Similar to how we tell people to “shake it off,” dogs will literally shake it off after a stressful or arousing event. The shake off is self-soothing for dogs, and helps them to regulate their emotions by releasing built up tension and/or excitement, lowering their heart rate, and helping them to reset.
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Charlie may only be about 8% border collie, but he got a lot of the BC personality, including a strong desire to chase moving vehicles. That, paired with his young age and getting zero training or socialization as a puppy was a recipe for disaster.
Charlie’s chasing behavior was intense. He barked, lunged, and would build up so much frustration that he would then turn and bite whatever was closest to him: the air, my other dog, or in many cases, my leg, in attempts to release that frustration. He started taking solo walks without my other dogs, and wearing a basket muzzle because, though I tried my best to manage him and avoid triggers, I didn’t want to risk my safety in the case that he started reacting to a car and redirected onto me.
It’s been a long journey with lots of hurdles to get to where we are today. He still reacts at times when a car passes in close proximity to us, but his reactions are much less intense and his frustration levels are much lower, meaning he no longer feels the need to redirect onto things around him.
No punishment was ever used to get to this point. This was accomplished using games that I teach all of my clients working with their reactive dogs. Games that work by changing the emotional response and therefore the outward behavioral response of seeing triggers.
Are you struggling with your dog’s reactive behavior? I’m happy to help!
#DogTraining #PositiveReinforcement #DogTrainer #PittsburghDogTrainer #ClickerTraining #Dogs #PittsburghDogs #PositiveReinforcementTraining
❓What is Scatter Feeding?
Scatter Feeding means simply throwing your dog’s food onto the ground. It can be done inside by scattering the food across the kitchen floor, but doing it outside in the grass gives the added challenge of not being able to easily see the food, requiring more sniffing and foraging to find it.
❓What Benefits does Scatter Feeding have for my Dog?
✅ Slows down speed of eating
✅ Mental stimulation — Sniffing engages the brain. Your dog will be more tired after sniffing out their food compared to eating out of a bowl.
✅ Reduced stress and anxiety — Sniffing aids in lowering your dog’s heart rate, increasing dopamine levels, and helping them feel relaxed.
✅ Confidence — Sniffing can help boost confidence in your dog
❓Should I Always Feed my Dog in this Way?
You don’t have too! But it can be a great way to change up your dog’s regular feeding routine from time to time and give your dog the added benefits listed above.
#MentalEnrichment #DogTraining #PositiveReinforcement #DogTrainer #PittsburghDogTrainer #Dogs #PittsburghDogs
Mila REALLY wanted us to go on a walk, so I used her desire to run towards to road to practice her recalls, and she did FABULOUS, especially with this only being her second session👏👏
(Also isn’t she just the cutest thing??😍)
#Yorkie #DogTraining #PositiveReinforcement #DogTrainer #PittsburghDogTrainer #ClickerTraining #Dogs #PittsburghDogs
Things I hear a lot as a dog trainer:
“Is it okay that my dog _________?”
“I know my dog is supposed to _______, how do I teach them that?”
“I’ve heard that my dog should_________, so I’ve been working a lot on that.”
Hear me out: Society doesn’t have to determine what is acceptable and not acceptable for your dog, that’s up to you! If you’re okay with your dog pulling on the leash or walking in front of you, great, so am I! If you’re okay with your dog jumping up on you, then it’s okay for them to keep doing that! If you enjoy your dog sleeping in bed with you and are okay with them begging at the dinner table, that’s all fine as well!
You don’t have to conform to societal standards when it comes to how you raise and train your dog. Yes, some people may judge you for your dog’s behavior, but that’s their problem, not yours🤷♀️
#DogTraining #PositiveReinforcement #PositiveReinforcementTraining #DogTrainer #PittsburghDogTrainer #ClickerTraining #Dogs #PittsburghDogs
My job as your dog trainer is not just to train your dog. A big part of my role is teaching you, as the guardian, how to work with your dog and communicate with them, as well as teaching you how to listen when your dog communicates to you.
Dexter struggles on walks to stay engaged and maintain a loose leash. But by making some small adjustments to what his mom was doing, such as switching to a hands-free leash to avoid yanking it, we were able to get more engagement from Dexter and have a more successful walk.
Is there still learning that needs to happen on the dog-side? Absolutely! But making adjustments to how our human learner communicates can help our canine learner be more successful in understanding the criteria.
#DogTraining #PositiveReinforcement #PositiveReinforcementTraining #DogTrainer #PittsburghDogTrainer #ClickerTraining #Dogs #PittsburghDogs
Did you spot it??
Everest has hip dysplasia, and whipping his head towards his hip to give it a quick sniff is a common indicator of pain for him, especially with his left hip where the dysplasia is worse.
Everest struggled on this walk. Twice, he barked at people as we were walking on the path, something he used to do as an adolescent teenager in his fear stage, but rarely ever does now. He also struggled seeing a dog from a relatively far distance off, farther than his usual threshold.
If I didn’t know what Everest’s pain indicators were, I could have easily gotten frustrated or upset with him because of his seemingly “bad” behavior. But because I can spot the more subtle signs, I was able to recognize that Everest’s behavior was not a result of him choosing to act out and make my life harder, but because he was struggling physically, which in turn affected him emotionally, making him more irritable and less tolerable for things around him.
So many dogs go through life with unrecognized pain, and it’s often a contributor to behavioral issues that we see in them. Animals communicate pain in so many subtle ways other than the classic limping or yelping, and learning how to spot these signs could mean the difference in how you go about working through your dogs “issues.” Everest never limps, yelps, or hobbles on 3 legs, but he shows his pain in other ways through hip sniffing, increased irritability in the house and on walks, handling sensitivity at the vet and during grooming, changes in coat pattern, favoring his “down” behavior over a sit, reluctance to run and play for long periods of time, and more. I could easily pass these things off as him needing more training, being lazy and stubborn, having low drive, needing stronger leadership, etc. instead, I’m able to recognize each of these as him being in pain, and I’m able to support Everest and help him feel more comfortable.
(Also yes, we are practicing “leave it” with the remain
All seriousness, I find so much satisfaction in removing undercoat😍
Our fence is getting replaced, and the workers are working right on the other side of this window. The dogs insisted on being in the bedroom with me while I do stuff, but I didn’t want Charlie reacting nonstop at them, so here we are with clothespins and a very annoyed doggo🤷♀️😄
Boris got a little sidetracked from training for a moment when he spotted another Samoyed🐻❄️😆
#Samoyed #DogTraining #PositiveReinforcement #DogTrainer #PittsburghDogTrainer #ClickerTraining #Dogs #PittsburghDogs
Helen got to have some fun with me on Valentine’s Day!💕🍪
#ValentinesDay #Cookies #Pittbull #PittMix #PuppyLove
Millie and her parents are doing great with training and working hard to make progress!👏❤️
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