Pawsitive Adventures

Pawsitive Adventures 🐶DOG WALKING & ANIMAL CARE 🐴
🐾K9 FIRST AID TRAINED 🐾
✅️INSURED✅️

had a fantastic time away and ready get Back to work Friday 18th April see you all then .🐶🐾
16/04/2025

had a fantastic time away and ready get Back to work Friday 18th April see you all then .🐶🐾

Who’s ready for some 🤣🫣
10/04/2025

Who’s ready for some 🤣🫣

💥OUT OF OFFICE UNTIL 18th APRIL💥No messages/emails will be responded to during this time.I look forward to seeing all th...
08/04/2025

💥OUT OF OFFICE UNTIL 18th APRIL💥

No messages/emails will be responded to during this time.

I look forward to seeing all the dogs back to normal on Friday 18th April

Clocked out
Pawsitive Adventures ☀️🕶️

Just like that we are in April already,time sure does fly when doing what you love. 🐾
04/04/2025

Just like that we are in April already,time sure does fly when doing what you love. 🐾

🐾🐾🐾🐾
31/03/2025

🐾🐾🐾🐾

We have many K-9 handlers, trainers, veterinarians on this page. It will be interesting their thoughts on this article.

Canine Evolutions
There is a question I get asked constantly:
“Bart, should I play fetch with my dog every day? He LOVES it!”
And my answer is always the same:
No. Especially not with working breeds like the Malinois, German Shepherd, Dutch Shepherd, or any other high-prey-drive dog, like hunting dogs, Agility dogs, etc.
This answer is often met with surprise, sometimes with resistance. I get it—your dog brings you the ball, eyes bright, body full of energy, practically begging you to throw it. It feels like bonding. It feels like exercise. It feels like the right thing to do.
But from a scientific, behavioral, and neurobiological perspective—it’s not. In fact, it may be one of the most harmful daily habits for your dog’s mental health and nervous system regulation that no one is warning you about.
Let me break it down for you in detail. This will be long, but if you have a working dog, you need to understand this.
Working dogs like the Malinois and German Shepherd were selected over generations for their intensity, persistence, and drive to engage in behaviors tied to the prey sequence: orient, stalk, chase, grab, bite, kill. In their role as police, protection, herding, or military dogs, these genetically encoded motor patterns are partially utilized—but directed toward human-defined tasks.
Fetch is an artificial mimicry of this prey sequence.
• Ball = prey
• Throwing = movement stimulus
• Chase = reinforcement
• Grab and return = closure and Reward - Reinforecment again.
Every time you throw that ball, you’re not just giving your dog “exercise.” You are triggering an evolutionary motor pattern that was designed to result in the death of prey. But here’s the twist:
The "kill bite" never comes.
There’s no closure. No end. No satisfaction, Except when he start chewing on the ball by himself, which lead to even more problems. So the dog is neurologically left in a state of arousal.
When your dog sees that ball, his brain lights up with dopamine. Anticipation, motivation, drive. When you throw it, adrenaline kicks in. It becomes a cocktail of high arousal and primal intensity.
Dopamine is not the reward chemical—it’s the pursuit chemical. It creates the urge to chase, to repeat the behavior. Adrenaline and cortisol, stress hormones, spike during the chase. Even though the dog “gets the ball,” the biological closure never really happens—because the pattern is reset, again and again, with each throw.
Now imagine doing this every single day.
The dog’s brain begins to wire itself for a constant state of high alert, constantly expecting arousal, movement, and stimulation. This is how we create chronic stress.
The autonomic nervous system has two main branches:
• Sympathetic Nervous System – “Fight, flight, chase”
• Parasympathetic Nervous System – “Rest, digest, recover”
Fetch, as a prey-driven game, stimulates the sympathetic system. The problem? Most owners never help the dog come down from that state.
There’s no decompression, no parasympathetic activation, no transition into rest.
Chronic sympathetic dominance leads to:
• Panting, pacing, inability to settle
• Destructive behaviors
• Hypervigilance
• Reactivity to movement
• Obsession with balls, toys, other dogs
• Poor sleep cycles
• Digestive issues
• A weakened immune system over time
• Behavioral burnout
In essence, we’re creating a dog who is neurologically trapped in the primal mind—always hunting, never resting.
Expectation Is a Form of Pressure!!!!!!
When fetch becomes a daily ritual, your dog begins to expect it.This is no longer “fun.” It’s a conditioned need. And when that need is not met?
Stress. Frustration. Obsession.
A dog who expects to chase every day but doesn’t get it may begin redirecting that drive elsewhere—chasing shadows, lights, children, other dogs, cars.
This is how pathological behavior patterns form.
Many people use fetch as a shortcut for physical exercise.
But movement is not the same as regulation.
Throwing a ball 100 times does not tire out a working dog—it wires him tighter. It’s like giving coffee to someone with ADHD and calling it relaxation.
What these dogs need is:
• Cognitive engagement
• Problem solving
• Relationship-based training
• Impulse control and on/off switches
• Scentwork or tracking to satisfy the nose-brain connection
• Regulated physical outlets like structured walks, swimming, tug with rules, or balanced sport work
• Recovery time in a calm environment
But What About Drive Fulfillment? Don’t They Need an Outlet?
Yes, and here’s the nuance:
Drive should be fulfilled strategically, not passively or impulsively. This is where real training philosophy comes in.
Instead of free-for-all ball throwing, I recommend:
• Tug with rules of out, impulse control, and handler engagement
• Controlled prey play with a flirt pole, used sparingly
• Engagement-based drive work with clear start and stop signals
• Training sessions that integrate drive, control, and reward
• Activities like search games, mantrailing, or protection sport with balance
• Working on “down in drive” — the ability to switch from arousal to rest
This builds a thinking dog, not a reactive one. The Bottom Line: Just Because He Loves It Doesn’t Mean It’s Good for Him
Your Malinois, German Shepherd, Dutchie, or other working dog may love the ball. He may bring it to you with joy. But the question is not what he likes—it’s what he needs.
A child may love candy every day, but a good parent knows better. As a trainer, handler, and caretaker, it’s your responsibility to think long term.
You’re not raising a dog for this moment. You’re developing a life companion, a regulated athlete, a resilient thinker.
So no—I don’t recommend playing ball every day.
Because every throw is a reinforcement of the primal mind.
And the primal mind, unchecked, cannot be reasoned with. It cannot self-regulate. It becomes a slave to its own instincts.
Train your dog to engage with you, not just the object. Teach arousal with control, play with purpose, and rest with confidence.
Your dog deserves better than obsession.He deserves balance. He deserves you—not just the ball.

Chickens 🐓 horses 🐴 dogs 🐕 You name it we can do it, We are not limited to just paws here.
28/03/2025

Chickens 🐓 horses 🐴 dogs 🐕
You name it we can do it, We are not limited to just paws here.

Taking the dogs for a walk is a wonderful way to bond with them while providing them with essential exercise and mental ...
21/03/2025

Taking the dogs for a walk is a wonderful way to bond with them while providing them with essential exercise and mental stimulation. Regular walks help maintain the dog's physical health, reduce behavioral problems, and improve their socialization skills by exposing them to different environments and other dogs.
Paying attention to the dog's pace, allowing them time to sniff and explore, can make the experience more enjoyable. Whether it's a quick walk around the block or a longer hike, both dogs and I benefit from the fresh air and exercise. 🐶🐾

The end of another week 🐶They seem to be flying in at the moment. Spring here we come 🌷🌹
14/03/2025

The end of another week 🐶
They seem to be flying in at the moment.
Spring here we come 🌷🌹

11/03/2025

Beautiful day with a beautiful view and great company 🐶☀️

Some of the crew this week 🐾🐶Spring is almost here the weather has been somewhat lovely 🌷🌼
07/03/2025

Some of the crew this week 🐾🐶
Spring is almost here the weather has been somewhat lovely 🌷🌼

Happy Friday! What a wonderful week it has been here at Pawsitive Adventures. We took on an ad hoc walk and eight extra ...
28/02/2025

Happy Friday! What a wonderful week it has been here at Pawsitive Adventures. We took on an ad hoc walk and eight extra walks on top of our amazing regular dogs. I had the pleasure of walking Maisie, the cocker spaniel, this week; she is just amazing in every way possible—a real gem.

I have walked around 40 miles this week; that’s the equivalent of walking to Cumbernauld or Edinburgh. Some work hard, play hard, but I work hard and relax hard. It’s so important as an outdoor worker that we take care of ourselves so we don’t get the burnout feeling from being in a physical job. For this reason, I don’t work weekends anymore, and that was by far the best decision I made for myself and my business, also allowing me to have family time.
Messages will be responded to on Monday. Have a good one, all!

🐾Friday photo day 🐾See everyone next week we will also have new paws with us next week so looking forward to that 🐾
21/02/2025

🐾Friday photo day 🐾

See everyone next week we will also have new paws with us next week so looking forward to that 🐾

I am blessed to work alongside some amazing people.Today after having some phone problems. My own dog decided to have a ...
17/02/2025

I am blessed to work alongside some amazing people.
Today after having some phone problems. My own dog decided to have a little taste and crack my screen resulting in screen damage and a green/black screen.
My lovely client who doesn’t want to be named came to my rescue.
I will forever be grateful ☺️

We are now up and running again and I can finally respond to messages.
🐾

Photo day 🥰🐶Have a great weekend 🌲🚶🏽‍♀️
07/02/2025

Photo day 🥰🐶

Have a great weekend 🌲🚶🏽‍♀️

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿Friday photo day 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿Been a fantastic week some amount of miles covered this week with extra day's and adhoc w...
31/01/2025

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿Friday photo day 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
Been a fantastic week some amount of miles covered this week with extra day's and adhoc walks booked in.
Aswell as my regular paws.🐾
I would love to say I'm going to be relaxing at the weekend however I'm at a 5mile pack walk tomorrow 🥾⛰️
See you all Monday 🐶

Early finish this week after making a decision to cancel Friday walks due to weather warningThis week we had some new pa...
23/01/2025

Early finish this week after making a decision to cancel Friday walks due to weather warning

This week we had some new paws join us aswell as a adhoc walk for another dog can you spot them? 🐶🐕

🐕Friday photo day 🐕Been such a lovely week the weather has been kind this time round 👌🏼Im just about to finish my Friday...
17/01/2025

🐕Friday photo day 🐕
Been such a lovely week the weather has been kind this time round 👌🏼
Im just about to finish my Friday with a meet and greet before i hang the boots up for the weekend.
See you all Monday morning.

14/01/2025

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