Force Free Paws

03/21/2024

It’s that time of year pet owners! Time to take note of what’s out there during planting season

Time for planting season, keep your fur babies and community cats safe!
- Sarah

02/23/2024

So important to learn to read their body language

07/03/2023

As a business we felt that we have a responsibility to make this clear to all of our clients and all future clients.

Dogs don’t discriminate and neither do we.

We welcome everyone at Force Free Paws. It doesn’t matter who you were born, your background, your culture, your sexual identity, your skin color or anything else.

Your dog loves you and so do we.

02/12/2023

The dog training industry is in a state of emergency.

I think it is completely accurate to say the dog training industry is in a complete state of emergency at the moment. I don’t think this is an exaggeration in the slightest.

The vast majority of dog trainers, in the USA at least, are using methods that are scientifically inconsistent with a dogs overall well-being and welfare. In the scientific community this is not a controversial statement. Even though it might seem like it here.

This doesn’t mean dog trainers who train this way are bad people. In fact, virtually every one of them is a person who loves dogs and wants to better their life. But it does mean that there is a lack of VERY BASIC scientific understanding of learning theory BIG TIME in the dog training industry.

The perception of the public is that particularly dogs who have issues with aggressive behavior, that those dogs should be taught with physical aversives to resolve these issues. The science is very clear on this. Everywhere humans have observed how animals learn from us, we have found physical punishment to be counterproductive in lieu of the alternatives that focus on a more proactive and appropriate approach.

If you are one of the people who really feels that aversion is necessary in dog training for whatever reason, allow yourself to think critically on the matter and please ask yourself where your views of dog training originated. Did they come from a scientifically valid source? Did they come from a relative? Did they come from a dog trainer who uses physical aversions frequently in their training approach? Where did THAT trainer get their understanding of dog training?

How often are you trusting your instincts over science? Consider how culture and various roles, particularly those related to gender, influence how our dogs are trained. For example, do you view your relationship as a partnership or a hierarchical relationship?

With the tiny bit of influence we have in this industry, it is vital that we are on the record very clearly for all to see on this issue. It is by far the most important issue in dog training.

Finally, as mentioned in the video, please keep in mind that the burden of proof lies with the party making the claim. If one is to make the claim that aversives are necessary in dog training, they must provide the scientific data to support the claim if they are to be taken seriously. Simply dismissing the data I provided, even if valid, would not be sufficient evidence. Furthermore, such a scientific finding would turn learning theory on its head and would be brand new science…

(If you have no idea what I’m talking about, see my previous posts or click here: https://youtu.be/BWM_gHMQaUQ to watch my latest video. This is the most researched and solid effort Bree and I have ever made to present the science in a neutral fashion as it relates to how we train dogs. The information is wide ranging and detailed. Please watch the whole video.)

Please spread the word and let us know your thoughts in the comments ❤️

06/23/2022

Got a new puppy? Or maybe an older dog that just needs to brush up on their skills?

Cali and Lulu just graduated their Manners and Obedience class with us! Our classes are designed to help prepare dogs for therapy and service work. We focus on training for good manners in public, not just basic obedience. Our dogs graduate ready to take the Canine Good Citizen test and often go on to therapy, service, search and rescue, scentwork, and other great tasks!

To get signed up for one of our classes visit our website

www.forcefreepaws.com

Click the "book now/login" button and create a free profile.

Our next Manners and Obedience class starts
Tuesday July 19th at 6:30 pm

Classes meet on the same night every week for 6 weeks.

Call 612-564-3165 for more information.

06/15/2022

Congratulations to tonight’s manners and obedience graduates, Cali and Lulu! Great job guys! Onto level two to prep for the CGC test!

06/14/2022

We will soon be offering reverse board and train packages. Rather than going to a facility for 30 days, the dog would spend 2 hours a day for 5 days a week working with our staff on training and then go home. We would spend 30 minutes going over the training 2 days a week to transition it to at home. It is an intensive program designed for unruly and reactive dogs. It will cover reactivity, obedience training and manners. For cost and availability call us

612-564-3165

06/14/2022

Congratulations to our newest Canine Good Citizens, Duke, Kota and Teddy! These 3 are moving onto level 3 where the hard stuff starts

06/09/2022

If you have a reactive dog and you want to be able to take an obedience class while working on getting your dog comfortable around other dogs we have an answer.

We now have a safe setup using barriers to allow one reactive dog to join each obedience class. The dog will be seperated from the other dogs in class but will be able to see them through the cracks in the wall. We definitely recommend doing a few reactivity sessions with us first to get your dog used to seeing other dogs at a distance.

Don’t give up on obedience, tricks, scentwork and other fun classes because your dog is scared of other dogs. We are here to help.

Sign up for our upcoming level one manners class to get started!

05/20/2022

You can’t fix a reactive dog in a week. Or two weeks. Or three weeks. It takes a long time and a lot of work and it can be a slow process. Slapping a painful collar on them will make it appear as if they are ”fixed” but all you are doing is suppressing their behavior. You aren’t paying any attention to the emotional systems that are causing the behavior to begin with.

If you were afraid of spiders and I hit you with a stick every time you reacted to spiders you would stop reacting to spiders too. For awhile. Til you got sick of it and then turned on me.

That is what you are doing when you are using devices as a quick fix to short circuit the long process it takes to help these dogs heal and grow. So how long… before these “fixed” dogs start turning on other dogs and turning on their owners. You’re not fixing it… you’re taking the timer off the bomb. And one day

It will explode.

Let us help you with your reactive dog. We aren’t here to fix them, they’re not broken. They are just a little bent. Bent can be repaired. Bent can be repurposed. Bent can be beautiful.

We are here to help your dogs learn to feel safe with you, to trust you, in any environment, using kindness and empathy.

Call us today and ask about our “Bent Not Broken” program for your reactive dog.

613-564-3165