Capricorn Dog Training

10/17/2025

ABILITY TO COPE MORE IMPORTANT THAN OBEDIENCE.

🟡In today’s fast-paced world, there’s often too much emphasis on ensuring dogs are obedient, while their ability to cope with an increasingly chaotic environment is overlooked. While being well trained is important, it should be secondary to helping our dogs develop resilience and emotional stability. The modern world presents dogs with constant noise, busy streets, and frequent changes to their environment, which can lead to anxiety or stress if they aren’t prepared to cope with these challenges.

🔴Research supports the idea that emotionally balanced dogs are more adaptable and capable of learning. A 2019 study from the University of Helsinki found that training that focuses on a dog’s emotional state, rather than just their behaviour, leads to a stronger overall ability to handle stress and unfamiliar situations. Dogs that are trained solely for obedience without addressing their mental resilience can often struggle in unpredictable environments, which increases the risk of behavioural issues.

🟢When dogs are allowed to learn to cope first, their ability to navigate a busy world with confidence vastly improves. And more confident dogs respond better to training cues, not out of fear or command alone, but because they trust us and understand how to manage their environment. Building that foundation makes all other training a natural extension, rather than the primary focus.

🟣If we want our dogs to be truly well-adjusted, we must prioritise their emotional well-being and coping abilities. By shifting the focus, we are ensuring that dogs not only follow commands but also feel calm and capable in an ever-busier world.

09/13/2025

https://avsab.org/positive-reinforcement-is-more-effective-at-training-dogs-than-an-electronic-collar-study-shows/?fbclid=IwY2xjawMyofVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHvenqaJsOa91d5WIUNhVaQWLaQDHxzD7OR4El0dAwNLuC7Bqhr98grQ2_zNX_aem_QzmpecPNJMPqIROlyhR7tg

Positive Reinforcement is More Effective at Training Dogs than an Electronic Collar, Study Shows By Zazie Todd, PhD Link to original post We’ve known for a while that training dogs with aversive methods, including electronic collars, has risks for animal welfare. Positive reinforcement training is...

08/31/2025

Do Dogs Hide Pain?

Yes, they do and often very well. Dogs are experts at masking discomfort, so obvious signs like limping or whining may only appear when pain is severe. More often, pain shows up as subtle changes in behaviour: irritability, avoiding touch, sleep changes, or reduced playfulness. Because of this, pain can easily be overlooked in quick vet visits or dismissed as a “behaviour problem.”

Why Short Pain Trials Aren’t Enough

Many owners are given a one- to two-week trial of pain relief medication “to see what happens.” The problem is that this period is usually too short to capture meaningful changes, especially in cases of chronic pain such as arthritis, spinal problems, or nerve-related pain.

Here’s why:
Chronic pain is complex – it involves long-term changes in the nervous system, which take time to respond to treatment.

Pain fluctuates – some days are better than others, and short trials may miss improvements.

Medication takes time – drugs often need weeks to reach consistent levels in the body.

Stress masks pain – adrenaline during vet visits can temporarily hide discomfort, making in-clinic checks unreliable.

A short trial may wrongly lead to the conclusion that “your dog isn’t in pain,” when in reality, they may need longer observation, adjusted medication, or further tests.
Just like humans with long-term pain, dogs adapt over time. They may shift weight, change posture, or hide discomfort, which makes pain harder to spot in a 15-minute vet check. Trials usually need 6–8 weeks to give a reliable picture.

If your dog is put on a pain relief trial, you are the key observer. You see your dog every day. Don’t expect your dog to be pain-free in two weeks. Improvements are often subtle at first; better sleep, being keener to play, less reactivity, more willingness to be touched. Observe your dog, give feedback to your vet, and advocate for longer trials if needed.

06/08/2025

05/15/2025

Breaking the Cycle of Aggression in Dogs

Aggression can become a learned behavior when a dog realizes it works. If growling makes a person back away or lunging keeps other dogs at a distance, the dog is more likely to repeat that behavior. Over time, aggression becomes their go-to strategy.

How to Break the Cycle:
✔️ Identify Causes – Understand what consistently leads to an aggressive response (e.g., guarding food, handling sensitivity, leash frustration).

✔️ Prevent Rehearsal – Every time aggression works, it strengthens the behavior. Use management tools like gates, leashes, and structured interactions to set the dog up for success, and most of all, advocate for the dog by understanding the root cause for their aggression.

✔️ Reinforce Alternative Behaviors – Reward desirable alternative responses when a trigger is presented at a level that doesn’t elicit the aggressive behavior. Teach disengagement, recall, and make positive associations so the dog learns better ways to cope and feel safer.

Aggression doesn’t disappear on its own, but with the right approach, we can help dogs feel safer and make better choices.

03/03/2025

Introducing a rescue dog to new animals- the power of parallel walks.

In Part 2 of our series- here’s why parallel walls are critical to helping rescue dogs gain confidence when meeting other dogs.

HOW do parallel walks help?

🐕 They provide the distance for your dog to feel comfortable with another dog being near them without a FORCED interaction.

💪 They provide your dog with confidence by seeing what another confident dog does when faced with triggers.

🏡 They help you, as the dog guardian or even a dog walker at a shelter, have the space and time to react and manage the situation if the new rescue dog becomes uncomfortable or reactive on the walk.

🌲 It helps your dog learn feel safe enough in the presence with another dog to express natural behaviours on a walk like sniffing, or investigating the environment.

🧡 It helps YOU have the time to listen to what your dog is communicating on a walk, therefore increasing your bond with your new rescue dog.

Next week we will talk about what to avoid during interactions with other dogs!

02/19/2025

I love giving dogs choices, including when it’s related things I want/need them to do. Here’s an example of the “Premack Principle,” which says that “more probable behaviors act to reinforce less probable behaviors.” Most probable because that’s what the dog/cat/child/iguana wants to d...

02/06/2025

Understanding why aggression happens is the key to preventing it.

Imagine aggression like an explosion—the result of two critical elements: the fuel tank and the match:
🛢️ The Fuel Tank (Distant Antecedents):
These are the underlying factors that build over time, like chronic pain, environmental stress, or long-term anxiety. They make a dog more likely to react but don’t cause aggression on their own.

🔥 The Match (Immediate Antecedents):
These are the triggers that set off the reaction—a stranger entering the house, a child reaching for the dog’s food, or another dog approaching too quickly.

Together, the fuel tank and the match create the conditions for an aggressive outburst. By reducing the fuel (addressing underlying stressors) and avoiding the match (managing triggers), we can help dogs feel safer and reduce aggressive behaviors.