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Unleashed Potential Dog Training

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25.01.2022 Very worthwhile read...

25.01.2022 It doesn't matter if your dog is friendly. It matters what the other dog is feeling

24.01.2022 Reggie rocked his FIRST session yesterday! Hard to imagine that such a happy little guy struggles with dog reactivity. Lucky he has a very patient owner who is focused on helping however she can. Can't wait to see his progress!

23.01.2022 We had some fun with a new obstacle in puppy kindy. Toffee was particularly brave interacting with it. Ragnar was his usual super confident self.

23.01.2022 At Unleashed Potential we strongly believe in continued professional development, we never stop learning. We attended a fantastic seminar by Els Vedt, a qualified physiotherapist and osteopath from Belguim and director of Freedogz. We learnt so much and wanted to share some of her wonderful posters with you. For more information visit her website... www.freedogz.be

22.01.2022 Do you have a barker?

21.01.2022 Unleashed Potential Dog Training would like to congratulate everyone at Manners n More! If you are looking at Puppy Kindy for your pup contact Colleen and her crew!

20.01.2022 Congrats to Ragnar for graduating puppy kindy!

20.01.2022 Huge Congratulations to both Simba and Archie for graduating Puppy Kindy yesterday! Well done!

20.01.2022 Ragnar, Buddy and Cricket rocking class today!

19.01.2022 Wanted to let all my clients and supporters know about this wonderful opportunity at Kalmpets! A great workshop all about enrichment!

18.01.2022 Really helpful information on harness!

18.01.2022 We have been so busy we missed the fact we now have other 300 likes! Thank you everyone!

18.01.2022 This situation is a brilliant example of when to use simple #dogowneretiquette out on a walk. Sometimes dogs are on a lead for a reason, and the rest of us need... to respect that. The excuse 'It's ok, he's friendly' simply doesn't cut it. You don't know why that dog is on a lead. It could be recovering from a negative experience, or even convalescing following an illness or injury. Want to help? Keep your dog away. If it was the other way round, you'd hope the owner of the other dog would be responsible too. The best thing to do if you see a walker with their dog on a lead approaching and yours is off lead - recall your dog, put them on the lead, and keep them on it until you've passed safely. It's basics really isn't it. Thanks to #yourdog for the image. Feel free to share #pawsin

18.01.2022 DOES YOUR DOG ENJOY BEING HUGGED? There have been multiple studies and reports done in recent years that suggest that dogs hate being hugged. I have seen the co...mment sections on a few of these articles, and it was riddled with dog owners who were in complete denial that their dog didn't enjoy hugs. Clearly this doesn't apply to every single dog, but don't assume just because your dog isn't trying to get away, that it is comfortable and relaxed. Instead, look at your dog's body language when you hug them. Do they become tense, show whale eye, lick their lips, turn their head or lean away from you? Or do they relax and lean into you, trying to get closer? This video demonstrates the response I get from each of my dogs when I hug them; they are both at opposite ends of the spectrum. Spooky LOVES hugs. His body language is loose and relaxed. He isn't trying to get away; if anything he's trying to move closer. He is seeking eye contact rather than avoiding it and shows no resistance when I move my head close to his to give him a kiss. Peanut certainly enjoys getting pats and lying with me on the couch, but it is quite obvious that he does not enjoy hugs at all. He resists when I move him closer to me, and his whole body is leaning away from me. He avoids eye contact and licks his lips and my face repeatedly. Notice that both dogs lick my face at some point in the video, but there are different reasons for this; Spooky is licking me slowly and gently, he is simply being affectionate. Peanut is quite frantic and insistent with his licking; he is trying to appease me and tell me that he is uncomfortable and would appreciate if I gave him some more space. You will also notice that both dogs show the whites of their eyes. Again, this is an example of how the same behaviour means different things in different contexts; Spooky is just looking at me out of the corner of his eye ; his face is relaxed, eyes are soft and he is not leaning away; this is NOT whale eye. Peanut is tense and uncomfortable; his ears are back, eyes are wide and he is leaning away from me; this IS whale eye. There is a well known quote in the dog training world; "the dog chooses what is reinforcing". Just because hugs are a positive thing in the human world, doesn't mean that it translates into the dog world. Hugs are not a natural experience to a dog; dogs don't hug each other. If a dog has been conditioned to enjoy hugs and has learnt that they are rewarding, then your dog may love hugs, but this is not a desire that dogs are naturally born with. Just like humans, some dogs like physical contact and being close, while some prefer distance and personal space. So, does your dog really enjoy hugs as much as you think they do?

14.01.2022 Do you have a puppy between 7 and 16 weeks? Come join us on Saturday's for Puppy Kindy!

14.01.2022 Training session with this big hunk is a great way to end a weekend. Hope you all had a great weekend too!

14.01.2022 Meet Buddy and Joseph, two of our walk and train clients. How happy do they look? Did you know we offer a walk and train service? $50 for an hour with a fully qualified and insured trainer.

14.01.2022 We have some exciting news to share.... coming VERY soon.

14.01.2022 Happy International Dog Day from my dogs to yours!

10.01.2022 Pleased to announce I am now able to take new client's again. Looking forward to getting back into it. If you need any help with your dog, please message the page.

10.01.2022 We prefer to use harnesses when training. The structures of the throat in dogs are so delicate.

08.01.2022 Congrats to Po for graduating our Puppy Kindy Class!

08.01.2022 Congratulations to Thor who graduated our Puppy Kindy! Great work little guy.

07.01.2022 We have been having heaps of fun with all the pups in Puppy Kindy... How about you come and join in the fun!

06.01.2022 Congratulations Buddy for graduating puppy kindy!

06.01.2022 In the past fortnight I've been called to help out with three different dogs who were fearful of different actions/objects. My first advice to all three owners ...has been - freedom is powerful. When dogs are frightened of something many people think they will get the dog 'over their fear' by forcing them to face it. How many dogs have you seen thrown into the water or dragged up to something they fear? I want you to think about this - what is your first thought if someone grabs you and pushes you towards something? You instinctively push back yes? Even if you don't know what us going to happen? The very act of not being able to escape makes you panic? Next, imagine the thing you are most scared of - Spiders? Snakes? Heights? Imagine being forced towards it? How scared are you? How do you feel about the person pushing you? So, as you can imagine, forcing your dog to get close to what it fears is not a good idea, and it can seriously damage your relationship with your dog. What should you do instead? Okay, imagine instead of forcing you, I invite you to play a fun game. I explain that a safe distance away is something you may be fearful of but that you can keep as far away from that object as you like and you are free to leave at any time. Feel better? I bet you feel even better if I offer you your favourite reward, Money? Chocolate? Just for being at the distance you feel safe from that scary thing. We would only move closer if you were up to it and you can stop the game at any time. As soon as you give a human or a dog freedom to move away, you give them control. You gain trust. It is incredibly powerful. Try it sometime. If you need help with a fearful dog, I recommend you contact a qualified force free professional trainer (happy to help recommend someone in your area). Train with your brain, not with pain.

04.01.2022 Fear is an emotion. Emotions are involuntary responses. Reinforcement refers to an increase in behavior. Behaviors are voluntary responses. Fear is someth...ing you feel. Behavior is something you do. Here's an example: In the movie JAWS, actors had to appear to be afraid of a mechanical shark. Their eyes widened, they opened their mouths, they screamed. But they weren't experiencing fear. Their brains were not releasing the neurotransmitters and hormones that prepare the body for fight or flight. They were simply acting. Dogs, however, are not actors. They do not fake being afraid in order to get paid (attention, treats, invitation on the bed). If they are exhibiting the behaviors associated with fear, they are feeling afraid. Don't believe me? Feel their chest and check and compare their heart rate to when you know they are relaxed. Dogs can't will their heart to beat faster just to get your attention. Fear is an involuntary emotional reaction. For dogs, it can be triggered by fireworks, thunderstorms, veterinary exams, the behavior of other dogs, etc. Just because we can't perceive the threat doesn't mean it's not real to our dogs. What about giving treats to a fearful dog? When we pair the presence of a scary stimulus (at a reasonable distance/intensity/duration, of course - desensitization is always important) with something the dog LOVES, we change the underlying association. The dog can learn to associate fireworks with frisbee time or vet visits with hot dogs. This is what counter conditioning is all about. Dog not taking food? Your dog is not ready to work at this level - find a way to decrease distance, intensity, or duration of exposure. Here's another example: You're terrified of spiders. We go to a local football field. While standing at one goal line, a person with a tarantula in a glass case appears at the other goal line. You see the spider. I give you $100. The spider goes away. Now, we repeat this multiple times. At some point, when the person with the spider re-appears, you will reach out your hand, anticipating payment. Through this process, we can change your emotional response to the presence of spiders. Spiders predict cash. That does not make you MORE afraid of the spider. Now, can you CONTRIBUTE to your dog's fear? Absolutely! If you don't recognize the signs of fear - or you do and ignore them - and force your dog into a situation that he is afraid of, you can certainly contribute to their fear. Like taking a fearful dog to a dog park to "get used to" other dogs, or picking up and holding a small dog that is afraid of strangers, so that strangers can pet him/her. If we try to pet a fearful dog who just wants to leave the situation, holding them still and forcing "soothing" massage is just adding something unpleasant to an already bad situation. Listen to your dog. If your dog is leaning against you and seeking that physical contact, then he/she may be comforted by being stroked. But if your dog is looking away, leaning away, or otherwise trying to escape your well-meaning affection, you're better off just removing him from the situation. When we take away opportunities for our dogs to escape or avoid the things they fear, we can make things worse. Dogs don't "get used to" scary things through repeated and forced exposure. What they get used to is that we put them in situations where avoidance doesn't work, forcing them to protect themselves. When avoidance stops working, aggression is often the only option left. And, yes, this applies to dogs whose fear manifests as aggressive behavior just as much as for dogs who cower and hide. Fear is the emotion behind the behavior. Change the emotion and the behavior will change, too. If someone tells you that comforting your dog will reward their fear, replace the word "fear" with another emotion and ask yourself if it still makes sense. For example, "giving a dog treats just reinforces his frustration," or "petting your dog reinforces his disgust." Does that make sense? Like fear, frustration and disgust are feelings. No one can will themselves to be disgusted. If we could, diets would be SO much easier! Can you teach a dog to be afraid of something? Of course. You can create a negative association by pairing a neutral stimulus with an aversive. This was first shown in 1920 with the Little Albert study. This is why knowledgeable trainers don't recommend using aversives. Over 100 years of scientific research into learning has shown that you can create negative associations. So, unless the form of comfort you give to your dog is AVERSIVE (something he wants to escape or avoid) to your dog, you aren't going to create a negative association. And yet, there are those who insist your response will "prove to the dog" there's something to fear. The only way you can know what the dog is learning, either by association or consequence, is the dog's behavior. Everything else falls in the mind-reading category. While it is a longstanding and much-repeated belief in the training world (and there are so very many of them), it doesn't hold up to what science tells us about learning and behavior. UPDATE: Some people have mistaken this post for a "How-To" for fearful behavior or that this is suggested as an alternative to counterconditioning and desensitization. This is solely to address one dog training superstition, not a guide for how to help your dog overcome fear. ----- COPYRIGHT NOTICE 2015 Lisa Mullinax. All rights reserved. These images are free to share on FaceBook via the Share link. Downloading for redistribution in any form is strictly prohibited.

04.01.2022 I'm posting this here because I think it can help people with dogs who appear "protective" of their owners - it explains what's more likely happening and how to help your dog.

04.01.2022 Congrats to Toffee who graduated Puppy Kindy!

04.01.2022 This morning, I was working with a client's dog, a 90+ lb (and growing) adolescent male. We've made great progress with his reactivity to other dogs, and have ...progressed to working outside the local dog park. Today, however, he was all over the place. Pacing, barking, even when no dogs were visible. His threshold distance doubled since this time last week. I found myself getting irritated...which certainly wasn't good for either of us. Then it hit me. THE WIND. It's been windy the last couple of days and today we were working directly downwind from the dog park. *palm to forehead* I constantly tell clients that when one criteria gets more difficult (working downwind - adding strong scent to visual), we need to lower another (increase distance) temporarily. And yet, aside from being annoyed that I had to work in the wind again, I didn't take into account the effect on him - partly because we'd worked on windy days before, but the wind must have been blowing the other direction. He wasn't being stubborn, dominant, defiant, or any other label we could throw at him. He was just overwhelmed by the change in the environment. Once I made the necessary adjustments, he went back to being the brilliant boy he's proven himself to be. Next time, I'll be a little more aware of the wind direction. Behavior is just information. If your dog isn't behaving the way he or she normally does, they have a good reason. Just because we can't see (or smell, or hear) it, doesn't mean it's not real to your dog. Listen to your dog. ---------- (Also, because I know it's bound to come up, the owners will be neutering their boy soon. They have held off at the recommendation of their vet due to the increased risk of joint disorders with neutering before 1 year) ---------- (c)2016 Lisa Mullinax. All rights reserved.

04.01.2022 'So, to conclude: feeding treats at the vets is not pampering the animal. It reduces stress in the animal and owner. It reduces hazards to staff involved in handling animals. Diagnosis is facilitated.' http://illis.se//4-compelling-reasons-to-feed-treats-at-t/