Why language matters when it comes to talking about our dogs
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When it comes to how we talk about our dog’s language matters, language is a powerful tool and can even be used as a weapon to hurt others.

The tone of voice that we use and the way in which we speak to and about others matter, language has a lot of inflection, in which we and many other species rely upon, with human interaction as to the tone to add to the body language of the person speaking.

Dog’s rely on social cues, gestures and language, just as much as we do from other individuals, just like us, dog’s can also interpret if language or gestures are being used in a kind and gentle way or in aversive way. This was first noted by Skinner, 1953. Once we establish a learning experience and history with a stimulus such as a gesture, we then form an experience of how we will react to this stimulus or gesture in the future.

Pointing, waving hands, arms, throwing a ball, holding out a treat, reaching for the treat jar, a dog barking lunging, growling or play bowing, these are all communications and gestures that the dog becomes reliant on to try and predict the future experiences that they have with humans and other dogs.

Dog’s particularly have a sensitivity to human gestures, which humans lack with one another.

Just as we do in language contexts, dog’s need context when learning human social cues and gestures, especially when forming social attachments and bonds to humans within their living conditions and environments.

It has also been found that dog’s are able to learn better when visually seeing an object or gesture as opposed to an invisible one, which is why games and tasks such as “do what i do” are so successful, dog’s not only seek to understand from our verbal language but also seek from our body language, no matter how tiny the inflection and whether or not we are aware of our body moving, or indicating towards a source, such as in scentwork.

Dog’s are also sensitive to our attentional states and are more likely to perform a behaviour we don’t want such as worktop surfing when our gaze is averted, as this is an opportunistic behaviour and we do not have our gaze on the worktop, nor the dog, so the dog seeks this opportunity with no verbal cues to stop them to take the opportunity to take the food.

Scientists have concluded that “dog’s have their own theory of mind”

Many studies have been done, to reach these conclusions, to the extent where even fox kits as well as puppies who have had minimal contact with humans, learn from the social cues and gestures of the humans during the brief contact, as well as learning to study the gaze of the human to learn about the humans communications.
We all known that when speaking to dog’s inflection of tone matters, many of us dog professional stress using tonal inflections, such as a jolly or happy voice when speaking to dogs, especially in times of distress for the dog, such as being emotionally challenged to help the dog to feel calmer and soothed by us.

We also make a point of explaining that guardians should not be using hand gestures, stern or cross voices, in situations, so as not to frighten the dog, of course during training sessions, hand gestures maybe used in place of a verbal cue depending on the context of training.

By changing something as simple as language when speaking to or talking about our dog’s we can change our attitudes and internalised beliefs and ideologies about dog’s, showing them more empathy, understanding, kindness and above all love.
When we speak harshly, negative beliefs and ideologies develop, this is simply how language and thought processes work.

Considering our dog as a member of the family and not an outside being who is allowed to share our home and follow our rules, can greatly change perceptions and the relationship, both for us and the dog. Enhancing the welfare and the love that we have for our dog’s and ensuring that they have the best lives possible!

Changing one thing as simple as our language, truly can change the welfare for our dog’s!

References

Skinner B.F. Science and human behaviour. New York: Free Press; 1953

Brauer J, Kaminski J, Riedel J, Call J, Tomasello M. Making inferences about the location of hidden food: Social dog, causal ape. Journal of Comparative Psychology. 2006;120:38–47.

Fukuzawa M, Mills D.S, Cooper J.J. More than just a word: Non-semantic command variables affect obedience in the domestic dog (Canis familiaris). Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 2005;91:129–141.

Gagnon S, Doré F.Y. Search behaviour in various breeds of adult dogs : Object permanence and olfactory cues. Journal of Comparative Psychology. 1992;106((Canis familiaris)):58–68.

Brauer J, Call J, Tomasello M. Visual perspective taking in dogs (Canis familiaris) in the presence of barriers. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 2004;88:99–317.

Brauer J, Call J, Tomasello M. Visual perspective taking in dogs (Canis familiaris) in the presence of barriers. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 2004;88:99–317.

Hare B, Plyusnina I, Ignacio N, Schepina O, Stepika A, Wrangham R, et al. Social cognitive evolution in captive foxes is a correlated by-product of experimental domestication. Current Biology. 2005;15:226–230.

​Image description:

On the left hand side a photo of a wheelchair user, with their assistance dog, who is a wolfdog, there is a pink and yellow summer mesh assistance dog vest on the wolfdog. Against a white brick wall, on a wooden deck with beach plants behind.

Why language matters when speaking to and about your dog - on a turquoise background the text is in black.

Language matters in white large text and the subtitle in white - Language really can change our attitude towards our dog.

A dark mint green box to the right with black text reads - Don't say "command" - say "cue"

When we say "we command our dogs" we take away autonomy, choice and see them as lesser than ourselves.

To the far right a darker blue text box with the text in black reads - Don't say "pack"
- say "family"

Use of the language of terms such as pack is outdated, modern terms use the term "family" when including the dog to foster the understanding that dogs are family.
A lighter blue text box to the right under the above box with black text reads -Don't say "owner" - say "guardian"

When we say "owner" we take away the individuality of the dog. We have seen in the past how dog's have been seen as lesser within the family unit. Dog's were not viewed as family members and so dog's welfare was severely impacted.
When we bring a dog or any animal into our lives, as we replace their previously learned secure attachment, we then become a guardian as we will be forming a secure attachment with them. This is because a dog seeks a secure attachment as a need.

To the right of this box a text box in red with black text reads -Don't say "stubborn"
- say "my dog doesn't understand "

When we use language such as "stubborn" we are not accepting any responsibility for our dog's learning process, our lack of skills and the dog simply not understanding the cues given.

When dog's don't understand it is important that we change our approach and adapt our cues to help the dog to learn.

A dark yellow text box to the bottom centre with black text reads -Don't say "reactive" - say "emotionally challenged"

Many words or terms coined come from good places, they come from a place to replace a word which is harmful within a description. Reactive too has become one of those words, as reactive doesn't address the individual's emotions and doesn't help them in their individual needs being met. Emotionally or environmentally challenged meets the individual's needs as an individual.

muttsnmischief.com at the bottom in white text.

Climate change and dog welfare part one
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In one of our last podcasts we recently spoke about different topics and current affairs. It was a really good chat. One of the topics raised was climate change. How climate change is currently impacting dogs and how it can impact them in the future.
I was stumped, I don't mind saying it. This is a topic I have not come across, I haven't seen colleagues raise it or discuss it and I haven't seen any research papers on it.

So I began a little project, because I love researching and I love answering questions, especially the hard questions.

I was dismayed to find only a few papers! I found a few scholar papers and lots of bloggers sharing how your dog's carbon paw print is affecting the environment, but not solutions or support which I found super disappointing.

I don't know if this is because I am very eco aware, such as being enrolled in Ecology for several years now, using natural cleaning products etc and being more herbal based and aware and conscientious of protected or endangered species. Of course purchasing recycled goods at every opportunity and recycling as much as I can. So I just assumed everyone is doing their part. How wrong was I? The main culprit being pet businesses (the large conglomerates, not small businesses and of course manufacturers).

For me as a millenial my whole life at school was centred around climate change, the ozone layer and being recycle conscious and planet friendly.

People who have followed me for years of work with me know I often talk about the weather, how hot it is and unsafe for dogs, how winter can be brutal with the sudden change in the weather and how it seems to postpone each year making it worse for the dog's as well as their coats and of course how the weather such as the wind and atmospheric pressure can alter dog behaviour.

Anyway, I'm going to circle back to this area.

It's 2023 and still people are reporting dogs in hot cars, dogs passing away from heat stroke, collapse, needing emergency care, being walked or run in hot weather!

2023! I cannot personally get my head around this. I did say on the podcast in my little geek brain that obviously genetics will affect evolution and adaptability to hotter weather, but what about our current dogs?

How long will it take for genetics to adapt enough to keep up with the hot weather each year? If for example a litter is born every year, what if the heat rises further each year? Our dogs and animals are going to be constantly struggling.

So back to the research: military dogs were recorded as having the highest fatalities due to heat related deaths and pet dogs living in the UK and Israel are reported to suffer the most from heat related illnesses due to physical activity. (1)(2)(3)

From this information we know that temperatures rising are affecting dogs across the globe, which could potentially alter the relationship between dogs and their human bond and dogs roles within society as we know it today.

This research paper specifically was concerned with activity levels for dogs amongst different countries from the UK to Australia and the impact that the hot weather has vs winter weather, activity levels, canine health and obesity.

To summarise the researchers found that 80% of the guardians they spoke to, were more mindful of the heat than the winter and many carried water with them. But would throw balls for the dogs to chase and retrieve which of course means high intensity activity once a day which negatively impacts dogs and their recommended exercise allowance per day. As their bodies cannot cool down as rapidly as they could just going for a walk on lead.

Unless we use Pitpat as an example we cannot monitor how much exercise our dog has had and if they have reached their goal, whereas early morning walks and late evening in the cooler periods means that the dog can have their recommended amount of exercise and reduced risk of repetitive injuries or heat related illnesses.

They also found that dogs who were unfit or classified as obese struggle with thermoregulation and high intensity activity, which causes the dogs body to overheat as their temperature runs higher. Also that there was a misunderstanding of guardians understanding their dogs capabilities due to their breed, with springer spaniels and collies being at higher risk of overheating. (4)

Conversely the other problem they found was the guardians willingness to take their dog out in winter due to the cold weather and wintery conditions. Meaning all year round that dogs are struggling to get the daily activity that they need to maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle for their welfare. (5)

Which concluded for both the researchers and myself that there has to be better education campaigns whether this comes from us or the media.

So following more research, as always I will do a mini series on this, for solutions as to how we can support our dogs to have their best welfare needs met year round. As dog professionals we have a duty of care to educate guardians to promote the best welfare for their dog. The weather is changing and global warming is a real problem, coming up with solutions and supporting guardians, is so much better for everyone rather than just listing problems.

References

Miller L., Pacheco G.J., Janak J.C., Grimm R.C., Dierschke N.A., Baker J., Orman J.A. Causes of Death in Military Working Dogs During Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, 2001–2013. Mil. Med. 2018;183:e467–e474. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usx235.
Hall E., Carter A., O’Neill D. Dogs Don’t Die Just in Hot Cars—Exertional Heat-Related Illness (Heatstroke) Is a Greater Threat to UK Dogs. Animals. 2020;10:1324. doi: 10.3390/ani10081324.
Segev G., Aroch I., Savoray M., Kass P.H., Bruchim Y. A novel severity scoring system for dogs with heatstroke. J. Vet. Emerg. Crit. Care. 2015;25:240–247. doi: 10.1111/vec.12284.
Nazar K., Greenleaf J.E., Pohoska E., Turlejska E., Kaciuba-Uscilko H., Kozlowski S. Exercise performance, core temperature, and metabolism after prolonged restricted activity and retraining in dogs. Aviat. Space. Environ. Med. 1992;63:684–688. doi: 10.1360/zd-2013-43-6-1064
Daniels T.J. The social organisation of free-ranging urban dogs. I. Non-estrous social behaviour. Appl. Anim. Ethol. 1983;10:341–363. doi: 10.1016/0304-3762(83)90184-0
Hall, Emily J, and Anne J Carter. “Exploring Owner Perceptions of the Impacts of Seasonal Weather Variations on Canine Activity and Potential Consequences for Human-Canine Relationships.” Animals : An Open Access Journal from MDPI, 19 Nov. 2021, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8614552/....

Image description: A dark blue background. Cream text in capital letters reads - Let's fight climate change. Climate change and our dogs. Learn what you can do to help.
There is a 3d image of the planet earth with a sad face and crosses for eyes. The earth has orange and yellow triangles behind representing fire. There is a 3d thermometer to the left of the image with the mercury at the maximum level.

Giving your dogs a break in the hot weather. Dogs mostly go to the vets during the summer due to heatstroke. Dogs don't have to be out in high noon to get heatstroke. They can get it indoors, through play and not taking a break or from hot cars. There is no shopping, absolutely none that is worth the risk of your best friends life. If you need to go out, let your dog stay at home. Hire a dog sitter if they have separation anxiety, ask a friend to stay with them. Just please don't risk their lives in a hot car.
It's important indoors to have wet towels and blankets available for them to lie on as self cooling mats are great but for puppies and chewers not so great as they contain gel. Use fans on the floor to keep them cool. Play outside in the evenings when it's cooler. Have water available at all times.

It's important indoors to have wet towels and blankets available for them to lie on as self cooling mats are great but for puppies and chewers not so great as they contain gel. Use fans on the floor to keep them cool. Play outside in the evenings when it's cooler. Have water available at all times.

When they do play encourage breaks and rest, over arousal happens very quickly during play and it's really important we monitor them and encourage them to cool down and rest from play so as not to over heat. You can use homemade pup cups, Doggy ice cream recipes, raw frozen bones and treats, frozen licki mats and enrichment toys and teething rings for dogs.

Also be aware of the risks of when dogs think eating the water from the hosepipe is great fun. It's fun to see your dog happy and playing but the risks are too high from consuming so much water. They can suffer with water intoxication or aspiration pneumonia. It's just not worth it.

You can read more here from the Wholedog Journal which also has safety around sea water too: https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/.../water-intoxication.../

​Absolutely enjoy summer with your dogs, but do it safely and always manage your dog(s) to prevent them from becoming over heated or unwell during the summer.

​Enclosed dog fields for hire or Sniff Spots for the US are fantastic. Whether you have anxiety like me and your worried about the other guardians and their dogs rushing or attacking yours, whether you have an environmentally challenged dog and need a break from training or whether you are just fed up of every walk being Mission Impossible with dog attacks being on the rise in the UK.
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You hire the field and the field is yours for the hour. Bilsby Dog Field has 50 minutes for you to enjoy the field. 5 minutes to arrive and park up and 5 minutes to leave and lock the gate. Giving you a full hour. Where the field is yours. You can even book it for half an hour or a few hours. Of course very field is different and you have to check their terms and conditions.

But it's such a nice relief to enjoy your dogs in peace, you can practice homework, recall, use it as a decompression walk, have a picnic as Claire has said whom owns the field.

Fields are a huge relief for a break and an opportunity to just enjoy your dog, peace and quiet in safety. Walking dogs is much like becoming like driving now. It's not necessarily your driving (dog) you have to worry about it's the other drivers (guardians) out there!

You don't have to use a field or a sniff spot every day or every week even, but it is a chance to give yourselves a break and for you all to relax!

Doggy Enrichment Lands is a term coined by Linda Michaels MA, whenever we say utilise a Doggy Enrichment Land because of all the benefits and the improved welfare for dogs the main comment we are met with is space. I don't have much space. But I've shared a room leading straight to the garden for their Doggy Enrichment Land and the garden as their Doggy Enrichment Garden, when we bring a dog into our life we share the space with them. Just like with kids. It's not our space or their space, it's just shared. We're a family unit and it is so important to meet their welfare needs, to have fun with them and enrich their lives as much as possible. You will see in the video how we make the most of "small space", and our garden is partly shared with the half of the rabbits fort!
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Healing relationships part three

In this mini series we have been looking at why people use aversives, contributing factors to attitudes changing and adopting force free practices and welfare for dogs.
Now we are going to look deeper into this and the correlation between the use of aversives, behavioural problems and the impact on both guardians and dogs.

It's common knowledge in the dog training and behaviour industry that dogs who have behavioural problems suffer through their welfare in a lot of cases.

Many dogs are abandoned, relinquished or euthanised due to behavioural problems. Dogs who remain with guardians are known to have poor welfare and quality of life in some cases. (1,2)

It's important to highlight that all humans are different and we all handle things differently, for my own experience with Zombie, my youngest who is fearful, I didn't feel overwhelmed or burdened by his behaviour. Because I took a different approach and had a different attitude to begin with. I didn't see Zombie or categorise him as having fearful behaviour or being classified as reactive.

Instead, my attitude and approach when describing him was "He has big emotions and he feels a lot of fear, he finds the world a scary place, I do too. He's frightened of x, y, z and I would list off his fears. I also made a point of identifying his strengths. He may have been worried about strangers and other dogs but he also wasn't fearful of Fireworks or thunderstorms.

He may have been fearful towards strangers and dogs but he didn't react in the sense of what people normally think when the term "reactivity" is used which is why so many of us are moving away from it. Because Zombie was so fearful he shut down. He would have a panic attack, I related to this and could identify with this and I was very open and transparent about all of our journey.

For me I saw a lot of myself in Zombie, my own anxiety and neurodivergence and I spoke to many people and of course I was given lots of unhelpful and unsolicited advice such as euthanizing him and I also got lots of helpful support from colleagues.
I'm so glad that I didn't listen. Today Zombie is a happy and well rounded dog, he's playful and makes people laugh, he's boisterous and friends with some people and some dogs. As a dog should be because they absolutely will not be friends with everyone just like us.

Researchers found guardians of dogs may experience a form of caregiver burden as found in humans and families due to dogs being seen as a part of the family unit. (3)
Through the data that the researchers collected they found that there were four major areas which could be analysed as to understanding the breakdown in relationships and the struggles of behavioural challenges in dogs.

Caretaking - expense of the vets, training, behaviour modification, breakdown in relationships, lack of understanding and support from friends and families.

Emotions - both negative and positive emotions were reported. Negative included emotions such as anger, fear, frustration, sadness and resentment. Whereas some reported feeling that they had a stronger bond.

Coping strategies - seeking help and getting support from trainers and behaviourists as well as some vets and therapists for themselves.

Lack of understanding and support - from the general public on walks, friends and family and social media. (4)

So when we look at these four categories, the dog isn't actually to be blamed. The frustrations all come down to money and having to spend more money than anticipated originally.

Lack of support from friends, family and even some professionals as well as unsolicited opinions from the general public and social media.

So here we aren't looking at dogs with behavioural problems as being the problem. We are looking at humans who are unable to deal with negativity from other humans and feeling that this all stems from their dogs behaviour.

Guardians are negatively impacted due to other' s opinions. So coming back to part one where I discussed the trainers and behaviourists who have crossed over and their reasoning, this is exactly why people use aversives.

People don't like to feel inadequate and some more than others, some guardians like myself can focus on their dogs strengths and support their dog through their anxiety and emotions.

People who want the behaviour fixed and they want it fixed now. This is where people turn to aversive methods. Because of their own ideologies, beliefs and lack of understanding of how dogs work, dogs emotions and intelligence.

Every single person I spoke to, all crossed over as soon as they learnt better. As soon as a good teacher informed them of how dogs work, where they are going wrong and showing them a different way. A kinder way, but above all, education.

As the saying goes. "When you know better, you do better." This series hasn't been about preaching to the choir, this series is about explaining why people use aversives. Because in order to help any guardian and their dog, we first of all have to understand the why of the behaviour.

If we want to see more people crossing over, we have a duty of care to educate guardians, to not shout and belittle across social media as the research I have shared highlights. Social media is a part of the problem. Shaming and hating on people is a part of the problem.

Showing them, educating them and supporting them is the answer to the problem. It's time to stop people pleasing and using aversives to get a wanted behaviour because it's an emotion and you can only heal an emotion you can't fix an emotion, you can either heal an emotion or suppress the emotion through aversives until the emotion blows up. Which it does.

Help people with tutorials, signpost to groups where there are expert Moderator and Admin teams. Offer help and support. Teach people about scholarships with force free schools. Be the change. Be the reason someone signs the Shock Free Coalition pledge with the Pet Professional Guild. Be the reason dog welfare gets better, be the reason that aversives are extinct.

I have a YouTube channel filled with free tutorials https://youtube.com/@miyagisdogtraining
I have a Facebook group for support and help from the community and not judgement or fear. Miyagis Dog Training Community
Go to Do No Harm Dog Training for support and for a team of Admin and Moderators who can help advise, guide and support you. Where comments are monitored.

Extinct aversives not the emotion.

References

J.C. New Jr., M.D. Salman, M. King, J.M. Scarlett, P.H. Kass, J. Hutchiso. Characteristics of shelter-relinquished animals and their owners compared with animals and their owners in US pet-owning households
J. Appl. Anim. Welf. Sci., 3 (2000), pp. 179-201
E.F. Hiby, N.J. Rooney, J.W.S. Bradshaw
Dog training methods: their use, effectiveness and interaction with behaviour and welfare
Anim. Welf., 13 (2004), pp. 63-69
V. Braun, V. Clarke.Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qual.Res. Psychol., 3 (2006), pp. 77-101
Kristin Buller a et al. (2020) Living with and loving a pet with behavioural problems: Pet owners’ experiences, Journal of Veterinary Behavior. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/.../pii/S1558787820300356... 

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Image description: A man stands with his head down in front of a door frame that is powerfully lit up. Above the door frame is an exit sign. The text in white reads: Are you ready for the light bulb to switch on?