Furry Pawsitive

15/01/2025

ANSWER:

No one. Not even you should be punished. Here’s why:
1. The time for effective punishment has LONG passed. If you punish now, you’re creating an association for your dog that when you come home “human may get scary and do painful things”. They will NOT associate it with what they had done, which brings us to
2. Your dog associates YOU with punishment. Sometimes. That’s an unpredictability your dog doesn’t need, and can create anxiety.
3. You don’t know WHICH dog did it. You may have a strong suspicion towards one, but you have no direct evidence. You’re not gonna punish all of them, are ya? That ain’t right. (Ok, unless you have cctv, you don’t know who. Still punishment isn’t the best way to solve it.)
4. Everything wrong with punishment! Read my past post about punishment.
5. If you do punish, you’re more likely doing it because you’re angry or for emotional release. Not to improve or address the dog’s behavior.
6. You’re punished enough by this, I’d think 😅 You might need to get a new dog bed, or sew it close if still possible. No need to punish yourself further. Things break. Just don’t break your dog or yourself.

So, what now? Well, evaluate. If this is a new behavior, consider what has changed. Is a vet examination needed? If there’s any change in the environment that may lead to this. If this is an on-going behavior, evaluate the dog’s needs. Have they been fulfilled? The need to chew? The need to feel safe and secure in her environment? The need to explore his environment? Is there an unaddressed medical issue that we don’t know yet? Is she experiencing anxiety when you leave?

I know, I know, depending on the situation there may be more questions to check. It’s almost no wonder many people go straight to punishment. “Whack! Bad dog! Done my part to train. You better learn, dog!” But our dogs deserve better than punishment. They deserve better from us.

Now, the story behind this picture..

[ID: a picture of one mini schnauzer dog on a torn dog bed and two other mini schnauzers on a separate intact bed. Black text in white text box underneath reads “if you live in a multi dog home, and you come home to this, who do you punish?”]

15/01/2025

ANSWER:
No one. Not even you should be punished. Here’s why:
1. The time for effective punishment has LONG passed. If you punish now, you’re creating an association for your dog that when you come home “human may get scary and do painful things”. They will NOT associate it with what they had done, which brings us to
2. Your dog associates YOU with punishment. Sometimes. That’s an unpredictability your dog doesn’t need, and can create anxiety.
3. You don’t know WHICH dog did it. You may have a strong suspicion towards one, but you have no direct evidence. You’re not gonna punish all of them, are ya? That ain’t right. (Ok, unless you have cctv, you don’t know who. Still punishment isn’t the best way to solve it.)
4. Everything wrong with punishment! Read my past post about punishment.
5. If you do punish, you’re more likely doing it because you’re angry or for emotional release. Not to improve or address the dog’s behavior.
6. You’re punished enough by this, I’d think 😅 You might need to get a new dog bed, or sew it close if still possible. No need to punish yourself further. Things break. Just don’t break your dog or yourself because of it.

So, what now? Well, evaluate. If this is a new behavior, consider what has changed. Is a vet examination needed? If there’s any change in the environment that may lead to this. If this is an on-going behavior, evaluate the dog’s needs. Have they been fulfilled? The need to chew? The need to feel safe and secure in her environment? The need to explore his environment? Is there an unaddressed medical issue that we don’t know yet? Is she experiencing anxiety when you leave?

I know, I know, depending on the situation there may be more questions to check. It’s almost no wonder many people go straight to punishment. “Whack! Bad dog! Done my part to train. You better learn, dog!” But our dogs deserve better than punishment. They deserve better from us.

Now, the story behind this picture..

[ID: a picture of one mini schnauzer dog on a torn dog bed and two other mini schnauzers on a separate intact bed. Black text in white text box underneath reads “if you live in a multi dog home, and you come home to this, who do you punish?”]

26/12/2024

American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) Position Statements can be found on AVSAB.org.

Humane Dog Training:
“Many methods of changing behavior in dogs are effective; however, the evidence-based veterinarian or behavior consultant should be concerned not just with what is effective but what does the least harm and produces the best long-term results.”

“Based on current scientific evidence, AVSAB recommends that only reward-based training methods are used for all dog training, including the treatment of behavior problems.”

The Use of Dominance Theory in Behavior Modification of Animals:
“The AVSAB emphasizes that the standard of care for veterinarians specializing in behavior is that dominance theory should not be used as a general guide for behavior modification. Instead, the AVSAB emphasizes that behavior modification and training should focus on reinforcing desirable behaviors, avoiding the reinforcement of undesirable behaviors, and striving to address the underlying emotional state and motivations, including medical and genetic factors, that are driving the undesirable behavior.”

Positive Veterinary Care:
“An unpleasant experience at the vet may trigger the ‘fight, flight, freeze’ response. A pet may become aggressive (fight), attempt to get away (flight), or ‘shut down’ (freeze). Patients exhibiting any of these responses are experiencing fear, even those that appear passive. It only takes one experience to trigger these responses, and lead to generalized fear affecting all future visits. Anxiety and fear lead to increased cortisol and blood glucose levels, pupil dilation, and muscle tension. Heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and temperature may all increase. These effects can hinder accurate diagnosis and lead to increased anesthetic and sedation risk. The positive veterinary experience is focused on recognizing signs of fear and anxiety, and responding to them in a way that reduces patient stress.”

26/12/2024

Pernyataan Posisi dari American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) ada di AVSAB.org.

Pelatihan Anjing yang Berperikemanusiaan:
“Banyak metode untuk mengubah perilaku anjing yang efektif; namun, dokter hewan atau konsultan perilaku berbasis bukti seharusnya tidak hanya memperhatikan apa yang efektif, tetapi juga apa yang paling tidak menyakiti dan menghasilkan hasil jangka panjang terbaik.”

“Berdasarkan bukti ilmiah saat ini, AVSAB merekomendasikan agar hanya metode pelatihan berbasis reward yang digunakan untuk semua pelatihan anjing, termasuk penanganan masalah perilaku.”

Penggunaan Teori Dominansi dalam Modifikasi Perilaku Hewan:
“AVSAB menekankan bahwa standar perawatan untuk dokter hewan yang mengkhususkan diri dalam bidang perilaku adalah bahwa teori dominansi tidak boleh digunakan sebagai panduan umum untuk modifikasi perilaku. Sebagai gantinya, AVSAB menekankan bahwa modifikasi perilaku dan pelatihan harus difokuskan pada penguatan perilaku yang diinginkan, menghindari penguatan perilaku yang tidak diinginkan, dan berupaya untuk menangani kondisi emosional dan motivasi yang mendasari, termasuk faktor medis dan genetik, yang memicu perilaku yang tidak diinginkan.”

Perawatan Veteriner Positif:
“Pengalaman yang tidak menyenangkan di dokter hewan dapat memicu respons 'melawan, lari, diam' (fight, flight, freeze). Hewan mungkin menjadi agresif (fight), mencoba melarikan diri (flight), atau 'terdiam' (freeze). Pasien yang menunjukkan salah satu dari respons ini sedang mengalami ketakutan, bahkan yang tampak pasif sekalipun. Hanya butuh satu pengalaman untuk memicu respons ini, dan menyebabkan ketakutan umum yang mempengaruhi semua kunjungan di masa mendatang. Kecemasan dan ketakutan menyebabkan peningkatan kadar kortisol dan glukosa darah, pelebaran pupil, dan ketegangan otot. Denyut jantung, laju pernapasan, tekanan darah, dan suhu tubuh juga bisa meningkat. Efek-efek ini dapat menghalangi diagnosis yang akurat dan meningkatkan risiko anestesi dan sedasi. Pengalaman positif di dokter hewan berfokus pada pengenalan tanda-tanda ketakutan dan kecemasan, serta meresponsnya dengan cara yang mengurangi stres pasien.”

24/12/2024

Security and safety notes for your pets:
- be careful of fatty holiday food and chocolate
- provide safe and quiet zone for your pets if you have guests over
- always supervise children around your pets, or completely block access
- be prepared to tell off naughty guests 🤭

11/11/2024

Bagaimana kamu mengajak anjingmu berjalan-jalan?

11/11/2024

How do you take your dog for a walk?

05/11/2024

🏡 Exciting news! We’re moving!
🐾 Same service area, just a bit bigger!
Furry Pawsitive is moving to a new home base! While we’re not going far, this new location allows us to keep serving all our current neighborhoods (although at a limited capacity) and reach a few new ones. 🎉

Starting November 11th 2024 , we’ll be able to offer our Private In-Home Training, Day Training, and Furry Fun Hour in Bintaro and BSD.
As we grow, we’re adjusting our availability to better meet demand. This means limited scheduling for clients in Cibubur, Bogor, and Depok. If you are in these areas, please reach out to secure your training sessions! For clients in Jakarta neighborhoods, there should be no change for you.
This adjustment allows us to bring high-quality training to more pets, while still being there for our loyal clients. If you’re in our new areas, we can’t wait to work with you!

IMPORTANT: We’ll be taking November 8th-10th off to settle in—no sessions on those days, but bookings are still open for scheduling future appointments!

Whether you’re a familiar face or new to Furry Pawsitive, we’re thrilled to keep providing top-notch pet education (for you!), training, and enrichment for your furry companions. Plus, don’t forget—you’ll learn all about your pet’s behavior, helping you understand them better and build a strong two-way communication!

WhatsApp us (Asti) at +62-878-8009-1546 to book or learn more!

Thank you for being part of our journey and growth 🙏🏽

We’re excited to keep spreading knowledge of force-free, welfare-based animal training, fostering human-animal relationships, and positive pet guardianship! 💛🐾

25/08/2024

Otot “penghukum”:
Bagi kamu yang selama ini diajari untuk menarik tali kekang anjing sebagai bentuk koreksi, hukuman, atau “komunikasi” ketika anjingmu menarik, berperilaku buruk, menggonggong, melompat, dan lainnya, dan sekarang menyadari bahwa itu bukan cara yang tepat untuk melatih hewan, cobalah cara ini untuk "melatih ulang" tanganmu (atau setidaknya mencegah tanganmu terbiasa menarik talinya).

SAMBUNG TALI KE CARABINER

Cara ini membantu mengubah peran tanganmu dari "mengoreksi" menjadi menguatkan atau reinforcing.

Tahukah kamu setiap kali kamu melatih anjingmu, kamu juga sedang melatih dirimu sendiri?

Setiap repetisi yang kamu lakukan membangun kebiasaanmu dalam merespons perilaku anjingmu.

Jika kamu selalu meneriaki "no" setiap kali anjingmu melompat ke kamu, kamu lebih cenderung akan terus melakukannya setiap kali kamu melihat anjingmu melompat selanjutnya.

Meneriaki “no” menjadi respons terkondisikan kamu (atau refleksmu).

Ini sebabnya mengapa jika seseorang terbiasa menghukum anjing, bisa sulit untuk beralih ke metode penguatan positif dan pencegahan.

Bukannya tidak akan mungkin kok, tapi agak lebih sulit.

Mereka harus mengubah pola pikir mereka. Mereka harus secara aktif melatih kembali respons mereka untuk memperkuat (reinforce) perilaku anjing yang mereka sukai dan berhenti menunggu anjing membuat kesalahan untuk kemudian dihukum.

Ingatlah, ketika kamu menghukum, aksimu itu diperkuat oleh perubahan perilaku anjing. Memberikan hukuman memperkuat perilaku menghukum si penghukum. Kamu akan lebih cenderung melakukannya lagi di kemudian hari.

Latihlah “otot” penguatan positif kamu, dan biarkan “otot” penghukum kamu mengecil.

25/08/2024

Punishment muscle:
For those of you who have been taught to yank, tug, or pull on your dog's leash as a way to correct, punish, or "communicate" when they pull, bark, lunge, or engage in other unwanted behaviors—and now realize that it’s not an effective method for training—try this as one way to "untrain" your hands (or at least to stop them from instinctively pulling the leash).

ATTACH LEASH TO CARABINER

This helps change your hand's role from "correcting" into reinforcing.

Did you know every time you train your dog you're also training yourself?

Each repetition you do is building your habit as a response to your dog's behavior.

This is also why if somebody is used to punishing dogs, it can be hard to switch to reinforcement and prevention.

Not impossible, though.

They have to shift their mindset. They have to retrain their response to reinforce the behavior they like and stop waiting for the dog to make mistakes to then punish.

Remember, when you punish, that act gets reinforced by the dog's (perceived) behavior change. Giving punishment is reinforcing the punisher. You're more likely to do it again in the future.

Train your reinforcement “muscle”, and let your punishment “muscle” atrophy.

24/08/2024

Please adopt us! We need a proper home with loving humans 🐱
Emi (girl) & Kairo (boy)
Bita (girl) & Amer (boy)
If you adopt according to the pairings (or all four), I'll help with paying 50% of the girl's spaying cost 😁
Of course, individually adopting them is also available.
Please help me share this!

13/06/2024

THE FUTURE IS FORCE-FREE

Stop menggunakan ras, karakter, ukuran tubuh, “tahan sakit” sebagai pembenaran untuk kekerasan dan penganiayaan hewan atas nama training.

Stop using breed, character, body size, pain tolerance to justify violence and animal abuse in the name of training.

Anjing berhak lebih dari “koreksi“.

Dogs deserve better than “corrections”.

*senggolan untuk mempelajari tentang kesejahteraan hewan dan frameworknya (domain, kebutuhan, kebebasan).

*a nudge to learn about animal welfare and its frameworks (domains, needs, freedoms).

31/05/2024

10/04/2024

Minal aidin wal faizin 🙏

18/03/2024

"... harus ada batasan akan apa yang diperbolehkan ketika mencoba membuat anjing berperilaku sesuai dengan cara yang dapat diterima."
"Pelatihan harus memperhitungkan kemampuan individu untuk menderita dan mengalami rasa sakit yang mendalam dan berkepanjangan."
~Marc Bekoff PhD, 2012

Quotes are from:
Bekoff, Marc. “Did Cesar Millan Have to Hang the Husky?” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 21 Apr. 2012, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/animal-emotions/201204/did-cesar-millan-have-hang-the-husky

25/02/2024

turns 5! And you get 35% off of courses this weekend.

Sign up for my "Kitty Kindergarten" course that starts this March for 35% off with the discount code (TROMPLO5BDAY).

Not a kitten caretaker? I have a course with .bartosik.trainer "Understanding Canine Behavior" that will run its second edition in April. Use the same code (TROMPLO5BDAY) to get a 35% discount.

Happy learning!