Paws for Thought - Canine & Equine Coach

17/11/2025

Supporting a Cat with Recurrent Cystitis Through Zoopharmacognosy - Healing and Calmness

🌙💧🕊️🌼🤍🌾🫶

Misty, a gentle 13-year-old cat, had a long history of cystitis episodes. Her guardians had made countless trips to the vet over the years sometimes for antibiotics, sometimes for pain relief, and often for the worrying uncertainty that comes with sudden flare-ups. Although Misty always received proper veterinary attention, her guardians hoped to explore supportive, natural approaches that might help her body cope between medical visits.

The Most Recent Flare

One morning last week, Misty suddenly began showing familiar signs: frequent visits to the litter tray, vocalising when attempting to urinate, and an overall restlessness her guardians recognised all too well. Concerned but also curious about how Misty might respond to a zoopharmacognosy session, they reached out for support.

The Zoopharmacognosy Session

During the session, Misty was offered a carefully selected range of essential oils and botanicals traditionally associated with urinary comfort and emotional balance. As always, she was free to choose or refuse each option.

Two extracts caught her immediate interest:

🍀 Carrot Seed
Misty approached the carrot seed oil with noticeable intent, inhaling deeply and returning several times. This extract is often selected by animals seeking cell repair as well urinary stones, arthritis etc.

🍀 Yarrow
Yarrow was her second clear choice and great for cooling, infections or inflammation. Misty spent several minutes inhaling its aroma before relaxing beside it, a sign she was regulating her own dosage and engagement. It can also take animals deeper for emotional release

🍀 Sandlewood
Often selected for noise phobias , fear or worry but also great for cystitis too. Misty showed some interest but wasn't overly fussed. We kept it close in case she wanted to return at any point.

Over the next 24 hours, Misty continued to interact with these two extracts when offered. Her behaviour gradually returned to normal: she used the litter tray without strain, rested comfortably, and her overall demeanour softened as the discomfort eased.

Outcome
For the first time in years, Misty’s cystitis symptoms resolved within a day and without requiring a return trip to the vet during this episode. Her guardians felt emotional witnessing her make her own selections and visibly respond to them.

Important Note❗⚠️

Although Misty improved beautifully with applied zoopharmacognosy, this approach is not a replacement for veterinary diagnosis or treatment. Cystitis can be painful and, in some cases, life-threatening particularly in male cats. Please always seek veterinary advice. I will work in partnership with a vet or treatment plan.

Zoopharmacognosy should only ever be used as a complementary support, and guardians should always seek veterinary attention whenever symptoms appear or persist.

Misty’s case is a powerful example of how animals can engage with natural extracts to support their own wellbeing when given the opportunity and the right guidance. Applied zoopharmacognosy offered Misty a gentle, empowering way to help her body rebalance, while her guardians gained a deeper understanding of her innate abilities and needs.

15/11/2025

They are definitely cuddle bugs 🥰 🐾

Thanks for a great post Aleks ❤️

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1WRf5G8YF9/?mibextid=wwXIfr

15/11/2025

Positive Reinforcement: Why Dogs Choose the “Right” Tunnel (and What Positive Really Means)

When it comes to dog training, people often get tangled up in the words positive and negative.

Most of us hear “positive” and think good, and “negative” and think bad but in training science, that’s not what they mean at all.

In operant conditioning:

Positive = adding something
Negative = taking away something

That’s it. Just simple maths: plus and minus.

So let’s break this down in real-life dog terms and think about it in terms of a series of tunnels. Your Dog’s Brain = A Network of Tunnels

Imagine your dog’s brain as a huge rabbit-warren of tunnels.
Each tunnel represents a possible behaviour and choice in a situation. The situation could be wanting food on the kitchen counter.

See kitchen counter ➡️🕳️Tunnel 1 jump up
See kitchen counter ➡️🕳️Tunnel 2 go lie on bed 🛏️
See kitchen counter ➡️🕳️Tunnel 3 bark
See kitchen counter ➡️🕳️Tunnel 4 sit and wait

Dogs choose the tunnel that has paid off best in the past. Positive reinforcement is about upgrading the tunnel you want them to choose, not punishing them for choosing the wrong tunnel.

➕Positive reinforcement simply means:

You add something your dog likes to make a behaviour more likely in the future.

Tasty treats? Added
Play? Added
Praise? Added

It’s like turning that tunnel into a VIP lounge with a comfy sofa, cosy cushions and champagne on arrival, the works!

So when your dog sits or goes to their bed instead of counter-surfing, you add something great. That choice gets reinforced. That tunnel grows bigger, brighter, easier to choose next time.

➖Negative Punishment = The Tunnel That Loses Its Perks

Negative doesn’t mean something bad happening. It simply means taking something away.

If your dog jumps on the counter and doesn’t get the reward they hoped for, no steak, no attention, no access to what they wanted. Something desirable is 'removed' from the picture.

That tunnel gets a bit darker, lights not working, it's cold and a bit less appealing. This often happens naturally, without you doing anything dramatic and you certainly don't need to punish them.

So :
Positive = ADD
Negative = REMOVE
Reinforcement = makes a behaviour MORE likely
Punishment = makes a behaviour LESS likely

So “positive punishment” isn’t necessarily “good punishment” it’s adding something unpleasant. Think: lead yanks, prong collar, or loud noises like air horns or shouting loud to stop a behaviour.

“Negative reinforcement” isn’t “mean reinforcement” it’s removing something unpleasant when the dog does what you want. Think taking pressure off the lead when they stop pulling.

The confusion clears completely once we reframe “positive/negative” as plus and minus.

⭐ Why Reward-Based Training Works So Well

Instead of shrinking the “wrong” tunnel using scary or painful additions, we focus on growing the “right” tunnel so big and so obvious that the dog chooses it automatically.

Clear communication and predictable outcomes.

When the “go to bed” tunnel becomes a favoured tunnel leading to wonderful treasure and the “jump on counter” tunnel is less appealing, the choice becomes easy even automatic for our dogs.

⭐ The Takeaway

Positive reinforcement isn’t about spoiling dogs or ignoring problems. It’s about understanding how dogs naturally learn:

⭐ Add the good stuff to build the behaviour you want
⭐ Make the right tunnel so irresistible
⭐ Let the wrong tunnel fade on its own

When we train with clarity and kindness, our dogs don’t just behave better they feel safer, more confident, and more connected to us.

15/11/2025

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It seems this one will just not die – caregivers being told to let their dogs with separation anxiety cry it out.

So we need to talk about what’s ACTUALLY happening when with this advice.

I get why it seems logical. Your dog is barking, howling, panicking when you leave. If you go back, aren’t you rewarding that? Teaching them that noise works? And they stop crying eventually, so it worked, right?

Actually, no.

Because here’s what really happens when you let them cry it out.

Sometimes the dog does stop crying. After days, weeks maybe. They’re quiet when you leave. Problem solved? Again, no.

What’s happened is learned helplessness. Your dog has learned that nothing they do matters. They cry for help and no one comes. So they stop asking.

The anxiety is still there. The panic is still flooding their system. They’ve just learned that signaling it doesn’t help, so they shut down.

It’s not calm. It’s giving up.

If your dog was terrified of thunderstorms, would you leave them alone in a room during a storm to get over it? Some people would.

But most of us recognize that’s not how fear works. You don’t cure a phobia by forcing someone through it and hoping they stop panicking eventually.

Separation anxiety is panic. It’s a panic disorder. We’re asking the dog to just stop panicking by themselves while the thing they’re terrified of is happening. It doesn’t work like that.

And of top of that, we’re telling them “No point crying for help. I’m not listening!”

But what’s wrong with dogs learning that when they need us we will be there for them?

So if you’ve ever tried letting your dog cry it out, or someone told you to try this - you’re not a bad person.

You’ve been given bad information by people who should know better. This is old-school thinking that ignores what we actually know about how fear works.

What does work? Systematic desensitization. Staying under threshold.

Teaching your dog that being alone is safe by building up their tolerance gradually.

It’s slower. It’s boring.

But it works because you’re teaching your dog they can handle being alone, not teaching them that crying for help gets them nowhere. And you're teaching them they can trust you to help them feel safe.

That's priceless.

15/11/2025

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12/11/2025

🌿 Words Matter - Especially to Our Dogs 🐾

The words we use in dog training shape how we see our dogs and how they see us. For years, terms like “command” and “obedience” came from military roots a time when training was about control, not connection.

But today, we know better.

Modern, compassionate training should be about communication, cooperation, safety and trust.

When we use words like “command” “obedience” it can affect our mindset and our actions. Words matter because relationships matter.

When we replace commands with cues, and obedience with partnership, we aren’t just changing vocabulary we’re changing perspective. That is powerful.

Our dogs are not soldiers under our command. They are friends, family, and fellow learners who thrive when we treat them with kindness and respect.

When we start speaking to them and about them in ways that honour that bond, we create a world where learning is joyful, connection is deep, and love is mutual.

Read more about why language matters and how small shifts in words can transform your relationship with your dog in my new blog here https://pawsforthoughtcaninecoach.newzenler.com/blog/words-matter-especially-to-our-dogs

11/11/2025

Guilty 😂🙄🫣

10/11/2025

Our dogs share, reflect and mirror our emotions.

Scientists call this 'emotional contagion' the process where one being’s emotions transfer to another. In dogs, it’s a beautiful sign of empathy and connection. It’s how they’ve evolved alongside us, attuned to our every emotion.

It’s not a coincidence. It’s connection.

So when your dog sighs beside you after a stressful day, or nudges your hand when you’re upset that’s not coincidence. That’s co-regulation. They’re helping you find calm, just as you help them.

We are also mirrored in our dog's behaviour. If your dog is too vocal, is it because you are not feeling heard? If your dog is feeling anxiety and reacting, do you need a moment to calm yourself? If your dogs suffers from separation anxiety, do you have insecure attachment of feeling lost?

When we train our dogs we can often surpress these emotions, but we actually need to learn from them.

We can learn to regulate our emotions for our dogs. Next time you notice your dog reacting to your stress, don’t feel guilty. See it as an invitation to pause breath and reset together.

Would you like to know more? Please reach out for a consultation and see how I can help you both.
https://pawsforthoughtcaninecoach.newzenler.com/