Just Rewards Dog Training

04/17/2023

This is SO on point!! 👇

08/10/2022

Amen!!

Before I write what I’m going to write, I’m going to start with explaining my perspective and where I’m coming from.

I teach 10+ group classes per week. Not including the other classes we offer. Everything from puppy class to basic level 1 to confidence building, reactive rover, controlled unleashed, level 2 or polite in public. I teach group classes at least 4 days a week.

I do around 10 - 20 private consults every week. Covering everything from manners to dog and baby concerns to severe aggression.

I am at the shelter, every single week, evaluating new dogs, coming up with behavior mod plans for existing dogs, testing dog dog interactions and helping staff.

I live with 10 personal dogs, one foster, and at times a board and train puppy or two. Half of my dogs are rescues, half are purebred purposefully purchased to assist me at work. From toy dogs to a working Belgian shepherd.

I run a senior and hospice rescue out of my home. So far we’ve had over 15 dogs in 3 years come in and pass on here.

I have 2 training facilities. I’ve been doing this for 20 years. I literally live and breathe dogs. They are the first thing I think about when I wake up, and the last thing I see when I go to sleep. I constantly observing them, monitoring them, engaging with them and working with them, or their humans, in every way shape and form.

Yes. I know it’s a lot. But that’s my point.

I’ve learned a lot, I am still learning a lot, and last night on a dog trainers page I read something that really rubbed me the wrong way.

I’ve been doing this everyday for long enough now to know I don’t believe in “beliefs” in dog training. I do not believe in force free. I do not believe in fear free. I do not believe in punitive training or dominance theory either. I don’t subscribe to anything other than helping dogs live the best life they possibly can and using the most current research and tools possible to help achieve that.

I subscribe to fear REDUCED, because unless I can actually ask a dog, I can’t say for sure they are fear FREE. That’s a godlike complex we humans are getting so attached to and it’s arrogant to assume we know exactly how an animal is feeling. I can’t possibly believe in force free, because I force my dogs to live in an environment that isn’t natural to them, wear leashes and collars and subscribe to my lifestyle. That’s a form of force no matter how you want to paint it. I believe in management. I believe in humor and in genetics and science. I do not believe in forcing a belief or a borderline religious affirmation into my work with an animal, or human for that matter, that I am working with. The second I do that, I’m limited in how I can help them.

I struggle so much in this industry watching some of the main “leaders” who preach and talk beliefs about training dogs yet aren’t actually in the trenches with them every day. Do they see what I am seeing? Are they doing this, day in, day out, and watching what’s happening? People have changed, dogs are changing, everything is so different. Flexibility is absolutely paramount at this point. What I see now in my office every day and in the slhelters is so different than even 6-7 years ago. Aggression, reactivity, serious behavior problems, they are all increasing. And NOT because of training techniques - the majority of the cases I see haven’t even started training yet. Puppies at 10 weeks old lunging and displaying mature aggressive behavior isn’t a product of any training technique.

The more beliefs we force on people the more the divide widens. I absolutely have my opinions on things, as you can see from this post, but I am also still willing to interact, discuss and talk to people who may see things differently. I don’t close them out because they don’t subscribe.

Positive reinforcement training isn’t ruining dogs. Neither is punitive training. What’s ruining dogs is the publics rapidly growing list of expectations we are putting on them (social media is a lot to do with this) while simultaneously reducing gene pools, pushing adoption without education on temperament evaluations and “it’s all how they are raised”, continuing to breed certain dogs without truly understanding their ethology or genetics, and the finger pointing in the industry rather than being willing to step out of our comfort zone and truly grow professionally as a group to meet the changes we are now seeing.

End rant. Back to training, rescuing and petting dogs.

03/12/2022

Proactively working on Laney learning to wear a muzzle (if ever needed) and not be at all stressed by it. She and her Mom and Dad are rockstars! 🤩

03/12/2022

Working on teaching Harvie to do a handstand...I LOVE this dog!🥰

03/10/2022

👇100%

Dogs need to move. Movement is imperative to their mental health. And I’m not talking about a walk twice a day on a restrained 6 foot leash where they must match OUR movements and pace. That’s a human expectation that we’ve somehow been led to believe is adequate, and it’s not, at least not for young, healthy dogs.

The reality is that most dogs have a gait and pace much faster than ours, they like to zig zag and circle and when we restrict it to just “our pace” and under our really unnatural parameters (don’t smell this, don’t go over there, you’re taking too long here, don’t put that in your mouth) how can we then act surprised when we see other frustration related behaviors crop up, like excessive mouthing, playing tug with the leash, destructive behavior in the home etc.

I’m not saying don’t walk your dog, but I am saying you may want to change the way the walk, or movement for your dog looks. If you can’t do off leash walks reliably or daily, maybe instead of a 6ft leash you use a 10-15ft long line (NOT a retractable) and maybe you need to drive to a place that’s a quieter spot to allow for that movement to occur. Maybe slow down the idea that the walk is about the LENGTH of time and more the QUALITY of the time and the ability for your dog to interact and move with the environment. Maybe that means you stand in one spot for 10 minutes just letting them pace back and forth between two trees, that’s more enriching to them than a half a mile on asphalt in a perfect “heel”

This is also why I am such a huge proponent of fenced yards also. The larger the better. We have a half acre fenced in and are doing another half this spring to continue to offer as much freedom to move as possible.

This DOES NOT replace leash work or manners. Far from it. This actually enhances and bolsters it. By giving my dogs natural movement and time to “dog” I find that when I ask them to key in and do something like walk perfectly at my side past distractions, I get a lot more acceptance and try from my dogs than if I’m restricting them all the time.

This may feel yucky to some people, and that’s probably because it’s out of what WE as humans perceive as right or wrong in the land of being a “good dog owner” but I’m telling you that if you let out a little bit of leash, and you let your dog “dog” more, you’ll be amazed at what you may see come back around.

Move those dogs people!

03/01/2022

Well said!❤️

Here’s an educational post about educational posts.

The last few days I’ve been on social media more than usual, mainly because I’m keeping track of the war in Ukraine. But, of course, as I scan news related posts, my algorithm forces me to see all kinds of dog related images and posts too.

They all come from well meaning, sometimes legitimate sources. Some in groups, some on dog trainer pages, some being shared. Some have images, some don’t, all have good points to them in some capacity.

But, sweet Jesus, it’s confusing. One tells me that exercising my dog is bad. Another tells me never to use a harness but the other one forgoes collar use. The next says that corrections on dogs are terrible and the one after that says you must use some corrections if you want to do right by your dog. I mean seriously, no wonder dogs and people are struggling. It also explains why people come in to see me with preconceived ideas of what is okay and what’s not, and why then I spend double the time trying to explain otherwise rather than getting right down to helping the dog.

The hard part to these posts is that they are usually broad statements that are incredibly vague without offering exceptions or true examples. Now look, I’m just as guilty as anyone doing this in posts sometimes. BUT I do always try to give an example of an exception or variable in my statements. One size doesn’t fit ALL.

I have 11 dogs. Every. Single. One. Is. Different. Every single one requires me to change - even slightly - what I do or don’t do with them in training. There are absolutely some broad truths that underlie with all of them but the application of those varies on the dog him or herself. Just like my children! The rule in the house to not leave our clothes in heaps on the floor is enforced differently with both of them. Based on their age, their personality, their mood and behavior in that moment, and more. See what I’m saying??

I am very much admittedly a cafeteria dog trainer. I walk around and take what I like and leave what I don’t. That means my tray is varied and might look messy to some but it also means I have plenty of options, not just one.

Enjoy educational posts, but don’t absorb them completely. Work with a trainer personally. Someone who can see your dog for who they are, see your skills too, and help you build a relationship together that you can BOTH thrive under. If you need to, show your trainer a post and ask them if it applies to your dog, and if they say no, ask why. Ask your trainer to give you examples of how they’ve handled the same behavior in 3 dogs differently and why. That’s IMPORTANT. If all they have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. They should have more than that.

So, there. Carry on FB land. Enjoy the availability and accessibility of information out there but don’t hold on to it like it’s absolutely concrete because it may not apply to all dogs, or your dog. Unless it’s a published scientific study, it’s usually opinion based; and that leaves lots of room for interpretation. That’s not a bad thing, but it does need to be remembered.

01/31/2022

Yes! 🐾❤️

Dog trainers everywhere would be a lot happier if the humans they worked with focused less on what their dog was doing, and more on how their dog was feeling.

I care less about your dog having a perfect sit/stay than I do your dog feeling comfortable in new places and around new people. I’m not interested in a great heel if your dog is afraid to make a mistake. I really could care less if your dog doesn’t offer you amazing eye contact if he’s relaxed and not reacting to the other dog walking by. I’m not bothered that your dog is super interested in me and wants to greet me when you walk into the training room, I’m happy they associate me with great things and like coming to class.

The more you know about behavior, and about dogs in general, the less you’ll care about things we often view as “good” or “bad” behavior. You’ll focus more on the bigger picture. Changing how your dog feels - and yes, they do feel - is paramount to me over fixing what he’s doing. And believe it or not, that’s the true secret to lasting change.