Dog Training with Michelle | Pet service

Dog Training with Michelle

Phone: +61 435 235 677

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25.01.2022 How well did you do? Post results in comments. http://www.charlessturt.sa.gov.au/DogSpeakQuiz

25.01.2022 Every...single...Day It breaks my heart that I have to leave my 4 doggie daily to go to work. :(

23.01.2022 Growling is communication. It should never be punished. Other than growling during play, all other growling is a warning. It means "stop!", and that's exactly... what you should do. Growling tells you that you need to change the situation for your dog. If the growling is directed to you then you need to stop whatever you're doing immediately. If it's directed towards another dog or person then call your dog to you in a calm, happy voice and reward your dog for coming to you. Don't pull on your dog's lead as that often leads to a bite. Use your happy voice instead. Direct the other person to stop whatever they're doing and be still while you handle your dog. After the incident, think about how to prevent the situation from occurring again. Perhaps you need to work on some training; maybe your dog needs a vet check to see if he is in pain; or teach other people especially children to be more respectful of dogs; or supervise your dog more closely; or call him away from the situation sooner. Usually dogs give more subtle signals (lip licking, yawning, trying to move away, lip curl, etc) before they growl. So, learn dog body language so you can intervene sooner, before your dog escalates to growling. Set your dog up for success. If growling or any other warning signal is punished then the next time your dog is uncomfortable, he won't growl, he will go directly to a snap or bite, and that's far more dangerous! So, be grateful that your dog is giving you warning signals and respect those signal to keep everyone safe. With thanks to Terri Lou of https://www.facebook.com/DogTrainingNewcastle/ for permission to use this.

23.01.2022 Oh I LOVE this idea! Especially as my old boy is getting older and slower although I dont have a path right nkw I think this weekends project is pawprint pavers for all my dogs!

23.01.2022 Tory isn’t a fan of being touched or ‘pet’ generally. Especially if she is doing her own thing or simply resting. It’s not hard to notice. If someone intrusivel...y tries to pet her she will either duck, walk away or at best tolerate it. However, sometimes she will come over, wriggle in between your legs and start giving you licks. But that’s on her terms and I’ll respect that. Not all dogs want or like being touched. Especially by strangers. I think lots of dogs just tolerate it from their owners, just like teenagers tolerate being hugged by their parents. They just won’t tolerate it from strangers. It’s not okay to hug a random teenager - it’s a bit weird and on occasion you’ll get pushed away. It’s the same for dogs too. And similarly, you won’t get pushed away, you’ll just get bitten instead. Did you know the teenager? No Did you ask the teenager? No Did you listen when the teenager asked you to stop? No Change ‘teenager’ to dog and you might understand why dogs behave the way they do. Context matters.

22.01.2022 Definitely see blue... what about you? Who am I to mess with 'science' right?!..

18.01.2022 So many people think that exercise and taking your dogs on walks when the are young is what you have to do. Though when you actually get a visual of what is under that puppy goodness soft skin, it really hits home that for future health and joint wellness, ghat you have to take it easy. Short walks, short interactions and socialisation activities are very important and will give your new pup the confidence and security to embrace the world more as they grow and develop. Just slow and steady and ALSO make sure you are feeding the appropriate puppy food for your pup to ensurr they are receiving the optimum levels of nutrients to support their bone, muscle and mental growth. ( ...and no Weet-Bix soaked in puppy milk is not suitable for any pup as a diet !)

17.01.2022 Who else has got on the #dollypartonchallenge... I couldn't resist

16.01.2022 Please... if you own a dog, work in a dog based business, or interact with dogs in ANY way... just take 5 and read this! I am constantly told by others they need to 'dominate' their dogs, or be the 'pack leader' and the dog doesn't know its a dog, you need to show it who is boss ... I ONLY practice positive reward training in a safe, way that teaches the dog that training is fun, and they then associate verbal, social cues as a good thing that they want to offer the behaviour for because they want to and not because they are scared of the impending punishment if they don't. Set your dog up to win...*steps off soap box If you would like to book in for a session, just flick me a message.

14.01.2022 Had a wonderful session with little Bear this afternoon. I first met his owner with their previous dog a few years ago in my puppy preschool class. Bear is a Chihuahua x terrier and a shy boy to new people in his area, but loved (and was so proud of himself) being able to overcome his cautiousness towards a stranger and perform his recall cues for his owner. By reinforcing cues with positive reinforcement helps dogs to make their own choice whether to perform the requested cues or not. I will be offering a special rate for pups and 'teen' dogs who may have missed out on learning due to covid 19 soon so watch this space

10.01.2022 I know I don't post much, well at all on this page... BUT......!!! I have had an incredibly stressful couple of days when my old dog Scout was missing for over 2 days. This absolutely felt like a lifetime! My stress levels were out of control and I couldn't think straight, eat, or even hold water down. I just wanted to know he was ok or worst case scenario, to bring him home if he had passed. The reason I'm posting this evening, is to just share and hopefully make more awar...e of the effects of stress on our dogs. I got Scout home yesterday at midday after the person who had found him messaged me. I was so relieved, and my fight or flight mechanism was muted at that point. Although I did not know what I actually was capable of doing, in retrospect, I walked up and down hills in surrounding paddocks for many hours each day in stupid heat without water (or lets be honest food as well). I had to find my boy. My body and mind was empty and on primitive survival (without wanting to sound too wanky) I am sitting here 30 hours after him being home again and in a retrospective state. I realise I am actually just now, starting to feel calm and happy again. It has taken this long for my body and mind to start to actually relax. The reason for this post? Bear with me. If a dog encounters a situation that peaks their cortisol levels (which fuel the fight or flight reaction in a stressful event), these may take up to 72 hrs after the event to return to normal levels. So let's say, or example, fireworks.. your dog may shake and quiver and hide during the event, but what you need to be aware of is that there tension may remain piqued for days after. Like a dripping tap into a bowl slowly filling back up to overflow, additional stressors may add to and impede on their ability to relax again without fear and anxiety. This raised level may in fact present as simple fear, hiding, shaking, panting increased heart rate, but it may also trigger deferred aggression (where the dog reaches the threshhold and cannot rationally process emotions and stimulation and then lashes out at the closest thing/being to them at the time to release this tension. This is why you will often see dogs turn on each other for 'no apparent reason', when the rest of the time they are 100% amicable and get along fine. My preachy preachy wrap up is... please don't just presume your dog is fine or should have 'gotten over it' within moments of a highly stressful event. Their body's chemical processes are often out of their control, and while at times it may seem they are ' giving you a hard time', more often than not, they are actually the ones struggling through the hard time. Just love your dog, give them time and encourage them to grow in what ever way you can xx Peace out! ;) Pic for attention cause he is so goddam handsome

09.01.2022 This right here...

09.01.2022 FUN FACT #11 TURNING A DEAF EAR Do you recognize that moment when you turn down your car radio so you can see better? Especially when we think we might have g...otten lost, and we want to focus on reading street names, a radio can be very distracting. Thinking about this rationally it might not make sense, after all you wouldn’t think that a radio affects your vision, or does it...? Another common example is where you completely ignored someone who started speaking to you while you were just enjoying your favorite movie. Research refers to this phenomenon as inattentional deafness. Studies on humans revealed that concentration on visual tasks will render you temporarily deaf to normal-volume sounds. Brain scans showed that people were not ignoring or filtering out the sounds, but that they were not hearing them in the first place! The findings support a shared audio-visual centre, which, when depleted under load, leads to failures of sensory perception and awareness. Now let’s look at dogs. There is an area in the brain called the thalamus. The thalamus is responsible for relaying sensory information such as hearing, sight, touch and pain. It also enables the dog to concentrate on one (!) thing at a time. Hence, when your dog is sniffing intently (*reading his favorite book*), he will very likely not hear you! Be patient, wait for your dog to finish his book and then call him over. Never assume your dog is ignoring you on purpose.

08.01.2022 This mirrors my thoughts exactly Its a massive and often scary transition period for puppies leaving their mum,siblings and the place they've always known as home. Take some time to build their confidence in the new environment and you will be rewarded ten fold.

05.01.2022 Positive Rewards = Positive Results

01.01.2022 Don't even come that #Alpha #dominance spiel with me! #mustlovedogs #positiverewardtraining