Hope For Canines

11/29/2024

“Lady of the night, bless my soul with your light. queen of the moon, let your magic fill my room. Silver dust of the bright stars, heal my wounds, erase my scars. let me wander in your realm free, nurture my body like a healthy tree”.

11/24/2024

Loved this “very real life training session”. It was puppy social-leash walking-dog to dog interactions-navigating passerby’s-children and strollers-managing distractions with the whole family. In between laughters, silly puppies and twirling autumn leaves we practiced some stay, by my side walking and focus/check ins. Education for all-such good company.

11/24/2024

Towards the end of many sessions- dogs end up taking a snooze next to, or on me. Perhaps they are relaxed, had a good work out, fun enrichment, or maybe they just know I need it, anyhow, I love it when my doggies friends falls asleep on me, it’s a sign of trust, love and that they enjoy our company.

11/06/2024

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TkJGhQANjZo

The grief of losing a pet is crushing; and yet it is too often minimized. This talk explains why the pain of pet loss is different and why it is valid. Dr. H...

10/31/2024

Happy Howloween 🎃

10/16/2024

“Control is necessary for the well-being of all animals (including humans). Too little control can make an animal feel helpless,” explains Irith Bloom, owner of The Sophisticated Dog, has been training animals since the 1980s and is on the board of the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT). “Decades of research teaches us that helplessness is stressful, while control is empowering and beneficial,” she continues. “In fact, an animal who has more choice and control in general can handle even extremely stressful situations better!”

There are many simple opportunities for us as dog owners to offer our dogs more freedom and control over their choices to help them be happier.

10/11/2024

Time for CE- looking forward to the next 3 days of learning, thinking, pondering, laughing, growing from the 5th year with Aggression in Dogs Conference.

10/07/2024

Puppies make the day better.. Always

09/15/2024

This handsome good boy is not yet convinced that guests on his home turf is a good thing, but we are heading in the right direction. Although keeping a watchful eye on the stranger in his home we are excited about the progress of him settling down on his own and able to watch without reacting.

🐕 Reminders if you have dogs that are fearful, anxious, territorial around strangers, visitors, particularly in your home:
-Follow a predictable routine for each visit, dog in general thrive on consistency, worried dogs need it even more.
-Management. Gates/barriers can provide safety, safe distance and boundaries while working on desensitization and counter conditioning. It also helps your guest follow protocol of not interacting with your dog accidentally.
-Positive reinforcement- awesome, safe and fun stuff happens when visitors are present.
-It’s better if the dog has the choice and freedom to move away/come closer, and a sanctuary where the visitors can’t go, verses attached to a leash or in a crate- as this can make them feel trapped and more defensive.
-Stay hopeful and keep working with your home protocol and your dog with professional help. Social connections are important to us humans, and I know many that have stopped socializing, afraid to invite friends over and feeling more lonely and isolated because of the dog situation. Know that there are safe solutions, affective management and training to improve things for both the human and the dog.

08/29/2024

Capturing behaviors, dogs and puppies offer MANY good behaviors throughout the day. Are you there to capture/reward them? When you catch your dogs offering or volunteering any behaviors, ask yourself: do I want to see more of this? Or less? Our timing is crucial, and using fear free and positive reinforcement helps the dogs to feel optimistic and safe about offering behaviors and trying again. From tricks to this useful skill (tucking in under human), can be shaped, learned and reinforced by simply observing, engaging with your dog, playing and rewarding a moment in time. So easy and fun- what are some of your favorite behaviors you shaped?

08/29/2024

A late National Dog Day appreciation for all the working dogs out there helping us and making the world a better place.

08/17/2024

The goofiest of boys, trying their hardest at being the goodest of good dogs.
Reminders for y’all facing pressure, setbacks, feeling stuck, guilty, not having enough time or a day did not go as planned. Everyone’s journey is unique, trust the relationship you have with your dog, you are a fantastic dog pawrent, doing your very best to love, care, learn, protect and survive in this world. A shoutout to all the doggies that guides us, loves us, forgives, teaches us, leaves paw prints on our heart and put smiles on our faces.

08/10/2024

Out about town with these cute boys, learning and maintaining skills and etiquette is key for successful town living and city strolls. Navigating other dogs, passing people, new and scary things, crowds, leash pulling, loud sounds, distractions on the ground, it can be a lot of work, but we can still make it into a fun activity, mental enrichment and adventures for the dog and the human. For many dogs it’s their highlight of the day, for some it can be stressful and unpredictable. Always be kind and respectful, sharing the road and respecting personal space.

08/04/2024

So many smooches, I am full of love from all the cuties I got to spent time with this weekend. Hope you all had loving moments and time to recharge with your furbabies. 🐾💛

07/07/2024

From fighting and chaos to friendly and peaceful-these brothers were able transition the tension of intradog household conflicts to happiness for both four and two legged members. It’s important to understand that not all household conflicts are manageble and successful, the variables can be many and complex to why a situation is the way it is. In this case, we had difficult conversations and discussed solutions, expectation and limitations for humans and dogs. We used avoidance of triggering and high arousal situations. We had planned for prevention and management to set everyone up for success with drag lead, alternate walk schedule, resting areas and barriers. We also learned about body language when to interrupt, how to interrupt and what to teach as far as skills, replacing unwanted behavior with wanted behaviors that we could reinforce. We addressed the underlaying medical conditions. Guess what? We are in a much better place, as fights went from 6 times a day to 0! Great job! 🐾

06/16/2024

It’s a balancing act… both working hard as assistant branch manager towards the Canine Good Citizen title, AND… working on self care and making most of those puppy days. Something tells me he is going to be successful no matter what 🐕 🐾

05/28/2024

BARRIERS TO LEARNING – WHY SOME DOGS STRUGGLE TO LEARN

“My dog is stubborn, doesn’t listen to me, a slow learner, not the smartest, tries to be in control, will only do it at home, will only behave sometimes, is uncontrollable……” – these are comments that are often heard.

Just like us, dogs need the right kind of conditions to either be able to learn something new or to bring about a change in behaviour.

Dogs are not robots that can be programmed by a set of specific inputs that guarantee consistent results. They are individual, sentient beings that need to be understood.

If we’re feeling stressed, anxious, tired, over excited, too distracted, not feeling well, have no motivation etc. we will find it really difficult, if not impossible to learn something new, change our behaviour or change a habit. The same applies to dogs.

A dog’s emotional state, the surrounding environment, motivation, age (pups, adolescents, seniors) or any health issues all have a significant impact on their ability to learn.

If your dog is having a hard time learning something, look at these factors and see if there is a reason that may be preventing progress.

Maybe your dog is just having an “off” day, just like we do.

Try again tomorrow or next week and set your dog up for success by having realistic expectations.

Learning or changing behaviour takes time, patience, consistency, understanding and the right conditions.

05/20/2024

Learn how to read dog body language with this short video.