Paws Academy Dog Training

15/07/2024

On Friday we said our final good bye to Heidi 💔🖤💔

She was the most amazing girl, and even though we had known that the decision was coming it didn’t make it any easier 😢

Heidi was always so happy, absolutely fantastic with puppies and helping out in classes. She loved her balls, rolling upside on the grass, chasing rabbits (never catching any!), beach walks, hugs, car rides, watching sheep, and her favourite person in the whole world was her dad….

A huge thank you to the kindness, compassion and care from All Paws Veterinary Hospital in Castlebar, who made that final decision just a little bit easier (and had to deal with both of us blubbering!) your support to us and the care of all of our dogs over the years has always been first class.

Here’s to the memories of Heidi, the house is a lot emptier without you here, have fun up there meeting up with Kola, Pepzee and Kookie plus all your other friends that you made over the years….. maybe you will catch that illusive rabbit 🐇🖤

We will miss you always and love you forever 💔🖤💔 Fly high Heidi Bear 🌈

30/05/2024

🐾 **Routine Matters for Your Dog!** 🐾

Did you know that your dog thrives on routine? Consistency in feeding and playtime is more than just good practice—it's a foundation of trust and security. 🕒🐶 Regular schedules help your furry friend feel safe and happy, knowing exactly when to expect their meals and fun time with you. Keep their routine steady and watch them flourish! 🌟💖

06/05/2024

Errrmm …. I see a scoobie doo dog? 😳🙈
Credit: unknown (please dm for credit to be added)

26/04/2024

How cool is this 😎

From a hotel in Nevada.. 😄

credit: Rebecca Helgesen

22/04/2024

Can anyone help? 🤞🤞🤞🐾

17/04/2024

Always! 😂😂

16/04/2024

‼ 𝙐𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙁𝙞𝙙𝙤!🐾🐩

Ever wondered what your dog may be trying to tell you? Well wonder no more! We have put below some (not all) of the more common canine behaviours :)

▪️Tail Wagging: Contrary to popular belief, tail wagging doesn't always mean a dog is friendly or happy. The context and position of the tail are essential. A relaxed wag often indicates a positive mood, while a stiff, rapid wag can indicate agitation or stress.

▪️Body Language: Dogs communicate a lot through body language. Signs of relaxation include loose, wiggly body movements, while signs of stress or fear include tense muscles, tucked tail, and avoidance behaviours.

▪️Barking: Dogs bark for various reasons, including alerting to potential threats, expressing excitement, seeking attention, or responding to boredom. Understanding the context of the bark can help decipher its meaning.

▪️Growling: Growling is a warning sign that a dog is uncomfortable or feeling threatened. It's important not to punish a dog for growling, as it's their way of communicating their discomfort. Instead, address the underlying cause of their stress.

▪️Sniffing: Dogs use their sense of smell to gather information about their environment and other animals. Sniffing is a natural behaviour that helps them explore and understand the world around them.

▪️Jumping: Jumping up on people can be a sign of excitement or a way for dogs to seek attention.

▪️Chewing: Chewing is a natural behaviour for dogs and helps keep their teeth clean and jaws strong. However, excessive chewing can be a sign of boredom, anxiety, or lack of appropriate chew toys.

▪️Play Behaviour: Dogs often engage in play to socialise, burn off excess energy, and strengthen bonds with other dogs or humans. Play behaviour can include chasing, wrestling, and play-bowing.

▪️Aggression: Aggression in dogs can stem from fear, territoriality, resource guarding, or lack of socialisation. It's crucial to understand the underlying reason for the behaviours being displayed and not punish these behaviours.

▪️Submission: Dogs may exhibit submissive behaviours, such as rolling over, avoiding eye contact, or licking, to show deference to more dominant individuals or in response to perceived threats.

Understanding these behaviours and their underlying motivations can help dog owners build stronger bonds with their pets, address behavioural issues effectively, and ensure the well-being of their canine companions.

Happy training! 🐾🐾🐾🐾

15/04/2024

❤🐾❤🐾❤🐾❤

13/04/2024

Have a lovely Saturday and weekend, hoping that the weather is kind where you are in the world. Take care :)

12/04/2024

🐾🐩𝙀𝙣𝙟𝙤𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘿𝙤𝙜 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 - 𝙀𝙣𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘽𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙨🐾🐩

We advocate that dog training should be positive and fun for several reasons:

✅Builds a Stronger Bond: Positive training methods help strengthen the bond between you and your dog. When you train using rewards and praise, your dog learns to trust and respect you, leading to a stronger relationship.

✅Encourages Learning: Dogs, like humans, learn best when they are having fun. Positive training methods make learning enjoyable for your dog, which encourages them to engage with the training process and learn new behaviours more quickly.

✅Promotes Confidence: Positive reinforcement boosts your dog's confidence. When they receive praise and rewards for performing desired behaviours, they become more confident in their abilities.

✅Reduces Fear and Anxiety: Punishment-based training methods can cause fear and anxiety in dogs, leading to stress and potentially worsening behaviour problems. Positive training techniques focus on rewarding good behaviour rather than punishing bad behaviour, creating a safe and supportive learning environment for your dog.

✅Creates a Happier Dog: Dogs enjoy training sessions that are positive and fun. When training is a enjoyable experience, your dog will look forward to spending time with you and participating in training activities, leading to a happier and more well-adjusted pet.

✅Produces Lasting Results: Positive training methods are more effective in producing lasting behaviour changes in dogs. By rewarding good behaviour and ignoring or redirecting undesirable behaviour, you can teach your dog to make better choices on their own.

✅Enhances Communication: Positive training allows you to communicate with your dog in a clear and consistent manner. By using rewards and praise to reinforce desired behaviours, you can effectively communicate to your dog what you expect from them, leading to better communication and understanding between you and your pet.

Happy training! 🐾🐾

11/04/2024

🐾 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐞𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐲, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞! 🎉 Today is the perfect day to celebrate the joy and love our furry, feathered, or finned friends bring into our lives. Pets are not just animals; they're part of our families, our loyal companions, and our daily dose of happiness.

In honour of this special day, we'd love to see pictures of your adorable pets in the comments section. Share a photo of your cat's quirky antics, your dog's joyful playtime, your bird's colorful plumage, or any pet that brightens your day. Let's fill our feed with the cutest, most heartwarming pet pictures!

Remember, every pet has its unique charm, so let's spread the love and appreciation for all our animal buddies. Can't wait to see all your lovely pets! 🐶🐱🐹🐰🦜🐠 🌟

10/04/2024

🐩🐾𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐃𝐨𝐠?

Many dog owners often wonder: does my dog feel guilt? It's a common query, especially when our dogs seem to sport guilty expressions after displaying perceived naughty behaviours. This post starts to delve into this intriguing stage of canine behaviour and examines the studies conducted to date, offering insights to help unravel the mysteries behind our dogs' actions.

The intriguing question of whether dogs experience guilt remains a topic of ongoing debate within the scientific and animal behaviourist communities. While many dog owners interpret certain behaviours, such as a guilty expression or avoiding eye contact after misbehaving, as signs of guilt, it's crucial to recognise that these behaviours may not necessarily mirror human experiences of guilt.

One notable study conducted by Alexandra Horowitz, a researcher at Barnard College, delved into this question. Published in the journal "Behavioural Processes" in 2009, Horowitz observed dogs' reactions after being scolded for disobeying commands. Interestingly, regardless of whether the dogs had actually disobeyed, they exhibited guilty-looking behaviours. This led Horowitz to suggest that these behaviours were more likely responses to their owners' scolding rather than genuine expressions of guilt.

Similarly, a study published in "Applied Animal Behaviour Science" in 2015 by Hecht, Miklósi, and Gácsi explored dogs' behaviours in various situations that might trigger a guilty response from their owners. The researchers concluded that behaviours often perceived as guilt in dogs were more likely linked to their owners' reactions rather than an understanding or experience of guilt.

While these studies and others shed light on the topic, they emphasise that dogs' behaviours resembling guilt are likely reactions to human cues rather than genuine guilt as humans perceive it. Nevertheless, it's important to acknowledge that our understanding of animal emotions is continuously evolving, and further research holds the potential to provide deeper insights into the emotional lives of dogs and other animals.

What are your reflections on this matter? Do you perceive your dog exhibiting signs of guilt?

09/04/2024

🐾❤𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 ❤🐾

08/04/2024

𝐖𝐇𝐘?? 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐡?

In teaching a dog to walk politely on a leash without pulling, it's crucial to grasp the underlying reasons for their behaviour from the dog's perspective. By empathising with your dog's motivations, you can implement positive training techniques that help them comprehend the benefits of walking calmly beside you on a loose leash. Dogs pull on their leash for various reasons, which can include (but not limited to):

🐾 Excitement or enthusiasm: Dogs are naturally curious and energetic animals. They may pull on their leash when they're excited to explore their surroundings, meet other dogs, or investigate interesting scents.

🐾 Lack of leash training: If a dog hasn't been properly trained to walk on a leash, they may not understand the concept of walking beside their owner without pulling.

🐾 Desire to lead: Dogs may pull on the leash as they are eager to move forward and explore their surroundings at their own pace.

🐾 Distractions: Dogs are easily distracted by sights, sounds, and smells in their environment. They may pull on the leash to investigate or chase after something that catches their attention.

🐾 Physical discomfort: Sometimes, dogs may pull on their leash due to discomfort or pain. This could be caused by an ill-fitting collar or harness, injury, or medical condition. It's essential to ensure that your dog's equipment fits properly and that they are healthy.

In summary, dogs aren't misbehaving when they pull on their leash; often, they're simply eager to reach places they find exciting and naturally walk at a faster pace than humans :) Once we grasp the motivation behind why dogs pull on the leash, we can leverage this understanding to shape behaviours during loose leash walking training sessions.

𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠! 🐾🐩🐾

07/04/2024

𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐫: 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐃𝐨𝐠𝐬 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐎𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬‼

In the realm of human-canine relationships, there's a common perception that our dogs possess an uncanny ability to manipulate us.

🐾Instincts and Communication: Dogs primarily communicate through body language and vocalisations. Many behaviours perceived as manipulation, such as begging for food or attention, are often rooted in instincts shaped by millennia of co-evolution with humans. For instance, a dog may beg for food not to manipulate but as a natural response to hunger or as an attempt to signal their needs.

🐾Bond and Affection: Dogs form strong emotional bonds with their owners. Their actions are often driven by a desire to please and seek affection rather than manipulate for personal gain. Dogs thrive on positive reinforcement and are more likely to engage in behaviours that they perceive will earn them praise, treats, or simply attention from their beloved humans.

🐾Social Dynamics: Dogs have a keen understanding of social hierarchies. Instead of manipulation, their behaviours may reflect a desire to maintain harmony. For example, a dog might exhibit submissive or aggressive behaviours, not to manipulate but to avoid conflict.

🐾Lack of Cognitive Complexity: While dogs possess impressive cognitive abilities, their thought processes are not as complex as those of humans. Concepts like manipulation, as understood in human psychology, do not apply directly to canine behaviour. Dogs live in the present moment and respond to immediate stimuli rather than strategising long-term goals or schemes.

🐾Training and Environment: Lastly, a dog's behaviour is heavily influenced by its training and environment. Positive reinforcement can shape desirable behaviours and minimise what may be interpreted as manipulation. Conversely, inconsistent or inadequate training may lead to behaviours that are perceived as manipulative.

In conclusion, while dogs may engage in behaviours that appear manipulative from a human perspective, it's essential to understand these actions within the context of canine psychology. Rather than viewing them through the lens of manipulation, it's more accurate to interpret them as natural expressions of their instincts, emotions, and social dynamics. Building a strong bond based on trust, respect, and clear communication is key to fostering a safe and harmonious relationship with our canine companions.

07/04/2024

06/04/2024

🐾🐾𝐊𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐫 - 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭🐾🐾

The Kerry Blue Terrier is a distinctive and spirited breed known for its striking appearance and versatile abilities. Here's a spotlight on this unique dog breed:

𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲:
Originating from County Kerry in Ireland, the Kerry Blue Terrier is believed to have descended from a mix of various terrier breeds, including the Irish Terrier, Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier, Bedlington Terrier, and possibly others. They were primarily bred for hunting small game, such as rats, rabbits, and foxes, as well as for herding and guarding livestock. The breed's distinctive blue-gray coat, which appears as a blue-black colour at birth and gradually lightens as the dog matures, is one of its most defining characteristics.

𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞:
The Kerry Blue Terrier is a medium-sized dog with a well-proportioned and muscular build. They have a distinctive wavy or curly coat that is dense and soft to the touch.
Their head is long and refined, with a beard and moustache giving them a distinctive expression. The breed's ears are small, V-shaped, and carried forward, adding to their alert and attentive appearance. Adult Kerry Blue Terriers typically stand between 17 to 20 inches (43 to 51 cm) tall at the shoulder and weigh between 33 to 40 pounds (15 to 18 kg).

𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭:
Kerry Blue Terriers are known for their intelligence, independence, and spirited nature. They are loyal and affectionate with their families but can be reserved or aloof with strangers. This breed requires early socialisation and consistent training to channel their strong-willed nature effectively. They have a playful and energetic disposition, enjoying activities such as running, fetching, and participating in dog sports. Kerry Blue Terriers thrive on mental stimulation and require regular exercise to prevent boredom and destructive behaviours.

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞:
The Kerry Blue Terrier's coat requires regular grooming to prevent matting and tangling. Weekly brushing and periodic trimming are essential to maintain their coat's health and appearance. Routine grooming tasks include ear cleaning, nail trimming, and dental care to ensure overall hygiene. Exercise needs should be met with daily walks, play sessions, or other activities that stimulate both their body and mind. Proper training and socialisation are crucial to manage their strong personality and prevent behavioural issues. As with any dog breed, regular veterinary check-ups and a balanced diet are essential for maintaining their overall health and well-being.

𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡:
Overall, Kerry Blue Terriers are a relatively healthy breed, but they may be prone to certain health conditions, including hip dysplasia, progressive neuronal abiotrophy (a neurological disorder), and cataracts. Responsible breeders conduct health screenings to minimise the risk of hereditary diseases in their breeding lines.
Providing a nutritious diet, regular exercise, and proper veterinary care can help maintain the Kerry Blue Terrier's health and longevity.

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧:
The Kerry Blue Terrier is a spirited and affectionate breed with a unique appearance and a rich history rooted in Ireland. With proper care, training, and socialisation, they can make excellent companions for individuals and families who appreciate their intelligence, loyalty, and playful nature. However, potential owners should be prepared to invest time and effort into meeting their grooming, exercise, and training needs to ensure a harmonious relationship with this distinctive terrier breed.