On Cue Training

28/04/2024

15/12/2023

As many of you know, we've had our baby and are home resting and figuring out our new norm.

But here's what you maybe don't know:

This pregnancy was very unexpected and we were told it couldn't happen without medical intervention years ago, which we chose not to pursue.

We were living in a camper with three dogs while building our one bedroom home (because we'd only ever need one bedroom) when we found out we were pregnant.

During this pregnancy, we dealt with a cystic fibrosis scare, "advanced maternal age", and gestational diabetes.
All while building our home (out of pocket, so money was tight) and living in a camper with three dogs.

On top of this, during this pregnancy I also found out that Bouci (our oldest girl) has some sort of cancer. This requires meds two times a day, that I couldn't handle through pregnancy and can't handle now while nursing.

She's only 8.

In our first few days home from the hospital, we had to figure out how to be parents, get to the pediatrician due to the baby's weight loss in the hospital and go to Bouci's vet appointment to have her red blood cells checked.

She had been up in her numbers, but at this check-up, she wasn't. She is also experiencing rapid weight loss even though she is being fed more than ever and on steroids. Maybe her numbers will be better next time. Maybe not.

We have had to deal with immense amounts of grief during an otherwise extremely joyful, but scary time in our lives.

It is because of our relationship, our training, and our management strategies that I'm able to hold and feed my son with my left arm, while being able to pet and spend time with Bouci with my right arm.

It's times like these that you clearly see why relationship, training, and management matter so much. Had we not prepared our dogs for baby, my girl might be spending potentially her last days separated from me. Pushed to the back burner so we could take care of this tiny new human. Thank God this isn't the case. Don't think training & relationship don't matter. They matter a lot.

07/11/2023

Dog Bite Prevention Tips:
https://doggonesafe.com/

06/11/2023

No dog needs corrections.

There is never a reason to correct a dog.

When corrections "work" they do so by scaring, startling or otherwise interrupting behavior. They do not teach the dog anything other than potentially to be afraid of us.

So what do we do instead? We as guardians need to do a better job at understanding the motivation behind why dogs do what they do and we need to do a much better job at reading body language, managing their environments and teaching them alternate behaviors when they do something we would prefer them not to.

All of these things are on US, not the dog.

06/11/2023

06/11/2023

BIG BITE preview of our Husbandry 1.0 course that will be available January 2024!!

This course goes through all of the handling techniques that you need from introduction to high-level handling to help make vetting, grooming, and home care easier for all involved.

Cooperative care is such an important set of skills for us and our dogs.

This type of handling and these types of skills are so necessary throughout our dogs' lives and its so important that we put the practice into these areas.

So until January, here's a BIG BITE sneak peak

31/10/2023

I'm getting a bit fed up of seeing this silly idea written everywhere.

Education is education because it's based on tried and tested methods, study and facts.

Educated dog trainers work with the dog when they teach them, because this type of dog trainer can recognise what a dog needs.

They know every dog is an individual and cater their own approach to that.

And if they can't motivate a dog to learn, they develop themselves, they don't blame the dog or change to harsher methods.

They set the dog up for success while gently changing behaviours that need to be changed.

They grow the dog's confidence to cope, which is more likely to promote calm behaviours.

They want to know how the dog feels and how to give the dog agency.

They know that suppression and punishment does not provide the healing process that the dog in front of them needs.

They know that a specific collar or threat does not provide the dog with the freedom from fear or force that they deserve.

What educated dog trainers don't do is permissiveness.

They don't just throw cookies at a dog and hope for the best.

They don't ignore behaviours if they are problematic or dangerous.

Educated dog trainers are scientists, teachers, ethologists and perpetual students. They learn from the science and from the dog.

They are the only dog trainers that you should ever employ. So look for those with understanding, knowledge and who are continually striving to be better educated.

31/10/2023

😊

28/10/2023

"Keeping me safe and keeping me **FEELING** safe are not the same things"

There are so many times that I see owners putting their dogs in situations where they don't FEEL safe. And it's clear to see if you pay attention and educate yourself on canine body language- which, sadly, most people don't. Body language can be very subtle, until it isn't. And when it isn't anymore, we often see it as misbehavior or alarming and respond in a way that intensifies and escalates those feelings that are causing the behavior - which is a bad move.

When behavior related to feelings of the lack of safety come up, I see owners who either respond with a big emotional outburst in kind...or the old "let's get closer, it's not scary! See?! See?!"

Both of these responses are going to intensify and escalate your dog's concerns AND behaviors the next time around. You can't reason your dog out of being scared or uncomfortable just because you don't see why there's any reason to be scared or uncomfortable.

BUT YOU CAN HELP THEM! It's not impossible to do! There's just a right way and a wrong way. And unfortunately, without education, most of us will automate to trying to "help" the wrong way.

Educate yourself on how to help your dog - AND YOURSELF.

They're not giving you a hard time, they're having a hard time.

28/10/2023

Absolutely applicable to dog training

28/10/2023

😅😅

27/10/2023

Wanted to commemorate this moment of my last day with my last day train client before baby arrives.

You have been the best boy! Couldn't ask for a better send-off 🥰

27/10/2023

25/10/2023

I understand the difficulties that come with realising the way we've done things in the past with our dogs is wrong. I crossed over from a more 'balanced' style a few years ago to using entirely reward based methods and went through the cognitive dissonance that comes with that realisation.

Any who want help and support to go through that process themselves are always welcome on this page - we all want to do better for the dogs in our care and the dogs that will come in the future. If you're struggling with the change or with the way it makes you feel about the past with your dogs, reach out and there will always be support available.

24/10/2023

As we prepare for Halloween, it's good to start thinking about what we will do with, or more importantly, what we will GIVE our dogs to do to keep them calm and relaxed on a more high traffic night than normal.

Preparing some enrichment items is a great start!

Try a lickimat!

24/10/2023

Dogs have big feelings about their world, just like we do. Those feelings come out as behaviors, whether fear, anxiety, excitement, or anger. Learning and dealing with your dog's feelings is the key to behavior modification.

24/10/2023

The 6 golden rules for keeping your child safe and your dog happy!

https://www.facebook.com/RSPCA/

24/10/2023

These are 4 common areas which are easily over looked or not even consciously thought about...but can make a very big difference.
If I could number these in importance then rewarding what you DO want would be right at the top of the list.
Best of all....this can require very little effort.

If you want a calmer dog.....reward when they are calm. Not bursting out of their skin excited...but calm.
If you want a less jumpy dog.....reward when all 4 paws are on the ground.
Want your dog to rest more?....reward when they go to their bed.

Sometimes it can be as easy as adding in rewards when they show us exactly what we want to see....sometimes though we are so caught up in the behaviour which is unwanted that we can ignore all the times when dogs show us (naturally) the behaviour we really do want more of.
Have some small tasty treats on you so you can capture the moments they show you exactly what you want.....if you go to the cupboard to get the treat....the timing will be lost.
If you haven't tried rewarding the behaviour you want to see more of....add it in.

It can be a very powerful message to our dogs.

One thing that so many people do (and I have mentioned this before) is repeating the cue or "command" over and over again.
If I could wave a magic wand....I would instantly change that habit we humans have.
Making a conscious effort to not repeat what we would like over and over helps everything.....

This is a habit that you may not even realise you do.

You may recognise others doing this....you may even realise their habit is having a negative effect on what they want to achieve, and.... you may be doing EXACTLY the same in different circumstances.

Cue nagging creates "deafness" to what you say.....and it is a very big issue.

It is so ingrained that even after talking about this issue in classes....within 2-3 minutes of discussing all the issues this causes and everyone understanding these problematic repeats.....people go right back to doing it......and don't even realise they are doing it.

It takes a real effort to change this habit....but once you do....it can change everything.
Your dog listens and responds....and they understand !

So have a think about these common issues and ask your family if you do these....you may be surprised when they say yes.

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22/10/2023

The unreasonable expectations we have for our dogs, and therefore resentments when things don't fall in line with those expectations, are totally unfair. Not only to our dogs, but to us and our relationship with our dogs.

We are robbing OURSELVES of the great relationship that we could be having with our dogs by falling into this trap.

Your dog can't be *BAD* or *BAD AT* something you've never taken the time or effort to properly teach them. It is YOUR job to teach your dog how to live life with you in a cooperative, harmonious way - not theirs. They're just waiting on you to figure that out!
.And probably with a lot more patience and grace than you afford them..🫣

Learn how to stop breeding discord in your relationship and how to start meeting your own expectations! It's so much easier and more fun than what you're doing now

20/10/2023

So much this!!

No one would look at this picture and think it was cute. No one would look at this picture and say “omg look how much the baby loves the stove! Look how good the stove is being to the baby! Get a picture!!” And if the baby got burned by the stove, no one would blame the stove. It was, after all, just being a stove.

Yet, this is what I see when I see pictures of babies or children crawling on or towards dogs, leaning on them, grabbing them, and invading their space. I don’t find it cute or charming, I find it dangerous. No matter how tolerant a dog appears to be, sometimes that tolerance runs out, or the child tries to do the same thing to another dog with less tolerance and the worst happens. I’m often on the receiving end of the panicked, distressed and terrified phone calls after these events, and it’s heartbreaking to say the least.

As soon as babies start to get mobile we start talking to them about safety with things like hot stoves, outlets, busy roads, fireplaces. We use safety measures like gates or covers and always supervise. We need to be doing the exact same thing with our dogs.

Dogs only have their body language to tell us they are uncomfortable, and often times the beginning signs are incredibly subtle. Ignoring these, or worse punishing them, can lead to a dog feeling they have no other option than to bite or snap. Even worse, when we don’t teach our children respect and boundaries around dogs, we set them up to potentially get hurt. And when that happens, it’s not because of bad parenting, it’s truly because of a lack of education and understanding.

The other thing I hear often is “well if he didn’t like it he would move” and that’s not always true. Dogs sometimes don’t know they can or should move. We need to teach them that coping skill and reward and respect them for that choice.

Dogs and children living happily together is possible. Bonds can still be formed even if there are boundaries and your child can have an amazing relationship with your dog even without kissing them or hugging them. Management, active supervision and structure are all keys so success to everyone can live under the same roof happily, and more importantly, safely.

- Helen St. Pierre, No Monkey Business Dog Training
10/12/18

17/10/2023

14/10/2023

💥💥💥Big announcement!!💥💥💥

It's finally ready! And I'm so excited to be able to offer this option to my clients.

On Cue's Puppy to Adolescent Lyte course will be live this coming Monday!

Not only are we going live with the course, BUT we are also going to be offering it at an intro pricing rate until November 20th!

Take advantage of our introductory price rate from Oct 16 - Nov 20.

This is a 12 week long course that is perfect for starting your dog off on the right foot, solving your current behavior problems, building new and useful skills, and preventing future problem behaviors.

Take advantage of our introductory pricing now! After Nov 20th, this same option will be $600. That's a $150 discount!

puppy-proofed-life.teachable.com/p/proof-positive-puppytoadolescent-lyte

It really isn't that complicated at all though. You can virtually eliminate most or all of your puppy problems right away simply by implementing the techniques that we teach.

12/10/2023

11/10/2023

https://domorewithyourdog.thinkific.com/7qpo2

So excited to have started my journey into canine fitness with this first certification!

Become certified as a dog fitness coach through this step-by-step online curriculum.