Doggy Rehab Tas

22/07/2023

So often I hear owners justifying behaviours based on past events.
If this is you please read this post.

23/05/2023

Strong eye contact without luring is amazing and speaks to your relationship with your dog.

12/01/2023

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1250637625797133?s=yWDuG2&fs=e&mibextid=Nif5oz

29/10/2022

Yesterday I corrected my puppy... 😲😲😲

She started chasing the broom while I was sweeping so I gave her a bit of a bump with the broom to correct the behaviour. She jumped and ran away a few metres and then sat there and watched me finish the sweeping.

When I was done I called her over and she happily greeted me with no concerns at all.

Some people in the dog training world will tell you that correcting a dog will make the dog fearful of us, become fearful of things and become more stressed/anxious. They will tell you that I should have managed her better and spent time desensitising her to the broom which I totally could have done but that would have required planning, at least a few sessions and likely a helper to either sweep or feed her treats. Instead I halted the behaviour in one repetition quickly, calmly and with no big fan fare and now have a puppy who gives the broom a little space and isn't going to go back to chasing the broom in a hurry. She may try it again once or twice and will have the same outcome after which she'll never bother with the broom again.

Don't buy into the ideology that we can't correct a dog for doing an inappropriate, nuisance or dangerous behaviour.... dogs learn through consequences just like we do and a well timed and appropriately delivered correction can be a game changer in dog training!

28/06/2022

Just putting this out there.

https://www.facebook.com/251308162205431/posts/844285509574357/?sfnsn=mo

The first conversation we have with a new training client often goes something like this “My dog is uncontrollable. He tears up my furniture, eats off the counters, and constantly jumps on people. I’m sure it’s partly my fault but I don’t know what to do.” I’ve grown accustomed to the confused and somewhat offended look I get when I tell them “Your dog is not uncontrollable, it’s uncontrolled. And it’s not partly your fault, it’s entirely your fault.”
Let me say that again: Everything your dog does wrong is your own fault. Let it sink in. Your dog destroyed the couch? You shouldn’t have left her out while you were away from the house. Your dog tore up your shoes while you were cooking dinner? You should have known he wasn’t ready for that level of freedom and shouldn’t have allowed him out of your sight long enough to do it. Your dog p*ed on the floor? You should have noticed the signs that she needed to go and let her outside ahead of time. Your dog bites a stranger? You shouldn’t have let a stranger approach your dog. Dog takes off chasing a squirrel and won’t come back? You should have had it on a leash or taken the time to train a more reliable recall. If the problem is training related, you need to be a better trainer. If the problem is behaviour related, you need to be better at managing bad behaviour.
This is not to denigrate any individual dog owner, but to encourage the adoption of a new mindset. Dogs do dog s**t. It’s our job as humans to teach them what is and is not acceptable behaviour in the world that we live in. By owning our dogs’ failures as our own, we become less likely to put our dogs in the position to fail in the first place. Happy training 🙂

07/02/2022

WHY ARE WE SO SOFT ON OUR DOGS?

Something has happened in the last 10-15 years. There’s been a massive shift in how pet parents raise and teach their dogs. Saying no to the dog is out and saying yes is in. Rules and expectations have gone out the window and pet parents are driven to focus solely on keeping the dog happy at all times by allowing them to do what they want, when they want with no boundaries. They try and solve all problems with increased amounts of love and spoiling...bargaining really. If I give you all these treats and toys, allow you to come and go as you please, get on my furniture and sleep in my bed...you will be happy and appreciative. But that’s not how dogs work. When you go out of your way to treat your dog like a king/queen they will most often learn to treat you as a subordinate. If they are already an insecure/anxious dog, they get worse as they’ve been thrust into the leadership spot and they can’t handle the pressure.

There is a marked increase in aggression, fear aggression, resource guarding, territorial behaviours, protective behaviours, hyper activity and separation anxiety. So what we are doing clearly is not working.

One thing that clients say to me regularly is wow...my dog is so awesome and attentive/happy when they work with you but they aren’t that great when they work with us. Why?

Because I give them stability. They know where they stand with me and that is comforting. When they come for lessons I’m fun, loving and friendly but I’m also strict and have appropriate consequences for their unruly behaviour. I correct them for pulling, jumping, nipping, leash biting, trying to p*e on stuff, getting up on the counter to steal treats. They now know the rules and what’s expected of them when they come to school and then the focus shifts to fun, fun, fun with high levels of success.

If you are afraid that being strict with your dog will make them unhappy it just isn’t true. Packs of animals in the wild thrive with a clear hierarchy and an understanding of where each member of that pack fits in. So be a leader for your dog! Enforce the rules and put my 4 favourite F words into play...always Fun and Friendly and, on occasion, Firm in a non harsh way (think leash tug, sq**rt with water bottle, poke, etc) and always Fair. Never blast your dog for being bad, it’s not their fault. They need your time and effort put into teaching what you want to see.

Being a good leader for your dog will absolutely not kill your relationship with them, it will only enhance it and you will bond more deeply - guaranteed! Leadership does not mean dictatorship.

I challenge you to consistently try it for one week to and report back any changes you noticed!

~ Coach Sara

Unleashed Potential
Duke Ferguson

25/08/2021

If you are having problems recalling your dog things can change.
Get your power back, drop me a line at Doggy Rehab, I can help.

05/08/2021

06/04/2021

I love what Monique is saying here.
Keeping our cool and being calm around our dogs gives us the best possible opportunity to influence behaviour.
Dogs have no respect for owners who lose their cool.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10151338820976246&id=99010211245