and displaying lots of body language this can feed into how they feel as they are trying to gather information on the situation from us. Especially if this isn't how you normally act around them. This could affect their self-confidence and mean more reliance on us. Much like dogs do with one another (e.g. when dogs greet each other they often use appeasement through licking, sniffing each other's faces etc to gather and offer information).

Make sure you are there for them, don't reject them, don't leave them on their own to panic, if they want space give it to them and follow lots of other firework tips as listed in this linked post:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/379539822399647/posts/1327323874287899

31/10/2023

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=912131530172157&id=100638584654793

31/10/2023

The official definition of an XL Bully has now been announced

The XL Bully ban is looming, now officially announced for December 31st in England and Wales. Amidst these changes, practical measures like muzzle training and neutering are essential. To accommodate the anticipated demand, I urge owners not to delay and begin acquiring muzzles now. Let's be proactive in preparing for this shift.

Ensuring your dog's comfort is paramount, especially considering the upcoming legal requirement for muzzles in public spaces. The market offers a variety of muzzles, ranging in quality. It's imperative that your dog wears a properly fitted muzzle for their overall well-being. Ill-fitting muzzles compromise their welfare, so let's share accurate information with fellow owners.

For trustworthy options, companies like For Dog Trainers and Pawfect Fit provide online ordering of custom-fit muzzles in the UK, complete with accessible measuring guides. Stay informed and connect with a community by joining Muzzle Up, Pup! - The Pro-Muzzle Community
Together, let's prioritize our pets' safety and comfort during this transitional period

The official definition of an XL bully can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/official-definition-of-an-xl-bully-dog/official-definition-of-an-xl-bully-dog

12/10/2023

A recent group member posted about a toy she had purchased from Primark. Primark have been contacted but unsure of response right now so they are still for sale. Please just be careful as this toy contained metal wire.

Puppy Training, Help & Advice - Run by Qualified, Force-Free Trainers

05/10/2023

Whenever Halloween is approaching, we see videos of dogs getting scared or pranked on social media for laughs, like suddenly appearing in a scary costume to a dog and even making a loud noise or luring a dog to go near a Halloween decoration that does a sudden jumpscare.

None of which are funny or kind when they negatively impact how a dog is feeling.

And what we may think of are “harmless pranks”, like pretending to give them food in a bowl with nothing actually in it, also do not feel like a joke to our dogs. The actions in that example can be very frustrating to our dogs and we should refrain from creating negative experiences for our dogs around their food and bowls.

Our dogs do no understand our intentions when we scare them or prank them for fun and as a joke. The fear and frustration they feel in those moments are very real to them and they are certainly not being “dramatic” about it.

When we look at a dog’s body language in these situations, we’ll see they are genuinely uncomfortable, stressed, startled, and worried. It’s unfair for them to be made to experience this when they will never understand why that happened or why their human did that.

Halloween can already be a challenging time for many dogs in some areas, like with fireworks, the ringing of doorbells, or just more crowds out in the evening. There’s no need to add more stress to them.

This Halloween, let’s just give our dogs the tasty treats they deserve (which they don’t need to do tricks for) and absolutely refrain from doing any “tricks” on them.

ID: The larger text on top says “Only treats, no tricks on dogs this Halloween.” Under this is a picture of Dave, a brown Singapore Special dog with pointy ears wearing bat wings and sticking his tongue out looking at a carved pumpkin shaped treat that’s being held up. Next to this is text that says “Scaring or pranking dogs for our own amusement is not funny nor kind.”

04/10/2023

I’ve had several dogs come to me in the last two months who have aggression issues around people that either started or became much worse after they’d had aversive training. By aversives we mean the use of slip lead corrections, body jabs, rattle cans, prong and Ecollars etc. Some dogs went for general loose lead/recall/obedience training but became so scared after the use of aversives that they are now lunging at or even biting people who approach them or try to handle them. Some were already worried about people (growling or barking etc) and are now lunging or attempting to bite people. Some have bitten their owners since this training.

These dogs didn’t have these issues beforehand and they’ve become so scared of what people may do to them now that they are showing aggression. Some of them are now misinterpreting normal human interactions with them and see people as a threat to their safety and are using aggression to try and keep people away. These dogs are traumatised by what’s happened to them, there is no other way of describing it.

Aversives are sold as a ‘quick fix’ they make dogs stop behaviours that people don’t like (running off/barking/stealing things) but there is always a huge risk of a fall out. It’s no surprise really that doing or using something that causes fear or pain may make an anxious dog worse.

None of this is the owners fault either, all have incredibly kind and loving families who weren’t aware these methods would be used or who didn’t realise the implications. They’ve done nothing wrong and are now left to try and repair the damage that’s been done. I feel so sad for the lovely families and their dogs as they’ve been really let down.

There’s no quick fixes to changing emotions, it takes time and patience and who often we are trying to rebuild confidence that’s been lost and help dogs recover from previous trauma (of all sorts). There’s a huge risk with quick fixes and it’s like playing roulette- you may have an incredibly robust dog and get ‘lucky’ and have no negative consequences from using aversives but it may break another dog and leave you with a terrible fall out. Just not worth the risk when we have alternatives

10/08/2023

To think even nearby dogs or shouting could set these off is so upsetting 😢 their horrific devices as it is!

EDIT: Please make your voice heard, thank you - https://www.rspca.org.uk/getinvolved/campaign/shockcollars

So I found this collar on a recent outing with my family, where there were lots of noisy children and dogs. It’s not a remote operated shock collar, but a sound triggered bark (shock) collar.

Its sensitivity was set so high that when I was holding it, my dog barked nearby and set it off and even my children shouting near it set it off!

To think that somebody who probably loves their dog, had brought their dog with them to a public place while it was wearing a noise activated shock collar (and yes it did shock and yes it was painful as one of the children found out, and that it could be triggered by noisy children and barking dogs in the environment) makes me sad.

This collar was not malfunctioning, it was doing exactly what it had been set up to do.

Potentially their poor dog could have been having a really bad day - it is bad enough being shocked, but even worse if it is out of your control and you have no way to avoid it.

I’m guessing/hoping at some point the owners realised this and they removed it and then at some point dropped it by accident.

But now imagine leaving something like this on your dog and it malfunctioned, it would be terrible for the dog.

In my dreams, I hope that I found it because the owners had removed it realising it was a terrible tool and dumped it never to be used again.

These types of collars have been banned in Wales and many other countries for quite some time, so it’s time for England to do the same.

We need to support the proposed ban - these ‘tools’ are outdated and in my opinion have no place in the 21st century.

EDIT: Please make your voice heard - https://www.rspca.org.uk/getinvolved/campaign/shockcollars

27/07/2023

THIS!

I want my dog to be social but not THAT social. I want my dog to be protective but ONLY when I need him to be. I want my dog to be my service dog and help me when I need it but also know I’m the BOSS. I want my dog to go potty outside but ONLY in that area. I want my dog to like other dogs but NOT get too excited when he sees them. I want my dog to like people coming in the house BUT know he’s not allowed to jump. I want my dog to let me take things away from him and he is NOT allowed to ever say no to me. I want my dog to be good with my children but not too friendly BUT ALSO don’t growl or get upset if they are too much. I want my dog to listen to me but I DONT want to have to use treats and I dont have a lot of time during the day. I want my dog to be able to be outside alone BUT I dont want to install a fence. I want my dog to be FINE at the vet but I don’t have time to bring him more than once a year.

I want I want I want I want. I need to break this. That behavior unacceptable. I can’t have that. He can’t ever do that.

This is why dogs are failing and this is why dog trainers are struggling. Expectations are skyrocketing, probably due to social media and the fact that we can see these 30 second “before and after” videos or everyone posts their perfect dogs, we never see the bad stuff. But as the expectations skyrocket, the dogs can’t keep up, and neither can we as trainers.

We need to change our language to what we would LIKE, HOPE FOR or PREFER INSTEAD, and also modify our completely unrealistic, controlling, and at times unnatural expectations of dogs today. People think because their dog doesn’t check all the boxes that they’re broken, or that the training isn’t working, or worse that they as humans aren’t doing a good job.

Everyone needs to take a breath. We need to break down what behaviors are not going to work and how we can manage them while we can work on modifying them, and what we have to just let be and laugh about later. We have to realize dog trainers aren't magicians, and as much as we can try, we can’t fix everything, immediately, and by tomorrow. Work, patience, consistency and understanding and looking at dogs as a LIFESTYLE is what is necessary for long term success. THAT’S how there is true change.