WCDTC Pet Dog Training - Sue’s Page

09/11/2023

https://www.facebook.com/100057323326667/posts/870897261497710/

13/04/2023

https://www.facebook.com/100046358389105/posts/798647415023864/

I feel like I talk about this quite often, but every time I bring up dogs and food, this topic comes up.

Our dogs should be allowed to have, at the very least, one meal a day that they do not have to work for us for. Water of course should always be available.

Making a dog train and work for us for every bit of food, or even water, is no longer positive reinforcement because we’re working off deprivation of a basic need. Our dogs are then working for a sense of relief for their hunger and that can be incredibly frustrating and coercive.

Yes, we can absolutely use a portion of our dog’s meals for training and other enrichment activities, but they need at least a meal that they can just have and that they can just enjoy in peace without interaction with us.

Making our dogs train and work for us for their basic meals is also very different from allowing them to have their meal in an easy, non-frustrating puzzle feeder, especially if they are prone to eating too quickly or if that’s what they prefer when given the option of both a normal bowl and a puzzle feeder. With these, they don’t have the social pressure to work with us for them, and they should still have a choice in the end to eat from something they prefer if they don’t like the puzzle feeders.

We also don’t have to make our dogs sit-stay or down stay or give us eye contact to be released. It’s unnecessary, potentially very aversive, and can create negative associations with food, the environment, and the human for that matter, especially when done with punishment based methods like taking their bowl away or shouting at them for going towards the food for example.

If you want to not get knocked over before setting the food bowl down, you can sprinkle a small amount of food in a snuffle mat, prepare food in a different room, and work on having them rest on a bed/mat outside of the meal time context with a high rate of positive reinforcement before building up to being able to use it during meals. Standing and waiting while we put the food down is good enough, if they are comfortable doing so, but even then they don’t have to.

I focused on food and water here, but this all applies to other needs too, like social contact, rest, and having a level of choice and control. They don’t have to “earn” those either.


ID: The background picture is of a cream coloured dog eating from a metal bowl. The large text on top says “Dogs should not have to ‘earn’ their basic needs.”. Under this is smaller text that says “They have the right to their meals and water without working for us to get them.”

08/04/2023

Happy Easter everyone, I hope you are all enjoying the long weekend.

02/04/2023

Just watching ‘Artic Vets’, They had a seal do ‘touch’ behaviour whilst they removed a tracking tag from the animal’s tail. Their comment was it is so useful to have an animal co-operate with it’s care.. I agree.

01/04/2023

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.whole-dog-journal.com%2Ftraining%2Fhow-to-socialize-a-dog-reactive-dog%2F&h=AT3tiwm2d1h3X90Y6riTGPYRIy1Vfp6K7JBjGVuGBFV7kCPj2f5tVeaPFoSQgkaTHYlQRTMwnVToLB6YZ6UF57pZ4ZJZtCxsruNrPtG_yPvjwRSgW36jZrkOHdNN&s=1

Dogs who have issues with other dogs can learn to be calm around other dogs – and maybe even make dog friends.

05/02/2023

A couple of people asked me this morning, how do I stop my dog from barking at me..check out this article from Pet Professional guild

All dogs bark. It is a natural way for them to communicate and many of us like our dogs to bark when something happens to alert us. But sometimes we just want them to stop!

30/12/2021

Please bear this in mind during the hot weather. Also please do the 5sec back of the hand on bitumen or even sand to test if it is too hot for your dogs paws. I take Scout out early in the morning and often on wet grass, so it is much cooler for him, he then spends the rest of the day inside in air conditioned comfort, if I go out he usually chooses the cool carport floor to rest on..yes he has a raised bed under shade but prefers the floor / concrete

https://www.facebook.com/197369399273/posts/10160361671524274/

Hot days & dogs just don’t mix well!

30/12/2021

Please keep your pets safe if fireworks are around over the next couple of days. Scout hates them so he is likely to be a quivering mess if he hears them 😞
https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.purina.com%2Farticles%2Fdog%2Fbehavior%2Fwhy-are-dogs-scared-of-fireworks&h=AT0h1GITNaWKet0_LNxkl0iroJ1C8TNlmomFJMxH4WOpTMt-f7VShtdpGMk713AwEmtORVKpoVFPEvMMR8W_CKgh6g8S0L1djD67PXWhuoKBu2S81lLjlD_14Mdn&s=1

The noise and flashing lights are just a couple of the many reasons why dogs are scared of fireworks. When you understand the reason for your dog’s fear, it’s easier to find ways to help him stay calm. Find out how to comfort him during fireworks.

18/12/2021

21/11/2021

Join us in celebrating our new dog friendly space in Charles Sturt and learn how to get the most of what this park has to offer.

14/11/2021

I invite everyone who has liked this page to join the linked group using the button at the top of the page

14/11/2021

07/11/2021

31/10/2021

I thought I would set this up to answer questions from current students of the classes I take at Woodville Community Dog Training Club, some times I feel like there is not enough time between classes to answer everyone’s questions.