Leighthouse Obedience Training

When I opened my own in-home dog training business in May of 2002, after teaching classes independently for five years prior, I had no idea I would meet so many wonderful people and dogs! It has been an honor! With long hours at Kodak, and an impending move to a new home, one where my elderly mother can live with us, I find it is a good time to retire from holding classes and simplify life a little and devote more time to caring for my mom, and hobbies such as metal detecting and showing my own dogs. Thank you to all my students over the years! See you at the next show!

Oh man having a crazy night!! In the meantime about to faint. This is HUGE!!!!!!! A Wonderful Way With Dragons is flying high. I can't believe this!

WHAT COLOURS DO DOGS SEE?
Contrary to popular belief, dogs are not colour blind.

A dog’s visual world is certainly not as vibrantly colourful as ours, but they do see a range of yellow, grey and blue shades and have better night and peripheral vision than we do.

Colour is interpreted and discerned by nerve cells in the eyes. The retina has two main types of cells called rods, which detect light levels and motion and cones which differentiate colour.

A human’s eyes have three types of cones which can identify combinations of red, blue, and green.

Dogs have only two types of cones that are only able to discern shades of blue, yellow and grey – this perception of colour is called dichromatic vision.

An ophthalmology professor at the University of Washington discovered that dogs could see blues and yellows but not reds and greens. This information would have been confirmed by anatomical investigation of a dog’s eye.

It would make more sense if manufacturers of dog toys would take a dog’s colour spectrum into account when producing dog toys.

Toys are usually made to visually appeal to people, not dogs.

Shades of yellow, grey or blue are far more appealing to your dog than a bright shade of red or another colour.

Is your dog begging for more time with you?? How about a fun Manner's class to refresh, refocus and rebond? Thursday, May 2nd at 7pm, 4 weeks plus a 5th week makeup/review. Message us for more info! We have limited other offerings in the coming months due to being on the dog show circuit.

Does your dog need a little work on "Leave Its!"? We have a Spring Manner's class beginning March 21st at 7pm. This may be the 5 week session you were looking for! This compact session will fit your busy lifestyle and strengthen the bond you have with you and your dog! Contact us for more information and a registration form.

Backyard Breeder Bingo. Be wise if you are on the search for a pure bred puppy. Check out the National Breed club for your breed..they can recommend breeders breeding for quality and not to make a quick buck. Genetic testing of hips and eyes at minimum.

BE A DOPAMINE DEALER NOT A CORTISOL CREATOR

Although there are other chemicals that have an effect on behaviour, the neurotransmitter dopamine and the hormone cortisol are important ones to understand.

Force free, positive reinforcement, reward-based methods result in a release of Dopamine which provides important motivation to seek out rewards, increases attention, memory and reinforces a behaviour. Behaviour is far more likely to be repeated when Dopamine is released.

Using punishment or aversive, old fashioned methods causes stress which increases the release of cortisol. Cortisol inhibits learning, affects memory, decreases motivation and can cause emotional, psychological and even physical damage.

Some ways to increase Dopamine levels and lower Cortisol levels –

Only using positive reinforcement, force free, reward-based techniques.

Slow, sniffing walks in a quiet area, interactive play, puzzle toys, lick mats, snuffle mats, foraging, providing mental stimulation activities, routine and predictability, enough rest and sleep and a balanced and nutritious diet.

Give your dog a “cortisol holiday”. Cortisol levels can take between two to six days to return to normal after stress.

This “holiday” could look like stopping walks for a week or changing the time of day you walk to a quieter time, covering or blocking access to a gate, fence or window, avoiding visitors or generally just taking a break from anything that may be causing stress.

I’M NOT GUILTY!
Dogs might look guilty, but that doesn’t mean that they feel guilty.

“My dog knows that he’s done something wrong, just look how guilty he looks!" This is something that we hear so often.

People are highly amused and entertained on social media and even dedicated websites where pictures of “guilty” dogs are seen.

The “guiltier” the dog looks, the more popular these posts are and the funnier people find them.

I find this really sad because it’s a complete misunderstanding and lack of knowledge of a dog’s body language.

That “guilty” look is actually a dog showing the signs of fear, stress, anxiety or appeasement.

The fear of being punished, the stress and anxiety of hearing the person’s tone of voice, demeanor and noticing the person’s body language, appeasement behaviour in an attempt to calm the angry person down.

As people, it’s natural for us to want to believe that our dogs feel guilt and remorse about whatever they’ve done wrong. Maybe thinking that they really do feel guilty somehow makes their behaviour more acceptable and is a form of an apology.

Dogs are capable of a wide range of emotions that could be compared to that of a 2 to 2½ child, but it’s highly unlikely that they feel more complex emotions, like guilt, regret, remorse or shame.

Guilt is a complex emotion and defined as an unhappy feeling that you have because you have done something wrong or think that you may have done something wrong. It’s a feeling of shame, regret or remorse. The feeling of guilt requires an understanding of cause and effect and is relative to time.

Do dogs spend the day feeling guilty, waiting for us to come home to find a mess or a chewed-up couch or shoe, or are they waiting excitedly for us to come home because they really missed us and are looking forward to some attention?

For the emotional wellbeing of our dogs, let’s seek to understand them more and focus less on how we believe they should feel just because it makes us feel better.

It's National Train Your Dog Month! Is Your Dog a Barker? Learn more here: https://apdt.com/resource-center/barking/

Are you in need of a professional dog trainer? Go to locateatrainer.org to find an APDT member trainer in your area!

EVERY PUPPY needs to learn BITE INHIBITION. Do you know how to teach a puppy to always inhibit the force of their bites on people and other dogs? If not you need to reach this book BEFORE you even think about getting a puppy!

If everyone read this book BEFORE they got a puppy, the world would be a much better place. Download it now for free: https://dunbar.info/freepupbooks and then... share it with anyone who might be thinking about getting a puppy this winter!

In addition to Bite Inhibition, you'll learn about Errorless Toilet Training, Crate Training, and Chew Toy Training, plus Socialization and much more!

ANYBODY CAN SUPPRESS BEHAVIOUR
THE PERILS OF PUNISHMENT

It’s really easy for anyone to suppress or stop a behaviour by using punishment, force or pain and say that it works, so why even bother to do it differently?

Punishment based methods may well “fix” the behaviour quickly, are far easier, require far less effort, less knowledge, less education, or even just be based on traditional belief, but these methods come at a great cost - destroying trust, creating insecurity, fear, anxiety, provoking aggression, causing dogs to shut down or feel helpless and prevent dogs from learning an alternative, more acceptable behaviour.

“A tradition without intelligence is not worth having” - T. S. Eliot

There is so much scientific evidence to support force free, positive reinforcement methods as being the most effective and successful way to modify behaviour.

There is nothing admirable, ethical or intelligent in physically or emotionally forcing any sentient being to comply.

Take the time and make a commitment to understand and learn about positive, force free, science-based methods.

There is so much information available, if we just take the time to look.

Your little angels need a quick refresher before the holidays? Sign up now for our Manner's class beginning Thursday, Dec 7th at 7pm. Email [email protected] for an information sheet and registration form. This is a 4 week course, with an optional makeup class. www.leighthousekennels.com

Fyi🐾🐾

Happy to announce another title here at Team Leighthouse !

https://www.dvm360.com/view/this-young-hero-is-saving-animals-with-her-lemonade-stand-charity

This young hero is saving animals with her lemonade stand charity Age is no barrier in creating meaningful change