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Punk Mutts - Another kind of dog training

หน้าหลัก
ประเทศไทย
Bangkok
Punk Mutts - Another kind of dog training

Gentle dog training - K9 body conditioning - Nose work - Dog communication and socialisation It means we are giving the dog the tools to face stress.
(5)

Living with a grumpy (soi) dog in Bangkok

I have decided to open this page to share how force-free training works as it is not a common practice in our big city and growing dog community. Rather than relying on control and forced compliance, force-free training is based on understanding the motivation behind dog behaviour to work at the causes -and not the symptoms- of dog management problems. Fo

rce-free does NOT mean that our dog’s life is coated in sugar so he/she will not be able to cope with stress. It means we are able to understand the causes of distress in the dog, address them, and effectively communicate a successful course of action. It means enabling your dog to build up life-skills and problem-solving, not just execute orders. In the end, it is all about building trust and confidence in the relationship between human and dog, and about communicating and understanding each other. To do this, I focus on the observation and analysis of dogs’ behavior, sharing how to effectively read your dog, manage his/her emotional state, and communicate accordingly. On behaviourism: I do use positive reinforcement, especially in learning, but it’s not all about it. I recognise its important shortcomings for social and emotional challenges and promote an approach based on communication and relationship to better address these issues.

06/04/2024

Canine sciences going from “how to stop aggressive behaviours” to “how to make a dog feel better” 🤓

19/02/2024

Are you one of those people that want to pet each and every dog? Do you struggle advocating for your dog’s space? This might be for you...

10/01/2024

“Dogs are not going to kill each other over a piece of plastic” - quoting Alexa Capra

29/12/2023

More and more dog owners are telling me about previous forceful training experiences - their dogs being choked, bobbed, pushed down, made to wear a prong collar… Forced into helplessness, forced to obey, humiliated. Owners who questioned the methods often got shamed as too soft, too emotional, showing weakness to a dog that is “dominant”.

Their dogs were not being dominant, manipulative, stubborn, ... They were just triggered by contexts they could not manage because their needs were ignored, their gentler requests unheard. So they got punished into good behaviour. Taught that they cannot ask, cannot speak up for themselves, that they do not have any control over their lives.

This is what force-based training (including “balanced training”) does. It is based on fearing negative consequences from the handler. It teaches dogs to fear their owners, trainers, families. Owners watch while their dogs are abused and watch while their dogs ask for help - trusting a professional they are paying while they are those that should protect their dogs.

This is not humanising dogs. This is about the type of relationship we want with our dogs. This is about trainers and owners that choose to justify pain, fear, and discomfort to “fix” their pets while totally ignoring the causes of “misbehaviour” that often lay in the dog’s insecurities.

It talks a lot about the need that some human have of demonstrating absolute control over another creature, a creature they chose to take in and look after. It talks about our fear of losing control. We justify punishment over a dog that we will never justify over another human - and we call “training” this abuse.

Please, choose your trainers carefully and remember that, no matter how much you pay them or how well recommended they are, you are the only person that can speak up for your dog and rescue them from abuse. When you choose to train your dog, is your objective “fixing” them to have the perfect dog or is it your dog’s wellbeing?

17/12/2023

🎄Christmas is approaching! Will your dog be happy about participating to family gatherings?

While we love sharing our festive times with out four-legged family members, several dogs can be uncomfortable around celebrations. Here a few considerations and tips:

🎉Have a rewarding, quiet walk before celebrations to lower stress levels and get our dog happy-tired
🎉If your dog gets a bit anxious about meeting lots of people - just respect that and leave them home while you enjoy family gatherings!
🎉If you really want to take your dog with you, educate people and tell them to give them attention only when it’s the dog asking for it
🎉Make sure people don’t approach your dog if they’re eating or resting
🎉Make sure children know dog etiquette and, if needed, “rescue” your dog from their attention
🎉Always check your dog’s stress levels: is stress going up? Are they ok? Can they relax or is the environment overstimulating?
🎉Offer stress relief options: toys, chews, breaks outside..
🎉If your dog can be alone in a room, put them into their “safe room” when they want to rest BEFORE they get too annoyed with the crowd
🎉If your dog need your attention to feel better about the whole situation, just give them that attention! There is nothing wrong in showing your dog support and that you’re there for them.

🎁Care will not make your dog clingy, if anything, it will help them understand that they can count on you when they have a hard time and enable them to ask for your help instead of taking matters on their own (huge reactivity tip here!)🎁

11/11/2023

My recommended reading list! Which is yours?

🤓

05/11/2023

Welcoming a new puppy

1. Do not rush socialisation - counter intuitive, right? Focus on building trust between you and your puppy first. Only ONCE the puppy is sure you’re going to provide protection, gently expose him to other dogs, people, and situations. Always listen to the puppy’s discomfort and provide shelter - you’re not going to make them more afraid if you protect them. On the contrary, they will learn they can rely on you and will be more confident to face new situations together in the long run.

2. Management instead of “NOs” - Prevention is your best friend. BEFORE your pup starts chewing on your slippers, just put those slippers away. Make the house puppy-proof so, instead of having the puppy make the wrong choice and correct them, it will be impossible for your pup to make the wrong choice in the first place. At such a young age, pups cannot understand why we get angry and tell them “no” so focus on engaging, having fun, “distracting the pup away”, listening, instead of rushing to set boundaries and correct. “NOs” just inhibit the dog but do not show them the right thing to do.

3. Quality over quantity - Better meeting less dogs that you are sure can give your puppy a positive experience than meeting many dogs that stress out your pup. Puppyhood is where you build a record of positive, successful encounters BEFORE exposing your dogs to greater challenges. Build a quality base so the dog can develop the right social tools without stress and fear. Oversocialising is a recipe for a reactive adult dog.

4. Take your time to learn to read your puppy - What do they do when they are uncomfortable? What about when they are happy? Are they really playing or are they outputting stress? Are they calm or are they uncomfortable and shutting down? Do they like all dogs or just some? Do they like being pet on the head or do they prefer shoulder scratches? What are they trying to tell you? Learn and develop a shared language.

Baby Eskel in the photo, grumpy since day 1

15/10/2023

Seeing training as learning goes well beyond obedience and control, tricks are so much more than useless games. Which new things are you going to teach to your dog?

07/10/2023

Main reasons why dogs want to meet another dog:

⚠️Risk assessment: the strongest and most common motivation among adult dogs; wether friendly or defensive, dogs approach other dogs primarily to assess if they represent a danger or not, to check who they are (“he just wants to play” might not be so true)

💕Sexual motivation: a dog might choose to approach a dog of the opposite s*x because they feel attracted and might initiate courtship (that is very different from mating)

🤝Social motivation: a dog approaches for the pleasure of spending time together; in adult dogs, this mostly happens among dogs that already know each other well while it’s very unlikely with strangers dogs

🔎Secondary motivations: situational and less frequent motivations, such as playing for puppies or making a statement

So, a dog that constantly wants to meet other dogs might not necessarily be social and sociable and could actually be a bit anxious about interactions. Choosing not to meet dogs and not pushing our dogs so close to other dogs that they feel like they HAVE TO check them out is a great favour we can do to our pets👌

Photo: Eskel & The Girls

23/09/2023

Did you know that p*e pads might not be the best option for our pets? Check the carousel!

16/09/2023

A dog that sits is not calm

Here is Eskel sitting while getting anxious about being left alone. Dogs naturally sit in tense situations: when they guard a place against potential danger, when they are impatient, when they’d like to leave a place or a situation…

Some people ask their dogs to sit to calm down. When they ask their dogs to sit before meeting another dog or before exiting the house, are dogs really calm after they are released? What is the point in sitting, specifically? Are dogs calmer or more frustrated or discouraged? Does it make sense to ask for a behaviour they would naturally offer when anxious?

Calming down is an emotional skill, sitting is a physical skill. When I need to help a dog to calm down, I’d rely on communication and our relationship, not on obedience. Another shared practice is having a dog sit in front of a trigger to discourage reactivity, sometimes offering treats (good luck if your dog is not food driven). What are dogs thinking about our relationship when we force them to sit in front of something that scares them or they feel like they have to protect themselves from?

Unfortunately, traditional dog training, often relying on outdated theories such as behaviourism or dominance, focuses more on controlling and suppressing behaviours instead of understanding our dogs, helping them, listening, and cooperating with them. Instead of shaping our relationship with our companions one way, only accounting for what we want from them and how we want them to change, we CAN show our dogs they can trust us and rely on us not to force them into meaningless and unnecessarily tense situations.

09/09/2023

Control vs self-control

Stay, wait before food, puppy zen…it’s not self-control, it’s just “control”. Dogs are not making choices, not learning emotional management: they are just under our command. We control resources and will take them away if they don’t comply, we block the leash so that they cannot choose to go. Again, this is not self-control.

So what is self-control? It is the ability to manage one’s emotional state in the presence of challenges. It’s self control if the dog is the one that chooses. It is very different than shutting down, receiving orders, or giving up.

Can our dogs control their own excitement when we let them off leash, without giving them commands? Can our dogs choose to leave a piece of juicy chicken and freely offer a behaviour to get another reward? Lastly, I believe that constantly being “under control” without developing the ability to make their own choices is just diminishing for our dogs.

What would you do to help your dog develop self-control?

26/08/2023

Adopting a Thai stray/soi dog: are there differences from bred dogs?

Guess what? It depends! Here are some generalisations but there is always the exception:

🎁They come as a surprise🎁
While dog breeds maintain common characteristics (usually border collies are high energy, golden retrievers love to spend time with people, etc…), strays have not been human-selected for specific traits so their personalities are much more varied: you cannot tell what a pup will like or dislike, what their character will be like, before you know them!

🛌Energy-saving dogs🛌
Overall (but not always!) they are more low energy compared to dogs bred to work alongside humans, especially working breeds. They still need good walks on a daily basis, play time, and mental stimulation but they also are survivors and will not waste too much energy if they are satisfied and can nap on a comfy bed

❓Unknown background❓
You will never know what happened to them before rescue and this might weight hugely on their development. Due to this upbringing, they usually have very advanced dog-dog communication and problem-solving skills. At the same time, they might need extra time trusting their new family and overcoming their insecurities

🤝You have to earn them🤝
As they have not been artificially selected to cooperate with humans, some might be very independent. They do not thrive with aversive methods or imposed obedience: earn their trust first, and then they’ll choose to follow. Do not rush, enjoy the journey, and respect their nature to forge the strongest, most magical bond

Personally, I think these dogs are incredible and come with a unique skillset. Earning the trust of a very grumpy and insecure soi dog has been among the most rewarding experiences of my life and I will be forever grateful for his ability to teach me to look at dogs from a different angle 💖 Do you have a rescue story? Do you agree or disagree? Share your experience!

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23/08/2023

What is aggression? Let’s check the ethogram to dig deeper.

➡️Aggression is communication: it is always a request for distance
➡️Aggressive behaviour classification: 1) threat, 2) inhibited attack as a way to communicate distance, 3) attack as a way to hurt
➡️Aggression is part of dogs (and humans) natural communication range, all dogs can use aggressive behaviours
➡️Aggression does not mean that the dog is going to hurt/bite, it also includes early signals: growling, “scorpion” tail, hard stare, stiff walk, muzzle taps,…
➡️Aggression can be defensive or offensive

🔎Source: “Ethogram of the Dog, Agonistic Behaviors”, Alexa Capra

Do not ignore or punish threats, a growling dog is asking you to stop and stay away to PREVENT the situation from potentially escalating into an attack. Also, learning to identify more subtle aggressive behaviours can help preventing reactivity.

Lastly, competent dogs know how to use aggressive behaviours with moderation to effectively communicate and de-escalate. Being able to keep their emotions under control and maintain clarity of mind in tense situations is a matter of skill and feeling safe - punishment does not help with any of those. 🛑

17/08/2023

Taking our dogs shopping - it’s a biggie in Bangkok! Outside we feel the pressure to ensure our dogs are well behaved but this shouldn’t compromise our dogs wellbeing as they can get overstimulated and stressed in such settings. Here a few tips to make sure they’ll be sheltered and might even love the first experiences

🔎Make sure:
-Strangers don’t approach
-It’s a positive experience
-It’s not a crowded time
-Keep it short

🧸Pick a quiet spot and help your dog get confident and have fun:
-Do some easy tricks they like and feel confident about, highly reward and praise
-Why not bringing a toy for a bit of tugging?
-Give your dog a surprise: we’ve found a paper bag and offered it to the dog to tear it apart (see photos)

🍀Decompress right after shopping:
-Leave the shop and go to a calm place with nature around
-Give your dog as much freedom as possible during the walk
-Have fun together! Do what they love
-Avoid stress for a few days

17/07/2023

How to help a shy dog? Meet Didi, the luckiest rescue and adoption case you could think of. She is afraid of other dogs and her new human is committed to support her to adapt to her new city life. So, how to help shy dogs get the tools to successfully interact?

🐾Focus on quality over quantity: only select calm, gentle dogs for interactions that are able to respect extra space needs
🐾Repeat interactions with the same dog instead of introducing new dogs
🐾Meet one dog at a time
🐾Choose the right environment: quiet, not crowded, with wide spaces and lots of nature to interact with so that the dogs can choose not to focus on each other
🐾Do not organise static meet-ups: walk! No fenced dog parks
🐾Do not rush: start by walking far apart, both dogs leashed; only move slightly and gradually closer after both dogs are comfortable - keep it short, no need for direct interactions in the first meetings, just walking together is enough
🐾No direct interactions on leash!
🐾Keep both dogs below reaction/excitement threshold - do not push them
🐾Very important: respect the other dog, not all dogs might appreciate constantly meeting shy or nervous dogs so give them a break and check they are actually happy to meet and manage your emotional pup

🔎Remember to end each session before your dog gets stressed and give them plenty of recovery time! For some, just five minutes of walking together can be more than enough. Respect your dog’s boundaries and they will slowly grow in confidence.

Lastly, thanks Elena for being the best rescue dog mom for little Didi 💖

16/07/2023

Most dogs DO NOT like to be touched:

✋By strangers/anyone/people they don’t know well
✋In the head
✋Everywhere: each dog has their own favourite spots and spots they don’t like touched
✋Against fur growth direction
✋With excited/too energetic strokes or scratches
✋If we hug them
✋When they are focused on something or busy (including while training or playing)
✋By nervous/excited people - and that includes children!!!!
✋When they are experiencing fear

Gentle and friendly dogs might still bare with all this, it doesn’t mean they’re having a good time. Check for stress signals such as lip and nose licking, avoiding eye contact, yawning, moving away, panting, diverting gaze…

Advocate for your dog and keep away those people that do not respect their boundaries - your dog will thank you, trust you more, and will be less likely to become reactive

09/07/2023

Eskel and I enrolled in a canine body conditioning programme!

I’ll learn how different movements can help dogs develop stability and a balanced muscle mass to prevent injuries, improve movement functionality, and contribute to the overall health of the dog.

On the other hand, Eskel will have a load of fun discovering his body’s potential and grow in confidence - we’ve just started but he’s absolutely loving it! He’s already advanced as we practiced conditioning exercises before but this programme will provide a more comprehensive setup, building from foundations and up.

I’m glad I’m having the opportunity to keep on learning and to safeguard dogs’ health at the same time - having fun all throughout it🧸

11/06/2023

Having a dog in Thailand 🇹🇭
It is so different than having a dog in my home country, in Europe - it has its struggles but it also offers incredible opportunities for our four-legged friends. Here a few pros and cons:

☀️Less pet-friendly venues but so much more freedom around accessing incredibly beautiful beaches (many European countries do not allow dogs on beaches for example)
☀️Very hot but great jungle and mountain hikes in cooler days
☀️Possible clashes with stray dogs that, however, are usually calm and friendly and can be the best companions and teachers for our house-dogs
☀️More misinformation, old-school and outdated dog training practices focused on “fixing” dogs instead of understanding and helping them; still, most give a lot of freedom to their pups
☀️The Thais LOVE dogs and take great care of them; however, some are quite afraid and might even choose to attack or scare dogs away
☀️Your dog might have to learn how to defend himself from other dogs and stay away from -certain rare- humans
☀️Lastly, my absolute favourite - island adventures! Well behaved dogs can be off leash and free-roaming, enjoying stunning holidays with their humans

Overall, I love raising a dog in Thailand, especially for the greater freedom, the wild adventures we can have together, and the incredible free-roaming dogs that taught us so much 💙

04/06/2023

It’s hard for dogs to see the leash as a connection rather than a restriction.

What do you communicate to your dog through the leash? Cannot go there, cannot meet that dog, cannot sniff, cannot stop, come this way, don’t pull, slow down, no, cannot express your fear, have to pass by here even if you don’t want to - the leash is even used by some as a punishment to administer corrections.

But what if we change the way we use it to help our dog feel safe? To communicate that, as long as you’re together, nothing bad is going to happen? We could start communicating instead, as long as we’re on the leash: I won’t let any dog or any person enter our space, I will put myself between you and triggers to shield you, I will respect the distance you need from triggers by guiding you away and around, I will follow you when you need to mark or just need more space, I won’t drive you into situations that make you nervous… also, how can a dog feel safe when we hold the leash if we use it to give corrections or if it is a choke (slip) or prong collar?

Lastly, help your dog: do not meet other dogs on the leash unless they like each other and have been knowing each other from a long time. In the photo: Eskel and Bean, friends since they were rescued at 2 months old, now 2 years old.

22/05/2023

Do you take your dog everywhere? 🚗

I’ve visited the Pet Expo in Bangkok - so many people went there with their dogs. 🙀All dogs showed stress: from the loudly reactive to the passive ones waiting for it to be over. “Pet-friendly” doesn’t always mean actually enjoyable by pets.

As much as we love having our dogs around and the possibility to take them to malls, enclosed dog parks, bars… we really have to assess whether they actually enjoy the experience. 😓Most likely they don’t appreciate being leashed or in a trolley for a long time, or having hundreds of people or other dogs in close proximity.

I still think it’s great to plan for activities to do with our dogs - just keep in mind what they ACTUALLY like and the attention they need from you at all times. Nature, outdoor, quiet places usually are better options compared to mall meet-ups. 👉Still, each dog has their own preferences and they should set the standard!

11/04/2023

One day Luna & Leo stopped getting along. Luna went from sharing the same house and spaces as Leo to attacking him. This post is a big shout out to the MASSIVE job their humans are doing to help their dogs through all this.

Instead of shutting Luna’s behaviour down, risking negative spillovers on her wellbeing and reactivity in the longer run, her humans chose the longer and safer way: helping Luna feeling safe around Leo again and satisfying Leo’s needs in a functional way. No scolding, no suppressing behaviours, just understanding dogs and their motivations better to help them manage sharing spaces together.

And you know what? After weeks of hard work Luna is starting to ask to spend time and even play with Leo. They still have a long way to go but all these efforts are starting to pay back. Thank you Luna & Leo’s owners for putting your dogs’ well-being first and all the heavy lifting.

Short video in the comments to see the pups enjoying their time together again ❣️

26/03/2023

How to prepare a dog to challenging experiences? After following Bea remotely, I’ve finally met her and her lovely family. We discussed so many things but I’d like to share one of the main points:

🌟Before exposing our dogs to stressful, scary, exciting, or challenging experiences, we need to invest time in building our dogs’ tools to manage in such contexts.🌟

➡️For Bea, this can be as simple as working on her recall before letting her off leash on the beach as well as more complex, such as developing that sense of safety when together with her humans so that she can feel confident and be less reactive in new environments or around new people.

👌Until she has the tools, it’s better not to expose her to such contexts. It is not about total avoidance, it is about setting our dogs up for success, prevent unnecessarily negative experiences, and enabling them to choose the best strategies to overcome problems. This is dog education, not just training.

Bea was lucky to find humans that are committed to understanding her and building her ability to make good choices instead of claiming control removing any agency from her. I feel blessed to work with such precious families 🙏

10/03/2023

Let me introduce Vox, a loving and extra energetic putbull mix puppy 🐶

We’ve been working together remotely with a focus on improving his listening skills and the capacity to safely outlet his enthusiasm and manage his frustration…

And guess what? Obedience and control are NOT part of our workplan while we’re focusing on building a more comprehensive mental, emotional, and relational skillset to ready him for the outer world:
🐾Build the relationship with his owner so that listening to her will come naturally
🐾Filling his active time with fun, stimulating and communication-based activities with his owner to make her the most interesting figure and enable him to learn in the most fun way possible
🐾Building trust and a sense of safety when around his owner so that he can rely on her whenever he faces stressful or exciting situations - this is overlooked in puppies as they are harmless but this often results in insecure teenagers or adults prone to reactivity
🐾Giving him the freedom to make choices in safe environments, only after having build his capacity to face such situations successfully
🐾Building his confidence by giving him as many successes as possible when making choices and following his owner
🐾Managing more difficoult situations through the use of barriers and feeding that sense of safety together

Vox’s human mom has taken her job very seriously and they are blasting through their training sessions - more on that very soon!

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See how these dogs compete for a resource without needing aggression and use the resource as way to define their relationship with this beautiful interaction. By using the social space and their positioning and orientation within the space, they manage to contend the stick without escalating tension. They test but never challenge each other’s boundaries, learning how to better communicate and how to manage tension navigating their relationship. Notice how bowing and running are NOT invitation to play but ways to stop or push the other dog to move away. The female is firm about claiming the stick but always careful to show that she means no harm, dissipating tension by keeping the situation dynamic. The male responds not allowing her to displace him but, at the same time, stepping back and giving her space before the situation can escalate. By giving your dogs interaction that do not push them beyond threshold and allow them to move within a safe space they can learn new communication strategies, develop their social skills, and safely test their relationships. Unfortunately, this can happen through carefully selected situations, visiting dog parks most often does not allow for balanced encounters. #dogbehaviour #dogbehavior #dogcommunication #dogsocialisation #dogsocialization #resourceguarding #dogaggression #aggressivedog #malinois #rescue #rescuedog #rescuedogs #dogsofthailand #dogsofbangkok #soidogs #dogeducation #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #forcefreetraining #forcefreetrainer #forcefreedogtraining

define their relationship with this beautiful interaction. By using the social space and their positioning and orientation within the space, they manage to contend the stick without escalating tension. They test but never challenge each other’s boundaries, learning how to better communicate and how to manage tension navigating their relationship. Notice how bowing and running are NOT invitation to play but ways to stop or push the other dog to move away. The female is firm about claiming the stick but always careful to show that she means no harm, dissipating tension by keeping the situation dynamic. The male responds not allowing her to displace him but, at the same time, stepping back and giving her space before the situation can escalate. By giving your dogs interaction that do not push them beyond threshold and allow them to move within a safe space they can learn new communication strategies, develop their social skills, and safely test their relationships. Unfortunately, this can happen through carefully selected situations, visiting dog parks most often does not allow for balanced encounters. #dogbehaviour #dogbehavior #dogcommunication #dogsocialisation #dogsocialization #resourceguarding #dogaggression #aggressivedog #malinois #rescue #rescuedog #rescuedogs #dogsofthailand #dogsofbangkok #soidogs #dogeducation #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #forcefreetraining #forcefreetrainer #forcefreedogtraining

You can see the moment Vox figured out what he had to do to get the treats - with no cues! And you can see how enthusiastic, motivated and confident he is when he solves the puzzle his human gave him. 🧠Such experiences and the strengthening of problem-solving ability can provide young puppies important tools for their development. For Vox, this will help him develop that ability to stop and think about the best strategy instead of blindly charging at triggers (see how he goes for the hand holding the treats initially?). Indeed, shaping can:🧩Teach to propose behaviours for active learning🧩Develop mental skills🧩Increase motivation for training🧩Be among the most fun ways to learn together🧩Improve emotional control 🧩Help develop self-confidence - the pup can make it on his/her own!🧩Strengthen your relationship🧩Increases the capacity to listen to you 🧩Teach your dog that you can achieve great results by cooperating ➡️For a full shaping tutorial, check my YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WugAb3gKqKk #puppy #puppytraining #pitbull #pitbullmix #pitbullpuppy #dogshaping #shaping #clicker #clickertraining #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #forcefreetraining #forcefree #forcefreedogtraining #dogs #pitbulllove #pitbullmom #dogbehavior #helpyourdog

Guarding is a natural behaviour for many dogs. It could be normal for our companions to sound the alarm, threaten, or even attack strangers that invade our social space. 🥊If we put our dogs in the position of being the first line of contact with strangers -such as leaving them in the garden or near thresholds, having them lay in front of our table at the restaurant, letting them rest in gateways, letting walk with a long leash several meters in front of us,…- some of them will naturally take on the responsibility of protecting the team and keeping intruders away. 🐕This is what our dogs are. Some might be happy about this and take on a dog for protection purposes. The average owner is displeased and this leaves room to various attempts at suppressing guarding behaviours, asking dogs to deny what they are to please us or by fearing punishment. 🤦‍♀️This approach neglects the origin of most guarding behaviours: insecurity. If our dogs feel safe when with us, they won’t need to guard. If you don’t want your dog to guard, show him/her you are safe and they don’t need to take on the responsibility to protect the group: start by not leaving them alone outside and by shielding them from incoming strangers. 🏡Lastly, I believe we should start accepting what our dogs are more instead of just demanding they adapt to our lifestyle at all times. I’m ok if my dog sounds the alarm when strangers approach and enter the house without notice; if I don’t want my dog to guard, my priority is to show him we’re safe and I will take care of any possible threat. #guarddog #guarddogs #dogbehavior #dogcommunication #dogguard #dogguardian #dogs #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #forcefree #forcefreedogtraining #forcefreetraining #guardiandog #aggressivedog #dogaggression #helpyourdog #dogsofthailand #dogtrainersofig

Did you know there are so many ways to teach a dog to lay down? Feel free to reach out if you want to try or struggle - happy to hand over some tips! #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #doglaydown #dogtricks #trickdog #forcefreetraining #forcefreedogtraining #dog #happydog

Re-establishing that social connection with you through fun things you do together can go a long way to reduce the impact of negative experiences and stress. It also shows your dog she/he can turn to you to overcome daily challenges and reduces reactivity to the stressor. What does your dog love to do with you? Have you ever done it to make her/him feel better after a stressful event? #dogtrainingtips #dogtraining #helpyourdog #dogbehaviour #happydog #dogtips #playwithyourdog #forcefreedogtraining #forcefreedogtrainer #dogtrainer #nosework #dognose #dogchew #playtugofwar

When communication is not clear, dogs can get frustrated during learning. This makes it harder for them to enjoy and to understand tasks, slowing down progress. Here a few tips on how to recognize frustration and how to address it! Common frustration signs: 🐾Pawing 🐾Stepping back 🐾Whining 🐾Barking 🐾Avoiding eye contact 🐾Yawning How to help the dog - just take a short break and reset an excited, confident mood: ⚾️Play! ⚾️Practice an exercise your dog is confident about and likes ⚾️Figure out a clearer, simpler way to communicate how to solve the exercise ⚾️Take a step back in the exercise, making it a bit easier #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #dogbehavior #dogs #forcefreetraining #dogsofinstagram #happydog

🎮How to distinguish a nice game from an abusive game? In a nice game: 🕹️There is balance in taking on the “aggressor” and “victim” roles, with both dogs taking turns in each role 🕹️The strongest dog (black male in the video) attunes to the same strength and energy level of the weaker dog and can display submissive behaviours and self-handicapping to ensure a safe game (expose his belly) 🕹️No dog shows signs of distress 🕹️No dog moves away or asks for distance and, in case that happens, the other dog respects the new boundaries and doesn’t chase back 🕹️When given a break from the playing partner, the dog asks for more 🕹️No piloerection, aggressive behaviours are exaggerated and/or mitigated to convey their playful intent 🕹️Both dogs can adapt to changes in game style and they do not impose plying patterns When the game is not balanced, it becomes abusive. If the “victim” is not able to stop the other dog from playing too rough, better to interrupt the interaction! #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #dogs #playingdog #playwithyourdog #happydog #dogfriends #dogsofinstagram #doggames #dogbehavior