Happy Dog Javea

27/05/2026

Another great post from Dogs Disclosed.
People use the word ‘agressive’ too easily 😔

IS YOUR DOG AGGRESSIVE OR REACTIVE?

Reactivity can certainly look like aggression. Lunging, barking, snarling, growling are just some of the behaviours we might see that may make us think our dogs are aggressive.

I believe that too many dogs are labelled as aggressive. Yes, there certainly are some dogs that are truly aggressive and genetics play a big role in this, but this is not what this post is about.

This is about just labelling a dog as aggressive and not looking at what emotion lies beneath the surface that may be causing the behaviour.

Fear, anxiety, stress, frustration, over arousal, negative experiences, learning history, trigger stacking, pain etc. can all cause an overreaction or an abnormal level of arousal in response to whatever is triggering that particular dog.

Although reactivity and true aggression are inherently different, a reactive dog may become an aggressive dog if the underlying emotion isn’t recognised and the triggers aren’t addressed. The behaviour becomes an automatic response or a learnt behaviour. The dog has learnt that aggression works to make the “thing” go away.

Reactivity and what is triggering it needs to be understood and addressed through either careful counter conditioning, desensitization and sometimes just managing the environment to prevent the behaviour from being practiced.

Our words and our labels matter – they influence our state of mind and our thoughts.

Rather than saying "My dog is aggressive", try saying "I have a dog that over reacts to certain triggers or certain situations and we are working on ways to improve this"

12/05/2026

Love this and so true .
I’ve learnt so much over the the last 12 years since I qualified as an ethical, positive reinforcement trainer 🐕🐕‍🦺☺️

08/05/2026

🥰

04/05/2026

This 👏
Thanks Glasgow Dog Trainer and Behaviour Consultant for showing that positive reinforcement training works 100% better than ( un) balanced training that uses aversive methods and tools 👍🐕🐕‍🦺🥰

30/04/2026

Consultation with marvelous Murphy and his amazing humans.
Murphy is a 7month old wire haired dachshund and the family have only been here a couple of months.
Murphy is entering his adolescence stage 😳 and his days were lacking structure . After putting in a few new strategies re his day/night time routine, changing the equipment used ( flexi leads have their uses but are not the best when walking along the Arenal and other busy places!) Murphy and his humans are finding their days and walks much calmer.
Murphy also likes the sound of his own voice 😜so he’s been learning the “quiet” 🤫 cue ( using positive reinforcement) and now his humans and neighbours are much happier too 😊

30/04/2026

Great post from Sally 🐕🥰

Learn how to meet your dog's emotional needs through daily care that supports nervous system regulation, connection, and true wellbeing beyond basic training.

23/04/2026

 Commands versus cues:
commands mean you expect a dog to already know what to do while cues indicate you’re still teaching them.
It’s all about how the dog feels about the cue and that’s the most important part as if the dog feels good about something, they will definitely repeat it.
That’s the dog staying curious which is a good thing especially when you understand how your dog feels.
Commands mean you have expectations and expectations can lead to disappointments which make people think the dog is bad.

18/04/2026

Being allowed to sniff is so important for the wellbeing of dogs 🐕🐕‍🦺🥰

Dogs are built to seek through scent.

Their primary sense is olfactory. They experience the world through smell in ways we can barely imagine.

When a dog puts their nose to the ground and starts sniffing, their SEEKING system lights up. The seeking itself is the reward. That engagement with scent information that tells them about their world.

Watch a dog on a walk who's allowed to sniff freely.

They look different to the one pulled away from the sniff. Softer body language, more engagement with their own life and confident that their person knows their needs matter.

Then look at the one pulled off the sniff. Sad looking, glum and plodding. It wrenches my heart to see that.

Dogs sniff, it's what they do - they need to, it's their walk.