Vicki Burton - Professional Dog Behavioural Trainer

05/12/2025

03/12/2025

She did it! 🏆
She held it together in a moment that would normally send her over the edge.
She looked, she noticed, she coped and it was brilliant!

Now comes the part that no one really talks about.

Right after that win is when progress is the most fragile.
It's the moment we humans often unintentionally undo the very thing we are trying to build more of.

We get excited, hopeful and even relieved.
We see success and immediately want to take the next step.
Closer, longer, harder and faster.
Speeding everything up.

Reactivity though, really does have it's own timeline.
The success we need to see more of will come but we can't rush it.
Their nervous system is only just beginning to settle, they are just beginning to cope and "figure this all out".

This is when they need repeated success.
It's not the time to increase that difficulty.

Celebrate that win!
Woo hoo it !
You have both done incredibly well coming this far!

While you're celebrating, remember their nervous system isn't ready for more just yet.
It's barely processed this success.
If you keep that in mind, there will be plenty more "woo hoo" moments!

03/12/2025

SECONDS COUNT
This post is not advocating that dogs meet every other dog, but rather about how to go about it in a safer way, if and when it does happen.

The 3 second rule for dogs meeting each other is used as a guideline to help foster positive introductions, prevent either dog from feeling overwhelmed or trapped and prevent any potential reactivity and stress.

A short 3 second introduction is enough time to provide important information to both dogs.

Enough time and information for dogs to decide – “are you a threat?”, “do I like you?”, “do I want to learn more about you?”, “do I really dislike you?”, “do I want you to go away?” etc. Both dogs may not feel the same way – one may not be happy to engage while the other may want to.

All interactions should ideally happen like this, not just initially. Just like us, dogs can have off days – things like pain, trigger stacking, lack of sleep or a host of other reasons can influence a dog’s emotional state and whether a dog wants to interact or not.

There are countless times I have witnessed meetings or introductions between dogs that have gone on just a few seconds too long and have not ended well.

This can have long lasting effects on future behaviour when meeting other dogs.

Understanding body language is critically important. If we are going to share our lives with another species, protect them, advocate for them and help them feel safe, then we need to understand and respect their language.

The examples in this post of red and green flags are just a few general ones to look out for – there are many more and these will differ depending on the individual dog, context and circumstances.

Here are some resources that provide more detailed information about body language –

The Veterinary Behaviour Centre
https://bit.ly/4hwC8k1

On Talking Terms With Dogs - Calming Signals, 2nd Edition by Turid Rugaas
https://bit.ly/4oftWqW

Make sure those first 3 seconds count – they can make all the difference.

02/12/2025

Dogs are tolerant with toddlers....until they aren't 🐾🚑

01/12/2025

Does your dog like to eat grass too 🌿🍽🌿

01/12/2025

BP Adelaide Grand Final and ACDC concert was how we spent our Sunday. We arrived and my husband Matt said "we have new seats down the very end, Vic, how about you go to our seats & I'll line up for drinks"

So off I trot 🚶‍♀️ to the wrong grandstand "down the very end" 😅🤭

Unbelievably they let me in and I sit and wait 🤔 Matt messages me where are you? 😆

I did move on... but I actually quite liked the hairpin bend 🤣

ACDC were awesome 🎶🎸🎶 who else loves ACDC 🎶🎸

01/12/2025

Rex - Kelpie - 12mths
Farm Dog For The Day Experience

Fun day with Rex, and his family have been doing their homework 🐾👌and it certainly showed today.

One happy boy and one very proud trainer 🤎🐾👌

27/11/2025

🔺 ️Hackles up
🔺️ Involuntary mohawk
🔺️ Piloerection

A great explanation of why your dogs fur stands on end, when he is highly aroused.
By Dogs Disclosed 🐾👌

THE INVOLUNTARY MOHAWK

Technically called Piloerection – when the fur on a dog’s back area stands on end.

Piloerection in dogs is an involuntary response – not within conscious control. It’s usually linked to feeling a strong emotion and could be compared to a person getting goosebumps.

It’s far easier to see in short haired dogs than those with a longer coat.

A breed like the Rhodesian Ridgeback has a clear distinctive ridge of fur on their back. This is formed by a selected gene mutation which causes that particular fur to grow in the opposite direction from the rest. This ridge is standard for this breed and is not related to an emotional state.

Piloerection is commonly thought only to be seen in reactive or aggressive dogs, but that’s not always the case.

Dogs that are feeling aroused, excited, fearful, startled, stimulated, conflicted or insecure in some way, also exhibit this.

As with all behaviour, it’s important to look at the context, in conjunction with other body language, the environment and specific situation in order to establish the cause and decide on the best way to intervene if necessary.

Dr Karen London - an ethologist and highly qualified behaviourist, trained in observing animals and behaviour, has made some very interesting observations about different patterns of raised fur being linked to different emotional states.

In Dr London’s professional opinion -
A thin patch of fur all along the back to the base of the tail is associated with a high level of confidence. These dogs are more likely to be on the offensive and react more aggressively.

A thick patch across shoulders to around ¼ way down the back is associated with a low level of confidence and is seen in dogs that are more fearful.

A patch of fur raised at the shoulders and another patch at the base of the tail – the fur in between is not raised, is associated with dogs that are conflicted and unsure of how to react. These dogs may be unpredictable and more likely to be reactive.

Dr London states that there are many exceptions, but in general, this applies to the majority of dogs that she observes.

27/11/2025

This is why you cant reach me on a Thursday, I'm in therapy somewhere 😍 with Rosco, my stockhorse x 🧡🐎

Today was a beautiful morning in Kuitpo Forest. This is were I meet many of you for lessons with your awesome canine buddies 🐾👌

Have a great day and please tell your dog I said hi 👋

Let's see your favourite forest photos with your best friend
Vicki 🌲💚🐕🐺🐩🐕‍🦺🐶🐎💚🌲

25/11/2025

25/11/2025

PREVENTING DOG ATTACKS
As dog parents we hope that this will never happen to our dogs, but in reality, many of us have personal experience with this really traumatic event.

The consequences of a dog attack are immense - not just the potential physical injuries, but the emotional trauma that often changes a dogs behaviour from there on.

I often wish that I could go back in time, knowing what I know now. I wish that I could have prevented what happened to my dogs if I had tried some of these methods. All I did at the time was scream – I didn’t know what else to do. Screaming only escalated the situation.

My dogs were attacked while out walking in the neighborhood as a person arrived home and opened their front gate just as we had walked past. 2 big dogs chased us up the road and attacked my dogs. One of my dogs had serious injuries requiring stitches, drains and days at the vet. She recovered physically, but years later is still fearful of bigger dogs and hides behind anything she can find in the environment until they have disappeared.

One of my other dogs, although not physically injured at the time, began reacting to any dog that was bigger than her and still does this, years later. The emotional trauma is often far greater than the physical.

Knowing what methods to try in an attempt to prevent a dog attack are so important. It may seem like a hassle to have to carry a few extra things when out walking or to always have to be aware of the environment.

It may sound terrible to have to resort to putting your little dog into a nearby dustbin to protect them or to use a spray or horn device to deter the approaching dog, knowing that it will affect your dog as well.

There is never a guarantee that these methods will work and every situation is different, but we need to do all we can to prevent an attack from happening.

25/11/2025

It's great your dog is ok off lead.
It's not great when they come barreling up to a dog on a lead.
The leash is there for a reason.

We might be building confidence.
Working through anxiety.
Recovering from an injury.
We may be on a mission to stay calm around triggers.
Or any number of reasons.....

Every dog deserves to feel safe on their walk.