Dog Behaviour Services

General information

Energy
I believe that every living being on earth has an energy or presence surrounding them. Energy is projected through your intention plus emotion, a prime example of this is how a judge upholds themselves in their court room. The intention of the judge is to make a fair decision whilst they are calm. The decisions they make are not influenced by their own emotions whether this may be sympathy, frustration, resentment, intimidation or any of the other emotions that the human race feel. Judge Judy is a great role model in being calm assertive. Another example of energy is when you walk into a room after an argument has taken place. The tension in the room can be sensed even if no words are spoken.
Understanding this and in the knowledge that the human race has been around for 6 million years, scientists believe that the human language was developed by our South African ancestors around 100,000 years ago therefore we have to ask, how did humans communicate their emotions and intentions before this? This is where I believe energy falls into place. Throughout the generations of humans, the energy aspect of our life has slowly dissipated resulting in increasing amounts of problems among ourselves, with our children and ultimately our dogs. New born babies are a great example of the human race, projecting and reading energy. A baby that has been screaming all night is passed by a frustrated parent to someone else for their child to stop screaming instantly it feels like the biggest insult ever to the parent. However a baby with not many other senses relies on the energy projected around them to know whether they are safe or not and whether the person holding them can be predicted, this is what creates the trust, being able to handle the babies emotion calmly and assertively. So when the other person takes over without the frustration and with no other emotion the baby recognises this and trusts the person holding them which is what ultimately has a soothing effect. This is because what comes with calm assertive is trust. Being frustrated, tired or annoyed only distances the trust a child feels, as these outcomes to our emotions makes us unpredictable and unable to keep the baby safe.
It has been mistakenly reported and therefore believed that the method I use to work with dogs is highly aggressive and inhuman to dogs. This is so far from the truth it is beyond a joke. Again it has been reported from previous positive reinforcement clients that they have been taught several techniques ranging from giving treats to making sure the dog focuses on their owner. This involves keeping them away from all other dogs in the meantime. This is not a natural way for a dog to behave, they are very sociable and this only creates frustration from the dog, which can be interpreted as aggression. Also we give a treat to a dog to get the dog to repeat the same behaviour again, so if the dog is excited or fearful and we give them a treat then are we not reinforcing their negative behaviour? We are rewarding the dog to repeat the same fear or anxiety as they showed before. Examples reported include placing one finger into the cheek of a dog when barking at another to show your dominance, don’t need to say anything about that other than this is completely unacceptable and dangerous. Another was to grab the dog by the cheeks while growling and shaking the dogs head, again I say no more other than I would never do or teach anyone to do any of these examples. Then we get to throwing a bottle of stones at the dog. The dog isn't stupid. They know you threw it and this will create a fearful response to you. I don't want dogs listening to me out of fear. I want them to work with me and follow me because I project an energy they understand and can trust. All the afore mentioned methods are showing that I'm dominant and I’m going to use force and therefore I can’t be trusted and the dog just wants to avoid me, so this would not be practical for the outcome I’m needing from the dog, this would also most likely result in me getting bitten.
Dogs use energy and body language to communicate to us and other dogs around them. Their body language is projected by either Dominance, Submission or Avoidance. Their state of mind can vary from excitement, fear, anxiety, insecurity, intensity and uncertainty and yet what we aim for is calmness. All of the afore mentioned states of mind have behavioural outcomes which is where a behaviourist differs from a trainer. Whereas a behaviourist works with the state of mind to achieve a balanced calm dog which will naturally be a good dog, a dog trainer teaches a dog to do a certain task for a reward to make the action happen again. For example, here are a few ways how positive reinforcement can actually be very negative for the dog and owner.
Using positive reinforcement to focus the dogs attention onto the owner when around other dogs
We have to accept that no matter how much we change the appearance of dogs by their breed, we will never change the fact that dogs are pack animals. This means they are very sociable, they like to follow a calm leader who is in control inside and out. So trying to distract a dog to not be interested in another dog is going against mother nature. I know from experience, never fight mother nature. We also teach the dog to use their eyes which, if they were human, would be great however a dog’s main sense is their nose. Again this we can’t ever change, they are born with only 3 senses for a reason. Scent, touch and taste. Sight and hearing are not included as they develop later on. So by giving a treat at the moment your dog sees another dog removes the dogs use of their nose and you reward the sight sense. This then takes away the dogs natural curiosity which is created by them using their nose which in turn creates behavioural issues whenever your dog sees another dog over the other side of the street. We also teach that when a dog is to greet someone new that they are not to use their nose so we may get a dog that is fearful, anxious or insecure. This then applies to greeting dogs, the dog will only have an interest in looking at the dog and not wanting to naturally smell the rear to find out what the other dog is about. The dog will likely correct any dog wanting to sniff them which could cause a fight to the wrong energy dog. To the owner we just create an avoidance because ultimately a dog will get to the point of ignoring an owner as instinct will take over and the dog will want to say hi, with this not something we have naturally occurred we as a human start to panic and we apply tension by pulling back on the lead. This can trigger a reaction so we then don’t trust our dog when they get close to another dog which creates more tension which can result in a behavioural issue very quickly completing the vicious circle. Also the fake set up of having someone stood while you move to a distance of no reaction getting closer and rewarding is not a real life scenario. Nine times out of ten the second a dog reacts is the second the other dog walker disappears. A dog that is calm submissive will naturally use their nose when greeting anything, which allows for a natural greeting to occur. This is why I hear that a reactive dog on the lead will be fine off lead.
Greeting a dog
I see it so so so so often and it is why I refuse to watch TV programs showing rescue centres working with dogs, watching a human approach a dog talking all happy or soothing, bent over with arms out wanting to go straight in for a nice affectionate stroke on top of the head. This may LOOK like it’s nice for a dog to have but it is so far from being correct and natural. Unfortunately, humans have become extremely selfish and believe that every living thing must conform to how humans communicate and if the animals don’t like it we just get rid. Approaching in the manner said above is a direct threat to a dog. Not only do we again remove the use of the nose for humans preferred senses of sight and hearing, we also create excitement by talking which is awesome for a dog that is a happy go lucky, but they are a rare breed these days. When humans talk to dogs the dog becomes excited displayed by their natural body language of wagging their tail which if adding excitement to a dog already showing warning signs to you, you will get bitten. Also with excitable energy you can’t predict what they are going to do next so when this behaviour is applied to the worst case scenario of a fearful dog how can we expect the dog to trust us, so approaching like said above is again the humans’ selfish way in making ourselves feel better in thinking we are helping, by saying that we are ok and not going to hurt them. By giving affection towards a fearful dog you are simply using positive reinforcement to encourage the dog to stay fearful this is again humans stopping the dog from moving on and guiding them back to a calm stable state of mind. So watching “professionals” who reportedly “know dogs” but yet they do what is best for themselves, not the dog, infuriates me on the inside. The technique of turning your back to a dog only demonstrates to the dog you are weak. In the animal kingdom presenting the back is a weakness, which is why you would present your back to a fearful dog giving it the confidence to approach to smell. Presenting your back just teaches the dog that you don’t own the space around you. A dominant, excited dog will also likely take a sly nip. Removing the dog is again an unnatural behaviour. I have never witnessed a dog place another dog in time out in their bedroom, this is a human response as we can think about why we have been removed. Dogs don’t have this ability.
I do completely acknowledge that 95% of dog owners are there to love and nurture their dog. They are all part of our families. Mine come everywhere with me. They are my life and they are provided for before I am myself.