Game of Dogs

09/05/2026

Great idea !

09/05/2026

Love this way of doing this 👍

09/05/2026

An important read if you are thinking of using these kind of collars .

09/04/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1FS45wWV1r/?mibextid=wwXIfr

This is totally awesome ! Give a listen 🙂👍

09/04/2026

Makes perfect sense, doesn’t it ?

When a rescue dog first comes home, they’re often pretty quiet.

They might be cautious, unsure, keep themselves to themselves and generally not cause too much fuss.

And then a few weeks or months down the line, you suddenly think…

Hang on. Where did THIS dog come from?

They start barking at things they ignored before.
They might decide they don’t actually want you touching them in certain ways.
They may start guarding their bed, their food or their favourite things.
They might become more vocal, more opinionated and much more confident about telling you when they’re not comfortable.

And this is the point where I often hear, “But they never used to do this!”

No. Because they didn’t feel safe enough to.

That quiet, seemingly easy dog you brought home was still figuring everything out. New house, new people, new routines, new expectations. They didn’t know what was safe yet or whether anyone would actually listen if they said no.

Now they’re starting to realise this is home.

And sometimes feeling safer means finding their voice.

Rescue dog progress isn’t always the lovely stuff. It isn’t just more cuddles, waggy tails and watching their personality come out.

Sometimes progress looks like a dog saying, “Actually, I don’t like that.”

And our job isn’t to punish that confidence back out of them.

It’s to listen, work out what they’re telling us and help them feel safe enough that they don’t need to shout quite so loudly next time.

Your rescue dog hasn’t suddenly turned into a different dog.

They’re just finally comfortable enough to show you who they are.

09/04/2026

If you have a reactive dog , this is for you 👍

🐾 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐆 𝐈𝐒𝐍’𝐓 𝐆𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐀 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 ➡️➡️➡️ 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘’𝐑𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄.

Living with a reactive dog can be exhausting. I’ve been there. You are experiencing this.

💢You plan walks around quiet times.
💢You scan the horizon for dogs before 💢your dog sees them.
💢You cross roads.
💢You turn around.
💢You hide behind cars.
💢You know exactly which houses have dogs behind fences.

🤔And sometimes you wonder why something as simple as going for a walk has become so complicated.

💁But there is something I really want every reactive-dog guardian to know:

Reactivity is not a moral failing - yours or your dog’s.

A dog barking, lunging, growling, freezing, pulling or exploding at a trigger isn’t necessarily being “aggressive”, “dominant”, “stubborn” or “disobedient”.

😳They may be frightened.
😳Frustrated.
😳Over-aroused.
😳Conflicted.
😳In pain or discomfort.
😳Overwhelmed by the environment.
😳Or simply unable to cope with what is happening at that moment.

⚠️Once a dog goes over threshold, their ability to think, process information and respond to you can become significantly reduced.

👀That’s why shouting, correcting, jerking the lead or punishing the reaction doesn’t teach the dog how to feel safer around the trigger.

It may suppress what you can see, but suppression isn’t the same as changing how the dog feels.

💙 So what CAN you do?

🐾 𝑪𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆.

Distance is one of the most useful tools you have. If your dog can notice the trigger without becoming overwhelmed, you have an opportunity for learning.

🐾 𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉.

Repeatedly taking a dog over threshold isn’t “socialisation” or “getting them used to it”. It can simply give them more opportunities to rehearse the reaction.

🐾 𝑳𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒐𝒈’𝒔 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒔.

Don’t wait for the barking and lunging. Watch for changes in posture, staring, slowing down, closing the mouth, tension, scanning, inability to disengage or changes in how they respond to you.

🐾 𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚.

Retreat isn’t failure. Sometimes the best thing you can teach a dog is: you don’t have to deal with this — I’ll help you leave.

🐾 𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔.

Your dog doesn’t need to walk through busy parks, town centres or dog-filled neighbourhoods to have a fulfilling life. A peaceful woodland sniff can offer far more than 30 minutes spent battling triggers.

🐾 𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒃𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒙𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒚.

Being able to walk 3 metres from another dog isn’t necessarily “better” than needing 20 metres. Look instead for softer body language, quicker recovery, voluntary disengagement and an increasing ability to make choices.

🐾 𝑮𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆.

Stress doesn’t necessarily disappear the moment the trigger does. After a particularly difficult experience, lowering demands and providing opportunities to rest, sniff and decompress can be incredibly valuable.

🐾 𝑹𝒖𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏 / 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒘𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒆𝒔.

If behaviour has 𝘀𝘂𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗹𝘆 appeared, intensified or changed, consider veterinary assessment. Behaviour and physical wellbeing are closely connected.

🐾 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒂𝒕 𝒀𝑶𝑼𝑹 𝒅𝒐𝒈’𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆.

There is no timetable.

🔻Some dogs improve enormously in weeks.
🔻Some need months.
🔻Some need much longer.

And some dogs may always need a degree of thoughtful management.

That’s okay.

Success doesn’t have to mean your dog eventually loves other dogs, happily walks through crowds or ignores everything around them.

Sometimes success looks like:

❤️ seeing another dog and choosing to look back at you
❤️ recovering in 30 seconds instead of 10 minutes
❤️ calmly turning around
❤️ choosing to sniff rather than stare
❤️ trusting you when you say “this way”
❤️ having fewer reactions because you’ve become better at recognising what they need

And perhaps the biggest change happens when we stop asking:

“How do I stop my dog reacting?”

…and start asking:

“What is my dog struggling with, and how can I help them cope?”

Because reactive dogs don’t need tougher handlers.

They need humans who listen. 🐾❤️

08/23/2026

Awesome article 👍 I talk about this in my classes

COUNTERCONDITIONING: IT'S BOTH MAGIC AND SCIENCE!

Counterconditioning is a wonderful skill to learn, as it can make a tremendous difference to our shy and sensitive dogs. In fact, if it weren’t so firmly rooted in science and learning theory, I would even say it were magic! It can help us change the negative feelings our dogs harbour towards things which worry them into positive ones, therefore reducing fear and stress, as well as improving their quality of life.

The great thing about counterconditioning is that nothing is required of the dog, except that he is aware of the trigger, which is presented at a neutral level of exposure. However! Although pairing a stressor with something the dog values highly is a simple enough concept, in practice, the mechanics and timing are difficult to get right, and there are some pitfalls which need to be navigated and avoided.

There is often a great deal of confusion and misunderstanding when it comes to counterconditioning, and I’m not just referring to dog guardians. Many professionals struggle to fully grasp the intricacies, and I have seen comments from some stating that the timing of food delivery doesn’t matter. (It does, and it matters a lot!) The distance at which we work, the order of events and the timing of the treats are crucial.

It is also important to understand the way in which our dogs learn. In classical conditioning, also known as Pavlovian or respondent conditioning, they learn by associating one stimulus with another. When we address the emotions, therefore tackling the root cause of the behaviour, we pair a trigger with something pleasant to create a positive conditioned emotional response. Operant conditioning is teaching and asking for behaviours, with the dog learning through consequences of their actions, referred to as ABC. There is an antecedent, such as a verbal cue, a behaviour from the dog, and a consequence, such as a tasty treat.

To confuse matters, counterconditioning can be classical or operant, but if we are to take a truly dog-centred approach, we need to fully address the emotions via a classical approach. If we are looking into counterconditioning, it is because we want to undo existing learning which has caused our dog to have big feelings and a negative conditioned emotional response to something.

When counterconditioning, reinforcement should not be contingent on our dog performing a sit, a look, or anything else. The trigger predicts the food, and we feed - that’s it, we don’t need to involve any elements of operant conditioning. If we do not maintain this, we muddy the waters, diluting and slowing down the entire process. Asking for behaviours can be added in later, once we have addressed how the dog is feeling and provided him with the necessary coping skills.

Timing is essential if our dog is to make the associations we intend. When counterconditioning, we must wait until our dog is aware of the trigger before feeding. Wait a couple of seconds, then start to feed, making sure that you don’t block his line of sight. The food must come afterwards to ensure that the trigger predicts the treats, and not the other way around, otherwise reverse conditioning will occur. If the food appears before the trigger, it will become “poisoned” by creating a negative association, because the treats will become a predictor of the scary thing.

Counterconditioning paired with systematic desensitisation is absolutely fantastic for modifying behaviour, but there are quite a few pitfalls, other than those mentioned. Why not check out my two part blog to help clean up your counterconditioning and ensure you avoid those errors?

Let’s help those reactive Rovers and feisty Fidos feel safe by supercharging your counterconditioning!

https://www.trailiepawsforthought.com/post/part-one-a-guide-to-counterconditioning-it-s-both-magic-and-science

https://www.trailiepawsforthought.com/post/part-two-common-mistakes-when-counterconditioning-let-s-supercharge-your-skills

© Trailie Paws For Thought
www.trailiepawsforthought.com

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Image shows a white husky-type dog enthusiastically taking a treat from a person's hand.

08/21/2026

Great read and so accurate 👍🐾

🚨 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐀 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐌 𝐁𝐄𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐑!

1️⃣ Firstly - it’s a completely normal dog behaviour.

2️⃣ Secondly - no, it is NOT a sign of dominance.

🤔 So what do we keep telling dogs off / punishing them for what is natural ??
___________________________________

🐶 What is a growl?

A growl is communication. It is one of the clearest ways a dog can tell us:

🐾 I’m uncomfortable.
🐾 I’m frightened.
🐾 I need more space.
🐾 Please stop.
🐾 I don’t feel safe.
🐾 I’m reaching my limit.

That growl is incredibly valuable information.

🚨 𝐒𝐎 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐒 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐖𝐄 𝐏𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐈𝐓?

Imagine a dog growls when someone approaches their food.

The owner shouts, corrects the dog, jerks the lead, uses an e-collar, physically reprimands them or otherwise makes growling unpleasant.

The dog may learn very quickly:

Growling = bad things happen to me.

So eventually…

The dog stops growling.

And the human thinks:

“Great! We fixed the growling.”

Except you haven’t necessarily changed why the dog was growling.

The dog may still be worried about someone approaching their food.

They may still feel threatened.

They may still want the person to move away.

The underlying emotional response can remain exactly where it was - or potentially become even worse because the presence of the trigger now predicts punishment too.

⚠️ 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑻𝑯𝑨𝑻 𝑪𝑨𝑵 𝑯𝑨𝑽𝑬 𝑺𝑬𝑹𝑰𝑶𝑼𝑺 𝑪𝑶𝑵𝑺𝑬𝑸𝑼𝑬𝑵𝑪𝑬𝑺

👀 Dogs often communicate discomfort through increasingly obvious signals.

You might see:

Lip licking → turning away → moving away → freezing → hard stare → growling → snapping → biting.

⚠️ Not every dog follows a neat sequence, and escalation isn’t always linear, but the principle matters:

💁 Dogs frequently give us information before they bite. A bite is usually the last resort, when all other attempts at communication failed, if the dog wasn’t listened to, or if the dog was told off / punished for earlier attempts to communicate.

If those earlier warnings repeatedly don’t work - or worse, result in punishment - the dog can learn that those warnings are ineffective or unsafe to use.

⚠️ And this is where people sometimes say:

“He bit completely out of nowhere.”

Sometimes there genuinely are very subtle warning signs that humans miss.

But sometimes we have inadvertently taught the dog not to give us the obvious ones.

🧯 𝑇𝐻𝐼𝑁𝐾 𝐴𝐵𝑂𝑈𝑇 𝑌𝑂𝑈𝑅 𝑆𝑀𝑂𝐾𝐸 𝐴𝐿𝐴𝑅𝑀

If your smoke alarm started beeping at 2am, would you rip it out just because it’s annoying?

Hopefully not.

Hopefully you’d ask:

🔻Why is the alarm going off?

🔻Is there smoke?

🔻Is something overheating?

🔻Is there an electrical fault?

🔻What’s causing it?

We should approach growling in exactly the same way.

✅ The growl isn’t the problem we need to silence.

✅ It is information telling us there is a problem.

🧠 𝑰𝑵𝑺𝑻𝑬𝑨𝑫 𝑶𝑭 𝑨𝑺𝑲𝑰𝑵𝑮:

“How do I stop my dog growling?”

Ask:

“Why does my dog feel the need to growl?”

✪ Is it fear?

✪ Pain?

✪ Being unwell?

✪ Handling discomfort?

✪ Feeling trapped?

✪ A stranger getting too close?

✪ Another dog invading their space?

✪ A child hugging them?

✪ Someone trying to take something away?

✪ Previous negative experiences?

✪ Stress or trigger stacking?

✅ Once we understand the function and emotion behind the behaviour, we can work on changing how the dog feels about the situation rather than simply suppressing their ability to communicate.

❤️ 𝐀 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐋 𝐃𝐎𝐄𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐌𝐄𝐀𝐍 𝐁𝐀𝐃 𝐃𝐎𝐆

A growling dog isn’t necessarily being “dominant”, “stubborn”, “naughty” or trying to challenge you.

They’re communicating. ⚠️⚠️⚠️

And communication gives us an opportunity to intervene before things escalate.

⭕️Give them space.

⭕️Stop what you’re doing.

⭕️Assess the situation.

⭕️Look for the cause.

⭕️Consider pain or medical issues.

➡️ Then work on the underlying problem using appropriate management, desensitisation, counter-conditioning and positive reinforcement.

🙏Don’t punish the warning. Listen to it.

Because a dog who feels safe enough to say:

“I’m uncomfortable.”

is giving you something incredibly valuable ⤵️⤵️⤵️⤵️⤵️⤵️⤵️

𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒓.

🔥 Punishing a growl is like taking batteries out of the smoke alarm. You lose all warming of a small problem. Only to face a big one “unexpectedly”….

08/21/2026

We do this in my group classes 🐾👍

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝟑 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐃’𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐨𝐠 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 😈🐶

✧ If your dog can perform a behaviour perfectly at home… but suddenly “forgets” everything outside…

✧ If they can sit for a second, but not for a minute…

✧ If they recall brilliantly until another dog appears…

You’re probably not dealing with a stubborn dog.

You’re dealing with the 𝟑 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐃’𝐬:

📏 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞
⏱️ 𝐃𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
🌍 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

These three variables determine how difficult any behaviour becomes. Increase them too quickly, and even a well trained dog can struggle.

📏 1. 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

Distance refers to how far away you are from your dog, or how far your dog is expected to work from you.

For example:

Asking for a sit while standing beside your dog is easy.

Asking for the same sit when you’re 10 metres away is much harder.

Recalling from 2 metres is very different from recalling from 50 metres.

🤔Why?

As distance increases:

✬ your influence becomes weaker
✬ environmental reinforcement becomes stronger
✬ communication becomes less clear
✬ your dog has more opportunities to make different choices

✅ Distance should be built one small step at a time, ensuring success at each stage before increasing it again.

⏱️ 2. 𝐃𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Duration is how long your dog is expected to perform a behaviour.

Examples:

✾Sit for 2 seconds.
✾Stay for 30 seconds.
✾Walk politely for 20 metres.
✾Settle calmly while visitors chat.

⚠️ Many owners accidentally increase duration too quickly.

A dog that can hold a stay for 10 seconds hasn’t automatically learned to stay for 2 minutes.

⚠️ Just because your dog succeeded once doesn’t mean the behaviour is fully learned.

Reliable behaviours are built through many successful repetitions, gradually extending the time your dog is expected to perform them.

🌍 3. 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Distractions are anything competing for your dog’s attention.

This could include:
🐕 other dogs
👦 children
🚗 traffic
🐿️ wildlife
👃 exciting smells
🎾 toys
🍖 food
👥 visitors

➡️ Dogs don’t generalise well.

A cue learned in your quiet living room may feel completely different in a busy park.

⭕️ The more distractions present, the more difficult the behaviour becomes.

Instead of expecting perfection immediately, 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆 your dog to increasingly challenging environments while setting them up for success.

The biggest mistake…

😳Mᴀɴʏ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ ɪɴᴄʀᴇᴀsᴇ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ ᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ sᴀᴍᴇ ᴛɪᴍᴇ.

For example:

❌ Ask for a 2-minute stay…

❌ From 15 metres away…

❌ In a busy park full of dogs.

That’s like expecting a child who’s just learned basic maths to sit their final exams the next day.

The dog hasn’t failed.

The training plan has simply become too difficult.

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 .

If you’re increasing…

📏 Distance…
➡️ Keep duration short and distractions low.

If you’re increasing…

⏱️ Duration…
➡️ Stay close and keep the environment quiet.

If you’re adding…

🌍 Distractions…
➡️ Reduce both distance and duration.

Keeping two variables easy while introducing one new challenge gives your dog the best opportunity to succeed.

👍Build habits before raising the difficulty

Dogs don’t become reliable because they perform a behaviour once.

👌They become reliable because they have practised the same successful behaviour hundreds of times.

😌Only once a behaviour is consistently successful should you slowly increase one of the three D’s.

Small, gradual progress creates strong habits.

Large jumps create mistakes.

And every mistake is another rehearsal of the behaviour you don’t want.

Remember…

Great dog training isn’t about asking for more.

🤩It’s about asking for just enough that your dog can succeed.

Master the 3 Devil D’s and you’ll find training becomes clearer, more consistent, and far more reliable … for both you and your dog. ❤️🐾