4 Positive Paws, LLC/Toni M. Stoltz

12/21/2021

It is ok if your dog is reactive! This article is spot on!!!

Loving a reactive dog means grieving the dog you thought you would have 16 Replies Guest post by Emma Heasman Among all the experiences of grief that come from caring for a pet, I’ve come to realise that there is one that thousands of people struggle with even though the pet is still alive and wel...

11/05/2021

Little Miss Dolly Graduated! We had a fun "out and about" session at Birkdale today!
Congrats sweet girl!!

10/31/2021

Our newest graduates!! These families and pups have all done such an amazing job!! Well done!

10/27/2021

Happy Graduation Day to Martin and Gracie!! Such fun puppies!

10/25/2021

This amazing team has been having fun working on many cues! Jake, our graduate, does not hear, so we have been teaching him many hand and touch signals. Dad and Jake are awesome and the best of buddies! Help me in congratulating this dynamic duo!

10/24/2021

Congratulations to Miss Luna, our newest Canine Good Citizenship graduate! She and her Mom and Dad are an amazing team! So very proud of all of you!!

10/22/2021

Sweet little Ozzy graduated!! I will miss this precious boy and his pet parents so very much!!

10/20/2021

Holly and Yogi graduated today!! The sweetest Goldens!! I will miss these cuties!!

10/19/2021

So many graduates!! Congrats to all of these sweet pups!

10/15/2021

Please reconsider ever using a shock collar and/ or invisible fence

Do you use an underground electric shock fence to contain your dog? Are you considering having one installed? I hope reading this will change your mind.

10/14/2021

This post is spot on!!!

Dogs who wear muzzles are good dogs. Dogs who aren’t dog friendly are good dogs. Dogs who are lead reactive are good dogs. Dogs who need space are good dogs. Dogs who are scared of strangers are good dogs.

If you see someone clearly making steps to avoid you or your dog while you are out walking, please respect them.

If someone lets you know that their dog needs space or isn’t dog friendly, please respect them.

If you see someone clip their dog on lead when you approach, clip yours on too and give them space.

Some dogs don't want to interact with other dogs or people and that's fine. I'm sure you don't want to interact with everyone you see either! They still deserve to have a great quality of life and go everywhere yours gets to go as long as they are taking the right precautions.

Having a dog that needs space is a challenge all of its own, but we are doing our best to advocate for them to ensure they live the best lives we can give them. Training can't happen at all unless we take these dogs into public places. To everyone with friendly dogs, please don’t be offended and please don't judge. A nervous dog can happen to anyone at anytime. Instead of playing the blame game, let's all try make that dog's life more comfortable and its owners life much easier by being understanding 💛
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10/12/2021

Let's start using positive words like "CUE, POSITIVE and YES", instead of command, obedience and no!!! Words and terms DO matter!!

Words matter - even in dog training! Learn the difference between 'cue' and 'command' when training dogs.

10/09/2021

09/04/2021

Oliver and Winston have the best Mom and Dad! They are enjoying teaching the pups new things! Congrats to the Kimball family!

09/03/2021

Congrats to Chloe and the entire Russell family! They have been having fun working with Chloe and teaching her so many things. The whole family is helping to raise Chloe and this family is top notch! Congrats to all of them! You are awesome!

08/30/2021

So many new friends! Welcome to 4 Positive Paws all you sweet pups! We are having so much fun!!

08/12/2021

Out and about today at Birkdale with Mr. Barkley and his Mom and Dad! Making some new friends, window shopping and even a walk through the wine store!

08/11/2021

Please let your dog enjoy life!!!!!

Learn your dog’s silent language so you can understand what he is trying to communicate.

Be open to listening. Let go of human expectations.

Gently, without coercion, try to teach skills (not obedience training) to help your dog navigate the human world.

Try to remain flexible although some things might not make sense from the human perspective. Trust the dog's perspective is valid and very real to that individual dog.

You will make mistakes along the way, get frustrated, and lose your cool at times, but you will learn so much from your dog’s point of view and, in turn, learn about yourself as well.

08/10/2021

We have another graduate!! Join me in congratulation Miss Maddie Jane and mom, Betty on being an awesome team!! I will miss our time together!!

08/05/2021

Barkley had fun with the agility equipment today!!

08/04/2021

Wally and Annie!! These pups are SOOOO a much fun!

08/03/2021

Sweet, little Milo and beautiful, happy Luna!! Welcome my new friends!

07/22/2021

Little Miss Lulu graduated from Positive Dog Private Session! She and her Dad are an fabulous team!

07/15/2021

Say hello to my newest friends, Barkley and Max! Welcome to 4 Positive Paws, sweet boys!

07/14/2021

Such a great explanation of why dog to dog greetings while on a leash are not a good thing.

07/13/2021

Some enrichment fun today with Maddie and Kenzie!!

07/12/2021

Trigger stacking--just think this same thing happens to our dogs ALL the time. One little thing happens, then another, then another and before we know it--boom--reactivity and fear in our dogs.

07/12/2021

Hahahaha!!

07/09/2021

This beautiful girl is Chloe! She is newly adopted and has the most amazing family that are all so engaged and excited to help her be the very best! She already is a super sweet girl!

07/09/2021

My little friend, Phoebe, beginning to work on boundary training so she can eventually be off leash in her yard! She did great!

07/09/2021

Leo and Chelsea graduated today! These puppies and their families were a joy to work with! I will miss our time together.

07/07/2021

Say hello to Cowboy, the little Chiweenie! We are going to have fun!

07/02/2021

A new friend and a new graduate! Welcome to the team, Chewie and congratulations, Jetson! It was an awesome day!

06/30/2021

We had a fun session today at Lowe's! Little Gidget explored, sniffed, met new friends and was even confident enough to jump up on the big cart! I am sure she slept well when she got home!

06/29/2021

"Out and About" at Birkdale today with sweet Lulu! She was awesome and had a blast! Such a fun pup!

06/24/2021

Fun "out and about" day this morning at Birkdale! Little Leo and his Mom Aimee are such a great team! We had some helpers today, Bonnie and her Mom, Dee Launder!

06/21/2021

ATTENTION!!! ATTENTION!! We have two
more Canine Good Citizens in the world!! Yea!! Sweet Elwood and Beautiful Kelly!! Congrats to these awesome dogs and their moms, Gillian Jonathas and Bobbie Newgard! A big shout out to our helpers, Luigi and his mom, Evelyn Butcher and Willie and his mom, Shannon McCorkle!

06/17/2021

This is a great read! Puppies and older dogs do not have to meet and greet every person or other dog--as a matter of fact, they don't even have to like every person or dog that they encounter!

🐾𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 (𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗴'𝘀) 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀

🐾𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝘂𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

𝗣𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀
Your dog doesn't like to be near other dogs and will often bark. A friendly person comes over politely and asks if they can meet, you don't want to make a big deal of it or for people to think your dog is aggressive. Maybe it'll go well this time? So you let them meet. Your dog barks at the other dog, the other person looks surprised and you part ways.

𝗣𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀
Your puppy is still learning all about the world and gets excited about people and dogs. You try to keep a distance and reward your puppy for calmness and for paying attention to you.
But puppies are cute. People think puppies need to be 'socialised' (probably the most misunderstood term in dog behaviour!) So they approach and fuss your pup. You don't want to be rude so you let it happen.
Your pup gets excited and is even more focused on other people in future or becomes overwhelmed (bad socialisation)

❗It should not be the norm to approach dogs. It should not be presumed that people wish to 'socialise' their puppy by having hands all over them or another dog in their face.

Quite simply it's not your job to pacify people. If they are offended that you have asked for space, for them to not fuss your puppy, for the dogs to not meet; the negativity is theirs, not yours

We need to be careful with the interactions puppies have. If meeting every dog or every person; that'll become the norm. Not fun in the long run. Many pups are actually showing they are uncomfortable using body language that goes unnoticed and leads to a negative experience. This leads to problems

I've had Wren for 12 weeks now and I have to ask numerous people to ignore her every time we go out. People are offended, think I'm not socialising her, give unsolicited training advice or think I'm being rude.

I'm just her advocate 🐾🐶🐾

06/16/2021

This little cutie just melted my heart! Welcome to the team Miss Maddie Jane!