Beowuff Beckenham

09/07/2024

A bit damp

29/05/2024

Working in the pet care business sometimes means sharing ur tuna melt panini with a geriatric cat on ur lunch break

04/04/2024

Let's keep golf clubs away from "managing" our open spaces
https://insidecroydon.com/2024/04/02/suspicions-raised-over-golf-clubs-addington-hills-land-grab/
https://chng.it/j4nMnpcqZV

479 signatures are needed, let’s get there by the end of the day?

21/03/2024

👿 A̴̖̳̍̅d̵͎̏͜ö̸͓̰̈̄̒l̸̬̗̣͓͉͆̄̿͝e̸̞̤͊͂̀̔̚s̴̱͙͠c̵͈̲͖͓̽͌̈́ȩ̷̼̥̌̍̐̾͊n̶̛͕͎̩̼͊͂̈́͠t̴͇̺̱̺̙͛̂͠͝ ̸̞̩̰̃̚S̷̺̥͔͉̖̾ḧ̷̞͎́ę̴̈l̵̫͇̇̿̔͐̉t̴̟͕̀͠ĩ̸͎̬̂͜͝e̶̱̘̮͔͑ 👿

17/03/2024

😂 EAU DE soggy spaniel will soon be released by a leading perfume company too 😂😂🤢

13/03/2024

https://www.facebook.com/seespotlearn/posts/809631541172873

04/02/2024

How???

25/10/2023

Harford wins the battle for the top crate

19/10/2023

So cozy 🥺

16/10/2023

It's m o n d a y

29/08/2023

Jonesy reeeeally likes the van

23/08/2023

Apparently it's bring your kitten(s) to work day 🐈

17/05/2023

"it's over Ronja, I have the high ground!"
walker wars

16/05/2023

07/03/2023

PARKOUR

08/02/2023

George is back from his holidays! The girls have missed him 😊

12/01/2023

MYTHBUSTING MONDAY: It's not dominance. Seriously, it's not. There is no dominant breed. You don't have a dominant dog. Your dog's behavior is not a "dominance thing."

Now, I realize those statements might be causing some hardcore cognitive dissonance right now. Because from the moment you even became aware of dogs, you have been told that dogs are pack animals and a bunch of dominance stuff based on that assumption.

From the Merck Veterinary Manual:

"The dog’s social structure has been referred to as a pack hierarchy, but this does not accurately or entirely describe the relationship of dogs with other dogs or with people."

"The term dominance...is a relative term established by the value of the resource to each individual and the cumulative effects of learning."

For example, Animal A might challenge Animal B for a mate. Animal B might defer. But does that make Animal A the dominant animal?

What if Animal B waits until Animal A is distracted and mates with that female at another time? Is dominance even relevant at this point? I would argue that learning is far more pertinent than hierarchy.

The problem is that people tend to think of hierarchies in dogs just like hierarchies in humans. Governments, militaries, churches, schools, corporations all have linear hierarchical structures.

However, when it comes to dogs, it's not that simple.

"Hierarchy in dogs is neither static nor linear, because the motivation to obtain and retain a specific resource, together with previous learning, defines the relationship between two individuals for each encounter."

In other words, if you push me out of the way to get the last chocolate truffle, and I walk away...but I don't actually like chocolate truffles (I don't), you're not actually establishing dominance. I didn't want the resource, anyway. Or maybe I learned that, by walking away, I will be given the key to the room full of caramels. Mmmmm. Caramels.

What about aggression?

"A 'dominant' animal is not the one engaged in the most fighting and combat. Most high-ranking animals seldom have to contest their right of access to a resource. Instead, high-ranking animals are usually better identified by the character and frequency of deferential behaviors exhibited by others in their social group and by their ability to respond appropriately to a variety of social and environmental circumstances."

So, it is not the "dominant" dog who growls over a bone or fights with other dogs at the dog park. When your dogs are fighting at home, identifying the alpha is about as productive as a snipe hunt.

Why does it matter? Because if you are told that your dog's behavior is the result of dominance, the solution is almost always some form of rank reduction. Everything from making the dog sit for every bit of affection to methods that are too disturbing to detail. And it's all called "leadership."

Trying to change a dog's rank in an imaginary hierarchy only serves to delay behavior modification. In many cases, it makes the situation much worse.

If we want to change behavior, we need to explore the dog's health, environment, and learning history, as well as identify triggers and consequences for the behavior. From there, we can develop a complete plan that addresses the needs of the individual dog, reducing their stress, increasing tolerance, and reinforcing desirable responses.

Next time someone tells you that if your dog jumps, pulls on the leash, leans on you, sits on your foot, sleeps on top of the couch, barks, mounts/humps, doesn't listen, or anything else that isn't obedience or cowering in the corner, it's dominance, what they're really saying is that they don't understand dog behavior and are probably not someone you want to take advice from....let alone pay for that advice!

Relax. It's not dominance. Now we've got that out of the way, let's focus on changing behavior!

See more:
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/behavior/normal-social-behavior-and-behavioral-problems-of-domestic-animals/social-behavior-of-dogs
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©2017 Lisa Mullinax. All rights reserved. Feel free to share, but downloading for redistribution in any form, for any reason is a copyright violation. Thanks!

11/10/2022

Let’s make this super clear… “Correction Collars shouldn’t be used because of the welfare of the animal” is very much an opinion.

But it’s an opinion based on the scientific literature that says the risk of using correction collars and aversive methods is higher than any reward one may get from using them. The scientific literature has a growing body of evidence that proves aversive collars are NOT more effective than positive methods and that aversive methods have a higher risk of emotional and physical harm to the dogs than positive methods.

That’s why evidence-based trainers will not use aversive collars. It’s not that we think they “don’t work.” In fact, those collars have data proving they do accomplish a guardian’s intended goal.

The reason evidence-based trainers don’t use those tools is because in addition to accomplishing a specific behavior outcome, you also run a major risk of emotionally and/or physically damaging the welfare of the dog. And anyone willing to run that risk when there’s clearly an equally effective (if not more effective) method available is not working out of integrity.

When you have literature that basically says, These two techniques are equally effective at accomplishing their intended goal. BUT Option B has a higher risk for emotional and physical harm… You go with Option A cuz it doesn’t have those risks.

Want the sources and scientific review of everything in this post?

I really, really, really want you to head to my bio right now and check out the video on “Purely Positive Dog Training.”

It’s one of my most popular videos; and in it, I go over the comprehensive scientific research which has examined the efficacy and safety of correction collars versus so-called “positive” methods.

I know you’ll love getting nerdy with me as I explain the position of evidence-based trainers and the researchers who educate us.

07/10/2022

30/09/2022

How is Fenris this handsome????

30/09/2022

I'll be doing a 10k walk around Battersea park with my family and Padme to raise funds for Paul's Cancer Support Centre. Any donations you can chuck our way will be very much appreciated! 🙏

19/07/2022

oh no!!!!

The fire is thought to have broken out this afternoon

11/07/2022

“A cookie won’t stop an aggressive dog from attacking” is something I hear frequently as an argument against positive reinforcement-based training.

Here’s a little secret:

I have yelled at my dogs.

I have scruffed them.

I have yanked their leads back.

I have told them “no”.

Of course I’ve done all these things at some point in the past two decades of dog ownership. I am only human, and management fails sometimes.

If a dog is about to eat something dangerous, I might yell. If they have slipped their collar, I may have to scruff them to catch them. If a dog I’m handling lunges at traffic, I’ll probably yank the lead back to prevent us both getting run over. If they are about to walk over something dangerous, like broken glass on the road, I may shout “no”.

The thing is, these things occur when something’s gone wrong. If a dog is in a situation where they are about to cause harm to themselves or someone else, you can bet that I will use force or a very loud voice. It’s a last resort, but I’m not just going to be stood there waving a cocktail sausage, and I doubt any trainer in the world would.

That’s not what training with positive reinforcement means, it’s not just relying on treats when a dog sees red, hoping it’ll mitigate the situation.

It’s about avoiding the dog seeing red, gently showing them better and safer coping mechanisms. It’s about not having to mitigate a situation, but instead culturing an environment where force, aversives and punishments aren’t required. I will use force if management seriously fails to prevent a catastrophe from occurring, but I’m not relying on it to teach dogs. Just because I’ve had to do it as a last resort, doesn’t mean I’d ever choose it.

I totally agree, a cookie won’t stop an aggressive dog from attacking. But carefully timed cookies, given at an appropriate distance over time can counter condition the aggressive response. It can help dogs at an emotional level, not just at surface level. That’s the training. Not thoughtlessly throwing in treats like you’re throwing notes at a stripper, whilst the dog goes mental.

Yeah, I’ve punished my dogs. I’m not proud of it. But it will never be part of my training plan. It’s a last resort, for when things have totally gone wrong. Good dog training is more complex than putting them in a situation where they’re set up to fail, then punishing them for behaving exactly as expected. I aim for errorless learning, where the dog is helped as much as possible to make those good decisions, so they’re more likely to choose that option in the future. But sometimes things don’t work out that way.

If a dog is about to eat something dangerous, I might yell, but then I’ll set up a training plan to help with impulse control around food.

If they have slipped their collar, I may have to scruff them to catch them, but then I’ll work harder on recall to ensure there’s a better measure if it happens again.

If a dog I’m handling lunges at traffic, I’ll probably yank the lead back to prevent us both getting run over, but then we will do a lot of counter conditioning around traffic to help prevent them feeling the need to lunge in the future.

If they are about to walk over something dangerous, like broken glass on the road, I may shout “no,” but then we will go home and practise emergency stops so that we are prepared for next time.

A cookie won’t stop an aggressive dog from attacking, but lots of them given at the right time, paired with good training can help prevent the dog from feeling the need to react in the future.

20/05/2022

Always bring a spaniel with you on a walk! I thought I'd lost this lead forever 😢 but Oscar saved the day and sniffed it out for me 😊

13/05/2022

More crow friends

12/05/2022

This is adorable and fascinating

04/05/2022

It's bring your tortie to work day apparently 🙄

08/04/2022

When people say their dog doesn’t respond to reinforcement…

I have had plenty of interactions with people (even trainers) saying that they don’t use reinforcement for their dogs because it doesn’t work. One in particular that made me laugh was a protection dog trainer who told me that their dogs don’t respond to positive reinforcement, so instead he lets them tug on the bite sleeve when they have chased somebody down. Playing with the bite sleeve is a reward. It is positive reinforcement.

In fact, in order for behaviours to exist, reinforcement has to be part of the picture.

All dogs respond to reinforcement. It’s basic learning theory. Maybe your dog is less responsive to treats under high-arousal or stress than they are to being buzzed by a shock collar or a swift kick in the ribs, but that is because the context isn’t ideal for training or behavior modification. That doesn’t mean positive reinforcement, or just reinforcement, doesn’t work. It’s a concept. It works, by definition.

03/04/2022

Consent and Choice are not something that can be imposed upon another.  Every individual has there own preferences for proximity, and to learn those takes time. Ask first, listen more, and respect the information being provided. Touching anyone with permission is up to the individual. Trust takes as much time as is needed for the individual to feel comfortable and safe, which is extremely important. Be considerate, be respectful, be reliable.

31/03/2022

Conflict between dogs is going to happen. Disagreements, arguments, you can’t prevent them.

With our children, I believe one of the most important things to teach them is understanding emotions, interpreting them, and then utilizing them successfully. I CANT prevent them from ever getting into a conflict, or feeling upset, or hurt, EVER in their lives, but I can help them know how to get through it successfully so they are better prepared and don’t do permanent damage to relationships or themselves.

The same goes for my dogs. If you think in this house of 12 dogs there’s never a conflict or disagreement, you’re completely wrong. Of course there are. I just don’t usually have the phone ready to tape it and only capture cuteness like this. But yes, my dogs disagree sometimes and yes, I help them through it. There are times I let them work it out alone, especially if the two have a solid relationship, but even then I’m ready to step in and help, just like I would with my two kids.

Things that can cause an argument can be simple like, I have this toy and you’re trying to take it, back off. Or, I was laying here and you just used my body as a spring board to get to the human and that was rude. Or, that was too hard of a bite in play. Or it could be more complex, like, I’ve had a long day and I’m sore and usually this is fine but right now it’s not and my tolerance is low. Arguments don’t have to be biting or fighting, in fact they shouldn’t be unless it’s serious. An argument can be a hard stare, a change in posture, a lip curl, all those natural amazing signals our dogs know how to give. But yes, an air snap too is just as appropriate sometimes, as is an inhibited bite.

The trick isn’t always to STOP conflict. It’s to show your dogs how to handle it appropriately. That means lots of things.

1. It means I’m always supervising and encouraging or coaching interactions, typically verbally but if I have to step in I will by removing the dog or even simply body blocking and offering a redirection (go lay down and cool off, let’s go over here and try this toy, no you’re being an ass let’s take a break outside etc)

2. It means training each and EVERY dog on manners and impulse control.

3. It means having concrete relationships with them as individuals so they trust my guidance and know if I step in they can back down because I will mediate it.

4. Managing and setting up their environment, life and wellbeing to make it so they are operating at a low level of stress the majority of the time, which will mean their handling of conflict will be better.

5. For my dogs I get as puppies, socializing the dickens out of them so they learn adequate bite inhibition, body language and social cues.

Seems complicated. It’s not. I write so often that one of the most important things we can do to live more successfully with our dogs is to let them be DOGS. That means all the stuff they do, including arguments.

As a disclaimer I’m not talking here about inner household dog aggression or true fighting. There’s a huge difference between healthy arguments and assaults. So get help if you’re dealing with that ASAP.