Thrive Canine Behavior

06/14/2024

New client theme this week- giant pups with big feelings about the other animals in the home. Puppy A is a Pyrenean mastiff cross that gets overly excited with the family’s chickens & ducks. While Puppy D a Ridgeback/Boxer mix finds joy in chasing the family’s 5 cats! Both dogs are super clever, and have wonderfully committed families. More peaceful pet dynamics coming soon. Believe it or not they’re both 6 months old!

04/24/2024

Happy graduation to Benny! This little darling was terrified of the car. His only experiences were of going to the vet for shots. After the second car ride, they couldn’t get him anywhere near the car without him yowling and trembling. We had to start slow, build new associations, with treats, play & games. Hard work paid off! He can load up with a ramp, jump in on his own, sit on the back seat, and handle driving around corners and speed bumps. So happy for Benny, his dedicated parents have been dreaming of all the places he can go now. SniffSpot, enrichment classes, the dog park 🙌

02/21/2024

This can make such a big impact

“Duck Tollers need 2 hours of exercise a day.”
“American Cockers need 1 hour of exercise a day.”
“She needs more exercise.”

Here’s the problem with these statements: exercise isn’t one thing.
One hour of leash walking is not one hour of hiking. One hour of bikejoring is not one hour of fetch. One hour of a sniffy walk is not one hour at the dog park. Different activities produce different results for the dog.

By lumping everything together in just “exercise”, we really do ourselves, each other, and the dogs a disservice. Almost every dog who comes into my coaching program has some exercise issues. Maybe they can’t stop/won’t stop around toys or water. They bolt as soon as they go off leash. They get hours of exercise but they’re constantly squirrely. So often, the issue is that the type of exercise isn’t serving them. Not the amount.

If the dog needs more freedom of movement, just adding more fetch isn’t going to help! If they need to stretch their body and go hard and fast, a long line sniffy walk isn’t the answer. And if all they do is physical exercise with little to no learning and problem solving, well there’s a gap there too.

I challenge you to think hard about what you mean when you say “exercise”.

If you want to learn all about exercise, how we can better conceptualize it and why it’s important, check out my webinar Understanding Exercise. Not only does Understanding Exercise break down exercise into more easily communicated elements, it teaches how to meet a dogs’ needs in a way that works for them and is conducive for our busy lives.

10/28/2023

Training lessons this week: coming when called at the dog park, staying calm when visitors arrive, leave it, and walking with a loose leash.

05/26/2023

Some buzz words to look out for when hiring a dog trainer

05/18/2023

Priority #1 for new puppies

04/23/2023

Meet Charlie, a clever & charming herding mix. He’s going to be a lot of fun to train!

03/23/2023

So many cute pups lately

02/16/2023

Great resource!

We have some VERY exciting news!

Starting March 1st, Instinct will be hosting ongoing free, live dog training & behavior seminars, including:

Puppy Parenting Roadmap, for caretakers of puppies ages 8-20 weeks, to be held the 2nd Wednesday of every month.

Rescue Dog Roadmap, for caretakers of recently adopted (or soon-to-be adopted) rescue dogs, to be held the 4th Wednesday or every month.

Hosted via Zoom, seminars will include a live presentation followed by a Q&A session. They are open to EVERYONE - dog owners, walkers, pet sitters, trainers, veterinary staff, shelter & rescue workers & volunteers, breeders, and of course - our Instinct clients!

Get kind, practical, step-by-step guidance & support from some of our most experienced certified trainers & behavior consultants at Instinct locations across the country.

Register today at www.instinctdogtraining.com/seminars

Know someone who could benefit from this resource? Tag them in the comments! We can’t wait to see you there.

01/31/2023

Meet Hallie & Zoey! Their wonderful parents contacted me before bringing puppy home. We set up a plan to ensure that their older dog has space away from the pup, and strategies to build a good friendship between them. Follow up session went better than expected - the dogs ADORE each other.

12/27/2022

Behavior or medical?
While it isn’t always this straightforward, I think it’s a great place to start!

A fairly common reason dog owners reach out to us for help is when they experience a sudden behavior change in their dog.

Typical examples are things like:
➡️ a sudden increase in potty accidents
➡️ suddenly starting to display aggression during handling or petting
➡️ suddenly not wanting to go out on walks
➡️ a sudden increase in sound sensitivity

Very often, *sudden* behavior changes are an indicator that your dog may be dealing with a new or worsening health condition.

Over the years, our wonderful veterinary partners have uncovered everything from ear infections, broken teeth, and skin allergies, to tick-borne diseases, inflammation from arthritis, torn ligaments & tendons, parasites, and gastrointestinal issues in our shared clients - when the ONLY symptom present in the dog was a *sudden change in behavior.*

SO, if you notice a sudden change in your dog’s behavior that you can’t link it to a specific life event, learning experience, or environmental change (e.g., “my dog is suddenly having more potty accidents after moving from the country to a new city apartment”), we encourage that your first call should be to your veterinarian, rather than to a trainer or behavior consultant.

Depending on the issue, you & your dog may end up benefitting from some combination of medical intervention *and* training, but exploring potential health contributors is your best first step toward getting things back on track with your dog.

12/27/2022

My favorite puppy books to recommend!