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Showing posts from April, 2023

Fixing the Whole Dog: Why Training Alone is Not Enough

  As dog owners, it can be a distressing and frustrating experience when our furry companions exhibit behavioural issues.  It is essential to understand that just like humans, dogs also experience emotions like anxiety, fear, and stress, which can manifest as problematic behaviour. To effectively train and manage our dogs, identifying the root cause of the behaviour is crucial. For instance, if your dog is exhibiting destructive behaviour, they may be experiencing stress or anxiety. On the other hand, if your dog is growling or snapping at other dogs or people, they may be feeling fearful or in physical pain. Unfortunately, many dog parents tend to rely on punishment or food-based training methods without addressing the underlying cause of the behaviour. While these methods may produce short-term results, they do not provide a long-term solution. In fact, using punishment can even worsen the behaviour and increase the probability of different issues arising. Dogs do not misbeh...

Stress in Dog: Causes, Signs and Solutions

 Do you know that dogs can experience stress? Yes, dogs are not immune to stress and can develop it just like humans do. However, a common misconception among many people is that dogs need to experience stressful situations to develop stress. This is not entirely true because that is the least common way dogs develop stress. So, what is stress? Stress is a natural response to a perceived threat or challenge. There are three types of stress: acute stress, episodic acute stress, and chronic stress. Acute stress is a sudden and short-term response to a perceived threat, like a loud noise or a scary person. This is commonly known as their fight or flight response. Episodic acute stress is when a dog experiences acute stress on a regular basis, such as when living in a chaotic environment or being exposed to certain triggers repeatedly. This is very common when a dogs human isn’t noticing how stressful walks are for a dog and they just keep taking them there. Chronic stress, on the othe...