Dog Training by Jarod

19/01/2025

Electric collars rely on pain or fear to suppress unwanted behaviours. They deliver an electric stimulus that is intentionally unpleasant to deter the dog from repeating the behaviour. For the dog to associate the discomfort with their actions, the sensation must be sufficiently aversive to create a negative emotional response, such as fear, anxiety, or pain. Without this emotional impact, the dog is unlikely to alter their behaviour, as there would be no motivation to avoid the stimulus.

10/01/2025

It's sad to see people being told to invade all areas of their dogs life. Let's assume that like us, they want agency, undisturbed rest and that they have the right to manage their meal without strange human interruptions.

10/01/2025

03/01/2025

After 60 years, scientists finally know why ginger, calico, and tortoiseshell cats look the way they do. https://bit.ly/412iJ4f

03/01/2025

Starting January 1st, 2025, Marion county residents with an unaltered dog more than 6 months old must register their dog every year. It is free to register your dog(s). Please refer to this document with common questions and answers regarding the registry.

You can register here: https://animalregistry.indy.gov

If you have an unaltered dog and need assistance, FIDO has a spay/neuter assistance program for income-qualified clients. For more information on how to qualify, you can visit: https://fidoindy.org/who-we-serve/

30/12/2024

Take heed all Indy cat and dog owners!

In an effort to curb the rise of homeless animals that flood our Marion County animal shelters and, unfortunately but unavoidably, lead to euthanasia of an unacceptable number of animals, all pets must be microchipped eff. 1.1.2025.

27/12/2024

A domestic cat died of bird flu after eating raw turkey cat food contaminated with the virus.

There is NO reason to feed pets raw food, whether bought from a company or prepared at home. It offers ZERO benefit for your pets, and has WELL-DOCUMENTED risks.

That’s why all credible veterinary expert agencies discourage it, including the American Veterinary Medical Association, Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, and others.

Raw meat - whether poultry, beef, game, or otherwise - is high risk for contamination of a variety of disease-causing microorganisms. There are data demonstrating it to be much higher risk than any cooked pet foods.

Influencers that promote raw animal diets use the same medical conspiracism to demonize pet food manufacturers - obviously ignoring that raw food companies ARE pet food manufacturers too - they just don’t have quality control or food safety standards in the same way.

Deliberately exposing your pets to diseases should be considered animal abuse. That’s true for not vaccinating them, and feeding them raw food.

And bird flu is only the most recent risk of this fad diet that ONLY puts your pets in harms’ way.

22/11/2024

When living with a dog who has lots of energy it can seem logical to think that they need more exercise to tire them out - longer, faster walks, more throwing of a ball (or using a ball chuckler), always more, more, more...

While this does on the surface seem to make perfect sense, when following that advice what we are actually doing is making the situation worse. Think about how an athlete works to increase their fitness - they do more and faster. Now think about throwing a ball for the dog repeatedly. This is much like the shuttle runs those athletes do to increase their speed and fitness levels.

The great news is that there is another option for these high energy dogs. Yes, they need physical exercise, but they also need mental exercise. Luckily, mental exercise is a fairly easy thing to provide for all dogs, and we can even fit a great amount in on our daily walks.

Sniffing is an activity suitable for all dogs. Scent is the primary way dogs analyse and interpret their world, with an olfactory capability way better than that of humans. Simply giving your dog time and space to sniff on a walk gets that brain working and that will tire your dog more than you might realise. My own Border Collies (one of whom is the young dog sniffing in the image) will relax and snooze as much after 20 minutes of sniffing as they will after a 2 hour mostly off lead walk.

There are lots of ways to provide mental exercise for dogs, but this most powerful form is something that we can access free at any time, just by giving them the time to investigate their surroundings in the way that works best for them.

06/11/2024

🚨 Important Update: Leptospirosis Now a Core Vaccine for ALL Dogs
The 2022 AAHA Canine Vaccination Guidelines have been updated to classify the leptospirosis vaccine as CORE for all dogs starting at 12 weeks of age – regardless of lifestyle, location, or breed.
Why the change?
🌆 ALL dogs are at risk—urban, suburban, and rural.
⚠️ Potentially fatal, even with treatment.
🔄 Zoonotic—it can spread from pets to humans.
🏢 Dogs in daycare and kennels also face exposure risks.
You can find the full update in the Nov/Dec issue of JAAHA, or check out the full 2022 Canine Vaccination Guidelines here: aaha.org/canine-vaccinations

28/10/2024

PSA: Just because your dog doesn't growl or bite when your child handles them roughly, it doesn't mean they should have to tolerate it.

The onus is on the parent to teach children age-appropriate ways to interact with dogs.

The responsibility of safety is NOT 100% on the dog.

Teach the kids, not just the dogs.

10/10/2024

You might not always notice, but dogs have their own way of showing when they're stressed out. These subtle signs, or "stress signals", can mean they're feeling stressed, anxious, confused, scared, or even excited.

Context plays a huge role in interpreting a dog's body language. If you want to get to the bottom of their stress when you see those signals, you have to consider everything happening around them.

Dogs may display stress signals even when they're experiencing a good type of stress, known as eustress (see previous post for the differences between eustress and distress). During moments of excitement or during a training session, you might notice them shaking off or yawning. These behaviors help them relieve stress, which is a healthy response and suggests that they are in the process of learning.

Shaking off and yawning in dogs can also be signs of distress, that's why it's crucial to take a step back and assess the situation to understand what's going on.

By recognizing these stress signals, you can better understand your dog and, if necessary, take action to help them feel more comfortable and less stressed.

30/08/2024

15/08/2024

On , we're sharing a few important reminders on the importance of microchips - such as:

➡ 1 in 3 family pets will get lost
➡ Microchipped dogs are more than twice as likely to be returned to their owners and microchipped cats are more than 20 times as likely to be returned to their owners

And remember - while microchips greatly increase the chances that pets will be reunited with their families if they are lost or stolen…a microchip only works if its registration information is accurate.

Visit avma.org/CheckTheChip to learn more.

02/08/2024

Did you know that dogs have a unique organ for detecting pheromones? 🐾🔍

The Jacobson's organ, or vomeronasal organ, is a special part of a dog's olfactory system dedicated to detecting pheromones.

Located in the nasal cavity, this organ helps dogs gather chemical information about other animals, such as their reproductive status, identity, and even emotional state, playing a key role in social and reproductive behaviors.

20/07/2024