Winter Enrichment: Inside Edition
Not a fan of the cold? 🥶 No problem!
Explore part two of strategies to channel your dog’s natural instincts and release pent-up energy during the winter months.
alphainstincts.com
Winter Enrichment
Beat the winter restlessness in your dogs by engaging their natural instincts in some enrichment & biological fulfillment. ❄️
➡️What was your dog bred for?
Uncover the answer to tailor games that meet their genetic needs!
alphainstincts.com
Sniffing, running, climbing, jumping, digging, etc.—our dogs deserve to do this every day! 🙌🏻 Having the freedom to express natural behaviors they ✨LOVE✨, at their pace, and outside of their normal environment, is one of the factors that contributes to them having a well-rounded, fulfilling life alongside you!
Dog Seeking a Special Home
*COURTESY POST - PLEASE SHARE*
🐾 Dog Seeking a Special Home 🐾
Squirrel is a 4-year-old spayed female bully mix seeking a special home!
She is up to date with all her vaccinations as of April 2023 and is fully potty-trained & crate trained.
In addition to all her basic training: sit, down, stay, come, leave it, outside, inside, jump (for obstacle courses), and place (relaxing on her bed), more recently, Squirrel has been working with a professional trainer to fine-tune her walking skills and address behaviors such as micromanaging, dog aggression, & resource guarding towards dogs. Due to these issues, Squirrel cannot go to a home with other dogs or small children & is not a "dog park" dog.
Squirrel would thrive in an active home with experience with higher-drive bully breeds. Her ideal home would be with someone taking her exploring, on regular hikes, or to AKC events like agility, FastCAT, Barn Hunt, and seeing how she would fair with Dock Diving or Weight Pull competitions. Daily exercise is mandatory. She loves enrichment and playing tug or with a flirt pole!
She is incredibly smart & food motivated and picks up on obedience commands quickly. She's always up for a good snuggle as well!
She is taking Fluoxetine (SSRI) and will likely need to remain on this medication for the rest of her life.
For those interested: Her trainer will provide training sessions to give you the best possible start to your relationship together.
alphainstincts.com
Bring us all of the Big Boys! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
…and the little ones too 💜
alphainstincts.com
Farewell 2022! 🥳
Thank you to everyone that helped make this year amazing. Big things are coming—we’ll see you in 2023!
alphainstincts.com
Tips for the 4th of July!
When getting your dog through the upcoming holiday weekend, sometimes all you can do is be there for them & keep them safe. 💙
The time to start preparing them for New Year’s starts July 5th! 🎆
alphainstincts.com
Your reactive dog is not trying to give you a hard time—they’re having a hard time!
Coping strategies & management for those big emotions have to be taught and they need your help to be guided through.
There are so many dogs struggling because they lost out on socialization opportunities due to the pandemic; but it’s never too late to help them progress and move forward!
Reach out to us:
alphainstincts.com
That premium training package…🤌🏻✨
alphainstincts.com
Clicker Challenge…accepted 😏
Who would’ve guessed that there were multiple ways to use training tools—clickers included!
While most people understand how to use them for standard obedience, ie. marking a behavior, like “Sit” once it has been completed—did you know they can be effective for behavioral modification as well?
By building up a valuable association with the sound, typically with high value treats & food, the sound can be used to interrupt a poor decision and/or even predict that something good will follow! This can ultimately change how a dog FEELS about things that typically cause them to react or become stressed over time.
If you’re interested in learning more:
alphainstincts.com
It’s not the quantity of the repetitions, but the quality of the repetitions that can make or break a habit.
There were a few dogs working through dog reactivity during this session, all at different points in their training journey, that benefitted from the continued practice.
That’s why these group sessions are so important and are going to be an addition to our programs in the near future!
alphainstincts.com
There is a difference between training and abuse.
This is not training.
There is a reason why we talk about how “Tools do not Teach” on our page, and this is a perfect example of why. This dog is clearly confused, shut down, and scared and has no idea what it is being asked to do.
Everything from choking the dog to the abuse of the e-collar crossed a serious line and is absolutely reprehensible. �
As a balanced trainer, it is important to call out those exhibiting disgusting behavior toward man’s best friend.
We strive to build happy & healthy relationships with all dogs, and we would never tolerate abuse like this.
alphainstincts.com
Trust is earned, never demanded.
This is true not only for people but also between dogs and their owners.
Imagine trusting a stranger or an acquaintance in an unknown situation without first showing you that it was safe or they were capable of handling it. You have to PROVE to your dog that you have their best interest at heart, not only at home but in every situation they encounter.
Mercury has a bite history.
He has felt the need to be guarded around guests in the home and towards new dogs whenever in public, making things most owners take for granted nearly impossible to enjoy.
However, with a change in dynamic and environment, he's been able to open up to us more and more over the course of a week.
You can change the dynamic between you & your dog whenever you are ready to take the first step—we can show you how. Learning how to communicate with your dog is like a dance, and both of you start out having two left feet. But the more you practice, set clearly defined boundaries, and demonstrate patience, the more fluid it'll be and the better your bond will become.
alphainstincts.com
Cheers to 2021 🥂
We couldn’t do what we do without you, thank you all for an amazing year!
alphainstincts.com
We’ll begin the push ups now…😌
alphainstincts.com
National Understanding Your Dog Day!
#respectthedog
After weeks of shaping behaviors through repetition with food luring, body/leash pressure, and layering in verbal commands, we’ve started to condition the e-collar.
This is what a typical e-collar session can look like. We keep it short, engaging and fun!
Progress & growth are not linear, just forward.
𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗴𝘀 𝗯𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗴𝘀.
Many people tend to view dog obedience in one of two ways.
There's the "oh, let's just let dogs be dogs!" mentality, which typically offers hardly any input into changing behaviors or improving a dog's path through quality training. In contrast, others are taking it to the extreme by attempting to turn their dog into a purely obedient robot waiting for the next command.
However, neither of these ways of thinking contribute to having a fulfilled, confident, and well-mannered family dog.
What if we told you there’s a different way to approach training, that can contribute to having a balanced-minded dog?
Try allowing puppies, or even adult dogs, be their goofy, playful selves but still enforce fair boundaries & rules.
Try not putting a lot of emphasis on perfection, but allow them to learn through their own experiences.
Dogs, like children, need their goof-off playtime, their socialization time with us, leading them through the real world, and for us to step up to the plate as a guide and leader.
As a challenge today and for every day onward that you interact with your dog:
Break down the barriers between play and training.
Your dog shouldn't even know there's a difference!
Stop putting so much pressure on obedience. The obedience will come with your dedication and time invested into good repetitions. Let them learn at their own, healthy pace. Training, after all, is something to be enjoyed by you and your dog, and the mentality you train with will contribute to your session, for better or worse!
So have some fun with it!
alphainstincts.com
