DOG BEHAVIOUR CLINIC
Relationship centered training for you and your dog, using only kind, fair and reward based methods.
Wednesday, 21 December 2022
Luna Bear 21st December 2022
Another trip to the park to work around novelty in the environment.
We saw dogs, ducks, squirrels, people and young people playing football
Mr and Mrs Duck out for a stroll top left corner and the rest of the family top right!
Apparently football means becoming a meerkat! Very manageable but Luna wont be a dog to take along to watch Sunday morning footie as she would love to join in. We moved away to get a bit of distance and she was able to calmly observe the football flying around.
No videos today but I managed to get a couple of photos of her dog watching. She calmly observes and then looks at me to play the up/down game and move on. Such a quick learner.
Lots of air scenting
Dog top left corner
Lots of sniffing today - lovely to see her able to relax enough to sniff and explore
A quick chomp on her favourite teddy
Time for some cuddles before going back to her kennel
Monday, 19 December 2022
Murphy people and dog watching
19th December 2022
Another road trip for Mr. Murphy, down to the local park. Mr. Murphy can be a little socially awkward with other dogs (although he seems to love the ladies) so we are doing some work around seeing other dogs.
When we are working to help dogs who are socially awkward it is important to ensure we do not overload them with stimuli. We deliberately choose quiet periods to visit the park so they can just observe calmly and not feel they need to react.
We also use distance, working at a distance where the dog can observe calmly.
Murphy uses his nose - a lot - when he sees other dogs which is wonderful. We don't try to shovel treats down him, we don't speak and say it's ok, look at me etc. It is important that dogs can calmly observe the various novelty in the environment.
Today we had two dogs and two people together and Murphy was a superstar again.
Dog watching
Murphy likes to watch people too. Again, we just stand until he is ready to move on so he can learn about them. He loves meeting new people and is incredibly friendly and affectionate.
Back to the kennels for a rest to process all that learning. Such a sweetheart.
Friday, 16 December 2022
Ramsey and the muzzle
Ramsey has been doing really well with his muzzle training. We also need to get him used to wearing a harness and lead.
We don't want him to feel that all interactions with us lead to the muzzle and we also want the muzzle to not be a big deal.
We set up some enrichment for him to engage with and he has been having a few of these sessions. He associates these sessions with fun and relaxation.
No expectations, no requests, just pure exploration and relaxation
Now the muzzle, harness and lead are part of that enjoyment. No treats were put on any of the items as we don't want to lure him to them. Instead they just became part of the enrichment. There were treats around the room, on the floor and in the snuffle mat but none on the "scary" items.
We want him to view them as just things that are there, rather than something he must always engage with.
Ramsey clearly remembered the previous sessions with the muzzle and expected to find liver paste in there. He chooses to put his muzzle in to check and no luring with treats!
We only saw one dog today and very few people but as always, Mr Murphy was fantastic. No videos as I was too busy engaging with him.
Back to kennels for snuffle mat time and then a good sleep. Dogs need to be able to rest after so much learning to help file all the new information away.
Luna Bear saw 5 dogs, squirrels, ducks who really wanted to say hi and quite a few people. She can get very excited when she wants to go over and see them and then becomes frustrated with jumping up. We have been teaching her she can look and calmly observe.
We played a pattern game while a couple with a young child walked past, very close to us on the pavement. Luna looked at them and returned to the pattern game with me. Even better, I heard them say "Look at that beautiful dog, how well behaved she is." Luna Bear really was a superstar again today and whoever adopts her is going to be so very lucky.
Luna is sitting on a raised bank of earth, watching the ducks - her choice
Because humans feed the ducks at this park on a regular basis, they are very interested in coming over and pay no attention to dogs! We stayed a while so Luna could calmly watch them. Just after we moved away out popped a squirrel. She looked and returned to sniffing the ground.
Unfortunately it is just a short clip as I accidentally hit stop while getting a treat out for her! Humans eh?
Rubbish videoing but you get the idea. What you cant see is the dog off to the left, behind her and passing cars on the right. So many potential triggers.
It isn't all work and no play! Back to the kennels for a snuffle mat and play with her favourite toy, before a good snooze.
Update on Mr Murphy aka fluffy bum 13th December 2022
Sometimes doing less is so much more.
Mr Murphy is learning a few new skills to
help him out on walks. It isn’t all work though – today he had some time in a
quiet area at the kennels which is set up like a lounge. This gives dogs the
opportunity to chill and relax and us the opportunity to see how they will be
in a home.
Mr Murphy had a good search through a snuffle mat, a sniff
round the room and then settled down for some affection and …………… a good
snooze!
Never underestimate the importance of sleep and just being there. Sometimes silence really is golden.
Luna 13th December 2022
Another road trip for little Luna Bear. She continues to amaze me at how quickly she picks things up.
Ready to roll
Luna is a young girl with a puppy brain - anything and everything was exciting and new. Novelty in the environment will often trigger dogs to pull, lunge, whine, bark or even become a meerkat! Luna was at imitating a meerkat especially when she saw another dog! When out on a walk she was constantly scanning the environment and watching moving cars.
We went for a walk down a fairly busy road today while heading to the park.
Person and their dog ahead - it looks further away than it was!
We encountered workers having their lunch by a van, diggers, vehicles and motorcycles driving by, young people on their lunchbreak from School, people walking by and other dogs.
Barriers such as fences are excellent for parallel walking. We walked parallel for a bit and then stopped so Luna could calmly observe
Much of the work we do with dogs is a process and it is important to do the foundation work. Each dog will vary in how long they take to move forward. Luna is like a sponge with her learning - absorbing every little bit. She now knows that even though something is happening nearby, she can engage with me in predictable fun repetitive games that are simple and calming but also rewarding. She can choose to quietly observe and then pick up the game again.
Hi-Viz person walking past and Luna chooses to play the up/down game
Please note - asking a dog to sit in the presence of something they are concerned about is not helpful. However, Luna chose to do this - it is a default behaviour she has learned from her earlier life.
We have slowly worked up to this though. Taking a dog who is worried about various stimuli into a really busy environment expecting them to cope is not the way to help them. What we often see is what appears to be a calm, "obedient" dog but in reality they are just overwhelmed and shut down.
She does so much more sniffing now, with the occasional glance up and then back to sniffing. It is so wonderful to see dogs able to enjoy their walks in a relaxed manner.
Lovely to see her sniffing, having a quick look at various stimuli and then returning to sniff
She is an amazing travel companion who loves window watching and then lies down for a snooze on the way home. Whoever adopts this girl is going to be so very lucky!
When we get back to the kennels, we have a room set up a little like a lounge so that dogs can chill and relax, just as they would in a home. This is an excellent opportunity to give dogs a break from the kennels but also helps us assess how they will be in a home environment. Luna lies down calmly and settles beautifully (well apart from that tail which doesn't stop)!
Luna had a play with her favourite toy, a rummage in a snuffle mat, some cuddles and affection and then back to her kennel for a snooze to absorb all that learning.
