Eureka Dog Services

24/03/2025

😂 Say it louder says Penny 😂

😎 We've always worked from the philosophy of least invasive, minimally adversive. It seems the most fair to us when doing assessments. We give the dog time to settle into our environment & at some point your dog will start to be stress tested. This is necessary for us to see who your dog really is & what they need, so we can provide the best feedback for you & them going forward.

👣 A good friend of ours once said "Life is not going to tiptoe around your dog" & he is absolutely right. There is going to be stress in life & life is not going to be perfect all the time. So we need to see what your dog can handle & what will help them. Stress is caused by "being here" but "wanting to be there". Your dog is going to be under some stress during this time because of this mindset. They're already stressed before we start. They're being handled by a new person, they're being put through exercises they may not immediately understand, but with careful thought to the process they will get through it. It is necessary for their development going forward. Avoiding it will keep your dog stuck.

🐶 Dog's being stuck!
We see ALOT of dogs that have done x, y, z training & have gotten to the point where they are stuck. They either stay in limbo of cycling through behaviors they know or regress backwards into more instinctual behaviors of aggression or mass issues with flight response. These dogs without guidance tend to stay very immature & struggle alot with life. With the right guidance we see progress of varying degrees but still progress nonetheless.

🙌 We need to get out of this mindset of stress being "bad", avoiding things we're uncomfortable with & adopt the attitude that can convert a negative stress into a positive one. It's the only way forward if we want the best for our dogs.

20/03/2025

Learning all the benefits of group discussions 😂

19/03/2025

🐾 Same behavior, different dog 🐾
Everyone getting in their touch pad stretches today 🙌 (minus Frankie because she's new to this & prefers running around them or falling over them😂).

13/03/2025

Nothing like a good game of tug ah Zeus 😎

13/03/2025

"Mummmmmm, can we keep it!"
No Dora we cannot keep all the staffies 😂😂😂😂

12/03/2025

Ol Rico Squeeko in the house, catching up with all his OGs😎🐶

11/03/2025

Team Littles hold their own 🙌

11/03/2025

"The Undoing & the Reset".

That's alot of what we do with new dogs that come to us.

- Habituation to our center & how it runs.
- Assessing what they already know & what we see as "not a beneficial use of energy".
- Acclimating to new handlers, new dogs, new noises etc.
- ALOT of unwinding of adrenalin, through the use of nosework activities, long line work, games with rules, repetitive learning of basic behavior to advanced skills, restricting movement by not taking the longline/leads off until we are satified the dog is under good verbal control, utilizing crates for resting time, utilizing other good dogs amazing skills to help other dogs unwind & follow what the structure is.
- Holding everyone accountable for their behavior. No favoritism because you're cute.

🐶 Resetting dogs nervous systems takes time. Alot of dogs that come to us are so rarked up on GO juice that their brains fizz at any sign of stimulation. That is not healthy as it leaks over into displaced behavioral issues. Regulating & focusing this Go juice is far more beneficial for the dog's health long term. Even if there is an underlying genetic component to what their nervous systems can handle, there is always room for improvement. No dog needs to live in the clouds.

🐶 Resetting the expectations of how pet dogs should be acting requires some degree of structure.
You get what you let.

📸 Stella being the newest dog in the pack, is currently going through her unwinding process. She is doing awesome with being able to relax more with things going on around the place, great with her new dog helpers & learning to switch off.

03/03/2025

🌊 Pool life is the life this summer 🌊

27/02/2025

You might get a butt where a butt shouldn't be 😂

🤷‍♀️ "Sit Down" - What is it? Sit or Down?
🤷‍♀️ "Come here" - What is it? Come or Here?
🤷‍♀️ "Drop" - Do you want them to drop the toy or lay down?
🤷‍♀️ "Down" - Do you want them to get off something or lay down?

😁Being clear on what things mean matters, because it can be very confusing having multiple meanings for your words. Most of us don’t get what we want because we don’t know what we want.
Clarify!

*Sometimes dogs just try to think ahead to get the treat quicker 😂

25/02/2025

🐶 They're a dog 🐶

🤔 Your dog doesn't wake up & think "Hmm, how can i try ruin my owners life today?"

🤔 They don't plot to rip you around on a walk every day because they want to cause an argument between you & your partner about how stressful walking the dog is.

🤔 They don't bark, rip up the couch, dig holes all through the yard because they want to "get back at you" for forgetting that 1 treat, on a Saturday, a month ago.

🤔 They don't knowingly think up ways to make your life with them harder.

🙏 It's.........not..........personal!
It's likely a whole bunch of frustration & lack of education on both parts, (ruling out medical issues.)
Learning how to take steps back & assessing the whole picture is what gets you back on track.

💓 If this means ditching the walk while you both practice the skills needed for a better walk, then ditch the walk.

💓 If this means crating your dog several times more a day to regulate their adrenaline & get better focus on you when you're training, then utilize their crate more.

💓 If this means sitting down with your partner & writing out a shedule of outlets & training for your dog instead of letting them have "free time" all day, then do that.

🙌 It's not personal. You need a plan & to make some changes.

24/02/2025

🥰 Stella - Approx 2yo bully breed mix 🥰

Stella has started with us to work on building up her confidence more, help regulate her adrenaline, continue her social skills & to continue on with her obedience training. She is very timid, pressure sensitive, but highly food motivated. She checks-in a lot which is a credit to her owners and past trainers.

Welcome Stella 🐾

22/02/2025

Beaut weekend for boarding 💓🐶🙌

21/02/2025

💓 Believe them 💓

🐶 When your dog shows you that things are possible, then they're possible. They did the thing, no matter who it was for, they did it. The likelyhood they will do it again, is dependent on the clarity of the partner in the training & the motivator to continue to do the said thing.

💁‍♀️ Being clear with - your criteria, clarifying & being consistent with your wording, your timing, following through with the appropriate consequences to actions, is all part of training your dog. Add in some good food, some game playing & spending time being ridiculous, also helps.
If you're there for them, doing the right things, they'll show up for you too.

21/02/2025

Felix: "But how will i know which ones are sky raisins & which ones are sky jalapenos? Don't wanna get that wrong ya know!"

17/02/2025

15/02/2025

Shadow & Cc, the 2 most unlikely friends just running through life 🥰😎

13/02/2025

💥 Frustration 💥

🦷 We all get frustrated at times, dogs are not excluded because they're dogs. The problem is when the frustration tips over to needing to use teeth (even Mike Tyson can relate to this 😅).

🐕 There are plenty of dogs that lack inhibition to bite when they get frustrated. They'd rather do what they want to do. However, we need to look at each dogs circumstances of where this frustration is being driven from, so we know how best to address it.

- Are they dealing with an underlying health issue?
- Are they resource guarding something?
- Are they fearful of something?
- Are they maturing & hormones are making them crazy?
- Do they lack impulse control?
- Do they understand the pictures in the exercises you're trying to teach?
- Have they had layering stressors that have built up frustration to a point where the only way to go is out?
- Are they being pressured too much in a confined space making them feel trapped?
- Are they frustrated because they are being restricted by the leash/barrier?

🤔 There are plenty of reasons, situations & answers to consider when looking at this issue. However, the main training task here is to stop & get your relationship right!

- Address the structure of the relationship. How do you expect your dog to live with you?

- Require self control from your dog by breaking dog training pictures into micro ones if needed. Complete the basics of basics 1st. Put the lead back on & do all your work on it. Whether it's a longline or shorter leash.
Reduce freedom of movement until they respect it.

- Stop giving them the highest stimulus, with the highest rewards if they can't cope under the lowest ones. Working backwards from this is extremely hard. The dog knows where the value is highest, so could also be contributing to the frustration when rules are applied.

- Use toy play as the higher reward so that your dog has something in it's mouth already that isn't you. This gives them somewhere to vent their frustration.

- Consider professional help.

🌟 Lastly - Stop challenging it. The amount of people lately that have been bitten from trying to take the dog on is getting a bit silly. Adding to an already frustrating situation is just going to add more fuel to the fire. You want to be reducing as much conflict as possible. Stop pressuring them, stop trying to "teach them a lesson" & correcting them with poor timing, therefore building drive. You want to be focusing more on motivation instead of intimidation & adjusting your relationship with your dog to have maximum effect.

🤷‍♀️ Frustration is a natural part of life. It's how we deal with it that matters.