Woof Social Club

🙀We're so unprepared!

..said no family before taking their puppy home! When we imagine getting a little fluffy lump we only think about how much joy it will bring into our lives. And this is absolutely true!

And at the same time we forget that this puppy is, in a certain sense, an alien with a completely different mindset, reflexes, instincts and habits, which we must not only respect, but also help them to successfully carry out so that they are happy and satisfied with their own life and more than that so that they don’t prevent us from living our own!

😭As a result, when we get a new family member, we don’t know how to deal with them and there can be many destructive manifestations such as barking, gnawing things, biting, etc.

❌In the worst case scenario, you begin to blame the puppy, saying that you have come across the wrong one, that they’re stupid, stubborn, incomprehensible, etc.
✅But there are no bad dogs, only the wrong approach to them!
And the hardest part is admitting that you can't do it on your own and you need professional help.

😔Very few people are lucky and get an easy-going puppy. Most people struggle with puppy issues hoping they will go away one day. Don't be one of them.
❗️If you already have negative manifestations, then they won’t go away over time, nor with any special age, or anything else. These are red flags that scream for you to pay attention to the problem right now.

🔸Which behaviour doesn’t suit you and needs to be fixed? Share in the comments⬇️

❌Stop following puppy training rules!❌

🟣If you have already applied the Internet-popular training rules then you may have already seen that at least half of them DO NOT suit your dog! Why does this happen?

🔴The online training guidelines are standard guidelines that apply to the average dog and the average owner. ‼️But the truth is that you are not average, you are unique, and you have your own special needs!

🐩Can a standard technique take these features into account? Of course not!
🐕This is easy to test in practice! Biting can mean completely different things for different pets and even for the same dog. One puppy might bite because it's hungry, another one wants to play with your hands and the third is teething.

✅All these reasons are very different and there simply cannot be the same solution for all of their problems!

👉🏻To get results when you're training your dog, ask your dog one question: what do you want by biting me? Be prepared to listen to several different answers each time.

💪🏻Having made such an observation, you will already have done most of the work and will be able to adjust the training without additional investments. You’ll be able to see the result in just 1 evening, just by understanding the real reason for your puppy's behaviour.

🤔Try to remember: what did your dog want to tell you the last time it bit you? Why did they do it? Share in the comments!👇🏻

🤔Will my dog ever be able to do a perfect recall?

😌Owners of dogs, who exhibit destructive behaviour, often don’t believe that their pet can be obedient and respond perfectly to all commands. But it happened with Pickle and his guardian Carol. Perhaps you recognise yourself in their story?💫

🐕‍🦺🦮This was their routine: Carol goes to the park and runs after Pickle for 45 mins, but when she decides to go home she has to spend another 15 mins trying to grab him. She tried over and over again but nothing changed. Oops! Why could that be? 😁

😢Carol said that she didn't believe she could change this pattern and kept putting herself in this stressful situation.
😨🤯Most owners do the same - they simply don’t know what to do differently.

And so, they leave things as they are, putting up with unwanted behaviour. The worst thing about this story is that it is NOT safe! If your dog isn’t responding, it means that:
❌they could run out onto the road and get hit by a car
❌other animals or people could harm them
❌they could get lost in a forest or other unfamiliar place

✅By deciding to start your dog’s recall training, you not only fix the safety issue but you also improve your overall relationship.
✅It calms your pet down and builds a trusting relationship.
✅You can walk them without a leash (if desired) and you’ll no longer feel any tension because you will trust each other.

But as long as you maintain a destructive relationship with your dog, and do not know the rules for the perfect recall, you are only distancing yourself from this image. And then you wonder why nothing is improving?

❗️So it's time to ask yourself:

Are you training the behaviours you want to see in your dog?

🤔What’s the most difficult part of puppy socialisation?

🔸The root of all the problems we have with our beloved pets is a lack of socialisation. It doesn't matter if your dog pulls on the leash while walking, doesn't come when called or even barks too much, it's all due to a lack of socialisation.

👉🏻The puppy only has 8 weeks to go through the socialisation period after it arrives in your home. In 8 weeks, they must learn how to interact with the outside world for the rest of their life.

👉🏻Many owners underestimate the importance of this period and begin training with the “sit” command. But the trick should be completely different!

🙌🏻It is possible to teach a dog to execute commands at any age, but teaching it to perceive the outside world correctly can only be done in the first 4-5 months of life. Every day after this it becomes more difficult because as your pet grows up their habits and perception of the world becomes more solid and unshakable.

🔹The owners of one of my clients, Barley, took the need for socialisation too literally (although their concern for their pet is good news!).
🔹In the very first days after her arrival home at the age of 8 weeks, they decided to show her the whole world at once, taking her to cafes, parks, crowded places, etc. But she still reacted coldly and timidly to strangers. Why❓ Because socialisation has two main rules:

1️⃣Socialisation happens when the dog interacts with something/someone new and builds good associations with that. Be careful to not passively socialise, meaning when the dog sees the world but only builds neutral associations with it.

2️⃣It isn't only about the quantity of novelty, but about the quality of experience.

So, many dogs have a permanent dislike for certain things. What is your dog still not accustomed to? Share in the comments!⬇️

😍In ideal world my dog wouldn't destroy things

This is exactly what the owners of both puppies and adult dogs say, who encounter a problem when their dog chews on everything. The same story happened to me when my first dog, while still a puppy, chewed on my new headphones.

🥵To say the least it caused you a whole mass of aggression, anger and frustration! This wasn’t helped by the fact that we were working full time and could not constantly monitor pets.

🆘All we could do was strictly say “NO” every time my dog tried to chew on something and then hope that when I left her alone at home she wouldn’t ruin anything. Did it help? No, it got worse! She began to gnaw on even more things and it became completely uncontrollable.

Then we learned about the positive reinforcement technique. It not only helped her to learn the main commands “sit”, “lie down”, etc. ❗️ But it also gave us an answer to the question - why does a dog gnaw things that they’re not allowed to?

✅Gnawing is a natural instinct for a dog. And when we do not know how to properly satisfy this instinct, the dog begins to destroy things uncontrollably.

👉🏻The main secret is to stop violently fighting excess chewing and let the dog stop chewing when it wants to. 💛It means recognising that the dog has a need and finding an environmentally friendly outlet for that instinct.

🔴And if you are suffering from the chaotic destruction of furniture and your favourite trainers by your dog, then it is time to ask yourself:

🤔Are you providing the right outlets to your dog's chewing issue?

Why and when do puppies bite?

· They don’t have hands and explore the world with their mouths
· When they are tired
· When they are hungry/thirsty
· When they need a toilet
· When they want you to stop doing something
· When they play

Each one of those may need a different approach, for example when the puppy is tired, grabbing a toy and playing with them may not be a good idea, but when your puppy wants/needs to play – toy is the best option!

In my upcoming webinar, I will look at the reasons puppies bite, common mistakes in dealing with puppy biting and better solutions that will help you deal with your little baby shark!

Tash Clark

5 Common Mistakes in dealing with puppy biting:

· Shouting ‘ouch!’ – this may stop the biting if your puppy gets scared by the loud noise, or teach your puppy that you are a giant ‘squeaky toy’ and get them even more excited
· Trying to tire your puppy out by physical exercise alone
· Offering your puppy toy play when they are overtired
· Saying ‘No!’ when puppy bites (puppy does not know what ‘No’ means)
· Hoping that puppy will ‘grow out’ of it (some puppies might, but some do take mouthing through to adulthood with them).

Will my puppy just grow out of puppy biting?

I get this question from new puppy owners all the time and the common misconception is that puppies will just magically ‘grow out’ of biting.

Don’t get me wrong, there is a chance that they might… But there is also a chance that they may just get better at it with age (practice makes perfect).

My top tips for puppy play biting:

· Teach the puppy what is and what isn’t acceptable to bite (toys, not hands)
· Prevent practicing inappropriate biting (that includes everyone in the household)
· Have plenty of opportunities to play throughout the day (satisfy the need for play biting)
· Utilise different chews
· Make sure puppy gets enough sleep

Tash Clark

New expert - Tash Clark!

She helps dog owners to understand their dogs better and address issues related to anxiety, aggression and reactivity, often working in together with the veterinary professionals.
She also helps new puppy owners to give their puppies the best start in life, by effective puppy socialisation and preventing behavioural issues from developing.

Her training and behaviour modification approach is practical; she is committed to helping owners and dogs to lead a fulfilling life together, focusing on what is important to you. She uses the most up-to-date training and behaviour modification methods, due to continuous professional development, as she is constantly investing in her knowledge of dogs’ behaviour.

She is a qualified dog behaviourist with Level 5 / DipHE qualification in Canine Behaviour with OCN .

She is a full member of APDT ( Association of Professional Dog Trainers ), student member of APBC an accredited instructor with the UK College of Scent Dogs, and a member of PPG (Pet Professional Guild). She only uses force free methods, giving dogs a choice, and focusing on building positive relationships.

There can be a lot more to loose lead walking than this, but it's a great place to start!

1. 180 turn when there is tension on the lead.
2. reinforce any loose lead walking you do get (mark and reward) 3. put sniffing and play time onto a cue

Annie Levy