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TOC.
1. The Language Barrier
2. The Dirty Secret
3. socializing reactive dogs

1. The Language Barrier

Our beloved dogs bring us immense joy and companionship. However, many pet owners unknowingly struggle with communicating effectively with their four-legged friends. This lack of proper communication can lead to confusion in dogs, causing them to exhibit unwanted behaviors. In this blog post, we will explore the importance of clear and consistent communication in fostering a strong bond with our canine companions and promoting desirable behaviors.

The Language Barrier:
Dogs have their unique ways of communicating through body language, vocalizations, nipping, and other subtle cues. Unfortunately, humans and dogs do not share the same language, making it essential for us to bridge this communication gap. Often, we unknowingly send mixed signals or fail to understand the signals our dogs are trying to convey. This confusion can leave our furry friends feeling frustrated and uncertain, resulting in behavioral issues.

Timing is Everything:
Timing plays a crucial role in the effectiveness of dog training. It is of utmost importance to understand and apply proper timing when delivering cues, rewards, and corrections. Timely rewards mark the behavior we want. Similarly, prompt corrections mark the unwanted behavior. By mastering the art of timing in dog training, we are able to speak clearly to our canine companions and build trust.

The Power of Consistency:
Consistency is key when it comes to communicating with our dogs. Canines thrive in an environment where rules and expectations remain consistent. Inconsistency in our commands or responses can confuse dogs, making it difficult for them to understand what we want from them. For instance, if we allow our dog to jump on us one day and scold them for the same behavior the next, they become confused and frustrated and therefore more likely to engage in inconsistent behavior.

Non-Verbal Communication:
Understanding and utilizing non-verbal communication is vital in effectively communicating with our furry companions. Dogs pay close attention to our body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice. Just the same, dogs provide us many nonverbal cues we often don’t see. Being aware of non-verbal cues help guide our messages clearly to our dogs and our dogs’ to us.

Positive Reinforcement:
Positive reinforcement is a powerful tool in dog training and communication. Dogs need us to mark good behavior with praise when they exhibit desirable behaviors. This reinforces their understanding of what behaviors we want, leading to a happier and well-behaved pet.

Correction:
Correction is a powerful tool to be used alongside positive reinforcement. Correction is used to mark undesirable behaviors in a way your dog innately understands. Dogs correct each other in the pack through nipping at each other. By utilizing proper correction specifically how dogs have evolved, we can clearly guide them in the language they already know. Be advised: shock collars are generally not helpful in raising a healthy and happy dog; they are to be used only in emergency situations in most cases.

Seeking Professional Guidance:
Sometimes, navigating the specifics of canine communication requires expert guidance. Professional dog trainers and behaviorists can provide valuable insights and techniques to improve communication and address specific behavioral issues.

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2. The Dirty Secret

The Balanced Approach:
A balanced approach in dog training means dogs are rewarded for good behavior and punished for bad behavior. Balanced training often gets a bad reputation, however, due to cruel and improper corrective methods. These methods include (but are not limited to) shock collars, beating dogs, and yes even screaming at them. Dogs didn’t evolve any of these corrective methods in their language. Therefore, these methods are often confusing, scary, can be abusive and generally lead to stressed out and emotionally damaged dogs. What type of corrective communication have dogs evolved? Nipping each other as well as displays of dominance. These corrections are innately understood by canines as they have evolved to use them.

Positive Only Training:
Because of the existence of many cruel and confusing (for dogs) corrective methods, there is a growing philosophy of dog training called “Positive only” training. It is the philosophy one can only ever give rewards or take away rewards depending on the behavior. There is no correction in this type of dog training- only the taking away of a reward.
Organizations like the Humane Society and much of mainstream dog culture in general will say Positive Only training is the only humane way (as well as best way) to train dogs. In fact, positive only trainers hold this belief with zealotry. What these trainers don’t say: Positive Only training does not work on all dogs. Many dogs, just like people, find if there is no punishment to certain behaviors, the behavior is acceptable.

The Dirty Secret:
Positive Only training does not work on aggressive dogs. In fact, Positive Only trainers will confess they don’t even train aggressive dogs- even those with many decades of experience. In fact, Positive Only trainers believe aggressive dogs are irreparably damaged and unfit for homing. And what happens to these aggressive dogs when they end up in the shelter? They are put down. Aggressive dogs could be saved if these trainers took a balanced approach, however, due to the pervasiveness of Positive Only Training, aggressive dogs are killed. If people were taught the proper tools to deal with aggressive dogs, these dogs could be saved. But because Positive Only trainers tell you Positive Only training is the most effective and only humane approach to dog training, countless dogs are killed here in the US.
Furthermore, while Positive Only training will eventually work on most dogs that are not aggressive, those methods take a very long time relatively to produce results and also are highly energy intensive for the owner. This is because this training involves negotiating or bartering with your dog as opposed to speaking to them in their language. We all have busy lives; if we are to actually be consistent with our dog training, a balanced approach is by far the most effective training method.

As more people learn the proper corrective methods of balanced training they are given more time to spend hanging out with their dogs rather then training them. And most importantly: countless dogs’ lives will be saved.

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3. Socializing Reactive Dogs

Reactive dogs are insecure and scared; they will go into fight or flight mode often choosing fight if their fear reaches a boiling point. Dogs are constantly emoting their feelings and we need to be mindful of their expressions if we want to reduce their reactivity. This is done by making them confident and secure.

In the beginning it’s especially important to make sure a reactive dog stays by their human’s hip, known as “heeling” their handler, always (except of course to potty or occasionally sniff) while walking outside regardless if other dogs are around. If an insecure dog is free to run wherever they want on a walk they’ll think their human can’t protect them and take matters into their own hands when coming across an object they fear. A reactive dog “protecting” themselves is shown as leash aggression when coming across their fears, such as other dogs.

While walking it’s imperative to have a loose leash at all times except during correction. Correction involves a quick leash jerk (aka “pop”) and then the leash becomes loose again. We communicate to our dogs with the leash and if it’s always tight they will not understand what we want. So, the moment the dog tenses around their fear, we quickly pull the leash for correction and redirection (leash “pop”) and then release the tension. Releasing the tension communicates to our dog they are being good.

Pay close attention to a dog’s warning signs: a dog tenses up when their body language suddenly changes (notice their jaw closing, ears and eyes focused, tail stiff). These are the signs your dog is telling you they are nearing their breaking point. When a dog begins to reach their breaking point it’s imperative to punctually redirect them by moving their head completely away from the other dog (leash pop and walk away or backwards) and then they can come back and socialize or continue the walk (with a loose leash). It’s important to be punctual when redirecting them before they panic (lunge). A lunging dog based in aggression is a dog who no longer trusted their handler to protect them in the moment because their handler didn’t properly manage their fear.

For a dog to lose reactivity towards dogs, socialization is key. This is done while walking outside and coming across another handler with a calm or well trained dog. This means hanging out and chatting with the other owner while allowing the dogs to relax separately. In the beginning (first couple days of rehabilitation) there is no need to let a reactive dog approach another dog. After a day or two of socialization without tensing up they can be allowed to say hi and get closer to another dog. However, don’t allow the other owner’s dog or your dog to get any closer to each other if a reactive dog becomes stiff; that’s when they must be redirected. Dogs that continue socialization without significant incident lose their insecurity becoming confident and completely lose their reactivity. 

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