CB Canine Behaviourist

11/02/2023

25/01/2023

If we learn to read our dogs and understand them, we can not only let them make choices but also help them make the right choices.
Choice gives your dog agency
- this means it helps them to feel safe and builds their confidence as they have some control over their life

Old fashioned training methods that rely on force suppresses a dogs emotions and behaviour, knocks their confidence and means we are not listening to them or meeting their emotional needs.

Some suggestions of where you can give your dog choices would be ;
Let your dog choose the pace and direction of their walk.
Let them sniff as long as they want to
Let them decide if they don’t want to go out for a walk - don’t force them
Use consent petting and consent grooming
techniques. Learn to read your dog and understand when they say ‘no - I don’t want to be petted right now or in that way’
Give choice in diet - variety of flavours, textures, cooked, raw, fruit, veg, meat. Can you imagine being given brown biscuits to eat all your life?
Give them access to several different types of water bowl - see what they prefer
I also have a bucket of rain water outside that my dog likes
Give a choice of resting places in different locations.

The days of forcing animals to comply with humans is long gone (for most of us who are enlightened!) our dogs are family . Let’s make sure we treat them as such
©Victoria Cooper

17/01/2023

Making real change takes a lot more work than most people think. But after all nothing worth having comes easy.

06/12/2022

The signs of stress can be subtle at first, keep an eye out to prevent things from escalating

02/10/2022

Truth! 👏👏👏👏

The dominance theory and being Pack Leader.

I can't believe that i still have to write posts about this, I can't believe its actually still being promoted and used by people.

I can't believe that a theory that was so flawed that Mech himself a year later wrote another piece on how wrong he had got it and yet still its still in circulation....why?

Because it looks like it works, it can shut behaviour down and make it look " cured' cue me wincing as I type that word.

Its still far to comnon for some humans to seek compliance, to be the master and have a dog that obeys.

If you ask a lot of people to explain the dominance theory and how it came about they can't, they have no real understanding of the mistake that Mech made, they just like the sound of an animal being subordinate and "loyal

I dont want to be a pack leader, I dont want to be in charge, alpha or any other of those cring worthy titles.

I want to be a guardian, I want to be a safety net, I want to the person they CHOOSE to spend time and co exist with.

I want to listen and learn from my dogs and enjoy everything that they are because they are pretty flipping marvellous and we can learn so much from them.

I have 13 working dogs who all live together in the house ( yes I clean and hoover A LOT) and yet simple compassion, empathy and understanding is the ethos of our home

Yes we have to try and teach dogs certain skills to be safe but that doesn't mean we have to teach them to show them we are in charge.

Its been decades, yes DECADES since this whole dominance theory tosh was debunked, come on people, I beg you, it belongs in the past along with paisley carpets, Austin metros, and smoking in pubs.

We have to stop, we have to be our dogs champion, we have to take a long hard look at how we view our relationships with dogs.

Ditch the dominance and come smell the roses 🌹 your dog will thank you for it.

09/09/2022

Why not stop and smell the roses? 🌹

09/09/2022

Stop and smell the roses 🌹💐

15/08/2022

Such a clever boy in need of an active home.

‼️‼️‼️Kobe desperately needs your help. Words below are from Kobe's current foster Dad....

Good Morning
Some of you may know I've had Kobe on foster for the most part of the last 10 months.
My circumstances are to change at the end of the month and I can no longer keep Kobe - I desperately don't want him back in kennels.
He has been returned to us a number of times as he is not good with kids.
He cannot be trusted around them, he lunges and barks aggressively - for this reason he cannot be rehomed with children and would have to be kept separated if any children visit.

However, this little boy has a lot of character and love to give.
He needs someone who can continue working with him.
Continue the discipline and give him a routine.
He would love agility training - he is very athletic (& crazy fast)
He is ok off lead - recall could do with some work but either stands still or comes back when asked (again high awareness of children around).
I have had him around children, and stopped any reaction before it happens with calming techniques. However, I'm his safe person and he trusts me - he is desperately seeking a forever home and forever love so I'm confident he will trust someone else quickly.

If anyone is in a position to or knows an experienced foster - even better - adopter who can provide a home for Kobe, I will happily stay in touch and pass all I've done with him so it can be continued. I'm always on hand to assist.
Please get in touch with me or ADRS 🤞🐾🐶🐕

11/07/2022

On days like these there needs to be a real shift in focus for our dogs and what they get up to.
No dog should be walked during the day, early mornings and late evenings only and for the rest of the day keep them occupied with brain games and puzzle toys. Mental stimulation is the most important thing you can do for your dog in general but especially on hot days.

29/06/2022

Amazing!
The future is here!
And they really talk about mental stimulation and the benefits it brings!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/technology-61893697

Plugging into a television, Go Dogo rewards pets that successfully follow commands.

24/06/2022

Clicker training is so useful!!

By Yvette Van Veen Clicking marks a target behavior, after which there is generally a short window of time prior to reinforcement © Can Stock Photo / izelPhotography   A common expression used in clicker training is that the click “ends the behavior.” Rarely do we stop to think what this re .....

02/06/2022

You wouldn't like it if someone started messing about with your dinner when you are just wanting to eat, so why do it to your dog? Respect is mutual 🙏☺️

29/05/2022

You could almost replace the word "dog" with the word "child" and it would still make sense.

24/04/2022

Just like people some dogs will want to come over and say hello and some don't and that's ok, whatever makes them.morw comfortable.

11/04/2022

Listening to Radio 2 with the "trainer" who presents the show "Dogs behaving very badly" and the things he is suggesting 🤦🤦🤦🤦 a lady who had a border collie who was obsessed with chasing cars, his suggestion stay away from the cars 🙄 my first question, of many, "What food is he on?" 👏👏👏

07/04/2022

Fear Aggression

I deal a lot with clients whose dogs suffer from fear aggression, a diagnosis we come to after much discussion of course. Once this diagnosis is reached then comes the matter of explaining exactly what that means.
Unbelievably there are still people out there who think that dogs who are reactive are simply in need of more discipline, the outdated “they need to be chastised and told to be quiet and behave” type of backward thinking. Fear aggression however is much more complex that it seem at first sight.
When we are working with dogs who suffer from fear aggression we must use several different strategies all working parallel to each other. The main root cause is of course fear and anxiety. This root cause will come from somewhere of course, for some dogs it will be due to a frightening incident perhaps, for others it they will be pre-disposed to anxiety for genetic reasons and in some other cases it will be as a result of pain.
In circumstances of dogs who suffer with undiagnosed pain the treatment will also include medical and complimentary therapy as well as a behaviour modification plan.
In conclusion fear aggression is real and is caused by true emotional and/or physical trauma not simply because your dog is a brat.

16/03/2022

100% everyone has done this!

07/03/2022

Yes!! 🧐

15/02/2022

It's never a smooth road, but you have to keep going. Consistency is key!

04/02/2022

Absolutely

Reactive behaviour is not bad behaviour, because dogs don't choose to be reactive.

20/01/2022

People often wonder what the difference is between a dog trainer and dog behaviourist, this (below quote) is exactly why you need a professional behaviourist who is able to get to the root cause of the issue rather than just treat the symptoms.
"Dogs may react poorly when on leash for a variety of reasons, which can include fear, excitement, pent-up energy or frustration. Being aware of the underlying emotions and motivations behind the reactivity is essential to understanding it but, whatever the cause, reactivity can often be dealt with quite successfully through classical conditioning." - BARKS blog

17/01/2022

Why continue to do something you both don't like?! There are plenty of alternative options available. Mental stimulation is just as if not more important than physical activity.
Even when it comes to dogs who are not reactive, for example dogs obsessed with a ball. Going after a ball can really over stimulate which can then lead to other behaviour issues.

11/01/2022

It is easy for anxious dogs to feed off of our own anxiety so why not try this.....

30/12/2021

Some people seem to think that if their dog does not show any behaviour then they are being a good dog but sadly that dog has simply shut down because it just cannot cope with the situation it is in.

13/12/2021

Of course chocolate should never be fed to a dog but accidents will happen especially around this time of year. Here is a handy infographic from Vets Now so you don't need to panic and rush off to the vets on Christmas Eve 🎅⛄😁

10/12/2021

Here is a very simplified info graphic on training dogs to be left alone. Being alone is an essential skill, and like all skills must be taught and practiced to become an expert at.

07/12/2021

I'd your training isn't working you need to step back and think how can I do this differently.