Long Road Home: Positive Pet Training by Paula Y

17/04/2023

It's with mixed emotions that I announce that I'll be taking a step back from training for bit to focus and my health, and family. Have no fear if you're looking for training help Absolute Animal Care will be running some training programs soon, so keep an eye out on their page. Thank you for the support and we'll be back soon !

14/11/2022

04/07/2022

Between a new job, two other jobs, and a new baby. Time has gotten away from me. But I will be running one more summer course. Since it's so soon, it'll be a 4-1, so all levels are welcome!

https://www.paulayunkoarts.com/service-page/four-in-one-summer-course?referral=service_list_widget

23/06/2022

Hello all...look I ghosted again 😉. Thank you for your patience as I navigate my new full time position. I will starting another group of classes beginning july 17th. I'm moving this group to Sunday as I have too many Saturday obligations. I'll be posting when I have links the ready. 😊😊😊

11/06/2022

Congrats to our 2022 basic obedience graduating class!! Including three AKC Puppy S.T.A.R certification recipients. Not included in the pictures is our rock star Bear who has made leaps and bounds in his training!! Thank you all who participated, I hope you had as much fun as I did. 🥰🥰🥰

03/06/2022

There will be class tomorrow 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

02/06/2022

Some dogs may be incredibly extroverted and love playing with new dogs. But for the most part, it can be a lot of work and potentially stressful to figure out the play style of each new dog, and many dogs are happier making specific friends and sticking with them. A great option to consider is forming a playgroup for your dog, or carefully evaluating a doggy daycare.

28/05/2022

Weather! That's all I have to say lol. Come rain or shine we will have class next week 🤣😭🤦‍♀️

15/05/2022

YOUR DOG MAY NEED FRIENDS, BUT NOT RANDOM INTERACTIONS

You probably know that dogs are social animals. For dogs, social engagement is an extremely powerful motivator and will often be prioritised over food and sleep. The benefit of social behaviour for dogs is well supported by research, intraspecies play has been indicated to support with motor development, social development, and seems to make them feel happy (Sommerville et al., 2017). We also know that dogs that have been isolated from the mother and siblings at an earlier age are more likely to display social deficits, and similarly, pups taken from their mum too early are at greater risk of behavioural problems in the future (Dietz et al., 2018).

So given these benefits, you might assume we should be aiming for as many social interactions as possible. Sadly, things are not quite so simple. It has also been identified that dogs that visiting the dog park resulted in an increase of the stress hormone cortisol for most dogs (Carrier et al., 2014). Similarly, dogs showing hunched or low posture while at the dog park were more likely to show increased cortisol levels (Carrier et al., 2014). Even more concerningly, 98% of the dogs examined showed at least one stress related behaviour while at the park.

This is not such good news as it indicates that many dogs are not having the best time while at the park, which really defeats the purpose of going. It also means, interacting with lots of unknown dogs every day is actually quite a stressful experience. While being able to manage in a trickier social situation is an important skill, we cannot count this as pleasure time or enrichment. Increased cortisol levels are also associated with an increase in amygdala activity (the fear centre in the brain), which means dogs may also be more reactive whilst cortisol levels return to baseline (van Stegeren et al., 2007).

What is normal social interaction for the dog?

If we turn to studies of free ranging dogs, we can see that dogs are often observed to live within social groups which will share resources and territory (Font, 1987), sometimes forage socially (Majumder et al., 2013), and often choose to sleep in close proximity to each other (Bódizs et al., 2020). Dogs outside of social groups tend to avoid each other, and when they do interact, these interactions are commonly agonistic (Pal, 1998).

This means while dogs enjoy social interaction, this is primarily amongst their own social group. It can involve play, but also calmer activities such as foraging and sleeping. There is little evidence for any benefit of social interaction with unknown dogs, and it may be stressful for them because they have evolved to expect interactions with unknown dogs to be agonistic.

This raises questions about the sort of social interaction we provide for our dogs. If we want to meet our dogs’ social needs from an evolutionary perspective, we need to think about how to set up regular friendships for dogs to enable them to form social groups. This may be in the form of multiple dogs in the same household, or a dog from another household that your dog sees regularly.

The content of time spent together is also important. Social time should not just be based on play, but also encourage social sleep, foraging, grooming, and exploring. All of these are hard to achieve with unknown dogs met on walks. However, having a regular friend means dogs can spend time sharing a territory and exploring new locations together.

We also know social time with regular companions can have a great effect on improving dogs’ confidence. Cimarelli et al. (2021) found that dogs with stronger affiliations were more confident when faced with stressors, this is known as social buffering. This was an effect found in dogs that had been in stable social groups, which again indicates the quality of relationships is key to the social buffering effect.

Finally, remember this does not apply to all dogs. Some dogs are not social. This might be due to bad experiences in the past, a lack of socialisation opportunities, or just preference. It is fine for dogs to choose not to be social. There are lots of other great ways you can enrich your dog’s life.

But if you do have a social dog, make sure they have a regular companion. Local Facebook groups can be a great place to start. Interactions need to be set up appropriately and body language needs to be monitored to ensure the dogs are safe and enjoying themselves (a dog trainer can help with this). And once you have found your dog a friend, make sure you keep it up as the long-term benefits are incredible.

Full references available on our website. https://animalbehaviourkent.co.uk/our-blog/f/your-dog-may-need-friends-but-not-random-interactions

14/05/2022

BEST ADVICE FOR GUARDIANS OF REACTIVE DOGS?

Go slow if you want to go faster!

I completely understand how difficult it can be if you've adopted a dog who needs you to help them learn to swim in the Sea of Life. You might have thought you were getting a triathlete and you realise in days that you've got a dog who has many fears and little experience.

I know also how hard it can be to raise a dog only to find that despite all your best efforts, they're really struggling to cope with the life you hoped they would live.

My advice to most of my reactive dog clients always starts with the same advice in the first week...

For the moment, stop putting your dog in at the deep end in the hopes they'll learn how to swim.

I know every single one of my clients means well. I know that. All we want is to be able to show our dogs that life is juicy and we want them to take a bite. People aren't bad. Other dogs aren't mean. Playing is fun. Walks are amazing.

My dad adopted a little cocker from our shelter a few years back called Robin. That dog went everywhere. Café dogs, it turns out, get lots of treats and petting and fuss.

There are many Robin dogs who LOVE a bit of café society.

A reactive dog is NOT a Robin Dog. They might never BE a Robin Dog. They'll definitely NOT become a Robin Dog by taking him to the places you'll expect him to cope with in the long run.

I never expect my clients to completely give up on their dogs or accept the fixed and sometimes ever-decreasing worlds their dogs have chosen. I don't expect you to spend 15 years guest-less, walking at 4am, never seeing another dog, never seeing another human.

That's a ridiculous expectation.

Equally though, I do need my clients to back off on their expectations for their dogs. Stop expecting a café society dog.

Social media tells us so often that we just need to help our dogs 'get over it'.

We think we're doing the right thing by exposing them to lots of friendly people.

The trouble is, to our dogs, they do not understand that people are friendly. To our reactive dogs, those people are dog-eating zombies. Probably. Just a café full of dog-eating zombies.

When I say, as I always do, in the first meeting, that my clients need to take a few weeks off the lifestyle they had been living, often I sense a deflation. I feel it.

'Urgh. How tedious! Really? I need to take THREE weeks OFF taking my dog to see dog-eating zombies? RLLY??'

It sometimes feels like I've asked them to stop breathing for three weeks.

The reason I ask for three weeks is complex.

First, it gives your dog a clear break in time from practising seeing dog-eating zombies. It allows them to de-sensitise. I'll be doing SO much more on de-sensitising as time goes on, I promise. I'm not going to make up anything about blah blah cortisol holidays and so on. It simply gives your dog time to breathe again.

Second, it gives YOU time to breathe again. Book a secure dog field. Borrow a neighbour's large garden. Break out the mental enrichment. It gives you time to reset from having to rescue your dog every time you throw them in at the deep end.

Third, you need some training before you venture out again. That training will need some time to embed. Not long, but it'll go a lot quicker if you stop throwing your dog in the deep end.

That's all. Those are my reasons.

Along with that frustration, I can see some of my lovely clients' cogs turning...

'She said no dog parks...'

'She said not to take them to the fair...'

And I start seeing them computing. All they're doing in that silence is working out exceptions.

So I can't take my dog to the fair, but I can have guests over?

I can't take them to the fair, but the café would be alright?

I can't take them to the fair, but a busy shopping centre will be okay, surely?

I mean I can literally see minds justifying taking their dog from the ocean they've been unable to swim in to a diving pool they'll be unable to swim in.

It's just a short time, people, I promise!

When you are ready to venture out again, I'll ask you to take baby steps. Water wings. Buoyancy aids. Lifeguards. Swimming lessons. Shallow ends. A bit of splashing about in ankle-high water.

I KNOW it requires a lot, but I'm sad to say that when we transition to new environments, we can often make our dogs sensitive to stuff around them once again, and I'm in the unfortunate position of sometimes seeing the disasterous consequences of these mental get-out clauses we make for ourselves.

No get-out clauses. Not until the dog is ready.

Believe me, that'll go a lot more quickly if you stop trying to wiggle out of a small and temporary concession you're going to have to make for a few weeks.

It's as much for you as for the dog, I promise. YOU will have some new habits to learn too. Sorry about that!

But I will promise you that it'll be worth it in the long run.

A la prochaine, dog lovers. You've got this. I know you do.

Emma
Lighten Up Dog Training

11/05/2022

If I had a dollar for everytime someone told me their dog was stubborn 🤑

10/05/2022

Aw, the down side of tunnel training...they see a tunnel they must go through tunnel ( even if its a baby toy)🤣🤣

09/05/2022

𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞 & 𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 - 𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬
With the weather improving and longer daylight hours, we can do more with our pets to help relieve any boredom and hone their natural behaviours in a positive way. I’ve put together nine boredom buster ideas that are easy to implement and will help to stimulate your pet’s brain and body. [Note: for safety, do supervise your pet with any activities]. Download the activity guide by clicking onto https://www.hannegrice.com/wp-content/uploads/Boredom-busters-2.png

Have fun and get creative!

30/04/2022

ACCEPTING YOUR DOG NEEDS A SMALLER WORLD THAN THE ONE YOU DREAMED FOR THEM IS HARD.

GRIEVE. THEN BREATHE.

The hardest time of my life with Heston was coming to accept his epilepsy. The medication keeps his fits at bay, but it worsens his balance and his hip dysplasia. He struggles to walk up hills and he also struggles to simply walk, finding it easier to move at a trot. He can't recall even a quarter of what we used to do. It's affected everything from his teeth to his coat.

That day, I had to accept my 7-year-old dog would never have the full life I envisaged for him.

Having spent 4 years of his life prioritising the needs of the old dogs I’d adopted, I realised that he’d lived a smaller life than the one I imagined for him and he would never get to spend his days romping through forests.

First came the guilt.

I’d prioritised other dogs’ needs over his because it didn’t cross my tiny mind that he wouldn’t be able to enjoy them when he was 8 or 9.

Then came the grief.

I don’t subscribe to the view that grief is neat and linear, that we go through stages of anger, denial, bargaining and acceptance. Nor do I subscribe to the view that it gets easier every day. I still grieve for the life Heston will never have - the one I imagined for him.

Losses like these are often disenfranchised. They are not recognised by society, and they go unsupported.

How can we explain to our friends and family that we are grieving for a lost imagined life for our dogs?

It’s the same with our reactive dogs.

Accepting that they will never lead the full lives we had planned, accompanying us to market, sitting with us drinking coffee in a café, accepting that we’ll never drive through Paris in a sports car with the warm wind in our hair, that’s some big accepting.

So grieve for it. That’s fine.

It’s what you do next that counts.

Breathe. Say ‘oh well…’

Embrace the magnificent, delightful, awesome dog you have. Stop torturing yourself.

The day you celebrate the ferociously, fearlessly, fabulous dog you have and accept that there may be no convertible car rides through Paris, no pavement cafés, no markets and no dog parks, I promise that you’ll feel a million times better.

Don’t waste a single, tiny second of that precious time you have with your dog mourning the things they may never do.

Grieve. Breathe. Then go out and live.

23/04/2022

Even trainers can make mistakes. Without boring with details Zelda had an incident today due to trigger stacking. The important part to remember is things happen in training. It's not the end of the world. But it's equally as important to remember to do better next time. If I were to continue to let her rehearse her reaction it will soon become her "go to" earlier and earlier in stressful situations. Which will turn to learned behaviors and that's when there is a problem. Avoid more work in the future by recognizing issues in the present and reach out for help when they become a habit for your dog. 😊

20/04/2022

Study finds these elective surgeries influence perceptions of dog personality

19/04/2022

10/04/2022

Looks likes it's going to be a beautiful day next Saturday! There's still time to sign up for classes!

Paulayunkoarts.com/book-training

31/03/2022

There's still time to sign up for group classes!
Classes begin April 16th.

www.paulayunkoarts.com/book-training

30/03/2022

Very well said. Pure Bred doesn't always mean well bred.

Tyler Shaw • Love You Still (abcdefu romantic version)

29/03/2022

More proof that positive training on all

29/03/2022

YES! Remember you can't train away breed traits!

25/03/2022

April 16th classes begin, help strengthen the bond between you and your pup! Share this post if you can

25/03/2022

Less than a month away before the start of classes! Reserve your spot today!
www.paulayunkoarts.com/book-training

17/03/2022

Dog lovers know that a little time with a wagging tail can make all the difference -- and science backs it up.

17/03/2022

Zelda's on the look out for new friends to meet at the upcoming group classes. Let's not disappoint her 😉. Keep sharing!

www.paulayunkoarts.com/book-training

16/03/2022

It's time! Group classes will be starting April 16th, check out the link below for class details or message me :). I'm so excited about how many people are already interested, so feel free to share!

08/03/2022

I have FINALLY updated my website! I am trying to make the leap into doing my "side hustles" as a full time career, so if you can, please share my site. It combines my photography, pet training, and small art/craft business. NEW SERVICE OF DIGITAL TRAINING IS NOW AVAILABLE!
https://www.paulayunkoarts.com/book-online