Wayward Dogs Training

04/05/2024

ADOLESCENCE:
As dogs go through adolescence, it’s safe to say things turn a little topsy-turvy! 🙃

If you’re currently at this stage and feeling like you’ve taken one step forward and two steps back, don’t panic! During this stage of life, there’s a lot going on in their busy little brains.

Here are three facts about the adolescent brain 🧠👇

1. The inhibitory neurons of the amygdala that help to dampen down emotional responses don’t fully mature until the END of adolescence.

2. Communication between the frontal cortex and amygdala, which is essential for skills training, decreases during adolescence.

3. Extinction memory is impaired during adolescence, so if your dog has a bad experience it’s much more likely to lead to a ‘hard wired’ fear memory.

Have patience and compassion as you support and guide your dog through this vulnerable period of brain development.

01/24/2024

So true!

Friday Funny 🤣🤣

12/16/2023

RESEARCH REQUIRED!

Choosing a dog just because of the way they look.

We wouldn’t choose a partner or make a commitment to sharing our lives with someone based purely on the way they look – (I suppose there could be exceptions in some cases!)

We would first really get to know them, what kind of personality they have and who they really are before making that sort of commitment.

Yet people continue to choose dogs just because of the way they look.

Maybe they saw a dog like that in a movie that they enjoyed or maybe they just really like the way they look, without having any understanding or thought to learn about what that particular breed was selectively bred to do and what behaviour might be expected.

The way a dog behaves is not always specific to the breed. Dogs are individuals, with their own unique personality and their behaviour is shaped not only by genetics, but by specific life and learning experiences and environment, but problems can happen when the traits of that breed and their specific needs are not taken into account.

Some breeds may just simply not be compatible with a particular person or family’s needs, lifestyle, environment or expectations.

Is it fair or ethical to need to suppress, train out or even punish breed specific tendencies, calling them behaviour problems, when we hold a dog in a captive environment that is unsuitable for them.

First research the breed and learn all you can about potential traits and what to expect before making that choice.

12/16/2023

Your child may love your dog, but if they are screaming, running, throwing things, knocking things over, speaking loudly, crying, etc., it's very likely that your dog finds this scary or threatening.

Remember, your dog doesn't understand intent.

11/27/2023

My favorite harness.

Take the lead with the “power steering” front leash connection, or prevent pulling with the back leash connection which activates soothing, hug-like compression when pressure is applied.

10/30/2023

Rolling over does not necessarily mean an invitation for belly rubs

10/15/2023

This is a fantastic game and one of the first I teach all dogs

Whole Dog Journal‘s mission is to provide dog guardians with in-depth information on dog food, training, behavior, health, and more.

07/30/2023

My favorite harness

06/26/2023

My favorite harness

06/13/2023

Please be careful

Fyi dog owners!! Important information

04/13/2023

So important

11/20/2022

So true

This great quote from Shay Kelly really resonates.

We often expect too much from our dogs when we haven’t prepared them for our requests or assumptions.

We can’t teach a behaviour in one environment and then expect them to perform in all environments.

We can’t expect them to work around intense distractions when we haven’t trained them to do so.

Dogs are not mind readers or robots. They have thoughts and feeling just like us humans do. For example, when they are excited, it’s harder for them (like us) to concentrate on what’s being asked of them. We need to spend time training them and building their impulse control and resilience.

Next time your dog struggles to do what you have ask (or what you expect), ask yourself, have I actually prepared them for this?

If you are struggling with your dog, why not get in touch today to find out how we can help you.

11/18/2022

I love this and use it in training

https://www.stellaandchewys.com/pet-profile/

11/18/2022

This about sums it up

Think about this. It has the potential to change the way you see and understand dogs.



(Author: Brad Weinstein)

09/01/2022

Don't be fooled! 👀

If your pup sleeps through the night in the crate, that doesn't mean your pup will be fine in the crate during the day!

(Anyone who has ever been on bed rest knows what I mean.)

Put your pup on a daytime crate routine.

1.Play with your pup.
2.Feed a meal/snack in the crate.
3.Crate for short periods of time throughout the day.
4.Open the crate door when your pup is quiet.

Consider playing calming music/sounds. Consider covering the crate with a sheet.

Plan ahead and crate train during the day well before your dog needs to be crated during your workday.

: Brown and black brindle terrier puppy sleeping on top of a blue towel inside of a black metal crate with the crate door open.

07/03/2022

Communication

06/27/2022

Help keep your babies safe, and help others know about the dangers of Foxtail grass.

Foxtail grass is found up and down the West Coast of the U.S. but has also spread across the country populating ALL but a few states. Foxtail grass is also found throughout most of Canada and it has equally lethal counterparts across the globe and goes by other names like, Spear Grass, Wall Barley, and Mouse Barley.

Foxtails are grasses with lethal seed awns (the foxtail- shaped tip of the grass blade containing seeds). Foxtails have barbed, razor-sharp needles that are extremely dangerous to our fur kids. Nature designed them to move in one direction—forward! They dig in and they do not dissolve or come out on their own.

Foxtails easily attach themselves to adventurous fur kids and can burrow deeper and deeper with every movement. Foxtails love paws and can easily become embedded (and hidden) between tender toes. They can work their way into ANY part of the body. Foxtail fragments can easily go up the nose and migrate to the brain. Inhaled foxtails can perforate a lung.

Foxtails that go unnoticed can require surgery to be removed. Embedded foxtails can cause infection, abscesses, swelling, pain, and death.

SAFETY TIPS: Stay out of areas with foxtails and make sure your yard doesn’t contain them. If your pet has mingled with foxtails, make sure to do a thorough inspection afterward because they burrow quickly and are hard to see sometimes: Brush coat, feel every part of the body with hands, and look closely at ears, nose, eyes, underbelly, between toe pads, and underneath collars. Also check inside mouth, around lips, and private parts! Pets can chew on foxtail grasses and get them lodged in gums and throat. They will not dissolve or work their way out!

Most fur kids who have access to the outdoors, from dogs to horses, can be harmed by foxtails, but animals with long fur, long ears, and curly fur can be especially prone to foxtail problems.

Stay safe,
xoAmy

06/07/2022

So true.

05/12/2022

This pretty much sums up how I feel about dog training

I train my dogs to be disobedient.

By that, I mean:
-Nine times out of ten, when I ask my dogs to do something, I do just that. I ask, I don’t tell. If they don’t do it, they’re giving me information as to why. Perhaps my dog isn’t sitting because the environment is too distracting, maybe my dog isn’t jumping because her leg hurts, maybe they aren’t doing perfect loose lead walking because they’re afraid of something and want to move away from it. Perfect obedience removes a level of communication, and I want my dogs to feel comfortable saying “I’m struggling with that request,” instead of just obeying.

-I want my dogs to be free-thinkers. I want their training to be habitual, not always prompted. Many dog trainers want to control their dog’s every movement, but I want my guys to have more freedom, I want to trust them to make good decisions instead of micromanaging everything. Through positive reinforcement of those good decisions, such as disengaging from something exciting, checking in with me on walks and applying their impulse control by not chasing everything that moves, they are more likely to make those same good decisions in the future.

-I actively encourage my dogs to be “naughty”. Or, as I see it, adventurous. I teach them how to swim so they can go wading through streams, I show them how to climb trees, to jump on benches, to crawl over furniture. I encourage hole digging, rolling in the grass, ripping up cardboard, howling sessions and ingenious ways of stealing treats. I want them to be confident, intelligent and innovative in their thinking.

-My dogs are allowed to tell me what to do, to make decisions and to tell me off. They can request a play or training session, they can choose where to go on walks, they can tell me if they don’t want me to move them when they’re sleepy, if they don’t want to be picked up, if they aren’t feeling up for a walk today. They’re allowed their own opinions, and those opinions are valid.

When you share your life with a dog, there are two individuals in that relationship. Your dog shouldn’t have to do exactly what you say and cater to your every whim, regardless of how they’re feeling. And vice versa. Dog ownership should be symbiotic, allowing dog and owner to be their best selves.

So many people think that we need to exert control over our dogs, but good training is all about providing freedoms.

05/10/2022

Great info on child - dog interactions