Happy Dog Javea

23/06/2026

19/06/2026

Great post , thanks Throw Me a Bone - Dog Training & Behaviour 👍🐕🐕‍🦺😊

🐾 Why Positive Reinforcement Works So Well 🐾

One of the biggest reasons positive reinforcement is so effective is because it follows a simple but incredibly important principle:

👉 A behaviour must happen first before it can be reinforced.

👀This might sound obvious, but it’s a concept that many dog owners struggle with.

〰️When we use positive reinforcement, we identify a behaviour we want to see more of, and then we reward it. Over time, that behaviour becomes stronger, happens more often, and eventually becomes a habit.

〰️Want your dog to sit politely? Reward the sit.

〰️Want your dog to walk nicely on a loose lead? Reward the loose lead walking.

〰️Want your dog to look at you instead of another dog? Reward the check-in.

The dog learns exactly which behaviour earns good things.

💡 It’s clear.
💡 It’s fair.
💡 It’s easy for the dog to understand.

Now compare that to telling a dog:

❌ “No.”

The problem is that “no” isn’t a behaviour.

➡️A dog cannot physically do “no.”

It doesn’t tell them what behaviour you would like instead.

🤔Should they sit?
🤔Should they lie down?
🤔Should they move away?
🤔Should they look at you?
🤔Should they stop and stand still?

🤔 Should they simply repeat the last thing they did?

The dog is left guessing.

And training works best when there is no guessing involved. When guidance is clear - results are better and predictable.

🐕 Another common mistake is accidentally rewarding the wrong behaviour.

Let’s say your dog jumps up at you.

➖They jump.
➖You wait.
➖They stop jumping.
➖You immediately give them a treat.

Most people believe they’re rewarding the dog for stopping.

But from the dog’s perspective, things may not be that simple.

Dogs learn through associations and consequences.

They’re constantly asking:

“What did I just do that earned me that reward?”

If the timing isn’t clear enough, the dog may connect the reward with the entire sequence:

Jump up ➡️ Stop ➡️ Get treat

Very quickly this can become:

Jump up ➡️ Stop ➡️ Get treat
Jump up ➡️ Stop ➡️ Get treat
Jump up ➡️ Stop ➡️ Get treat

The jumping becomes part of the process that leads to reinforcement.

The same thing can happen with barking.

🐶 Bark bark bark!
🦴 Dog stops.
🦴 Treat appears.

The dog will not think:

“I got rewarded for being quiet.”

Instead they may think:

“Every time I bark, treats eventually appear!”

And suddenly you’ve created a dog who barks more, not less.

💢Remember - you CANNOT reward absence of behaviour. There has to be a physical behaviour, which CAN be rewarded. 💢

🎯 This is why skilled positive reinforcement training doesn’t focus on rewarding the absence of behaviour.

Instead, it focuses on teaching and reinforcing an alternative behaviour.

Rather than:

❌ Don’t jump.

Teach:

✅ Four paws on the floor.

Rather than:

❌ Don’t bark.

Teach:

✅ Go to your bed.
✅ Look at me.
✅ Settle on a mat.

Rather than:

❌ Stop pulling.

Teach:

✅ Walk beside me on a loose lead.

Because behaviours can be reinforced.

Behaviours can be practised.

Behaviours can become habits.

“Don’t do that” is not a behaviour.

“Do this instead” is.

And that’s one of the biggest reasons positive reinforcement remains the most successful, humane and scientifically supported way of training dogs. ❤️

18/06/2026

After 12 wonderful years, the time has come for Happy Dog Javea to hang up the harness for a while 🐕‍🦺

During the 12 years using positive reinforcement methods, I have had the privilege of helping over 1,000 dogs of all breeds, sizes and ages learn how to successfully navigate our human world.
I would like to sincerely thank every client who trusted me with their beloved four-legged family members and I truly hope that the advice, guidance and support I have provided over the years has made a positive difference for both you and your dogs.

I will always advocate for kind, ethical, positive reinforcement training methods and will never use or recommend aversive training tools or ‘trainers ‘ that use them.
Thankfully, prong collars and e-collars are banned in many countries, including Spain. However, vibration collars and slip/choke leads are still widely used despite also being considered aversive tools.
Unfortunately, the dog training industry remains unregulated meaning anyone can call themselves a dog trainer regardless of qualifications or training methods used.
My hope is that, in the future, governments will require recognised and accredited certification standards so that owners can feel confident and safe when choosing someone to work with their dogs.
With this in mind, I would like to recommend the following professionals for anyone seeking qualified, legal , insured and force-free training support moving forward.
Belen at La Jungla for detection work and 121 training .
Irene at La Jungla for puppy classes and 121 training.
Emma at Patas & Paws for all the amazing services she offers…..
Walks specialist
Pet taxi
Home visits
Canine coach, specialising in confidence building, enrichment sessions and helping the golden oldies
Qualified, fully insured and legally registered.

Of course , I will keep posting advice and information to try to help stop the rise of ( un)balanced training methods ( vibration collars , slip leads are aversive training tools too! ) and promote ethical, positive reinforcement training methods 👍🐕‍🦺😊

13/06/2026

Met this gorgeous 15 week old ball of fluff Ziggy 6 weeks ago and it’s been wonderful helping her and her humans ( never had a dog before ) learn the skills she and they will need for her to become a well balanced, sociable dog.
The first 2 sessions were in the home as Ziggy needed to have her 3rd puppy vaccination so we taught her a few basic cues and started practicing loose lead walking in the garden.
For the following sessions we went out and about for more experiences in the real world ( to the Arenal when it wasn’t too busy and to a garden centre) Obviously Ziggy is still young and the world is an exciting place so walking calmly is difficult but she’s getting better and is learning how to act when there are distractions including other dogs and how to settle down …..it’s very tiring being a puppy 🐶 💤
Well done to Ziggy and her amazing humans , you’re doing a great job 🐶🥰

12/06/2026

Totally agree , it’s so sad and frustrating seeing trainers that use aversive methods being recommended because people just want their dog ‘fixed’ quickly and they don’t care ( or want to know) how these trainers do it 😤

09/06/2026

Almost 2 months since I last saw Kika and what a wonderful dog she’s becoming ☺️
She’s now 15months old and doing so well with all the life skills she’s learnt that will help her to navigate our human world.
Her amazing human has really put the work in with her and just had a couple of questions regarding her liking to stop & sniff a lot on her walks 😉and also what’s best to do re walking her now that it’s getting warmer . These questions were answered and all is good 👍 😊
Have a great summer Kika and I look forward to seeing you and your human again in a few months 🐕‍🦺🥰

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 🐕🐕‍🦺☺️