Sometimes There's Side Eye

This week we are talking about how hormones can drastically change behaviors in dogs.  Trin's most recent heat cycle ended up leading to some aggressive behaviors, which was a bit triggering for Heather.  However, as we have preached in the past, behavior doesn't change on a dime, and typically there is a medical issue.  In this case the medical issue was hormones. Hormones can affect individual dogs very differently and in a wide variety of ways. Heather consulted with her vet and breeder and came to the decision to spay Trin.  Trin is already showing signs of going back to her normal, social self.  Heather was also brave enough to share her experience and quickly found that she was not alone.  One friend even reached out to explain that they had to do hormone replacement therapy with their dog after a spay.  So if you do see major or minor behavior shifts in your dog during their heat cycle know that you are not alone!Follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/sometimestheressideeye/⁠

This week we are talking about separation anxiety with Caitlin Wolfe.  After adopting a dog who suffered from separation anxiety Caitlin wanted to be able to help other dog owners experiencing the same thing. While Caitlin works with a variety of behavior issues, she is specifically CSAT certified for separation anxiety.  Each dog is an individual and it's important that the training can be customized for each dog.  Some dogs are okay as long as someone is home, other dogs need their owner present.  This is why individual training plans are not only important but necessary.  We are talking about some of the causes and some of the misinformation surrounding separation anxiety.  One thing owners can do for their dog is contact a trainer as soon as they see signs of separation anxiety.  This way the dog doesn't have months or years of rehearsing anxiety behaviors. The goal in training is to change how the dog feels about being left alone. Even though changes in routine, housing, or family dynamics can cause set backs, Caitlin does believe separation anxiety can be cured.Don't forget to review, subscribe, and share!

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Links: Caitlin Wolfe, Wolfe Paw Dog Training Dog Training | Wolfe Paw Training | United States

CSAT Program: Separation Anxiety Training Certificate Program - Malena DeMartini

The teen/adolescent years - regardless of the species they can be tumultuous.  So how much stock should we put into teenageadolecent dog behavior? The adolescent years for dog can be messy.  Often owners see a side of their dog they haven't seen before, or behaviors intensify during this time.  We talk through some of the behaviors that we have experienced with our own dogs and how we addressed them. Training is always going to be a win for both the people and dogs involved. Adolescent dogs are growing, changing and becoming their adult self, so it is important to keep in mind the relationship you already have with your dog and build off of that. While your dog may outgrow many of their "bad" behaviors it shouldn't be assumed that this will happen naturally.  Instead we want to hope for the best, but train for the behavior in front of us.

This week we are talking about dog relationships and how they differ between individual dogs.  We talk through a recent play group at Heather's house that included 6 dogs of varying sizes and personalities.  There were several different play styles among the group and different interest levels between the individual dogs.  We discuss how dynamics can change when adding or subtracting individual dogs.  Of course we couldn't help but reminisce about the incredibly special relationship Lucy and Thiago shared for several years and how that differed that relationship was from others they had.  Dog friendships, much like human friendships, look very different between different individuals and in groups and that is okay as long as everyone is having fun!

In this episode we are continuing our conversation with dog trainer Sunny Bravo about service dogs. In our continued conversation we talk about what to look for when selecting a dog for service work. We also talk through who should be involved in the dog selection process. Once a dog has been selected Sunny likes to start the training process simply with body language, then adds leash pressure, toys and treats from there. We address what service teams should aspire to be and how much work goes into that level of reliability. Sunny was kind enough to share her experiences as both a service dog handler as well as a trainer, which gave us a more thorough understanding of everything that goes into service dogs.

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This week we are talking with dog trainer Sunny Bravo who specializes in training service dogs. Sunny has been in the dog training industry for 26 years and has worked with a large variety of breeds. She has worked with everything from basic family dog training to human focused dog aggression cases. Sunny helps define the differences between emotional support animals, a therapy animal and a service animal. Service animals are trained to do a specific task to mitigate the owner's life altering disability. We discuss unwanted attention that goes along with having a service dog and what that looks like for handlers. We also address what gear is required, allowed and prefered for service dogs.

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This week we are addressing some of the complexities of dog behavior.  Often, we are told things like ears pinned back or hackles up mean aggression, and while this may be true for some dogs it is not true for all dogs.  Often dogs will raise their hackles due to excitement, surprise, or a number of other reasons. While there are guidelines on what a behavior might normally mean, each dog is an individual with individual nuances.  We'll share examples of why watching the whole dog becomes important as well as why interpreting behavior on an individual basis is so important. 

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This week we have Katherine Burbach on the episode talking about her relationship with her dog Dos over the years and how it has grown and changed.  Dos can have big feelings about people and dogs when he's on walks, and Katherine realized early on that she needed a plan that she could easily implement with positive results.  Stinky treats were the key to helping refocus Dos and helping him learn to be calm around others while on leash.  This has helped the pair deepen their own relationship as well as helped set an example for their neighbors. By building their relationship through training Katherine has learned to better listen to and understand Dos, even when he's being a bit spicy.   Katherine has also learned to advocate for him inside her own home by setting appropriate boundaries for both Dos and guests.  This journey has taught Katherine to enjoy and appreciate the everyday moments, as well as celebrate the milestones along the way.  Over the years these two have deepened their relationship through trust, patience and continued learning.

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This week we are talking about different perspectives for the same event.  This was inspired by a recent agility class that Kristi and Jaxon went to.  Kristi had an apponion on what happened, the trainer had a different oppinion, and Heather had a third opinion about the same event and behaviors.  As humans we often create a story and interpret behavior through the lens of the story we have created. When in reality we are living with and training a different species. When we allow ourselves to hear different perspectives it gives us more insight into what might be happening with a behavior and more tools and options work through that behavior.  

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What is Drive? In Episode 52 we talked a lot about drive, but never really defined it.  Drive can look very different between dogs.  Often we talk about drive in reference to prey and food, but drive can show up in a variety of forms such as people drive, owner drive, etc.  Even drive within the same area can look really different.  For example Heather has three dogs with food drive, but how that motivates and presents with each dog looks different.  We also talk through how different motivations or drives can produce the same behavior.  Trin and Jaxon both love the sport of Fast Cat, however Trin is motivated by prey drive while Jaxon is motivated by the chase itself.  Understanding what drives your dog can help build drive in areas you want and make life easier by allowing you to channel your dog's drive appropriately. 

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