Paw Behaviour Dog Training

It’s a tv show. He’s a tv personality, not a dog trainer.

⚠️ 𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝑫𝒐𝒈𝒔 𝑩𝒆𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 (𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒚) 𝑩𝒂𝒅𝒍𝒚

Yesterday, I received the following email from a researcher for the TV programme *Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly*:

"𝑀𝑦 𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑠 (redacted) 𝐼 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑇𝑉 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤 ‘𝐷𝑜𝑔𝑠 𝐵𝑒ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 (𝑉𝑒𝑟𝑦) 𝐵𝑎𝑑𝑙𝑦’.

𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑛𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑒𝑝𝑖𝑠𝑜𝑑𝑒𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑤𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑘 𝑖𝑛 𝐿𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝐿𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑚.

𝑊𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 𝑇𝑢𝑒𝑠𝑑𝑎𝑦 10𝑡ℎ 𝑆𝑒𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑜𝑔 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑟 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑏𝑜𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑚 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑢𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑛 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑜𝑜𝑛. 𝑊𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑜 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑑𝑜𝑔𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑎 𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑒.

𝑊𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑑𝑜𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑛𝑜𝑛-𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑏𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑙𝑦 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑔𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠.

𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛. 𝑂𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦’𝑑 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑎, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑎 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑠𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑠!"

My first thought was to delete the email. I'm not a fan of Graeme Hall. I've watched a few episodes of his show, and in my opinion, he seems to make things up as he goes along, relying on outdated training methods.

However, I was puzzled. Was the “cravat” unwell, and they needed a stand-in? I'm a nobody – why on earth would they want to film me training a dog when there are so many high-profile trainers out there? Curiosity got the better of me, so I decided to give the researcher a call.

I'm still in shock as I write this. The researcher explained that they wanted to invite me to Lytham with my Border Collie to "demonstrate" to Graeme Hall how I would train my dog not to respond to a phone ringtone.

Graeme would then take my training method and use it to teach the Border Collie of the family seeking help – all while filming it for his TV show!

WTF 😳😳😳

I decided to dig a bit deeper and reached out to the force-free dog training community to see if anyone else had experienced something this bizarre.

It turns out that many trainers had also been asked to attend filming sessions to show Graeme how to train dogs before the cameras rolled. Most reported that they refused because of his methods, but a few had shown him and his team how to train a dog, only to be dismissed without any credit for their expertise.

I then did some open-source research on "The Country’s Best Dog Trainer," as the *Daily Telegraph* calls him. He has no formal training in canine behaviour or training. He’s essentially winging it with the help of whatever trainers are willing to show up and assist him.

According to his website, he charges £875 per session 🤔😧

Now I’m not someone who normally criticises other trainers. I prefer to let my clients decide if I’m the right trainer for them based on how I work with their dogs.

However, I couldn’t let this pass without making it public knowledge.

If you're looking for a dog trainer, please avoid this programme and this man. You have no idea whose techniques he’ll be using week to week, and given that most qualified and accredited trainers want nothing to do with him, the quality of training you’ll receive is questionable at best.

Instead, do your own research and find a local trainer who aligns with your own dog training ethics. Organisations such as The IMDT or APDT - Association of Pet Dog Trainers can help guide you to qualified & accredited trainers in your area.

𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒐𝒈𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒔!

October Course dates are now available for booking via website! Limited places, so book NOW to avoid disappointment. 😍

9.00am Sat 5 October - Super Pup for pups 8-12 weeks
11.45am Sat 12 October - Jnr Puppy for pups 4-6 months

Education, training, life skills & socialisation for your new baby! Our trainers are Cert IV Qualified & Accredited.

NOTE: Our Office is NOT attended from 1 to 24 September. Classes running as usual & pls book via website. Email any enquiries & they will be answered after 24 September. Thanks! 😍

Learn more about dogs! We would encourage every dog owner to learn more about dog body language. If you could just understand how your dog feels, perhaps you will do better. ❤

The great dog training debate! Well, it's not really a debate, but more a case of why professional animal trainers that use modern positive reinforcement methods, refuse to "debate" trainers who like to use fear & force to train. May be of interest to any budding dog trainers. Those of us who've been using reward methods for years will continue to do so and no amount of fear, force or bullying will alter that.

Thank you Eileen Anderson at Eileenanddogs who has written this explanation.

"In January 2022, the dog trainer Ivan Balabanov emailed me to invite me on his podcast. I knew little about him at the time except that he was world famous in protection sports.
I declined. I’m a writer, not a trainer. I don’t think well on my feet in conversation. I wouldn’t be a good representative for the positive reinforcement training community, and that’s what I would be there for.

I had no idea of the bullet I dodged.

I observed Mr. Balabanov’s outreach to the positive reinforcement-based training community after that. And in February 2023, he published a podcast episode titled, “The Real Facts about Science Based Dog Training.”

I have thought hard, for more than a year, about whether to give this podcast any oxygen by responding to it. But now it’s pertinent to current events in the dog world. It’s important to pull back the curtain."

"The Real Facts About Science Based Dog Training": A Bad Faith Argument - eileenanddogs In February 2023, Ivan Balabanov gave a podcast called The Real Facts About Science Based Dog Training. There were problems. Let's learn about Gish Gallops.

Harsh tools that force dogs to comply are not training dogs. Sure, we need to control our dog & walk comfortably. No matter what lead or harness you use, learning good techniques to train & reward behaviour you want will get results faster than force! Choose a skilled trainer that understands this & can teach you! ❤️🐾❤️

Happy International Dog Day!

Here is a little pic from history - Layla and Merlot in their Delta Therapy Dogs bandanas. We'd love to see your dogs too! Now go give them a big hug 🥰

Our Deputy Prime Minister has a new baby. Welcome Humphrey! We hope his early learning program is all sorted 😍. Go easy on the AireSnaps & happy days ahead Humphrey 🤩❤️🐾❤️

Newest member of the Marles family 🐶 Meet Humphrey.

So the boss tells us she’s tak’n a lil break to go roam’n! 😳. We better make sure she has her ID Tag on! Anyway we’ll be tak’n care of bizness & the team are runn’n the classes so don’t worry! 😎. She’ll be back, but she’s not talk’n or answering emails & stuff while she’s off roam’n around. Ok! Thanks from the Office Managers Milton & Audrey 🐾❤️
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Be happy! Just head to a nice cafe & share brunch with your dog (if it’s cool at the cafe)! So simple 😎🐾❤️

Dog body language. Learn it! This is a good video from our Kiwi friends 😍🐾❤️

How to read dog behaviour. Looking at a dogs body language and how dogs communicate. Dog body language can be complicated. Reading a dogs body language can be even more tricky, but there are easy ways to tell how a dog may be feeling. As dog ...

New pup? We have ONE spot left for ONE lucky puppy tomorrow morning 10.30am in Carrum. Join us and improve your dog training skills to set your new baby up before adolescence kicks in! See website for all details and bookings. 😍

We'd love to help you - all trainers Cert IV Qualified & Accredited in modern fear free animal training methods.
https://pawbehaviour.com.au/group-training/puppy-school/

Reward based training works. It’s a no brainer! ❤🐾❤

More Treats, Please. No Tugging the Leash in Dog Training Science shows that aversive methods have risks for dogs’ welfare, so we have to keep explaining that the best approach to dog training is one that uses rewards.

Skilled dog trainers perfect the basics! Don’t underestimate the value of proofing basic skills such as recall, leave it and stay. By proofing we mean building on the dog’s ability to perform under different conditions & changing those conditions gradually.

All too often we hear new puppy families wanting biting, toilet training, stay, loose leash walks, all “fixed” in the first few weeks of classes. Let us teach you the basics! Build on those, gradually & reap the rewards!

Our next Super Puppy course for pups 8-12 weeks starts this Sat in Carrum. Grab a spot before they go! 😍🐾❤️

Awesome news!! ❤️🐾❤️

Animals will no longer be forced to stay separate to their owners, with the Spirit of Tasmania set to change their policies when the new ships launch in 2025.

The two new ships will each have 18 cabins dedicated to accommodating furry friends and their owners, with a designated outdoor area available for dogs to stretch their legs and enjoy some fresh sea air on a lead.

In addition to the cabins, the ferries will also have a secure climate-controlled pet housing area with kennels for dogs of all breeds and sizes.

Puppy School! We will teach you more than you believed possible! Your puppy is developing super fast & right now is the time to teach your puppy skills for life to prevent any pesky nuisance or behaviour problems when they hit adolescence from around 6 months!

We have a few spots left in our Super Puppy course starting 10.30am this Saturday 24 August in Carrum. If your puppy’s awake it’s learning. Call us if you’d like more info 0414 637 568 or book via website.

https://pawbehaviour.com.au/group-training/puppy-school/

A new puppy needs a safe & nurturing environment for optimum brain development & learning.

Yes, it is unreasonable to expect a puppy to conform or behave according to the convenience of a new family.

Our next course start this Saturday in Carrum. We’d love to help you settle your new puppy into your home. 😍🐾❤️

An unqualified trainer recently created a video recommending that you let your puppy 'cry it out' in a crate. This is incredibly damaging advice that will not only damage the relationship you share with your puppy, but also cause more behavioural issues in future. How do we know this?

Despite the fact that dogs progress through developmental stages much quicker than humans, puppies experience similar emotions and developmental stages to that of a human baby. Research continues to reveal that dogs are a sentient species and that their brains respond to stimuli, such as stress, in the same way as our own.

Rat brains are often used to research how mammalian brains work. In one such study, it was found that there is a critical period for switching on genes that control anxiety for the rest of the animal's life. If the rat offspring experienced a low nurturing mother in the first 10 days of life, those genes never switched on, resulting in that offspring being anxious for the rest of its life. The same mechanisms are found in the human brain, whereby the caregiver has the ability to influence genes, depending on the care they provide. Scientists have also revealed that there are actually hundreds of these genes influenced by nurturance. Thus, this study revealed that the care provided during infancy, has the power to influence the mammalian brain's ability to manage stress and anxiety. (Michael Meaney and colleagues; e. g., Meaney, 2001).

The argument that "letting puppies cry it out will help them develop resilience", is disproven by scientific research. Studies reveal that human babies left to cry don't self-regulate in isolation. "If they are left to cry alone, they learn to shut down in face of extensive distress—stop growing, stop feeling, stop trusting" (Henry & Wang, 1998). In comparison, when a baby is consistently comforted when they are distressed, they begin to expect to be soothed, which then contributes to the baby's future ability to self-soothe. Therefore, responding to a baby's distress helped them develop more resilience in future.

Other studies show that babies left to cry it out, have a tendency to become insecure, aggressive, bad tempered and more demanding. In fact, the extreme distress occurring as a result of prolonged crying, is even believed to cause significant damage to neurons in the brain. (Darcia Narvaez Ph.D)

During infancy, the brain is developing quickly, thus when the baby is distressed for long periods, it creates conditions for damage of the synapses. Cortisol (the stress hormone) is also released, which when in excess, can destroy neurons in the brain. Prolonged stress can also begin to impact the infant’s immune system, for example, prolonged distress in early life can result in a poorly functioning vagus nerve, resulting in conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome. (Stam et al, 1997)

Study after study reveals that lack of care and leaving a baby to cry negatively impacts the development and resilience in a variety of mammalian species. ( Don't forget a lot of what we know about the human brain is from studies of other mammals rather than humans.)

We are trying to demonstrate that we are this puppy’s new family and surely we want our puppy to feel safe and loved. If they begin to feel more insecure because prolonged crying hasn’t gotten them the comfort they needed in the past, they will soon learn to escalate their behaviour in a desperate attempt for comfort. Thus, leaving them to cry can actually result in more behavioural issues, because our puppy now feels so insecure and anxious, they can’t cope being left alone.

“Caregivers who habitually respond to the needs of the baby before the baby gets distressed, preventing crying, are more likely to have children who are independent than the opposite” (e.g., Stein & Newcomb, 1994).

The same is true of puppies. Rather than thinking in turns of giving attention for the crying, we should be trying to prevent the crying altogether by ensuring we always respond to our puppy’s needs. Crying is the first form of communication puppies develop and its indicative of a need and we took on the responsibility to address that need when we brought them home. So, it is very unfair to decide we aren’t going to respond to the crying, when it is us that decided to bring this baby into our family.

From these studies, and many more, we can conclude that forcing independence on a puppy can often lead to greater dependence on you. - Holly Leake ©

Please feel free to share this post but please do not copy or paste the writing or edit the graphic in any way. Thank you.

References

Darcia F. Narvaez Ph.D. 2011

Henry, J.P., & Wang, S. (1998). Effects of early stress on adult affiliative behaviour, Psychoneuroendocrinology 23( 8), 863-875.

Meaney, M.J. (2001). Maternal care, gene expression, and the transmission of individual differences in stress reactivity across generations. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 24, 1161-1192.

Stam et al, 1997

Stein & Newcomb, 1994

Rescue pups with sketchy backgrounds deserve the best! This lucky guy landed on all paws with his fab new family who joined us for two rounds of training. Thanks for sharing your experience! Some people have no idea what we do & reviews like this help new puppy families make a choice. In an unregulated industry, that’s important! 😍

We have a new Super Puppy Course starting in Carrum on Saturday 24 August. If you think your pup deserves the best, join us! We’d love to teach you how to train the best pup ever! 😍🐾❤️

Our dogs love Lyka! Give it a try and use our discount code for 30% off your first order. Super convenient and easy to store & serve. So good for your pups! 😍

Use the code PAWBEHAVIOUR at checkout and a 30% discount will be applied

https://lyka.com.au/join/PAWBEHAVIOUR

Switch to real food nutrition from Lyka Meet Lyka. It’s real food that’s vet formulated for shinier coats, better tummies and longer lives.

Small businesses have had a rough time since Covid. Support your small local businesses to build your local economy & help local families get back on track.

We love supporting local! Share & tag a small business that will love your support today! We’ll start with D&D Pet Foods in Seaford who supply fab fresh food, bedding & toys at great prices! 😍

D&D Pet Foods

Reward based animal training is humane and it works. Most people are more than happy to use food, toys, games & novel objects to reward behaviour. There's nothing like a dog that does it because they want to. ☺️

Do you ever feel like you are saying the same thing over and over again? Do you ever think about whether or not it’s useful? When it comes to explaining why it's so important to use reward-based methods, and all the lovely benefits of this approach, it's very useful. The more people talk about reward-based methods, the more this is seen as the social norm... It's great because every example you see of someone using rewards to train their dog successfully makes you more likely to want to try this yourself. With thanks to all the dog trainers who do this day in, day out!! You can read more on my blog, in a post from the archives on saying the same thing over and over in dog training.
https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/2022/10/saying-same-thing-over-and-over-in-dog.html

When life isn’t going well, there is always The Dog. Go hug your dogs! ❤️🐾❤️

The dog park can be fun if we all take a minute to consider others, manage our dogs & watch them! Observing how dogs are feeling will help you eliminate any dog park drama! Keep safe & enjoy the lovely weather 🌞🐾❤️

New Puppy? New groups start in Carrum 10.30am & 11.45am This Saturday 17 August for 8 weeks! Only a few spots left, so get in fast! Educational course for owners & pups. Large indoor/outdoor venue. Prevent problems & learn about:

✅ toilet training
✅ teething & biting
✅ jumping on people
✅ handling & co-operative care
✅ basic training
✅ walk on lead
✅ confidence & social skills

Cert IV Accredited & Qualified trainers - industry leaders, servicing the Peninsula for over 20 years - modern, fear free, science-based animal training! Safe for all the family.
Pls book via website 😊

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