Bone-A-Fide K9

04/07/2025

Really missing my pup lately. Getting back into the motions of life but it'll never be the same.

04/01/2025

For April Fools day, let's start with their king. 😅

Dogs Don’t Want Enrichment. They Want Fulfillment.

Dogs aren’t just looking for entertainment, they’re seeking experiences that resonate with who they truly are as individuals.

A 2022 study (doi: 10.3390/ani12020141) looked closely at how different enrichment activities, experiences designed to meet a dog’s mental, emotional, and physical needs, impact stress and happiness levels.

Researchers observed a small group of assistance dogs engaging in various enrichment activities, from social play with other dogs to interactive toys, food puzzles, and bonding time with humans. They found that different activities had distinct effects on dog behavior, highlighting that no single form of enrichment is universally best for every dog.

Why does this matter? Because our dogs have unique personalities, preferences, and emotional needs. For some dogs, nothing beats social play, roughhousing and playing chase with another dog is their ultimate joy. For others, interactive puzzles or games of fetch provide the perfect blend of mental stimulation and stress relief.

Even dogs of the same breed, or even littermates, can have completely different enrichment preferences - an important reminder that oversimplifying a dog’s needs or motivation based solely on breed can miss the mark.

Recognizing these individual differences is exactly why it’s crucial to pay attention to what genuinely motivates and fulfills the dog in front of you, in both training and enrichment.

What should you take away from this?

Enrichment isn’t about following a one-size-fits-all checklist. It’s about observing your dog and discovering what makes them feel truly fulfilled.

This approach, rooted in neuroaffirming practices, respects your dog’s natural inclinations and emotional well-being. It acknowledges that your dog’s brain, and the way they experience joy, relaxation, and connection, is beautifully individual.

When you optimize your dog’s preferred experiences based on their individual joys and needs, you’re not just improving their quality of life; you’re making your own life easier and more rewarding, too.

Ultimately, this study reinforces a critical point we’ve long advocated: dogs deserve activities that genuinely celebrate who they are as individuals.

Our job isn’t to push them toward what’s convenient or common, but to listen, observe, and actually enrich their lives in ways that are consistent with the individual’s unique nature.

What are the ultimate satisfying activities for your dogs? I’d love to hear your experiences!

Source: Hunt RL, Whiteside H, Prankel S. Effects of Environmental Enrichment on Dog Behaviour: Pilot Study. Animals (Basel). 2022 Jan 7;12(2):141. doi: 10.3390/ani12020141. PMID: 35049764; PMCID: PMC8772568.

03/31/2025

Exactly right

03/28/2025

I try to tell yall, real life ain't as safe as the internet. 😆

03/28/2025

Great compilation video here. Lots of punishment, lots of frustration, not much success. This should be the commercial for "force free training ". 😅

03/26/2025

There's a new spot to have some fun guys.

WORLD CLASS BULLIES

Violent training is not merely practiced by a few bad apples, or a lone rogue trainer from another era. This behaviour is exhibited by individuals who have been managing profitable franchises and training schools for decades. Confidential conversations with those who have witnessed the activities in these facilities tell us trainers show no remorse or shame for their cruelty. Naturally, they wouldn’t feel upset hearing a dog’s cries for mercy when they are the ones causing those cries.

Please share to all pet parents

“WHAT IS BALANCED TRAINING”
Warning: article contains news stories that may be disturbing.
https://poodlebrains.com/a-kick-in-the-ribs-maybe-a-good-boy

03/21/2025

There's nothing I despise more than people preying on the naive general public. The American Bully is on the news every week for a fatal attack. This is where that comes from. Folks like this breeding dogs with no proof of lineage, no health testing, and no temperament testing. Just "take my word for it, he was a rednose". 🙄

Breeding should be done to meet a standard. The standard should be higher than just having 4 legs and a pulse.

03/20/2025

03/18/2025

Would you hire a fitness coach that wears a T-shirt in the swimming pool? Would you take parenting advice from someone with no children? Then why in earth would you take dog training advice from a guy who can't walk his dogs down the street?

03/17/2025

Meet the dogs that started it all.

Big Mama (beagle) got dumped with her male friend and dumped 10 puppies on us 2 weeks late.

Shadow (Grey dog) was the brother of my white dog. Came from South Carolina due to an unexpected move by his owners.

Brock ( brown dog) kept coming over to play and eventually tried to attack his owner for retrieving him. I woke up to a scuffle on my front porch and see the old man falling down my steps and throwing a bucket at him. 😂 yelling "You stay here then mfer".

From then on, we became the house that would take the unwanted dogs and it changed the course of our lives forever. For better or worse, I wouldn't change a thing.