In Stride Pet Dog Training LLC

18/07/2025

So important! 🐶🐾🙌

18/07/2025

So important 💖🐶🐾😉

I am always so surprised how quick people are to say that their dog is not in pain.

Pain may look like - A dog with a sudden behavior change, sensitive to sounds, limping, chewing their foot, scratching frequently, sleeping more, lying down on walks, peeing on the floor, secluding themselves away from people or other dogs, suddenly snapping at other dogs, struggling to get on or off the couch or acting different than normal.
They may be in pain.

"Pain is often associated with anxiety: painful animals will be stressed, and they also tend to anticipate situations that might cause them discomfort. Pain can also exacerbate other types of fear and anxiety-related behaviour problems, such as noise fears. Like us, painful animals can also be irritable: less tolerant of interactions with people and other animals, and more likely to show aggressive behaviours to prevent or stop an unwanted interaction."

Canine Behaviour in Mind
edited by Suzanne Rogers

18/07/2025

Yes 💖🐾🐶🙌

How is training and behavior modification successful without the use of aversive tools or methods?

🐶 Use positive reinforcement to teach animals what to do (and make it worth their while!)
🐱 Set up the environment for success, preventing problems before they happen
🐴 Understand the “why” behind a behavior
🐘 Build trust and communication through consistency and empathy
🐅 Focus on long-term goals, not quick fixes

Notice our intentional inclusion of animals like tigers and elephants!
If zookeepers and wildlife professionals can teach some of the most dangerous animals in the world to voluntarily participate in things like blood draws and medical care, we can absolutely do the same with our pets.
And for us, it's often much easier as we typically don’t need the same level of precautions or large teams working toward a shared goal.

Many people turn to aversive tools or methods because they’re feeling overwhelmed, desperate, or have been told, “This is what works.” Often, it’s not about a lack of care, it’s about a lack of access to the knowledge and skills needed to train differently.

Learning how to teach and support animals without force takes time, practice, and a willingness to grow. But just like our pets, we’re all capable of learning new things, and we don’t have to cause fear or discomfort to get there.

Let’s continue to raise the bar for training and behavior support. Your animal is capable. And so are you.

17/07/2025

Sharing again, such important information! 🐶🐾💖🙌

17/07/2025

So important 🐶🐾😓

"But dogs give corrections to each other, it's natural, so why wouldn't we use corrections in our teachings?"

The simple answer is this: we are not dogs.

The longer answer:

When dogs give corrections to each other their concern is promoting NATURAL social behaviours. E.g. to a puppy - an adult dog may correct to say 'no, don't try and take my food'. To a rude dog - a play partner may correct to say 'no, don't slam your body into me'.

Anything that looks like corrective violence outside of a natural social behaviour setting we decide to call AGGRESSION. Aggression that we set to "fix" as a behaviour problem. For example, a dog snapping at another for coming too close to their human. Or a dog biting the hand that grooms them.

Corrections we use in dog training AREN'T all about promoting natural social behaviours either. We use corrections for loose lead walking- there's nothing natural about that behaviour. We use corrections for a dog displaying defensive behaviours around things they fear - there's nothing natural about punishing that. We use corrections when a dog has learnt to protect their food from interfering kids - there's nothing natural about allowing the kids to be interfering and punishing the one who possesses the food.

By our standards then, using corrective violence in these unnatural circumstances is also just aggression. Only WE are the ones being aggressive in order to achieve OUR results. So that makes it ok?

We aren't dogs. We can't simulate corrections between dogs because our goals, standards and expectations are nowhere near the same.

Furthermore, a dog correcting another may use a snarl, growl, air snap, hard stare, moving up to literally pushing them away with a charge at or similar. It isn't applying a collar around the neck so corrections can come frequent and graduated. It isn't using so much power that physical damage is caused. It isn't keeping the prongs/'teeth' around the neck so the dog generally won't be tempted to move out of position. This isn't corrections that are natural. This is violence. This is aggression.

We can't correct like dogs do because we aren't dogs. It really is that simple.

We aren't correcting. We are punishing and purposefully using shots of pain and fear and threat to control another being. We can't dress it up as a natural thing dogs do too when it is just not comparable.

17/07/2025

Yesss! 💖🐶🐾😉

Although we are all getting to grips with the XL Bully legislation and need for muzzling dogs in public, we think it's an important reminder that we should NOT be using closed mouth muzzles to walk dogs. Note that many dog muzzles are not made in a way that allows panting.

They MUST be able to pant or they risk heat stroke, especially in warm weather but this is important no matter what temperature!

If you need a bite proof muzzle, that also allows dogs to pants, look at communities such as The Muzzle Movement, The Muzzle Up Project and The Bully Boardroom - Public Page for help and support.

Does Muzzle Mean Trouble?

❌No!

➡️Muzzles are an essential piece of equipment in in the dog behaviour world.

➡️A properly fitted muzzle can allow people to safely exercise and socialise their dogs in a safer environment.

➡️Sadly dogs wearing muzzles are subject to judgment.

➡️There are a number of reasons dogs need to wear a muzzle, and none of them mean you have a bad dog! What we do have is a dog that is experiencing the world and an owner who has safe control of their pet.

✅Muzzle training should always be a very positive experience so the muzzle becomes associated with enjoyable experiences like walks, socialising, activities off lead exercise for example. Training may be a slow process but is worthwhile to allow your pet to safely navigate their environment.

➡️There are a number of reasons why a dog may be wearing a muzzle. If you see a dog wearing one:

✅ Recall your dog in case the dog is fear reactive or dog reactive

✅ Communicate with the owner.

🗨️"Hello, how are you? Is your dog okay with my dog or would you like me to move further away?"

In many instances you may help reduce the anxiety of a fear reactive dogs owner who can then safely pass without worrying about unexpected confrontation.
You may also learn that their dog is perfectly fine with dogs and would love to play, and they are wearing the muzzle for other reasons.

These reasons can be:

✅Behaviour
Some dogs need a muzzle to safely exercise in public because they may be reactive of aggressive in certain circumstances. An owner walking a muzzled dog is taking excellent care to provide for their welfare needs to enjoy natural behaviour while still considering the safety of others.

✅ Dogs that scavenge on walks.
This could result in the dangerous ingestion of mouldy foods, or other dangerous objects like stones, large pieces of wood or rubbish and litter left around (P.s please bin your litter!!)

✅ Dogs that are on a medical elimination diet and are not allowed to eat anything else to check for food allergies

✅ Dogs with medical issues like pancreatitis meaning scavenging high fat treats could cause a nasty flare up. Or dogs with diabetes that need to stop grabbing sneaky treats on walks to help control their blood glucose levels.

✅ Dogs who have a high prey drive and may try to catch little animals or even nip other smaller dogs on walks

✅ Dogs that's are perfectly lovely but have been put under restrictions by Breed Specific Legislation like a Pit Bull Terrier or XL Bully.

Post Pictures of your happy muzzled dog✅🐾💞

17/07/2025

Love it 💖🐶🐾😉

17/07/2025

Things to remember 💖🐶🐾😉

This is a common myth we hear so often, that harnesses cause pulling. They absolutely do not, it's a lack of effectively showing them where we want them to be and where they need to be walking to keep the lead loose. What harnesses do very well is protect the delicate and vital structures in the neck by avoiding pressure on them, including if a dog does happen to pull, as damage in this area is very serious and can potentially be life-threatening.

17/07/2025

Yes!! 🐶💖🐾🙌

17/07/2025

Things to remember 🐶🐾😓

“But my dog plays with a laser pointer, and he’s fine!”

I’m going to tell a story.

Years ago, I evaluated fairly young (under two) dog for their problems with light fixation. It was very severe- the glint of a ring off the floor, a camera flash, and so much more. Any flicker on a surface sent the dog into a frenzy.

Months prior, they played with their dog with a laser pointer. After one session, the dog paced and whined for over an hour after they put it away. After two sessions, the dog began light chasing, causing severe damage to their carpet, and they realized the huge mistake they made.

We set up some lessons. And days before their first lesson, they called to cancel. The dog had chased the reflection of car headlights across their living room and went straight through their large picture window. The dog did not survive its injuries.

The story is one that has haunted me for years, and while it’s the most extreme incident stemming from laser pointer play I’ve personally seen, it’s not remotely the only dog I’ve seen with severe issues from it.

In the wrong dog, playing with a laser pointer, flashlight, etc., can trigger behavioral problems shockingly fast in only a small handful of sessions.

“But my dog loves it!”

Your dog may love it, but make no mistake, that is a matter of luck and nothing else. There is no lack of great toys out there to play with your dog that don’t carry such extreme risk.

If I handed you a box of 100 dog treats, and said “your dog will love 99 of these treats, but one of them could cost him his life”, would you still give one to your dog?

Please do not expose your dog to laser lights or similar devices for play.

17/07/2025

Yes please! For everyone’s safety 💖🐶🐾😉

TEACH CHILDREN TO BE DOG FRIENDLY
This is a subject that I feel very strongly about and I cannot stress enough how important it is to teach children how to behave around dogs. I often see children treating dogs like soft toys, jumping on them, pulling them, poking, kissing and hugging, screaming and running around them, encouraging dogs to chase them and then tears and stressed owners when the dog nips them or worse.
It’s usually the dog that gets the blame when this happens and it’s not the dogs fault! I am so often asked “How do I make my dog more child friendly?” The question really should be - “How can I make my child more dog friendly?”
Dogs do not come with a built-in ability to know how to interact with children and it’s up to parents to teach their children how to interact with dogs. If children were taught from a very young age how to interact and respect a dog’s space there would be far fewer incidents of dogs biting children. Many dogs are afraid of young children because they move around erratically; they can be unpredictable, noisy and inconsistent, they chase them around and treat them like toys or touch and pull them around roughly.
Children often want to show dogs love by hugging, kissing or leaning against them; this is the human way of showing affection, but most dogs find this stressful and frightening. This normal “human” behaviour could easily lead to a dog bite, which is why it’s so important to always supervise young children around dogs. When a dog is feeling stressed or frightened and their attempt to communicate this through body language is ignored, they often see no other way to make the scary situation go away than to snap or bite.
Teach your children that dogs don’t like being hugged, kissed or leaned on. Teach your children that dogs like quiet, soft, calm voices and that shouting and screaming scares them. Teach them never to disturb dogs that are sleeping, eating or chewing something. Teach them that dogs are not toys and don’t like to be jumped on, pulled or pushed, chased or teased. Teach them to respect dogs as one sentient being to another.