Positive Pooch Behavior

15/11/2025

It’s about time… 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

https://www.classaction.org/news/1.9m-petsafe-settlement-ends-class-action-lawsuit-over-allegedly-dangerous-shock-collars?fbclid=IwdGRjcAOFe3FleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5CGNhbGxzaXRlAjI1AAEeTlhpQ1ibzwazz2Zf0lycWOeVYoAy1N7AvWUhBHaDoaIo1lFC9roX9SvSw8k_aem_aiQk2bsRb5i3smrQdESjVg&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQKNjYyODU2ODM3OQhjYWxsc2l0ZQIyNQABHk5YaUNYm88Gs89mX9JcnFjnlWKAMtTewL1lIQR2g6GiKNZRQva6F_Ur0sPJ_aem_aiQk2bsRb5i3smrQdESjVg

A $1.9M class action settlement ends a lawsuit that alleged PetSafe falsely advertised its shock collar products as safe.

06/11/2025

“Function of a behavior (why a dog does something) is as predictable as gravity holding you in your chair”🤌

🎤 Rick Hester, How WE Learn: An Intro to Behavior Analysis

📍APDT Conference 2025

06/11/2025

So honored to present at APDT conference 2025 this year! I’m that pink dot in the right corner yammering about canine compulsive disorders.

My co host is Dr. Colleen Quinn DVM.

We had a packed house, no one fell asleep or left the room- I guess it went well. 🙌🏻

31/10/2025

Happy HAPPY Halloween!🎃

23/10/2025

🎯 Understand the WHY before addressing HOW

Why is the dog jumping up, what’s the purpose of their jumping behavior?

📌 By understanding the purpose, you can determine the underlying need and then teach an alternate behavior that serves the same purpose.

WHY: Attention and social connection:

Jumping happens to gain attention from others.
This can include both positive and negative attention. This dog wants to connect and jumping is normal dog behavior.

✅HOW

Teach an alternate behavior (like sitting or keeping four paws down).

WHY: Sensory

Easily excited dog are reinforced by the sensory experience it provides, which can be a feeling of pleasure (excitement feels fabulous!) or frustration (why can’t I do this!?).

Some dogs jump because they’re overexcited or can’t yet control their body during greetings.

✅HOW :

Reward tiny improvements. Teach an alternate behavior (like keeping four paws down, less wiggling, jumping up without touching person, etc.).

WHY: Access to tangibles:

Jumping is intended to get a specific item or activity. This can include demands, protests, or whining to get a toy, snack or person.

✅ HOW

Teach an alternate behavior (like sit, “look at me”, “touch”) and then provide access to toys and snacks. And please stop dangling treats & toys in their face, this increases jumping.

👉Bottom line:

Dogs jump because it works for them — it gets attention, interaction, access to items or emotional relief.

When you understand why a dog jumps, you can choose better strategies:

- Teach calm greetings
- Reward four paws on the floor
- Manage excitement before saying hello

Polite dogs aren’t born, they’re taught.

🚀Pet Sitters, want to learn more?

Learn the science behind why dogs do what they do — and how to change what matters.

💬 Live 2-day workshops & self paced courses for pet sitters & walkers coming Dec 2025

Ready to level up? Drop a 🐾.

14/10/2025

Training advice coming! But first.........

If you only follow a “training script,” you’ll miss the story behind the behavior.

✨ Ask why before you ask how.

🐾 Once you understand why a dog does something, my advice (and your results) will make so much more sense.

💡 Understanding comes first — that’s how real change happens.

🧠 This week, I want to challenge you to think differently.

Instead of asking, “How do I stop this behavior?” ask, “Why is this happening?”

05/10/2025

🐾 Pet Sitters — we want to hear from you! 🐾

What’s your biggest challenge when caring for dogs?

👉Comment below!

Your answers will help us create content (and workshops!) that make pet sitting easier, less stressful, and more fun. 💡✨

And we'll post your TOP 3 concerns with training tips. 🎉

11/08/2025

The RIGHT puzzle makes a difference!

If your dog is easily frustrated, here's my advice:

Licky mats:

🛀 Decreases anxiety/ stress for all dogs.

🛀 It offers instant gratification. Think of a pint of ice cream in your freezer or redirecting your anxiety by watching TV, it’s easy, quick and easily consumed.

🛀 Licking is a self-soothing behavior for dogs. It can help trigger the release of endorphins, which helps them settle down and feel more relaxed.

🛀 Practice a few short sessions so your dog associates the mat with relaxation before using it during stressful times.

🛀 When in doubt, offer a licky mat before a challenging Kong puzzle.

Kongs:

😬 Challenging puzzle.

😬 Requires thinking, chewing, problem solving, and learning. Think of refocusing your anxiety on a fun project, such as crafts, reading or solving word puzzles.

😬 Hard puzzles can be frustrating, offer easy puzzles solutions at first then increase difficulty.

Down & Dirty:

✨Easy puzzles are just as effective as difficult puzzles.

✨ Challenging puzzles last longer however easily frustrated dogs can easily become overwhelmed- make it easy at first!

06/08/2025

Completing a puzzle (and getting a reward) triggers the release of dopamine, the "feel good” chemical.

Let’s take a deeper dive into puzzles benefits:

🧮 Builds Confidence: Repeated success in small challenges creates a feedback loop of confidence.

🧮 Teaches Independence: Puzzle toys allow dogs to work on their own, without constant guidance from humans. This builds independence and a sense of autonomy (freedom and ability to make their own choices and decisions, without being controlled by others).

🧮 Builds Resilience: Puzzles require trial and error which improves frustration tolerance and teaches problem-solving without giving up—both linked to higher confidence.

How to apply this at home:

🔎 Build Resilience: Make puzzles easy at first. Then slowly increase the difficulty level.

🔎 Build Confidence: Provide super easy puzzles several times a day, try adding your dog’s meal inside or on top of a puzzle.

🔎 Teach Independence: Provide puzzle options to encourage your dog to solve alone (Kong, food dispensing, snuffle mats, licky mats).

Take away: Make puzzles easy at first. This teaches your easily frustrated dog how to deal with setbacks without getting stressed.

30/07/2025

Yup, you guessed it! Frustration is feedback, your dog is confused.

👉 In non-dog trainer language: Well meaning humans are accidentally increasing and causing their dog’s frustration.

👉 Dog trainer language: Frustration is a learned behavior. Especially if certain patterns of behavior are unintentionally rewarded over time:

It’s okay tho, all can be adjusted! Let’s break it down:

Offer different choices instead of “don’t do that”.

💥Profusely reward “Sit” instead of jumping, for every second that four feet remain on the floor- reward!

💥Don’t give the time to jump again, keep those feet on the ground for treats.

Provide clear communication by rewarding OFTEN.

🎉Profusely reward (1 treat every half a sec) when looking at you instead of barking.

🎉Trust me, you won’t mess anything up by giving too many treats during training.

🎉Instead, you’re providing CLEAR communication- THIS is what I want instead of THAT.

🎉You CAN mess things up by NOT giving enough treats and at the RIGHT time (reward as and when the behavior is happening).

🎉And don’t decrease treats, during training sessions, too soon- THAT’s a HUGE MISTAKE (and super common).

🎉Don’t freak out- treats shouldn’t rain from the sky forever BUT if you stop rewarding a behavior, it will go away. Do you work for free? Point made.

Teach how to self settle (self calm)

😌All dogs and puppies (plus humans!) should learn how to self calm. It’s an invaluable skill for all mammals.

😌Teach this daily for 1-2 mins and reward OFTEN

If your dog gets confused, make it easier- not harder.

👏This is a BIG ONE! If your dog get frustrated, they’re confused- make the training session easier.

👏Still stuck? Take a break and think how you could make this lesson easier.

👏Try taking a step back, rewarding more often, adding distance, removing distractions.

Take your time and watch your dog for frustration. Remember, your dog is not trying to give you a hard time, they're confused.

24/07/2025

Frustration is an emotional response to stress. When ignored this emotion can be redirected inappropriately (you won't like it).

Some dogs have a “short” frustration threshold, meaning they become easily frustrated quickly.

Understanding the cause is crucial.

💥Lack of easy mental and physical stimulation (easy puzzles)

💥Unclear communication from humans (mixed signals, inconsistency)

💥Inability to access something they want (treats, squirrels, person)

💥Lack of control over their environment (freedom & ability to make own choices)

💥Have not been taught how to self settle (this is a learned skill)

Over the next couple of weeks, keep an eye out for easy tips that can help decrease a dog’s frustration.

If your dog is displaying excessive frustration (mouthing, barking, anxious, fence fighting and so forth), please seek help.

Yes, we can help too!

18/07/2025

Super interesting read.

Over the last 15 years, I’ve tried my best to keep my dogs intact.

Preventing unwanted litters is a goal we all share—but it's time to rethink the surgical approach. Hysterectomies and vasectomies, which preserve hormonal balance, can safely be performed as early as 8 weeks of age, making dogs sterile without disrupting their natural hormones.

In this study, researchers looked at whether the age at which dogs were spayed or neutered, meaning how long they were exposed to their natural s*x hormones, affected how healthy they were in old age. They studied a group of long-lived pet dogs to learn what helps dogs live longer, healthier lives. Dogs with the fewest age-related health problems were considered the most “robust.”

The results showed that both male and female dogs who kept their hormones longer (i.e., were spayed or neutered later) were 3 to 10 times more likely to be healthy in old age compared to those altered earlier. Once hormone exposure and age were taken into account, there was no difference in old-age health between males and females.

This study highlights how important s*x hormones may be for staying healthy later in life and shows that early-life decisions—like when to spay or neuter—can have long-term effects on health.