Use Your Noodle Canine Coaching

06/07/2022

Make sure you’re providing your dogs with plenty of water, and keeping their time outdoors short! This heat is no joke. 🥵 Walking before 9am or 9pm is the current recommendation.

05/31/2022

I’ve had a few messages asking if I do board and trains. I do not, but I do offer day training, and exposure training.

Day training: I come to your home and work with your dog in daily (Mon-Friday) private sessions, as well as take your dog on field trips, when appropriate to do so for their training. I can do this while you are home, or not. It would be more beneficial for you to be there.

Exposure training: Perfect for dogs of all ages who need a little training in public. I strive to make sure your dog is not stressed unnecessarily, or in an environment they are not ready for. Ground work is done in your home before trips out in public.

If either of those sound appealing to you, send me a message and we’ll talk about what best suits you and your dog’s needs. 🥰

03/13/2022

This is now added to the Free Posters page on my website (see comments),

03/10/2022

03/09/2022

The language we use, influences how we view our dogs behaviour and how we implement training.

Credit Do No Harm Dog Training

03/05/2022

Bites never happen for no reason, even if the reason is not apparent to us. It is our responsibility as owners to understand what may motivate our dogs to bite, and do what we can to prevent them in the future. Dogs who bite aren’t bad dogs.

https://www.facebook.com/164332430288151/posts/3669944019726957/?d=n

Normalize normal dog behavior.

03/05/2022

https://www.facebook.com/518147781579570/posts/5173755922685376/?d=n

What if our dog is not good for our mental health?

We champion dogs as a cure all for mental health woes, and that's a lot of pressure to put on our dog and ourself.

Because, let's face it, sometimes our dog can actually add to our mental and emotional load.

And some of us live with dogs who challenge our mental health on a daily.

So let's normalize the fact that we:

love our dog AND feel overwhelmed by caring for our sick dog.
love our dog AND are burnt out by caring for our geriatric dog.
love our dog AND have anxiety caring for our reactive dog.
love our dog AND are triggered by our dog

It's ok to admit that sometimes our dog is not good for our mental health. It can help take some of that pressure off them and us.

03/02/2022

The top reason spring is not my favorite. 😂

03/02/2022

Changing the underlying emotion and then training alternate behaviors is the key to long term success that preserves your dog’s mental health. 🥰

02/13/2022

There are a lot of reasons that your dog may be struggling to learn new things, or not engaging the way you want them to. If you run into a snag, see if one or more of these things could be contributing.

02/13/2022

Sniffaris are a great way to get your dog exercise and enrichment at the same time. Allowing your dog time to sniff all the things also aids in reducing anxiety. 🥰

https://www.facebook.com/IrwinDogTraining/photos/a.452023081507786/5073940339316014/?type=3

"What is a sniffafari?" It is the term used to describe a walk where direction, distance, speed are all decided by the dog. They provide a great chance for decompression for dogs, and for humans if you let it! These are a wonderful option for young puppies to explore their world and for older dogs who might not be able to keep up pace on a regular walk anymore. When you do one you can make mental notes about the things your dog finds most interesting to help better understand natural reinforcers, and bond with your dog.

02/04/2022

Behavior modification especially, is not linear. You will have easy days and hard days, particularly in the beginning. I know it’s frustrating, do your best to stay positive. I love recording training sessions with my own dogs so I can see our progress when I feel discouraged.

02/04/2022

It’s easy to get frustrated by this. Do your best. ❤️

https://www.facebook.com/120516931488557/posts/2104141209792776/?d=n

So, your trainer told you to ignore your dog when they are pestering you, and now it seems like it has gotten worse - what is that about? Well, that is 'EXTINCTION BURST'! 😲

What your trainer means is that you should replace a behaviour you don't like, with a behaviour you do like... but whilst you are doing this, the dog will sometimes exhibit 'extinction burst'. Extinction should never be used as a training method, but it's good to know what is potentially going on when you are training a new behaviour.

Imagine you try your door handle, expecting it to open your door, and instead it doesn't; what do you do? Do you give up, and call the locksmith straight away? No, you try it again! You try it HARDER, you jiggle it more FURIOUSLY (you may even kick or push your whole body into the door to try and open it before you finally admit defeat)!

Often, when this happens, owners give up and therefore end up reinforcing their dog's behaviour again, meaning they learn if it doesn't work at first, they just try harder and they still get the results they want (making it harder for you to deal with later on)...

However, if you continue to reward a more appropriate behaviour, dogs WILL give up and stop exhibiting the inappropriate behaviour, as the reward for the new behaviour is greater than the reward for the old behaviour. At the end of the day, if the door doesn't work anymore, they will learn not to use it!! 👍

02/02/2022

This is the humane hierarchy for dogs. It is defined as follows:

“The Humane Hierarchy serves to guide professionals in their decision-making process during training and behavior modification. Additionally, it assists owners and animal care professionals in understanding the standard of care to be applied in determining training practices and methodologies and the order of implementation for applying those training practices and methodologies.”

Source: https://m.iaabc.org/about/lima/hierarchy/

02/02/2022

Hello, and thanks for visiting Use Your Noodle Canine Coaching! I’d love to tell you more about my beliefs and methods as a dog trainer.

Working with dogs has been a lifelong special interest of mine. I have decades of experience working with animals, including working for humane societies and with rescues, working in veterinary clinics, and boarding facilities. I am currently working towards my CPDT-KA certification through a mentorship program with Tabitha Davies of All Big Canines. Once I have achieved that, I plan to expand my credentials by gaining my CDBC (Certified Dog Behavior Consultant) accreditation.

As a trainer, I believe in and follow the humane hierarchy. What that means, is that my top priority is your dog’s emotional well-being and physical safety. My goal is to avoid using aversive tools or methods that cause your dog to feel pain, confusion, or fear, as I feel they are counterproductive to creating a safe, rewarding, and positive partnership.

I use social play, games, enrichment, structure/routine, and rewards to help you have the best possible relationship with your dog. I support the use of behavioral medications when treating fearful and anxious dogs when appropriate, and with the guidance of your veterinarian.

Whether you have a new puppy you need support with, or an adolescent or older dog, I would love to be part of your team!

02/02/2022

Your dog should enjoy working with you! If you are struggling to get good engagement from your dog, let’s chat about what we can do to improve it!