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07/01/2025

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Rabies is a serious viral disease that affects mammals, including humans. While rare in the United States, it remains a threat. One of the key ways to prevent rabies transmission is by avoiding contact with wild animals, especially their young. Here’s why you should resist the urge to touch those adorable baby animals:

1. Wild Baby Animals: It’s tempting to approach and touch wild baby animals, but this can be dangerous. Leave them alone: Mother animals often leave their young temporarily to forage for food. Handling them disrupts this natural process and increases the risk of exposure to rabies.

2. Rabies Risk: Rabies can infect any mammal, including people. Although human cases are infrequent, post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is administered to thousands of Americans each year after potential exposure. In the U.S., over 90% of reported rabies cases occur in wildlife. Common carriers include raccoons, skunks, bats, and foxes. Bats, in particular, pose a significant risk, accounting for most human rabies deaths in the country.

3. Signs of Rabies in Animals: Animals with rabies may exhibit strange behavior. Some become aggressive and attempt to bite, while others drool excessively. Not all rabid animals show aggression; some may appear timid, move slowly, or act tame. Any unusual behavior should raise suspicion.

4. What You Can Do: Never feed or approach wild animals, including baby animals. Keep a safe distance. Be cautious around unfamiliar pets, especially when traveling in countries where dog rabies is common. If you encounter a sick or strange-acting animal, contact your local animal control officer for assistance.

5. Protect Your Pets: Ensure your pets receive regular rabies vaccinations. Vaccinated pets are less likely to contract and spread the virus. Supervise pets to prevent contact with wildlife. Report stray animals to animal control.

6. Garbage Can Lids Matter: Tightly close garbage can lids to reduce the presence of wild animals near your home.

Remember, by respecting wildlife and avoiding unnecessary contact, you not only protect yourself but also contribute to the well-being of our furry neighbors. Let’s keep both humans and animals safe from rabies! 🐾🚫🦇

06/07/2025

🌊🐬 WOW: Where on Wednesday! 🐬🌊

Hey there, Chesapeake DolphinWatch family! This week, we've been swimming in excitement with reports of dolphins sightings in the Potomac River, Tred Avon River, Miles River, and James River! 🎉✨

Have you caught a glimpse of these fin-tastic creatures? 🐬💙 We want to hear from YOU! Share your dolphin sightings below, and don't forget to report them in our app or online at our website.

Let's make waves together—it's shore to be a great time! 🌊✨

👇 Comment your sightings and join the fun!

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05/26/2025

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Training vs. Temperament: Why They Are Not the Same and Why That Matters

As dog trainers and responsible owners, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that training alone can “fix” a dog. That a well-trained dog must also be well-tempered. Or that a lack of training means a dog is “bad.” Let’s be absolutely clear: training and temperament are two entirely different things, and mistaking one for the other can lead to unrealistic expectations, dangerous assumptions, and major behavioural issues down the line.

What Is Temperament?

Temperament is the dog’s natural behavioural disposition. It’s the core of who the dog is when all the training is stripped away. Think of it like the dog’s personality blueprint, shaped by genetics, early development, and, to some extent, environment. Temperament governs things like:
• Emotional stability
• Confidence or nervousness
• Reactivity thresholds
• Aggression or friendliness
• Impulse control (or lack of it)
• Sensitivity to stimuli

You can’t “train” temperament in the same way you can train a sit-stay. You can manage it. You can influence and support it. But you cannot fundamentally rewrite it through obedience commands. That’s why some dogs are easy going, bombproof companions even with zero formal training, while others need constant structure, vigilance, and management despite attending every training class under the sun.

What Is Training?

Training, on the other hand, is a set of learned behaviours. It’s the obedience, the recall, the heelwork, the ability to wait on a place bed, or the confidence to navigate a search area. Training is what we teach the dog, through repetition, reinforcement, and consistency.

A well trained dog responds to commands. A dog with a good temperament can make good decisions without commands.

The confusion arises when people assume that training alone is enough to make a dog safe. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Some of the most technically trained dogs, competition level obedience, even protection dogs, can still be a liability if their underlying temperament isn’t sound. Think of the dog who can heel beautifully in the ring, but flies off the handle at another dog passing the van. That’s not a training issue, that’s a temperament one.

The Safe Dog with No Training

We’ve all met them, that scruffy rescue mutt who’s never been to a class in his life, but gets along with everyone, greets the postman with a waggy tail, ignores other dogs on walks, and never chases a thing he’s not supposed to. He’s not trained. He’s just blessed with a steady, balanced temperament. He has resilience. He doesn’t overreact. He doesn’t need to be micromanaged.

That dog isn’t “good” because of training. He’s good because he was born with the right wiring and perhaps had a stable upbringing. He doesn’t cause problems because his natural instincts are calm, moderate, and easy to live with.

The Trained Dog with a Problem Temperament

Now flip it. You’ve got a dog that’s been through training classes. Maybe he has a half-decent recall, a few obedience commands, and can walk nicely on lead, as long as nothing triggers him. But he’s nervous, reactive, short-fused, or unpredictable around children, strangers, or dogs. That dog may be trained, but he’s not safe without constant management.

And here’s the crux: this is the dog who needs training, not to perfect heelwork or learn circus tricks, but to help manage the temperament that could get him (and you) into serious trouble. These are the dogs who thrive on structure, calmness, boundaries, and predictability. Their training is about teaching coping strategies, not commands.

Why It Matters

If you’re a dog owner, it’s vital to stop and ask: “Do I have a training issue or a temperament issue?” Because how you address it depends entirely on the answer.

If you’re a dog trainer, this distinction is your bread and butter. You need to assess temperament before you reach for a lead or clicker. A dog with a poor temperament is a management case, not a quick-fix obedience job. It’s about helping owners understand that no amount of “training” will overwrite deeply ingrained fears, poor genetics, or extreme sensitivities.

The Bottom Line

Training is what we do with the dog.
Temperament is who the dog is.

The best case scenario is a well-tempered dog with solid training. But if you have to choose, temperament will always trump training when it comes to long-term safety and ease of living. And if you’ve got a tricky temperament to work with? You train, not to cure, but to contain. To teach that dog how to live safely and predictably in a human world.

Let’s stop assuming that obedience equals good behaviour. Let’s start respecting the complexity of temperament. And let’s help more owners understand that some dogs are easy because they were born that way, while others need guidance every step of the way, no matter how many commands they know.
www.k9manhuntscotland.co.uk



05/26/2025
Technical Challenge
05/14/2025

Technical Challenge

05/13/2025
03/31/2025

I didn’t think I’d spend my career fighting for dogs to be allowed to play fetch. But here we are.

Four years ago, I noticed little hints of pet parents being warned about playing fetch. I had clients whose working dogs got no exercise.

“We used to play fetch, but the previous trainer told us to stop so he wouldn’t become a super athlete,” one Aussie owner told me. “The arch of the ball in the air causes adrenaline spikes,” one trainer wrote. “It causes compulsive disorder” is a common theme. “They are addicted”. The list goes on and on.

At that time, I warned that it would spread like wildfire, and indeed it did. Now, the concept that fetch is bad is in most pet households. Why do I care? Because many dogs are underenriched. Most dogs are underexercised. Taking away the one joyful thing they do is terrible. Especially when the claims are false.

Yesterday, I was tagged on a post about fetch. My followers know I’m pro-fetch (because I’m pro-happy and excited dogs). Heck, I wrote a chapter in my book about fetch.

When I saw the post, my heart sank. The post, with the click-bait “HERE’S THE SCIENTIFIC TRUTH NO ONE TALKS ABOUT,” had 900 shares. Then 1000. Now 2.1k.

I’ve tried so hard to stay out of these debates. I just want dogs to be happy, but the world is on fire, everyone is stressed, and we’re all focused elsewhere. But this morning, someone shared it with a cattle dog group. One commenter said, “I play fetch with my dog once a week, and now I’ll rethink that.”

And just like that, my heart snapped in half.

In 2.1k shares, there are countless guardians who will stop playing with their dogs because of that post.

So, I woke up this Sunday morning and found myself here, making this post, attempting to put a bandaid on the gushing chest wound of the assault on happy, excited dogs.

The first claim of the viral post is that fetch mimics the predatory sequence. This is the pattern that all predators use to hunt. They find the prey, then they stalk it. Next, they chase, then grab, bite, kill and consume. The poster says that fetch is bad because “the kill bite never comes” and reports that “the dog is neurologically left in a state of arousal.” I get it. When paired with words like “dopamine,” “adrenaline,” “and cortisol,” it sounds potentially bad.

If we are concerned about completing the sequence, we can rest easy knowing the dog does, in fact, “capture” its ball “prey.” If they want to shake it, they do. They can if they want to hold it with their paws and rip it apart with their incisors, instinctively acting out the “consume” part of the sequence.

But fetch isn’t a broken predatory loop. It’s a modified, learned behaviour that is naturally rewarding, fun to do, and often reinforced with positive feedback and the ball being thrown again.

Not every dog must complete the full sequence to experience satisfaction or neurological "closure." Many have been selectively bred not to complete it (e.g., gun dogs retrieving without damaging prey and herders bred for various tasks). You might see some of your breed’s version come out during fetch, like when a border collie stalks his ball.

There’s no evidence that fetch causes chronic stress. Cortisol spikes during activity, including play, but this is not pathological. It’s a normal response. Studies do not support the idea that fetch causes chronic arousal or leaves a dog dysregulated. Chronic stress is caused by uncontrollable, unpredictable stressors, not voluntary play.

Studies show that predictable, rewarding exercises like fetch can reduce stress when balanced with rest. The claim that “dopamine is not the reward chemical—it’s the pursuit chemical” is a half-truth. Dopamine is involved in wanting AND liking. If dopamine release from play were inherently harmful, food training, nose work, and toy rewards would also be "dangerous" because they rely on the same reward circuitry. But there’s no evidence that normal play dysregulates the brain.

A meta-analysis on canine behaviour problems (Tiira & Lohi, 2015) found that lack of activity is associated with increased problem behaviours, including anxiety and destructiveness. Dogs, especially high-energy breeds, need both mental and physical outlets. Fetch can absolutely be part of that. It’s not "coffee for a child with ADHD”. It’s more like recess for a kid who’s been sitting all day.

While play can resemble predatory behaviours (chasing, biting, shaking), which is why we have stuffy squeaky toys, tug toys, balls, herding balls and candy-coated ways to let our dogs kill things, it’s functionally and emotionally distinct. Play triggers positive affective states in the brain and is associated with dopamine, endorphin, and oxytocin release—not just adrenaline and cortisol. Studies in dogs and other mammals show that play is self-rewarding and contributes to stress regulation, not dysregulation.

We also know dogs can distinguish between real predation, acts of aggression, and sexual behaviour vs play. That’s the whole point of play. It’s like humans playing house when we’re kids. Dogs are acting out the real-life version of what they might need to do, from fighting to hunting prey.

Again, no peer-reviewed studies show that playing fetch daily creates “chronic sympathetic dominance,” weakens immune systems, or causes behavioural burnout. These claims rely on theoretical ideas, not research. In fact, routine play, when balanced with sleep, training, enrichment, and calm time, contributes to emotional regulation and well-being.

On top of all of the fake scientific-washed bu****it, the concept that it makes dogs less focused on their handler is where I really want to pull my hair out. Our dogs are literally focused on us for survival. They are captive animals, rarely getting more freedom than a zoo animal. They rely on us for everything from potty breaks to feeding, and these days, they can’t even sleep where they choose. I’ve never met a dog who is less apt to focus on his handler because of fetch, but if I do, I’ll congratulate him for having some agency in his day, some ability to not care what the human is doing.

In fact, the very act of fetching and retrieving IS directly tied to the “level of synchrony between human and companion animal.” Delgado MM, Stella JL, Croney CC, Serpell JA. Making fetch happen: Prevalence and characteristics of fetching behaviour in owned domestic cats (Felis catus) and dogs (Canis familiaris). The very concept of fetch is believed to be tied back to days when it was helpful for us to have dogs bringing back animals killed with projectiles, something we still use the behaviour for to this day in hunting breeds.

If you ARE worried your dog is compuslive or “addicted”, know this. NO TRAINER IS QUALIFIED TO MAKE THIS DIAGNOSIS. Especially when the diagnosis is coming because a dog is focused on the ball, jumpy, potentially a lot to manage, Barky, “pushy,” or otherwise doing what excited dogs do. Including not wanting to stop. Imagine, as a kid, if you were running into a playground, excitedly yelling and begging your mom for five more minutes when it’s time to go home, and someone said you were “addicted.”

Compulsive disorder in dogs still needs a lot of studying, but it is likely genetic is often made worse by underlying conditions, like pain. Stress and anxiety usually contribute along with a lack of exercise and enrichment. Your dog enjoying playing with a ball is not a diagnostic criterion. In fact, I use play, including fetch, to help my compulsive disorder clients.

All that to say, the original post will be shared. It will be shared a lot because it sounds real, because it’s clickbaity because it makes people feel like they might be harming their dog. And, as a result, well-meaning people are going to stop playing with their dog.

The last line, “He deserves you—not just the ball”, is what REALLY makes me mad. This gaslighty concept that guardians using fetch are somehow not giving their dogs a relationship, love or connection.

If you don’t want to play fetch with your dog, don’t. If you’re worried about joints or arthritis, I’m not going to tell you to do something that doesn’t feel right. But if you’re like me, and your dogs love games, play and fun, don’t let some post stop you from having fun with your dog.

Update: thank you to everyone who has interacted with and shared this post!

To find out more about your working dog, read my book, Urban Sheepdog: https://amzn.to/4g0o6VT

09/05/2024

Very interesting data from Texas A&M AgriLife.

While I like the action on the frog clip, it's heavy. It's never good to have your dog get dinged by the leash!
08/27/2024

While I like the action on the frog clip, it's heavy. It's never good to have your dog get dinged by the leash!

08/27/2024

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Training Help and problem solving for pets and their owners. (Please note our old website since 1987 was stolen! Network Solutions can't do anything about it. Our outdated content is still there being held hostage by someone overseas. We don’t need it. )

Our basic tenets are:

Train the dog you have.

Treat your animal companions as adults of another species. (Respect!)