positive dog training

Bean

Training for Bean the Boston Terrier. Bean was six months old when her owners came to me looking for help with her recall.

Bean was over-excited around other dogs and was unable to disengage when she saw them. If she was off the lead, she would not listen to calls to come back and she would be gone! Whilst her love of other dogs was sweet, her owners recognised that it jeopardised Bean’s safety; a solid recall is absolutely essential. What if Bean ran over to a reactive, on-lead dog? What if she ran across a road?

Recall training looks different for every dog as they each have their own reasons and motivations for not wanting to return to their owner, but for Bean, it was simply that other dogs were far too exciting.

We worked together on a mixture of training and management strategies with the end goal of making Bean’s owners the most exciting thing on her walks so that she would choose them over other dogs. We taught Bean new commands that her owners could throw in on their walks together to keep her focus and engagement on them. We also spoke about how to read the environment and Bean’s body language to prevent her from ‘locking on’ to other dogs and retain her attention.

As Bean is still young, her recall training will be ongoing but her owners now feel equipped to handle whatever their walks may throw Bean’s way.

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Teddy

Puppy training for Teddy. Teddy’s owners came to me three days after he came home, at just 8 weeks, and he was just the scrummiest little chonky boy. His owners were very keen to give Teddy the best start possible and wanted to hit the ground running with his training and make sure they understood puppy development.

Through a mix of online consultations and in person training, we spoke about all areas related to healthy puppy development. Exercise, sleep, routine, crate training, diet, toilet training: we covered it all together. We also spoke in particular length about the importance of socialisation and habituation and what this entails. In terms of his training, we hit the ground running with some basic obedience, impulse control and recall.

Fast forward 6 weeks and Teddy is now 14 weeks old and thriving. We had an additional session to revisit everything Teddy had learned so far and his owners are delighted with the progress he has made. Teddy has already learned to engage/disengage from other dogs/people and has the foundations of a very solid recall.

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Bella & Buddy

Training for Bella & Buddy. These two are a pair of brother & sister Pomeranians, who came to me when they were one year old. Their owner had recently adopted them from another home and was struggling to manage their barking behaviour – they may be small but their barking certainly packed a punch!

We worked together to find the root of their barking behaviour, which was caused by a lack of confidence and insecurity. We used a mix of enrichment and learning to build the pair’s confidence as well as teaching their owner strategies to manage the environment when a trigger was nearby – be it the doorbell, dogs on a walk or guests coming to the home.

In just two sessions, we were able to almost completely stop their barking behaviours both at home and on walks, making them more confident and happy little dogs.

Inappropriate Play In Dogs

As a dog trainer, I spend a lot of time with my clients unpicking what their dogs are trying to communicate. Generally, we are nowhere near as good at understanding dogs as they are at understanding us. They can read our faces, emotions and even understand some of our language. However, dogs don’t have their own language so instead, they use their bodies to communicate what they want to say. So often, we miss vital signs that our dogs are uncomfortable, overwhelmed or about to make a bad decision.

Understanding our dogs’ body language is perhaps most important when they’re playing with other pooches as after all, dog play is mock battle and can go badly wrong. We need to keep our eyes peeled for ‘red flag’ behaviours that indicate play is becoming too rude and escalating.

These red flag behaviours include:

Uninvited body contact. A dog may constantly be in another dog’s face or bottom.
Scent marking. Play should be stopped if this is observed as this is an indication of high arousal, stress, nervousness, discomfort or fearfulness. Simply pausing play is not enough because once the dog returns, they will still be over threshold.
T-shaping. This is when a dog puts it head over another dog’s head, neck or shoulder area, which can be threatening. The dog underneath will often respond with a snap; dogs shouldn’t be allowed to t-shape unfamiliar dogs.
Mounting. If this occurs, play should be stopped; dogs mount when they are overexcited and aroused or because they are stressed, fearful or uncomfortable. It may also be a coping mechanism for some dogs.

Body slamming. This boisterous, rough play is when a dog runs and slams into another. If a dog is doing this, then they are more than likely at their threshold level. If a dog is slammed into, then it may have an effect on them for a number of days.
Uneven play. Dogs should be balanced in their interactions. For example, if dogs are chasing each other, we don’t want to see one dog constantly being chased.

Further red flag behaviours include focused bites/neck biting, deep growls with bared teeth, pinning and barking in the face of another dog.

These behaviours do not always mean that play needs to stop but we should be seeing green flag behaviours outweighing the red flag ones. Click here to read more about green flag behaviours.

If you would like to find out more about your dog’s body language then click here to drop me a message.

Puppy Blues

Raising a happy, well-rounded puppy is hard. It’s really, really hard. Yet just how difficult having a puppy often is is not really something that we hear about. Bringing up a puppy is a huge commitment, which takes massive patience and understanding.

Due to the difficulties associated with puppy-parenthood, for many, the puppy blues hits. And it hits hard. Once your dog is older, it’s easy to forget this stage but when you’re in the middle of puppy blues, it can feel incredibly isolating and overwhelming.

Owners may find themselves wondering if they made the wrong decision getting dog, whether the relentless biting, chewing, jumping, accidents and barking will ever stop. If you’re the owner of a puppy (or a new dog) and you’re struggling, you are not alone!

The ‘puppy blues’ is a term coined to describe the negative feelings that many people experience in the first few weeks after bringing home a new dog.

It often involves the state of feeling overwhelmed, sad, anxious, stressed, regretful and guilty. Once the initial excitement has worn off and the reality of having this small, fluffy and utterly dependant thing sets in, owners (and particularly first-time owners) can feel massively overwhelmed. Many will even consider returning their puppy.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that puppy blues are generally most intense in the three weeks from their onset and usually resolve entirely within three months. The symptoms of puppy blues have an awful lot of cross over with clinical/post-natal depression and so this phenomenon is really not one to be brushed aside.

In the photo to the left, Kenny (my own dog) was 9 weeks old. We’d had him for about a week and I was seriously struggling. He was waking up 3 or 4 times each night and barking and barking and barking and I was utterly exhausted. I had taken time off work to settle him in and my partner (James) had returned to work, so I was with Kenny all day, every day, without a break. One morning, I broke down and cried when James was about to leave, saying that I just couldn’t do this any more! I was so, so tired!

I also felt immense guilt due to my feelings of sadness and regret. Kenny was a puppy – none of this was his fault! I completely understood his behaviours and how he must be feeling, so what sort of monster must I be to be feeling sad and depressed myself? Guilt is totally normal in the puppy blues and only exacerbates the feelings of sadness associated with it. You’re tired, sad and feeling guilty on top of it all? That’s a lot to manage.

This was my experience as a professional, who knew what to expect and how to raise a puppy, but I still felt completely alone and totally overwhelmed. Exhaustion will do crazy things to the mind and body!

Kenny and I got through it. We found a night routine that worked for him and soon enough, he only needed one toilet break in the night and I was having uninterrupted sleep. He was okay being left for an hour here and there and I made time for myself, away from him.

Now, he is the best thing in my life (sorry, James) and I cannot imagine being without him but I vividly remember how hard those first couple of weeks were. I wanted to share my own experience as I don’t think people speak about the difficulties associated with bringing home a puppy enough.

Getting a puppy is different for everyone. If you have children, then you already know what it is like to have another life depend 100% on you. But if you are considering getting a puppy, or already have one and are struggling, I would urge you to reach out to friends and family. Take time for yourself – you cannot look after a puppy properly if you are stressed and burnt out.

Remember: this too shall pass. Day by day, little by little, your puppy will make progress until one day, you’ll realise that a behaviour you were struggling with isn’t being seen anymore. You will make it through and have the companion you always dreamed of when you adopted your puppy.

And as always, if you are really struggling to manage, I am here to help. Get in touch here.

Dominance in dogs? Never.

The word dominance has been hugely corrupted over the years as the root of its definition actually lies in having influence and authority, which can be achieved without using overbearing methods; owners often think that ‘dominant’ behaviour is being overbearing, forceful and violent but this is simply not the case.

Dogs who are branded ‘dominant’ will often have their weight distributed forwards, ears pricked/forward and stiff tails. In reality, this posture is associated with a dog who is feeling insecure and is on high alert as a result, assessing potential threats to their safety. Conversely, dogs incorrectly labelled as ‘submissive’ will often lay down and show their bellies, lift their legs up and try and make themselves appear small. This is not submission but is instead a dog who is saying, “Look how small I am. Look at my exposed belly. I am not a threat to you. Please don’t hurt me.”

Both of these reactions are rooted in a dog who is insecure, uncomfortable and, sometimes, fearful. They are trying to ensure the same thing: conflict avoidance. Both types of dog have learnt what works for them; they are repeating body language that they know has worked for them in the past. Neither is trying to dominate or submit.

Indeed, contrary to traditional training ideologies and modern media, most canine behaviour problems stem from a dog being insecure and having a desire to maintain safety and comfort, not from a desire to establish a higher rank and become the ‘alpha’. As such, teaching dogs who’s ‘the boss’ by forcing them into a non-existent state of ‘calm submission’ through punishment, intimidation and fear is the opposite of what the under confident dog needs to learn and overcome behavioural issues.

A German scientist, Schenkel, conducted a study on wolves in the 30s and 40s, looking at body language and communication. It was in this study that the terms alpha and beta were first coined and where a lot of the misinformation around so called ‘dominance’ in dogs is rooted. The study had many limitations, namely that there were a large number of adult wolves in a small space, during breeding season, in captivity and so it was not representative of wolves in the wild.

Since then, the results of these studies have been disproved repeatedly, including by the very scientists who first conducted them. This shows that forced submission is not representative of how animals, including dogs, establish healthy functional relationships. Wild wolves do not show aggression to their pack or the pack would not survive. In the wild, wolves live in a qualified democracy where the leaders are in charge because they do a good job of providing. A bullying alpha will result in a pack which is unable to thrive due to having an insecure leader. In other words, dominant relationships among wolves are exerted without the use of force or threat of aggression, thereby reducing the potential for conflict.

Despite the fact that dominance theory in dogs has been repeatedly debunked (including by the same scientists who first put it forward!), many individuals still use methods, rooted in a misunderstanding of dominance, to train in an overbearing and intimidating way which use pain, fear and worry to alter a dog’s behaviour. People have allowed human ideas of dominance (gaining a high rank, amassing power and exerting control) to dictate how they manage and train dogs and confuse understanding of canine relationships. Training a dog in this way, especially a dog who is already showing signs of reactivity, aggression or fear, can cause untold damage.

The reason these trainers still exist, is because these methods will work in the short-term. E-collars, prong collars, slip leads, spray bottles, coins in a can. A dog will do almost anything to avoid being scared or in pain. But in the long-term, a dominance-led approach will see a dog exhibiting more extreme behaviours than they were initially as their confidence and trust of their owner has been knocked and their belief in themselves is diminished. Once the dog ‘relapses’, the owners often go back to that very same trainer and the cycle repeats itself.

This is why I believe passionately in a positive based approach to dog training, where dogs are praised for making their own good decisions. We teach them appropriate ways to behave and set them up for success. Training becomes fun, engaging and a great opportunity to bond for you and your dog. This is how I believe human-canine relationships should look.