Masterful Mutts Doggy Dojo

06/19/2024

Golden rule. 🙌 ✅ Stop calling your dog to you for something they may view as unpleasant. Especially using your same recall word. Go and get them !✅

Recall (having your dog come to you when called), is one of those cues in training that depends heavily on your relationship together.
However there are other things we can inadvertently do which damage a good recall and we often don't even realise we do this.
One of the advantages of having an in home trainer.......we see all those little things that make SUCH a big difference.

Calling your dog to you when you are about to do something unpleasant to them (or they view as could be a negative experience)....even for the BEST of intentions, can poison recalls.
Calling them to their dreaded bath.
You know they dislike having their nails cut, but they are called to you.....usually ignoring your calls and then finally skulking slowly forward... with their head down low.
Calling them to you when you have the ear drops in your hand.

They will start to make associations with recall and what you actually want them for.

The opposite (calling away from fun and positive experiences) is also true.
Constantly calling your dog away from fun and positive experiences is a recall destroyer.💥
Another destroyer of a recall is calling them to you and clipping their lead straight on and leaving the fun area.....have a play with them first, clip on the lead and continue to have fun for a few minutes. This is a little thing that turns that negative association into a really positive one..

So if your recall is more miss than hit....look at when you actually call them too you and why.
If you change little habits you can make some very big differences.

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06/19/2024

We never recommend meds durning fire works for this reason, instead we usually recommend what the military does, cotton balls and ear muffs, Rex Specs sell very good quality earmuffs but are a bit pricey but worth it.

ACEPROMAZINE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Acepromazine, also known as acetylpromazine, ACE, ACP, and PromAce, is a sedative which is often prescribed for anxious dogs to help them cope with fear of fireworks, thunderstorms and noise phobias. However, there is a strong case against its use due to concerns that it does nothing to address feelings of fear and anxiety, and in some cases, it can actually make things worse:

“dissociative agents, such as acepromazine, reduce the animal's general ability to process and elaborate environmental stimuli, which is likely to increase rather than decrease the animal's anxious response to the triggering stimulus” (Overall, 2013).

Acepromazine does not have anxiolytic properties, and while the mind remains alert, the body is sedated, which means that the dog is unable to communicate outward signs of how he is feeling, and may appear to be calm while feeling intense fear.

“Nowadays, authors agree that phenothiazines are not the drug of choice for the treatment fearful or phobic behaviors (long or short term), because they have poor anxiolytic activity, they induce marked sedation and even heighten the animals’ sensitivity to stimuli, while they have no means to escape due to the motor inhibition effects.”(Clough, 1982)

The use of Acepromazine has been found to make canine anxiety worse in the long term, with negative associations and experiences contributing to trauma of the original phobia. A range of health implications and serious side effects have also been reported, including making sound sensitivity worse.

“According to some authors, dogs may become more reactive to noise after treatment with ACP (Landsberg, 2003; Overall, 1997; Overall, 2002).

Despite these concerns, Acepromazine remains a go-to drug for some veterinarians, and has been in use for decades. However, sedatives are now considered an ineffective treatment for anxiety.

“Overall, it is therefore clear that phenothiazines are not appropriate medications for the treat- ment of anxious, fearful, or phobic animals because they have poor anxiolytic effect and produce marked sedation and potential sensitisation to the triggering stimuli”(Thompson, 1998).

You can read the full document here:

https://air.unimi.it/retrieve/dfa8b9a2-0700-748b-e053-3a05fe0a3a96/Management%20of%20specific%20fears%20and%20anxiety%20in%20the%20behavioural%20medicine%20of%20companion%20animals%20punctual%20use%20of%20psychoactive%20medications.pdf

The good news is that there are many other options available which you can discuss with your vet.

Remember:

*Advocate for your fearful dog if Ace is suggested.
*Consult with your vet about alternative medication options.
*Ensure that your dog's anxiety is thoroughly addressed.

As an aside, I just want to make it clear that this is in no way a criticism of the veterinary profession. My own vets are absolutely wonderful, and I consider myself very lucky to have them.

However, as an admin of two U.S based fb groups for fearful dogs, and a member of several more, the topic of ACE comes up on a very regular basis because it is STILL being offered as a treatment option for fearful dogs. In addition, in only the last couple of years, a “chill protocol” has been introduced which includes the use of ACE for fearful and aggressive dogs:

https://www.cliniciansbrief.com/article/chill-protocol-manage-aggressive-fearful-dogs

Please bear in mind that the focus of my page is to advocate for fearful, anxious and reactive dogs, and while we are very fortunate in the UK, there is still very much a need to share this information.

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www.trailiepawsforthought.com

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06/18/2024

This is what we always tell our clients when they come to us with these terms, oh my dog is aggressive, or stubborn, when I actuality they are frustrated, bored or just feel flooded. We aim to educate other to properly understand why your dog may be doing the things they do, if you would like to learn how to understand your dog better plz give us a call or message about our available sessions for the summer

LETTING GO OF THE LABEL
People love to label things - from containers to personality types, physical or mental differences and everything in between.

Why do we like labels so much? Labels are comforting, they help us to feel more secure.

Labels allow us to close that particular “box”, because it now has a label and we no longer have to think about it or be concerned about it.

It’s been judged, identified, labelled and we can now move on, confident in the belief that there’s nothing more to be done.

We may also be very good at labelling dogs. My dog is stubborn, aggressive, lazy, shy, timid, greedy, jealous, untrainable…. It’s comforting for us to assign a label because it takes the pressure off trying to find out why they behave that way because we might believe that it’s just the way they are.

If we remove the label and take note of the behaviour in context and the circumstances or environment it’s happening in, we may realise that our dogs need our help to cope, not our labels.

Look into what can be done to improve or change that behaviour if it's something you’d like to change.

Sometimes a label does fits, it’s just the way it is and we need to accept that, but sometimes labels hide the need to look beneath the surface and discover what the real cause of that behaviour is.

06/18/2024

Dogs really don’t like when you try and hug and kiss them while some are ignore this majority of dogs can feel trapped or being dominated which can sometimes end in a bite. Learn the signs of when a dog is not comfortable with what you are doing to them.

06/14/2024

We will be meeting at the Oregon Park before heading to Tulie for our Canines in the park

06/14/2024

Congratulations to Coco on graduating her obedience class. 🥰

06/11/2024

Allowing dogs to get use to different sights, sounds and even floor textures helps a dog relax more when you go to new places

06/11/2024

Great session at Home Depot today with Bruno and Curry

06/01/2024

Join us today from 6-8 at Oregon Park for our Canines in the Park. Meet our trainers and learn how to build a better bond with your dog, and better understand why your dog does the things it does, only 15.00 per dog to join 😊

05/25/2024

Unfortunately due to the dust storm that is forming we are canceling our Park Sessions today sorry for any inconvenience everyone

05/24/2024

Please join us today at 1pm for our Canines In The Park located by Kids Zone and the Tennis courts on Oregon. We go over how to handle your dog out and about all the while learning how to grow your bond with your dog to be more confident as a handler. We also go over some agility too, it’s just 15.00 per dog to join.

05/18/2024

We will be having doggy play school tomorrow at 4-7pm at our Facility, it’s 20.00 per dog. ☺️

05/17/2024

Masterful Mutts Doggy Dojo, come join us on this beautiful day for our Canines in the park where to day we will be showing how to handle your dog in stressful environments, build confidence through agility and how to get your dog to walk beside you with our pulling, we will be at the Oregon Park next to kids zone at 1pm today, it’s only 15.00 per dog to join ☺️

05/13/2024

Two of these dogs have never been on leash much let alone walked together, walking multiple dogs is easier then most think, and we can show you how to walk your dog without worry. For more information please give us a call or message to learn about our Leash Etiquette Lessons 😊

05/10/2024

Had a fun day with our new agility equipment at our Canines in the Park. Thank you all for joining us today ☺️