Laska Dog Training

13/11/2024

Not every dog needs to be a social butterfly!

08/11/2024

My beautiful Laska is already 14 years old!

Foto by www.feralandfab.com

01/10/2024

DON’T FORCE ME TO BE SOCIAL!
It may be really disappointing and frustrating when our dogs are not the social beings we expected them to be.

Many believe dogs should just naturally get along with other dogs, after all they’re the same species.

Some believe the “unsociable” dog has a behaviour problem that needs to be “fixed”.

Early, appropriately timed and correct socialisation is vitally important, but sometimes despite all of this, some dogs are just not that sociable.

Sometimes this can be improved, especially if the cause is from a negative experience, but genetics, breed tendencies, individual personalities, health and age all contribute to tolerance and sociability, which also change throughout life.

If we, as a human species, don’t get along with everyone we meet, how can we expect our dogs to?

Do we label every person that has an argument, doesn’t make friends with everyone they meet, doesn’t like every other person, prefers not to socialise - as having a problem that needs to be fixed?

Why is it so easy to accept that every individual person is different than to accept that every individual dog is different?

When we have done what we can to improve our dogs’ social skills, we need to accept and acknowledge our dogs for the individuals they are, allow and respect their choice of whether to be sociable or not and never force interactions that a dog is not comfortable with.

25/09/2024

Debunking the 3-3-3 Rule

When you have a new dog it much more important to not put an arbitrary timeline on things and instead:

- Build trust by never forcing the dog to do anything they don’t want to do
- Go at your dog’s pace.
- Learn your dog’s body language and communication.
- Get professional help, earlier, rather than later.
- Celebrate your wins, no matter how small they are.
- Always use only force-free training methods.

If you have a new dog, you've no doubt come across the 3-3-3 rule for new dogs. Learn why this isn't good advice.

28/08/2024

Yes, its simple.

I am not comfortable to use pain to train dogs.

Either you’re ok using methods and equipment when working with dogs that cause pain, fear, and purposeful discomfort, or you’re not. I am not.

28/08/2024

You would also comfort a young child; do the same with dogs!

FACING THE FEAR
There is a common disbelief that comforting a dog that is feeling scared, anxious or stressed will only reinforce, encourage the feeling and make it worse.

This belief is incorrect. Fear is an emotional response and one that a dog does not choose or decides to feel.

An emotion is an involuntary, uncontrolled response that cannot be reinforced.

Punishing fear-based behaviour is even worse than not providing comfort as it creates even more negative associations with whatever the “scary thing" is.

Behaviour and emotions are intrinsically linked in important ways, but they are still not the same thing and require different approaches when they become a problem.

Imagine an intruder broke into your home, tied you up and took off with your belongings. After being freed and getting help, a friend arrives to see how you are.

Your friend tells you that she can see that you’re really anxious and scared but she’s just going to completely ignore you, is not going to attempt to comfort you, sit with you or support you because by doing so she will make you even more afraid and upset. Does that reaction make any sense?

Why should it be any different for dogs that also experience a range of emotions? Why then is it still believed that we should ignore our dogs?

Probably because there is confusion and misunderstanding about the difference between an emotional response - which is an involuntary response and a learned response - which has varying degrees of conscious control.

If we acknowledge that providing comfort and support to a dog that is experiencing these emotions will not reinforce them, do we know if providing comfort will reduce these emotions?

Research on this subject is showing evidence that providing comfort and support in stressful situations decreases a dog’s heart rate, salivary cortisol levels, reduces stress responses and increases calm behaviour.

Ignoring a dog’s emotions because of misinformed advice in the belief that this will change the behaviour is more damaging than helpful.

We need to accept and acknowledge that our dogs are having an emotional response and not a behavioural problem.

We need to show compassion, understanding, be a secure base, a safe haven and provide the appropriate comfort when our dogs need it.

23/08/2024

https://rescuedbytraining.com/2024/08/19/time-to-fix/?mc_cid=444520e284&mc_eid=af3ccfa635

Clients always ask "how long will this take to fix?" Here's my answer and why it's unethical to put a timeline on this.

16/08/2024

WHAT DOES “NO!’ REALLY MEAN?
Picture this – a mom walks past her son’s room and sees that he’s drawing all over the walls with his crayons. “No! No! No! “, she screams at him. He immediately stops, looking confused and scared. Satisfied that her son has stopped this behaviour, she continues with what she was doing. A while later she walks past his room again. He is now drawing all over the furniture. Mom is now furious and just doesn’t understand why he didn’t listen. He didn’t “listen”, because he wasn’t given an alternative, acceptable behaviour. Maybe if he had been given lots of big pieces of paper or cardboard to draw on, this wouldn’t have happened and he would have understood what was acceptable and what wasn’t.
A similar comparison can be made to how we use this word with our dogs. Show dogs an alternative behaviour rather than just saying “No!”. This enables them to understand what behaviour is acceptable, helps to alleviate any potential fear, stress or confusion and sets them up for success.

13/08/2024

DON’T TOUCH MY STUFF!
Resource guarding – also called possessive aggression

We all guard our resources, it’s a natural reaction to a threat of something we value being taken away.

It’s essential for survival and dogs or other animals would not survive in the wild if they didn’t guard their resources.

We also don’t get to decide what’s valuable and what’s not – different things have different value to different dogs and at different times.

Food is usually the most common, but toys, furniture, different items, places, or even a certain person are all things that may be seen as a valuable resource.

A dog turning their head away, freezing, a hard stare, whale eye, moving away, growling or snapping may quickly escalate into a serious bite in an attempt to protect that valuable possession.

Punishing or forcing a dog to give something up is probably one of the worst things to do.

Resource guarding is rooted in the emotion of fear – the fear of that resource being taken away.

Punishment and force further increase that fear, which only increases and reinforces the need to protect that resource.

When a dog is guarding food or an object, we can change the negative emotion of that fear into a positive one by swopping or trading something that has a similar or higher value than what the dog has.

This is one of the most effective ways to address resource guarding of objects as it works at the root cause of the behaviour by changing the emotional response.

A dog resource guarding a person is more complicated to address. A full history of the individual dog, family dynamics, attachment styles, situation and environment all have to be assessed before planning and working on a solution.

Resource guarding can usually be prevented, managed and addressed and by starting early, understanding why dogs feel the need to resort to this behaviour and doing what we can to prevent it from happening in the first place.

13/07/2024

We have rescued over 1,100 animals so far this year and need your help to save more! Please take a moment to read our mid-year update. We appreciate all you do to help us give at-risk animals a second chance. 🐾

https://mailchi.mp/milofoundation/2024-mid-year-update

13/07/2024

ESSENTIAL ENRICHMENT

Imagine being kept in the same space each and every day. You know every blade of grass, every scent, every brick, every piece of fence. You have no books to read, no TV to watch, no one to talk to, no interaction with the outside world and absolutely nothing to do.

Would this situation begin to affect your behaviour and influence your emotional, mental or physical state? What about our dogs?

Many dogs live in this type of environment and yet we wonder why they develop behaviour problems, bark excessively, destroy the garden, become over excited, over aroused or maybe just shut down or sleep all day having completely lost interest in the world.

Many behaviour problems are caused by boredom, a lack of mental and physical stimulation or being confined to the same space every day.

Providing enrichment for dogs is so important for their wellbeing and really doesn’t require that much effort from us.

There are so many simple ways to provide enrichment. An online search for DIY enrichment ideas will provide lots of ideas.

Older dogs may enjoy a ride in the car, sitting at a window watching the world go by, bringing the outside in – sticks, cones, grass etc. from different areas placed in a box for them to rummage through and smell, dinner in the park, or even just playing some doggie music will make a difference.

“Chronic inescapable boredom can be extremely aversive, and under-stimulation can harm neural, cognitive and behavioral flexibility.” - A biological perspective on animal boredom and suggestions for its scientific investigation by Charlotte Burn - The Royal Veterinary College

Here are some links for enrichment ideas -
Enrichment ideas by Laura Gendron
https://missbehaviortraining.com/blog/diyenrichment

DIY boredom busting toys by Luke Balsam
https://wunderdogmagazine.com/care/awesome-diy-dog-toys-our-dog-trainer-made-some-boredom-busting-toys-and-you-can-too/

Link to a free introduction on ACE free work by Sarah Fisher -
https://animalcentrededucation.teachable.com/p/watch-this-space

01/07/2024

Here is some Firework help provided by Rescued By Training!

01/07/2024

I’d like you to think about the last time something really pi**ed you off. Or the last time something upset you. Or the last time you lost your cool.

Then I’d like you to think about the last time your dog lost their cool.

We often have vastly different expectations for ourselves compared to our dogs. I’m certainly not a master of regulating my own emotions. Sometimes it’s my own dogs that have really pi**ed me off!

However it’s important to remember that dog and human team is comprised of two mammals who often have limited ability to control their emotions and both ends of the lead need to be shown some kindness and grace when things go awry.

22/06/2024

Does your dog pull on a leash? Not pulling requires a lot of impulse control. Let's teach your dog to walk on a loose leash!

15/06/2024

Let's talk about this photo. It's cute, except it's not. I see a dog who cannot get up without telling the child to get off. How do you think a dog is going to do that?

The 7 Golden Toddler Dog Rules:
#1: If a dog walks away from you, you DO NOT FOLLOW.
#2: Always leave room for the dog to walk away from you.
---that right there is 90+% of dog bites eliminated---
#3: We do not climb on the dog.
#4: We do not grab or pull on the dog.
#5: We do not hit or throw anything at the dog.
#6: We do not touch the dog's food.
#7: We do not go into the dog's kennel.

I promise these are not overly difficult concepts for littles, nor will they rob a kid of their bond with the family dog. It will deepen that bond, while keeping everyone safe.

"Oh, it looks like Moose is walking away from you. She is saying she wants a break. Let's play with this instead!"

"It's Moose's dinner time! Let's give her space to enjoy her yummies."

"That is Moose's room(kennel) and only she is allowed to go in there."

"If Moose wanted a break, could she walk away from you right now? No she really couldn't. Let's move away from the play house. You can keep playing but now she can leave when she wants a break."

In conclusion, ***parent your child or your dog will do it for you, and you will not like how they do it.***

15/06/2024

NEED HELP TO KEEP YOUR PET? Thinking of surrendering? Are you low-income? Live in Contra Costa County?
If you are in need of help in order to keep your pet, please apply for support at https://form.jotform.com/241066598322156.

Thanks to a grant from CCAS, we can help with spay/neuter, vaccines, supplies, and urgent vet care until funds run out. FUNDS ARE LIMITED.
This grant is specific to pets owned by residents Contra Costa County. Please be patient, we get lots of requests that we have to review.
Jelly's Place is at 2905 San Pablo Dam Rd, San Pablo Ca 94803. We are open Wed-Sun 11-3.


village

07/06/2024

DO YOU KNOW HOW TO DO “NO”!?
Picture this –
A mom walks past her son’s room and notices he’s drawing all over the walls with his crayons.

“No! No! No! “, she screams at him.

He immediately stops, looking startled, confused and scared. Satisfied that her son has stopped drawing, she continues with what she was doing.

A while later she walks past his room again. Now he is drawing all over the furniture. Mom is now furious and just doesn’t understand why he didn’t listen.

He didn’t “listen”, because he wasn’t given an alternative, acceptable behaviour. Maybe if he had been given an alternative – like lots of big pieces of paper or cardboard to draw on, this wouldn’t have happened and he would have understood what was acceptable and what wasn’t.

A similar comparison can be made to how we use this word with our dogs.

Show dogs an alternative, acceptable behaviour that can be rewarded to reinforce it, instead of just saying “No!”.

Showing dogs what to do instead of what not to do, builds trust, improves communication, helps dogs feel safe and encourages them to work things out for themselves.

23/04/2024

Go on a Sniffari!