Happy Hills Hounds

25/02/2026

Such a pleasure hanging out w these guys 🐾🐾

15/12/2025

When we know better, we do better.. let’s do better!!! If you’re needing help with understanding your dog please reach out

It’s incredible how far science has come since the 1980s — in neuroscience, psychology, education, and yes, dog training.
We understand learning and behaviour today in ways the 80s simply couldn’t. And yet, parts of the dog training world are still behaving like nothing has changed and still train like Baraba Woodhouse

Neuroscience has shown that punishment increases stress hormones (cortisol, adrenaline), which shut down learning pathways in the brain.

Behaviour science confirms that reinforcement builds reliable behaviour, while aversives suppress behaviour — often only temporarily.

Stress and fear impair cognitive processing in both humans and animals. That’s not an opinion; it’s decades of peer-reviewed research.

We have clear evidence that dogs trained with aversive tools show more anxiety, reactivity, and aggression over time.

We now know dogs experience frustration, fear, and stress similarly to young children, because their brain structures are comparable.

This is modern science, across multiple fields, learning theory, ethology, psychology, and neurobiology.

So with all this solid evidence…
why haven’t balanced trainers moved forward?

Aversive methods can create rapid outward behaviour change, which looks like success but is actually stress-induced suppression. That makes them easy to market.

Big bloody egos

Updating your methods requires accepting old methods caused harm — and not everyone is willing to face that.

Many balanced trainers rely on outdated dominance theory, which has been scientifically disproven for over 25 years.

It’s easier to hold onto tradition than to learn modern ethology and neuroscience.

Confirmation bias — when a dog “stops” a behaviour after a correction, it feels like proof, even though science tells us suppression ≠ learning.

Prats on TV still show 1980s theory, so new owners believe what is shown

Science has moved on.
Behavioural understanding has moved on.
Every major veterinary behaviour association worldwide rejects aversive methods because the data is that strong.

Dogs deserve training grounded in evidence — not nostalgia.
We know more now.
There’s no scientific justification for staying in the past. The Barbara woodhouse days are long gone.

If your trainer trys to justify grots, prongs, check chains, e collers (which ARE SHOCK COLLARS) Slip leads or any other aversives ..... leave and dont look back
Dogs deserve more than that abuse

09/12/2025

Bit of education if you’re interested 😁🐾🐾

09/11/2025

Inside the Mind of a Dog on Netflix is worth a watch 😁🐾🐾

23/10/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1YiaW6CBLy/?mibextid=wwXIfr

This is why I LOVE walking dogs in a group. The bond that the dogs gain w each other overtime is so sweet to witness 😁🐾🐾

🐾🧡 THE VALUE OF FRIENDSHIPS BETWEEN FAMILIAR DOGS 🧡🐾

Dogs, just like people, have favourite friends.

They thrive on familiarity. Those trusted companions they can read easily, relax around, and share space with.

Watching dogs form friendships reminds us that social confidence isn’t about meeting everyone; it’s about finding comfort in someone. These bonds help build emotional security and teach dogs how to communicate more calmly with others.

So next time you notice your dog light up around a familiar friend, that’s a connection at work: quiet, steady, and full of meaning. 🐾

23/09/2025

Good message about touch - does your dog actually like the interactions that you're offering? 🐾🐾 ,

03/09/2025

To get the best out of our doggos we need to give them what they need and reward them for offering what we need. Win win for both species

26/08/2025

Happy International Dog Day!!! 🐕‍🦺❤️ How lucky are we humans to have such an awesome companion. If you're struggling to LOVE your pup please reach out

Send a message to learn more

05/06/2025

So true!!

It’s easy to label a dog’s behavior as “bad.”

They bark, they pull, they chew, they growl, they ignore cues. And we’re quick to call it disobedience.

But what if we stopped looking at behavior as something to correct… and started seeing it as something to understand?

Because the truth is, behaviour is communication.

It’s your dog’s way of navigating a human world that doesn’t always make sense to them.

It’s how they express their needs, emotions, fears, and excitement. It’s their voice.

When a dog jumps on guests, they may be overjoyed and unsure how else to say hello.

When they pull on leash, they’re excited, curious, or possibly anxious.

When they growl, they’re saying, “I’m uncomfortable, please give me space.”

None of these behaviours are “naughty” or malicious.

They’re messages and signals. Opportunities to listen.

Yet too often, these behaviours are punished or shut down without ever asking why they’re happening. We silence the symptom without addressing the cause.

And in doing so, we risk making things worse: not only suppressing behaviour, but suppressing trust.

When we shift our mindset from "disobedience" to "communication," our entire relationship with our dogs transforms. We move from frustration to empathy.

We need to teach our dogs that they can trust us to listen when they’re struggling. We become their safe place, not their source of pressure.

So the next time your dog “misbehaves,” pause.
Ask yourself: What are they trying to tell me?

Because every bark, every growl, every moment of resistance - that's not defiance.

It’s dialogue. And dogs are desperate for us to hear them.