Pawfectly Behaved

The conversation has circled round again to bridging the divide between dog training methods, with people talking about 'moving beyond methods' There's no need to move beyond methods. Training without fear, pain and discomfort is the method recommended by every single governing body from Veterinary Councils to Animal Behaviour Societies to Animal Welfare Charities As a practitioner, it is my job to align my training with the recommended best practices to keep training efficient but also ethical and welfare friendly It is not my job to give permission and rain smiles on those who choose to go against the recommended best practice If you choose to train in a way that goes against what top organisations say is the most efficient and humane way to train that is your business However, you cannot force people to tolerate it The burden for unity seems to always be put at force free trainer's doors. But it's not for people who are training to the industry standards of best practice to drop their moral and ethical boundaries for people who aren't just so they feel included The burden for unity is actually at the feet of people training outside the acceptable industry standard Force free training works. Force free trainers can train. Force free training is effective and kind. Stop making fun of it. Stop demanding proof videos to your specifications for free. Stop attacking and besmirching force free trainers every time they speak. Stop spreading misinformation about training tools and stop doing all these things then moaning that force free trainers don't give you the time of day Certain trainers can't even post anything without people screaming for proof videos, writing misogynistic comments or telling them they can't train. Then these trainers who are subject to these attacks are expected to stick the kettle on and sit down and attend conversations like nothing has happened. Unity starts when you start respecting the people who train without pain, fear or discomfo

Annnnnnnnnnd I will say it once again It is absolutely fine for you to hold ethical, moral and personal boundaries around dog training. Not just dog training but anything in your life. You do not have to be around, listen to or learn from people you feel are unethical or whose moral and ethical boundaries differ so completely from your own. You do not have to hurt or scare your dog to train them and if the thought of using pain, fear and discomfort to train your beloved dog makes you uncomfortable that is ok. It is ok to set and keep boundaries around what you want for your dog, your training and your mental wellbeing. It is ok to train your dog without pain, fear and discomfort! It is ok to treat your dog ethically and with kindness. It is fine to put your mental wellbeing first and only associate with people who share your moral and ethical views around your dog. It is ok to spend less or no time with people who make you feel bad about that. You do not need to tolerate practices that upset you in the interest of being a nice person. I'm not sure why protecting your own and your dogs mental and physical wellbeing is such a controversial stance [A black retriever and a liver and white spaniel walk down a stone path flanked by heather and shrubs]

Bentley doing a medical alert. He's a good boy! [A yellow Labrador sniffs the air before sitting up and pawing his handler]

Another video of Leah, who strongly doesn't believe birds should contain life, on the beach running towards a boat she wants to check out. A bird flies off right next to her and she doesn't pay any attention to it. Trained without aversives and using predation substitution training!

Whilst browsing yesterday I saw a 'what to look for in a trainer' video and one of the things was 'does your trainer train the dogs and then showcase impressive things' Impressive things? What does this mean and is this really what you want to look for in a trainer? I strongly suspect, based on the content and comments, they were talking about protection work and bite sports. The glorification of the weaponisation of dogs is a conversation that is happening at the moment. People seem absolutely bedazzled by dogs hanging off bite sleeves to the point that, for some trainers, it forms the majority of their content. Also the bites are getting more and more extreme with dogs being sent over more difficult and dangerous obstacles and being flung around in the air more dramatically on the sleeve for social media engagement. This constant arms race to be more and more impressive and extreme may not be what is best for the dogs welfare and may be actually harmful. It is happening in a lot of areas of training as trainers seek to outdo each other for engagement. On top of this, I've seen a rise in young trainers desperately trying to prove they are doing 'impressive things' and being made to feel they have to join this arms race when they don't. It's concerning that young trainers are being made to feel that that's the only way they can be taken seriously. This concerns me because of the rise of people training their assistance dogs to take part in bite sports which is completely unacceptable and puts the public and other assistance dog team access rights at risk. What can you do? Simple. Just find a trainer who can train what you want. Instead of judging a competition in extremes, ask yourself instead if they have happy customers? Do the dogs they train look happy to be there? Is their training pain free? Do they have expertise in the area you want to train? Can they train what you want? For behaviour are they suitably qualified? Not whether they are training 'imp

I had a moment the other day where I realised just how much training assistance dogs need and the little things that need to be worked on that you may not think about. Bentley struggled with people suddenly appearing out of nowhere. From around corners, out of shops and up escalators. It would startle him. It must be strange to a dog who has no concept of human things like escalators and lifts. Gently exposing him and pairing sudden appearances with treats has helped him feel better and now it doesn't make him jump. Well done Bentley! [A yellow Labrador stands looking at the top of an escalator and then turns and has a treat off his owner]

**Announcement** From 18th to the 26th June 2024 I will be on annual leave. Beth will still be around to make appointments and answer enquiries but I will not be around at all! If you need to contact me, still get in touch and I will get your message when I'm back at work! Thank you! [A black retriever lies down in a puddle on a sandy beach with the ocean in the background with a blue and pink ball in her mouth for reasons only known to her while a liver and white spaniel potters around in the background]

I really enjoyed the webinar tonight, talking about how Assistance Dogs can help ND conditions and the perks and pitfalls of independently training an assistance dog. If you watched and have questions, please email [email protected] [A black retriever in a red, white and black assistance dog vest jumps up and presses a door button]

Not the most thrilling video generally but it is for me! Hope is feeling much better about being in the area where she was frightened. She's not 100% there. She is still a bit wary. But her tail is up and she is much more engaged and focused on her handler. It is a bit of a journey for Hope but I am pleased with her progress so far! [A brown dog stands on a brick pavement. She looks around and back to her handler who gives her a treat. She is calm and her tail is up but she is still looking around a bit warily]

Today Leah made some good decisions about birds. Leah feels strongly about birds. She feels the best birds are birds that do not contain life and is quite happy to have the opportunity to make that a reality. Being a spaniel, her genetic and insatiable quench for birds has been an issue we had to work on before she could go off lead. Today I went to the field just to walk around and took zero reinforcement as I wasn't expecting to do any training. Naturally the dog training gods sent me every bird in existence to test our leaving birds skills. This recall from the bird is without treats (I had none), just a heavy reinforcement history. We had to do a few. There were many birds. Good decisions made. No birds were harmed in the making of our dog walk this morning. Well done Leah. [A liver and white spaniel walks along a fence line, sees a crow across the field, stares at it and turns and trots back to camera on an (unheard) recall cue. This is trained force free. No aversives were used in controlling Leah's bird destroying ways]

What happens if my dog gets it wrong in training? What of the questions you are meant to ask your dog trainer before you start. The answer is they get called a sausage 🌭 and we restart. She misunderstood what I wanted. She's not infallible and it's a training exercise. It's all good. We all make mistakes. She didn't need a correction to know that's not what I wanted. This just wasn't highly reinforced. My hands were also everywhere. I need to work on myself so I don't give out confusing signals. But I tickled her. Isn't that reinforcing? Yes it is but not as reinforcing as the food I have which is what shes working for. Mistakes happen in training. It's ok. Just pause, reconnect and restart. (This was never meant to see the light of day considering I'm wearing far too many jumpers and I'm sure people will have much to say on my mechanics here which are not typical of training this exercise (I'm training the dog in front of me who's not been doing this long) but it was a moment I had to share) [A liver and white spaniel and a woman with far too many jumpers on under her coat are by a green and white cone. The woman moves off and the spaniel follows. The woman stops, fusses the spaniel, takes the spaniel back to the cone and walks again]

Retrieving items from shelves is a great task if you struggle to bend or reach the bottom shelves. However it can be difficult to go from your basic retrieve to shelf retrieves. Here are some tips to help your dog make the transition. 🐾 Remember you are teaching a different skill now. Although your basic retrieve is a good starting point, a retrieve from the shelf is different to a retrieve from the floor. You may find your dog struggles with some elements of the new behaviour. This is normal. Just keep training. 🐾 As in the video, using toys can motivate your dog to pick up objects from the shelf, rather than using the stuff they would normally find there. A stuffed duck is much better than a tin. 🐾 Start from low shelves like in the video, working up to higher shelves. 🐾 You may lose some behaviours in your retrieve behaviour chain, like retrieving to hand. This is normal. Reinforce the retrieve from the shelf first then work back in the retrieving to hand. Don't lose good shelf retrieve behaviour because you aren't getting the full behaviour you had in the floor retrieve. You risk losing it all. 🐾 Don't rush. You will get there. 🐾Practice at home from low tables. Remember your dog is likely to have to pick up objects from the side, rather than from on top as they would from the floor. This may take them some practice. [A black dog in a red and yellow vest goes to a shelf (shelf with permission) and picks up a grey and green stuffed duck. She puts the duck down then picks it up and holds it for her handler to take it, which she does]

Who was that mysterious little lady in our video this morning. That beautiful dog is Blue. Blue shows reactive behaviours. She was so anxious when I first met her she was unable to leave the house and was very stressed by visitors. Here's a montage of a session we had the other day. She is getting better at processing and regulating her emotions around her triggers and we all enjoyed a sit down at the park together. She's improved so much in such a small space of time. I'm thrilled with her progress so far. Well done Bluey on your excellent session ❤️ (Before clip sent by her owner)

Hello Balanced trainers are annoyed at me because I put up a post saying they should respect force free trainers. 10 days later I am still getting abuse. That's whatever. What's not whatever is some of them are too scared to speak to me directly and so have decided to attack my client's videos on here instead. This is not ok. And yes, this included a balanced trainer commenting and critiquing the mechanics of a 7 year old, disabled child. One person decided my dog should have been faster over a shop floor despite the fact I've trained her to walk slowly over certain floors to prevent injury. If you were an experienced assistance dog trainer you would know this. One person didn't realise Olive Dog isn't a Labrador and decided she was scared of everything because she was looking around. A high drive dog looking around a busy environment? Who would have thought it? Then again they didn't know enough to realise shes not a Labrador despite this being referenced several times. So a new rule is being put in place and, like a force free trainer, I am going to highlight clear expectations before dishing out blocks. Do not criticise the mechanics and training videos of my clients! You don't know the training plans. You don't know my client and you don't know the dog. Anyone who does this from now on, instant block. I do not owe you space on my page. Enjoy this tranquil video of Blue who is working on her dog reactivity and doing really well! [A blue and tan corgi looking dog sits watching a golden dog go through a kissing gate]

You must leave assistance dogs alone! Hope is a fully trained assistance dog. I trained her since 6 months old and she's now two. She is a medical alert dog and is extremely good at her job. She accompanies her owner to work to make sure she doesn't have medical episodes and she increases her owner's independence. A few weeks ago, in a pet friendly shop, someone allowed their dog to repeatedly harass, bark at and lunge at Hope. This person proceeded to follow Hope's handler around, with their dog lunging, snarling and barking at her, while they went to take refuge in a non dog friendly place. They managed to shake them off but the damage was done. This is Hope's reaction to just hearing a dog bark in the area she was lunged at. She is very stressed in the video, refusing to engage with her handler and looking in the direction of the barking. Her tail carriage is low. Two years of assistance dog training potentially ruined in a single incident. And it's not just Hope. I have had to help many assistance dogs who have had traumatic experiences with both people and other dogs in public access. Assistance Dogs are not public property and allowing your dog to bark and lunge or attack one can have devastating consequences for the dog, who will be hurt and stressed, and for the owner who potentially will lose their assistance dog. Sometimes they are so badly traumatised they can never work again. Assistance Dogs are highly trained but they are still dogs and still capable of making negative connections in their mind. They are not robots and are capable of feeling the effects of traumatic experiences. I will help Hope and she will feel more confident soon but I shouldn't have to. Her handler shouldn't have had to incur further training costs and spend time on behaviour modification. Hope shouldn't have to feel unsafe. None of this should have happened. Even in pet friendly places, you must ignore assistance dogs as they are still working. You must be able

Olive Dog 🫒 The focus of the session was being neutral and focusing on her handler in a busy environment. New Street has many challenges and Olive rose to the occasion beautifully. I love her automatically looking at her handler while ignoring the many things you find in a busy city centre. Well Done Olive 🫒 [A black rotweiller X walks next to her handlers down a busy city street. There are people walking past as well as cleaning carts. The dog walks calmly by her handler, looking at her and occasionally is given a treat]

Dear Balanced Trainers, There’s a lot of talk about ‘bridging the divide’ in dog training and a lot of responsibility for that is put at force free (ff) trainers’ feet. The truth is you are not blameless To have hope of ‘bridging the divide’, you have got to be nicer to ff trainers. I'm not talking in a #bekind way but rather you have to accept that people do not like aversives and, like you, they won't change their opinion on that. That ff trainers are not ‘stupid’ or ‘uneducated’ because they don't agree with you You have to understand that people have had traumatic experiences (my clients whose dogs died because of e collars) and just because they don’t want to discuss it with you doesn’t mean it didn’t happen You have to accept ff training works. Screaming that ff training doesn’t work at me when I have trained a great many dog’s ff is ludicrous You have to understand that someone who doesn’t like e collars may be knowledgeable about them and can still have an opinion on them and just because it is not what you want to hear doesn’t mean it is wrong You have to understand that, while content is for the public, the creator is not so you cannot demand their labour and speak to them like dirt You can't tell people not to create content. Now I have always advocated for holding your moral and ethical boundaries in training. Absolutely you should. And you should make content that reflects this and be open to friendly and respectful discussion and debate about it However, I have been verbally abused for two days for simply saying people should be honest as to how e collars work. I have been called a liar, stupid, uneducated, deceitful, had trauma around dogs deaths invalidated, called several swear words and was told I wasn’t worth anything. Why on earth would a force free trainer ever want to bridge the divide when we are treated like that. You can stay on your side of the divide 😂 If you want to bridge the divide you

I keep seeing a lot of problematic content around e collars Judging by e-collar content, they are a harmless device that works like a remote control. There are so many videos where there is a dog walking ahead, then an e-collar remote slowly comes into view, the button is pressed and the dog returns to the handler. People are not spending upwards of £200 on recall cue when the same result can be achieved for free with your voice or a hand signal The reality is that the e collar recall is trained by giving the dog a continuous ‘stim’ which is then stopped when the dog is coming towards them. The ‘stim’ is so uncomfortable or painful that the dog is motivated to avoid it and the only way they can is to perform the desired behaviour That's not all! People are saying it’s the only way to get a reliable recall which is also not true. Mine and my client’s dogs have reliable recalls without e collars and using only reward based training. People say if you want your dog to be non-anxious, loved and safe you will buy a £200+ e collar which is bizarre and a weird marketing strategy. There are many non-anxious, loved and safe dogs without e collars on. There are trainers telling people that if they don’t use an e collar their dog will run in front of a car and die! This is completely untrue and quite a shocking and unhinged thing to say. There are many dogs safely enjoying off lead freedom who have never even seen an e collar. In their desperation to justify their own actions towards their dogs, and I do believe people love their dogs and don’t want to hurt them, they are putting content out there with ridiculous and outlandish claims. If you think people’s dogs will die if they don’t buy a £200 collar, something isn’t right. You don’t need to spend over £200 on equipment because your dog trainer can’t train without it. You don’t need to charge your dogs before walks and, as trainers, you certainly wouldn’t have to spend time making

When two weeks ago you were pulling on the lead but your young handler is epic and put 110% effort into practicing so now you can walk to heel, off lead, in a shop! ❤️

I can't believe I never posted about Leah's Crufts! Leah was a star at Crufts this year. Not only did she win her class and bring home a lovely red rosette, she stood in at the last minute for the junior handling competition in the main arena. There was an issue with one of the dogs so she had to go at the last minute. She had never met her handler before and had only 5 minutes of bonding time before stepping onto the green carpet in front of the audience, lights, cameras and the world with a complete stranger. Her beautiful temperament and our training was put to the test and she took it all in her stride. Unfazed by the lights and the cameras and the enormous audience she performed beautifully. Her handler said 'she was amazing, whatever I asked of her she did' I was so proud of my beautiful girl ❤️ Here's a video of Leah, trotting into the main arena at Crufts like the star she is. She's not strung up by the way. She is probably on a cocker loop which will be non tightening. In handling you lose marks for having a sloppy lead 😊