Love For Paws Dog Training

08/25/2025

Going wild at the window?
Frantic when the mail arrives?
"My dog loves it though !"
It may look like fun and yup for some it is.... but it is one stressful game they are "playing".
Is it a healthy game?
Do they rest and sleep or sit there and scan for hours?
Obsession is obsession....whether it is fun or not.

Stress hormones are still released whether this is from fun or fear....they don't just disappear either. They can compound and cause issues in other ways.
They change a dogs behaviour.

If you are struggling with reactivity outside of the home.
Stop the "game'.
It fuels reactivity.

Running from window to window to follow that person or dog seems ok to some people....but how is it truly affecting this dog?

08/23/2025

We all communicate to our dogs in ways we don’t notice.
With reactive dogs especially.... it’s important to be aware of the signals we’re sending.
The beauty of having a dog trainer work with you is we can see them ....clearly.
These are some of the more common ones which can alert your dog to the presence of their triggers.

Winding the leash around a wrist.
That's a classic example of "priming" a dog for a possible reaction.
We have made the lead shorter and tighter....on a leash reactive dog.
Always an issue.

Verbally announcing to others.
We may mean well, but dogs quickly pick up on the phrases and tones we use. What you say can become part of their trigger chain

Scanning
We need to do it with reactive dogs...but we need to be less obvious about it.
You scan. ➡️They scan.➡️Reactivity follows

Tightening the leash/lead.
As humans we want to limit issues that could occur.
Unfortunately adding tension and pulling a dog in closer at the sight of their trigger can make everything worse.

With a reactive dog....we need to be careful with what we are saying.

08/21/2025

Have you ever tried to help a child who is scared to calm down? Your probably found that staying calm yourself and bringing them to a place where they felt safe was the most effective way to help them start to relax again.

In the vast majority of dog reactivity cases, the dog is scared. Growling, lunging, and barking are distance increasing signals in the dog world. They signal for the other dog or person to go away. They say “Get away from me. You’re scaring me.”

Our first goal when we work with leash reactivity, is to make the dog feel safe on a regular basis. From there, we can work on a plan of controlled exposure to what scares them while keeping them feeling comfortable.

08/08/2025

Yes! Please don’t punish the growl.

When we punish dogs for growling, even if they're growling at our child, we aren't helping them feel better about whatever it is that is threatening them. Instead, we are teaching to stop letting us know when they feel unsafe.

The result? A dog who stops giving us warning signs and "bites out of the blue."

And, that's how we create dangerous dogs. I'd much rather have a dog growl and tell me they're upset (so we have a chance to intervene and help them) than a dog who just bites without any warning signs.

Read more here: https://rescuedbytraining.com/2025/08/04/behavior-suppression/

08/05/2025

A question I hear occasionally from clients: "So I have to bribe my dog with treats?"
My response: "We wouldn't go to work if we didn't get paid, right? You could call that extended bribery."
And then, most of the time, we have a quick laugh about it.

Let's say your dog is running to the front door to bark when the doorbell rings. He is doing this because this is what he wants to do or feels he must do in that moment. If we want him to stand around calmly instead, we need to pay him for that work repeatedly until it becomes a new habit and possibly thereafter.

Understanding that your dogs have feelings/preferences and trying to figure out what those are can really unlock and accelerate your training. Dogs are sentient beings. They have wants, needs, and fears just like we do. If we want them to do something, we first have to understand them and then provide the proper comfort and motivation.

08/03/2025

Our training assistant, Jupiter, is so happy on work days. She buzzes around me every morning to see if she’s going to work and when Aaron gets geared up as well, she knows she’s going and starts hopping up and down.

Jupiter aka Juju aka Beans helps other dogs with leash reactivity. She also does play sessions with young dogs for socialization.

07/26/2025

We used to think that for a dog to be mentally healthy they had to be very social with other dogs. Now, we know that’s not the case. Dog sociability is a spectrum that includes:

-Highly social dogs
-Dogs who like some dogs and not others
-Dogs who are only tolerant of other dogs
-Dogs who prefer to hang out with their human companions only

All of these are normal! 😊

"Don't be ridiculous, they're dogs....of course they'll get on!"
Yeah.....It doesn't quite work like that.
Those that have truly social dogs can grapple with the fact that other dogs may not be social with other dogs....at all.
And that's ok!
In fact it's normal.
Maybe it will change, maybe it won't.
That breed recognition is strong in some dogs, that's what they are familiar with.

Maybe you have a dog that prefers older dogs that have a quieter energy?

Perhaps you have one that struggles to read dogs that have a different body structure, pugs for example with prominent eyes and curled tails.....some dogs struggle to read them.
Others will have no issues whatsoever.

Sociability can change.
Just like ours.

Your dog is allowed preferences.

07/18/2025

Why it's important to hire a professional dog walker or pet sitter instead of your brother's friend's sister's neighbor. :)

1.) Experience, experience, experience. When someone is a professional, this is their job and they know how to calmly and effectively handle any emergency situations that arise.

2.) Training in canine CPR and first aid. This explains itself.

3.) Training in de-escalation. Off-leash dogs are a big problem. (Especially here in VA) The person who walks/cares for your dog should know how to de-escalate dog conflict and break up a dog fight if necessary.

4.) Training in force-free techniques. You've left home and now your dog doesn't want to go into the crate at night because they are stressed by your absence. Pet sitters who are trained in force-free techniques know how to motivate your dogs in a loving manner and not use punishment to get your dog to comply to their will.

5.) People who becomes professional pet sitters and dog walkers chose this career because they truly love animals. I don't know a pet sitter or dog walker who doesn't go the extra mile for the comfort of the animals in their care. I started off as a dog walker/pet sitter many years ago and those animals and their owners became my extended family. We still communicate to this day.

07/15/2025

Happy 6th Birthday to our special girl, Maia!!! 🌺💐
Fun story about this girl: We were living in LA. She had only been in our home for a few days when on a family walk she charged a coyote who was running towards our son. All 35lbs of her. She is still attempting to protect us all to this day. It’s just one of the reasons we call her “mama dog”.

07/10/2025

It's not about how friendly they may be.....they really could be.
It's about realising that your amiable, happy go lucky dog can still struggle.
Sometimes, we just expect too much from them.
New environments.
Confronted by the unexpected.
Crowds, heavy traffic and that dog that suddenly just appeared....it can be all a bit much sometimes.

And that's OK!

Even wind can make some dogs far more "antsy" than they usually are.
When there are lots of little changes in a very short period of time....many dogs will struggle.

"Friendly" doesn't always equal OK.