Please, no negative comments for this video. It's an amazing educational video, and displays language, mis- cues, subconscious human behaviors, and fantastic dog language that can help keep families with multiple dogs safer and more knowledgeable.
A private training clients sent me this video last night.
The larger dog had just come home from daycare. The smaller dog is younger and home all day. The owner said about half an hour later these two dogs were bffs again with no behavior concerns. So what the heck was going on? They've been seeing this behavior happening more and more in their home with bigger intensity each time.
My first reply to the owners : STOP sharing affection immediately! The dog is literally hearing "good dog, keep growling, keep going with the intensity and intentions. This behavior makes me suuuuper happy! Good dog!" Sharing affection (which I absolutely believe was subconscious behavior from the owner to redirect the dogs attention, is the best form of training. Feed the dog you want, pet the dog you want.
So that answers the question of why it's happening more often and with higher intensity.
Second: think of the older dog coming home from Thanksgiving dinner with extended family. Emotionally taxing, very little down time, making small talk all day, and navigating social cues with multiple personalities makes the best of us our worst selves. I told the owner : bring that dog home and allow the dog to be in their completely own space. Let them ask to rejoin the social environment. Sharing the same space vs closing the bedroom door create very different levels of rest and recovery. And the young smaller dog is home without excessive social pressure all day so is ready for intense direct interactions. I told the owners these two interactions at that time of day is setting a fuse that can blow up Mars.
We have all found ourselves in a panic headspace and without recognizing the language in front of us we often miscommunicate even thou
Building different teams this season with the sled dogs. Up front I have a young leader in training (Goosey) who is really impressing me with her maturity. She's learning to communicate her insecurities this year where last year she showed insecurities with goofy behaviors.
When I was giving sled rides to tourists last winter a man asked me if the sled dogs new any tricks.
This is the trick! They know amazing tricks. They know tons of tricks. This is it. Not sitting pretty. Not giving paw. Being able to talk to me, to each other, to the deer, to coyotes, to stay in formation, to love the morning mist, to be beautiful in their spirit after waiting all summer to do what they love again.
That is the trick. It still hurts my heart that people don't understand that, and want to lesson their beauty with sitting pretty.
Just when I think Im a mature adult, this sound effect makes me laugh too hard while watching Annika and Coco. 😝 🏁
A broken lawn mower equals bouncing dogs in the fields 😂 🦌 🦌 🦌 🦌 🌞 ☀️
Kato, here for board and train to learn how to not be reactive towards dogs. He's also been in some massive dog fights as well. We've been making several trips to the Crossings for exposure to other dogs. The path of training that I see for dogs is "Not successful/not positive " (meaning it wasn't good or fun event- this maybe more familiar for vet visits for people to understand. The dog was growling and scared the whole time and no amount of praise or feel good communication can make it better. The second path is "successful/not positive " meaning the dog is working through their struggles, but obviously hates it and no feel good communication helps still. The third (and where Kato is now) is "successful/positive ". He can now enjoy his time during conflict, is underwhelmed by the environment and is also open to feel good communication.
I am still working on those paths with his owners to gain the same relationship with Kato that I'm gaining.
Colt and Kato have the privilege of working together this week while Colt boards. They both can benefit from working around each other as they each give off the triggers they both react to. Both dogs are muzzled for safety. Kato is learning how to share space in a calmer headspace with other dogs around him.
Fans of Sunshine : sound on if you want to hear Sunshine sing curse words.😂🤗
I'm starting touch therapy with Kato with the goal that I can move his chaotic energy away from him so he can relax. That is one struggle that he has not been able to let go of and which is holding him back. He does not know how to rest, how to find dopamine naturally, how to be an "on" dog and then be off. He tends to be done with a training session high adrenaline, over aroused and not with a satisfied headspace. His owners and I had an at least conversation yesterday at a check in session here and they agreed that's what has always held him back. The route of training for me has always been, if something works- do it again. If its supposed to work historically, but isn't working, try it a few more times. If it still isn't working - 180 switch it up. Touch therapy for Kato is the 180. Now, we watch how he responds in the next 12 hours.
Kato is learning the heading ball today. He's learning to move towards, go left and go right. I'm trying to find a way to satisfy his breed to dampen his behaviors.
I'm learning more of what Kato needs in environments with conflict. He's interesting to me because he needs a ton of emotional support with his clicker (like 90% of his communications during conflict are clicker communications) , a lot of eye contact requirements to keep checking in with me , but more interesting is his after skills are done work. He seems to understand his good behavior "jobs" are done and he let's loose the inner demon 😈 🙄 when he comfortable again. It's a psychological cue us humans have allowed him to own, that when we are done, "we are done". Typically I tell my clients "the walk starts inside", or really where you are at. Meaning, if picking up the leash cues the dog for the walk, then the walk starts when you pick up the leash. Kato's walk starts where it should historically like other dogs, but absolutely doesn't end where you put the leash down. He doesn't have the dopamine flow that most dogs have at the end of a quality training session. Now I have to learn from him how he needs the walk to end. Duration work? Treadmill? High focus quick engagement drills? Touch therapy?
I'm waiting on Kato to tell me.
Kato had his first off property training today and I met a couple of friends a d fellow trainers at the Crossings in Colonie. We saw a ton of dogs, a whole lot of very nice behaviors from Kato, and I think he genuinely enjoyed his time there:)
