Paws in Translation Dog Training & Behavior Services

14/08/2025

Who else’s dog has to greet visitors with something in their mouth? This sweet girl always grabs a small stuffie when I arrive 🥰

03/08/2025

This is so true.

Biological Fulfilment in Dogs: More Than Just Walkies and a Bowl of Kibble

It’s easy to forget, in our modern world of comfortable sofas, retractable leads, and pampered pups, that dogs were never bred just to keep us company. A hundred years ago, and not even that long ago, in truth, the overwhelming majority of dogs were working animals. Whether they were herding sheep, guarding livestock, pulling carts, flushing birds, or killing rats, they had a purpose.

Even today, beneath the glossy coats of show dogs and beneath the cuddly appeal of designer crossbreeds (yes, mutts with marketing), there lies a dog bred for function. And if we, as owners, handlers, or trainers, fail to honour that legacy, we do so at the dog’s expense.

Because here’s the truth: a dog that isn’t biologically fulfilled will find its own outlet. And more often than not, that outlet is inconvenient at best, destructive at worst. Barking, digging, chasing shadows, hu***ng your favourite cushion, all signs of a dog trying to satisfy needs that aren’t being met.

So, how do we fix it? We stop training behaviours in a vacuum and start meeting biological needs. Below is a breakdown of the major breed groups and how we can tailor our enrichment to suit their natural instincts.

1. Herding Dogs (Collies, Shepherds, Cattle Dogs, etc.)

Biological drive: Movement control. These dogs were bred to manage the movement of livestock, often independently, across fields and long distances.

Signs of unmet needs: Shadow chasing, heel nipping, obsessive ball chasing, car lunging, controlling children or other pets.

Ideas for fulfilment:
• Directional games (cones, left/right, send-aways).
• Treibball (urban herding using large balls).
• Structured obedience with movement and stillness (engage-disengage exercises).
• Scent-based searches in combination with movement-based puzzles.
• Work-to-eat activities that require problem-solving.

2. Gundogs (Retrievers, Spaniels, Setters, Pointers)

Biological drive: Hunting, flushing, marking, retrieving, often over water and rough terrain.

Signs of unmet needs: Scavenging, excessive mouthing, barking at movement, lack of impulse control, zoomies.

Ideas for fulfilment:
• Scent games (find the treat, find the article, scent pairing).
• Retrieving tasks using dummies or toys, incorporating steadiness.
• Water play with purpose—structured retrieves into lakes or ponds.
• Memory marks (mark, leave, retrieve later).
• Sniffy walks—lead walks focused on olfactory stimulation, not distance.

3. Terriers

Biological drive: Earthwork, dispatching vermin, digging, tenacity and problem-solving under pressure.

Signs of unmet needs: Barking, digging, grabbing clothes, attacking toys or garden hoses, intense focus on small animals.

Ideas for fulfilment:
• Dig pits, designated areas where digging is encouraged.
• Puzzle feeders with resistance (tug-style).
• Scent detection with alert indication.
• Burrow games, treats hidden in sand or soil.
• High-energy tug and release games with control elements.

4. Scent Hounds (Beagles, Bassets, Foxhounds)

Biological drive: Tracking, trailing, following a scent to its source, often for hours without handler input.

Signs of unmet needs: Pulling on lead, absconding, ignoring recalls, nose constantly down.

Ideas for fulfilment:
• Trailing exercises using human scent or food trails.
• Scent discrimination games using multiple odours.
• Long lead sniffaris, structured, slow walks with lead slack to allow free sniffing.
• Tracking lines in rural areas using flags or markers.
• Scattered food searches in long grass or woodland.

5. Sighthounds (Greyhounds, Whippets, Lurchers)

Biological drive: Chase, speed, and prey drive visual triggers.

Signs of unmet needs: Chasing cyclists or joggers, lunging at fast-moving dogs, explosive energy followed by long lethargy.

Ideas for fulfilment:
• Flirt pole sessions—short bursts with impulse control.
• Recall games involving sight-based targets.
• Chase games with toy release upon success.
• Freedom fields, safe, enclosed running spaces.
• Visual marker games (sit at a distance marker, then release to run).

6. Working & Utility Breeds (Rottweilers, Dobermanns, Boxers, Schnauzers, etc.)

Biological drive: Guarding, drafting, thinking under pressure, general purpose work.

Signs of unmet needs: Guarding spaces or objects, excessive barking, hypervigilance, pulling on the lead, separation issues.

Ideas for fulfilment:
• Structured obedience with high expectations.
• Scent work to reduce hypervigilance.
• Confidence-building through agility-style obstacles.
• Cart pulling or resistance-based exercises (with proper equipment).
• ‘On duty’ jobs such as carrying a backpack or patrolling a set route.

7. Toy & Companion Breeds (Pugs, Cavaliers, Bichons, etc.)

Biological drive: Despite their size, many retain traits from working ancestors, ratting, alert barking, or even herding!

Signs of unmet needs: Clinginess, separation anxiety, demand barking, frantic energy in short bursts.

Ideas for fulfilment:
• Short problem-solving tasks (cups and treat games).
• ‘Find it’ games indoors or in small gardens.
• Scent work adapted to scale.
• Training routines with trick components.
• Carrying light items or learning “jobs” indoors.

8. Nordic & Primitive Breeds (Huskies, Malamutes, Basenjis, etc.)

Biological drive: Endurance, independence, hunting, and working in harsh conditions with minimal guidance.

Signs of unmet needs: Escaping, aloofness, lack of recall, vocalisation, destructive chewing.

Ideas for fulfilment:
• Canicross or bikejoring (fitness with purpose).
• Scent work with minimal handler input.
• Cold-weather enrichment (ice cubes, snow play).
• Long-distance walks with pack gear.
• Natural scavenging-style feeding routines.

So, What Does Biological Fulfilment Really Mean?

It means looking beyond the “walk twice a day and chuck a ball” routine and asking yourself: What was this dog bred to do? And then giving them a version of that they can do today, within the safety and structure of a modern environment.

It’s not about exhausting them, it’s about enriching them. The right biological outlet calms the nervous system, builds confidence, and strengthens the dog-handler relationship.

Yes, even your “just a pet” Cockapoo or your retired showline Golden Retriever has the genetic blueprint of a worker inside them. And if we ignore it, we risk having dogs that are frustrated, confused, and at odds with the lives we expect them to lead.

Final Thought

As trainers and handlers, our job isn’t just to stop behaviours, it’s to understand why they exist and channel them into something productive. Satisfying a dog’s biological needs isn’t a luxury, it’s the foundation for emotional balance, obedience, and wellbeing.

Train the dog in front of you, yes. But fulfil the dog inside them, too.
www.k9manhuntscotland.co.uk

06/06/2025

Love this! Many clients come to me after having done a lot of training elsewhere; they're frustrated because they still can't get their dogs to do certain things without relying on tools. When you shift your perspective and learn to teach your dog without relying on external "things" it leads to an incredibly rewarding relationship and a whole new world opens up. Train naked!

Equipment helps us to either train or restrain the dog, and sometimes both. In order to be fair to the dog and honest with ourselves, we need to be clear what we are doing and why.

18/05/2025

Thank you to everyone who made yesterday’s Tails-U-Win! USCSS trial at the Woodstock, CT Fairgrounds possible! It was a fun venue for nosework and Relic got his Vehicles Intermediate title in addition to some legs and placements. Great day!

08/04/2025

This is so important! Many people think of "socialization" in casual human terms, ie interacting with friends. Socialization when it comes to dog behavior refers to a specific developmental stage that ends early in life--a time when their little brains are wired to be more receptive to the new world around them. Ideally they will be exposed to and have good experiences with the things that will be part of their lives: not just dogs and people but walking on different surfaces, hearing sounds, seeing things like groups of people, people wearing weird things like sunglasses and moustaches, etc. Waiting to socialize your puppy until they're older because of vaccinations or just because you're too busy can result in significant behavior issues--you can never get that socialization window back! If your vet has advised you not to socialize until full vaccination, they're likely talking about having your dog around other dogs or in areas where other dogs have been. You can still carry your pup, walk them in areas that aren't frequented by other dogs, sit in the car with them so they can observe a busy parking lot from a comfortable distance, etc. There's SO much you can do! It's also an important time to notice if your pup is overly uncomfortable or scared--not all puppies will magically be okay with socialization and the earlier you seek qualified help, the better the odds that you're pup can thrive.

We get our puppies vaccinated on time because we love them and we want to lessen the likelihood of infectious diseases that can cause illness, suffering and even death. Why then, don't people get their dog the vaccination against fear, anxiety, stress, panic and phobia?

Isn't emotional suffering and potential euthanasia enough of a reason to protect puppies as any other infectious disease?

Just like vaccinations, the timing of socialization is critical. You can't do it later. It has to be done before 14 weeks in most breeds.

Not only is the exposure important, but the nature of the exposure. Positive exposures put value in the emotional piggy bank and negative ones withdraw value.

There is no reason to avoid socialization if done well and safely, but there are lots of negative consequences to waiting to expose your pup to the world.

Give your puppy the best of both worlds—protection and preparation for a happy, confident future!

26/02/2025

Fitness is so important for every dog! Here's a FREE webinar coming up on Thursday.

In this webinar we'll discuss the benefits of canine fitness for you and your dog. In this webinar we will discuss what canine fitness is and how to integrate it within yours and your dog’s lifestyle. Speaker: Steven Tallas FREE, donations optional!

23/02/2025

Thanks to Hot Diggity for including me!

28/01/2025

Terminology Tuesday ~ Learned Helplessness 🐶

As trainers who work closely with families, we are often asked the question of “will they just get used to the baby/ toddler over time?”

Something we always take into consideration is avoiding something called learned helplessness at all costs… But what does that mean?

Learned helplessness in dog training happens when people intentionally or unintentionally put their dogs in situations that the dogs are uncomfortable in repeatedly until they seemingly stop reacting.

This lack of a reaction doesn’t mean that they are comfortable, it means that they feel that no matter what they do, they will be forced into the situation so they begin to shut down emotionally. They feel as if they don’t have any other choice.

This is very dangerous as it can result in bites or reactions that people often describe as “out of nowhere” - which we know there is often no such thing as an “out of the blue” bite

To avoid learned helplessness in our dogs, we want to actively watch their body language for clues to how they might be feeling and respect their boundaries when they tell us that they are uncomfortable by adding in success stations and space!

We want to provide choice, not force 💚

14/11/2024

Wise words about puppy-raising.

20/10/2024

I don’t teach nosework but I do personally participate in it. It’s a fun thing that allows me & my dog to work as a team in new and interesting places—I can point you in the right direction to get started if you’re interested! We trial in several different venues and have just started in AKC Scentwork (who, along with other organizations, allow mixed-breeds in the sport so don't let that stop you!) Relic and I enjoyed Ark Farm in Harvard this weekend for New England Dog Training Club’s inaugural scent work trial. Great experience, well-run with terrific volunteers!

06/10/2024

Who’s enjoying the fall weather? It’s cool enough to take walks in the middle of the day again and perfect for getting cozy on a Sunday. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

22/09/2024

It's okay to ask a dog trainer what their credentials are - and you should expect them to have some, whether it's a degree or a certification. Safe and effective dog trainers are constantly learning, not just through experience, but by seeking out education.