Gold Canine

07/27/2024

Friday! A study done on street dogs in India (Majumder et al., 2014) reveals what dogs do all day without the influence of humans.

A simplified takeaway:

🐕 Over 50% of the day was spent being inactive.

🐕 48% of active time was spent walking. Chasing a potential prey was only seen twice. Researchers did not actually witness any dogs killing another animal so the intent of the chase is unknown.

🐕 Just under 50% of the remaining active time was spent directly interacting with others. 85% of those interactions were with other dogs.

🐕 Being in the presence of others did not always mean they were directly interacting.

It's easy to see how the lives of our captive dogs are much, much different than what might come naturally!

You can read a more in-depth explanation on our blog below!

https://www.mindfulmethodstraining.com/blog/fish-out-of-water

02/27/2024

Remember Lulu? After only a couple months of consistency (1-2 hours / week of leash training) this is how her walking has progressed. Lulu still requires a large amount of reinforcement and patience and is working with low level distractions but has come a long way from the dog who caused her owner a very serious injury back in December. Good job Lulu!

02/09/2024

We have online cooperative care and consent classes are currently available!

12/19/2023

12/14/2023

Welcome to Lulu who is working on her loose leash walking skills after causing a serious injury to her owner from her darting and pulling on leash. This video is only from our third (😱) session working together. Lulu has already gone from 0 manners on lead to having a good basic understanding of leash pressure and walking politely.

12/12/2023

This is something I often hear. We don’t want to limit window access because our dog enjoys sitting and watching the world go by from their window.

While there certainly are dogs who can window watch and remain relaxed, many dogs who window watch will then bark, growl or lunge at the window. This behaviour is reinforced every time the person, dog or other trigger leaves (even though they were going to leave eventually regardless).

This becomes especially problematic if you have a dog who already struggles with reactivity, fear, anxiety or aggression. Not only does the window watching provide an opportunity to practice undesirable behaviour, but your dog is going to be very worked up by the time they go out on a walk or encounter a trigger in another context. As you can imagine, this does not set them up for success. Even if your dog doesn’t bark or growl, keep an eye on body language, as even fixating or stressing while window watching can contribute to this trigger stacking effect.

Remember that not all exposure is created equal. We can expose your dog to the things that scare or trigger them, but let’s do it in a scenario where they can be successful. Otherwise, window film, curtains and gates exist and should be used to prevent window watching, if it’s problematic for your dog.

12/11/2023

Gold Canine is now offering virtual dog training. Access our knowledge from the comfort of your own home, wherever that may be, at affordable prices.

12/08/2023

📝 Reminder:

you can (and should) have a life outside of caring for your dog's needs!

You are absolutely still a great dog guardian if you sometimes do things entirely for yourself.

Don't skip the office Christmas party if you really want to go.
Go to the holiday parade for a couple hours.
Attend your friend's gift exchange.

Do not miss out on activities this holiday season - and don't feel guilty about it either.

Your dog needs you to be the best version of yourself and that means doing things that fulfill *your* needs.

What allowances are you going to make for yourself this holiday season?

💌 SHARE this with someone who needs this affirmation!

💚 And follow .plus.dogs for mental health tips for your dog - and you!

12/07/2023

12/06/2023

I NOSE WHAT TIME IT IS!

Dogs just seem to know when it’s time for food, time for a walk or even what time we’re expected to come home, sometimes down to the exact minute!

Yes, they may simply know this from daily routines that create predictable patterns or certain cues that predict certain events, but there is far more to this ability to tell time than the obvious reasons.

One theory is that time has a particular smell. Different times of the day smell differently. Morning smells differently to afternoon or evening.

As air heats up over the course of the day, air currents change and move around, carrying molecules of different odours with it.

These changes become predictable and a dog’s incredible sense of smell enables these odours to become their “clock”.

One example is when you leave the house to go to work, leaving a strong scent behind you. As time passes, your scent becomes weaker.

Dogs predict that when your scent becomes weakened to a certain level, it’s time for you to come home.

The level of your scent predicts the time. As dogs can detect both strong and weak scents and all of the levels in between, it means that they are actually interpreting events across an interval of time.

Another way dogs may tell time is through circadian rhythms. Just like us, dogs have fluctuations in systems like hormone levels, neural activity or body temperature and these rhythms may help them to understand the approximate time of day - just like when our stomach starts growling when it’s nearly time for dinner or we feel tired when it's time for bed.

Dogs are not the only species that can interpret time. Animals that migrate or hibernate follow seasonal cues from nature in the form of daylight and temperature to know when the time is right.

Having hundreds of millions more scent receptors than us, a dog’s amazing ability to smell is likely the reason that dogs just "nose" what time it is.

11/13/2023

It's so very important when training to remember to reward, or mark, each time your dog does it "right." Even if it's not perfect, let them know they're on the right track! This picture helps us realize just how important this is.