Canine Journeys

12/06/2024

A bittersweet day as I did my last graduation at Boughton Square Animal Clinic. I took a position at the Oak Forest Animal Clinic in order to focus on my own training ideas and methods. I will never stop training dogs and helping their human family to build a bond based on mutual trust and understanding. My canine journey has allowed me to become a stronger more confident person. Dogs have helped me learn so many life lessons that I can't imagine who I'd be without their influence and their loyalty and love. Continue this journey with me and let's build upon my feeling that by helping the dog we often help the person as well. Many times the issues in our lives that are overlooked or pushed aside show up in our relationship to our dogs. Thank you to all who have supported me over the years.
Please share this page and follow to see what's next.
I'd like to thank all the amazing people and dogs I have met I've learned from each of you. I appreciate the opportunity to serve you and your canine companions.
Peace love and dogs 🐕 ❤️

19/05/2024

Check In
Name Game
Pattern Game Up and Down
These all can help increase eye contact between you and your dog. The more often you establish eye contact the more connected you are as you move through the world together.

15/05/2024

Please teach dogs what are the best behavior choices to make in the situations and environments in the kindest way possible. Use positive reinforcement and avoid yelling and force.

12/05/2024

I was talking about this yesterday. Many times what humans perceive as stubborn is really uncertainty or being stuck. We live in a complex and exciting world and dogs like children can become overwhelmed.

09/05/2024

I've heard horrible stories from people who were basically taught to be abusive to their dog by a dog trainer. One woman cried as we talked because her young dog who she LOVED had become afraid to be around her because of the so called training techniques they used. The dog who she described as happy and energetic had transformed into a fearful and unconfident dog. They slowly rebuilt their relationship but he was not the same because he learned a lesson we need to stop doing to dogs
He learned that humans, even the ones you see as family can and will hurt you. Please don't listen to anyone who tells you it's teaching to scare or hurt your dog. Physically or mentally. It's not worth it. Teach them what choices you want them to make and reinforce those good choices.

Now, I know, and I hope that everyone reading this would instantly say "No, no way, not ever could you get me to be mean, cruel, or abuse my dog".But, what if I told you there is a high possibility it could happen to you and your dog!!Let's go back to the 1960s when The Milgrim Experiment, " Underst...

08/05/2024

Be prepared to take them with you.

Having these items together can save time + stress!

More info: https://bit.ly/3Q7hN8a

05/05/2024

“Dogs, lives are short, too short, but you know that going in. You know the pain is coming, you're going to lose a dog, and there's going to be great anguish, so you live fully in the moment with her, never fail to share her joy or delight in her innocence, because you can't support the illusion that a dog can be your lifelong companion. There's such beauty in the hard honesty of that, in accepting and giving love while always aware that it comes with an unbearable price. Maybe loving dogs is a way we do penance for all the other illusions we allow ourselves and the mistakes we make because of those illusions.”
Dean Koontz - The Darkest Evening of the Year.

Amy Kathrine Browning - Lime Tree Shade, 1913.

04/04/2024

I love using YES or YEP keeping the word short and simple is best.

A reward marker word is one of the easiest and most useful things to teach, particularly when working with a dog who shows reactive behaviour towards certain triggers. The concept of the reward marker word is exactly the same as clicker training, in which in the clicker can be used to pinpoint a ver...

04/04/2024

Very interesting study.

A new study from the Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University, showed that dogs may not equally benefit from observing the "helpful action" of a human demonstrator in the classic detour around a V-shaped fence task.

18/03/2024

From a public forum....🩷

🐾 POEM OF A DOG
I'm the one who's always waiting for you.
Your car has a special sound that I have imprinted on my senses, I can recognize it in a thousand.
Your steps have a magic bell.
Your voice is music to my ears.
If I see your joy, it makes me happy!.
Your scent is the best.
Your presence moves my senses.
Your waking up wakes me up
I contemplate you sleeping and for me you are my God, I am happy watching your sleep.
Your look is a ray of light.
Your hands upon me, hold the lightness of peace and the sublime display of infinite love.
When you leave, I feel a huge void in my heart.
I keep waiting for you again and again.
I am the one who will wait for you all your life today, tomorrow and forever:
I am your dog.

25/02/2024

Love Beagles!

With its talents and physical traits, the Beagle has a singular spot in American culture. Read more about the history of this quintessential family dog.

18/02/2024

More information on how R+ training benefits the relationship and bond between us vs R- training methods. One of the most important things we can do is teach eye contact. If your dog doesn't want to look at you out of frustration or fear.... that's a tough way to teach our best friends. I choose positive reinforcement for my classes and my dogs.

Positive reinforcement is beneficial for the canine-human bond and better for animal welfare.

25/01/2024

This is a conversation that needs to be had. For the betterment of dogs.

Published July 25, 20239 min readLaura Sharkey breeds mixed-breed dogs, but they’re not goldendoodles, chiweenies, pomskys, or any other designer

17/01/2024

Excellent reading. This is what living with dogs can become. Let's charge things. Let's help, teach and understand our best friends.

Positive dog training is a part of a bigger lifestyle practice that can improve the relationship between humans and dogs and enhance their well-being. However, it is important to consider the ethics of dog training to ensure that it is suitable and fair to the dog as an individual. In this article,....

17/01/2024

Yes

Training a dog doesn't stop at cues, it offers the chance to connect with and understand your dog and find the behavior they want to learn.

14/01/2024

16/11/2023

Years ago, I took care of a gooey-sweet adolescent Border collie, (Tilly, I’ll call her) who flattened her ears and folded like a bird’s wing every time you said her name. She was responsive and polite, and the other dogs seemed to like her as much as I did. It was especially rainy when she […...

23/02/2023

This is a great idea and keeps your dog safe while allowing for more exploration and agency.

09/02/2023

What a great affirmation of how I have changed my training methods and why! Dogs they deserve to be taught with kindness and understanding. I want my dogs to be optimistic throughout their lives.

When dogs are trained with methods such as leash jerks, yelling, and shock collars, they have worse welfare than dogs trained solely with food rewards

06/02/2023

This is an amazing bit of information. We need to understand what socialization and having a socialized dog really means. Please understand all dogs are different and we need to help them as individuals not expect them to be the same.
Environmental Neutrality for the win!

Repost.....but again a very important message.
Socialisation is so much more than we realise.
Socialisation is NOT play.
Play is play.
Socialisation is very misunderstood......Enjoy the post.
---------------------------------------
Neutral
A great aim.
I realise this is going to be highly controversial for people that DO have a very social dog...but believe me you are in the minority.

Your dog does NOT need to stop, sniff and meet other dogs when out walking.
Your dog does not need to interact with dogs they do not know.
Dogs do not need to meet other dogs and play at a park.
Dogs do not need to have other dogs invade their space to "sniff each other"........They smelt them half way down the road.

This is also society's fault for perpetuating this myth that ALL dogs must be social and get on with ALL other dogs.

They do not....and for the MAJORITY of dogs they NEVER will.

In fact it is damaging to a dog to expect them to interact with all other dogs.

Neutral is a great aim.

Indifference is great !!!!

Expecting interactions can affect many dogs negatively and is a definite causation of reactivity in dogs. Many highly anxious dogs are encouraged to "play" and meet other dogs.
Your dogs body language may be screaming they are deeply uncomfortable....yet often it is ignored as dogs "should socialise with other dogs".

I am not talking about puppies here as they are usually all social (and should be heavily socialised when young)....this is purely aimed at dogs (though some from 5- 6 months onward). Every dog falls into the social spectrum and the actual number of adult dogs that are TRULY dog social is TINY (around 10 %) ....and if you do have a truly social dog this concept can be difficult to comprehend.

10 % of all dogs are truly social. They enjoy most dogs company.

40 % of all dogs are dog selective. They may only like their own breed, small white dogs, large female dogs etc.

40 % of all dogs are tolerant. They tolerate most dogs but choose only to interact with a select few.

10 % of all dogs are anti ALL dogs (apart from perhaps another family dog).
Credit to Augusta Grayson.

Where does your dog sit ?
Of course this is an approximate percentage and I encourage you to look up the dog sociability spectrum to see where your dog sits.

This is why being neutral when seeing other dogs should be the goal....not interacting, not sniffing and certainly not accepting every other dog in your dogs space. Accepting that there are other dogs in the world....and that they do NOT have to meet every other dog....and they certainly don't need to meet them in a hyper aroused state.

Dogs naturally become FAR less social as they age. Yet people expect them to friendly to every dog they meet....and for the other dog to be friendly back.
Disinterest/neutrality when other dogs are around can save everyone from SO many issues. Advocate for your dog, you will enhance your bond because your dog can start trusting your decisions more.

Advocate for your dog, stop encouraging your dog that is deeply uncomfortable and barking to calm down and play with their new "friend".
Neutrality is true socialisation.

08/01/2023

One of my interests has been the anthropology of the relationship between humans and pre humans and canines. Our relationship has spanned thousands of years..... we're more closely bonded with them than any other animals. An amazing journey we've been on together.

Several thousand years ago, humans and dogs made an emotional pact. Today, that pact of friendship is still unbroken. Whether hunting, sledging or herding, d...

05/01/2023

Today is the first day of APDT's National Train Your Dog Month! Follow us as we share ways to increase your bond with your dog. Learn more about the benefits of dog training so your pup will be considered a good canine citizen.
https://trainyourdogmonth.com/tips/benefits/

05/01/2023

January is National Train Your Dog Month!!
Form a bond based on mutual trust and understanding rather than punishment. We have classes forming now to beat the Winter boredom for you and your canine teammate.
Call 630 759 0095 to learn more or for dates and times.
Ready Set Train!

This is the official page of The Association of Professional Dog Trainers (U.S.), www.apdt.com

20/12/2022

This was early on in the story of Chaser, and the beginning of a lot of interesting studies on the cognition of dogs.

In 2014, 60 Minutes first attempted to answer the age-old question: does your dog really love you? "60 Minutes" is the most successful te...

12/12/2022

It is the most difficult part of loving them. They're right with us during big and small events in our lives. Loving us and letting us love them. It's a deeply personal relationship.

For some people, the grief can be as intense as losing a human.

01/12/2022

They give looks of fear and appeasement not guilt. Yelling and scaring our dogs doesn't teach them anything but to be afraid of us. It doesn't get to the why they're doing the behavior or what we'd prefer instead.

Little Rusty chewed through another pillow while you were out? That look on his face isn't guilt — he's afraid.