Canine Point of View

06/08/2024

06/08/2024

VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION HERE!! PLEASE SHARE!!

04/29/2024

04/29/2024

If you wouldn't do it to a friend, don't do it to a dog: How kids should NOT interact with dogs, by Dr. Sophia Yin.

[pdf available from the Liam J. Perk Foundation website: http://www.liamjperkfoundation.org/_assets/downloads/HowNotToInteract.pdf]

04/13/2024

In the demanding field of dog training, where patience, passion, and persistence are critical for achieving success, there is a frequently neglected factor that can greatly impact the enjoyment and effectiveness of our p...

04/03/2024

I've been teaching this for years.

Which rewards do you use in each situation?

Read more: https://bit.ly/3TVSXKU

03/21/2024

The Smooth Fox Terrier, called the 'gentleman of the terrier world,' is a lively, gregarious terrier with a devil-may-care attitude, originally developed for Britain's traditional foxhunts.

Why do you love the breed?

03/20/2024

I've been saying it for years!

One activity that all Germans shepherds can do is go sniffing. While this might seem like a no brainer, it’s an often-overlooked outlet to burn off mental and physical energy.If you’ve spent any time around German shepherds, you know they love to sniff and excel at scent work. While all dogs can...

03/17/2024

VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION HERE! PLEASE SHARE!!

When we punish dogs for growling, we aren't helping them feel better about whatever it is that is threatening them. Instead, we are teaching to stop letting us know when they feel unsafe.

The result? A dog who stops giving us warning signs and "bites out of the blue."

And, that's how we create dangerous dogs.

03/07/2024

I've been teaching this for years.

Free Download: https://dunbar.info/classicalconditioning

When you're dealing with an out of control dog, one of the first questions to ask is whether their undesirable behavior is driven by fear. If it is, you'll want to start by helping them feel more at ease. It's hard for anyone to control themselves when they are afraid!

The easiest way to help a dog feel at ease is Classical Conditioning, the simple act of getting your dog to form an associate between one stimulus and another. Help your dog form POSITIVE associations with the things that make them uneasy and they'll start to feel more relaxed.

Classical Conditioning is simple and easy to do, and with the right techniques, it can even be fun and enjoyable!

Want to learn more?

Check out our free DADD (Dunbar Academy Downloadable Document) about Classical Conditioning: https://dunbar.info/classicalconditioning

Or, even beter, join us for FREE at our Out of Control Dog Summit, coming up next week: https://dunbar.info/control2024

We'll be covering Classical Conditioning and SO MUCH MORE, including everything you need to know to calm your out of control dog and get them to pay attention to you and listen to your instructions in exciting and distracting environments. Join us!

03/01/2024

Training Tip Tuesday: Socialization!
Another fun collaboration we did with Doggie Drawings by Lili Chin! Socialization is one of the best investments we can make to help our puppies grow into resilient adult dogs. Remember that exposure alone isn't socialization, puppies should be having positive experiences with new things!

If you need help socializing your puppy, Paws Abilities has lots of opportunities to meet the needs of different schedules and budgets!

🐶 Puppy Class: For puppies 7-20 weeks of age. At only $40 for 4 weeks, puppy class is a steal of a deal. Puppies get to play, explore new surfaces, make friends, and get a head start on training. Each week has a different theme: at home, at the vet, at the groomer, at the pet store, etc.
💙 Oronoco: https://paws4u.dogbizpro.com/public/registration/index.aspx?cls=103
💛 Inver Grove Heights: https://paws4u.dogbizpro.com/public/registration/index.aspx?cls=104

⭐ AKC STAR Puppy: For puppies under 1 year of age. This 6 week class is more in depth at covering the basics of puppy ownership. Puppies still get playtime, with more structured training. It's the perfect step between Puppy Class and Beginning Obedience.
💛 Inver Grove Heights: https://paws4u.dogbizpro.com/public/registration/index.aspx?cls=329

🐢 Teenage Transformations: For 5-24 month old puppies. This class is for puppies who missed out on important socialization and are timid or overly excited in new places
💙 Oronoco: https://paws4u.dogbizpro.com/public/registration/index.aspx?cls=348
💛 Inver Grove Heights: https://paws4u.dogbizpro.com/public/registration/index.aspx?cls=275

⛺Puppy Camp: For puppies under 6 months old. Puppies are dropped off once a week to work with a professional trainer. The trainer socializes them to various surfaces, sounds, objects, and handling. The trainer also takes them on field trips and supervises puppy play time
https://pawsabilitiesmn.com/puppy-camp/

💼 Canine to Five: Open to all ages. 3 times a week, a professional trainer comes to your home to work with your puppy 1:1. The trainer will also work with the family once a week to make sure they understand how to maintain the training. We offer specific packages for socialization as well as obedience and specialty behavior packages.
https://pawsabilitiesmn.com/canine-to-five/

02/28/2024

Sport hunters cherish the duality of working English Springer Spaniels: handsome, mannerly pets during the week, and trusty hunting buddies on weekends.

Why do you love the breed?

02/23/2024

PLEASE SHARE!!

Be a Dog Detective - Look for Clues!
https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/resource/be-a-dog-detective-dogs-do-not-like-hugs-and-kisses/

02/22/2024

AKA the 4 quadrants of operant conditioning. I've been teaching this for years.

Positive reinforcement is a behavioural concept that involves the use of rewards or reinforcements to encourage and strengthen desirable behaviours. This technique aims to increase the likelihood of a specific behaviour ...

02/21/2024

VALUABLE INFORMATION HERE! PLEASE SHARE!

02/21/2024

I've been teaching this for years.

01/31/2024

Reactive dogs often overreact to certain things or situations. But, reactivity is often confused with aggression. Here's how to tell the difference.

01/31/2024

"There are cases of dogs buddying up with one or more dogs for days at a time, and dogs being drawn into proximity to each other by food sources, however none of the above populations form packs the way wolves do. Males, in fact, do not participate in the rearing of puppies, which is the foundation of a wolf pack. And, scavenging far outpaces hunting as primary food-acquisition activity, another difference from wolves, who hunt much more."

Another classic by the Academy's director, Jean Donaldson, from our archives.

https://www.academyfordogtrainers.com/blog/are-dogs-pack-animals/

01/30/2024

Showing that you're alpha to your dog is a flawed approach to dog behavior. Learn more about how to build a better relationship with your dog.

01/29/2024

What dog breed works for you? We're here to guide you along the process of picking the best dog for your individual personality and lifestyle.

01/18/2024

I've been teaching this for years.

Training your dog to focus on you with the "watch me" command is important for all dog owners. Learn tips and tricks for teaching "watch me" to your dog.

01/15/2024

I teach this all the time.

A user-friendly guide to desensitization and counter-conditioning for fearful dogs.

12/22/2023

One of the biggest issues with goals is that handlers/owners/guardians will train IN the very environment they want their dog to be calm and focused in, before they are ready.⚠️
Everyone has a goal they want to achieve with their dog....however many people rush to get there, which leads to frustration for both you and your dog.
Reactivity for many dogs can be directly linked to exposing dogs to environments and triggers before they are emotionally ready.
All goals need small and achievable steps to become a reality, but we often forget this with our dogs and train IN the area we so desperately want them to be calmer with.

Go back some steps and for some that means way, wayyy back, because if you are not getting engagement or focus on you in your own home, they will NEVER show it in more challenging environments.
They can't....they just do not know how.

That should be the first goal you need to achieve.

If you have an over aroused or hyper dog that in itself adds an extra pressure on you and your goals that you want to achieve....reactivity too is often a much slower process than many people realise.
Training when there are dogs walking past on the same path and insisting on focus is NOT how to help a reactive dog.

Keep your goal in mind and work on it little and often and the only real measure of success is what you achieve together.....and that is a very real success.

So.... have that goal in mind.
Take achievable steps towards it together.
Your relationship together will only strengthen.

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12/16/2023

THE TRUTH ABOUT RAW HIDE TREATS

Testing of rawhide treats were found to include:
Glues
Hydrogen Peroxide
Formaldehyde
Ammonium
Ash lye which is linked to ADHD in children
Sodium sulphide
Titanium oxide
Petroleum based food dyes
Lead
Arsenic
Mercury

Rawhide chews are made from the leather industry’s leftovers. Most hides are taken directly from the kill floors at slaughterhouses and placed into high-salt brines, which helps slow their decay. Most rawhide chews are manufactured in China, and it can take weeks to months before these brined hides actually make it to the tanneries for their final manufacture. Once the hide arrives at a tannery, it is soaked and treated with lime to help separate the fat from the skin, the hair is removed by chemical and physical efforts, and the hide is rinsed again. Unfortunately, the salt brines cannot prevent decay, no matter how long they delay it. It is best to fully rinse a rawhide in water prior to giving it to your dog - AKC

These are the most common rawhide risks:
1. Contamination. As with pet toys, rawhide chews can contain trace amounts of toxic chemicals. And, as with other pet (or human) foods, Salmonella or E. coli contamination is possible. Even humans can be at risk when coming into contact with these bacteria on rawhide treats.

2. Digestive irritation. Some dogs are simply sensitive or allergic to rawhide or other substances used in their manufacture. This can cause problems, including diarrhea.

3. Choking or blockages. Rawhide bones and other edible chews can pose a choking and blockage risk. In fact, this is a much bigger risk than contamination or digestive irritation. If your dog swallows large pieces of rawhide, the rawhide can get stuck in the esophagus or other parts of the digestive tract. Depending on its size and where it is located, a vet may be able to remove these pieces fairly easily through the throat. But sometimes, abdominal surgery is needed to remove them from the stomach or intestines. If it isn’t resolved, a blockage can lead to death - Petmd.com

Always give your dogs natural chews as far as possible. All chewing must be supervised to mitigate choking and other risks.

📸 unknown

12/07/2023

I NOSE WHAT TIME IT IS!

Dogs just seem to know when it’s time for food, time for a walk or even what time we’re expected to come home, sometimes down to the exact minute!

Yes, they may simply know this from daily routines that create predictable patterns or certain cues that predict certain events, but there is far more to this ability to tell time than the obvious reasons.

One theory is that time has a particular smell. Different times of the day smell differently. Morning smells differently to afternoon or evening.

As air heats up over the course of the day, air currents change and move around, carrying molecules of different odours with it.

These changes become predictable and a dog’s incredible sense of smell enables these odours to become their “clock”.

One example is when you leave the house to go to work, leaving a strong scent behind you. As time passes, your scent becomes weaker.

Dogs predict that when your scent becomes weakened to a certain level, it’s time for you to come home.

The level of your scent predicts the time. As dogs can detect both strong and weak scents and all of the levels in between, it means that they are actually interpreting events across an interval of time.

Another way dogs may tell time is through circadian rhythms. Just like us, dogs have fluctuations in systems like hormone levels, neural activity or body temperature and these rhythms may help them to understand the approximate time of day - just like when our stomach starts growling when it’s nearly time for dinner or we feel tired when it's time for bed.

Dogs are not the only species that can interpret time. Animals that migrate or hibernate follow seasonal cues from nature in the form of daylight and temperature to know when the time is right.

Having hundreds of millions more scent receptors than us, a dog’s amazing ability to smell is likely the reason that dogs just "nose" what time it is.

12/01/2023

Greeting a dog should not involve sticking your hand in their face.
Children are often told to put their hand out for the dog to sniff...and it is absolutely no coincidence that hands (and faces) are the most bitten body parts by dogs.
How should a dog perceive a strangers (or childs) hand right in their face ?
"If the dog moves into you to smell more...it means you can pat ".
No.......NO.... it absolutely does not.
All it means is the dog is trying to smell one of the most interesting places on a body.
Hands sweat.
They are full of information, scents and maybe even some tasty food smells still lingers.

It doesn't mean you are friends.
It doesn't mean the dog will like you.
and it certainly doesn't mean you now have an instant bond.

A dog sniffing a hand means they smelled what is thrust into their face.
Dogs are entitled to personal space just as much as we are.

Please respect that these graphics take time and effort to make. Everyone is free to share on social media🙂, however off social media use of these marked graphics is prohibited.
Unmarked graphics are available for $ 1.20 USD or $ 2 NZD each (approx), these are then able to be used off Facebook for client handouts, posters or for personal use.
Screen shots are a violation of the copyright.
Please visit ABC Dogs Patreon Shop for unmarked graphics. All graphics belong to ABC Dogs NZ and are under copyright.