F.R.E.S.A.

01/04/2025

Si adorable and well done

https://www.facebook.com/share/16BHoskjYc/

30/03/2025

For a long time, I have been cooking veggie toppers for my dogs. I used a lot of parsley and stopped using Beetroot (mainly for Pebbles then), but will incorporate it again to help all my seniors keep their organs healthy and funcioning

23/03/2025

Pi was my most fearful dog that i took in as i found it cruel what the initial rescuer tried to do to him. He was afraid of everything, yet she clipped the leash on him as "he needs to get used to it". At that point he was still very sick in addition and needed to heal his body first https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1ACto8MnRf/

WHY I DON'T ENCOURAGE ANXIOUS/FEARFUL DOGS/PUPPIES WITH TREATS, TOYS, MY VOICE, PRAISE ETC .

When a dog / puppy is scared of something, I do not actively encourage them forward, whether that be with food or praise or my movement. This can intensify feelings of anxiety by creating motivational conflict and decrease the value in what you are using to encourage.

What I do is find the point in which the dog / puppy can observe the scary thing calmly and to support them in moving forward when they are ready to investigate under their own agency.

Allowing escape is crucial. If something has scared a dog/puppy to the point where they are in flight mode, then I move with them until they feel safe enough to slow down. If they are unable to do this around the trigger stimulus, then I do not force them to be around that stimulus.

Examples;

🐕 DOGS

If a puppy/dog is scared of another dog/puppy, I do not actively encourage their approach- even if the other dog/puppy is behaving perfectly. I give the dog/puppy time to assess the situation.
If the puppy/dog looks more relaxed and curious at the distance they are at I will invite them to move forward by taking one small step. If they aren't ready then I rejoin their side to support them.
If they indicate they want to move away (by looking and moving away) I support that by taking a step in that direction.

If the other dog is approaching your puppy/dog in the situation - so they cannot stand and observe from a place of safety - I would calmly block and gently encourage the other dog away if they were too close.

If a dog/puppy is scared of a dog, I don't go and interact with that dog to show them that the dog is friendly. I stay with the scared dog/puppy and support them and I remain their place of safety.

🧍‍♂️ PEOPLE

If a dog is scared of me, I do not try to make them my friend by offering them food, nor by crouching down and talking to them. I never use food to make a dog my friend, nor do I generically recommend my clients get people to offer their nervous (of people) dog treats.

I stand at a distance so they can be reassured I am not a threat, without putting them under pressure to interact. If they sniff me, I remain quiet and stand still so as to allow information gathering without startling them. As the dog becomes more relaxed around me, I start to gradually add in more behaviour from me (movement, brief glances at the dog, brief talking etc).

📦 OBJECTS

If a dog is scared of an object I don't go and put food on the object nor do I leave the dog where they are to interact with the object and show that the object is safe. I stay with the dog and support them and I trust that over time, due to the object being quite predictable, that the dog/puppy will start to get use to it (unless it is a really scary object).

📈 FREQUENCY OF EXPOSURE

Seeing as time, distance and choice (to approach/avoid) are the key things a dog needs to build resilience and confidence- we should be mindful of how often our dog is encountering trigger stimuli on their walks. Too frequent exposure will likely reduce tolerance and lead to handler responses becoming inconsistent due to variables within the situation or time allocated to the dog's walk.

📝 BEING THOROUGH

With all of the above, these responses in the moment will be supported by a multi-pronged approach to increasing a dog/puppy's confidence. This will include a vet check to ensure pain or health problems aren't motivating the anxious or fearful behaviour.

WHEN MIGHT I WAVER THE ABOVE....

In some situations, when I can see the motivation to approach an object is there but that they are too nervous to close the final distance and be the first to get closer- THEN I may utilise social learning by being the first one of the social group to investigate (be the guinea pig).

When a dog/puppy is appearing more confident around dogs but is struggling to interact, relying on random encounters makes the interaction quality less predictable. I would then do a session with helper dogs who are quite happy to largely ignore the fearful dog/puppy and who will overall behave in a predictable way (not rushing around etc).

In some nuanced situations, I may use food to motivate movement and exploration, however, it is NEVER exclusively placed on or around the scary thing and I do what I can to help the dog feel as minimally conflicted as possible- so as not to poison the food.

In some very nuanced and incredibly rare situations, there may be little option available other than to consider extinction and flooding.

For example, a dog is scared by gunshot/crow scarer sounds beyond the halfway point of a walk and the direction they wish to flee is too far/likely to stress them more than the direction you are trying to encourage.


There are always exceptions to "the norm", but the norm for me is to not coerce dogs with food or my voice to push them out of their comfort zone.

19/03/2025

In the small picture of 2016 you see my dog Fresa with her protegeré MacTerry "fully grown".
Hahahaha. I could not have been more wrong. When we rescue, these dogs are sick, malnourished and don't get any love. MacTerry made an amazing recovery and found the best home abroad. And today his forever family sent me a message thanking me and some pictures.
Yes, you see it correct. That 60 pound bundle of love is him and now called Charlie.
I'd like to thank everybody that helped me back then with donations, help and finding this amazing home.
You, all people of my village.... you did this. Thank you 🥰😍🐾🍓

12/02/2025

I can attest to that personally. Without supervision Remis play style and my dogs lead to misunderstandings
I have the feeling that it got better and there is less stress and when she gets vocal (she growls but not aggressively) the others just ignore it. And I let them only play for brief sessions and when I am there.

Sometimes certain videos pop up....
Showing a dog having the "time of their life" with another dog.
⚠️ They are NOT playing.
No matter what the comments say, no matter what others really wish to see OR they may truly believe that they are watching dogs play.
Interactions are intricate....individual and VERY misread.
If we continue to misread play or don't recognise issues in play, it can cause those "out of the blue" incidents.
The ones we just didn't see coming.
Dogs can easily fall into patterns of inappropriate play with others.
It all comes down to body language and one of the most important things to do is watch BOTH dogs.
We tend to concentrate on one or the other and that is where we can miss those subtilties.
Couple of videos in the comments about play and how to recognise good play...and "play" that is problematic.
This dog training graphic is available through https://www.abcdogsnz.com/product-page/abc-dogs-nz-dogs-playing-avoiding-issues?srsltid=AfmBOorI0x5I5St0U2T2YbBj5THi6LRGKnnj2dGsU3jTdEXMlmbi1SI7

05/02/2025

It should go without saying. Please have your dog on leash when walking in public areas

08/01/2025

Wishing you and your animal companions (and the human companions as well) a happy new year. May this year bring some wisdom how to treat the animals under your care, how to help the neighbor and how to spread the knowledge you have to help others.
After Pebbles left, there was such a disruption in my daily routine that I didn't see that I had more time now for the others, but I skipped some procedures as it just fell out of the routine. Pebbles last prescriptions still hang on the board and his drawers haven't been cleaned as I just couldn't bring myself to do it. But slowly a new old routine is settling in.
My dogs seem to be ok, they certainly don't miss Pebbles' barking when I was preparing the food because Macchiato adopted this tradition and now it is him that barks when I prepare the bowls and so I get to remember also Pebbles every day.

26/12/2024

Good morning, hope your dogs and cats enjoyed the Christmas time with family and friends. One of my is Mauricio enjoying my christmas decoration.
🎅🍪🤶🎄❤️🐾

13/12/2024

Learn about learning. One of my favorite things

11/12/2024

Learn about confirmation bias and why dogs are not nails

If you hear dog training advice based on the Dominance Theory, it’s time to rethink that approach. I’m diving deep into what you need to know about dog train...

01/12/2024

A celebrity has gained his star.
When Pebbles was found as a 2 month old puppy his odds weren't the best. He was spotted and then ignored for a while until someone contacted me and his rescue could finally start. He was afraid so much in the beginning, this is what I thought, but learnt later that he was in a lot of pain not from an actual injury but more generalized. He always nibbled on his front paws until 10 years later.
He became famous as to my knowledge was the first dog in Playa del Carmen with a wheelchair. He was featured in a news article and I was in the radio also. He was December boy of the first handicapped calendar in 2016. He started to get along well with my dogs and also slowly other people. But trust was hard after so much disappointments. He was my constant barker.
Things slowed down after some setbacks with another dog (where he lost his eye) and me also getting frustrated with the Rescue world, so we both got a bit grumpy.
He didn't like much other dogs anymore, but that was ok, as he gained the place on my couch permanently.
With the help of many people I could give him his wheels and all treatment, I couldn't make true of my promise that he'll walk again. But I learnt things the vets didn't know even though spinal walking might not have been for him as he really was a baby when he got injured.
He was the best snorer and the only dog that was allowed to lick my hands. As this is how he showed his affection. He knew many commands that made handling him easy and he was just the bestest dog I could have.
Run, Pebbles, with both eyes now over the grass with all four legs. You earned it more than any other dog

28/11/2024

How do you decide when it is time? I know saying goodbye is very hard for me. It is only me taking the decision, no one that knows them well enough to help me. Of course the vets have their professional opinion. But in Pebbles case I feel they have many times known less than I know.

The last 2 weeks have been very hard, urinary tract infections that were repeatedly treated with antibiotics took their toll. He lost his appetite and this morning he was in a very bad shape.
So I took him in to give IVs, he is drinking water now and I try food in a bit when his anti nausea meds kick in. But it was hard to see him hurt the last days when I know he doesn't feel pain as normal dogs do.

I was paralyzed myself all day waiting for how he is when I pick him up. He seems better, but I know our time together is limited now.

It hurts so much

21/11/2024

This dog showed up in my neighborhood a couple of days ago. I checked with my neighbors and we agree he doesn't belong here. One neighbor has his dog in heat so he is always in front of this house.
I would like to help him, as usual I need a place for him to stay.
He is about 20 kg, appears healthy, less than a year old I guess, male, not fixed.
Any takers ???

13/11/2024

No update on Remi which is bad (no adopter) and good (not sick) but at least here something to cheer up your week.
I am busy with my own sick and old dogs and so often it's a waiting game to see if the meds work or not and then go back and reevaluate. My patience is stretched pretty thin and I knew it was trending that way.

I only can rescue if I find adopters. And I have been stuck for a very long time.

05/10/2024

Showing you a little update on Mauricio who has been with me for 4 years now. We make progress with his challenges very slowly as I am a working mom and have many more dogs. But he fits with my pack and his bad traits are easy for me to cope. I don't have a clean house anyway and it's not important for me, I have a handicapped dog without control over bladder and bowel, an older dog who seems to loose control over his slowly, so finding Mauricio's occasional accidents and stress markings isn't the worst. Whenever I see him doing it outside in the garden, he gets a ton of praise and I think over the last 2 years he did his business like a dozen of times on our walks. Hurrah to my adorable stinker.