Reward That

30/07/2025

A great resource on dog-dog interactions.

"All good ☺️Neither dog are growling"
Hang on.
Dogs can and do growl in play.
It can be completely normal.

"So how can I tell"?
It can be tricky to tell the difference between healthy play and those interactions that are something else entirely.
There are some areas we can look at to help us decipher.

➡️Immediate posture changes/rigidity/stillness

Some dogs pause, go still..... then explode with loose and wiggly movements. That’s often play.
The problematic kind of rigidness is different. It can linger for longer.
Even when the other dog is showing everyway they can "all's good here"
That stillness and posture is "tight".
It can come with hard stares, leaning or standing over.
Stiff body posture from either dog.....even the one on the ground.
That’s not play

➡️When high energy switches to frantic

Chasing and being chased.
Some dogs love this.
There can be an energy change with chasing that we need to watch for though.
It can turn.
It can become far more frantic and direct.

If one dog is always the chaser, and when they catch the other.....the tone changes, the body language tightens, the movements escalate and it stops looking mutual...that’s when caution is needed.

We don't want to stop dogs playing....but we do need to recognise when it is no longer fun for all dogs involved.

21/07/2025

Meet Olive, the newest addition to our Puppy Kindergarten family!
This bundle of joy is excited to learn, play, and make new furry friends.
Get ready for endless tail wags and puppy love, because Olive is ready to steal our hearts!

16/04/2024

16/04/2024

Nurturing Trust:
Are You Investing in Your Dog's Emotional Bank Account? 🐕❤️

This emotional bank account, just like a monetary one, requires consistent deposits to maintain a positive balance.

To make deposits:
☑️Giving them agency
☑️Use positive reinforcement to reward good behavior.
☑️Provide consistent and fair rules.
☑️Prioritize their needs, ensuring they feel safe and loved.
☑️Engage in bonding activities like playtime and walks.

Avoid withdrawals:
❌Harsh punishment or aversive methods.
❌Inconsistency in rules and expectations.
❌Neglecting their emotional, biological, and physical needs.
❌Unclear communication.

A robust trust account translates to a confident, happy, and well-behaved dog. Always ask yourself, "Am I making a deposit or withdrawal in my dog's trust account?" and watch your bond grow. Remember, the stronger the trust, the richer the relationship!"

12/04/2024

28/09/2022

What is Socialization 🤔

Have you ever heard "I cannot socialized my puppy as it's not vaccinated yet". Well there's good news! The American Veterinary Society for Animal Behavior (AVSAB) released a statement in 2008 affirming that puppy socialization is a critically important tool in the behavioral development of a dog. And the benefits far outway the risks. Check it out ➡️

What is Socialization?
Socialization involves exposing a puppy to a variety of stimuli (sights, sounds, smells, experiences) and ensuring the pup is having a good time while doing so.

Exposure to these various stimuli does not necessarily mean interaction! 🤯

Think of it more like you gave your puppy a camera 📸. As they navigate their world and spot something... Let's say...a bike 🚴‍♀️ they pause and capture a picture. In this brief moment of exposure this is when they decided if they become optimistic about the experience of capturing the bike or pessimistic, or maybe even neutral.

Pessimistic experiences can occur. Perhaps the bike was too close and the puppy did not expect it.

Neutral experiences are ones where there were neither optimistic experiences or pessimistic experiences with the stimuli.

Optimistic experiences can occur they can capture the bike at a distance and perhaps a magical kibble fell from the sky and the puppy associated the bike with positive possibilities.

📖 Here's an activity you can do with your dog! It's one that works their brain and will leave them tired.

Take a pen and paper, write down as many stimuli you can think of. 📝

Next take your dog outside, maybe to a park, or a cafe, have your pup settle on a nice comfy mat, and let them watch the world go by. Whenever you and your dog spot something on your list, let them be rewarded with a treat dropping onto their mat, as they discover the reward you can check it off your list ✅
Follow for more training tips! 🐕

19/09/2022

Control through punishment, or infliction of fear or pain, is a primitive concept.

We have learned, when punishment is part of the equation, while teaching your dog, your dog focuses not on freedom to learn but on avoiding punishment.

Furthermore, the greatest drawback is the fact that punishment does not actually offer any information about more appropriate or desired behaviors. Continuously setting your dog up for failure, rather than a possibility to succeed!

Another thing to consider about punishment is that it can have unintended and undesirable consequences.

For this reason, Skinner and other psychologists suggest that any potential short-term gains from using punishment as a behavior modification tool need to be weighed against the potential long-term consequences.

Would you like, or could you give examples of scenarios between punishing a behaviour verses alternative ways to reward the desired behaviour?
This can be done with your dog, kids, partner, boss, etc

Let us know in the comments below!

14/09/2022

REHABILITATING FEARFUL DOGS

A new paper by Collins et al. (2022) analysed the effectiveness of behavioural rehabilitation programs for helping dogs in shelters experiencing extreme fearfulness reach the behavioural standard for adoption.

This is a lovely and encouraging paper because the majority of dogs displaying extreme fearfulness (86%) did respond to the rehabilitation interventions and were successfully able to be put up for adoption.

Behaviour modification techniques included leash application and walking, handling, exposure to novelty and socialization with people.

in addition enrichment in their environment was provided four times per day. Some dogs were assisted with prescribed psychopharmacological medication (primarily fluoxetine and gabapentin) in conjunction.

It is worth mentioning that on average, this took 96 days. This really reinforces the fact that although behaviour modification is very successful, it is NOT a quick process, and requires commitment and patience from owners. To truly overcome fearful behaviour, a lot of time is required.

To learn more about this study:

Collins, K., Miller, K., Zverina, L., Patterson-Kane, E., Cussen, V., & Reid, P. (2022). Behavioral rehabilitation of extremely fearful dogs: Report on the efficacy of a treatment protocol. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 254, 105689.

09/09/2022

What’s Reward-Based training? 🤔

Reward-based training, often referred to as “positive reinforcement training,” is exactly what it sounds like. It involves rewarding your dog with things they enjoy, when teaching them to offer behaviours you like.

It can also desensitize your dog to scary things by forming associations with good things to make them less scary.

Reward-based training is an incredibly effective way to train dogs and modify their behaviour and is grounded in scientific principles used with dogs and many other species.

When approaching dog training, we must look at both ends of the leash - as humans, we also benefit from the reward-based approach.
Have you ever tried offering a reward, perhaps that looked like a compliment, a gift, or help, when someone did something you liked?
Perhaps you'd like to have the kids clean their room? Or have your partner do to the dishes? What are some rewards you can offer to increase seeing the behaviours you desire?

In summary, reward-based training builds a society that supports and encourages both, humans and dogs, for offering behaviours we want to see more of.