Instinct K9 Training and Behaviour

09/02/2022

Could not agree more

Not a week goes by where I don't have to reassure a concerned dog owner their dog's social behaviour at the park is 100% NORMAL!

It's so strange the way we expect our dogs to go to the park, meet 5-10 random dogs, and get along with them all perfectly.

Me? I hate going to nightclubs. I'd rather have coffee with one or two friends, or maybe a walk. Maybe you're the opposite and love going to crowded pubs and making new friends! Neither of us are 'abnormal'. Ok ok, maybe I am - sometimes I take a book to the pub to sit quietly and enjoy my craft brew...

Dogs too fall on a spectrum of sociability. Many puppies start up at the social end, happy to play with whoever they meet. Most dogs are more selective and choose their friends carefully. Some dogs truly fall on the aggressive end, and may not have many or any doggie friends.

So the sooner we all realise that our dogs have personalities too, the sooner we can stop creating goals for our dogs that they'll never enjoy.

For an aggressive dog, a reasonable goal is to walk past another dog on leash at 5m distance. It's not a reasonable goal to expect them to enjoy playing with random dogs!

As humans, we rarely stop to chat to folks on the street, unless we know them. Somehow this idea goes out the window with dogs, there's this expectation to meet every single other dog on a walk!

Most people want want their dogs to cope with the fair expectations of living safely in our community - to be neutrally social and robust. So let's set some fair expectations:

🐩 Think about your dog's play style. Different breeds play differently! Eg herding, wrestling, body slamming, chasing...

🐕 Find a couple of well matched doggy friends for your dog, and let them play in low traffic locations (eg someone's backyard, a secluded park) to enjoy play time.

👋 Set the expectation early that not all dogs are there for play! Teach your puppy that most dogs you meet on the street aren't relevant to them.

🤚Advocate for your dog in play. Don't allow dogs to 'sort it out', or for your dog to bully or be bullied.

🤷‍♀️ Avoid dog parks. Sorry folks, these places generally suck for fair, beneficial and harmonious play.

Happy playing!

07/01/2022

Having a pup can be frustrating and exhausting but watching them have fun certainly helps.

21/12/2021

Remember it’s Dopamine not Calories that matter

Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2011/02/15/Robert_Sapolsky_Are_Humans_Just_Another_PrimateRobert Sapolsky, professor of biology and neurology at Stanford U...

09/09/2021

Play is hugely important especially for a puppy. This is where they learn the skills of life and if we don’t understand the potential of play we really do miss a huge opportunity.
We can add and or build motivation, create an understanding of structure and of course teach rules.
We can build confidence or even bring them back a peg or two all using play.
In this video you can see I am building what we call play drive, this at the moment is just play but as we as a team get better at it we can do more with it. Building play drive and conference is all I care about at the moment and let me tell you he is doing great.

07/09/2021

In this video you will see Boogie is not sure about the vacuum (or maybe mum’s dressing gown).
To be fair we probably pushed him a bit far to soon in this case but we now know we need to work on this and get him neutral to it

04/09/2021

It’s critical you get the first 16 weeks of your dogs life right. Whilst your dog never stops learning 80% of your dogs brain development happens in their first 6-8 months of life, and the first 16 weeks of that carries the most weight.
What happens in these first 4 months will stay with them forever, both good and bad. The single most important thing you can do here is build confidence and expose your pup to as many positive experiences as you can……..everyday, they don’t need to meet, play with or interact every time, they do need to be around, see, hear and experience things. Experiencing the world in a calm positive way is setting you pup up for life.

04/09/2021

Yesterday we picked up our new Pup, his name is Boogie and he is a Wheaten Terrier. As some of you know I have had Rottweilers for 35 years but we thought it was time to change breeds.
I still wholeheartedly believe a well breed Rotty is the best dog you can own (in the right hands) but our life is a little different these days so it was time. I have been a little quiet on this page for a while, sorry. But I thought I would start giving you regular updates on Boogie, what he gets up to and why we are doing it.
You see a lot of people get the puppy stage wrong (I probably will to some degree to). So I hope you enjoy the journey.

02/09/2021

Please read this, this is hugely miss understood.
Keep in mind, it’s your roll to manage your dog not just for your dogs sake but for all dogs you get to interact with.
After all you are a dog lover.

https://dogsareothernations.blogspot.com/2021/07/dog-play-part-1.html?m=1&fbclid=IwAR1AEuX5Dr4uDuskCOlAM7m6fW-8giqt_9E3iveLfZmei_8ft6UhEC7ogUc

Dog Play - Part 1 July 05, 2021 Dog play is a big topic so I am going to discuss it in two parts, like I did with 'Petting Dogs'. In addition, I will suggest some further reading in case you are really interested in this topic. Let's start by looking at what isn't play Play between dogs has to be.....

27/07/2021

Great info for any dog owner

‎Show Homestead Kennels Pet Care & Dog Training Podcast, Ep Neutering & Spaying - 23 July 2021

09/07/2021

30/05/2021

Thought for the week
Consistency