Pawsitive Behavior Solutions, LLC

10/09/2024

Any past or current clients interested in a crash test studied sport harness for the car? It has never been used and I am cleaning house! It is a SMALL.

10/09/2024

Moments you cherish when you have a senior dog!

Even though I have to sometimes share my pillow case and endure snoring, I would not want to wake up any other way!

14/08/2024

My old girl is getting a harness upgrade! I am hoping this ruffwear flagline harness supports her rear quarters a bit more and allows me to more easily help her in and out of the car!

11/08/2024

My partner and I spent a lovely weekend in West Virginia. But we agreed that one thing was missing - my sweet girl, Maya.

So begins our adventure of how to include a senior, reactive pittie into our outdoor adventures!

Look out for upcoming management and training tips!

08/08/2024

22/07/2024

Check out Cashew and Chestnut rocking their relaxed place cue with a baby distraction!

Visual targets for dogs are hugely important in homes with babies and young children. It provides dogs information about where you want them to be in space and makes managing them easier when the environment is more unpredictable.

17/07/2024

It has been a pleasure to work with one of my favorite client dogs, Tina. She is now 100% off leash and gets to enjoy doing her favorite doggie stuff - chasing squirrels, flushing out birds and playing in the water!

A rock solid recall took time and consistency. It was accomplished without the use of aversives. Even though it required a bit more time and me being prepared with a handsome pay-out, it was worth it.

Why? I got to preserve the bond I had with her without ever risking her making an association that her outside environment sometimes predicted scary things.

Love you Tina!

14/07/2024

This was posted at a diner and it reminded me of how clients are sometimes treated by dog trainers they hire to help modify their dogs behavior.

What good trainers do:

👍 Be a source of empathy and support.
👍 Engage in respectful conversations about the what YOU feel comfortable with when to making decisions about your dog's course of treatment.
👍 Understand that you did the best you could with the information you had, even if it meant that you used aversives with your dog in the past.

Great dog trainers are skilled at working with both the dog and human. If you arent getting that from your trainer, find a new one!

21/12/2023

** 10-MONTH OLD SHAR PEI/TERRIER MIX IN NEED OF A NEW HOME AND DOG BUDDY.**

***Adoption includes three free sessions with me to help Buddy acclimate to a new home !!!

Meet Buddy, a spirited ten-month-old Sharpei/Terrier mix seeking a foster or forever home. A lively adolescent, Buddy loves energetic games, walks, and interacting with everyone!

Trained in basic and intermediate manners, he's mastered commands like "sit," "down," and leave it." Buddy is leash-trained has sought out companionship with other dogs and has enjoyed interacting with other dogs playfully through a fence at the kennel.

The ideal home for Buddy? A home with active people and a friendly dog as he craves social time and adventures. Originally from a Louisiana shelter, Buddy's previous home struggled to meet his adolescent needs. Now, he is thriving with regular exercise, and enrichment and seeks a dedicated person or family to continue working with him.

Contact us for a chance to meet Buddy and enjoy three free training sessions with his current trainer at 410-205-9340 or [email protected]

https://www.aaha-rescue.org/adopt-me &page=shelterluv_wrap_1648180260929%2Fembed%2Fanimal%2F80902310

21/12/2023

** 10-MONTH OLD SHAR PEI/TERRIER MIX IN NEED OF A NEW HOME AND DOG BUDDY.**

***Adoption includes three free sessions with me to help Buddy acclimate to a new home !!!

Meet Buddy, a spirited ten-month-old Sharpei/Terrier mix seeking a foster or forever home. A lively adolescent, Buddy loves energetic games, walks, and interacting with everyone!

Trained in basic and intermediate manners, he's mastered commands like "sit," "down," and leave it." Buddy is leash-trained has sought out companionship with other dogs and has enjoyed interacting with other dogs playfully through a fence at the kennel.

The ideal home for Buddy? A home with active people and a friendly dog as he craves social time and adventures. Originally from a Louisiana shelter, Buddy's previous home struggled to meet his adolescent needs. Now, he is thriving with regular exercise, and enrichment and seeks a dedicated person or family to continue working with him.

Contact us for a chance to meet Buddy and enjoy three free training sessions with his current trainer at 410-205-9340 or [email protected]

13/07/2023

Just ONE more spot open!!

30/06/2023

The reactive rover hybrid package is here! It is a unique, cost-effective approach combining two online group sessions and two in-person private sessions. It will include the following:

✅ One 120-minute initial online group session is scheduled for Sunday, July 18th, at 11 am.

✅ One 60-minute, online behavior-focused group session is scheduled for Sunday, July 30th, at 11 am.

✅ Two 60-minute private in-person working sessions. At your home and scheduled by you!

👉Priced at $395. A $165 savings!

* Limited to six handler/dog teams.

👉 Only three spots left!

11/06/2023

The first goal with any play interactions is to identify healthy, reciprocal play and be aware of any red flags so you can intervene if necessary. This knowledge can prevent a lot of potential conflicts between dogs.

Grace is an adolescent dog that loves to play off-leash with other dogs. This video is a beautiful example of play chase and play stalking. There are a few indicators that tells us that it is an enriching experience for both dogs:

👉 The gait during play chase is loose and bouncy. The only time it becomes flat is when the beagle's arousal level escalates, followed by Grace pausing and disengaging.

👉 They take turns, and one dog always stops short of the other. Healthy chase games are punctuated by the dog chasing but stopping short of prompting the other dog to chase them then.

👉 They take lots of mini breaks. Breaks in play are normal, and we become concerned when there are no breaks.

👉 The hallmark fo play stalking is that once the dog approaches, the other dog pounces with a loose, hoppy gait and never makes physical contact with the other dog.

What red flags should we look for and intervene if we see them during games of chase?

🚩 The gait consistently looks flat and fast, with no breaks in play.

🚩 Two dogs are chasing one dog, especially if the dog begins running with a flat gait.

🚩 The dog being chased body language begins to look worried - ears back, running with a rounded back and tail tucked, or attempts to avoid by moving under or around objects.

This was a beautiful example of healthy, reciprocal play!

09/06/2023

Ollie is a Great Pyrenes that loves to perch at a location and monitor his surroundings. This is consistent with what he was born and bred to do - guard livestock. He can also have big feelings about some novel dogs that pass. We had to be able to move him if we saw subtle changes in his body language that indicated he was uncomfortable

The first step was rethinking what the walk should look like for him.

✅ We looked at what Ollie chose to do when he did have agency. He reliably walked over to a shaded spot to plant and watch the world go by. So our walk became about making a beeline for a quiet place in the park for him to settle.

✅ We worked on moving him through space without leash pressure which served to exacerbate his reactivity. The "up" followed by the 123 games was how we redirected him and got him through challenging parts of a downtown walk.

✅ We let go of the idea that walks should be a certain distance. If we wanted the walk to be a source of enrichment, we had to prioritize finding quiet locations where Ollie could watch the world go by.

This was possible because his people looked at their dog as an individual, provided him with choice, and focused on what Ollie found enriching.

07/06/2023

Blending families can be challenging, especially when it involves dogs with big feelings about other dogs! Bella's people did an excellent job adjusting expectations, being patient, and always working at their dog's pace.

How did we set these two dogs up for success so they could form a social bond, despite one having a history of reactivity to novel dogs?

✅ We set realistic expectations and emphasized the need to work at the pace of the slowest learner. In this case, it was Bella.

✅ We set up each dog with a sanctuary space where they felt secure and could be managed when both dogs could not be supervised.

✅ We put safety measures in place in high-traffic areas so that when it was time to start integrating them, there was no risk of a physical conflict.

✅ We reliably paired them for activities were decompressing, so when they were together, it always meant safe, positive experiences.

This was possible because their people set realistic expectations, make decisions based on both dogs' body language, and weren't afraid to adjust the plan if one dog had a setback.

31/05/2023

How we move dogs through space is essential. Bobby is an adolescent that can become easily frustrated when he is prevented from accessing things he wants - trash on the street and passing dogs on leashes. If we pulled him up and back on the leash, it only escalated his behavior - pulling, lunging, and barking.

The priority was to teach his people how to move him away from things using minimal leash pressure and their voice. We also added a pattern game since Bobby lives downtown, and there is one distraction after another.

How did we set Bobby up for success?

✅ We reviewed what parts of the walk would be management versus training. Busy streets with lots of trash meant we kept him engaged by paying for attention and the 123 games. Less distracting parts of the walk were an opportunity to train. We let him explore on his terms but redirected him with downward leash pressure and happy talk when we needed to.

✅ We reviewed how to provide Bobby with legal outlets for foraging in safe environments. Treat scatters in trash-free areas, meals in snuffle mats, and games that involved him navigating with his nose were recommended.

✅ We tracked his on-leash behavior around novel dogs after doggie daycare days. Did it get better for two days after he had social interactions with other dogs? Great! Then arranging playtime with different dogs every other day was high on our priority list.

✅ We exercised him before the walk. He is a young dog with high physical and social needs. By exercising him via games of tug, flirt pole, or fetch, the walk became about sniffing, not pulling at the end of the leash.

The priority with adolescent dogs is to meet their basic needs first and then address what is left! Why? Unmet needs will always exacerbate or cause behavior challenges.

26/05/2023

Conflicts in a multi-dog home can be stressful. The priority is always keeping everyone safe. Ivy's people did a stellar job of creating sanctuary spaces for both dogs and pairing them together for decompression activities with safety measures in place.

It was now time to think about integrating them gradually. Ivy's people were very aware of her subtle body language changes and triggers. If they noticed any tension, we wanted a force-free way of redirecting Ivy back to her sanctuary space.

Why did we choose "Let's go?"

✅ Ivy already had a solid "let's go" cue. It was much easier to recycle a previously proofed behavior and apply it to a different context.

✅ We could make it context specific. "Let's go" in the home always meant we went from a high-conflict zone to Ivy's sanctuary space. It would be a predictable pattern in a sometimes unpredictable environment.

✅ We practiced it first without the resident dog and will initially practice it with the resident dog with safety measures in place until it is fluid.

This was possible because Ivy's people understood that integrating dogs that have a history of conflict requires a proactive approach, with safety always being the priority.

21/05/2023

Management manipulates our environment to prevent the rehearsal of behaviors we don't want. Rosie is a two-year-old cat whose physical and social needs are still high. She lives with two dogs, and one likes to be the play police. Anytime Rosie was engaged with a toy, he would come over and stop it. He would also chase her if his physical needs were unmet that day.

Why was moving a cat tree and putting a gate with a cat door in Rosie's play space the first thing we did?

✅ Cats live in three-dimensional spaces, and we needed a vertical surface for her to retreat to so she felt safe.

✅ We moved the cat tree by the window and left cat treats there daily so she would get hooked on hanging out there. This meant that there was less opportunity for conflict. We even have a bird feeder outside the window so she can watch the bird tv.

✅ We created a safe passage from the cat tree, across the back of the couch, and to her gated room so she never felt vulnerable.

✅ We stocked her safe room with automatic toys and other enrichment items so these needs were filled without her worrying about the dogs.

This was possible because her people realized that by rearranging their environment, all the animals in the home could feel secure while having their needs met.