Ten Paws Up Dog training

10/02/2024

People vary in comfort levels with socializing at all stages of life. It can change our world when we understand our furry companions experience the same.

DON’T FORCE ME TO BE SOCIAL!
It may be really disappointing and frustrating when our dogs are not the social beings we expected them to be.

Many believe dogs should just naturally get along with other dogs, after all they’re the same species.

Some believe the “unsociable” dog has a behaviour problem that needs to be “fixed”.

Early, appropriately timed and correct socialisation is vitally important, but sometimes despite all of this, some dogs are just not that sociable.

Sometimes this can be improved, especially if the cause is from a negative experience, but genetics, breed tendencies, individual personalities, health and age all contribute to tolerance and sociability, which also change throughout life.

If we, as a human species, don’t get along with everyone we meet, how can we expect our dogs to?

Do we label every person that has an argument, doesn’t make friends with everyone they meet, doesn’t like every other person, prefers not to socialise - as having a problem that needs to be fixed?

Why is it so easy to accept that every individual person is different than to accept that every individual dog is different?

When we have done what we can to improve our dogs’ social skills, we need to accept and acknowledge our dogs for the individuals they are, allow and respect their choice of whether to be sociable or not and never force interactions that a dog is not comfortable with.

09/01/2024

This is something that those of us who work as trainers or behaviour consultants encounter a lot. A client will come to us because there is a behaviour or group of behaviours that they want to stop happening.

This is fine for some behaviours. Destructive chewing can result in injury to the dog, either damage to their teeth or, in some cases, swallowing inedible items that can cause an emergency and require surgery. Chasing cars out on a walk could result in a dog managing to get into the road and run over. Pulling on the lead can make walks difficult and potentially painful for dog and human (particularly dangerous for dogs walking using collars around then neck as there are many delicate and important structures in their throats just as in ours).

The essential first step in working with any behaviour is to think about why it may be happening.

Is the dog chewing because they are young and teething? Give them something appropriate to chew and redirect them to that if they start to chew something else.

Are they destroying things when they are left home alone? They could have separation related issues, in which case it's important to work with a qualified and experienced force free trainer to reduce their anxiety.

Are they given enough opportunities to chew on a regular basis? Chewing is a natural behaviour (as is digging) and it's vital we give them plenty of opportunities to carry out natural behaviours.

Are they chasing cars because they are scared? Or is it because they are a breed that reacts to fast moving objects, like herding dogs, sight hounds, or terriers? In each case here, working with a force free trainer will help, as will finding out activities we can do with our dogs to let them chase appropriate items or control movement as they have been bred to do.

Pulling on the lead is perhaps one of the simplest (and most common) of issues and one very simple reason it happens is that dogs generally move faster than humans, and they need to be taught to match our pace. Switch to a harness to keep their neck safe and reward them when they are in the right position. Again, working with a force free trainer is a great idea as they can show the best way to mark and reward when the dog is in position and how to keep the lead loose.

Another thing that helps greatly with this is to use a longer lead and let them have more length to explore when it is safe to do so, so they can sniff and investigate their surroundings - sniffing is another natural behaviour and probably the one that is easiest for us to let them do, as we can simply let them sniff while we are out walking together.

For any behaviour that humans can find problematic, before anything else, we need to understand why it is happening and, if it is a natural behaviour, our responsibility as caregiver to make sure our dogs are able to do these things safely.

05/02/2024

03/17/2024

The more value we put in to a cue for our dogs the more likely they are to respond to it when asked.

02/14/2024

Imagine the possibilities 💖

11/27/2023

There is a lingering misconception that using force free and fear free methods consists of just ignoring any 'bad' behaviour and giving a dog food. The reality is that force free training is so much more than that.

It requires an understanding of the history of dogs, why they do the things that they do and how to change their behaviour. Of how to manage the dog's environment so they don't get to practice the behaviour we don't want to see while reinforcing the behaviours we do want - dogs do what works for them so reinforcing alternative behaviours makes the original behaviour much less likely to repeat.

Most of all it means having an understanding of the dog in front of us, their needs, likes and dislikes, so that we can help them with their fears or show them the behaviours their humans would like without danger of fear and pain, or of the dog becoming frustrated or scared.

08/02/2023

💯! Seek out ALL the success along the way, big and small. Those moments of wonder, curiosity, confidence, accomplishment and joy..... celebrate it all!

07/20/2023

Was just "practicing" some of this on our river walk today till it was off leash time 😉
Beautifully said 💖

07/20/2023

So often what guardians see as behaviour 'problems' are perfectly normal behaviours to the dog. We have a responsibility under the Five Freedoms to let our dogs have the freedom to carry out natural behaviours. So give them a place where they can dig, such as a sand pit, to keep your lawn and flowerbeds safe. Give them plenty of 'legal' things to chew to avoid them working through your shoe collection. Let them have the time to sniff, especially on walks - you're here on social media, so give them the chance to check theirs!