Matty Al-irimi - Beyond Reactivity

Spring is on it way...

Dog on a log! Sorry for the radio silence but we are most definitely still here!

Wondering about Beyond Reactivity's puppy programmes, dog training packages and behaviour programmes. Find out all about on the website!

Home Page Fully supported behaviour and training services for dogs, puppies and their guardians.

Show me you live with a dog without showing me your dog... (don't worry the cats have plenty of things of their own... they just also live by their own rules 😉)

In order to start changing your dog's behaviour we need to remove the things that are causing it or remove your dog from the situation that the behaviours happen in. Now sometimes those things or situations never need to happen again, great that's sorted then.

Most of the time though those things or situations will need to happen again because they are not truly avoidable long term. So we strip it back and then build it back up. The first part has to be done with awareness and understanding of the individual dog's needs, well-being, triggers, and environment and usually taking these into account this can be achieved quite quickly and tends to be a big help. The second part, building it back up, needs to be done carefully and systematically over time, so usually this does take time but makes all the difference long term.

XL BULLY BAN: FREE WEBINAR ON SUNDAY AT 3PM

We have more than 250 people booked onto this Zoom chat already but we do still have more spaces available. Please sign up using the link below and we will send you a link. Our panel will aim to answer as many of your questions as possible and we can confirm it will consist of:-

Trevor Cooper : Solicitor
Mel Rushmore & Andrea Phillips : Deed Not Breed
Michelle Ikin : Dog Warden
Mike Webb : Battersea Dogs' & Cats Home

Thanks to everyone who is giving up their time for free to help with this important event. The panel won't necessarily have all the answers but will give you their best guess of what is likely to happen based on their experience.

If you are unable to attend, we will aim to upload a recording onto YouTube next week.

https://forms.gle/59EfhUbiyZPNstxJ6

Dogs learn best in short bursts. Short bursts can be ad breaks, when the kettle is boiling, screen breaks when you are WFH, or um wall staring. Short bursts keep things sweet by preventing your dog or you from getting frustrated. So there is no need, and it is not advisable, to set aside an hour for training. So 2 minutes here, 5 minutes there is great.

Just have your treats easily available and next time you find yourself staring at the walk or scrolling mindlessly... do a short and sweet training session with your dog instead.

Is a big part of changing behaviour..... Whenever we are aiming to change behaviour,  that is those of us that work with dogs in a way underpinned by ethics, we start by creating an environment that prevents the dog practicing that behaviour. 

Firstly this is because the more a dog does a certain behaviour the more likely they are to do that behaviour again when presented with the same triggers and context and if we let that continue similar triggers contexts. Another very important reason is when we are working with behaviour problems that are presentations of stress responses (this is often!) we need to reduce the dogs stress level so they sit a base line. This is so the dog is the best place learn a new way of behaving in those contexts and when their triggers are present.

Aisha's condition means she has to eat a very strict diet. Aisha has let's just a very enthusiastic attitude to food and searching for finding and the eating of said food, we also live in an area where the opportunity to find food in such a manner is plentiful. So Aisha is back in her muzzle for walks we can not take risk of her eating freely chosen street snacks, so this one calls for a management solution.
Now this is really something to consider what ever your thoughts on muzzles and crates for that matter are, your dog due to accident or illness (and with crates routine procedures) might just have to have one used with them, this could be short-term, medium-term or long-term. And if they haven't learnt to feel safe with these things it will be adding something really quite stressful to an already very stressful situation.

Really sorry for the radio silence on here.... but we have had things. Amongst them was Aisha getting really quite sick, a week in hospital at the beginning of May, a lot of blood test and monitoring since then and we are still tapering the medication that saved her life. I have a lot of thoughts about this sort of thing, emergency health situations and what come after for our sensitive companions.... and resilience and where that fits in. I will my best to share these thoughts.

Because life happens and we can not prevent all difficulties and stressful events, it is so important to build our dogs' resilience so they can recover quickly and move on from these things.
This is one of the reasons we should not just focus on training for the behaviour problem but instead help our dogs' learn that even when something difficult happens it does not mean the whole world is unsafe.
This can take time and absolutely does not mean putting our dogs in situations they are not ready for. But it is worth it if we want our sensitive dogs to be able to navigate this world and its surprises.

Everyone has to learn to walk before they can start running. And it can be a bit of a wobbly time learning to walk so having someone hold your hand can be just what you need to become confident at running. The same is true for working through your dog’s behaviour problems because at first it can feel overwhelming but with support, you can start putting one foot in front of the other and move forward confidently.

There maybe a journey ahead but make sure you don't lose sight of the one you are taking every step with 💛

I can't fault Aisha for the way she skillfully coated the inside of her ear with fox 💩....
What unfaultable dog skills does your dog have?

This is such a brilliant course! And I am super proud to share my certificate 😁

Right now when you look at your dog what is just one thing you see in them that makes you happy...

For me it's that Aisha looks at me with softly with her beauty.

I'm a bit late in sharing this, but it was great afternoon exploring the emotional experience of all involved.

All physical contact should only happen with consent... and that includes physical contact with out companion animals.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fellow-creatures/202203/how-tell-if-your-pet-actually-wants-you-pet-them

How to Tell If Your Pet Actually Wants You to Pet Them Taking a pause for a "consent test."

Behaviour is never wrong, it may be undesirable, socially unacceptable or even unsafe. But for the individual doing the behaviour in that moment it is the only way they know how to cope with what they perceive is happening to them.
What we need to do is help by ensuring their needs are met, that they feel safe, that they are not put into situations they can not cope with right now, that they have opportunities to do what makes them feel good, that those who support and care for them are truly supporting and caring for them.

Yep seriously this!

Before considering a training plan, you have to ensure the four building blocks of resilience are in place. They are:

•Mental & Physical Well-Being
•Social Support
•Safety & Security
•Agency

Without each of these, resilience is difficult to improve.

Learn more about resilience and these four building blocks in our Resilience Seminar: https://onlinecourses.behaviorvetsnyc.com/p/resilience-in-dogs

Giving your dog choice in safe parameters, helps your dog feel in control of what is happening to them and feeling in control helps them feel safe and feeling safe is one the most important foundations of ethical and long lasting behaviour change, because behaviour is driven by emotions and without emotional safety a dog will remain in survival mode and behaviour change seen without emotional safety will be underpinned by survival mode and that will not be ethical, long lasting or frankly safe for anyone.

And just a little note about giving dogs a sense of control, this will NOT set your dog on a path to take over the world, they don't have the opposable thumbs to do so and not to mention they have absolutely no instinctive, evolutionary or behavioural motivation to take over the world.... though sometimes I do wonder if it would be such a terrible thing to have dogs running this place!

Have you downloaded Matty's free guide on the effective use of muzzles? Visit our website to get this free resource and take a step toward helping your dog overcome their aggressive tendencies.

Having a dog who behaves in a way that is difficult, is hard, this is especially true if those difficult behaviours are "reactive" behaviours. Because those sorts of behaviours can be scary, they fuel anxiety, and they are isolating. Modifying those behaviours is a journey and it is not a journey on a flat perfectly paved road, there are ups and downs, and it can feel like you are being rained on from all directions. But a journey on a flat perfectly paved road would not have any beautiful views...

Matty studied under Janet Finley the founder of At Canine Confidence. Janet specialises in working with the guardians of reactive dogs, using a holistic approach that goes beyond training and addresses the problem of reactivity from both ends of the lead. As a certified coach, Matty brings this holistic approach to your dog and home.