Best Friends Dog Academy

01/19/2025

Misha started with BFDA as a very overwhelmed and scared puppy. During our time together her pet parents learned how to meet her needs and support her in all the right ways. She’s blossomed into a curious and resilient young dog! ❤️🐾

01/18/2025

Thank you to Pet Health Center of Tiffin for providing opportunities for “happy visits”!
Huge round of applause 👏👏👏 for this client and dog who have really put in the work when it comes to cultivating safety (for the dog, the client, and the professional caretakers) and comfort with handling for veterinary care and husbandry. ❤️❤️❤️

Photos: This dog has learned a mat on the floor= safety and comfort. She’s been taught to rest her chin on a bench/towel and hold. She’s learned to accept touch on her body (hands and stethoscope). All at home and is now learning to generalize those skills to the clinic environment. Because all of these things have been taught with positive reinforcement, trust and confidence have come along for the ride. 🙌❤️🐾

01/14/2025

I took the Family Dog Mediation course back when it first came out. I’m now licensed in both the Training Division and the Shelter Division.
Check it out. It’s a fantastic framework for choosing the right kind of dog for your lifestyle, learning how to meet your dog’s needs, and addressing behavior issues when they arise.
It’s really about creating a good life for both you and your dog! 🐾❤️☺️

01/09/2025

I’m weeks behind in posting this but better late than never!
In December I had the great privilege of meeting Clint Knox of Knox Canine Training in Des Moines, IA 🐾❤️

I love connecting with other like minded professionals! It’s refreshing and reinforcing to talk about the biz, cool continuing education opportunities, possible collaborations, our wonderful clients, and of course geek out on the newest information and advances in animal behavior. 🤓🙌

If you’re in the Des Moines area and need a qualified positive reinforcement pro, check out Knox Canine! Tell Clint I sent you!🏆🐾☺️

Specializing in modern, science-based training methods specifically designed to treat behavior and aggression problems in dogs of all ages and sizes. We offer group classes along with private, in-home training that is uniquely tailored to each client and their dog

01/09/2025

01/09/2025

Excellent resource!

I am thrilled to share a passion project I have been working on for RESCUES AND SHELTERS.

I have recorded a workshop for shelter and rescue folks on Successful Dog Placements in Families with Kids and have decided to share it with these organizations FOR FREE.

Why? Because the stakes are high for dogs living with kids.
Dogs who live with kids have a higher chance of being returned.
Parents who raise dogs and kids together can get overwhelmed.
Kids and dogs can both feel physically and emotionally unsafe around each other...

And so, I wanted to share some best practices for making good matches, asking questions to help ensure "right fit" placements, and to empower staff to say no, when dogs are not the right fit.

But wait, there's more! I'm also sharing a FREE guide for you to share with DOG ADOPTERS WITH KIDS. It's a PDF, easy to share, and complete with links to helpful resources.

If you want the link to my workshop and free guide, please fill out this form. You will then receive a link to the video and a button to press to download the free guide for adopters with kids.

https://poochparenting.net/workshop-for-rescues-placement-with-kids/

PLEASE feel free to share this post with any organizations who might benefit from this content :-)

01/05/2025

Rest in peace Karen. May your legacy live on as we know you wanted it to, more than animal training, a way of living.
🙏

With profound sadness and immense gratitude, we honor the life and legacy of Karen Pryor, a true pioneer in the fields of animal behavior and positive reinforcement training. Karen’s groundbreaking work revolutionized how we communicate with animals—and each other—leaving an indelible mark on science, education, and the lives of countless species around the world.

Continue reading: https://bit.ly/4214rRG

12/29/2024

So very true!

Dogs have natural needs that are essential for their well-being, including foraging, sniffing, playing, problem-solving, and enjoying undisturbed rest. These activities enrich their lives, support their mental and physical health, and allow them to express innate behaviours. Much like us, they thrive when their needs for exploration, fun, and relaxation are met.

12/23/2024

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS ….

Not just for Christmas, but every day of a dog’s life – these are some of the things I believe dogs would want -

Gifts of love, kindness, compassion, understanding and knowledge.

Gifts of helping them feel safe, secure and protected in their environment

Gifts of unconditional love, second chances and a forever home

Gifts of allowing appropriate choices

Gifts of mental and physical stimulation.

Gifts of proper nutrition and health care.

Gifts of never using punishment, force, fear, intimidation or tools that cause pain.

Gifts of acceptance for the dog that they are.

Wishing you and dog’s everywhere a very Happy Christmas filled with the gifts that really matter!

12/11/2024

So many of the things behaviour professionals are engaged to help with are considered problem behaviours by the dog's humans. Four examples in this image - digging, barking, pulling wanting to explore when on the lead, and chewing.

Are these problem behaviours? Not from the dog's perspective. These are all normal and natural dog behaviours. The issue is that they can be considered problematic by the dog’s humans and societally unacceptable in certain situations or when done a lot.

Natural behaviours are important. Under the Five Freedoms, the basic template set out 45 years ago, the freedom to carry out natural behaviours is listed as essential for meeting their welfare needs.

It's clear that letting dogs do some of these things however they feel like can cause problems. Digging and chewing can cause a lot of damage, barking can absolutely be annoying and unpleasant if it's prolonged and frequent. Pulling on the lead to get to a smell or to have a closer examination of something or just to move along faster can be uncomfortable for both human and dog.

What's the solution?

Find ways for them to carry out these natural behaviours that are comfortable and appropriate for all concerned.

Give them a spot to dig. Whether a specific patch of garden or something like a child’s sandpit, direct them there to dig to their heart’s content. If they are caught digging where they shouldn’t, just redirect them to the appropriate spot. Perhaps hide things in the selected spot for them to dig up and make digging in this one place really attractive for them.

Dogs will bark, it’s part of being a dog for most breeds (although some are much quieter than others and certain breeds make sounds that aren’t barks). It’s not something that will ever be stopped entirely but what we can do is shorten the amount of time they are barking. If your dog barks at a noise or something they see outside, thank them, and give them something nice. It sounds counterintuitive but for dogs who are barking as a warning that they see or hear something it does work. (If a dog is frantically barking and throwing themselves at the door or window and seeming clearly stressed then that’s a different issue and it may well be worth finding a kind and ethical behaviour professional to help understand what is upsetting your dog).

Chewing is one of the most natural of dog behaviours. Seen often in young puppies when teething, it is also something many dogs continue to do and enjoy throughout their lives. Chewing is good for cleaning their teeth and (along with licking) it is a calming activity that helps them to relax. Obviously, we don’t want them chewing our furniture or things so it’s vital to give them appropriate things to chew. There are many chew toys and dog chews that are available, although some can damage teeth or cause issues if the dog bites off large chunks and swallows them and others like rawhide can contain nasty chemicals, so care is needed in selection. Once you have found a safe chew that your dog likes, redirect them to that ‘legal’ chew to save your belongings.

Walking on the lead does not come naturally to dogs. They need to be taught how to walk on a loose lead and match our pace. Many dogs naturally move faster than we do when walking, so it is up to us to show them where we would like them to be when on the lead. Sometimes this might be right beside us when next to a road, for example, and sometimes we can maybe use a longer lead to give them a bit more room to explore. The key is to help them understand the lead needs to be loose. I use a very relaxed form of loose lead walking with my own dogs – no matter how long the lead (I use a 15-foot lead as standard and shorten or lengthen it as needed) as long as my arm is not pulled away from my side, that’s absolutely fine. The important thing when it comes to allowing natural behaviours is to let our dogs explore things when on lead. Let them go over to the water to have a look. Let them sniff that tree they are looking at longingly. Give them time and space to carry out natural behaviours even when we are in places they cannot for whatever reason be off the lead.

Letting dogs do those natural dog things, letting them BE dogs, is a vital part of being the best dog people that we can possibly be, so find the ways that we can let them be dogs safely and comfortably for everyone.

12/03/2024

❤️ Science Matters Academy of Animal Behavior LLC
Even more so for dog’s experiencing fear, anxiety, and stress (including dogs transitioning to new homes!!)

11/29/2024

Happy Thanksgiving!

Animals are a window to your soul and a doorway to your spiritual destiny.
If you let them into your life and allow them to teach you, you will be better for it ..

Kim Shotola 🍂

Artist Credit: Anna Speshilova

11/19/2024

ARE YOU MANAGING?
Are you managing your dog’s environment to prevent or improve unwanted behaviour?

As people, we tend to prefer and look for the more complicated solutions to problems. This tendency is termed “complexity bias” - the tendency to prefer complicated explanations and solutions instead of looking for the simpler ones.

Surely a complicated, time consuming, detailed solution has to be more effective, superior, impressive, or correct?

Complexity bias is so relevant when it comes to changing a dog’s unwanted behaviour. We often get so stuck on trying to modify behaviour through counter conditioning, desensitization or detailed training plans when sometimes the simplest solution to the problem lies in simply managing the environment.

Dogs will do what dogs do – when an opportunity arises to help themselves to food left on a table, to bark at the gate at anyone passing by, to have a drink from that big water bowl at the perfect height, that we call a toilet, to running off with irresistibly smelly dirty underwear, to rummaging through bins in search of anything that may or may not be edible, to running out an opened door in search of adventure - the list is long - dogs will be dogs.

Parents of little children use management all the time without giving it much thought. Baby locks on cupboards, covers on electrical sockets, valuable or dangerous items put far out of reach, fences and locks around pools, etc.

We wouldn’t just train a toddler not to stick their fingers in an electrical socket, not to open cupboards, not to touch a hot plate – it’s far safer, simpler and logical to first manage the environment, to prevent potential incidents.

The same principle should apply to managing a dog’s environment to prevent unwanted behaviour.

The more a behaviour is practiced the more difficult it is to prevent. The more a behaviour is rehearsed the better dogs become at it.

Preventing the behaviour from happening in the first place by using management is the logical, simple and effective way to address it.

Be a good manager – it’s far less stressful, for both us and our dogs.

11/17/2024

More excellent puppy advice!