REkALIBRATED k9

24/12/2023

Some important reminders on this beautiful Christmas Eve.
🎄 Merry Christmas! 🎅

27/01/2023

Distractions Class students: how cold is -too- cold?

Would you rather see it warm up completely before classes resume or are you ready to rock and roll even if temps are still in the 40s?

Let me know 👇👇👇

19/01/2023

Sounds like the perfect solution... kids itching to walk their new dog + over-stretched parents thrilled that their children are taking responsibility and lightening the workload! What's not to love?

Actually quite a LOT.

I can't tell you how many disappointed faces I see when I try to explain why a child walking a dog ALONE *might NOT be* the best idea for anyone!!?

And I get totally it.

If this is your first family dog, a quick spin around the block may look harmless enough - until you consider ALL of the things that can (and DO) go wrong.

Even (mentally and physically) FULLY-GROWN ADULTS get pulled down to the ground, or dragged over to squirrels, skateboards and the neighborhood cat. They accidentally drop leashes, or watch helplessly as their pup slips their collar. They struggle to control their dog around other dogs, or conversely, they panic or freeze when an off-leash dog comes sprinting full-speed towards them (friendly or not friendly.. who knows? They’ll likely find out when it’s too late!)

And this is ONLY a handful of the things that can happen to GROWN UPS… so for kids the stakes are simply exponentially higher.

As a trainer, I’m pretty calculated about where I go, and when I walk my dogs my radar is always activated. Even still, I’ve personally had to dash after my loose dog, I’ve been bitten by a dog who was attacking mine, I’ve seen a dog run over in a school parking lot, and watched a child be literally dragged for 50ft against her will!

So, I hope by sharing the potential risks with you, you can make informed choices about your family dog walking situation:

Here’s my hotlist of things to consider:

Size - of child and dog
Strength - of child and dog
Maturity - of child and dog
Training - of child and dog
Temperament - of child and dog

Then download, print and share our poster.
THESE are my questions to help families size up the COMBINATION of their dog and child to see whether WALKING ALONE together is a SMART call.

For more info for kids, dogs and making EVERYONE'S life SAFE and HAPPY - go to thefamilydog.com/families

06/01/2023

Happy Friday, let's start the weekend by continuing to spread correct information!

MYTHBUSTING MONDAY: It's not dominance. Seriously, it's not. There is no dominant breed. You don't have a dominant dog. Your dog's behavior is not a "dominance thing."

Now, I realize those statements might be causing some hardcore cognitive dissonance right now. Because from the moment you even became aware of dogs, you have been told that dogs are pack animals and a bunch of dominance stuff based on that assumption.

From the Merck Veterinary Manual:

"The dog’s social structure has been referred to as a pack hierarchy, but this does not accurately or entirely describe the relationship of dogs with other dogs or with people."

"The term dominance...is a relative term established by the value of the resource to each individual and the cumulative effects of learning."

For example, Animal A might challenge Animal B for a mate. Animal B might defer. But does that make Animal A the dominant animal?

What if Animal B waits until Animal A is distracted and mates with that female at another time? Is dominance even relevant at this point? I would argue that learning is far more pertinent than hierarchy.

The problem is that people tend to think of hierarchies in dogs just like hierarchies in humans. Governments, militaries, churches, schools, corporations all have linear hierarchical structures.

However, when it comes to dogs, it's not that simple.

"Hierarchy in dogs is neither static nor linear, because the motivation to obtain and retain a specific resource, together with previous learning, defines the relationship between two individuals for each encounter."

In other words, if you push me out of the way to get the last chocolate truffle, and I walk away...but I don't actually like chocolate truffles (I don't), you're not actually establishing dominance. I didn't want the resource, anyway. Or maybe I learned that, by walking away, I will be given the key to the room full of caramels. Mmmmm. Caramels.

What about aggression?

"A 'dominant' animal is not the one engaged in the most fighting and combat. Most high-ranking animals seldom have to contest their right of access to a resource. Instead, high-ranking animals are usually better identified by the character and frequency of deferential behaviors exhibited by others in their social group and by their ability to respond appropriately to a variety of social and environmental circumstances."

So, it is not the "dominant" dog who growls over a bone or fights with other dogs at the dog park. When your dogs are fighting at home, identifying the alpha is about as productive as a snipe hunt.

Why does it matter? Because if you are told that your dog's behavior is the result of dominance, the solution is almost always some form of rank reduction. Everything from making the dog sit for every bit of affection to methods that are too disturbing to detail. And it's all called "leadership."

Trying to change a dog's rank in an imaginary hierarchy only serves to delay behavior modification. In many cases, it makes the situation much worse.

If we want to change behavior, we need to explore the dog's health, environment, and learning history, as well as identify triggers and consequences for the behavior. From there, we can develop a complete plan that addresses the needs of the individual dog, reducing their stress, increasing tolerance, and reinforcing desirable responses.

Next time someone tells you that if your dog jumps, pulls on the leash, leans on you, sits on your foot, sleeps on top of the couch, barks, mounts/humps, doesn't listen, or anything else that isn't obedience or cowering in the corner, it's dominance, what they're really saying is that they don't understand dog behavior and are probably not someone you want to take advice from....let alone pay for that advice!

Relax. It's not dominance. Now we've got that out of the way, let's focus on changing behavior!

See more:
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/behavior/normal-social-behavior-and-behavioral-problems-of-domestic-animals/social-behavior-of-dogs
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©2017 Lisa Mullinax. All rights reserved. Feel free to share, but downloading for redistribution in any form, for any reason is a copyright violation. Thanks!

07/11/2022

"Your reactive dog isn't giving you a hard time, your reactive dog is having a hard time."

Being the support system and advocate for a reactive dog can be tough, but the correct path isn't linear and you're doing a great job!

REkALIBRATED k9 — Science-Based Dog Training shared a post on Instagram: "Life with a reactive dog can be a struggle some days, but you're doing a great job! ❤️🙌 Need guidance on how to support your reactive dog while working for lasting change? Join me virtually for "Big Barks, Bigger Emot...

21/10/2022

Hey, REkALIBRATED pups and parents! Cat here.

I've been working hard to produce Reeling in Reactivity—a dive into the science behind the causes of big emotions and how to effectively reconstruct those explosive responses. I am so excited to share this course with you! It's going to be fabulous.

Unfortunately, there are so many cool pieces to the discussion that I am not going to be able to make my original promise of an October start date, as you might have noticed. 😬

Since there are no more Distractions Class opportunities between now and the end of the year, I wanted to check in and see who would join me for a smaller, shorter version of the big course. I want to motivate all of you not to take too much time off from practicing!

If you have a dog who reacts strongly to the presence of dogs, people, or even the doorbell, this topic is for you. If your dog struggles to make friends or is easily flustered by change, listen up:

The mini course would be just 3 weeks long and consist of a broad focus on the 3 steps to success. It will be conducted live on Tuesdays with recordings provided for the price of $199.

The other option is to wait for the full course to be completed. The full course will be a combination of live coaching, lifetime access to the exclusively community for course-takers, and pre-recorded lessons over a total of 6 weeks. This full experience will be offered for $379.

Are you in?!

If you're in and would like to join the mini course in short order, comment below "I'm in!".

If you're in but you'd rather wait for the full course to open, comment below "I'll wait!"

Can't wait to hear from you!

❤️ happy training 🐕
Cat

19/09/2022

Can YOU guess what the name of the next group experience is?

Here's a hint: When it comes to BIG emotions, those familiar with canine behavior know that sometimes things are not always what they seem! Because often fear can look like aggression and discomfort can even look like calm, we use a different word to describe the fact that a dog may have a strong, emotional response while we sort what specific emotion is involved.

18/09/2022

13/09/2022

And just like that, the cold weather is upon us!

With just 10 official days of summer left, we wrapped up Distractions Class for 2022 with a trip to Lowe's. What a fantastic class to end the year on!

It has been so cool to watch these dogs grow and improve throughout the year. Every dog in this class managed to exceed the training goals set for them for this round of practice— from entering a store for the first time to closing the distance between other dogs to giving solid engagement around significant distraction, they all made their trainer proud!

While we won't have another Distractions Class this year, we will be starting a series of really cool online experiences to help you take advantage of the cooler weather and be as prepared as possible to join classes again when the weather warms back up. Be sure to stay tuned for the registration announcements!