4 On the Floor

03/22/2025

Oh my schnauzer 

03/21/2025

Join us Saturday from 12 to 2 PM at ‘s for Ask the Trainer & Dogs Ride Certified! Bring your questions & your pup and get fitted for a crash-tested, certified safety harness so your pup can ride safely!

03/20/2025

Thankful Thursday!
Congratulations to our Confidence Building level one & two graduates !! We are so thankful to these committed humans for providing their pups exactly what they needed to flourish! Well done brave pups!

03/19/2025

Thank you Councilmember Adam Van Grack and Chelsa for helping to SAVE THESE ANIMALS!!
I am only happy that I was able to help. 

Last night, during the Mayor & Council Meeting, I took time to recognize the community members, including Chelsa Rubin and Kelly Citrin, as well as the members of the Rockville City Police Department, who all acted recently to ensure the safety of multiple malnourished animals at a Rockville residence. Thanks to these concerned community members and RCPD Police Officers, the animals have been recovering under the care of veterinarians. Thank you to all who helped bring these animals to safety!

03/18/2025

Join us Saturday from 12-2 for at LIORA’S WHOLE PET! Bring your questions & your pup and get them fitted for a crash tested, certified harness so they can ride safely!

03/18/2025

Tuesday Tip! DOG SPORTS for REACTIVE DOGS!
This is a great short piece on how/which dog sports would benefit your reactive dog. We offer:
*Scent Games
*Tricks
*Agility
*Rally
‘Please consult with a well-qualified rewards-based dog behavior professional (not simply a trainer in the sport that you wish to compete in) to have your dog evaluated for what you want to expose your dog to…’

Some dog sports are better for reactive dogs than others. Scent work and tracking help relax a dog while canicross and agility might stress them out.

03/17/2025

We are seeking dedicated and reliable DOG WALKERS & DOG SITTERS to JOIN OUR TEAM immediately! If you have a passion for animals and experience in pet care, we'd love to hear from you. This is an excellent opportunity for those who enjoy spending time with dogs and providing them with the care and attention they deserve.

Please email your resume to [email protected] to apply and tell us why you’d be an excellent fit for this role.

03/17/2025

Happy St. Pittie’s Day everyone!

03/16/2025

Sunday Funnies! Dog Philosophies….

03/15/2025

SPEAK UP SATURDAY!! This took a village. 🙌
If you see, smell, hear or suspect abuse, neglect, fighting, or illegal breeding, SPEAK UP!

These dogs never would have been saved Had the neighbor not been incredibly persistent and reached out for help in the community.

These dogs never would have been saved without the help of Rockville City Police Department Montgomery County Animal Care and Control and Montgomery County Animal Services.

This also required Code Enforcement and other agencies. IT TAKES A VILLAGE. THANK YOU to everyone who listened, acted and followed the rules to a T so that we can see proper action taken against this man.
 

🚨 Animal Cruelty Investigation Underway in Rockville, MD 🚨
On March 14, 2025, police, along with Neighborhood Services Officers and Montgomery County Animal Control, responded to a residence in the 1000 Block of Scott Avenue following citizen complaints of malnourished animals.
Authorities obtained a search and seizure warrant and removed multiple animals from the property. These animals are now receiving care from veterinarians to assess their condition. The investigation is ongoing, and charges against the owner are being evaluated.
We thank the community for speaking up and reporting concerns. If you suspect animal cruelty, please contact local authorities immediately.
📢 Stay tuned for updates as more details become available.

03/13/2025

Thankful Thursday!
Please join our friends Forever Changed Animal Rescue and Pet Wants Rockville for an amazing event this Saturday! We are so thankful to have such incredible community partners that do such amazing work!

03/11/2025

03/09/2025

Sunday Funnies! A dog’s view….

03/08/2025

! Dogs don’t use force to teach each other. So why are they telling you to?

Thank you Zak George for this explanation!
Balanced trainers, those who use both positive reinforcement and punishment through pain or fear, often claim that prong collars, shock collars, and leash pops mimic how mother dogs “correct” their puppies.

They say that because dogs sometimes growl or muzzle-grab, using force is just “speaking their language.”

This is not backed by scientific evidence or research, and it’s not even a logical argument.

Here’s what the research actually shows:

Dogs avoid physical conflict whenever possible, using body language, vocalizations, and space to communicate.

They aren’t shocking or pinning each other to “teach respect.”

When mother dogs do intervene with puppies, it’s brief, controlled, and non-damaging; nothing like the repeated and sustained pain of a prong collar correction or an e-collar shock.

Studies show that dogs trained with aversive methods exhibit higher stress levels, more fear-based behaviors, and a greater risk of aggression.

Aversive training does not enhance learning, it inhibits it and suppresses behavior through fear, which is fundamentally different from how dogs naturally communicate.

Imagine stubbing your toe hard on a table leg, and right at that moment, someone demands you solve a math problem. Are you focused on learning, or are you just trying to deal with the pain? That’s what happens when dogs are corrected with pain, they aren’t learning a lesson, they’re just trying to avoid the next hit.

When humans deliver corrections through pain or intimidation, research shows that dogs do not respond as if they are receiving a “natural consequence.”

Instead, they exhibit increased stress behaviors, avoidance, and even defensive aggression - reactions that are starkly different from how puppies respond to natural maternal guidance.

When corrected by their mother, puppies typically adjust their behavior without signs of fear or distress, as maternal cues are brief, controlled, and non-threatening.

This contrast suggests that dogs perceive human-imposed corrections not as meaningful communication, but as unpredictable, aversive events.

If corrections really worked like dog-to-dog communication, we wouldn’t see so many side effects. Yet study after study shows that dogs trained with force are more anxious, less engaged, and more likely to react aggressively.

So why do some trainers keep pushing this claim? The answer is simple: it provides a convenient justification for using outdated, harmful methods that prioritize control over effective and humane communication.

That trauma may not always be immediately obvious, but research shows it can manifest in chronic stress, anxiety, and behavioral fallout, undermining a dog’s well-being long after the training session ends.

And I don’t say this to stir controversy, but to inform the public: a trainer calling themselves “balanced” is openly admitting to a lack of modern, science-based knowledge. The industry has moved forward, but they haven’t.

Dogs learn best through trust, not fear.

The best trainers in the world don’t rely on intimidation, they rely on knowledge, skill, and ethical communication that affirms the dogs emotional state at all times.

There will no doubt be upset balanced trainers in the comments, but pay attention, because while they may resort to insults or deflections, they won’t provide peer-reviewed evidence to support their claim.

The question now is not whether this myth is false, but whether we will finally move beyond it and do right by the dogs and the public who trust us.

Sources:
1. Herron, M. et al. (2009). Survey of the use and outcome of confrontational and non-confrontational training methods in client-owned dogs showing undesired behaviors.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2008.12.011
2. Ziv, G. (2017). The effects of using aversive training methods in dogs – a review.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2017.02.004
3. Vieira de Castro, A.C. et al. (2020). Does training method matter? Evidence for the negative impact of aversive-based methods on companion dog welfare.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225023
4. Lezama-García, K. et al. (2019). Maternal behaviour in domestic dogs.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6776987/
5. Blyth, T. (n.d.). If a mother dog snaps at her pups, why can’t we use ‘corrections’ to train?
https://www.tarynblyth.co.za/post/if-a-mother-dog-snaps-at-her-pups-why-can-t-we-use-corrections-to-train