Pawsitive Transformations, LLC

14/11/2024

13/11/2024

Be kind.

11/11/2024

Another gem from The Perfect Puppy Company…

𝙅𝙪𝙙𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩.

Yesterday a passer by at the park felt the need to pass loud judgement on a dog I was working with when they were having a 'moment'. It wasn't kind, it wasn't helpful and it wasn't necessary.

Something I often hear from clients is how aware they are of the judgement of others when they are out with their dogs.

If their dog is lunging, barking or otherwise seen as behaving 'badly', they feel the weight of strangers' eyes on them. Sometimes the judgment is just an eye roll or a tut....sometimes it's more explicit - being shouted or sworn at. Either way they feel shamed and embarrassed.

I can say, almost certainly, that those doing the shaming have never had a reactive dog themselves. They have never had to deal with not getting the dog they hoped for. Never had to walk their dog at the crack of dawn or late at night in an attempt to avoid other people. Never felt their heart sink when something unexpected happens and their best laid plans go wrong. Never felt the mixed emotions of embarrassment, sadness and frustration when their dog kicks off yet again. Never cried when they've had to abandon another walk. Never felt dread at the sound of "it's ok...he's friendly". Never felt the pressure to correct their dog because they need to be seen to be 'doing something'.

For those feeling judged remember that other people's opinions affect you only as much as you let them. Take a deep breath, shake it off and move on. Easier said than done at first but, like any skill, it gets easier with practice. Don't compare your dog to others. No two dogs are the same and, as the saying goes, comparison is the thief of joy. Ditch the shame. It's corrosive and toxic. Do the best you can in any situation and seek help if you need it. If you do that no one can ask more of you. And know that you're not alone. For every eye roll you receive there's probably also someone who's watching sympathetically because they've been there.

And if you've caught yourself eye rolling and tutting and rushing to judgement try to put yourself in that person's shoes. No one enjoys being the person with 'that' dog. It's never what people planned and they are generally trying their best in a bad situation. When you see a reactive dog kicking off know that, in that moment, both the dog and its owner are having a hard time and ask yourself whether a critical comment from you is going to make things better for anyone?

Being the owner of a reactive dog is hard enough. Let's not make it any harder.

10/11/2024

Lily met Korey the Kanine - the beginning of a beautiful friendship! 🐕🐕💕💕🐾🐾

09/11/2024

We haven't had a young dog in quite a while - so we kind of forgot the mess that comes with her. 😂 Lily Rose likes to destroy things - fortunately so far it's only the things we give her to destroy! She has gutted toys that Daisy barely touched, and loves to decimate pop bottles and cardboard boxes (which make them easier to recycle!). So while we've lost our usually clean family room for the time being - we couldn't be happier! 🐾 🐶 💞

Share photos of your pet destruction in the comments. 😆

04/11/2024

As Lily Rose acclimates to her new home with us, we'll occasionally share some training tips and information that is helpful for us - and hopefully will be for you as well. Lily has already shown mad skills at counter surfing in her short time with us 😆 so Bob shows us how he is helping her learn that the she'll get a lot more goodies if she stays in "her spot" during food prep than if she tries to check out the counter tops. 🐾 ❤ 🐶

02/11/2024

Soon after Hattie's family adopted her, they immediately noticed signs of separation related behaviors. They reached out for help a few months later, and we began working together in July to help Hattie feel calm and comfortable when left home alone. When we began training, they couldn't even reach the front door before she had a full blown panic attack. Today (graduation day!) she easily slept through 4 hours of alone time. 🥳 Bob LOVES helping clients get their lives back, and couldn't be more proud of Team Hattie's patience and dedication to achieve such an amazing goal. What didn't seem possible in July is now a reality in November.

Contact us if you need help with separation anxiety! We offer a free 30-minute discovery call to share more information.

31/10/2024

Have a safe and happy Halloween! 👻 🎃

30/10/2024

I always appreciate the excellent and wise advice from The Perfect Puppy Company …

It's (almost) never just one thing.

When people seek help with their dog's behaviour it's rare that there is one single, magical 'fix'. Because behaviour is complex. It's a result of the dog's previous experiences, their breed, their breeding, their lifestyle and their environment. So we often have to make multiple changes, some of which might seem only tenuously related to the original problem, in order to achieve effective, long term change.

Buddy is an overseas rescue and, in common with many of his kind, isn't keen on visitors coming into his home. He's also often on 'high alert' for activity around his home...car doors opening, people walking past his house, voices outside etc.

A narrow view would simply focus on stopping him barking. Taking a wider view and tackling the problem on a number of different fronts means he's less likely to feel the need to bark in the first place...and that's what results in long term change. The changes we've begun to implement -

• adding more low arousal enrichment into Buddy's routine to help him settle & relax
• removing access to vantage points where he would remain 'on patrol'
• reducing the intensity of stimuli coming into the home by muffling sounds and removing visual access
• creating a predictable routine when visitors come to the home
• changing the human behaviour to make it easier for Buddy to make good choices (because we can't expect him to make all the running...if we want our dogs' behaviour to change we need to be willing to change our behaviour)
• making the behaviour we don't want less likely using management options like keeping Buddy on lead until he has settled
• more clearly communicating to Buddy which behaviours we 𝘥𝘰 like
• thinking about the layout of the room to identify where Buddy is likely to feel most comfortable when visitors are in the home

Effective, ethical, long term change requires a commitment to being open to make (perhaps numerous) changes. Because lots of smaller changes can, in combination, have a big impact.

30/10/2024

We recently welcomed another beautiful flower into our home. 🥰 Meet Lily Rose - a 1 year old lab who needed a new home. The timing was perfect for us, as our home was too empty and quiet after we lost Daisy in July. So we are thrilled, honored, and so grateful that her amazing breeder (and our dear friend) entrusted her to us to become a member of our family. She is young, athletic, energetic, beautiful, smart, silly, cuddly, (did we already say energetic?😂) and, well…quirky! We look forward to sharing our lives and love with her, and sharing her training journey with you all.

To be continued... 🐾 ❤️ 🐶

25/10/2024

Does your dog have trouble greeting your guests politely, coming when called, and leaving the delicacies alone?
Then this is the class for you!
In this class, we'll be working on polite greetings at the door, coming when called (even with loads of distractions!), and a strong "Leave It!" behavior.

Come join us in preparing your pups for the Holidays by registering today! https://kudosforcanines.dogbizpro.com/Public/Registration/Index.aspx

19/10/2024

For most of training, Team Hattie has been doing training exercises and live reassessments with Bob in the afternoons / evenings. Today we decided to switch things up and have her people leave when they might normally go to work in the early morning - and she SMASHED it. Way to go Team Hattie! 🥳

16/10/2024

Great article on canine domestication and how well bred service dogs are slowly changing the landscape.

Humans need to breed and train more puppies like service animals. October 14, 2024 Not so long ago, dogs were valued primarily for the jobs they performed. They hunted, herded livestock, and guarded property, which required them to have an active prey drive, boundless energy, and a wariness toward s...

15/10/2024

This map offers a small sampling of clients and their dogs we've helped from all over the country. Because this training is done virtually, we can help clients from anywhere. Where can we add you to our map? 🐾 ❤

13/10/2024

Very cool!

Send a message to learn more

12/10/2024

Way to go Team Hattie! 🥳 Progress is rarely linear with this training, but with patience and dedication, it IS possible.