Mod Dog Training

01/04/2024

This is wild. 🙃

I'm very interested to hear people's experiences and thoughts on this one. This chart came out of a Newsweek article titled "Americans Can No Longer Afford Their Pets". The title of the purple graph is "Percentage of pet owners who are very and fairly concerned about their ability to financially support their pet".

I'm not sure what the quality of the market research was and I'm definitely not thrilled with how the graphs are laid out, but still.

To me this says the less people are worried about their ability to cover the costs of animal care, the less in touch they are with what animal care actually costs.

Do you agree? Do you have a different perspective? Does this surprise you at all? Sound off!

16/02/2024

Does this resonate with you?

I ran across this phrase on a t-shirt site made for special education teachers. As soon as I saw it, I knew I needed it. Maybe not the t-shirt (though I wish I got it), but the phrase. The reminder that regulating emotions, the body and the nervous system comes first. 

I recently had a foster puppy for 7 weeks. He was an anxious mess of a guy. Insanely cute and sweet, but an emotional wreck. The whole world was too big and too overwhelming for him. Getting him to eat for the first two weeks took persistence and creativity. Even after that, the his appetite with treats was spotty at best. 

Car rides? Terrifying. 

Confinement of any kind? Intolerable. 

Rain? More like acid falling from the sky. 

Interior stairs? Monster's teeth. 

I couldn't do the things with him that I do with so many other dogs. We (the hoomans) were frustrated and pulling our hair out. 

And so this phrase popped up in my head over and over. Not only for him, but also for us. Not all of my reactions were up to my own standards.

Remembering that I also needed to regulate, I could start taking a step back in the moment and check in with myself to reel in my own emotions. To take a deep breath and recognize that I was not in an emergency or even an urgent situation. Then, I could look at him and ask if I was expecting too much of him based on where his head and body were at in that moment. 

I'm not going to say it made things easy, but it did make them better. I was thinking I could wear that t-shirt to my training appointments because A LOT of our clients need to hear this. Especially puppy clients. At the very least, I need to start working the phrase into conversations an awkward amount. LOL 😆

What do you think?

❤️🐶

11/04/2022

I said goodbye to Dehlilah one week ago today. I started writing this before she passed and just didn't feel it was done. I think it is now.

After seeing the last 12 years of my life with my dog, Dehlilah, what I see is not things I've taught her but the relationship we've built. I see how we started out rocky. It took me many years learn how to change my ways and mend trust I had broken with her early in her life. But that's the part I find so incredibly valuable. She motivated me to want to find a different way of relating to her than I had been shown early in my life. Although I wish I had learned how to do things differently earlier in her life, I have always done my level best to put her well being and happiness first. I can only hope that all the happy and loving times we had outweighed the bad. If I look at the relationship we had, even when I handled things poorly, I think they did. The relationship we had is the greatest comfort I have now.

A great relationship can't really be trained or taught, but it comes through in HOW you train or teach. It also comes through how you respond to your dog in between formal training sessions. Have patience with your dog and yourself. Play, comfort, love, and ENJOY your life together. It's never long enough. ❤️

[ID text: Photo collage of a black dog with a graying face excitedly running to her person, sitting with her grandpawrent and a cat she reluctantly accepted, sitting at a skate park, and with her paws on the shoulders of me, her middle aged mom and partner. Text reads "What do you want your relationship with your dog to be like? Once you're all done training the things you want your dog to do or not do...
what do you want your relationship to look like? Think about how you want to interact with your dog, how you want them to perceive you, how much you want them to like you and trust you. Train for that."]

21/03/2022

Life is complicated. The Mod Dog team is taking a break to address big life changes and some much needed self care. Sadly, we will not be taking new clients for a while.

We will still be putting out educational content on Instagram and Facebook, and we may have some blog posts in the works! Give us a like and follow if you want to stay up with us!

[ID Text: Pink and white background with a bullhorn. Mod Dog Training logo with tagline "Modern methods for modern dogs" and a speech bubble with text "We're going on a training hiatus. But we'll still be on social media! And existing clients can still make new appointments."]

20/03/2022

This is why we emphasize going on sniffy, meandering walks with dogs (especially ones that have behavior problems).

Shake it…shake it off…

A recent study by two researchers in France looked at sniffing, pulse rate, and leash length on walks. Sixty-one dogs were taken on three separate walks, five minutes each walk, once with a 1.5m leash, once with a 5m leash, and once without a leash at all (walk order was randomized for each dog). Off-leash dogs sniffed the most, more than 3x as long as the dogs on short leashes. Dogs on long leashes spent nearly as much time as unleashed dogs sniffing, almost 3x as long as dogs on short leashes.

This study also found that sniffing resulted in lowered pulse rates, and the more intensely they sniffed, the more their pulse rates lowered. Pulse rate was also lowered when dogs “shook off” during walks on all leash lengths. The “shake off” behavior was often seen when the dog’s pulse rate was particularly high.

Read more about it below!
http://www.dogfieldstudy.com/node/1

https://thebark.com/content/dog-walks-sniffing-shaking-and-pulse-rate

What else can we learn about dogs from their walking behavior? Take your best friend on a Sniffari and see what you observe!

18/03/2022

Living in an apartment complex, I see a lot of reactive dogs hanging out on the backs of couches barking out the window at every passerby (or canine passerby). This is a really stressful life for a dog. Most of those dogs I see barking out the window are also barking at everyone when they go for a walk, which is multiple times a day because we don't have yards. Basically, these dogs are staying stressed out from the time they wake up to the time they go to sleep, and because of that, I doubt they're even getting quality sleep. Taking steps to reduce the stress of these dogs is key to, honestly, just giving them a happy life.

One small thing you can do to at least reduce the barking and stress is to block their ability to see everyone that goes by. Window film comes in a wide variety of styles, from simple frosted glass to beautiful stained glass patterns. All you need to put it up is a pair of scissors and spray bottle of water. It's very cheap, completely removable, and technically reusable. There's no glue at all.

If you live in a place where you need to have the windows open (like here in Monterey Bay where most people don't have AC) block off access to the windows, put up a folding screen/ sheer curtains/ something else that obscures the view but doesn't block air flow, or put your dog in another part of the house while the window is open.

Having a window to the outside world can be enriching on some cases, but I find most dogs get very frustrated and hypervigilent in high-trafficked areas. If your dog is going off on barking tirades or hits the window at squirrels and birds multiple times a day, try the window film. ❤️

[ID text: Picture of frosted cling window film and an illustrated dog that is mad and barking. Text says "Dog barking out the window? Try window film! A cheap and temporary management solution. You can thank us later."]

16/03/2022

There really aren't a lot of cut and dry answers to dog training and behavior questions. For example:

- How do I get my dog to stop barking at people?

- How long should it take for my dog to learn to come when called reliably?

- What's the best way to get my dog to stop pulling on leash?

Many of us trainers have some standard answers that work in a large number of cases. We also like to try and give simplified answers to questions when we can for the sake of our human learners. However, if you dig down, trainers should be able to give you a variety of answers to any particular question based on the human, the dog, and the particular situation they're in.

For example, we're not a fan of slip leads around here (leashes that also act as a collar that constricts around a dog's neck). However, for many shelters, vet offices, working with particularly fearful dogs that can't tolerate handling, taking trained dogs out for a quick potty, they just make sense. We can say that in the vast majority of cases, we prefer to see dogs on more comfortable and safer gear, but it really does depend.

If you work with a trainer that gives pat answers for every question and doesn't take into consideration you, your dog, and your situation, it's probably time to find a new trainer.

[ID text: Pink background with purple paw prints. Text reads "The answer to most dog training questions is: It Depends."]

06/03/2022

Trigger warning for pet illness and death.

I made this for me and others feeling like me.

In January, I found out that my dog, Dehlilah, has cancer. She's 13 years old and we've been together for 12 wonderful if sometimes challenging years. The longest relationship I've ever had. She's been my partner for work and my supporter at home. She even worked as my service dog for a time. I've organized my whole life around her.

The decision to do palliative care instead of aggressively treating the cancer has gutted me. I question it constantly, especially because she still seems so healthy and spry most of the time. She still plays and bounces around with me. I got frustrated with her pulling me at the beach yesterday wondering where her manners went, and then I caught myself because how could I be frustrated at her for feeling good enough to pull?

And then, she picks up a toy and starts bleeding on it. Or she has a bad night and paces, pants, and won't let me sleep because she's convinced I could fix it, and I feel terrible because I can't.

We don't have long left. However, I made the choice I did because I wanted her to have the highest quality of life possible right up until the end. I didn't want to risk making her suffer through the invasive procedures to only lose her to a secondary infection or something like that. Even if all went well, how much time would it have really gotten us? What would that quality of time be?

There were other considerations, too, for me and my well-being. For any one of my clients, I would have told them that it was important they consider themselves and their quality of life and finances (which obviously affects quality of life). But for me? I felt horribly, horribly selfish. I felt like I was choosing to let my best friend die for my convenience. It's not the truth. Truth is, if I thought making all the sacrifices would give us more quality time together, I would have figured out a way to make it work. My brain, unfortunately, is not always honest in its assessments of myself.

If you are struggling like I am right now, I hope this post gives you a tiny bit of peace and comfort. Much love to you 💕🐾💕

- Nikki Moore

26/02/2022

I have this argument in my own head sometimes. 😆😂 Honestly, it's not me I'm worried about. It's anyone I live with or want to watch my Malinois if I decide to go on any sort of vacation/ trip without them. 😅 Also, I feel like I should probably own the house I live in, because I worry a rental deposit might not survive a teenage Malligator. In other words, really think about all the implications of bringing one of these amazing terrors into your life long before actually making that decision. 🐕‍🦺

- Nikki Moore

They aren’t called maligators for nothing. Do not get an animal because you saw it in a movie- PLEASE. The movie “Dog” with Channing Tatum is released tomorrow featuring a highly trained Belgian Malinois. We stand firm that most people should not own this type of breed and anyone interested should do an immense amount of research. This movie took THREE different Belgian Malinois and nine months of training for this movie. A highly trained Malinois is a work of art and can be amazing in the right hands- the right professional hands. We fear that we’ll see an influx of them in shelters soon and that will not go well for the breed. Due to the extreme amount of enrichment/exercise/training needed (think mini raptors), Belgian Malinois deteriorate very quickly in a shelter environment.
If you’ve made the decision to get a Belgian Malinois (and cleared your schedule for the next year of training), please remember that pure bred does not equal good breeding. Don’t help a backyard breeder line their pockets. Ethical Belgian Mal breeders won’t advertise on Facebook, road signs, or Craigslist. And they won’t sell their dogs to probably 90% of the population because not everyone is equipped to handle a dog like that.

24/02/2022

Progress over perfection! I find myself repeating this a lot. Both to my clients and to myself. When we shift our mindset from one of perfection to one of progress, we can start recognizing all the ways our dogs (and our relationships with them) are growing.

A perfection mindset is never satisfied and often frustrated. You keep pushing past the point of success to get "just one more" good repetition of a behavior. And then your dog fails to meet your unrealistic goals, and the cycle begins again!

A progress mindset focuses on celebrating the small wins. We use mistakes as learning opportunities and use what we learn to re-organize our training plan to better fit our dog and our goals. We know patience is key, and we don't ever stop reinforcing behavior we want to see more of!

What's one way you can shift your mindset from perfection to progress when training your dog?

This is something we're going to talk a lot about in our More Than Manners course! Come check out what we're about at moddogtrain.com/morethanmanners. Open to anyone, anywhere!

- Megan Lewis, VSA-CDT

23/02/2022

It's important to know what kinds of methods your dog trainer uses and why. Ask questions like:
What happens when my dog gets something wrong?
What happens when they get something right?
How does x method work?
Are there any drawbacks or downsides to the methods?

Join me, Nikki Moore, in discussing the methods we use at Mod Dog, why, and how you can get started using them to get better behavior from your pup!

This is a part of our More Than Manners FREE trial week, so you can watch it in our Facebook group tomorrow (Thur. 2/24) and ask me questions in real time!

To access this talk join our More Than Manners FB group through the link in our bio or at www.facebook.com/groups/morethanmanners

Can't wait to see you there!

19/02/2022

Training goals often need some adjustments when:
- Families move to a new place
- New four legged or two legged family members arrive
- People get sick or injured
- Animals get sick or injured
- The weather changes limiting access to the outdoors
- Stressful events come up

There are lots and lots of reasons why we might need to refocus a training plan. For example, coming when called might be really important to a family living in the country with lots of room to run. However, if that family moves to a suburb, walking nicely on leash and not barking at cars might suddenly become much higher priorities. This is normal. It's okay and actually good to adjust your expectations of your dog according to what's going on in your life and the world around you. Shifting away from a half-finished skill to focus on something more important or less stressful is not a failure.

Lots of people (trainers and dog guardians alike) have a list of "musts" for training their dog that's inflexible, so they sometimes feel bad if their dog isn't doing everything on that list. However, we should think about what's actually most useful in the situations we encounter often and be prepared to change gears when the conditions in our lives change.

Check out our More Than Manners course that has a free trial week starting this Sunday, 2/20. Learn how you can teach your dog what's going to be useful in your current conditions and how to adjust when those conditions change! https://www.moddogtrain.com/morethanmanners

15/02/2022

Our monthly email newsletter goes out today! Are you on the list? Sign up at the link in our bio or at ModDogTrain.com/newsletter by 2pm PST today (2/15) to get our February edition!

This month's email contains trainer tips, our latest blog post, and more! You might want to sign up just for the cute dog photos, we wouldn't blame you.

14/02/2022

To our favorite valentines, who are always there for us. Don't forget your dog this Valentine's Day! Check out our blog for 3 Date Ideas for You and Your Dog.

Your dog will always love you! Share a love-filled day with your dog with one of these date ideas. Or try all three! No one is stopping you.

1. (Sniff) Walk in the Woods

Whether you call it a sniff walk, a decompression walk, or a dog-led walk-- the goal is the same! Take your dog out and just let them be a dog. You can do this either with your dog off leash or on a long-line (30+ ft is best) and back clip harness. It's best to get out into nature a little bit, in an area where your dog can sniff and explore safely. Wooded areas, large fields, and beaches are the best for sniff walks! Any dog friendly hiking trail will work as well. Let your dog set the pace and direction as much as possible. Remember to be safe and take into account any other people, dogs, or animals in your area.

If you don't have access to an open natural area that allows dogs, you can still do a sniff walk in your neighborhood! Using a 15ft leash and a back clip harness, go on an urban sniffari. Let your dog and their nose lead you, and you may discover hidden "green" spots you never knew were nearby!

There is a lot of anecdotal evidence among trainers and dog owners as to the benefits of sniff walks, both for dog and human. Many people with reactive or anxious dogs have found calming benefits in these types of walks, and have actually seen a reduction in stress-induced behavior in their dogs. At Mod Dog, we personally find sniff walks to be a relaxing way to bond with our dogs. Give it a try and let us know how it goes!

Head to the link in our bio for two more date ideas! ModDogTrain.com/post/valentines

What better way to show your love for your dog than making a commitment to learning how to communicate with them better. Join us February 20th for a free week of training basics, in preparation for our More Than Manners program starting February 27th. (ModDogTrain.com/morethanmanners)

13/02/2022

Doors open one week from today! Are you ready to revolutionize life with your dog? To take on a new level of understanding in your canine relationships? Join at the link in our bio!

We're gathering a great group for this program and we're very excited to open this extra (completely free) week for you! Join the fun for an introduction to our training philosophy, learn basic skills, and chat with your course-mates and trainers in our Facebook group!

Our first week aims to get you prepped for the rest of the course, give us more time to get to know you and your dogs, and make sure you're happy in the program! At the end of the week, you can choose to continue with the full program.

Sound like fun? Sign up at ModDogTrain.com/morethanmanners

04/02/2022

Ms. Lucille Ball wanted to like people, but was not confident about being close to anyone but her mom. However, at the end of our fourth and final session together, this happened!

There's something so special, magical even, about finally gaining a dog's trust enough that they decide they *want* you to pet them. When they actually ask you for affection.

This is actually one reason why we've changed our policy on interacting with dogs that are afraid of us. As a general rule, we no longer feed dogs that are afraid of us unless we need to be able to handle them ourselves. Their pet parent is encouraged to do lots of treating while we're around, but we don't want them to approach us for food. We want them to approach because they want to interact with us and we determine it to be a safe time to do so.

This girl was actually the biggest reason why I made that change. After eating treats from me or any other person other than her mom, she would bark loudly at them and dart back and forth, coming in closer and then backing away. It was feelings of conflict. She was excited by new people, but afraid of them, but she wanted our treats, but coming in for treats was too close and sometimes people would try to pet her... It's a lot of conflicting feelings for a little puppy and those big feelings got expressed in very loud ways. When we stopped having people other than her mom give her treats, Lucille stopped barking at everybody. She got to stay away from people she wasn't ready to approach without being lured in by tasty foods. And so when she decided she was ready to interact with me, it was for me and not my food.

This goes against what I have been taught to do in the past, but it's holding up well for us so far. I think for some dogs getting treats from strangers still works, but this strategy feels *safer* to me which is important when dealing with big feelings.

Join us Feb. 8 for our webinar on dog-human communication and how we can tell that a dog is trying to express big emotions that we need to attend to. We'll also discuss ways we can help dogs feel safer and encourage them to use effective communication with us. Sign up here: https://app.squarespacescheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=23128421&appointmentType=30070356

-Nikki

27/01/2022

Our new training blog is LIVE! Have you read our first post yet? Megan explains one of the most important, and most often overlooked, aspects of dog training!
https://www.moddogtrain.com/post/trainyourdogmonth

Megan Lewis, VSA-CDT What Are the Four D's? The four D's are an important step in what's called "proofing" your dog's behavior. We train for Duration, Distance, Distraction and Direction individually, then train various combinations of these to proof our dog's behavior in a variety of situations. Do...

25/01/2022

Upcoming FREE Webinar on Dog-Human Communication! Join trainers Nikki Moore and Megan Lewis for an evening of learning all about the nuances of dog-human communication. Communicating with your dog is more than just formal training sessions. Learn about informal cues, asking for consent, and more!

Tuesday, February 8th at 5:45pm PST

Sign up now to save your spot! https://app.squarespacescheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=23128421&appointmentType=30070356