Wiggle Waggle Woo

10/06/2023

Dog sitting a cuddly group this weekend.🥰😍

09/26/2023

Note to the public: If you are driving down a street and notice someone walking beautiful, amazing dogs, it's best to enjoy the sight and keep going. You really don't need to honk your horn several times, pull to the curb near the dog walker and dogs to shout about the beauty of the dogs. 😄

Props to Georgia and Bono who had this experience today and handled it like champs. I was so proud of them stopping and waiting with me. I'm certain the driver meant no harm but that bundle of events could have caused a lot of distress for dogs and handlers.

05/18/2023

This video makes me so happy!

It just looks like two dogs having a lovely walk in the woods. But there is so much here to celebrate.

Bono, the Newfoundland, is quite anxious. His carer is working with a veterinarian on the medication piece, but medication alone does not solve the problems anxiety brings to his daily life. Going on walks has taken a lot of practice and problem solving.

Bono always gets to choose whether or not to walk with us. If he doesn't move towards the door after I clip his leash to his collar, he gets to stay home. Enthusiasm as we start each walk is crucial.

Bono finds petting quite reinforcing. So during walks I've been encouraging him to come back to me while Georgia sniffs. (We get quite a bit of practice because Georgia sniffs intensely for most of our walks.) I don't walk to him as I've learned that tends to make him walk even further away.

In the video, you see him come to me for some petting.

The other behavior Bono shows that makes my heart explode is that he chooses to sniff by the trail. He's engaging in the walk. He's relaxing. He's only been sniffing on walks recently. I expect to see it more often.

03/21/2023

Today I set up a simple "find it" activity. I placed pieces of chicken throughout the yard. Bono found the first piece. Georgia got in on the fun as well.

I was so happy that Bono, especially, enjoyed himself. He's working through some anxiety that has taken neighborhood walks off the menu right now. So today he spent some happy, tail wagging time in the yard. A little enrichment goes a long way.

02/28/2023

"Let's go! It's time for my walk."

🥰

02/21/2023

Windy day walks 🙂

02/16/2023

When I return home after walking other people's dogs 😀

Good night, lovely people.
I'm wishing you the very best for the tail end of your week.

02/16/2023

Sometimes this is what "walks" look like.

Bono has anxiety. His person is helping him in lots of ways. Managing anxiety can be tricky. One of the most important strategies is paying attention to Bono's body language and making sure he always has an option that feels safe.

Right now Bono feels most safe inside. So, I gave him a bowl of frozen greek yogurt to lick. Licking food can reduce anxiety for dogs. And let me tell you, Bono really enjoyed this activity!

***Tap on photo to expand***

01/14/2023

This is why I will not walk a dog with a choke or prong collar. There are more effective options that will not cause trauma. I will not force a dog to walk with me. The point of walking with a dog is to connect and enrich. Fear does neither.

"𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘮𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘮𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶" Dr Gabor Maté

When traumatic events happen to us they are often carried with us into our future lives. They colour how we understand the world around us and our interactions with others. Dogs are no different. What has happened to them in the past stays with them.

Charlie came to me at around 9-12 months old with evidence of wounds which suggested harsh or abusive treatment. He's now 8 and in the last 7 years has never experienced any harsh treatment, any physical punishment...not even voices raised in anger. And yet if I lift a broom or a mop or raise a hand above my head to reach for something he flinches. Even after 7 years of safety and love. Whatever happened to him left psychological scars which still affect him 7 years later.

I saw a dog this week who had previously been taken to a trainer who had used a slip lead to correct her when she reacted to other dogs. Now when she sees a lead she cowers and hides. What that trainer did in an attempt to suppress one behaviour problem has resulted in a much greater problem.

There are many reasons* I choose not to use force in my training and one of them is the fallout it can leave behind. The use of force or intimidation isn't a 'short, sharp shock' which only affects a dog in the moment...it has the potential to stay with that dog, and affect their confidence, well being and feeling of safety, for the rest of their lives.

* 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳…𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘥𝘰𝘨𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘨𝘴’ 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨.
𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴:
1. 𝘚𝘎 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘞𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘗𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦? 𝘌𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘌𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘈𝘗𝘋𝘛 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩/𝘈𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘭 2010
2. 𝘔 𝘚𝘪𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘊𝘰𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐𝘵𝘴 𝘍𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘵 (𝘳𝘦𝘷 𝘦𝘥), 2000
3. 𝘎 𝘡𝘪𝘷, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘨𝘴 - 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸, 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘝𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘉𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘳 19 (2017) 50-60
4. 𝘈 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘝𝘪𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘢 𝘥𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰, 𝘋 𝘍𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘴, 𝘎 𝘔𝘶𝘯𝘩𝘰𝘻 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰, 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘢 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳, 𝘓 𝘥𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢, 𝘈𝘚 𝘖𝘭𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳? 𝘌𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦-𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘨 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦. 𝘗𝘓𝘖𝘚 𝘖𝘕𝘌, 2020; 15 (12)
5. 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘝𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘉𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘏𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘋𝘰𝘨 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨

01/10/2023

01/10/2023

Writing up a walk summary with a cat on my lap and a dog on my feet. No shortage of affection or comfort here!

12/10/2022

This is incredibly useful information from a reliable source. I will use this information to make decisions about outdoor activity with clients during cold weather.

Been asked a few times about the cold weather - here is a helpful info graphic. Every dog is an individual though so use your judgement as YOU know your dog best x

12/08/2022

Rafferty left this world yesterday. He was an amazing dog who lived life with such joy and exuberance. I will miss him more than I can express. Thank you Siobhan Costello Tirado for trusting me to care for him.

11/29/2022

Bono is more of a straight ahead walker. He keeps me moving!

11/28/2022

This is a great example of supporting a fearful dog on a walk.

Look at Buttercup go!

11/22/2022

A beautiful day for a sniffy walk with Georgia. 😍

11/17/2022

"I love your naughty dog."

Yes, I do. I love helping them learn to navigate the world safely while meeting their needs.

I love your naughty dog.

Your dog that jumps on me.

Your dog that shoves his whole face in my treat pouch.

Your dog that barks and paws at me for attention, and your dog that steals my hat out of my pocket.

Even your dog that thinks tables are for standing on.

You know why?

Your naughty dog is still brave enough, confident enough, to try something new.
To say “hey, I wonder how this will work” and just go for it.

I see dogs all the time who are apprehensive about trying new things, who lack the desire to try something new. Some dogs come by this behavior due to their anxious genetics or lack of socialization, but some of them become this way because they’ve been punished over and over again for trying new stuff. They jump on a guest, they get “no” shouted at them along with a collar correction. They grab something off the counter, they get the item forcibly removed while they’re yelled at.

Eventually, they stop trying new behavior because it comes with such a history of punishment, and from the outside it looks like “oh good, they’ve learned”. Until you try to teach these dogs to do something brand new. You try to lure them into a position, and they’re hesitant to follow the treat (what if that gets me yelled at? Is this a set up?) You ask your dog to interact with a new person and they hesitate, knowing that the last new person they “interacted with” resulted in them getting physically corrected.

A naughty dog who is willing to do new things is a dog that hasn’t been punished to the point of suppressing their behavior. Punishment can be tempting to use because it stops the dog in the moment, but in some dogs it will suppress ALL behavior somewhat, making your dog hesitant to try new things in your presence, even things completely unrelated to what they’ve been punished for in the past.

I get that as a dog trainer it’s my job to help teach people’s dogs to stop jumping, counter surfing, barking, etc. But there are ways to do that while preserving a dog’s confidence and willingness to try new things. I’m not interested in a mindlessly compliant and obedient dog that got that way by squashing their confidence through heavy use of punishment. I want your naughty dog to learn new behaviors that replace those old “bad” ones using fun stuff like food, toys, and praise, so that when the time comes to learn something new your “naughty” dog is still brave enough to try those new things!

So please don’t apologize to me for your naughty dog. I love to see it!

11/10/2022

Welcome to Bono! I started walking with him last week. He is an absolute joy.

11/03/2022

I lost a baggie with cut up sausages to use on walks. Fortunately today's dogs were happy with neck scritches and ear rubs. I do hope I find the baggie with my eyes before my nose finds it! 😬🤢

10/30/2022

Tillie and Cooper enjoying post dinner chews.
I offer day sitting as a service (although I haven't figured out how to add that to the Services section). This is a great option for when you have something come up and you need someone to stop by and take care of your dog(s).
Message me for more info and pricing.

Thanks Joanne Focke Hall and Kevin Hall for asking me to look in on Cooper and Tillie.

10/28/2022

🥰

10/27/2022

As Daylight Savings Time comes to an end Nov. 6, you will likely have darkness during evening walks. If you or your pup find walking in the dark uncomfortable, I can walk your dog during the daylight hours. Message me to schedule.

H/T SitStayLearn

10/25/2022

I would love to find a safe walking place for your sensitive dog! Even once a week walks can provide healthy enrichment. Message me for details and to set up a walk.

10/24/2022

Do you avoid walking your dog because you feel as if your arm is being pulled out of socket? Do you worry that a family member may be knocked down and dragged because their dog hasn't learned loose leash walking?

I can help! I can take your dog on walks safely and introduce him / her to loose leash walking.

Credit: The International School for Canine Psychology and Behaviour Ltd - ISCP

09/23/2022

If you have a dog with separation anxiety, I can sit with your dog so you can run errands or make appointments. Message me for details.

It takes a village to help a dog overcome separation anxiety. This is why it is so important to have a support system of friends, family, and trusted dog professionals in your area.

Although your trips away from home should be as short as possible while your dog is cared for by a trusted partner, you should celebrate with your dog when you arrive back home!

09/17/2022

Time outside the familiar confines of home and yard is generally beneficial for your dog's mental health.

If you are stuck in your own home for who knows how long, you'd likely go stir crazy pretty quickly. Yet so many people expect this exact scenario for their dogs.

09/15/2022

I've added a "Neighborhood Walks" as a new service. $15 for a 20 minute walk at your dog's preferred pace. Some dogs like a slower paced sniffari while others prefer a brisk pace to see all the sights.

Please note: I will not walk any dog using a prong or choke collar. If your dog pulls while walking, I recommend a well fitted harness. I am comfortable handling dogs who pull using a positive reinforcement approach.

09/13/2022

Miss Georgia and I are heading out for our first proper neighborhood walk. She was happy to see me today.

09/09/2022

Georgia is relaxing around me. The top photo was a couple weeks ago. You can see that she is ready to move if I approach. In the bottom photo, she's relaxing on the dog bed.

Georgia was comfortable enough yesterday that I attached a leash to her collar. Then I took her for a short sniffy walk in the front yard with her Dane brother. She got to smell where he'd left some peemail earlier as well as check out all the plants and trees near the house. And we got to watch a waste management truck pass by!

I will see Georgia next week. I'm excited to see her reaction to my visit!

09/01/2022

Finding a good trainer can be difficult. Here are a few red flags to avoid.