 Bringing it all together
This past week I have broken down the mechanics of considering the whole dog holistically and the mechanics of behavioural modification. I did this to bring attention to the dog as a species, every dog, whether they be in a home or a shelter, feral or a street dog. Past dogs, present dogs and future dogs. And considering dogs as members of the family, not as a part of the home and removing connotations that a dog is "just a dog." Because dogs are so much more, they are just as complex and important as us. It's important for dog professionals to highlight the needs of dogs within our platforms. I have referenced, research papers and studies and sign posted to other places of canine educational content. The only way that we as dog professionals can effectively help you as an owner (guardian) to care for your dog and ensure that you are meeting your dogs needs and adhering to the Animal Welfare Act 2006 is by supporting both ends of the leads and education. Most of the time by the time that a dog owner (guardian) asks for help 95% of the time, you are burnt out. You've done everything you know how to do, you have googled, you've had both welcomed and unwelcomed unsolicited information, you have tried your best. This is what we as professionals need to recognise. We need to be compassionate and caring and astute to this. I recently spoke for INTODogs on the "puppy blues" and this encapsulates one stretch of life for a dog's entire life - puppyhood. But what about the adult "blues". We cannot put a timeline on when you're going to have a behaviour problem or feel lost. It is all relevant and important to recognise this. Conversely we need to recognise dogs for the wonderful species that they are! 32 countries across the world currently recognise dogs as sentient beings including the UK but until we spread education as to what this means and how this changes the lives of dogs, as there is no way of the law being checked upon and welfare regulated it's easy for this to slip from the collective mind. For example when dogs have been attacked and injured as a result of a human, the dog has not been categorised as anything more than a short sentence and a fine. UK Gov (2017). The socially constructed status of dogs, whether viewed as a pet or a companion, influences the philosophy, methods and training skills used. Simultaneously, the socially constructed status of the use of the terms owner/master/guardian will also influence the choice of training. Sanders.C, (1993). This is why in my blogs I write owner (guardian) to hopefully fully transition to guardian one day and everyone will understand what it is meant by guardian. As although the term has been around since 1993 it is still classed as complex dog professional lingo. Sharing information as to what to expect from behavioural modification and the relevance, how this helps you and your dog, can help to create an understanding of not only what to expect but to help in the education of dog owners (guardians). By being transparent and by enabling dog owners (guardians) hopefully this helps you to feel validated and recognised, as sometimes when you first reach out, you may feel you are being made to jump through hurdles, especially if you have been to a dog professional before and not experienced any of this. This is another reason to highlight this, to ensure that you know what to look for when hiring someone and when you do reach out for help. Because your dog is special, unique and deserves the best. This is also why dog professionals cannot guarantee a timescale to help your dog or promise to "fix" dog behaviour within a month to six week scale. As frustrating as this may be, because sometimes with frustration you just want to move forward, the dog can be helped in a much quicker and longer lasting route when they are cared for as a whole dog with a holistic approach. By considering all of the categories of caring for a dog holistically we can help to change the emotions of a dog rather than seeing a dog as a behaviour(s) that needs fixing. Like a human, emotions don't need fixing but do need help in becoming positive emotions and learning how to work with negative emotions rather than suppress them - such as journaling for humans which we looked at within one of the categories. Behaviour modification is about you, the dog owner (guardian) and your dog(s), the more that you are both supported and validated the more that we can help. It isn't about putting your life under a microscope and judging you, it is in fact the complete opposite. We want to empower you to have the best life that you can with your dog! References Participation, E. (2006) Animal Welfare Act 2006, Legislation.gov.uk. Statute Law Database. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/45/contents Sanders, C. 1993. Understanding dogs: Caretakers attributions of mindedness in canine-human relationships. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 22: 205-226. Department for Environment, F.& R.A. (2017) Sentences for animal cruelty to increase tenfold to five years,gov.uk Available at: https://www.gov.uk/.../sentences-for-animal-cruelty-to... Animal cruelty (revised 2017) Sentencing available at: https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/.../animal-cruelty...
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Considering dogs holistically and enrichment
Enrichment is a beautiful and wonderful thing we can do for our dogs and ensure that we meet biological needs in meeting their needs as a species and ensuring that they have mental stimulation. But enrichment like anything in dog training can be misunderstood. This is because every dog is individual and unique and not all dogs will enjoy the same benefits from any one type of enrichment. A recent study found that stuffed food enrichment wasn't as impactful for military working dogs on changing their behaviour or meeting their welfare needs when it came to behaviour. Gaines, S.A, et al (2008). Studies have also found that for some dogs food enrichment does help with reductions in barking and stress and other studies have found that social interaction when the human is involved in the enrichment shows that dogs had greater sociability, decreased cortisol concentrations and increased relaxation. Belpedio, C, et al. (2010). Researchers looked into Assistance dog's within an office setting and how enrichment affected their behaviour following different types of enrichment. The behaviours that they wanted to examine was a reduction in stress and barking and if enrichment provided relaxation and less anxious behaviour such as waiting for a noise to alert to. This included stuffed food items, human involved enrichment, and a bubble machine. The findings were that although the dogs are and appeared to enjoy the stuffed food items, the greatest changes in the behaviour were from the bubbles which also included scent as the bubbles were bacon flavoured and human interaction enrichment such as tug or enrichment games played with the human. Hunt, R.L., Whiteside et al, 2022 So it's much better to engage in a variety of enrichment activities to help a dog to meet their biological needs and as a dog owner (guardian) see marked changes in behaviour over all. I have worked with many people who share that their dog doesn't like food stuffed enrichment or isn't food motivated and this is completely valid and understandable. Many times a dog isn't food motivated in 9 out of 10 of these cases because the dog has separation anxiety and is simply too anxious and stressed to eat when in this state, just like us,or there are visitors in the home or there are noises that are causing the dog to feel unsettled. But there are things that can be done to help a dog with feelings of anxiety for whatever reasons, such as a tailored separation anxiety plan as generalised behaviour advice doesn't work for every dog because of all dogs being individuals. Enrichment can be done as a part of a dogs daily routine and with bringing down cortisol levels is the best option to help our dog's to have healthier and more enriched lives. Instead of filling this blog with lots and lots of info here are quick links to previous tutorials on enrichment. Sensory enrichment https://youtu.be/-VxBoY10jCU People Watching https://youtu.be/PixHp8J6kbk Frozen enrichment https://youtu.be/9xHhwMIc3T4 Dog TV enrichment https://youtu.be/WNOls9-0On0 Beef bark enrichment https://youtu.be/VxR_QqfPQWU Holee Roller enrichment https://youtu.be/g9tY6cVwd5w Ball pool pits https://youtu.be/Q8A-uJQOhZ4 Safe foods for enrichment https://youtu.be/JD8VV2mfMXs Destruction boxes https://youtu.be/8s0VzROEbf8 Enrichment Garden https://youtu.be/JwUfqJXTCO8 Muffin Tin enrichment https://youtu.be/oXTygiVcPmQ Sniffafari https://youtu.be/OFf7kaFKp7w Snuffle Heaven https://youtu.be/dn75ZLypetg Freework https://youtu.be/Fhv-tc_jw5w Water fun https://youtu.be/ABbgMCp998E Dog pit https://youtu.be/Yvt8C1UHc98 Roll a carpet https://youtu.be/vVYVR4WAlPs Treat and train https://youtu.be/Np5v5aMGk4M Surface Circus https://youtu.be/bRQ3QNnTadU Foundations of fun Scentwork https://youtu.be/D_0Fn_VtRXE Benefits of lickimats https://youtu.be/YPPFGZZnq84 https://youtu.be/4Bh5imw4WB0 Suitcase madness https://youtu.be/jNiKq5vc7s4 https://youtu.be/Vr19p8Vpj4A Tug benefits https://youtu.be/qgjyaImJYkA This is definitely not an exhaustive list but hopefully these tutorials will help and of course training is enrichment, especially training through play! References Gaines, S.A.; Rooney, N.J.; Bradshaw, J.W. The effect of feeding enrichment upon reported working ability and behavior of kenneled working dogs. J. Forensic. Sci. 2008, 53, 1400–1404. Belpedio, C.; Buffington, L.; Clusman, S.; Prete, F.; Sadler, A.; Whittemore, L.; Mungre, S. Effect of Multidog Play Groups on Cortisol Levels and Behavior of Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) Housed in a Humane Society. J. Appl. Compan. Anim. Behav. 2010, 4, 15–27. Hunt, R.L., Whiteside, H. and Prankel, S. (2022) Effects of environmental enrichment on dog behaviour: Pilot study, MDPI. Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/2/141/htm#B25-animals-12-00141 Next up in the series of considering the dog holistically is diet. Diet affects behaviour; Running jokes across social media are that "millennials" are obsessed with treating their dogs as "fur babies' ' and that by being obsessed with their nutritional intake we could effectively be harming them. One article the other week by the' Telegraph' headlined its article with,"stop feeding your dogs homemade diets, charity warns". (Linked under References). Reading this article was a waste of time with a misleading headline, it was a clear case of an article space need's filling. What can it be filled with? With research there are lots of conflicting statistics from blogs and websites written by non researchers that all claim different percentages of diets fed to dogs. All you have to do is pop over to Google to see this for yourself. There's lots of inflammatory headlines that one type of food is bad for a dog and harmful and again absolutely none of them agree or come from science based research. Looking at the dog holistically, every single dog is an individual with dietary needs and food preferences, just like humans and there is scientific research to back this up as well as testing foods and changes in dog's based upon different diets. We also know that diet affects behaviour and this is something that many dog owners (guardians) are becoming acutely aware of but it is still not general knowledge. All over social media, no matter which one you will quickly find, enrichment aesthetic accounts with dog food, people posting all of their dogs meals, people arguing about food for dogs and quality. This is all irrelevant for this blog; we are simply looking at how diet affects behaviour and not at brands or types of food. "A dog's behaviour is not only controlled by the environment, but also by genetic, cognitive and physiological factors. Miklosi. A, (2014). Physiological factors in turn can be affected by nutrition. Bosch. G, et al, (2007). The brain is full of an amazing communication system and within this communication are neurotransmitters and hormones and both of these components can be affected by the nutrition that a dog receives and when the brain is affected negatively or positively we can see these effects manifest through behaviour. In looking at the dogs welfare this is why it is so important to ensure that our individual dog is receiving the best possible nutrition that they can receive. The gut microbiome is the most important area of looking at the dogs diet as this area is needed to remain as undisrupted as possible, a healthy gut microbiome means that the brain communication system should be working well. When the gut microbiome is affected, the healthy balance is disrupted and many changes can occur such as inflammation, infections and the production of serotonin 90% of which takes place in the small intestine can be affected. Tizard. I. R, et al (2018). When serotonin is affected, cortisol can rise and the brain can become affected and stop or hinder normal communication and functioning. (Refer back to my brain blog last week). As well as infections and inflammation affecting the dog negatively just as it does in humans. When we have an infection or inflammation we may not be ourselves and our behaviour is altered and sadly this is the same for our dogs. A study with shelter dogs of the same breed was conducted in Italy alongside a veterinarian behaviourist and a dog handler, 18 dogs were classified as aggressive and 11 fearful and 13 dogs exhibiting normal behaviours and fed them all the same food. They then did a second study and worked with three shelters with different breeds and different food. The results showed that there were marked differences in the gut biome of the dog's with no reported behavioural issues and the dog's reported to have aggressive or fearful traits. Mondo, E. et al. (2020). So considering the dog holistically, if we were to work with a cross section of professionals, vets, nutritionists and behaviourists we can then look at the whole dog and have a fecal exam to ensure that the dogs gut is healthy and if it isn't, then work with a nutritionist to get the right balance for the gut biome and work in tandem with a behaviourist to help to change the emotions driving the behaviours. References https://www.telegraph.co.uk/.../stop-feeding-dog.../ Miklosi, A. (2014). Dog Behaviour, Evolution, and Cognition. Oxford University Press. Pp. 16 Bosch, G., Beerda, B., Hendriks, W.H., van der Poel, A.F.B., Verstegen, M.W.A. (2007). Impact of nutrition on canine behaviour: current status and possible mechanisms. Nutrition Research Reviews, vol. 20, pp.180-194. Harju, C. (2016) Epsilon Archive for Student Projects, Welcome to Epsilon Archive for Student Projects - Epsilon Archive for Student Projects. Available at: https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/ Tizard IR, Jones SW. The microbiota regulates immunity and immunologic diseases in dogs and cats. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract. (2018) 48:307–22. doi: 10.1016/j.cvsm.2017.10.008 Mondo, E. et al. (2020) Gut microbiome structure and adrenocortical activity in dogs with aggressive and phobic behavioral disorders, Heliyon. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6994854/  The importance of vet checks for looking at dogs holistically
"Behavioural problems and physiological medical problems have been treated separately for years, but behaviour depends on an animal's health and vice versa. Some behaviour problems are caused totally or partially due to medical problems. But this comes with its own diagnostic challenges for vets as apart from behavioural changes there are no other indications of illness. Camps. T, Amat. M, et al (2019) Something that has encouraged and conversely put some clients off on initial contact is the recommendation of a Veterinary check to establish whether sudden behaviour changes or rescue dogs could be suffering with pain or ill health which has caused the change in behaviour. When a dog presents with a new behaviour we have to explore all of the changes within yours and your dogs life, whether you have moved home, someone has moved in or out, any surgery, any attacks or incidents, a new dog in the home, sudden periods of separation and much more which could influence behaviour or if there's anything medically happening. Dogs are very good at hiding pain and illness, we have to be mindful that no two dogs will show the same behaviours of expression of pain, especially dependent on their pain threshold as some injuries or pain may be slow in developing to big gestures of limping or vocalisations. There can be more subtle signs such as changes in pupil dilation, restlessness, changes in appetite or behaviour, increased or reduced physical activity and even a bite from a normally friendly dog. Some people also think that when we say this that we mean a booster appointment for a vaccination. Within another research study researchers found that veterinarians were criticised for not discussing or investigating behavioural problems with dog owners, so the researchers set up on a fly on the wall approach. 17 consultations were set up with 6 veterinarians, the dog owners were asked to share their concerns about behaviour which resulted in 58 behaviours of concern across the total and found that only 10 of the consultations out of 58 had been discussed. With the dog owners having to bring up the topic of behavioural concerns that they had. Roshier, A. L. (2013) A previous study five years earlier observed wellness appointments and health problem appointments and found that 90% of the conversation focused on the health problem focusing on the biomedical data whereas in wellness appointments, 50% of the conversation is based on gathering information and 27% based on owner education and that due to dogs only going to the vets when unwell or for boosters is the only opportunity to discuss welfare. Shaw.J, et al (2008). Which as a form of confusion that we find when discussing vet checks with dog owners makes sense as to why when we ask or recommend a Vet check that dog owners (guardians) typically tell us that nothing was wrong and or discussed at the booster appointment. There were also two main barriers found in the question of: "Do you have any concerns?" in that dog owners felt embarrassed or that the behaviour was trivial and that dog owners need a flow of conversation to be able to open up. Robinson. J. D, (2001) This second part is really important because when we use a client centred approach with dog owners (guardians) and help them to feel empowered, more people do talk at ease and even though emotions come up, there is no sense of embarrassment. When we actively listen this helps people to talk, and empowers the dog owner to speak up about how you feel, how behaviour might be affecting you and then we come full circle to how we can help. Because both ends of the leads are equally important. This study goes onto discuss welfare in dogs and dog owners (guardians) legal duties under the Animal Welfare Act (2006) which I have discussed before. The study finishes with the conclusion of understanding animal and owner needs for best welfare practice aimed at vets. Short, C. E. (1998) But all professionals who work with dogs have an ethical duty of care to best inform dog owners (guardians) education on why vet checks are vital and why doing particular things with dogs and meeting their biological needs is so important. This is why we also share a welfare responsibility for dogs who we work with because we need to best support the primary caregiver and families of their dog. So if your dog is showing changes in behaviour or you have a new dog and you're worried about some of the behaviours, please don't be worried about reaching out for help and discussing these worries. Either with your vet or reach out to a behaviourist. You should always be made to feel empowered, valid and supported. There are no silly questions or concerns, if you are worried about something it's much better to ask and if you aren't happy with the answer you can absolutely get another opinion. This doesn't make you a "Karen or a Kevin" as many people do worry they will quickly become a social media slur and considering people's feelings and worries as much as we might chuckle at these expressions of names to label someone difficult, the truth is more people dare not speak up when something is bothering them because of silly social media quips. Always speak up, always ask questions, your feelings are valid and there is nothing to be embarrassed about and even if you cannot pinpoint how your dog could be ill or in pain, remember they hide pain and unwellness well, circling back to journals yesterday this is where journals come in handy paired with your vet and behaviourist. References Camps T, Amat M, Manteca X. A Review of Medical Conditions and Behavioral Problems in Dogs and Cats. Animals (Basel). 2019 Dec 12;9(12):1133. doi: 10.3390/ani9121133. PMID: 31842492; PMCID: PMC6941081. Roshier AL, Foster N, Jones MA. Veterinary students' usage and perception of video teaching resources. BMC Med Educ. 2011 Jan 10;11:1. doi: 10.1186/1472-6920-11-1. PMID: 21219639; PMCID: PMC3025976. Shaw J. R., Adams C. L., Bonnett B. N., Larson S., Roter D. L. (2008) Veterinarian-client-patient communication during wellness appointments versus appointments related to a health problem in companion animal practice. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 233, 1576–1586 Robinson J. D. (2001) Closing medical encounters: two physician practices and their implications for the expression of patients' unstated concerns. Social Science and Medicine 53, 639–656 Short, C.E. (1998) “Fundamentals of pain perception in Animals,” Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 59(1-3), pp. 125–133. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/s0168-1591(98)00127-0. Image description: a mint green background with a shaded green category circle. Within the categories are sleep, with a grey wolf dog sleeping on a pink bed. A Wheelchair user with their back to the screen playing the chair game with a cream and grey wolfdog with the category title of "Time to train new protocols." A category called "diet" with the sodapup honeycomb slow feeder with raw food in the centre with vegetables, fish, liver and eggs in the outer of the bowl. A Vet with blonde short hair, white medical coat and green scrubs stood with a dark grey and tan Wolfdog with the category "vet check". A category called opportunities for mental enrichment with a dark grey and tan Wolfdog behind an xpen fence, within a Doggy Enrichment Land. A green wall with the bottom of a picture frame and a music speaker. There is a destruction box filled with balls, a Kong, a lickimat, a snuffle mat, an orange bed, a bone, an ostrich twist and a loose ball. The last category is "Keep a journal" with a lined journal with green edges and rainbow dividers. Importance of keeping journals
Some people might find it odd when we request that owners (guardians) are asked to keep a journal of their dogs' behaviour. We also keep journals for logging training sessions, the criteria (the aim) and the behaviour (such as a "sit cue" for example). Some are basic and some are complex, some like to document times of starts and finishing and duration or duration of each behaviour and how it went, the dogs responses, treats used and what can be improved. But for owners there are a few benefits to keeping journals for both you and your dog. During a study researchers found that journalling and expressing emotions helped the writer both physically and mentally within a duration of 15-20 minutes. Although the participants felt distress at the time of writing, they did report feeling better later and found the experience meaningful and valuable. Pennebaker, J. W. (1997b) Every single dog owner (guardian) has emotional feelings about their dog, whether this be negative or positive or indifferent, but this is aimed at the owners (guardians) who see their dog as a beloved member of the family and not with indifference. When we love our dogs, this means we open up our heart (or brain - but let's not get too technical) and with this love comes a lot of feelings. We can feel rushes of joy, excitement, overwhelming love, happiness, contentment, a euphoric high etc but sometimes the downside of love or being human with big emotions just like our dogs, we can feel overwhelmed, guilty, embarrassed, upset, hurt, frustrated, lost and not knowing what to do or where to turn. Were humans and even if you don't connect with all of the negative words above (I don't connect with all of them) it is OK to feel crap and I promise you, it's not just owners (guardians) who feel crap, it's us professionals too, whether this be being guardians to our own dogs, work or our emotional buckets being full from social media etc. So there are two major components to keeping a journal as an owner (guardian), the first is you can keep a journal of your training sessions and walks and reflect, which honestly makes you feel good when you see your progress. The second is why we ask you to journal: we ask you to journal to note your dogs behaviours, such as separation anxiety, reactivity, eating patterns, toileting patterns, mood, general behaviour, sleep patterns, enrichment opportunities and their responses, responses to walks, harnesses, interactions with people and other dogs. This is a very broad cross section and no two owners will have the same journaling process, because all dogs are individuals. Keeping a journal means together we can look at your dogs behaviour and begin to see a pattern or if not a pattern be able to narrow down what might be causing your dogs behaviour. Some people might think this is great and love journaling and might even have an aesthetic instagram account all about journaling. Joking aside, some people may dread it and feel overwhelmed for a variety of reasons, we don't judge, it's not our place to judge. Some ways that might benefit someone with journaling who feels they may struggle is a text message, speech to text, slang, urban dictionary, even voice recording. It's not for us to dictate to you how to journal and it doesn't have to be a fancy journal or the latest Microsoft program. We don't even have to see it, much like therapy, your journal is private and you can simply read out the main points. But as well as helping your dog and your relationship with your dog, you will be able to enjoy physical health benefits such as fewer stress related visits to the doctor, improved breathing, healthier liver, improved mood, reduction in depressive symptoms and overall feeling better, based on 4 months of regular journalling. Pennebaker, J. W. & Francis, M. E. (1996) These were results from both the laboratory and self reported outcomes from the individuals, this established that individuals found that by journalling there was less chance of developing stress related diseases by not confronting emotionally stressful events and immune system and physical improvements within the body. As well as being able to compartmentalise the traumatic memory and detach from it and have improved cognitive function when analysing yourself and others. Pennebaker, J. W., Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. & Glaser, R. (1988) Dogs are individuals with complex behavioural patterns and emotional needs. Cooper et al, (2003). Researchers gather data about dogs and their owners (guardians) by doing surveys and directly working with a sample of dogs and owners (guardians) at a research facility. Through doing this both researchers and we can learn more about dogs and you! Researchers have found that by applying human psychology to owners we can better help the dog, we do this by gaining an insight into your relationship and mechanics of your day to day life - journaling. Dog welfare is dependent on interactions from the owner (guardian) Hiby et al, (2004). Serpell, (2019) and learning about owners expectations of their dogs and interpretations of body language and Behaviour and how owners respond to behaviours deemed as undesirable. A.Horowitz, (2004). By providing owners (guardians) with more knowledge the more owners will understand dog cognition and skilled care providers for dogs, adapting a dog parenting style may best help the dog. Van Herwijnen. I. R. (2020) Both ends of the lead are important despite what you may have heard in the past, we as professionals can better help your dog, their welfare and biological needs by educating owners (guardians) to the best of our abilities, ensuring you both are well and healthy both physically and mentally and this is why journals are so important for you both (or all if you have several dogs). References Pennebaker, J. W. (1997b) Writing about emotional experiences as a therapeutic process. Psychological Science, 8, 162–166. Pennebaker, J. W. & Francis, M. E. (1996) Cognitive, emotional, and language processes in disclosure. Cognition and Emotion, 10, 601–626. Pennebaker, J. W., Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. & Glaser, R. (1988) Disclosure of traumas and immune function. Health implications for psychotherapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56, 239–245. Baikie, K., & Wilhelm, K. (2005). Emotional and physical health benefits of expressive writing. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 11(5), 338-346. doi:10.1192/apt.11.5.338 Cooper, J. J., C. Ashton, S. Bishop, R. West, D. S. Mills, and R. J. Young. 2003. Clever Hounds: Social Cognition in the Domestic Dog (Canis familiaris). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 81:229–244 Hiby, E.F., Rooney, N.J. & Bradshaw, J.W.S. (2004). Dog training methods: their use, effectiveness and interaction with behaviour and welfare. — Anim. Welf. 13: 63-70. Serpell, J.A. (2019). How happy is your pet? The problem of subjectivity in the assessment of companion animal welfare. — Anim. Welf. 28: 57-66. Horowitz, A. (2009). Disambiguating the “guilty look”: salient prompts to a familiar dog behaviour. — Behav. Process. 81: 447-452. Van Herwijnen. I. R. (2020) Educating dog owners: how owner–dog interactions can benefit from addressing the human caregiving system and dog-directed parenting styles Image description: a mint green background with a shaded green category circle. Within the categories are sleep, with a grey wolf dog sleeping on a pink bed. A Wheelchair user with their back to the screen playing the chair game with a cream and grey wolfdog with the category title of "Time to train new protocols." A category called "diet" with the sodapup honeycomb slow feeder with raw food in the centre with vegetables, fish, liver and eggs in the outer of the bowl. A Vet with blonde short hair, white medical coat and green scrubs stood with a dark grey and tan Wolfdog with the category "vet check". A category called opportunities for mental enrichment with a dark grey and tan Wolfdog behind an xpen fence, within a Doggy Enrichment Land. A green wall with the bottom of a picture frame and a music speaker. There is a destruction box filled with balls, a Kong, a lickimat, a snuffle mat, an orange bed, a bone, an ostrich twist and a loose ball. The last category is "Keep a journal" with a lined journal with green edges and rainbow dividers. Caring for our dogs in a holistic way doesn't have to be complicated, for some of you, you may recognise these categories from working with myself or another behaviourist or trainer when filling in history forms and first working together.
This data gathers important information for us to best help you and your dog. So one category at a time, I'm going to explain why each category is so important for your dogs behaviour. There will be an in conclusion and why we do this for the dog holistically as the final blog. This blog to get us started is based on all important sleep! Sleep Using polysomnography, researchers studied dogs for proof of the need for sleep, beyond consolidation of memories and looking further into how sleep can and does affect behaviour in dogs by measuring against a learning task whilst awake with both known and unknown cues such as sits and downs and playing with a Kong for the non learning sessions. Kis, A. Szakadát, S et al. 2017. A polysomnography is simply a sleep study test measuring brain waves, oxygen levels, heart rate and eye movement during sleep. This information is then collected, analysed and interpreted. So now you know how non-invasive measures of sleep are measured in dogs! The results of the studies found that after learning sessions, dogs slept much better and during REM sleep REM stands for rapid eye movement and this is when mammals are in a state of sleep when learning, emotions and healthy brain development is taking place. How exciting! In the invasive procedures used on mice in the past, sadly it was found that the mice couldn't enter REM sleep after they had been subjected to fearful events, which is really important to be mindful of for dogs too. Humans are also the same, we struggle to also enjoy REM sleep when we have had a bad day. Remember in the previous post I mentioned the hippocampus and storage and processing of memories. This is the part of the brain that cannot rest after a stressful or scary event. They also found that testing again after a week that, differential learning took place. Differential learning is when there are no learning constraints, so errors are encouraged in a way as there are no corrections or consequences, getting it wrong. The learner will then try different sequences of behaviours and movements to figure out the behaviour of themselves and learn to perform the skill in different ways. Schollhorn, W. I., Hegen, P., & Davids, K. (2012). An example of this applied to dog training is continuous reinforcement, when we first begin teaching a dog a new behaviour and we continually reinforce them to repeat the desired behaviour and consequently keep rewarding as they try different movements to get the jackpot. The jackpot is known as differential reinforcement which simply means the jackpot reward in dog training. They found that sleep at the sleep study centre for a few hours didn't help learning consolidation, however when the dogs slept at home as normal, memory consolidation did take place and improved learning. Another test was done, again by Kis, A. Gergely, A, et al. 2017. To test this time if sleep in dogs was affected by positive and negative experiences. Many species of animals had previously been studied within these methods, but never dogs. The researchers wanted to understand dogs adapting to living with humans and us now knowing, that dogs recognise human expressions and emotions thanks to An fMRI study of dogs unrestrained. Berns, et al 2012. We also know, even if we don't always want to acknowledge it, that dogs are subjected to lots of social stressors, such as kenneling, separation anxiety, aversives, being relinquished to a shelter, stressful environments (working and non-working) and environmental changes. Dogs are known to have short sleep wake cycles, most active in the morning and nap in the afternoon, unlike other species dogs sleep cycles can be unpredictable due to living with humans. They found that after the dogs had a negative experience that they fell asleep quicker than they did with a positive interaction and that REM (memory consolidation) increased which explains that falling asleep quickly after a negative experience is a protective sleep due to stress. This has been found in humans when sick in response to an altered immune system. The conclusion of the study is that sleep is required for canine welfare in a positive way. So what does this all mean in layman terms, this means that our dogs need sleep and good episodes of deep sleep that isn't interrupted not only to learn and consolidate memories but also to improve behaviour and behaviour can become worse with a lack of sleep and also that dogs need uninterrupted deep sleep for their health and well being. As mentioned in the previous post, when dogs have negative experiences regularly and they don't have sleep to heal they can become ill physically as well as mentally. So how can we help our dogs to sleep? Ensuring that they have opportunity to sleep in low traffic areas of the home, so an area dedicated to the dog where they won't be disturbed, this could be within a Doggy Enrichment Land within the main living area, M. A. Michaels, L 2022 or your own bedroom. Utilising a Doggy Enrichment Land can encourage sleep and utilising enrichment promotes sleep and soothes anxiety and prevents separation anxiety, remember dogs cannot sleep well with a negative experience such as separation anxiety. Dedicating time to sitting down and remaining there for a few hours can really help dog's to settle, sleep and not wake if you do need to pop out of the room, when they are unable to relax and we don't stay put this can further disturb their sleep and prevent good sleep. Whether this be working from home and a Doggy Enrichment Land in the bedroom for night time or sitting down and reading a book, scrolling through social media, which is how you found this blog or watching a Movie or two. Remember my date night for the dogs? If not scroll down, a bit of enrichment, training and a dog movie can go a long way for great sleep results. Sleep is vital, for puppies and dogs with botb positive and negative experiences, try new practices to help your dog to sleep, keep a journal and after a few weeks see if you notice a difference like the researchers. Be your dogs own individual researcher, it's fun and teaches us a lot about our beloved dogs. Kis, A., Szakadát, S., Gácsi, M. et al. The interrelated effect of sleep and learning in dogs (Canis familiaris); an EEG and behavioural study. Sci Rep 7, 41873 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep41873 Schollhorn, W. I., Hegen, P., & Davids, K. (2012). The nonlinear nature of learning-A differential learning approach. The Open Sports Sciences Journal, 5(1). Berns GS, Brooks AM, Spivak M. Functional MRI in awake unrestrained dogs. PLoS One. 2012;7(5):e38027. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0038027. Epub 2012 May 11. PMID: 22606363; PMCID: PMC3350478. M. A. Michaels, L. The Do No Harm Dog Training® and Behavior Handbook: Featuring the Hierarchy of Dog Needs. Image description: a mint green background with a shaded green category circle. Within the categories are sleep, with a grey wolf dog sleeping on a pink bed. A Wheelchair user with their back to the screen playing the chair game with a cream and grey wolfdog with the category title of "Time to train new protocols." A category called "diet" with the sodapup honeycomb slow feeder with raw food in the centre with vegetables, fish, liver and eggs in the outer of the bowl. A Vet with blonde short hair, white medical coat and green scrubs stood with a dark grey and tan Wolfdog with the category "vet check". A category called opportunities for mental enrichment with a dark grey and tan Wolfdog behind an xpen fence, within a Doggy Enrichment Land. A green wall with the bottom of a picture frame and a music speaker. There is a destruction box filled with balls, a Kong, a lickimat, a snuffle mat, an orange bed, a bone, an ostrich twist and a loose ball. The last category is "Keep a journal" with a lined journal with green edges and rainbow dividers. What happens within the dog's brain with fear, anxiety and reactivity *Reactivity is the word used simply because it is known and understood by dog owners (guardians) and encompasses the behaviour of reacting to triggers and stimuli. Fear and anxiety are misunderstood when it comes to dogs as a species. It can look and sound like aggression and there is little information still today on the mechanics of the complex machine which is the dog's brain which attributes to the dogs behaviour. When a dog reacts to a trigger such as another dog, traffic, people, elements that move the dog can be and is sometimes perceived as acting in a "disobedient" or "embarrassing" way. Negative experiences can also happen at home such as separation anxiety, a smoke alarm, the hoover, the microwave and of course fireworks and storms. This is because the behaviour and the dog's emotions are simply misunderstood. Dogs behave in a very similar way to humans without the social set ideologies of expected behaviour, they simply react in the rawest form, like a toddler. Which makes sense as they do have the brain capacity of a 2-5 year old child. Dog's have big emotions and as a community "the dog community" has previously labelled these emotions as "reactive." This in itself is a huge umbrella term not just with reactivity being a form of perceived aggression but also hyper arousal because when dogs are in a state of arousal they have big emotions. So let's try and break this down in a simple way and yes briefly, so all of the intricacies of the brain won't be described but important components that can help the understanding of the dog's brain will be used. References have been included for further and deeper reading and to evidence this blog. The dog's brain is an entire system so although parts of the brain are described these are not the total parts of the brain as this will become a dissertation and not a brief blog. The part of the dog's brain we will be looking at is the cerebral hemisphere and the limbic system. The cerebrum and cerebral cortex are the main components of the brain we are looking at. The cerebral cortex is the problem solving and logical part of the brain which is responsible for learning and the cerebrum is the emotional centre of the brain. The arousing experiences just spoken about become activated within the limbic system, this is when owners begin to see emotions such as barking and lunging or high arousal and hyperactivity and these are the behaviours sometimes seen as a bad behaviour from the dog. The dog is unable to listen or follow cues because the limbic system (the big emotions) has now overridden the cortical system which we are referring to as the logical side of the brain. This isn't because your dog doesn't want to listen to you and not because they don't want to follow cues and directions, just like when we humans are anxious, they simply cannot process what the owner is saying, their brain has entered an altered state. This process begins with the amygdala (a very small part of the brain, next door to the hippocampus), when the amygdala perceives a threat (and as those of us with anxiety know, a threat doesn't have to make sense to anyone else) the amygdala sends signals via electrical pulses to the hypothalamus. The amygdala has now shut down and the rest of the brain is quickly processing the threat and trying to process how to respond physically controlling the body. So not only is the brain buzzing with electrical impulses and the amygdala has now shut down but the adrenal glands are releasing a hormone which can cause rapid breathing, increased heart rate, blood pressure and blood flow. But these are not the only hormones being released, there are also several other hormones being released: Cortisol made of glucose, fatty acids and amino acids causing a surge of energy. Aldosterone which is responsible for regulating blood pressure and testosterone in both males and females (just like humans) and is preparing the dog for a need for aggression. So here the brain and the body is going through a very high concentrated surge of energy and the body is under huge stress in retreating to the most primal instinct of being a predator with the ability to hunt or become prey like and escape. This is all very primal but also very real and something that both animals and humans have and have evolved with or conversely can be and has been described as "ultimate efficiency or eustress." Schloz & Von Reinhardt 2006 (Eustress is stress moderate or normal psychological stress not the same as distress which is extreme anxiety, sorrow or pain). Oxford Languages So the brain and the body are in high energy and the brain is buzzing with information and emotions are regulating the brain and the dog's decisions now, not the logical side of the brain and the dog that you know that follows your cues and actively listens to you. They aren't being bad or misbehaving, they are not in control of their brain, thought processes or next movements, emotions and we all know emotions are and have been the downfall of humans throughout history. It can take around an hour for Cortisol to drop by half of the level it has been, but this is based on the dog not experiencing regular stress and anxiety. A dog regularly experiencing stress and anxiety is going to take much longer, which brings us to trigger stacking and emotional buckets. Again the dog community refers to levels of stress as trigger stacking or trigger stacked. This is a wonderful trigger stacking image from Grisha Stewart and Lili Chin which shows body language to look out for (attached below after the slideshow). As mentioned above when there is trigger after trigger causing stress and fear to our dogs the risk of a bite to escape the situation is higher as is flooding (when a dog freezes and shuts down or appears compliant to escape a terrifying situation). In repeated trigger situations it can take up to 72 hours for Cortisol to leave the system. M. Stuart Bass, 2020. This is why we recommend 3-4 days of decompression to bring the Cortisol down as much as possible before exposing dogs to another stressful situation causing psychological and physiological distress. As mentioned in the slideshow dogs can become susceptible to disease, physiological conditions if constantly exposed to stress, develop anxiety and or depression such as heart conditions, skin conditions, respiratory conditions, high blood pressure, kidney disease, stomach ulcers, gastric problems and more. This is not an exhaustive list and by no means is meant to be scary but to be informative to get your dog the help that they need medically. Sleep is essential for dogs when they have had a negative experience, dogs require a lot of sleep for healthy brain functioning under normal circumstances. But with all of the energy that has been used and released within the body this can be exhausting for a dog. The brain needs time to heal, not just the hippocampus but all of the parts of a dogs brain as we know that each part of the dog's brain no matter how small is super important. Unlike humans, dogs will fall asleep straight away after a negative experience but their sleep patterns and quality of sleep is hindered by the negative experience. A. Kis et Al, 2017. We know due to cortisol and the higher rates of release it can take several days for the cortisol levels to drop. Weitzman, Fukushima, Nogeire et al 1970. We can begin to "Empty the emotional bucket" Tom Rath and Don Clinton, 2005. Once your dog appears to be more alert, wanting to engage and seeming more like themselves, using enrichment is a great way to help them to stimulate the brain in a healthy way and enrichment mats such as Lickimats are soothing for anxious dogs. Scentwork and sniffing can also be fantastic ways to help dog's to decompress such as Lickimats, snuffle mats, chews, destruction boxes, puzzle games, scatter feeding in the garden etc As the days progress so days 2/3/4 you may find your dog maybe able to engage in play such as tug games and even some training games before going for a walk again. Walks following a negative experience should be focused on decompression, going at their pace, letting them sniff and enjoying the benefits of a low pressure walk with lots of sniffing and relaxing to continue to heal the brain. Remember your dog isn't giving you a hard time, they are having a hard time and this is a very delicate balance and process, so for their emotional wellbeing and the whole dog ensure that your dog is fully supported in being able to rest and heal after a negative experience. References R. Falconer-Taylor 2017, Durham, 2004 https://emotions-r-us.com/behaviour/pets-fear-and-fireworks-the-fallout-and-terrible-consequences-of-fear-and-anxiety-for-our-pets-part-2-beyond-fear-anxiety-disorders/#:~:text=Damage%20to%20the%20hippocampus%20by,and%20the%20amygdala%20for%20storage Kersti Seksel, BVSc (Hons), MRCVS, MA (Hons), FACVSc, DACVB, DECAWBM, 2014 https://www.vin.com/apputil/content/defaultadv1.aspx?id=7054740&pid=12886 The behaviour hub 2020 https://www.thebehaviorhub.com/blog/2020/9/28/emotional-brain-limbic-system-barking-dog https://kipdf.com/stress-in-dogs-and-proposed-solutions-introduction-stress-and-our-dogs_5b13272a7f8b9a33808b458d.html Tom Rath Don Clinton, How full is your bucket, 2005. https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/ M. Stuart Bass, 2020 https://www.tail-talk.co.uk/stress-in-dogs Anna Kis, 2017 Sleep macrostructure is modulated by positive and negative social experience in adult pet dogs https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2017.1883 Weitzman, Fukushima, Nogeire et al ‘Twenty-four hour pattern of the episodic secretion of cortisol in normal subjects’. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, chapter:33, pages:14–22., 1970 https://lickimat.co.uk/ http://www.dogfieldstudy.com/en/pulse-study/at-the-heart-of-the-walk https://www.tail-talk.co.uk/stress-in-dogs https://www.susanmckeon.co.uk/dogs-stress-bucket/ https://barketplace.uk/the-importance-of-rest-days-for-dogs/?fbclid=IwAR1LBSqNCqFy7sjyAmNYF4-60Wu9z1Y0N6AdFhn1Xbj6z3ojKmXJA_4xG3g https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159118304325 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1558787815001574          So many owners are targeted by dog food and dog treat companies. Their dazzling labels and clever graphics make their treats and food look the best option for your dog.
Clever graphics, colours and photos of their products are deliberately made based on consumer ideologies of what they would gravitate towards in a highly lit shop setting. Just like a food restaurant adverts the food you see on TV, the bouncy fresh bun and the sizzling meat and the fresh crispy salad is not what you receive in the restaurant. Instead it's a stale bun with dried out meat, limp and browning salad and it looks like its been for a night out and got a stonking hangover. But its too late because you've paid for it, your hungry and you don't want to wait whilst they attempt to fix it and it can never look how it does on the TV because those little wood picks they use to hold the foods in place and the glue they use for sauce and the plastic salad isn't edible. Well, our pet food companies are no different. They too use clever gimmicks and inedible items to make their food look delicious for your beloved pet, be it a dog or a cat. The food is carefully hidden in paper or plastic packaging but the graphics and the list of ingredients you can't pronounce are just laid out perfectly. This company hasn't got anything to hide and they have spent so much time on the packaging and it's got a reasonable price tag too. Nothing is too expensive for our beloved companions. What people don't want is the Natures Menu bags which are see through and show you the cubes or the mince meat or even the treats. With their minimal packaging, dark colour label with minimal reasonings to buy their food and it doesn't look appealing. But when does anything good ever look appealing? Personal Trainer shakes definitely don't look appealing and they sure don't taste like anything else you have consumed on earth but the Personal Trainer says it's good for you, the Gym has them stacked behind the counter waiting for your purchase to get the healthy body you want. But again we know that these products aren't necessarily good for us, especially compared to a homemade salad with no dressing. However the homemade dressing with no salad is exactly what your body needs and you can add your favourite items to it meat wise and protein wise. Just like Natures Menu (except you add vegetables to Natures Menu if you get the mince). If you've read this far and had a little chuckle, hooray we're getting there. So again the treats are made to look so delicious and when you open the plastic wrapper and look inside that silver foil encased bag they are the most miserable and dry treats you've ever seen. Kind of like a rich tea biscuit, great for nausea but not much else. And these treats like Rich Tea biscuits are not only empty calories but also filled with additives. So what treats are best, human food. That's right our food, our chicken, our cheese, our ham, our sausages, our beef, our apples, bananas, blueberries, carrots, kale and so much more. And yes there are dogs out there that think Kale is amazing! So here is a list of treats to look out for, for your dog. Less GI problems, less hyperactivity, less Reactivity, aids in weight loss and weight maintenance and gives your dog the correct nutrients that they need whilst also having a workable relationship with your dog. Especially for the dogs who cannot look away from another dog or something scary for a miserable pedigree biscuit. So here you go with an extensive but not exhaustive list of new treats to try. Your dog will thank you for it! Ultimate Guide to Dog Training Treats High value treats are always the way forward with Training these include and this isn't an exhaustive list for all countries or dietary needs for example EPI Primula (plain, ham etc no onions) Ham Steak Beef Hotdogs Cheese Chicken Duck Tripe Sprats Hearts Liver Kidneys Liver cake Freeze dried meats Dehydrated treats Jr Pate Liver Paste These particular treats we highly recommend for taking in walks, classes, workshops etc Treats at Home Raw chicken wings Raw duck wings Raw Trachea Raw Beef Knuckle Raw hearts Raw liver Raw Kidney Raw fish (if not a raw feeder in the UK and in doubt please go to www.naturesmenu.co.uk input your Dogs information and they will tell you which of their treats is suitable for your dog. Yak Chews although be cautious of coming to the end of the chew due to swallowing Antlers Dried Trachea Beef Lips Beef slices Mega Bully Chew Lambs Tails Rabbit Ears (natural worming aid) Chicken Feet (again use with caution) Black pudding bites (Jr or similar not human) Venison bites Goat strips Ostrich twists Kangaroo twists Braided Ostrich Bulls Pizzle Carrots Watermelon (no pip's) Peas Sweetcorn (not corn on the cob) Apple (no seeds) Cucumber Strawberries Blueberries Fish skins Buffalo chews Duck necks dried Lambs ears Kongs Room Temperature or Frozen filled with favourite treats. Our favourite is natural plain yoghurt with hotdogs ham, Blueberries, cucumber, apple or a mix of the items listed above. Place in a freezer bag to avoid leaking and done within 4 hours. Cow hooves can be filled like Kongs We fill these with JR Pate Shop Treats (that I know are nutritionally good personally) Natures Menu Country Hunter True Instinct Barking Heads Fish 4 Dogs Sausage bites Liver Bites Black Pudding Bites Venison Bites ***Always avoid commercial treats such as Pedigree, Bakers etc, always remember the more graphics the more they spend on graphics than the food***  When our dogs are fearful of something, there is such a fine line to walk in exposing the dog to the scary thing (flooding) or working through desensitising them at a much slower pace.
There is not enough information out there, which readily helps dog owners to understand what to do when their dog is afraid of something. This could be other dogs on walks and still going for walks in the same area and hoping for the best. Whilst the poor dog is barking, lunging and reacting because they simply do not know what else to do, as far as they are concerned all of their body language communications has been ignored. Other common fears are: fireworks, loud voices, visitors, horses, cattle, livestock, ducks and geese, dustbins, vehicles, brushes, mops, hoovers, beeping sounds, fly swatters - the list is endless. So what can body language communication look like? A stiff body, tail tucked, a low wagging tail, slight cowering, major cowering, licking lips, yawning, piloerection (fur standing up), pulling away, moving in slow motion, hypervigilant, disinterested in food or toy, whale eye (where the whites of the eyes are showing), hyper fixed on the scary thing, furrowed brows and ears to the side or back. This isn't an exhaustive list nor individualised but these are generalised behaviours that we see. So when these body language signs we know that something is wrong and that the dog is trying to communicate with us. Then we have much bigger signs of communication, which is growling, snarling, snapping, barking, lunging forward, spinning on the lead, howling, frothing at the mouth, again this is not an exhaustive list but generalised to the behaviour we visually see and big communication that our dog is distressed. Unfortunately sometimes when the dog gets to this state, they can also misdirect their fear and bite the handler. This is why it is so important to listen to dog body language as their silent means of communication before it escalates to the vocal sounds of communications. Then we have the other extreme of owners who won't walk the dog unless it's dark and around midnight. Annie Phenix has actually written a book called the Midnight Walkers, called so because of owners who avoid other dogs and people. This extreme, the extreme of total avoidance is actually the better option. The dog isn't frightened or startled or there will be minimal frightening interactions. So where is the happy medium? The happy medium lies with the midnight walkers as a starting point. This isn't to say you have to go for a walk at midnight. This is where your starting point lies of a safe environment without the scary thing present. So for example this doesn't have to be on a dog walk, this could be the hoover that they find scary for example. Here is a visual instructional video as both an example and to help those who need it https://youtu.be/nI4BBEnACOs I don't ignore that the dogs (hypothetically are scared of the hoover) I work step by step in a controlled way to help to overcome the fear of the hoover. This is the same principle applied to anything that a dog finds scary, for example my youngest dog Zombie is Neurodivergent and he is scared of lots of things. One day he is scared of other dogs, the next day he might manage a small distance from them, one day he is scared of humans, other days he may try to approach them for a sniff. Zombie is an extreme example of a nervous dog, but a great example of the extreme of nervousness and fear. Here is an example video of what it is like to walk Zombie https://youtu.be/n7VwyF3-13s there is so much going on with his body language and he is off lead so that being a wheelchair user I don't miss any subtle language body cues. (Remember off lead dogs are dependent on the relationship and being able to have a solid recall, Zombie is also not reactive. He chooses flight and hides behind me or comes onto my lap (yes a Wolfdog trying to get on my lap) if he is frightened. These are only in extreme situations in the don't worry they're friendly and we have been blind sided by an off lead dog on the Park etc (it has happened to everyone at some point). So this for example was an extreme of Zombies emotion to an off lead dog coming out of nowhere visible, no owner in sight and coming to me for protection and reassurance. In the video he was able to stand, observe and walk on. Should the dog have charged up to him, this could have been a different story. However the point is to keep changing the emotion of how he feels to rude dogs and people. (Rude people attempting to fuss him without asking). Another example is Diesel, who used to be afraid of clickers. We used the same process as the hoover to help him to combat his fear of the Clicker. Many dogs are noise sensitive and are afraid of clickers. However we changed the emotion to the Clicker by working slowly and methodically to change his emotional state towards the Clicker. This is why in Behaviour modification we do not want to suppress the dogs behaviour as the dogs behaviour is a reflection of how they are feeling. Instead we want to change the emotion and yes this will take time, however the greatest and kindest thing you can do for your dog and the most powerful, is change your dogs emotion to something scary, not avoid it entirely (in context), not suppress it (punishment and aversive methods and tools), accept that your dog finds something scary. Then work with them with a Behaviourist to set a behaviour modification plan and change the emotional state.  Dogs on Chains
This post is not about Livestock Guardian dogs and I personally do not know of any LGDs that are tethered. For many people it's the first thing you consider before adopting or buying a dog or a puppy. Is my garden/ land secure? Can I mend any holes? Can I purchase higher fencing? Researching breeds that are typically known to be escape artists. Considering whether with work hours and activities, if it would be fair to even own a dog. Consider work hours, social life, exercise, outdoor lover, working dog, sofa dog, large dog, small dog, energetic breed or sporting breed and then compare this to the lifestyle. Consider whether there is finances in place for a dog: Vet fees, insurance, training, diet, treats, beds, toys, play pen, crate, leads, harnesses, long lines, any extra sports to participate in, finances to replace all the above disposable items because items wear out or dogs chew. Take into consideration daycare fees, kennel fees, dog walker or sitter fees, grooming fees and heaven forbid extra cash to have the dog back from the pound should they bolt. So here we have considered hours of work, hours of socialising, finances and how the needs of the breed will be met. But sadly not all people do this and think that chaining a dog whilst they work all day is fair, or chaining a dog full time is fair, then when the dog inevitably is not having their needs met and manages to escape, horrible measures begin to come into play like invisible fences. If a dogs needs cannot be met and the time and effort is not going to be put in to train them and meet their needs and ensure they have an amazing life, it is much kinder to not have a dog. Dogs being met with frustration and aversive methods because of a fast food nation mindset is not fair to dogs, not understanding that training is essential and will go on for the life of the dog is essential to understand. Understanding that a dog is an entirely different species to a human and that they do not understand that "furniture" etc is precious. The following countries have either banned Dogs being chained and tethered or have strict laws on this for example not being able to exceed one hour on a tether. Some countries also have banned invisible fences!! Hungary Malta Portugal Austria Germany Denmark Sweden Australia America The following states have either banned tethering or have strict laws on tethering. California Alabama Connecticut Delaware D. C Hawaii Illinois Indiana Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Nevada New Jersey North Carolina Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island Tennessee Texas Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia There is so much up to date and kind methodology and protocols for ensuring dogs can have the best lives that they possibly can. Most of these resources are also completely free. One amazing blog is by Ali of Rebarkable check her out here https://m.facebook.com/rbrkbl/ and check out her blog from a British point of view working FF in the US, her blogs are a must read https://rebarkable.com/invisible-fence-vs-physical-fence/ There is no need to treat a dog unkindly or have a dog and not meet their needs and ensure that they have all of their needs met under Animal Welfare Laws individualised to each country or state. There is no need to treat dogs this way and deep consideration should always be taken as to whether having a dog in your life is the right thing for the dog. Check out the Do No Harm Manual by Linda Michaels MA for a step by step guide with up to date and kind methodology on raising a dog from a puppy or rescuing a dog and how to meet their needs, whether you already have a dog or a puppy or are considering. https://gumroad.com/a/1016960115/LAVuz Image is of a Dog tied to a chain next to a rusty tin of water and the backdrop of a shed that is heavily worn with dirt and grass surrounding the dog too. He has a brown collar on, he is Jack Russel looking but larger, his head is down looking at the floor and his ears are flat. He is white, grey, brown, blue grey and dusty from the dirt. |
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If the answer is yes then click the image below to join my free facebook group. What is Mutts & Mischief Community!
So it is what it says on the tin! Its a community that is international of clients and colleagues with the most supportive and friendly people on the planet. Dog Trainers and behaviourists from all over the world!
Why did I set up such a mammoth group?
I wanted to have a group exclusively for clients. For support and build on friendships from classes or individual consults. I want clients to see you are not alone with your dog and the problem you maybe having that you are not the first and won't be the last! I wanted a safe place where clients could trade stories good and bad in one place for free!
I also wanted a safe place for the trainers and behaviourists I mentor too.
Why do this for free?
Because when I say I offer an holistic service I really do. It isn't about the money it is about you and your dogs. You and your dogs are all that matter.
So I wanted to encourage people to do homework and build better quality relationships with their dogs. So 5 years ago I had a mad idea and set up the 100 days of dog training challenge in 2019. Once a day people would spend 5 minutes plus training their dog. Recording it and uploading their video onto the community. Every participant received a certificate.
What I didn't count on was how many professionals wanted to join and how fast word would spread. So in 2020 I set up a 366 days of dog training challenge.
We have clients in America, Greece, Norway, Denmark and Spain. We have Trainers from Greece, Norway, Isle of Wight, America and many more countries. As well as dog trainers and trainee behaviourists: I mentor all over the world.
So yes this group is free. It is still primarily for clients and for people to get to know me but we now have Pawsitive Wednesdays running, where I share a narrated free video tutorial for you to try with your dog and all are welcome to upload their video to the group for support from members!
What are you waiting for? Come and join us!!
So it is what it says on the tin! Its a community that is international of clients and colleagues with the most supportive and friendly people on the planet. Dog Trainers and behaviourists from all over the world!
Why did I set up such a mammoth group?
I wanted to have a group exclusively for clients. For support and build on friendships from classes or individual consults. I want clients to see you are not alone with your dog and the problem you maybe having that you are not the first and won't be the last! I wanted a safe place where clients could trade stories good and bad in one place for free!
I also wanted a safe place for the trainers and behaviourists I mentor too.
Why do this for free?
Because when I say I offer an holistic service I really do. It isn't about the money it is about you and your dogs. You and your dogs are all that matter.
So I wanted to encourage people to do homework and build better quality relationships with their dogs. So 5 years ago I had a mad idea and set up the 100 days of dog training challenge in 2019. Once a day people would spend 5 minutes plus training their dog. Recording it and uploading their video onto the community. Every participant received a certificate.
What I didn't count on was how many professionals wanted to join and how fast word would spread. So in 2020 I set up a 366 days of dog training challenge.
We have clients in America, Greece, Norway, Denmark and Spain. We have Trainers from Greece, Norway, Isle of Wight, America and many more countries. As well as dog trainers and trainee behaviourists: I mentor all over the world.
So yes this group is free. It is still primarily for clients and for people to get to know me but we now have Pawsitive Wednesdays running, where I share a narrated free video tutorial for you to try with your dog and all are welcome to upload their video to the group for support from members!
What are you waiting for? Come and join us!!
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