Dog Charming

02/06/2026

Do you have a dog who won't toilet in the rain or walk on wet grass to toilet? I sure do. Or did. I could see it might become a problem for Willow so I devised a plan to help her toilet in all sorts of conditions.

The main points:

1. Instead of toilet training her as a puppy and then no longer reinforcing her toilet stops with a treat, I kept reinforcing her as often as I could. She's almost 8 years old and I still reinforce at home on the sunny days to create a super strong behaviour.
2. Additionally, I put going to the toilet on cue: "Go busy". So that I could ask her to urinate when it was convenient.
3. I would prompt her (help her) by also going outside to kick start the behaviour on cold, wet, rainy days. Once she was out, the rest of the voiding behaviour usually followed.
4. I prompted myself by having a container of treats beside the back door. If I make it easier for me, it's more likely to happen.

We had a HUGE storm this weekend and there was no way she was heading outside of her own volition. She was hesitant. The strong history of reinforcement, treating some small steps out the back door and then moving outside myself soon won over the the unfavourable conditions.

It's a simple system with such a beneficial outcome.

31/05/2026

The sun defiantly peeked through the storm clouds. I must be crazy to be out here: the wind knocked me about a bit as I went to higher ground. I had to open a different car door as the wind kept blowing the usual side shut. Willow joined me for a minute and then high tailed it back to the car. At least one of us has sense. 🤣

"Every morning is a revolution against the darkness."

Mehmet Murat ildan

25/05/2026

Our story today is one of success and Willow overcoming a fear that didn't make sense .... to me. I'm sure she had a good reason. So many milestones to celebrate;
1. She jumped out of the car immediately.
2. Walked past the dreaded white posts where she had previously stopped and could not be lured past.
3. Followed me down the path to catch the sunrise.

I hope to "change the world" (tongue in cheek) by changing the story that one needs to force dogs to face their fears. There are other effective ways to help fearful dogs.

"There's always a story. It's all stories, really. The sun coming up every day is a story. Everything's got a story in it. Change the story, change the world."

Terry Pratchett

24/05/2026

Willow and the sunrise yesterday and today. This is a training milestone. Willow suddenly stopped joining me to watch the sunset a few weeks ago. She wouldn't follow me to the usual vantage points, would return to the car and then stopped getting out of the car at all. I didn't force her out. However, I really wanted her to join me. So I started a training plan to help her exit the car and follow me without hesitation. I did this by giving her real choices. She could come out and the car door was left open so she could return when ever she wanted. She was reinforced for going back to the car as well as for coming out. That's what I mean by a real choice as opposed to only one way to access reinforcement: by leaving the car. These photos are special because they show the effectiveness of increasing a dog's control of their outcomes with minimal coercion.

19/05/2026

Willow watching the sunset.

Or is she? Beware the narrative and the stories that are woven around dogs on social media.

Without context, knowledge of dog behaviour and body language, a lot of what is written is more like fantasy.

It may not always harm. But it also could.

Sorry to burst the bubble of Willow's appreciation of the sunset. 😆🤷🏼‍♀️ It's more likely she has heard something behind her, caught a scent on the breeze or is watching a bird. Which is just as awesome, because she is using her amazing dog senses to take in the world around her. 🥰

16/05/2026

Helping dogs stay calm around movement. https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1GuN39oDnz/

15/05/2026

Let dogs be dogs in safety. Neat tip. https://www.facebook.com/share/r/14jysSefJXZ/

06/05/2026

I've watched some disturbing videos of dog training where dogs are labeled dominant and the resultant training is more like violence than teaching man/woman's best friend. It reminded me of a blog I wrote years ago after Zuri tested positive to being a dominant bitch. Spoiler alert: There is no standardised dominance test. Zuri was not even a fraction on any contrived (made up) dominance scale. Turn the sound down/off in the video if the music annoys you. I was in my experimental video editing stage. Not much I can do about the annoying choice of font. 😆🤦‍♀️

Dogs are often labelled “dominant” or “submissive”. An internet search will reveal an extensive list of tell-tale signs to alert you that your dog is dominant. This will be followed by...

30/04/2026

This page has great tips.

25/04/2026

Anzac Day sunrise.

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning. We will remember them."

Laurence Binyon