Barking at the Moon

08/02/2023

👌🏼

It might sound odd to say a dog trainer won’t train your dog but it’s true. The only person who can do that is you.

You are the person your dog spends the vast majority of their time with. You are the person they have most interaction with. Who sets the boundaries, who has the opportunity to consistently reinforce behaviours, who chooses the environments your dog is exposed to, who has control over your dog's day to day life & experiences.

When you go to a weekly training class or have a weekly session your trainer isn’t really teaching your dog….they are teaching 𝘺𝘰𝘶 how to teach your dog. And your success will be determined by whether you take what you learn and implement it on a daily basis. Because even if you see your trainer or attend your class religiously every single week, week in week out, that still amounts to a tiny proportion of your dog's life ( just 0.6% of their week if the training session lasts 1 hour).

Your trainer's job is to give you the understanding, skills and confidence that will allow you to effectively teach your dog and to support and guide you through the process.

Your job is to put what you learn into practice.

25/11/2022

Education is what is needed. Not banning the breed.

28/09/2022

DO YOU WANT AN OBEDIENT DOG?
Choose to have a well-behaved dog rather than an obedient dog
Is obedience all it’s made out to be? Do you want a dog or a robot that complies with your every command? If your dog is not obedient, are they challenging your authority? Are they an embarrassment to you? Is a “disobedient “dog a reflection on you? Everyone wants a well-behaved dog, but contrary to popular belief, a well-behaved dog does not need to be an obedient dog.
Just focusing on obedience without considering a dog’s mental or emotional state or the context of the behaviour will never truly change behaviour. Yes, dogs can be forced to be obedient - usually through old fashioned, outdated methods of punishment or corrections. Shouting “No!”, repeated commands, collar grabs, yanking the leash, shock collars, spray bottles, choke collars or other aversive methods may all seem to work on the surface but these methods have consequences. Stress, anxiety, fear, negative associations, frustration, reactivity, mistrust or confusion are just some of the results. Is this the kind of fall out we’re willing to risk to ensure we have obedient dogs?
Modern, scientifically based training methods provide a far more successful way of guiding dogs to be well-behaved. Training methods that focus on communication, self-control, calmness, patience, focus and behaving well because they want to, not because they have to, is the intelligent way to train a dog.
Focus on relationship, positive reinforcement, force free, modern methods. Focus on having a well-behaved dog not an obedient dog.

16/03/2022

👏

IS COMING BACK WORTH IT?
There are many reasons why dogs don’t come back when you want them to. A dog’s genetics play a big role in this when an environment is far more stimulating and exciting and listening and coming back to you disappear into the background as genetic instinct takes over. An exciting scent or seeing something to chase can all override a response to you.
Genetics aside, a common reason why dogs don’t come back when called is because it’s not a good experience for them. I often cringe when I watch owners trying to get their dogs to come to them when they call. They call and call and get increasingly angry and frustrated as their dog keeps ignoring them. When their dog eventually does come back, or has been chased and "captured” by their owner, they get screamed at, yanked about, smacked or punished in some way for taking so long and not listening. Why would a dog want to return to someone who does this to them!
Make coming back to you worth it by always making it a rewarding experience. Have a little patience if it takes longer than you would like, let your dog finish what they’re doing before calling them, practice in different locations and environments and never reprimand or punish them for coming back. These things won’t guarantee a perfect recall, but will really improve the rate of success.

25/01/2022

New kids on the block 🤍🐶

17/01/2022

How cute are these carrot shaped slow feeders? 🥕

29/12/2021

To everyone that supported me, trusted in my love and ability to help train your dogs, Thank you 🤍 It was a slow and tough year but you all made it worth while.

30/10/2021

💙💚💛

14/10/2021

Top 10 reasons why positive reinforcement training didn't work for you:

1. You don't actually understand what it is or how to apply it.

Positive reinforcement training is evidence-based training. It simply works by definition. However, if you don't have a clear understanding of what it is or how to apply it, you can easily get tangled up.

2. Your timing is off.

The importance of timing in training is extremely important in finding success. If a consequence isn't happening within a couple seconds of the behavior and in a very clear manner, your dog simply won't be able to figure out the rules of the game.

3. You're still waiting on something that you don't like to happen and then reacting to that behavior.

If you only interact with your dog on a way that is reactionary instead of in a way that is proactive, training will fail.

4. The treat or promise of a treat is coming before the behavior.

Most owners learn how to "lure" their dogs and this is about the only thing they understand about positive reinforcement. Eventually, the treat turns into a bribe to try and coerce our dogs to do the things we want. This is not positive reinforcement training, how you practice it, or how you will get results from your dog.

5. You aren't putting any thought into an actual training plan.

You aren't deciding what a good behavior or the "right" behavior looks like. So you aren't looking at WHAT YOU WANT in a situation, only what you don't want. If you don't know what "good" looks like, how are you able to consistently reward it?

6. You're still mixing in pain, intimidation, or fear in your methodology.

Positive reinforcement training is designed to build relationship and use behavioral science to train your dog into doing what you want them to do because you have made it enjoyable for them to interact with you. It's based on relationship, trust, making our dogs feel safe, and fun. Pain, intimidation, and fear will break all of this down putting your dog in a situation of "Can I trust you this time? Or is something bad about to happen?"

7. You're still in a punishment mindset.

This can be really hard for us to break away from. All of us. We live in a punishment driven society and we take on that message in almost every aspect of our lives.

8. You're using sit for EVERYTHING.

For the love of all things good, so using sit as a go-to for everything. There are so many other, more appropriate skills to train for that gives you a wider array of behaviors to ask for depending on the situation.

9. You're not keeping the rules clear and consistent.

"Sometimes this is okay, sometimes it's not". And this usually depends on your mood or how your day went. And while dogs are superb at reading our body language, they don't always know what that means or what they need to be doing in that moment.

10. You're not setting you and your dog up for success.

You probably don't know how to break the bigger goals down in a way that is easier for your dog to understand. In training, this is called "splitting". And this is how you get results more quickly and with minimal amounts of frustration. Little wins turn into BIG wins.
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See, there is structure and there are rules in the implementation of positive reinforcement training. And it's a hell of a learning curve. I used to do it wrong too. And it took a long time to gain true practical understanding of the methodology and the application. But I took the time. I've done the work. I am still learning more and more because I'm a super nerd when it comes to canine behavior and cognition.

I can make this journey easier for you AND WE CAN SOLVE YOUR TRAINING PROBLEMS TOGETHER!

If you want some help, reach out.😉