Joyful Dogs Training

08/21/2024

Expecting?
I highly recommend this highly informative webinar for all parents to be 🩷🩵🍼👶

This course is designed for expectant families, families who are adopting a baby, and anyone who has dogs and cares for infants up to three months of age.

07/26/2024

Brilliant post by Dogs Disclosed 🐾🐾

I NEED TO FEEL SAFE!

Like all living creatures, including us, dogs just want to feel safe – it’s a basic survival need.

When we think about feeling safe it’s natural to just think about not being harmed or being in danger, but it’s not just about physical safety - feeling emotionally or psychologically safe is just as important.

While physical safety may be obvious and simpler to address, emotional safety is far more complex and not always easy to recognise or identify.

The same applies to our dogs – they are sentient beings whose behaviour is triggered and driven by emotions.

So many behaviour problems that we see in dogs stem from the brain saying– “this is not safe!”

A dog that lunges and barks or behaves aggressively with another dog or person is probably doing so because they feel unsafe. They are trying to make the scary thing go away.

A dog that is guarding resources is doing so because they are afraid that the resource will be taken away – they don’t feel safe when another animal or person approaches that resource.

A dog that is reacting to fireworks or thunderstorms or other noises is doing so because they don’t feel safe. The same can be said for separation distress – the feelings of panic when left alone – “I am not safe!”.

Some dogs may never get over a specific fear, but doing all we can to help dogs feel safe in our world is one of the most important gifts we can give them.

Our first responsibility should not be about training, obedience or trying to change behaviour, but to focus first and foremost on building trust, self-confidence, resilience, creating a safe and secure base and being the person that our dogs can rely on and trust.

In the words of Dr. Gabor Maté - "Feeling safe is the treatment and creating safety is the work".

In my words (as it pertains to dogs) – It is our responsibility to put in the work to enable our dogs to feel safe and when they feel safe, this will be part of the treatment or the solution to the problem.

05/11/2024

Miss Toona(Border Collie) and Annie (Australian Shepherd) had a blast this morning!

It was Toona's lesson, but Annie always likes to hop in and show off her skills at the end of each session.

I'm so grateful to work with such intelligent, hard working dogs.

Two very Joyful Dogs!!!

05/04/2024

Puppy people!
Paws 'N Effect host fabulous puppy classes!

It's never too early to start your pup out right! 🐾🐾

We have a couple of openings in our Puppy Kindergarten class that starts this Monday, 6 - 7pm. PK is for puppies 8 weeks up to 5 months.
To sign up or for more info, please call the office at 203.281.7150

04/25/2024

Fantastic post from No Monkey Business Dog Training!

Here’s a PSA on behalf of all dogs.

Stop correcting your dog for sniffing.

Stop it. Please.

How would you like it if I corrected you for looking around a room? Imagine if you raised your head to look around a new place and I popped you or shoved you or said “HEY! PAY ATTENTION” You’d get pretty upset pretty quickly I’d imagine.

Dogs don’t smell because they are ignoring you or being stubborn. We humans primarily depend on sight, but dogs use smell AND sight to assess their surroundings and communicate. People spend more time interpreting visual data than olfactory information. Dogs are just the opposite.

Dogs devote lots of brain power to interpreting smells. They have more than 100 million sensory receptor sites in the nasal cavity as compared to 6 million in people, and the area of the canine brain devoted to analyzing odors is about 40 times larger than the comparable part of the human brain. In fact, it’s been estimated that dogs can smell anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 times better than people.

Scent gives information. Smelling is normal. Smelling is necessary and natural. Smelling is relaxing. Air scenting is HUGE for recovering reactive dogs. LET YOUR DOG SMELL!

Correcting a dog for sniffing is one of the worst things I watch people do. It’s another example of how controlling we try to be in our dogs lives. If you don’t want your dog to smell, teach him to focus on you instead for part of the time, and then give other ample times to smell. If he’s pulling you to smell, use a different tool that inhibits pulling but still allows for some nasal exploration. Even better work on collar pressure work too so your dog learns to smell when there’s less pressure! Walks on a long line on a dirt road or in a field for your dog to zig zag back and forth on to smell is MUCH healthier and more tiring for them as animals than trying to keep them within 6 feet of you on a neighborhood walk.

Please accept that smelling is normal and work WITH your dog on it, rather than just trying to suppress it. Just because that blade of grass or tree isn’t interesting to YOU doesn’t mean your dog deserves a correction. Who cares if you don’t walk the extra block - spend those 5 minutes on that one tree if you need to. Your dog doesn’t complain when you watch YouTube videos of kittens for hours or read the news or binge on Netflix, so let him get his scent binge in to.

Happy smelling pups!

04/12/2024

We should not expect our dogs to be okay with these behaviors, if we wouldn't be ourselves.

04/12/2024

Thank you, Bless the Bullys for this valuable post!

TN education, advocacy (& retired rescue) group dedicated to restoring the image of "pit bulls" since 2004.

04/06/2024

I thought tired terrier was supposed to be an oxymoron.😉
Little Miss Devon begs to differ.
She worked so hard today and really deserves this nap.

03/16/2024

Dogs can be very humbling...

Here's a shout out to all of my hard working students, especially the kids!
You guys are doing a great job of keeping your parents on track.😉
I'm seeing wonderful progress.

Keep up the excellent work!
I am in awe of your commitment to your dogs. ❤️🐾🐾

03/10/2024

Let them sniff!

Did you know that sniffing can make your dog’s outlook more positive? A 2019 study by Dr. Charlotte Duranton (Ethodog) and Dr. Alexandra Horowitz (Barnard College) compared dogs participating in nose work with their owners to dogs participating in heelwork. The dogs were then giving a cognitive bias test, which gauges optimism using one bowl that always contains food in one specific location, and a second that never does in another specific location. The test is what the dog does when they come across a third bowl in a new location, right between the other two. An optimistic dog would get to this new bowl more quickly, thinking it contains a snack; a pessimistic dog would get there more slowly, unsure about the snack or thinking the bowl is empty.

After two weeks of sniff- or heel-training, the nose work dogs went to the third bowl significantly faster time than they had before; the heelwork dogs showed no difference in time to reach the bowl before and after the training.

Why is this? One possibility is that dogs engaged in sniff training are encouraged to move around and make their own choices; heel training requests the opposite, remaining in a specific spot and not moving around or investigating. Smell is also an incredibly important sense for dogs, so sniffing allows a dog to engage in a natural behavior while obedience heel work is more artificial, and this may have an effect on how each dog is feeling at after the training.

01/29/2024

Had a wonderful session yesterday with this beautiful girl!

Sybil and her mom are having great success with a more reliable recall and have been learning to add a bit more joy to their training.
I'm super proud of them!

I was honored that Sybil chose to work with me, as she struggles with a little bit of stranger danger.
She's incredibly smart and learned quickly how much fun training can be with an extra person in the mix.

It's always an honor when a fearful dog chooses to bring me into their circle.

Sybil is blessed to have a very savvy handler who's always putting her dogs first.
Keep up the excellent work, Laurie!

I'm so grateful you're part of the Joyful Dogs family!

01/24/2024

Thank you, Bless the Bullys for this fabulous post!

People hear "socialization," and they think it means dogs playing together...you know, being social.

But socialization is not about playing with other dogs.

Honestly, it's easy to understand why people have a hard time understanding the concept of dog socialization. When you look at the root of the word, "social," it makes sense that we interpret it as interacting (or playing) with each other because that's what it means when talking about human behavior.

But in reality, socialization involves introducing a dog to a wide variety of stimuli (sights, sounds, smells, experiences) in a positive and controlled manner.

Socialization is building positive associations with and being neutral when exposed to those stimuli. (An easy example: the vacuum cleaner.)

Socialization helps your dog to be comfortable with other animals, people, places, and activities.

Socialization helps create a behaviorally well-rounded dog that is more confident and comfortable in a variety of environments.

01/07/2024

A snowy Sunday calls for some indoor enrichment activities. ❄️❄️❄️

Here is 15-year-old Jeffrey, The Positively Peaceful Pit Bull enjoying his toy, filled with freeze dried minnows and a little bit of peanut butter.

This will keep him busy for quite a while and provides mental stimulation.

What is your favorite indoor enrichment for your dog?

12/24/2023

Wishing all of our clients and friends a holiday full of peace, love, and especially joy!

12/22/2023

Give the gift of Joyful Dogs training for the holidays!

Do you know someone that has recently adopted a dog, or that has a new puppy?
Maybe their family dog has been struggling...
Do you need a last minute gift?
Help them start off on the right paw!

Gift certificates for in person and remote sessions available!

Email Michele at [email protected]
or call (203)701-9303
🐾🐾🎄🎁🎅🎁🎄🐾🐾

12/19/2023

Stephanie Buchanan CPDT-KA of Strong Bonds Canine Training & Behavior just took the Mountain Dreams Dog Training BINGO Challenge to the next level!

I have had the honor of training beside these lunatics for 10 years!
Training can always be FUN!

I look forward to lots of fun with my Joyful Dogs learner's!

Great job, Steph and a HUGE round of applause for Buzz, the best sport ever!
👏👏👏👏👏
We can't stop laughing 🤣😂🤣😂

12/16/2023

Anecdotal evidence suggests that husbands don't read.

"Honey, why is there hair in my PB&J?"
😂😂😂

12/13/2023

Okay, Joyful Dogs learners!
Give it a try!

12/13/2023

Look at our sweet "Joyful Dogs" learner, Odie!
How cute is he in his Christmas Grinch sweater?

Odie's family is committed to his success.
His sister's Olivia and Gigi are doing an amazing job!

So proud of them!

Welcome Odie .... we look forward to seeing you play Bingo! Look at how cute he is in his Christmas sweater!

12/13/2023

I've had these conversations with a few clients already.
Please reach out if you have any questions or need help with a plan.

We want everyone to enjoy the holiday as stress-free as possible!

12/12/2023

Many people are unaware that salt dough ornaments can be deadly!

Salt dough (made of flour, water and salt) is a cheap and easy way to craft during the holidays. Just remember to keep pets away from this dough. As its name suggests, salt dough has a LOT of salt 🧂 in it and can lead to unsteadiness, muscle tremors, and can be fatal for pets. 💀

If you are looking for a safer alternative, buying clays like air dry clays that have the AP seal, which indicates they are safer, are the way to go. For these doughs, while some tummy upset may still occur if your pet accidently eats it, it should not be potentially fatal.

12/11/2023

New to the Joyful Dogs family, meet Goose and Maverick!

They had so much fun during their consult appointment, they needed a nap!

These boys have a wonderful family, committed to helping them live the best life possible.

I'm so excited to see their progress!

12/11/2023

Some of my learners are participating in the Mountain Dreams Dog Training Bingo Challenge.
Here's another fun challenge to try!

Thanks to Denise Fenzi and Taylor Brookes for offering these fun learning opportunities!

Don't forget to share your videos!

Happy training! ❤️ 🐾🐾

12/11/2023

⛄️ Stay tuned for a new challenge each day for the next twelve days at FDSA ❄️

We’ll be giving out prizes over on our Instagram account so don’t forget to share this with a friend so they can play too!

12/11/2023

I'm not sure how this ever became a thing.
It's rude.

Please teach your children to simply stand still, at an angle, shoulder toward the dog, allowing the dog to come to them.
They should not reach for the dog.

This also helps reinforce the concept of consent for themselves.
No one should ever touch them without permission.

Safety, both physical and emotional, should always be at the top of our list of priorities.

12/10/2023

When your new client says their dog is only motivated by tuna...
🐟🐟🐟
I am VERY committed to your success!