Train Dog Friendly

05/01/2025

𝙂𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙖 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙩𝙚 (𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙬𝙤). Do you give your dog time to think about things? To assess? To weigh up their options? Or do you move them on...busy, busy, busy?

Giving your dog just a little bit of time to observe and assess can make an enormous difference to their reactions to things. It can slow everything down and take them from a place of instant, knee jerk reactions to calmer, more thoughtful responses.

Newly adopted Torrin can feel a bit frustrated under certain conditions and that expresses itself as lunging and barking. But by allowing him time to observe we're starting to get different, calmer responses. He watches, he thinks about it, he disengages (most of the time!).

Give it a go. Slow down & give them a minute if they need it. Because if you can't give your dog a little time then what can you give them?

04/13/2025

It used to be a choke chain....now it's a check chain. Instead of a choke collar it's a French collar. Instead of an electronic collar or a shock collar, it's a remote collar or training collar.

We use euphemisms like these to hide unpleasant or unpalatable truths. And trainers shouldn't be hiding anything. They should be upfront and honest about the tools & methods that they use and how those tools work. And if that involves physical punishment, restricting air supply or applying an electrical current then they should be honest about that too rather than hide behind disingenuous names.

Euphemisms make the unpalatable, palatable. And there's no place for euphemisms in dog training.

04/03/2025

Setting the record straight on resource guarding!

03/23/2025

I still feel confused at times as to why there is still such a pushback to using food to train your dog.
“When will I not have to use it anymore?”
“Will I always have to have food on me?”
“Won’t he then become obsessed with all food?”
“I want him to do it because he loves me, not because I have food”
“Using food is cheating”
“Using food means you’re bribing not training”
“Using food will make my dog fat”
“I never had to use food with my last dog.”

These are all just some of the insane things I’ve heard and still hear. And it makes me crazy because I can’t imagine saying these things to my employees.
“When will I not have to pay you anymore?”
“If I pay you are you going to just become obsessed with money?”
“I really want you to work for me because you love me, not because I pay you”

Food is a tool. It is a TOOL. And just like any tool it can be used well or used poorly, but it’s one of the only tools in dog training that I hear more myths about than any other. And that’s unfortunate because when used properly it does so many good things -

Food is a primary reinforcer and for most dogs it’s the most valuable thing they can get. This makes it enormously powerful when trying to teach them how to do something new and/or complicated. That doesn’t mean they don’t appreciate a pet on the head, but they’d rather have the food and there’s NOTHING wrong with that. Just like you’d rather be paid in dollars rather than chocolate bars.

Food is fast. It’s easy to deliver, portable, and also variable in value (kibble vs cheese) so it’s very flexible also depending on your level and stage of training.

Food can help create powerful positive associations for dogs as well as counter condition negative associations they already have because of its value to them. Using food in the presence of other dogs, people and environments helps your dog have a positive association with them and this in and of itself is incredibly powerful. That’s something I don’t think we consider nearly enough when training our dogs even when they’ve past the learning phase.

Food does not have to make your dog a beggar, fat, or totally dependent on it. The context in which you deliver it, the way you ration out the food - treats vs meals and healthy choices - and also the way you cue the dog when training all help alleviate these issues.

I pay my dogs regularly and have no shame in that. As they get better at skills I ask them to work harder or longer for the pay just like as adults we have to work a full week or two before we get our paychecks. I use higher value for harder things - just like you like to get paid time and a half when you work Christmas, and lower value for easy stuff. I watch to make sure my dogs hope for the reward but don’t expect it and don’t take it personally when they’d rather come back to me for cheese instead of a pet. I focus on the fact that they came back.

Getting paid at work is a big reinforcer for us but it’s also not the only reason we go is it? The relationships you have with your coworkers, the pride you have in your job etc are all intricate parts of your motivation, but that takes TIME to build, and at first it’s usually just for the pay. Same with training your dog. At first, yes, it’s for the food, but as you continue and do it right it becomes more about the teamwork, the fun and the relationship, not just the pay. And THAT’S what I wish more people understood. Over time your dog will work often without food for you because he truly enjoys it now, and he’s been reinforced by the relationship and countless reinforcements over time. But you have to put that time and patience in first to get there. And it’s worth it. I promise.
-Helen St. Pierre

03/21/2025

It’s heartbreaking to lose a pet - check out the graphic for some excellent info before it happens to you!

03/17/2025

It’s a Monday state of mind 🩷

02/28/2025

Clicker training works for anyone 🥰

02/26/2025

Bird flu has crossed species - at least one dog death that we know of so far. Please take steps to keep your animals safe!

A health alert has been issued for pet owners, as veterinarians are seeing cases of bird flu among cats. Dogs can also contract H5N1, experts said.

02/23/2025

Dogs use their body to communicate all the time! When we get better at recognizing and understanding this language, their behavior becomes much easier to understand and predict!

01/28/2025

Such a great reminder! Dogs can sometimes struggle with their emotions just as humans do.
If you are struggling to understand or manage your dog's big emotional responses, reach out to me for help!

As a dog trainer and the owner of a dog with social issues reactivity is just part of my daily life. But as I meet more and more dogs with social issues I am coming to realize that there is a wealth of misinformation about reactivity out there. And our dogs are paying the price for that.

Every dog owner has a reactive dog. All dogs react to their environment to some degree. Dogs bark at squirrels and other critters. Many bark at people who come to their door or trucks they see going by their front windows The reactive label though only seems to be applied to dogs that react in social situations - the dogs who react to other dogs or people.

Reactive has become a common term to describe dogs that bark and lunge at other dogs or people when on leash. In this case the label has evolved into something that also carries some judgment. I once told someone that my dog was reactive to other dogs and she replied “Oh, you have one of those vicious dogs!”

No, my dog Maddie (pictured here) is actually a very well-trained, loving dog who likes people. But she’s afraid of all other dogs and so lunges and barks at them to increase distance. This is a specific response to a specific trigger for a specific reason. It does not define who she is. We work with her to modify her emotional response in that specific situation because we need to change what she does, not who she is.

Why are people so quick to see dogs that over-react as vicious or aggressive? There is a well-known quote, “People fear most what they don’t understand.” I think in the case of dog reactivity they also judge what they don’t understand.

The world has this unrealistic expectation that every dog should be a social butterfly who interacts happily with all dogs and humans. We hold them to a much higher standard than humans! Perhaps this is because we are afraid of potential physical interactions. To see dogs arguing physically can be very scary.

People don’t understand that aggressive looking behaviour is, in most cases, an emotional response. Most reactive dogs are either fearful and trying to increase distance from the other dog, or frustrated because they cannot reach the other dog to interact with them. In both cases the aggressive displays are a lot of sound and fury to communicate but not to injure.

Life for reactive dogs and their people is not fun. The dogs do not want to be in a constant state of emotional distress. Owners don’t know what to do to help them and are embarrassed and discouraged about their dog’s behaviour and people’s response to it.

So the next time you encounter a reactive dog and their owner instead of staring disapprovingly give them space. Walk on by or head off in another direction. A little wave would be nice a nice touch also. Our dogs and those of us holding the other end of the leash could really use a little empathy and support.

01/17/2025

Dogs need to learn an "off switch" - create a safe place for rest and reward a calm resting state!