Scallywag Training

09/28/2023

We're still working through Bacon's fireworks aversion and his subsequent fear of the dark, the neighborhood, and his hypervigilance to lights in the sky. The other night we played porch games, drawing from lots of well practiced behaviors. Happily, this led him to feel confident enough to have an 11pm p*e, when sometimes he doesn't want to leave the apartment. It's a long road to rebuilding confidence, but keeping our dogs under threshold and designing our sessions so that they can control the outcomes makes a big difference.

And yes, this is hard. Yes, this is frustrating. Yes, this is worth it.

09/27/2023

Ollie the is, perhaps, too smart for his own good. He's a committed counter surfer, so we started our last session by using his brain. I prefer to channel that seeking behavior into more acceptable directions, like this puzzle toy.

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09/20/2023

I have a whole blog post written about what I'm dealing with at home - helping a dog through trauma - but I thought I'd take a moment to celebrate some client dogs.

Scout the Aussie came to me for puppy stuff - jumping, mouthing, potty issues, etc - and excelled due to his fantastic parents.

James the pit bull has been my friend for ages, and was the quickest dog ever to learn that there are things that are better than chasing cats! I can't wait to see where he'll go!

I didn't get enough time with Chibi the Maltipoo due to scheduling, but we made great headway on her handling issues while looking at her noise sensitivity.

I love my client teams!

09/14/2023

Well, Scallywag is on ice for a bit! I can still do consultations, remote training, and client coaching (once I can drive), but I'll have a few limitations while my bone mends. It pays to pay attention to where you're walking and not just the dog!

04/24/2023

Yesterday my sweet boy Bacon got bitten for the first time. He wasn’t doing anything wrong, but another dog – let’s call him Gus - misunderstood and thought that Bacon was going for an item that Gus wanted. Now, there’s a lot that we can say about resource guarding here, and many lessons to be learned. But I want to talk about fallout, which is one of the reasons that I don’t train with punishment.

While he was not seriously injured, Bacon was shaking like a leaf. His face was tender and his whole body trembled. While we were able to calm him, it soon became apparent that some other damage had been done.

Bacon refused to re-enter the room where the incident happened, the kitchen. He held himself aloof from his other dog friend who was present. Back at home today, he passed through our kitchen – generally a place of good things – as quickly as possible. And after the immediate shock had worn off, he also began to show a wariness of me. I was the nearest person when he was attacked. And now I’m scary, too.

We have a good relationship. We’ll bounce back from this. But what I saw unfold in front of my eyes is the transference of the fear and pain onto the people and places present when an aversive is added. This is the risk we run when we use an aversive, be it a prong, a shock collar, or even a penny jar. We may unwittingly increase a dog’s wariness of other dogs, certain locations, or even a guardian when we use these tools.

Plenty in life will be scary or painful for our dogs. There is no reason to add to the list and risk the consequences.

We’ll be over here rebuilding our trust account if you need us.

03/26/2023

Charlie was found as a stray with a lot of medical issues. It's not pressing compared to his other needs, but his mom would love to take care of his paws... but he doesn't much like having them touched. After some trial and error, I decided to shape some paw targeting in order to eventually get my hand into the picture, with his full consent. This was our first session working on this skill. Who says that you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

03/21/2023

Yesterday was a big counter conditioning day at Scallywag! Halle has a fear of people approaching carrying big umbrellas, so we've been working on pairing umbrellas with treats to shift her perspective. We started with closed umbrellas sitting on the ground and have worked up to here so far.

Charlie needs frequent ear cleanings and doesn't love it, so we're conditioning the sight of the otic cleaner, the smell of the solution, and ear handling separately in order to help make the process more pleasant.

We all have things that scare us or that make us feel uncomfortable, but they're facts of life. With a little intentional care, we can help our 4 legged friends out!

02/13/2023

Hazel had a rough start in life and sometimes struggles with other dogs, so we've been working on staying calm with them around. She handled meeting Norman with aplomb on Saturday!

Thanks to for being the best helper!

12/04/2022

Holidays with dogs can be.... challenging. Friends, family, chaos, and so many food temptations abound.

While in an ideal world, we might train a strong "Place" behavior and proof it thoroughly, we all live in the real world. Sometimes, the skills aren't there to ask a dog to meet this challenge.

These two dogs both have some background in a downstay. While we ate Thanksgiving dinner at the coffee table, they were both getting a high rate of reinforcement with real meat for staying right there rather than hunting/ begging/ stealing food.

It may not be the most elegant solution, but it's a solution that worked without conflict.

So, how will you handle your next holiday gathering with your dog?

05/13/2022

My boy Bacon has handing sensitivities around his ears, but he also suffers from allergies and the attendant ear infections. We've tried desensitization and counter conditioning, but progress has been slow.

This morning we started to teach a cue for him to touch his ears to my hands in preparation for the necessary treatments and preventative measures.

This progress would have taken much longer in a classic DS/CC set up.

He says no after a handful of trials, so I asked for a hand target and stopped the session. We are on his schedule!

Consent is for everyone!

05/13/2022

We miss these pups! From leash manners to big feelings, it was a pleasure to help them adjust to their lives here in Oakland!

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05/12/2022