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7 Essential skills to get the best out of your dogs behaviour!
I’m not just talking about the skills professional dog trainers need. I’m talking about everyone that cares for dogs and has a role in influencing the dogs behaviour. That’s you, me, your dog walker, the groomer, your dog sitter, even…
What is Fight or Flight in dog behaviour?
The fight or flight response in dog behaviour is an automatic response to something that is, or is perceived to be, scary. When dogs become reactive to something, their flight or flight response has been triggered. Sometimes it’s referred to…
Learning from Mistakes in Dog Behaviour
There are two ways to learn something, you can learn by getting it right, but you can also learn by getting things wrong. Making mistakes is frustrating when you are trying to change your dogs behaviour. But actually it’s an…
If you feel like you’ve tried everything with your dog…
If you have tried everything with your dog and haven’t had the results you wanted, there might be a good reason. Here’s why I think you should try at least one more time…
Changing Dog Behaviour using Behaviour Sequences
Behaviour sequences are pretty powerful things when it comes to dog training and behaviour. Dogs recognise them quickly and use them to predict outcomes – good and bad!
Sympathy vs Empathy in Dog Rehabilitation
People often suggest you can reinforce a dogs anxious behaviour by showing sympathy, but is that true? And if you aren’t being sympathetic, does that mean you don’t care? There is a big difference between sympathy and empathy when it…
Setting yourself up for success in dog rehabilitation
Successful dog rehabilitation requires lots of practise. If you wait for opportunities to find you, you might not get enough repetitions to be of any value. Here’s why…
The Empty Bowl!
I’m well used to hearing stories about harsh training techniques, but this totally broke me. There’s just something about food and feeding that really gets me. It’s never ok to purposefully deny your dog food as part of a “training”…
Do dogs feel guilty?
Many people tell me that their dogs feel guilty about stuff. Maybe they’ve come home to find something has been chewed or broken, or perhaps a little “gift” has been accidentally deposited in the hall! But, can you really trust…
The dogs advocate
Whether you call yourself pack leader, caregiver, dog mum/dad, or owner, today dogs need us to advocate for them more than ever before.
Food guarding in dogs
Food guarding in dogs is a big problem. At best you’ll be on alert much of the time, and at worst it can be dangerous to you, and your dog. But where does it come from, and how can you…
Why you shouldn’t use punishment as a dog training tool
I thought long and hard before writing this blog because I don’t want to be misunderstood. So before I start I want to make it very clear, I do not support the use of punishment as a dog training tool.…