Calm, Confident Canines

10/02/2024

A new book from Dr. Zazie Todd, one of the most well known and admired canine behaviorists in the business.

Dr. Zazie Todd's new book "Bark!" is the go-to source based on science and positive reinforcement for people who live with one of the many dogs who suffer from fear-filled lives.

08/20/2024

If your dog is terrified on walks and you don’t have a yard, consider a balcony or porch potty.

I’ve had great results coaching puppy guardians on using real or artificial grass pads for house training.

07/09/2024

There’s nothing natural about being alone for dogs.

Separation related problems are so distressing for both the dog and their people and helping a dog who struggles with separation is a long, slow process.

When we bring a dog home it is important to help them feel safe and secure in the home and with us and only then gradually start teaching them that alone time is nothing they need to stress about.

This can be time consuming and awkward to start as it means organising life so that the dog does not need to be left for extended periods before they are ready.

The time put in during these early stages is absolutely worth it, however - helping a dog who has developed separation related problems can mean a long time of the dog not being able to be left, and working on helping them to feel comfortable in very small increments (seconds at a time to start) takes a lot of work and effort.

07/06/2024

Dogs with big feelings are a lot! Go easy on you.

07/03/2024

Think about it from your pup’s perspective.

06/28/2024

Obedience is an unrealistic, unsustainable concept that denies dogs recognition as sentient beings.

Obedience has no place in a mutual, cooperative relationship.

06/21/2024

RECALL: Barkworthies and Best Bully Sticks Green Tripe treats! Possibly contain metal shards.

Richmond, Va. - TDBBS LLC is voluntarily recalling 3,551 bags of Green Tripe dog treats due to the potential presence of foreign metal objects in the dog treat. The recalled product was distributed between February to May 2024, and sold nationwide in retail stores and through online mail orders. T

06/18/2024

Summer is here. Protect your dog’s paws!

Summer is HERE 🔥🥵🐾
Stay cool! ✌️🧿
And know how much I LOVE the sound of breaking glass if I see a dog in distress😉

06/15/2024

So true.

06/15/2024

06/12/2024

I know a Shih Tzu who does this. Do you have a dog that “fronts” on their height?

DO LITTLE DOGS TELL BIG LIES?

As people, we are likely completely unaware of the actual content and intention of the many messages left by dogs when they urinate.

“Pee mail” messages allow dogs to communicate their size, social status, health, gender, age, reproductive status & even their current emotional state.

This is conveyed through pheromones present in their urine, which other dogs are able to read and interpret.

Urine marking is generally a very “honest” and accurate scent-based message, but little dogs may have found a way to make this less accurate and less honest by aiming much higher than would be expected.

Many male dogs prefer to mark vertical surfaces. Releasing urine as far above ground level as possible allows air currents to carry their “mail” much further.

The higher the marking also makes it less likely that another dog will mark over it and delete or dilute the original message.

Although this is mostly seen in male dogs, I have a female miniature schnauzer that consistently performs really impressive handstands against vertical objects to p*e at the park, often losing her balance and falling flat on her face in the process in her attempt to mark as high as possible.

Maybe her less than trim and slim body shape plays a part in her lack of balance.

She avoids conflict or interaction with any dog that is bigger than her probably due to her being attacked by a big dog some years ago.

I believe she is telling “lies” about her size to avoid conflict, interaction and to tell dogs bigger than her to stay away – “I am bigger and stronger than I look”

Have you noticed your little dog telling “lies”?

06/06/2024

GREAT advice!

05/30/2024

How many times do we see someone say not to comfort a scared dog because it will reinforce their fear? This is an incredibly damaging myth, and one that will not help your scared dog at all.

Fear is an emotion, not a behaviour, and it cannot be reinforced in the same way as a behaviour can. That's not to say that how we respond can't have an effect on the dog's fear - it's important to sound and remain calm and soothing - but emotions cannot be reinforced simply by offering comfort to the scared dog.

Behaviours that we reinforce to encourage them and make them more likely to happen are the result of a conscious choice by the dog. That is how positive reinforcement works - the choice to do a particular thing results in something good, something the dog likes or wants. That could be an extrinsic reward like treats, fuss, or a toy, or an intrinsic internal reward such as being able to carry out a natural behaviour that is self-rewarding for the dog.

Emotions like fear are not based on conscious decisions. Fear is not something the dog chooses to feel. Something has triggered the dog's survival instinct, their survival mechanism, and the dog's body and brain leap into action to protect the dog from this thing.

It doesn't matter if the thing the dog is scared of is a real threat or not - for the dog it is perceived as a threat and it's important for us to help them, whether that is getting them more distance from what has scared them, or providing comfort and attempting to help them to feel safer if more distance is not possible (for example fireworks, thunder, or gunshots) or we can't see what is triggering the response.

A scared dog is not being silly or trying to be awkward. They are scared and in survival mode. They need empathy and understanding, and it's up to us to provide those for them.

05/30/2024

Be patient with your pup. They’re usually doing the best they can with the information they have.

If a dog is repeatedly not following a cue, it's important we don't decide they are being 'stubborn'. Dogs are not stubborn because they choose to be.

It may be that they haven't actually learned the cue properly.

They may be feeling unwell.

There may be distractions in the environment that mean they can't concentrate and respond to the cue.

The reward on offer might not be motivating enough for them in that moment.

Look at the environment for distractions, look at the coaching history to see if the cue has been fully established and proofed in the wider world, and look at the value of the rewards you are offering.