Norwegian Dogtrainer

Norwegian Dogtrainer Norwegian Dog trainer, certified Dog behaviorist. Ethical, sciencebased training methods.

ICommon Signs of Rude Dogs at PlayHere are some typical patterns to look for:1. One-sided play - one chaser - one chased...
23/06/2026

ICommon Signs of Rude Dogs at Play
Here are some typical patterns to look for:

1. One-sided play - one chaser - one chased
The other dog rarely "wins" or takes the lead. The dog being chased will often seek out its owner for help.

2. Lack of impulse control
In good play, larger or more confident dogs will soften their behavior (e.g., lie down, reduce their force).
Rude dogs play with full intensity regardless of who they are playing with.

3. Ignoring stop signals
Balanced dogs respond when another dog says "enough" (by turning away, freezing, licking their lips, or moving away).

Rude dogs continue the "play" despite these signals

4. No breaks or short breaks
Good play is two-sided, and flows naturally in different phases. It includes natural breaks. During the breaks, the dogs will stand and observe, sniff, and sniff the grass until they are ready to start again.
Rude play is often relentless and intense without breaks or calm.

5. Escalation instead of adaptation. The play becomes wilder, more boundless, instead of the rude dog learning to adapt to the play style of the other dog. It often becomes more and more chaotic and the dogs involved have no fun at all, they are stressed and overstimulated.

Your job as an owner is to find a friend for your dog who matches your dog's age +/- a couple of years, about the same size (so no one gets hurt), the same activity level and roughly the same health situation, the same temperament, and that they either have the same play style, or that they can adapt to each other.

Dogs should not be left to their own devices during play, we owners must follow and observe, look at the intensity, the flow, whether one or both dogs show signs of stress, or that they are being chased.

If your dog approaches you during play and stands behind you, between your legs, jumps up on you, then you interpret it as a sign that they want to get away from the game and end it, no matter how much fun you think they are having.

23/06/2026

Common Signs of Rude Dog's Play
Here are some typical Signs to look for:
1. One-sided play - one chaser - one chased. The chased dog rarely "wins" or takes the lead. The dog being chased will often seek out its owner for help.

2. Lack of impulse control
In good play, larger or more confident dogs will soften their behavior (e.g., lie down, reduce their force).
Rude dogs play with full intensity regardless of who they are playing with.

3. Ignoring stop/calming signals
Balanced dogs respond when another dog says "enough" (by turning away, freezing, licking their lips, or moving away).

Rude dogs continue the "play" despite these signals

4. No breaks or short breaks
Good play is two-sided, and flows naturally in different phases. It includes natural breaks. During the breaks, the dogs will stand and observe, sniff, and sniff the grass until they are ready to start again.
Rude play is often relentless and intense without breaks or calm.

5. Escalation instead of adaptation. The play becomes wilder, more boundless, instead of the dogs learning to adapt to the play style of the other dog. It often becomes more and more chaotic and the dogs involved have no fun at all, they are stressed and overstimulated.

Your job as an owner is to find a friend for your dog who matches your dog's age +/- a couple of years, about the same size (so no one gets hurt), the same activity level and roughly the same health situation, the same temperament, and that they either have the same play style, or that they can adapt to each other.

Dogs should not be left to their own devices during play, we owners must follow and observe, look at the intensity, the flow, whether one or both dogs show signs of stress, or that they are being chased.

If your dog approaches you during play and stands behind you, between your legs, jumps up on you, then you should interpret it as a sign that they want to get away from the game and end it, no matter how much fun you think they are having.

Many Dog guardians are told by trainers that to fix Resource Guarding (RG) issues you train a drop-it, you remove the it...
10/06/2026

Many Dog guardians are told by trainers that to fix Resource Guarding (RG) issues you train a drop-it, you remove the item they guard or you distract them or tell them no or train a non- compatible behaviour instead (like drop-it).

Resource guarding—especially aggressive guarding—in my opinion is often not about the resource itself, it runs way deeper than that. Your dog might be communicating discomfort, insecurity, or lack of balance. RG isn’t the problem. It’s the feedback of a dog asking for help.
A study by Jacobs et al. (2018) investigated factors associated with Resource Guarding and found many different variables and behaviours and assoications between them.
The main resource guarding types they found were:
• Avoidance: dog moves away to keep the resource
• Rapid ingestion: dog eats quickly to prevent loss
• Aggression: dog threatens or bites to control access
Avoidance and rapid ingestion often occured together, while aggression tended to be a separate strategy.
To me I found the aggressive resource guarding to be the most interesting one as it was associated with:
• Higher impulsivity
• Higher fearfulness
• Greater likelihood of aggression toward people
• Lower likelihood of rapid ingestion and avoidance
• More common in multi-dog households

To me as a dog behaviour specialist that indicated that there’s an underlying issue , and the Resource guarding is just the symptom. So to me, fixing the RG by teaching a "drop- it" or distract the dog or remove all items the dog is guarding, would seem futile. It’s like slapping a Band-Aid on cancer – you can’t see it anymore, but you haven’t fixed what’s actually going on.
What stands out to me is that aggressive RG was consistently linked to dogs that were:
• More fearful
• More impulsive
• More generally reactive and showed more aggression.

This suggests something important:
Aggressive resource guarding appears not to be a stand alone behaviour, but an outward sign of a dog out of balance, a fearful, stressed dog that:
• struggles with impulse control
• has higher underlying fear or anxiety
• and shows broader patterns of reactivity
…is far more likely to guard aggressively.

The study highlights that teaching “drop” can reduce biting—but that’s a management tool, not necessarily a solution (my opinion).
If aggressive RG reflects a dog that lacks impulse control, feels unsafe, struggles with fear or anxiety, lacks coping strategies and lacks resilience and feels under pressure, then using management tools like a “drop-it, distractions or tight management would not help, and could even make it worse, as you teach the dog that you do not understand them, and you do not get what they are trying to tell you. You might be able to subdue the symptom (for a while at least), but the problem is still there.

A more meaningful approach for me might be to work on:
• Reducing fear and reactivity
• Improving the dogs impulse control and ability to self-regulate
• Removing stressors and triggers
• Creating predictability and safety
• Giving the dog more choice and autonomy
• Building a trusting, cooperative relationship
Because if the dog feels safe and trusting, learns that the resources are not at risk, nothing will be taken away, that they have some form of agency in their own lives, a sense of control and that they learn strategies to regulate and stay calm under pressure – then I argue that the need to guard may disappear all together .

No more slapping band-aids on resource guarding – Let’s go straight to the root cause and help the dog with what’s really bothering them😊

Reference;
Jacquelyn A. Jacobs, Jason B. Coe, David L. Pearl, Tina M. Widowski. Factors associated with canine resource guarding behaviour in the presence of dogs: A cross-sectional survey of dog owners.

02/06/2026

Be your dog's favorite person.

Do you wonder if your dog is getting too much carbohydrates? The ingredient lists on dog food are mostly unregulated, of...
02/06/2026

Do you wonder if your dog is getting too much carbohydrates? The ingredient lists on dog food are mostly unregulated, often difficult to read and contain ingredients that many of us have never even heard of.



But even if you don't understand everything, at least there is something we can look for, and that is how much carbohydrates, proteins and fats are in our dog's food.



To approach what I believe is a natural diet for a dog based on research and empirical observations of what dogs eat, as well as studies of their physiology and biology, I always recommend that my dog clients use fresh and raw food to get enough nutrients and protein.



I know there are many who, for various reasons, want to feed dry food or who haven't really thought about raw or fresh as an alternative to kibble.



As a rule of thumb, I would say that a good ratio to look for is: over 60% proteins, 20 -30% carbohydrates and 10 - 15% fats.



I have a hard time finding a dry food on the market that contains more than 60% protein, maybe some of you have seen one?
You can mix the dry food with toppings of meat, fish, poultry, and an egg to increase the protein content, and always remember a good source of calcium!

Remember that dry food must always be mixed with water for digestion and so that the dog does not become dehydrated.

18/05/2026

Be a fun and safe haven for your dog, a positive force that your dog is drawn to. Use praise and a nice tone, show your dog the world and participate in fun activities together. Build trust, do a treat search. Show consideration and support for your dog if they are scared or anxious. There is a lot you can do to get your dog to run to you, not away from you❤️🐾

14 CPD hours awarded from the Emotional Wellbeing conference in Torquay in March! I love continuously learning new stuff...
08/05/2026

14 CPD hours awarded from the Emotional Wellbeing conference in Torquay in March! I love continuously learning new stuff about dogs, their health, nutrition, psychological and emotional wellbeing, gaits, neuroscience, physiology, massages, training, - ANYTHING dog related - and I'm here for it:-)

If you need a helping hand with your dog - I'm happy to help, just message me on WhatsApp , tell me a bit about you and your dog, and I'll get back to you!

Dogs don't speak our language, so it's on us to try to decode what they're trying to tell us. Behavioural changes is the...
20/04/2026

Dogs don't speak our language, so it's on us to try to decode what they're trying to tell us.

Behavioural changes is the most common way dogs show us that they're not okay, we need to pay attention.

Do you notice anything your dog is doing now that they didn't do before?

Maybe it's time for a Vet visit?

You can also book a,session with me. As a dog behaviourist I can help you uncover what's really going on, and help you understand what your dog is going through.

# dogbehavior 🐾

It's that time of year again when nature needs a little extra consideration. From April 1 to August 20, there is a gener...
07/04/2026

It's that time of year again when nature needs a little extra consideration. From April 1 to August 20, there is a general leash requirement in Norway, and during this period dogs must be kept on a leash or properly secured.
This is not about being strict, but about caring – for wild animals, birds, domestic reindeer and livestock that have young or are extra vulnerable right now. Many animals are easily stressed, even by kind and curious dogs.

Also remember that several municipalities have their own, local rules for parks, hiking trails, school areas, city centers and other open spaces, so it may be a good idea to check what applies where you are.
Thank you for being considerate – both for your dog, the wildlife and the nature we all love so much.
Wishing you and your dog many nice, safe walks in the spring and summer 🌱🐕

06/04/2026

Slow down.
Give space.
Give time.

Leave room for thought,
For quiet contemplation,
For building a stronger self.

You think I'm talking about humans?
Nope- this is my advice for what to do for your dog ( and yourself).

Our nervous systems are crashing, overfiring, creating chronic stress, inflammation, bad executive functions, bad impulse control and bad habits.

The best thing to do for your dog is to teach them how to be calm, to thrive in the quiet spaces of this whirlwind of a world we're all living in.

Teach them to be autonomous, self reliant, and let them think. Be quiet so they can reflect- because they absolutely can, and they WILL, if you create the time and space for it.

# dogbehavior

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