Pawsitive Purpose

24/08/2024

02/08/2024

Fallon loves to take up the whole bed! lol. Where am I suppose to lay down? 😳🤣

22/07/2024

Yes!! We tend to treat our dogs as if they are our children. And in some ways that is not a bad thing. They are part of our family. But expecting them to understand what we want from them, we need to learn about them and their wants and needs. They don’t not speak English, so we need to learn to speak dog (body language) and make sure their individual needs are met also. Some of these needs are breed specific and some are species specific. If you need help learning how to do this, contact us. We are happy to help you learn how to speak dog! 🐶

16/07/2024

Never punish the growl. A growl is how a dog tells you they are uncomfortable with the situation, something in the environment or something we are doing with/to them (handling, etc). If you punish the growl out of them, then the dog may go straight to a bite to get the message across. This is what makes it become dangerous. Because the warning system is no longer present. When dogs learn that biting works 100% of the time, they may just go to that behavior first because they know it works for them.

When we punish dogs for growling, even if they're growling at our child, we aren't helping them feel better about whatever it is that is threatening them. Instead, we are teaching to stop letting us know when they feel unsafe.

The result? A dog who stops giving us warning signs and "bites out of the blue."
And, that's how we create dangerous dogs. I'd much rather have a dog growl and tell me they're upset (so we have a chance to intervene and help them) than a dog who just bites without any warning signs.

09/07/2024

I hope you are one of the people who deserves to have a dog! 🥰
Always be kind to your dog and keep their welfare at the front of your mind. They deserve to be treated kindly and with love ❤️

08/07/2024

This is very true. I have to ask a lot of questions, like these, to understand what is causing your dog to behave the way it is before I can determine how I will have to approach training or behavior modification to be able to help you and your dog. This is why I do a consult with you first. Especially for behavior modification cases. If you contact a trainer and they don’t dive deep to learn why your dog is doing something, you should find someone else to help you. I do mostly behavior cases (aggression, fear, separation anxiety, etc). But also do manners and service dogs. And I always ask a lot of questions before I do any of those cases, too.

Because I have people who say “all I need help with is he pulls on leash”. When I start asking questions, sometimes it is just that-pulling on leash. But sometimes he is pulling on leash because he is reactive to other other dogs or people, or fearful or aggressive. I have to know why your dog is pulling on leash to truly be able to help you.

If you need help with your dog, contact us and let us help you.

"My dog does "X" - can you help?

Well, the truth (at this point) is ... I don't know.🤨

A dog doing "x" is NOT enough information for me to be able to understand why they are doing it, what is the function of the behaviour, what training or behaviour modification needs to be put in place ... So no, I don't know if I can help based on barely any information. But I do know what I need to be able to tell you whether I can help you and you dog, or not.👈

We can start with a long conversation about what else goes on in the dog's life, when did the behaviour start, how it was managed to date, previous history of training, health, past experiences, daily routine, diet, stress level, equipment used, training methods used, motivation, enrichment, etc ..... and THEN I will be able to determine what the dog's needs are and how they need to be addressed.🤓

Don't expect life changing advice based on limited information provided. It takes A LOT more for a dog professional to give you a full, accurate and appropriate advice that is suitable for your dog.🐕

07/07/2024

Do you have a dog that barks all the time?

30/06/2024

Spread the Word:
https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/resource/i-oppose-shock-graphic/

29/06/2024

Olive is recovering very well from her spay surgery and ready to get back to work.

24/06/2024

Fireworks have officially started in my neighborhood. Fallon is not a fan.

24/06/2024

For all the service dog teams. 😊
Scott Metzger cartoons

22/06/2024

Dutton Doodle fans - here’s another chance. Mando (left - formerly Lloyd) has wined and dined Lilly and we are excited to announce she did accept his rose 🌹. This will be the first litter for both of them. Really unique opportunity here - Lilly is actually a standard but only weighs 27 lbs! So if you are looking for a gentle giant in a smaller body this is the litter for you! Pups will be 25-30 lbs and will arrive 8/9 going home beginning of October. Waiting list is open - visit our website at www.happytimedoodles.com or call Jen at 859-351-7279 for more information.

19/06/2024

This is a breed that I use often for service dogs. Especially if they are needing a lower shedding dog because of allergies, etc. I have used several of them over the years.

How Did the Australian Labradoodle Become the Australian Labradoodle?

The first ALD was created by breeding a Labrador Retriever with a Poodle. Over time, Spaniels were also carefully introduced to establish a selection of temperaments and physical characteristics in the breed. Today, the rich lineage found in the ALD's DNA is a multi-generational infusion of Poodle, Labrador Retriever, and English and American Cocker Spaniel.

Use the link below to learn more about ALAA's breed standards ⬇️
ALAA-labradoodles.com/for-breeders/breed-standard/

19/06/2024

This is a video of Millie, a fearful puppy I am working with, going to her bed from a distance when mom cues her. She is doing so well with her training. 😍🐾❤️

19/06/2024

This is Olive. She is in one of our prison dog training programs learning her basics. She is currently residing at my house as we wait to have her spayed. She is having a blast and is settling in here nicely. While here she will be going to a lot of places to generalize her training.

16/06/2024

This is Penny. She is a 2 year old Giant Schnauzer. She has fear issues and is reactive to other dogs. She had a bad experience after she was spayed and almost died a few times during her treatment and recovery. But she is now able to start her training. We have been building her confidence and making sure she has a great trusting relationship with her mom. And she and mom have done phenomenal. Now we are working on her reactivity with other dogs. She is already doing good. And I expect she will be able to see other dogs and pass by them without reacting to them soon. I am so happy for her and her mom because I know she will get to a comfortable place and she definitely deserves it, as does her mom. ❤️🐾

12/06/2024

I still grieve for both my girls. Kaylee passed away at 8 years, about 20 years ago. And Mella was 16 when she passed. It isn’t daily anymore and I am able to remember the good moments more than the pain of their loss. But it will always be with me.

I saw a picture of a yellow lab the other day that looked like my girl, Kaylee. And immediately had tears in my eyes and streaming down my face.

And it happens more with Mella since she just passed the first weekend of March. It is still pretty raw. But I know I will never forget either of them.

05/06/2024

This is so very true! You have to be willing to teach your kids how to appropriately interact with your dog. And you need to teach them to respect their boundaries. Just because you “think” the dog is fine, does not mean it is ok with what is happening.

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. There are fallout effects to rough handling, whether it's from adults or kids. Dogs will tolerate things, until they don't.

People come to me after a dog bite and almost always say something to the effect of "we were doing XYZ and we've done that a million times before and he's always been "fine.""

But "fine" doesn't mean comfortable. Tolerating something isn't the same as actively enjoying something.

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

The responsibility of safety is NOT on the dog. It is on the adults to supervise and to teach the kids, about safe interactions, about how to ask the dog for consent and to use management and barriers when an adult is not 100% actively awake and supervising. And to be clear, 100% active supervision means eyes on the dog and child, not just physically in the same room but on your phone or making dinner and distracted.

Let's reduce dog bites and increase safety for the sake of our kids and our dogs.

And as adults we need to model safe, appropriate interactions for children with our dogs.

Read more about this in this week's post: https://rescuedbytraining.com/2024/06/03/setting-good-example-for-children/

31/05/2024

This also applies to invisible fencing (underground fencing, etc).

Aversive tools are devices used to decrease unwanted behaviour in an animal using physical and/or emotional discomfort via the use of positive punishment. Examples include: prong collars, choke collars, shock collars, slip leads, martingales, and even misused leashes and flat collars.

Positive punishment is defined as adding something a dog finds unpleasant or scary to decrease a behavior.

Imagine a dog is out for a walk while wearing a prong collar, and he begins to pull on-leash and/or a correction is applied by the handler. If this happens while he is looking at another dog, he may stop pulling toward this other dog because of the pain and discomfort the prong collar is causing. However, he is also making a negative association with the other dog ("that dog caused me pain"), and potentially many other stimuli observed or experienced while the punishment was applied, even if that was not the intended association.

The more this happens, the more likely the dog will become increasingly concerned about other dogs and environmental stimuli while wearing the prong collar. This could start with slight worry, and possibly lead to full-blown leash reactivity: barking, growling, and lunging.

This is how something as simple as pulling on-leash can evolve into more severe behaviour concerns. What started as innocent excitement or frustration from not being able to socialize with the other dog has now turned into an even bigger behavioural concern, resulting from pain, fear and anxiety.

Positive punishment can decrease and suppress behaviour; that is why it works! That’s not the argument. But the side effects and consequences are plenty. Increased fear and fear-related aggression, inadvertent and unintended negative associations, damage to the human-animal bond, and it also leads to apathetic learners.

You can see how positive punishment slows down an animal’s learning!

So, while aversive tools appear to work on a surface level, remember the possible costs to you and your pet before using them.