Cookie rush 20

28/10/2023

PLEASE don't get frustrated with your dog when they don't do what you ask.

So many owners tell us, "My dog KNOWS what I want them to do, they do it for me at home, or when no other dogs or distractions are around, but they they disobey me on purpose in other situations..."

That's not fair. Just because you've trained your dog to pay attention to you and listen to you in a familiar, distraction-free environment doesn't mean you've give your dog the skills they need to pay attention when there's exciting things in the environment, or when they're at a distance, or when you've got your hands full or you're lying on the couch.

Dogs are very context specific and they need practice in a wide variety of situations before they will reliably do what you ask. Getting frustrated or blaming your dog won't help at all. It just means you need to practice more in that type of situation.

When you do practice, use these three tips to dramatically improve your dog's learning and reliability.

For many more tips, including lots of Training Games to make the process SUPER FUN, check out our Reliability & Games Workshop, on sale now for 75% off:
https://dunbar.info/2023games

28/10/2023

28/10/2023

20/07/2023

02/06/2023

02/06/2023

Awkward Puppy Blues

I wanted to address this very common and funk creating developmental period in our puppy's lives.

Welcome to the "puppy uglies"!!!!

First, please know that we have all been there. Anyone who shows dogs for any period of time will tell you that this is NORMAL. I have had puppies look amazing, so I enter them in a show and by the time the show day comes, I'm wondering who this dog in front of me is because it looks like a completely different individual from a few weeks before.

I frequently tell breeders that once they have made their picks at 8 weeks for me (this may vary from breeder to breeder but this is when I pick), don't look at the dog again for a year. of course I don't mean literally don't look at your dog, I mean don't worry about or judge the structure too much if you were really happy at 8 weeks. That structure generally comes back ONCE THE DOG MATURES.

During adolescence your dog will go through several physical and mental periods that will make you crazy.

Your once very focused and dependent puppy suddenly starts gaining more confidence and independence and it looks like all the training you have done is for nothing. NORMAL!

You wake up one day and your stunningly gorgeous show pick puppy suddenly sprouts legs or has some weird growing spurt. In Dachshunds you notice a pool noodle running around your yard and you gasp because that is your pick puppy.

Of course it is frustrating when you want to show and that is understandable, but it is okay to wait to show and work on other things (honestly, these phases can last days or weeks sometimes) or enter and just know that your puppy looks like a gawky teenager right now. If all the pieces are there, the puppy will develop as you had hoped.

So, if your puppy suddenly looks like a little Frankenstein running around the yard, don't worry too much about it. If you can't stack out the long legs or easty westy front, take a deep breath and go train a trick or something:)

Have faith that it will be okay and that puppy you drooled over at 8 weeks WILL be back:)

28/09/2022

02/07/2022

Animals have been part of therapy and treatment going back since the 18th century! Here are just some instances of animal-assisted interventions and activities throughout history. If you know any other instance of AAI across history, feel free to share what you know!

References
Corson, S. A., Corson, E. O., Gwynne, P. H., & Arnold, L. E. (1977). Pet dogs as nonverbal communication links in hospital psychiatry. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 18(1), 61–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0010-440X(77)80008-4

International Society for Animal-Assisted Therapy. (2017). About. ISAAT. Retrieved April 29, 2022, fromhttps://isaat.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/constitution_2017_final.pdf

Mallon, G. P. (1994). A generous spirit: The work and life of Boris Levinson. Anthrozoös, 7(4), 224–231. https://doi.org/10.2752/089279394787001790

McCulloch, M. J. (1986). Animal-Facilitated Therapy. National Forum, 66(1).

Vidrine, M., Owen-Smith, P., & Faulkner, P. (2002). Equine-facilitated group psychotherapy: applications for therapeutic vaulting. Issues in mental health nursing, 23(6), 587–603. https://doi.org/10.1080/01612840290052730

02/07/2022

20/07/2021

15/07/2021

06/07/2021

According to the SPCA and Humane Society, in the next 4-8 weeks, you'll all be seeing the "We need to re-home our pet..." posts. These are the people who went ahead and purchased puppies & kittens as Christmas gifts who are suddenly allergic, moving, having a baby, don't have time, their kids won't take care of it, didn't think they'd get so big, blah, blah, blah. Problem is, almost 90% of unwanted pets, sadly end up in kill shelters.

Allow me to break it down for you.

You didn't know you had an allergy? Oops. Don't let the pet suffer, buy some allergy medicine, if you love your pet, it's absolutely worth a shot.

You're moving? What city are you moving to that doesn't allow dogs? Bullsh*tville? You have a responsibility to your living, breathing family member to plan ahead to find a house, apartment or condo that will ALLOW your family member. Period.

Oh, you had no idea you were due to have a baby in 2 months? Interesting. Get a dog trainer if you're housing a breed you fear might become an issue. It's also worth a shot.

Don't have time for ONE 15 minute walk, or to have a dog just sit next to you while you're home? Really? So they're better off in a shelter than waiting in your house for you to get home? Ok, perhaps get another pet to keep them company or look for a local dog-sitter.

Oh, you mean your 5 year old didn't step up to the plate to feed, walk and scoop p**p? And this surprised you? I guess it's time for YOU to step up and model responsibility for your child.

Wrong size? Not cute as an adult? Not quite the personality you expected? Look in a mirror, how did you turn out? Should we send you back? 😡

🐶😿

06/07/2021

06/07/2021

02/07/2021

02/07/2021

Socialization should be your first goal when starting out with your puppy because it can only be accomplished when a puppy is young AND it has a huge impact not only on the type of dog you will have when they mature (social versus nervous).

Puppies are in a critical period of socialization from about 4 weeks of age to about 14 weeks (this range may vary based on the breed). During this window it is important that the puppy is properly socialized because their brains are the most receptive to learning about the world. Proper socialization is the key to the friendly and social dog.

It is important to stress that socialization is not exposure. It is far more complex than simply taking your new puppy places with you. In fact, for some puppies exposure can be too overwhelming and can create more fear. Socialization is about helping your puppy build positive associations.

When setting up socialization experiences it is always important that you carefully observe your puppy’s body language. Puppies and dogs communicate active enjoyment and stress through their bodies, and it goes far beyond a tail wag. Small signals like licking lips, dropping the head, yawning, and scratching can all indicate stress. Becoming proficient at reading your puppy will help you learn when your puppy is having and good time (and building those essential positive associations) vs. when a situation could be too overwhelming, and we need to back off!

Our goal is for the puppy to have a choice to interact or to retreat and to reward that bravery and interaction with high-value reinforcers instead of being forced into situations that cause stress and assuming the puppy will “get used to it”.

Want to read more about puppy socialization? Read our blog: https://www.pawsitivefutures.com/single-post/puppy-socialization-101

02/07/2021

02/07/2021

Precision and consistency is key!

One of the best ways to prevent unwanted behaviors is to simply reinforce the behaviors you do want! It’s so easy, but so few people actually do it. Look at your dog right now. They’re probably being a good dog. So praise and reward them!

01/07/2021

This was unbelievable at first yet, this was also the cause of most dog reactivity apparently.

Over the years it's been drummed into people to socialise their puppies, people think they need to get their puppies and dogs out and get them loving people and other dogs to have a well-rounded pooch, but is that socialisation? So what should appropriate socialisation achieve? Puppies should learn....

01/07/2021

29/06/2021

Set realistic expectations to set up your dog for success.

When Compare Leads to Despair

This week's blog talks about those terrible feelings when our pets don't live up to our expectations, and how we can get to a place of appreciation.

Check out the full blog here: https://petharmonytraining.com/when-compare-leads-to-despair/

Image Description: Blue background with white and tan squiggly lines. The white box in the center of the image has the text "When compare leads to despair 'When the dog doesn't, or simply can't, live up to those expectations, there is all too often the inevitable disappointment or letdown that follows.' https://petharmonytraining.com"

29/06/2021

Download and print our Canine Summer Safety infographics here: https://www.gooddog.com/.../june-health-initiative-canine...

Spread the word for summer fun, health and safety with your communities!

29/06/2021

Breed predictability cannot be achieved in a short period of time, such as with intentionally mixed breeds. You will know how your purebred puppy will look and act as an adult. For example, a Doberman may be more watchful over the household while a Collie may greet strangers without prejudice.

Why am I obsessed with Pedigrees and why are they so important in a closed gene pool? Why does it matter if we don't have full pedigrees to 9 or 10 generations or even beyond? Why should breeders care?
Population genetics and founder effects! These two factors, if we put aside for the moment the devastating consequences of the popular sire syndrome created largely by the show ring and stupid judges are THE MOST important considerations breeders should understand.
If your pedigree is blank at any point, then you create "new founder(s) without knowing anything about their genetic heritage.
Publishing the pedigree of Rada in my last post created a lot of "Who cares about 9 or 10 generations?" type of responses and a lot of disparaging posts about me in particular as being "fake"🙃
Fast forward a few years and here is the pedigree of Diadema, bred by Kraskova E in 2006 without a kennel name at that time but who later became Amulet Uspeha kennel. So now we have a partial blank pedigree at 3 generations!
In 2006 the internet was well established. Surely Kraskova must have looked into more than 2 generations in order to breed her "D" Litter? I am sure she did therefore somewhere out there are blank pedigrees that can be filled, even if they are not officially documented. They ARE important. Blank pedigrees are bad.

23/06/2021

In prevention of further puppy scams, impulse buying, and irresponsible breeding.

Even if you have to ask for live video calls and government IDs all the way! What you see is what you're supposed to get - no surprises. Better to consider things slowly than abruptly. Always do background check.

Furparent communities should inspire others accountability, education, and empowerment.

20/06/2021

The point of the puppy temperament tests are to classify quality and scale fear. To find out whether a pup is more suited for pet, show, or work quality. Not a lot of breeders practice this.

From the day they are born, you can actually improve on them! Puppies go through many stages, even from 3 to 19 days old, it's being given many names, from biosensor programs to puppy culture. These are not tests, these are exercises. Like how they learn just with the nose for potty training before opening their eyes or hearing.

Even with cutting their nails, if you start them early, they don't even mind eventually, and this too could be a temperament exercise. Also the social recall, there are many studies about this.

Have them on different enviroments to seeing diverse people and creatures — get creative!

https://breedingbetterdogs.com/article/early-neurological-stimulation

Editors Note: Articles may be reproduced for personal use only. To reproduce for public or commercial use, Use These Guidelines.

18/06/2021

What is everyone looking forward to the most this summer with their pups? 💙 🐶

18/06/2021

Breeding rights should be normalized, so that not anyone could just be carelessly breeding.

Responsible breeders also advocate for spaying and neutering, especially when their produce doesn't represent the physical and mental soundness, such as ease of movement, solid structure, working drive, and stable temperament, their breeding program aims for.

February is recognized as National Spay and Neuter Awareness Month! This is to remind all pet owners of the importance of getting your furry friends spayed or neutered to help control pet overpopulation. Spaying and neutering also has additional health and safety benefits!

15/06/2021

For those who have questions about pet insurance, you may watch this video as a guide. To skip the intro, start at 15:00 mins.

15/06/2021

Who do you purchase from? ⚠️

15/06/2021

Purebreed doesn't mean well-bred.

15/06/2021

Updates finally completed! 📂🗃️