Camp Peggy Posts for Pets

08/09/2024

Which puppy are you raising? Teaching them to think on their own is the greatest thing we can teach them.

07/05/2024

It’s rare that you will see a calm dog make truly terrible choices. The “out of the blue” dog fight, the jumping on and knocking down of a child, the exploding at a dog on the walk, the frenzied bite on a guest as they enter the house, the streaking/sneaking out the front door as you attempt enter/exit, the ignoring of known commands in dicey situations… and on and on.

Does this mean your dog always needs to be calm and laid back? Of course not. There’s absolutely a time and place for some crazy—but for most owners they have little to no say about when the crazy happens and to what extent and for how long it goes on.

Our dog’s factory settings are set to crazy, chaotic, and overly-aroused. Which means, if we want to see our dogs at their very best, WE have to take responsibility for training calmness, patience, impulse control, and an “off-switch”. Because if we don’t, the factory setting will not only be all that’s listened to, but it will actually increase in severity and frequency the more it’s allowed to be practiced and patterned.

Which means, it’s up to us to lead and guide and teach the other stuff—if we want our dog’s most polite, most reliable, most clear-headed, and safest behavior… when desired.

The beauty of it all is that you CAN have it all. You CAN have the crazy and you CAN have the calm. It’s not an either/or equation—and it shouldn’t be. Life is about balance. No dog’s life should only be one of calm, controlled, robot-like “goodness”, because that’s not goodness, it’s an out of balance hyper-fixation on suppression of behavior. But could your dog use a bit (or quite a bit) more calm, polite, impulse-control-rich behavior? Chances are very good that the answer is yes.

And if you’re struggling with behavior issues, the answer is an absolute, 100%, resounding yes.

My advice? Get both, and enjoy both—just remember one comes naturally and one requires help—your help, and lots of it.

07/03/2024

Owners and trainers both need to better understand this dynamic.

Without clarity on this, owners develop unrealistic expectations, and trainers take on unhealthy responsibility.

Dogs only change when their environment changes—and only when it changes longterm.

Good trainers coach their clients on how to best change the environment their dogs live in by changing how their clients interact with their dogs daily, moment to moment.

Thus the only way you “fix” dogs is by “fixing” their owners through competent coaching and education. Any other expectation or promise is a guaranteed trip to disappointment-land, for both parties.

05/25/2024

05/25/2024

😳🙄😆🤣

Photo credit shared from : notenoughbulldogs

05/02/2024

Over and over I’ve seen owners struggling with the same issue. The early phases of the reactivity sequence seem benign, or at the very least so mild that it would be unfair to correct them for it.

Unfortunately, these early phases or stages are anything but benign. They’re the required initial steps your dog must go through to get to the dreaded big stuff that all of you struggling with seriously reactive dogs know so well.

Which is why if you your dog has reactivity issues, the very best practice you can get into is requiring your dog to simply keep their mind—and eyes—on their own business. Scanning for trouble and “mad-dogging” other dogs has to be removed from the menu.

If you learn to correct your dog for any untoward looking, and you do so with tools your dog cares enough about to actually stop the looking, you can actually stop this terribly predictable reactivity sequence in its tracks.

After all, that’s what most great dog trainers do, and it’s what most amazed owners think of as “magical” timing. Alas, there is no magic, just a keen awareness of how all this plays out.

04/21/2024

04/02/2024

Owners, once you truly get that nothing changes with your dog until you change, you’ll be prepared for reality. Whether that be transforming yourself and your dog, or settling for the status quo with both of you—at least you will know precisely where you stand and also precisely what to expect.

Trainers, once you truly get that nothing you can do with a dog will actually change the dog unless its owners change, you’ll also be prepared for reality. Whether that be letting go of unrealistic expectations (and the frustration/resentment that goes with) for the undetermined, or falsely feeling like Superman/Superwoman because of what you’re capable of achieving with the dog—at least you’ll know precisely where you stand and what to expect.

If both owners and trainers agree to work within the framework of reality and the obviously observable dynamics between owner and dog—or environment and dog—then both parties can approach this dog training enterprise with clarity and healthy expectations. Which would save much disappointment, resentment, and heartache on both sides.

The upshot? Owners, unless you’re truly prepared to change whatever is required to change your dog, it’s best that you save your time, money, and hopes. Trainers, unless your owners are truly prepared to change whatever is required to change their dog (this is your job to suss out), then please save them their time, money, and hopes—and on the way you’ll save your well-being and avoid much of the emotional burnout that derails so many.

03/31/2024

If you have a dog biting your kids or fighting with your other dogs, and you’re not walking around like Rip Wheeler… well, that’s a damn good place to start.