⬇️READ⬇️ Do you approach your dog with honor? We are sure you love them, but do you see them as the truly amazing species they are?
❤️ An overwhelming majority of dog owners, never lack love for their dogs. So much so that they treat them like people. This places a tremendous amount of stress and responsibility on many dogs. Some are bulletproof, you may not recognize it in others though!
🐕 Your dog has a lemon sized brain. Only 10% of it is prefrontal cortex, as opposed to our 1/3 prefrontal cortex. This is where all the higher emotions reside. They simply do not have the capacity to experience, jealousy, pride, resentment, or contempt. Dogs, ideally cease emotionally developing at the point of love. There is so much more though!
🙏 Thankfully, dogs are far more perceptive of certain factors than we are. Their sense of smell enables them to know when we are stressed without our even realizing. Have you ever experienced your dog knowing you were sad? Good luck, trying to find a person like that.
🐕 We humans, owe the dog clear communication in their language.
🐕 We also owe them fulfillment of their instincts.
🐕 We owe them our modern human existence!🙏
⚠️Though our dogs should never be treated unjustly; as mere possessions, it’s unfair to treat them as humans. Love your dog the way your dog needs to be loved not the way you WANT. We begin restoring honor to the great species we call “Dog” by becoming the benevolent leader.
#dogtrainer #dogtraining #shelterdog #dogbehavior #rescuedog #germanshepherd #doglife #dogtrainingtips #rottie #pitbull #dogmom #husky
⬇️DOG COMMUNICATION ⬇️
🤐Silent communication to a dog is natural and therefore, kind. ❤️ Only 10% of dog communication is vocal… The remaining 90% is silent body language, and spatial pressure.
🚫Nothing changes if nothing changes!🚫
If you’re looking to improve your relationship with your dog, start with silent communication! You might as well try!
🤖As the more advanced species, it’s not only our responsibility to communicate with dogs in THEIR language, it’s simply arrogant not to.
😀Don’t worry, you can never be blamed if you’ve never been taught. Bring a willingness to learn and implement; then leave the rest to us!
☎️Need help with your dog? Call dm or text 862-380-4882📱
🐕Reactivity
🐕Aggression
🐕Anxiety
🐕Fear
🐕Basic obedience
🐕Leash manners
🙏Thank you to all who participated in our group sessions this past weekend! We look forward to seeing you all again soon as we continue on our journey of benevolent leadership!
#dogtrainer #dogtraining #shelterdog #dogbehavior #rescuedog #dogtrainingtips #germanshepherd #dogmom #bergencounty
💔Fear responses in dogs are heartbreaking.
An overwhelming majority of disproportionate dog reactivity is fear based.
👍So when you witness your dog becoming calm and trusting of you; so calm that he or she lays down voluntarily, it’s smart to reward that!
⚠️Wait! What are we rewarding? It’s not the physical compliance with the “down” command/request. DO NOT TELL YOUR DOG, “DOWN”! Catch it when it occurs naturally and reward the dog for the natural shift to stability.
👀Watch for body language, don’t reward if the dog is loading or hyper focused on a perceived threat. The relaxed down is typically characterized by the dog AT LEAST laying on a hip; not on all four contracted limbs with paws ready to spring up. A dog’s chin to the ground indicates even more relaxation.
☎️Need help with your dog? Call dm or text 862-380-4882📱
🐕Reactivity
🐕Aggression
🐕Anxiety
🐕Fear
🐕Basic obedience
🐕Leash manners
Gino, the German Shepherd has been on his journey for a few months. He would howl and lunge from 50 yards away. His human @clauddaub has put in the work. We commend them for their dedication and for trusting benevolent leadership!
#dogtrainer #dogtraining #shelterdog #dogbehavior #germanshepherd #rescuedog #dogmom #dogtrainingtips
HAS YOUR DOG’S BEHAVIOR EVER MADE YOU CRY😢😖
🛟Save 🛟 Share➡️A dog’s tail wagging can convey a variety of emotions and intentions. The speed, position, and direction of the wag all contribute to the message the dog is sending. Here’s a breakdown of common types of tail wagging and their meanings:
🐕Slow Wagging
What it Looks Like: The tail moves back and forth slowly, often in a low or neutral position.
• What it Means: This can indicate uncertainty or cautiousness. The dog may be assessing a situation or feeling unsure about how to respond.
🐕Fast, Broad Wagging
• What it Looks Like: The tail moves quickly and in wide arcs, often with the whole body involved.
• What it Means: This is typically a sign of excitement and friendliness. The dog is happy, playful, or eager to engage with someone or something.
⚠️High, Stiff Wagging⚠️
• What it Looks Like: The tail is held high and moves in short, stiff wags.
• What it Means: This can indicate alertness or dominance. The dog may be feeling confident, on guard, or even slightly aggressive, depending on the context.
🐕Low, Gentle Wagging
• What it Looks Like: The tail is held low and moves softly from side to side.
• What it Means: This often signals submission or nervousness. The dog may be trying to show appeasement or avoid conflict.
🐕Helicopter Wagging
• What it Looks Like: The tail spins in a circular motion, like a helicopter blade.
• What it Means: This is a sign of extreme joy and enthusiasm. Dogs often show this type of wag when they’re reuniting with someone they love.
🐕Tail Wagging While Tucked
• What it Looks Like: The tail is tucked between the legs and moves slightly.
• What it Means: This is a sign of fear or submission. The dog feels threatened or insecure.
Important Note:
Tail wagging is just one piece of a dog’s communication puzzle. Always consider the context and other body language signals, like ear position, posture, and facial expressions, to get a full understanding of what yo
💔This isn’t what Nature intended for the beautiful species we call, “Dog”.🥲
🙏Please help us name him…. And share.
Leave your suggestions below.
🐕Our poor friend, a male mixed breed dog of about 4-6 years old was found tied up in an abandoned house after his humans abruptly moved away.
😥The transition to the shelter can be stressful. The shift in atmosphere from silent house to chaotic, odor filled shelter can send a dog into fight or flight.
⚠️He doesn’t have the temperament to fight though! He would have bitten me otherwise!
READ THAT AGAIN⚠️
😖This leaves the dog and the lovely shelter staff and volunteers heartbroken and frustrated. Making the initial contact and getting them out for the first time is EVERYTHING to dogs like this. Then, decompressing and rehab moves quickly.
🐕The fact remains, there are too many dogs and not enough ethical, responsible, kind people. Please prove us wrong and help us find him a home. A simple share increases his chances exponentially. Don’t forget, we’ll be with you every step of the way for training and dog behavior suggestions!
🙏Take the smallest action; it all starts somewhere; and you too become a member of the GTD Family by implementing benevolent leadership!
#doglover #dogtrainer #shelterdog #dogbehavior #rescuedog #bergencounty
🖐️Dogs don’t have hands! They don’t have fingers either, so our petting can sometimes be overstimulating and even overwhelming.
🐕Most people DEMAND a dog allows petting!
💪 Do not hesitate to instruct people on how to pet your dog!
🚫 Don’t let people pet your dog if your dog is hesitant to be touched by that particular person! It damages TRUST!
🏅It’s a privilege to be permitted to pet a dog so make it for them, not just you!
👉Just as humans have pressure points throughout their bodies, dogs do as well. The jaw muscles and points behind the jaw itself are a good place to begin when applying meaningful touch, as opposed to annoying selfish petting.
😃Dogs also typically enjoy a massage of their pectoral muscles and sternum.
🙌Massage the muscle! Don’t selfishly just feel their fur!
🍀Maybe your dog or others you’ve met have been super tolerant. YOU’VE GOTTEN LUCKY! They’re not all the same and just because you’ve interacted with 50 dogs, it doesn’t mean you know them ALL!
🖐️ Applying meaningful touch to your dog, can ease their anxiety and stress. It should be used as the first form of physical contact. It places their needs before our selfish wants, and it is a reflection of benevolent leadership.
#dogtrainer #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #shelterdog #rescuedog #gsdlove #dogloversclub #dogmom
💔Her name is Spooky💔 It took 19 minutes to leash her.
🐕She’s yet another dog surrendered to @bergencountyanimalshelter. Her person lost his independence and was forced into assisted living.
🚫Spooky is NOT aggressive. She’s just afraid and is operating in almost perpetual fight or flight……unless we take action.
🐕Dogs are instinctual beings, they’re neither logical nor rational, so not allowing undesirable behaviors driven by survival is imperative. Had I retreated, her defensive behavior would have grown.
🍔🌭Food doesn’t work in these cases because the brain is so overwhelmed, it prevents the dog from smelling. (Olfactory Exclusion) Mammals don’t need to smell one another in order to fight or flee!
⏱️It takes time and love through a respectful approach ❤️ Join us as we show you Spooky’s progression and rehabilitation. We invite you to witness the benefits of benevolent leadership.
#shelterdog #dogtraining #dogtrainer #shelterdogsrock #dogbehavior #hope #doglove #bergencounty #dogmom
🙏Share🙏 Gemini, the two year old Great Pyrenees mix needs a foster. She only knows the limited area at and around The Start 2 Shelter and Rescue In Englewood, NJ.
😢Though the volunteers do their absolute best, Gemini is a challenging case.
🐕Poor Gemini is an insecure and high defense drive dog. This combination makes her fearful and distrusting, yet NOT committed to biting. You could see in the video she was trying to make space (flee) from me,…. the lead is only so long though.
🤞There is hope. By first building trust with a handler she will be abe to be exposed to new challenges, therefore increasing her security.
🚫Dogs are neither rational nor logical, so behaviors that keep them alive are more likely to increase. In this case, it’s Gemini’s indiscriminate and exaggerated defensiveness. Yes, it’s genetic, but unless it’s first managed, and then counter-conditioned she will continue to live in the fearful, chaotic state that keeps her alive one more day…… and the cycle repeats.
😢Already have a dog like Gemini?
DM 📱Text or call📞 862-380-4882
🙏We’re grateful to the lovely folks at Start 2 for placing their faith and trust in us. We look forward to helping them with Gemini and all of their dogs as they grow and thrive through benevolent leadership!
#shelterdog #shelterdogsrock #greatpyrenees #rescuedog #doglife #dogbehavior #bergencountynj
🙏Share 💔TWO YEARS IN A SHELTER💔
Fear is a heartbreaking emotion to witness in dogs. It can manifest itself through flight or freeze, two of the four elements of defense drive.
🐕Remi, the Great Pyrenees Mix, is exhibiting both. By being patient, respectful and of course, non confrontational in the dog language, we can start to build trust.
🤐In these specific cases, talking to them never helps, so I shut the hell up. His brain is so overwhelmed by epinephrine, aka “adrenaline”, he may not even HEAR me.
🍔Yes, I tried feeding him, before you ask. Just like the brain shuts down hearing, it shuts down the nose too.
⏱️This requires time and silent movement as well as simply existing together in the same reasonable space.
👉What is reasonable space to a dog like Remi?
👉What type of movement is reasonable?
👉How do we move them kindly, yet decisively?
👉IF they’ll even eat, when do we feed?
💪All of the above are paramount for building trust, confidence and counter conditioning fear. Do it right, and you make progress. The wrong approach may APPEAR as if it’s working, but you’re keeping the dog exactly where they are while it still only trusts itself and TOLERATES you. Hence, Remi’s two year residency.
🙏Our hope is that you share Remi and the staff follows the detailed plan we outlined for him. Together we can accomplish greatness and it starts under Greta’s Benevolent Leadership.
#shelterdog #shelterdogsrock #fear #dogbehavior #dogtrainer #greatpyrenees #doglove #bergencounty #doglove
⬇️READ⬇️ A casual conversation with @rachels.dogs became educational! It’s all about trust and maintaining it!
👉As a child, how would you have felt if a parent allowed some weirdo too close to you?
You’d become more and more vigilant. In dogs, this hyper vigilance can lead to disastrous consequences. Defense drive can slowly but steadily build until people believe, “it happened out of nowhere!”
👍We’re big on teaching the “whys”!
💪When we know “why”, it makes it far easier to implement habits that promote healthy changes or maintain healthy dog behaviors.
Need help with your dog? ☎️Call, Dm or text📱862-380-4882
🐕Leash Walking
🐕Anxiety and Fear
🐕Aggression
🐕Dog Reactivity
🐕Puppy socialization
🐕Basic Obedience
🐕Public Access
👉It all starts with us! Become the confident handler your dog needs. Become the benevolent leader.
#dogtraining #dogtrainer #dogtrainingadvice #dogloversclub #dogbehavior #gsd #rottweiler #pitbullsofficial #bergencounty #dogmom #rescuedog #shelterdog
