Not all dogs were bred for “jobs”
In a Western context, we often see discussions about dogs with a focus on their breed and “what they were bred for”.
We forget that a large majority of dogs on this planet are free-living dogs, not bred by humans, and that a certain breed of dog being “what the breed was bred for” would have to suggest that we are talking about a dog whose breeder specifically looked for those traits and history, which may not always or often be the case.
The old photos of the beautiful dogs in this reel are of the Singapore Specials that lived with my mum and her family when she was a child growing up in the old days of the “Kampong” (village) in Singapore.
They had free roam of their spacious farm, slept indoors at night, and ate good home cooked food, including some fresh tofu which was what my family made and sold at the Kampong.
These dogs were not there to guard the place. Perhaps their presence was enough to deter intruders, but it wasn’t their job or what they were there for. The dogs were simply companions and part of the family.
This always makes me think of how my own Singapore Special, Dave, has a life in the modern day that’s not too dissimilar to theirs, which is lovely.
Look harder at different cultures and our history with dogs and you’ll find that back then, many dogs were able to just be dogs and have value by simply being part of then family and community. They were not created to “work” for us nor did they “need jobs”.
It is sad to always think of dogs with their value being only about how useful they are to us, when they are so much more.
It is also dangerous to have blanket statements about dogs being “warriors”, “protectors”, (insert macho sounding role here), etc. It leads to damaging breed stereotypes which leads to harmful BSL, it leads to people thinking dogs need to be “dominated”, it leads to the weaponisation of dogs, and it leads to people thinking their dogs should be “tough enough” to endure pain, amo
Dogs don’t need more stress in their lives
Here’s the sad truth: Dogs are already stressed enough and face enough stressors in their day to day lives.
There is no place in our human-centric world where a dog is completely free of stress. From having a lot of their agency removed from them, to experiencing unavoidable scary moments from stimuli that worries them or is unknown to them, our dogs experience enough stress as it is and they absolutely do not need more stress deliberately added to their lives.
Creating stressful and aversive situations in training, like flooding a dog by making them be in close proximity with something they’re worried about with no way of escape, or using aversive, punishment-based training methods, will NOT help in general but especially in highly stressful moments because:
- not only is the environment in the moment unsafe to the dog, but their human is potentially unsafe to be around too.
- they have no way to seek comfort or communicate their needs due to a negative learning history with those behaviours.
- they may take longer to recover, not knowing when they are safe or when they can feel safe.
Resilience is built through our dogs having a safe learning history, a strong reinforcement history, having more agency in their lives, and being able to engage in natural behaviours like sniffing that help them decompress.
When working with clients, it has been clear for me that showing them how to help their dogs feel safe, how to meet their dog’s needs, and how to provide their dogs with more choice and agency has resulted in their dogs being more able to recover from reactions to stressful situations more quickly.
In stressful moments, it helps so much if we are our dog’s safe space to begin with. It’s hard enough to be a dog living in a human-centric world, so be that safe space for your dog, be a predictor of safety and reinforcement. That way when unavoidable stressful or scary events happen, your dog can bounce back from it quicker knowing they can feel safe wi
Responding to “Your dog is spoiled”
At the vet clinic the other day, while I was treating Dave and doing the Up & Down Pattern Game with him, someone said to me “Your dog is so spoiled, just like my cat.”
I replied, “Just as they all deserve to be!” just as the vet called me in.
I’m sure this person didn’t mean it negatively at all, although some people might when they say your dog is “spoiled” or that their dog is “spoiled”.
But all you have to remember is that saying a dog is “spoiled” or that we are “spoiling our dog” really just means that we are giving our dog the freedom they need, meeting their needs, and making them happy. This includes:
- Letting them be on a bed or sofa with us
- Sharing your food with them
- Comforting them when they’re afraid
- Giving them affection whenever they ask for it
- Giving them treats and meals without making them work for it
- Letting them walk ahead of us and lead the walk
- Letting them sniff and engage in other natural behaviours like digging and marking
- Not punishing them or being “firm” with them
- Making changes and accommodations in our lives to make sure they’re happy, feel safe, and have their needs met
- etc.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with that and there is also no correlation found between our actions of “spoiling” dogs and the likelihood of “problem behaviour”.
On the contrary, this all helps with whatever behavioural challenges we might be having with our dogs too, such as fearful or aggressive behaviours because we’re
- responding to their communicative behaviours and requests
- becoming a predictor of great things for them
- being a safe person for them
- and improving their overall wellbeing as they have their needs met and have more agency in their lives.
So start responding to comments like “Your dog is just spoiled” in a way that simply reminds yourself, and perhaps others in the process, to be unapologetic about “spoiling” your dog and to reframe it as “Your dog is well
Preventing Your Dog From Escaping
Having a dog who may appear to try to escape on walks or have escaped in the past is certainly stressful. However, it doesn’t mean we have to use anything aversive and that tightens around their neck to keep them safe.
Our recommendations of triple-strap harnesses include the @nonstopdogwear Rock Harness Long, @ruffwear Flagline (shown in the video) and Webmaster, @haqihana Double H harness, @warsawdog’s Anti-Escape Harness, amongst others. These are also helpful for tripawd dogs.
Safety straps reduce the chance of escape but also help if a clip fails and breaks as you have another attachment for back up. You can find them at @hightailhikes or approach any small business that makes collars/leashes and ask if they would custom make one for you.
While we can of course reduce the chances of our dogs escaping, no equipment is ever 100% failsafe but we can. As a backup, we like having a GPS tracker, like the @pawfit_tracker, on our dog Dave so that if anything goes wrong, we can easily track his live location. If someone were to find him when he’s lost, they can also press a button on the device to easily get our contact details.
But ultimately, the MOST important thing is to understand WHY your dog is trying to escape.
It’s not just about the equipment we use, but how our dogs are feeling. A dog that feels comfortable and safe with us and in the environment they’re in would be less likely to try to escape. Here are some questions you can ask yourself:
- Why is our dog trying to escape in the first place?
- What in the environment scary or overwhelming for our dog?
- Is our dog often being forced to be in environments they find scary?
- What is our relationship like? Does our dog enjoy and feel comfortable around us?
While it’s important to make sure our dogs are safe and won’t get into dangerous situations, it’s crucial to ensure they FEEL safe too and that way, they’ll less likely to want to escape when out on walks.
P.S.: If you’d like 10% o
Punishment culture all around us has us normalising abuse as “education” and “training”. We have so much evidence that aversive and abusive “training” methods are harmful for our dog’s welfare, but I wish it was just clear to us all that being kind and humane to our dogs, no matter what behaviours they display or issues they have, is the way we should be with the sentient beings we say we love and call our “best friends”. We can do better because our dogs deserve better. All dogs do.
Make Dog Walks Enriching For Your Dog
Enrichment is really about meeting an animal’s needs, allowing them to engage in natural behaviours, and providing them with agency and control.
Making sure our dogs get to sniff to their heart’s content, engage in other natural behaviours like marking and kicking the ground, and move comfortably are all ways we can help make a dog walk enriching for our dog.
The walk doesn’t have to be about the distance covered, but rather, how fulfilled and happy our dogs were.
A dog’s walk should be for the dog, and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t want to see them happily enjoying themselves and just being their wonderful doggy selves while on their walk.
You can pre-order the “Dog Walker: Enriched Dogs Are Happy Dogs” T-shirt by Happy Woof from NOW to 8 Oct 2023 with our discount code DAVE10. 20% of the profits will be donated to Hong Kong Dog Rescue (HKDR), an R+ based rescue in Hong Kong.
Worldwide shipping is available. Shop link in bio and in the comments below!
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#Accessibility Video Description: The video starts with Dave, a brown Singapore Special dog with pointy ears, walking ahead on a long line in a park while sniffing. The text says “Enriched dogs are happy dogs”. The next clip shows Dave walking and sniffing on a pavement with dried fallen leaves while on leash and the text says “That’s why walks should be about enrichment.” The next clip shows Dave taking some time to sniffing near a tree while on a long line and the text says “That means being able to sniff to their heart’s content”. The following clip is in slow motion and shows Dave kicking the grass while on a long line and the text says “Being able to behave naturally.” The next clip shows Dave walking ahead on leash on a pavement in the park and the text says “And being able to move comfortably.” We then see a clip of Rachel giving Dave a treat and the text says “It’s called a DOG walk after all.” The last clip shows a close up of the t-shirt Rachel
The Importance of Non-Slip Flooring
All dogs deserve to feel safe and comfortable moving around in their home.
This is why having non-slip flooring is so important, especially in spaces where our dogs move around a lot in, where their beds are, and in areas where we train with them.
Non-slip flooring can look like:
- Rugs
- Yoga mats
- Children foam tile mats
- Gym floor tile mats
- Carpet runners with non-slip pads stuck on.
Slipping on our flooring can cause injury, and exacerbate pain for our dogs, especially if our dogs already have certain conditions like arthritis, hip dysplasia, etc. It can also result in some dogs becoming fearful of stepping foot in that area again.
If our dogs ever slip on our existing flooring and become fearful of the area, our first action step should be to put some kind of non-slip flooring in.
We should not be:
- Dragging them onto the area on leash/on a slip leash.
- Forcibly carrying them and putting them onto the worrying area.
- Luring them onto the with food.
I can very much relate to how our dogs feel with slippery flooring as I am not great at walking on ice and tend to fall down. I end up feeling quite scared to go out when it’s icy, and if I have to go out, I do change my gait drastically so that I feel safer.
The difference is though that I have a choice about whether to go out or not under these conditions. Our dogs do not have choice if the non-slip flooring is most of the house or in an area they have to pass through to get somewhere necessary.
Our dogs are not being “stubborn” when they don’t want to walk in certain areas of the house, and they’re not funny when they only feel safe moving around the house in a certain way like walking backwards.
It is on us to make a simple change to the environment to help our dogs feel more comfortable and safe. Remember that just because we don’t find our floors slippery, doesn’t mean our dogs don’t.
Our dogs have the right to feel just as safe and comfortable as we are moving around in our ow
Muzzle trained does NOT mean it's ok to flood
Just because our dog is now muzzle trained and perhaps comfortable wearing the muzzle, it does not mean it’s ok to now flood them by putting them in situations that are scary or overwhelming for them where they cannot escape.
Of course, it can make things safer IF something overwhelming or scary does happens, but that does not mean we should deliberately and unnecessarily put them in that position, think that they will “just get used to it” as behaviour change and actual desensitisation does not work like that.
If our dog is scared and displays reactive behaviours towards other dogs, muzzling them and putting them in a large group dog walk with no way to escape is flooding them and it’s not ok.
If our dog is scared of strangers handling them, muzzling them and letting multiple strangers go up to them and stroke them with no way to escape is flooding them and it’s not ok.
Yes, in an emergency scenario that could be scary for our dogs, we do what we need to do and being muzzle trained does help in those moments. But this is different to deliberately and unnecessarily putting them in a scary situation while muzzled thinking they will just “get used to it”.
The muzzle can provide us as the handler with more of a peace of mind but we must still read our dog’s body language, go at their pace, and keep at a safe distance from potential triggers and worries. Our dog should also still have the choice to move away and escape from the scary situation.
Being muzzle trained is not an excuse for us to flood our dogs with what worries them, and doing so can result in further danger if the muzzle comes off or gets bitten through.
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#Accessibility Video Description: The video shows Dave, a brown Singapore Special dog with pointy ears wearing a lilac basket muzzle with light blue strap, lying down on the grass. He looks to the side and then turns his head forward to look towards the camera. The text says “Muzzle trained does NOT mean it’s ok to… del
I bring poo bags on every walk, I bring treats on every walk. 🤷 It’s not that hard, and it’s not a big deal.
Bringing treats on walks means we can reinforce our dog for all their wonderful auto check-ins and close walking that they offers.
Bringing treats on walks means we can reinforce our dog for recalling back to us.
Bringing treats on walks means we can redirect our dogs away from potential triggers, and reinforce them for walking past triggers.
Bringing treats on walks makes walks more enjoyable for both of us.
There is no reason to want to get rid of treats or fade it out when it’s not hard to do, has so many uses, and it just makes things more fun.
Rain or shine, snow or not, we’ll always have treats on us. We love it.
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#Accessibility Video Description: The video starts with a close up of Rachel's treat pouch as they're walking and the text says "You bring treats out for your dog everyday?" in brown. The camera then pans up to Dave, a brown Singapore Special dog with pointy ears in a blueish grey coat standing in the show and the text says "Yeah." in black, followed by "Why?" in brown. The camera then pans to Rachel taking a treat out for Dave and giving it to him and the text says "Cause I love it" in black. We then see clips of Dave walking next to Rachel on leas in the snow and the text says "Taking treats out on walks is not that hard and it makes us both happy."
Audio Description: Voice 1: "You do this everyday?", Voice 2: "Yeah.", Voice 1: "Why?", Voice 2: "'Cause I love it". Music with a heavy beat plays.
Thank you all for your love and support in 2022.
May we continue to be compassionate to each other and our dogs, and ensure a future that is force-free.
Have a wonderful new year! 🍾
Video Description: The video starts with Dave, a brown Singapore Special dog with pointy ears, walking towards the camera on the grass in the garden. His lip is stuck on his tooth. The text says "And with that... the 2022 season comes to an end. Goodnight.". We then see short clips of Dave doing various things, starting with him walking on a beach with boats behind him. This is followed by a clip of Dave with two other dogs, Nala and Narco, snuffling with some snuffle balls together. Next is a clip of Rachel getting Dave to rollover on the grass in the garden, followed by Dave looking at pies at a market stall. We then see Rachel and Dave doing the hug trick on the top deck of the garden, followed by Dave and Nala sniffing on the grass together with their heads very close to each other. Following that is a clip of Dave standing on the patterned rug while Nala is next to him bouncing around. We then see two clips of Dave walking off leash towards the camera. Next is a clip of Dave tugging with a black sheepskin tug toy. Following that is a clip of Dave and Nala walking on snow in a park while off leash. They both have their coats on. The last clip shows Dave running out of a bush in the garden.
Holidays with our dog
“Life is short, the world is wide.”
We are so privileged to be able to take Dave on holiday with us around the UK. I feel very fortunate to be able to do this with my sweet old boy.
With our trips, we try to stay in one place for longer so that it makes being the car, which he doesn’t like much, worthwhile.
This way, he also gets more time to settle in to the cottage we rent for the week, but it normally doesn’t take him long to make himself at home in the new temporary home as his bed and mats are all there for him.
Our latest trip to Bourton-on-the-Water was lovely. While the main town area could get busy during the day on the weekends, there were the fields between Lower Slaughter and Upper Slaughter, as well as the fields in Greystones Farm Nature Reserve that were wonderful and quiet.
No holiday is complete for Dave without some doggy ice cream and bread from a fancy bakery. Yes, he got to eat a bread roll from the local bakery over the week. Human Dave bought it just for him!
From living in a shelter for 7 years to traveling and getting all the new scents and snacks, I hope you enjoy these moments, buddy.
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#Accessibility Video Description: The video starts with a clip of Dave, a brown Singapore Special dog, standing on a wide open field and looking around. The text over this clip says "Life is short, the world is side. I wanna make some memories (on Bourton-On-The-Water)." Following this are very short clips of Dave on holiday in Bourton-On-the-Water. The clips include him looking towards the camera while walking off leash in a field, standing near some dinosaur statues, walking and sniffing on leash near houses in Upper Slaughter, watching horses go past on a dirt path, walking past a house with flowering climbing plants on the wall, sniffing in a field with another black fluffy dog, eating doggy ice cream, standing near a stream in the village of Upper Slaughter, walking and sniffing in the grassy field, walking towards a Greater Rhea e
