š¾ Hi, Iām Cait Patton, owner and head trainer at Good Dog Enrichment and Training!
Recently, I shared a video discussing prong collar usage that sparked some strong reactions.
š¶I created this video to open a conversation about different training tools, their impacts, and why force-free methods are so important to me. I believe in transparency and education, even when itās tough.
Weāre only sharing science based and backed facts, and while I know it isnāt always easy to hear, itās important to talk about!
Thanks to everyone who shared their thoughtsāyour feedback helps us all grow, learn, and continue to improve! š¬āØ
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Consider how you are delivering your rewards, and how that might be effecting your training!
Reward delivery & placement can be a game changer, whether itās for basic cues or even reactivity!
ā”ļøPlacement can help a dog stay in a desired position
ā”ļøOR we can have loads of fun with our delivery by tossing it and making the dog chase the reward, or scatter it in the grass for them to sniff!
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š§ Learning is a practice!
The more you teach your dog new skills the more eager they are to learn from you and listen to you!
If you donāt use it, you lose it!
So make sure to use your dogās brain! And build up that reinforcement history!
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Using a prong collar and other aversive methods can create pessimism in our dogs.
So when a new stimulus enters the equation, they often will pair it with their past experiences of feeling pain and frustration from the prong collar.
This feeling of pessimism & fear ripples to all sorts of things in a dogās life, and spreads like a poison.
Ideally we want to create confidence and optimism in our pet dogs! We want them to associate new things with something positive! This can help create a happy go lucky dog.
Itās never too late to change the way you do things with your dog! Many of us trainers have used aversive methods on our own dogs in the past and have learned better ways to train! We can help you make the transition to Force Free!
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āāTouchā is such a versatile cue!
It can help to redirect your dog from a trigger, use as a recall, and even check to see if theyāre over threshold.
What other ways do you use the cue, Touch?
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The idea of a prong collar correcting the dog like their mother dog would is not a logical argument for using a prong collar.
You arenāt a dog. Your dog knows youāre not a dog!
A healthy mother dog shouldnāt be overly corrective towards her pups anyway! Especially to the point of biting them, creating pain, like a prong collar!
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š£Meet their needs!
Behavioral issues can be caused by many things, but one of the most common reasons is frustration, and chronic stress, which can be helped & relieved by enrichment & outlets!
What does your dog LOVE to do?
We have to get clever and find appropriate, safe outlets for them to perform those behaviors!
Providing frequent outlets for species typical behaviors will benefit your dogās mental health greatly!
This needs to be incorporated into their lifestyle in order to make a difference.
Doing something once is not going to have much effect on their behavior.
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Aversive Trainers often put a prong collar on their own necks and minimize the pain and discomfort. Itās not a fair comparison! Because our anatomy is different to a dogās neck!
āMany of us grew up with the myth that a dogās neck is stronger & thicker than a humanās.
That is simply not true! A dogās neck is actually thinner skinned than ours. And comparable in strength to ours.
If we put on a prong collar to ātest it outā on ourselves, thatās also not a fair comparison, because you are consciously consenting to put it on. Our dog is not able to consent to having it put on like we are.
We donāt get to decide what is painful, uncomfortable, or scary to another living creature. Just like we canāt decide what is reinforcing to any living creature.
Prong collars cause pain & discomfort. Thats what their purpose is. So it can suppress behaviors.
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Quick Tip! Mark AND THEN Reward!
Make sure to deliver rewards quickly for a new dog, so the marker is conditioned to mean they did something right!
Let us know how this helps strengthen your communication and training with your dog!
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We all have regrets! The important thing is that we learn & grow!
Most trainers became trainers because we made mistakes and wanted to learn how to help our dogs in better, in more effective ways.
Now we want to help teach people more efficient ways to help their dog so they donāt have to make the same mistakes as we did!
If youāre feeling like youāre getting nowhere with your dog training, or wanting to learn more Modern Methods, WE CAN HELP!
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šThereās always time to grow, learn, and make changes when provided with new information!!
Prong Collars use āPositive Punishmentā which suppresses behaviors by adding something unpleasant, painful, or uncomfortable.
Many studies show that using prong collars, and other aversive methods can have detrimental consequences on the dogs physically & mental wellbeing.
Studies also show that using aversive tools, like Prong Collars, isnāt not necessary for learning to occur.
So why use pain in your training if itās not necessary and can harm your dog?
Learning is more effective and efficient when it is fun and when the dog is enjoying it.
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š¤Sweet sleepy Cheeto, kindly gave us a few minutes of her time for an interview!
Sheās the best olāhound dog anyone could ask for! We love her & her little brother, Doug, so much! They have such loving, committed parents, and we are so grateful to be a part of their journey! Yāall are the best!
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A lot of training is necessary for safety & etiquette, but also a lot of training is PREFERENCE!
š¤ If you want your dog to āhugā or ākissā you, you can teach a cue for it! That way you both get outlets for the affection you like.
š«¶ Always be mindful of consent. Your dog should have their affection preferences respected.
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Shout out to Guinness!! Heās one of our favorite neutral dogs to help with insecure or reactive dogs in their journey.
Heāll be an awesome big brother to his future human sibling, and definitely will be very helpful when cleaning up after meal times! š
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Teach your dog what TO DO! Rather than getting angry at them for their behavior.
Reinforcement Drives Behavior!!
Yes R+ takes time, energy, & consistency.
But get way faster results than telling your dog no all of the time.
Also, teaching your dog what to do is less frustrating for the both of you, and has less consequences than using punishment & intimidation. Learning should be fun!
If youāre not able to take the time to teach your dog in a certain situation, we recommend using āManagementā to prevent your dog from making mistakes and performing behaviors youāre actively trying to stop.
If youāre unsure of how to get the results youāre looking for, seek professional help! We can break it down for you!
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Behavior medication often gets similar stigmatization that people get when taking meds to help with our mental health.
Weāre here to break that stigma! If you think your dog could benefit by taking meds speak to your vet. They donāt have to be the last resort!! And honestly shouldnāt be the last resort.
Behavior medication can help dogs who suffer from chronic stress, fear, anxiety and soooo much more! Paired with training, dogs on medication can make so much more progress.
Medication can increase comfort, resilience, & confidence. It can improve the quality of life of the dog, and in return improve the quality of life of the parent.
Also!! 4th of July is coming up fast! Ask your vet for possible situational medication to help with fireworks!
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Happy Teacher Appreciation week!
Especially to actual school teachers!
š We wanted to give a little shout out to our version of teachers at Good Dog.
Our dog trainers not only teach dogs but really focus on teaching the human dog parents on our to help their dog.
We all became dog trainers for a variety of reasons, but we are so happy to get the chance to help dogs & their humans strengthen their bond & communication. And weāre all super passionate about it!
šāļø Now go give a school teacher a hug, or high five, or a ton of money or something!! Theyāre doing some of the hardest work, and given the least appreciation. Thank you for all you do!!
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š§ Mental Health Awareness Month! We focus a lot on dogās mental health on here, BUTā¦
Our dogs can teach us so much about ourselves & our mental health! There are so many parallels that we can learn from our dogās lives & training journeys! We are so grateful for these life lessons & constant reminders to self reflect.
Itās important for us to meet our own needs! To go at our own pace! To learn how to regulate our emotions, and know when we need to take space for ourselves. To take a break, process the situation, and do what you can to not ~react~ in the moment.
Our furry companions also provide us so many benefits to our mental health! We get exercise & outdoor time that we probably wouldnāt be getting without them! And they alleviate stress & anxiety!
What have you learned from your dog that applies to your life & your mental health?
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AROUSAL is a big part of the Reactivity Equation!! (And itās kinda complicated)
š«Ø If a dog is highly aroused long term, without proper decompression & rest, this creates chronic stress! Dogs become implusive, highly emotional, lack food motivation, unable to listen to cues, low resilience, & easily frustrated.
š¤Ŗ Dogs who are highly aroused may appear to have high energy, leading us to add more exercise, like fetch, which could be contributing to Trigger Stacking, & continuing to increase arousal.
A few possible reasons for an overly-aroused, āhigh energyā dog would be-
under-stimulation/frustration, fear/anxiety, stress, high dopamine levels, or PAIN. Yes, dogs in pain can have high energy (especially gastrointestinal pain).
š Everything increases arousal. Itās not inherently a bad thing. We must meet our dogās needs by providing them outlets for natural behaviors & enrichment, which all increase arousal. We just want to make sure we are pairing fun & exciting (or scary) events with decompressing activities.
šWhat decreases arousal? Sniffing, licking, & chewing! Most importantly quality REST & SLEEP to process arousal hormones. Dogs need about 18 hours of sleep to function properly.
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