Canine Advocate 1-2-1

07/04/2025

🐾 A Holistic Perspective: Behaviour Doesn't Happen in a Vacuum! 🌿

What does "holistic" mean? Let's break it down!

Holistic is all about looking at the bigger picture and understanding that behaviour doesn't happen in a vacuum. Just like us humans, our furry friends also display behaviours that are influenced by a multitude of factors.

When it comes to our beloved dogs, it's important to remember that their behaviour is not solely driven by their training or genetics. Many factors come into play, such as their environment, past experiences, social interactions, and overall health and well-being.

Taking a holistic approach means considering all of these aspects when trying to understand and address our dogs' behaviour. It means recognizing that their actions are not isolated events, but rather a reflection of their overall state of being.

When it comes to understanding our dogs, it's crucial to recognize the circumstances that can impact their behaviour, be it in a positive or negative way.

Let's look at some examples:

Negative Influences: 🌧️🍽️🦷✂️🤢😴
- Upcoming Storm: Dogs may become anxious or restless due to the anticipation of a storm, affecting their behaviour.
- Being Hungry: Lack of food can lead to irritability or increased aggression in dogs, altering their behaviour.
- Broken Tooth: Dental pain can cause discomfort and affect a dog's behaviour negatively.
- Matted Coat: Uncomfortable mats in a dog's fur can lead to irritability or a change in behaviour.
- Upset Tummy: Digestive issues or nausea may cause a dog to feel unwell and possibly display unusual behaviour.
- Not Enough Sleep: Sleep deprivation can make dogs more irritable, and less focused and impact their behaviour.

Positive Influences: 💪💡🐾🏠🤗
- Healthy Body: A dog in good physical health is more likely to exhibit positive behaviours.
- Mental and Physical Needs Met: Regular walks, engaging playtime, and stimulating games contribute to a balanced and contented dog.
- Secure Attachment to Pawrent: Dogs with a secure bond to their owners tend to exhibit trust, confidence, and positive behaviours.

What are positive and negative factors that influence your dogs behaviour? Please share your experience with us in the comments.

By taking a holistic approach, we can provide our dogs with the best possible care and support. This may involve looking at their physical and mental health, providing them with an enriching environment, offering appropriate training and socialization, and understanding their individual needs and preferences.

So, let's embrace the holistic mindset when it comes to our furry companions. Remember, there's more to their behaviour than meets the eye, and by considering all the factors at play, we can help them live happy lives. 🐶💚




BC SPCA (BCSPCA)

02/04/2025

Given the statements that we see so often from those using aversive or 'balanced' training methods, those of us who use a force free approach need to clear up some of the issues with what is said.

As well as the red flags so often seen of 'positive only' or 'purely positive', these statements will usually trot out the old misunderstanding that all we do is toss cheese at a dog when they do something right and ignore everything else. This is absolutely untrue and does not reflect the force free approach at all.

Successful force free training involves SO much more than that.

• It needs a deep understanding of learning theory.
• What the dog's welfare needs are and how to make sure they are met.
• The potential impact of health on behaviour.
• The emotional states that underly behaviours.
• How to manage situations so that the dogs don't carry out the undesired behaviours and perhaps get an internal reward for doing them.
• How to train other behaviours the dog can do in that situation that will be rewarded so that the undesirable behaviour is no longer the best choice for them in that situation.
• When training isn’t the right answer at all.

The factors involved in getting the force free approach and training right are far too many for me to list in this post or on this image, but these are the things that a good force free trainer or behaviour professional is doing every time they are working with a dog and their humans.

It's so much more than just lobbing food at a dog.

31/03/2025

We don’t need to control our dogs, our aim is to guide them into what’s socially acceptable.

What we do need to focus on is controlling ourselves. Our frustration, stress, urgency can set us back as the calm role models we intend to be.

So when we find ourselves struggling with our dogs, the best thing to work on first is ourselves.

Human and canine calming exercises available on the app.

31/03/2025

ALTERNATIVES TO WALKS.

When we bring home a new dog, regardless of his history, he's going to need time to settle in and learn to feel safe before we expand his world further and introduce walks. Building trust, confidence and a connection should always come first. There is so much for them to cope with, particularly so for those that may not have lived in a home before. I can't imagine how overwhelming that must be!

When he is feeling comfortable, the likelihood is that you will need to teach your new furry friend some basic lead skills at home before you put them into practice. Any new equipment, such as a lovely new harness and longline, will also need to be conditioned properly before use.

For those with reactive dogs, days off from walks are hugely beneficial as they enable your dog to decompress and recover fully from any stressors, which in turn will help prevent trigger stacking. Staying home to play, enjoying some enrichment activities, or doing some fun training such as scentwork together, can work wonders. Mental stimulation is just as important as physical exercise, after all!

If you are lucky enough to have a secure field for hire nearby, where your dog can enjoy some off-lead, trigger-free, uninterrupted fun, this is a wonderful way for you both to enjoy time together, without having to be on the look-out constantly, preparing to use your highly-honed ninja skills at the drop of a hat.

For dogs who may suffer with anxiety or are extremely fearful, walks might just be too scary for them, and that's okay too! There is way too much pressure to walk our dogs everyday, day in, day out, when, in fact, this is not always in their best interests, and can do more harm than good. Sometimes less is more; a lot more.

Every dog is an individual, and we need to meet their needs as best we can, while keeping them feeling safe. If the big, bad world is too scary for them, it's okay not to go for walks.

Enrichment activities are a wonderful way to entertain our dogs, we just need to remember to start at an easy level so that they can gain confidence. We don't want to confuse, frustrate, or over-face them.

The attached link contains some great resources from Caring for Rescued ex Street Dogs, which will come in handy while you build up to walks and, indeed, beyond that:

https://www.facebook.com/1533996696895219/posts/2633896566905221/?

Go slow. Settling in takes as long as it takes! ❤️

©️ 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, or screenshot any of it. THANK YOU! 🐾 🐾

Image is of my much-missed Jack wearing his Non-stop Ultra harness and longline on a quiet walk at home on the farm.

31/03/2025

26/03/2025

Understanding the Risks of Suppressing Canine Emotions: 🐶💔

It is essential to understand that suppressing our dogs' behaviour and striving for them to appear "FINE" (Feelings Inside Not Expressed) can be extremely risky and detrimental for everyone involved. Instead, our goal should be to encourage our dogs to express their emotions and communicate when they are worried, happy, anxious, or frustrated. 🐶💔

🐾 By allowing our dogs to express their emotions, we create an open dialogue and build a stronger connection with them. Just like humans, dogs experience a wide range of emotions, and it is crucial that they feel comfortable expressing them.

🐾 When dogs exhibit signs of stress or discomfort, it serves as a valuable signal that something is amiss. By addressing and understanding the root cause of their emotional response, we can better meet their needs and provide appropriate support. 🔄🔍✅

🐾 Suppressing our dogs' emotions can lead to a variety of negative consequences. Bottling up feelings may result in increased anxiety, aggression, or even health issues. It is far safer and more constructive to create an environment where our dogs feel safe expressing themselves. 🚫🙈

🐾 Encouraging emotional expression in our dogs allows us to work together with them to overcome challenges or fears. By acknowledging their emotions, we can implement effective training techniques, seek professional help if necessary, and tailor our approach to suit their individual needs. 💪💙📚

🐾 Ultimately, the aim is to foster a positive emotional state for our furry friends. By promoting emotional well-being and giving them a voice, we can create a harmonious and fulfilling relationship with our dogs. Let's remember that their emotional needs are just as important as their physical ones. 🌟🐕💗

26/03/2025

Helping dogs who are scared is a steady process. Trying to encourage a dog closer with food may seem to make sense and that it will help the dog understand that we're safe to be around. The problem is that it puts too much pressure on the dog and could backfire when they find themselves too close for comfort.

We can use food to help fearful dogs understand we're no threat to them but it involves careful reading of stress signals and tossing pieces of food towards them so they can reach it without having to come closer than they are comfortable with. As their confidence grows, the food doesn't need to be thrown so far.

Patience and trying for slow and steady progress as much as possible is the best way to work with scared dogs.

24/03/2025

When working with dogs who bark and lunge at other dogs, the most common reasons people assume are aggression, fear, and frustration. Firsty—aggression is a response, not a root cause. There are often many underlying reasons why a dog might not be coping in these situations.

One reason that’s more common than people realise is that the dog is simply overwhelmed. Their nervous system is maxed out, and what they really need is a detox.

We’ve been conditioned to believe that regular exercise is the single most important thing for a dog's well-being. While exercise does matter, it's not always the solution for every dog. In fact, for some, it can add to their stress if they’re constantly exposed to overwhelming outside stimuli. I’ve witnessed remarkable transformations in dogs simply by giving them a break from the stressors of the outside world.

What does this look like? No walks. No visitors. Just plenty of opportunities to sniff, relax, and simply exist in peace.

Feeding them a diet rich in vitamins and minerals, spending quality time together, and letting them explore safe spaces like their garden or a quiet field can work wonders. This chance to decompress often surprises people. They think their dogs will never cope without the daily routine, but they're amazed by how much calmer their dogs become once those stress triggers are removed.

Of course, every dog is an individual. For some, this approach may not be the right move. The key is to truly listen to what your dog is telling you.

Sometimes, just like us, dogs need a break from the relentless demands of the world to reset and recharge. And that’s okay—it’s a gift we can give them.

23/03/2025

We have a similar nervous system, our brains fire the same way. We are exposed to similar emotional responses and have the same need for safety. Yet dogs are so often still expected to shut up and put up. Let's be a little gentler with the needs of our dogs shall we? We can help with that, drop us a line in the comments.

23/03/2025

Why movement helps us

Being asked to sit, stand, or wait in the moment when feeling worried, anxious, frightened or frustrated can be really difficult, not being able to focus on what is being asked, unable to take in any more information, feeling overwhelmed, and needing to create distance to process their environment.

Even when we might be asking something what we perceive as simple from our dogs and notice that they don’t, I would always question and look at why can’t they? Is it because they are feeling discomfort, anxious, fearful or are we asking too much of them right now. Not because they are being stubborn or lazy.

For us, we spend time where Murphy has felt relaxed, comfortable, allowing him the choice of movement, sometimes he has chosen to sit, watch, listen and other times he needs to move on, which has helped regulate how he feels, feel safe without being forced or being asked to do something that he can’t at that time.

Supporting our dogs when away from their triggers, we can pay more attention to what our dogs are communicating, can they continue to walk, do they need alternative route, do they choose to sit, watch, and listen while they are relaxed?

Being able to observe changes in our dog’s body language, is their body relaxed, or tense? Are they becoming alert? Lift or lower their head, are they slowing down to sniff or pulling more on their lead.
Raising a paw, ears up, held back or are they relaxed? Is their tail higher or lower than their normal, are small but indications about how they are feeling.

To be asked or told to do anything when directly facing a trigger is incredibly hard, but allowing our dog’s choice of movement, alternative routes, can give them a sense of safety and for us to understand what they need in that moment.

22/03/2025

Have you ever been trapped in a conversation with someone who stands way too close, talks too loud, and won’t let you escape?
That’s what the world feels like to a nervous dog every single day.
And unlike you, they can’t say "excuse me" and walk away.

We’ve created a culture where all dogs are expected to be perpetually friendly greeters. But for some dogs, space isn’t optional—it’s essential.
When their space is invaded, these dogs aren’t being "difficult."

They’re experiencing genuine panic. Here’s what’s really happening in their minds:

When an Off-Leash Dog Charges Up
"I’m leashed and trapped. I literally cannot escape." → Imagine being cornered with no way out while someone rushes toward you. Pure terror.

"This dog is coming too fast. I don’t know if they’re safe or dangerous." → Every approaching dog is an unknown threat until proven otherwise.

"My person is trying to protect me but nobody listens." → Owners of nervous dogs often feel completely helpless in these moments too.

"If I bark or growl, I’m ‘the bad dog.’ But it’s the only way I know to make this stop." → Nervous dogs can’t win either way. They either have to put up with the threat silently or get punished for trying to make it go away.

"I keep learning that other dogs = scary experiences." → Each negative encounter makes recovery harder and reactions stronger next time.

When Strangers Pet Without Permission
"Your hands are coming at my face and I don’t know you!" → Would you let a stranger touch your child’s face? Why expect your dog to accept it?

"I’ve backed up, turned away, licked my lips—why won’t you listen?" → Dogs give clear signals before reacting, but these signals are consistently ignored.

"My person said 'please don’t pet' but you did anyway." → You’ve just taught this dog that their boundaries don’t matter and their person can’t protect them.

When Another Dog Won’t Back Off
"I’ve done everything to say 'enough' politely." → Most anxious dogs tried the polite approach countless times before resorting to barks or growls.

"This is how I get bullied every time we go out." → Friendly dogs don’t know what they’re doing, but they can be the worst offenders, overwhelming nervous dogs with their enthusiasm.

"If I snap now, everyone will blame me. No one blames the dog who wouldn’t stop." → The world punishes the reaction, not the provocation.

The Hard Truths About Space That Changed Everything For Me
Space isn’t "special treatment"—it’s basic dignity.

A nervous dog isn’t "antisocial"—they’re self-protective.

"Socializing" doesn’t mean forcing interactions—it means building confidence.

Your friendly dog might actually be completely overwhelming to dogs who need space.

Respecting boundaries isn’t optional—it’s the foundation of all healthy relationships.

We wouldn’t force an introvert to hug strangers or attend every party. Why do we expect every dog to be a social butterfly?

Every time you give a dog the space they’re asking for, you’re not just preventing a reaction—you’re saying, "I hear you. Your feelings matter." And for a nervous dog, that’s everything.

The next time you see a yellow "GIVE ME SPACE" leash or a dog creating distance, remember: that owner isn’t being precious or difficult. They’re advocating for a being who cannot speak for themselves.

And isn’t that the most loving thing any of us can do?

Because at the end of the day, kindness matters more than manners.
Have you ever felt your dog’s anxiety was dismissed or misunderstood by others? Share your experience below—you’re not alone.