Friday, December 1, 2023

Canine Christmas List

December Theme of the Month
Things to Do With Your Dog in December

We all tend to get busy during the holidays and sometimes that means we leave our dogs out. I want to encourage all our Yooper Paws friends to think about ways to include their dog in the holiday season.  Here is a list of ideas to get you started!

  1. Review Holiday Things that Safe/Harmful for Dogs
  2. Letter to Santa Paws
  3. Tree Lighting Ceremony
  4. Create a Homemade Gift for your Dog
  5. Puppy Playdate with a Friend
  6. String Dog Bone Treats for a Christmas Countdown (I guess I missed this one.)
  7. Make a Puppy Christmas Card
  8. Sing Christmas Carols to Your Dog 
  9. Make Holiday Dog Treats
  10. Christmas Lights Drive/Sniff-a-bout
  11. Start a New Holiday Tradition
  12. Make a Puppy Ornament
  13. Share a Treat By the Fire
  14. Donate a Dog Toy
  15. Walk with a Friend 
  16. Watch a Holiday Movie
  17. Hang a Paw Print Decoration on Your Door (yep missed it!)
  18. Hang a Stocking for your Dog
  19. Pause and Reflect About the Past Year With Your Dog
  20. Dance with Your Dog
  21. Read a Book to Your Dog
  22. Play in the Snow
  23. Dress Up Together
  24. Have a Gift Exchange with Another Dog Owner
  25. Donate Dog Food
  26. Wrap a Present For Your Dog 
  27. Make Cookies for Santa Paws
  28. Take Photo in Front of the Christmas Tree
  29. Make a Training List/Plan 
  30. Prepare Treat Bags for Puppy Friends 

Throughout the month, there were will be additional posts on as many of these items as we can get to with directions on how to do these things with your dog. BOLD means we've done it but don't have pictures or a post about it.

Please be smart and do all the things you and your dog can have fun doing together as a team!
It's important that you consider your dog's individual needs when you look at this list! If your dog doesn't like to dress up, skip list items that suggest that or keep it really simple like a new holiday collar. If your dog doesn't like crowds, you wouldn't take them to a Christmas tree lighting or parade.

If you want to share pictures of your activities with your dogs, email them to yooperpaws@gmail.com or send them to via messenger and I will post them on the Yooper Paws Facebook page and possibly even include them in a blog on that list item.

Have fun & Merry Christmas!

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Noticing Household Needs

When we bring a new dog into our house, this is by our choice not that of the dog!

It's easy to put all our focus on the new dog, but we must also look at the whole household and what every member needs!

For my final blog in Noticing Needs November 2023, I'm going to be taking a look at what we as dog owners need for our house.

As a Canine Coach & Behavior Consultant I try to take a step back and look at the whole picture of what is happening when an owner/caregiver comes to me for help. Of course this means looking at the dog's needs but it also means taking a look at what the human coming with the dog needs, what other household humans need, and what other household pets need.

When we open our doors to welcome a new dog in, we often have a mental picture of what family life is going to look like with our dogs. We have big dreams of a perfect world or perfect life, perhaps we've picked out the "perfect" dog for our family. But more often than not, things are far from perfect! It doesn't matter if you welcome a new puppy or an older dog into your house or even a new human, there is always a period of adjustment and learning about each other. Everyone that already resided in the house has to learn about the newcomer, just one new change. While the newcomer, has to learn about everyone else, typically multiple residents and where they fit in with everyone.

Those that have been following SDiT Rosalind already know that she was placed with a new handler, returned to me, and has now been placed with yet another new handler. We spent 4 days working with the new handler getting human and Roz to know each other, making sure the other dog in the house and Roz could be friends. And we all thought it was going to be a good match. Yet over the 2 months there, the new handler realized that caring for 2 dogs instead of 1 was really exhausting & costly! Roz at barely 2 yrs old has way more energy and stamina then the others in the house, illness happened with 2 of the 3 residents, planned vacation, and basically a whirlwind of activity in those 2 months. Unfortunately, things just were not working and continuing to try was having a negative impact on everyone involved. The decision to return Roz to me was not made easily, but was best for all involved.

Roz has now been transferred to a new home with a family she already knows and loves, that also loves & NEEDS her. This family has worked to understand the needs of everyone involved and is confident that Roz is exactly what they need.  They know Roz's energy level and needs for social, mental, and emotional stimulation every day. I'm confident this placement will work out and I'm excited what this means for Roz's new handler, Eddie! 

Young SDiT Rosalind, aka Roz, Rozzie, and Rozzie Bear, is a great example of a dog that needs to be with her people and have a job. Her goal in life is simply to be loved and please everyone around her!

Considering the Needs of the Handler

Some might say that this is more important for Service Dog Handlers that might have very specific needs. I believe this might be harder to understand or pinpoint the needs of Service Dog Handlers, but it's also true for every dog owner.

Generally the main person who will care for, train, and enjoy the dog the most is the one who brings the dog home. (Unless the dog is given for a gift, but that's a BAD IDEA!) This is also the person who typically reaches out to me for help when something is not going as planned. Occasionally a family member that didn't plan to get a dog and ended up "stuck" with the dog reaches out to me.

Often the person reaching out feels stuck, embarrassed, annoyed or a whole slew of other emotions due to the problems they are having. It's my job as a Canine Coach to simply listen to their struggle, observe the dog, and look for the missing puzzle pieces that are causing the struggles. Thankfully, listening has always been one of my strong suits!

We also need to consider the handler/caregiver's needs as far as other commitments, energy level, physical ability to manage the dog (especially true in large/giant dogs), and their end goal dreams. Most caregivers have other jobs in or out of the house; going to work, raising the kids, taking care of the house, etc. Available time to work with the dog is a huge part of creating a solution to the struggles. Energy levels vary from person to person. Often a caretaker gets the dog because they want to walk a dog, but the dog they get either doesn't like walks because the world is too scary or the dog wants/needs to walk much faster and/or further then the human anticipated. Too much exercise can be a bad thing too! Just like children some dogs simply don't realize how much a dog needs sleep. I need to understand the caretaker's available time, energy, physical strength, mental strength, etc.

Another huge caregiver need is learning style. Some individuals need hands on demonstrations with their dog, while other's can copy a well made video or watching another team in action. Some people prefer audio learning and enjoy listening to a podcast or webinar. Others need to read text to really process what they are learning.  And some caregivers need all 3 forms of learning; watching, listening, reading! Some people learn more quickly than others, while some need lots of practice. As a Canine Coach I really try to take all of this in consideration when creating a training plan.

Considering the Needs of other Humans in the House

I always say it's best to make sure everyone is on board before bringing a dog into the home. Sometimes that easier said then done and none of us lives in a perfect world. Often for me, my spouse is the hardest sell when I'm trying to bring in a new dog. He totally loves dogs, but only if he doesn't have to do the work and simply do the fun stuff like daily belly rubs. My husband does do the occasional walk with one of my dogs, but I need to have realistic expectations that he won't do this unless he really needs to. Often when a dog is struggling with behaviors the caregiver or spouse doesn't like, that can cause stress in the relationship. Not only does the dog feel that stress, but that can also make the behavior worse becoming a vicious cycle.




If there are children in the home, their needs must be considered. Are they old enough to help with the dog? Do they know how to be safe around dogs? Do they even like dogs? My grandson has never really liked dogs even though he's only slightly older than Azul he really only tolerates Azul. Forrest also hates most other dogs and new people too. For some reason, Forrest really clicked with Roz and he broke our hearts when he wanted to buy Roz from the day I was scheduled to take her back to Michigan. Roz is a sweetheart for sure and for a time we considered her staying at my daughter's house, but that doesn't fit everyone else's needs and Roz would be under utilized. She was born to be a Service Dog! 

If the caregiver is also a caregiver to young children, a senior adult with a disability, or other caregiving responsibilities, that will impact how much time the caregiver has to work with the dog from day to day. 

Sometimes we even need to consider the needs of our neighbors. No one wants to be at constant war with the family next door. Nor do we want our dogs to be barking at the neighbors dog every time we let them out. Depending on how many neighbors you have, that may be something that needs to be considered too. Some dogs do well in busy urban environments and some do not. While Roz has spent most of her life in urban environments, the rural environments definitely make it easier to meet her needs for exercise and sniffing time. At my house Roz gets 10 min of off leash zooming in the morning and evening with a 30-45 min walk. In an urban environment where she must be on leash all the time, a 60 min walk each day is not enough. Some of this is age related for our dogs, but the environment and neighborhood that the family lives in has to be a part of the training plan too!

Don't forget to consider the other animals in the house! That's a whole different blog!

I hope this has given you some food for thought before you welcome your next dog into your home. I hope it also helps you to realize what YOU need for a good at trainer. As caregiver, or the one seeking help with your dog, you need a trainer or coach that can understand your needs, the needs of your dog and help you bridge the gaps between where your needs don't quite meet up. 

If you can't connect with your dog trainer in a way that makes you feel good about your sessions, you likely need to look for a new trainer. Please search for one that uses force free, games based dog training that can make learning fun for everyone!




Monday, November 27, 2023

Creating Calm Canines

 Creating a Calm Christmas Special




Christmas time can be crazy for us humans and our pets! 
  • We fill our homes with decorations that might seem unsettling to our dogs, especially the Christmas tree.
  • Our schedule or routine often changes with some extra time off work/school plus extra time home with family.
  • We are more likely to travel to see family we haven't been able to see since last Christmas.
  • We often have people come to stay with us.
  • There is extra time spent in stores which adds stress to us all! Christmas shopping, longer than normal lines, bigger crowds, etc. Often our dogs feel this stress in us when we get home!
Fearful, sensitive, and overly-excited and real young dogs tend to struggle with the changes that happen at Christmas more then confident, social dogs that are used to changing routines. Often I take emergency calls from people that have been going to Grandma's (insert any name here) house every year, but now they have a new puppy and either A- Owners don't know where to find a good puppy sitter OR B- Owners think taking their puppy with them will be real easy, then get a rude awakening when it's hard. 

Personally this year, I'm expecting a new puppy to come home very soon and I had the opportunity to bring Adora Belle home just before Thanksgiving or waiting until just after. I decided the chaos of the family travels and time together would be too much for a puppy that was only with me 3 days before the trip.  Then I found I would be re-claiming Roz during the holiday travels as she had too much energy to be successful in her previous SD placement. I spent Thanksgiving in a house with 10 humans and 3 large dogs, and the 2 boy dogs need to be kept separated at this time. This would have been way too much for a new puppy to handle. I'm glad I planned ahead!

Sneak Peak at Adora Belle Chaos!

We will have 4 Christmas promotions this year! The first 3 are totally FREE!

Here in Patreon will be the "12 Top Tips for Creating Calm!" 

On Facebook: "The 12 Days of Christmas Photo Challenge!"

And on my website is "December List of Holidays Activities!" This is a list of 30+ activities to do with dog during the holidays. The list gets posted Dec 1st, then it gets updated with links to photos, videos, or blogs as I work through the list with my dogs. You're encouraged to copy the list and do as many activities as you can!

The last one is super low cost virtual session to help your pup have a peaceful holiday despite all the chaos we often add to our daily routines. I'll be offering 30 minutes for $30 and 60 minutes for $50 available for Zoom sessions and video calls only.

The 12 Top Tips to Creating a Calm Christmas


You can sign up for a free account and get access to this. As a member, you'll get notified each day Dec 1 - 12th when I add the post for that day. I'll be using a mix of training videos, live zooms, and written content to share my tips. 

I'm still working on putting this together but will be including some things that you can train or practice before the big activities happen, some things you can do right be for to set up for success and some things you can do in the moment to help your dog be as calm as possible. Lastly I plan to add in a few extra posts after the 12th to help reduce your dog's stress after the big activities!

One of the problems with lists of this nature is that they often cater to the most common needs that dog trainers experience with their clients. You may find that all 12 tips can easily be implemented into your holiday routine or you might find that only 2 really apply to your dog. Each dog if a unique individual, just like each family is different, each holiday gathering is different. So if you like the Top 12 Tips, but feel like you need a bit more, check out the next discount on Virtual Planning!

Creating a Calm Christmas Virtual Planning Sessions


From December 1st to 15th, I'll be offering a discounted rate on individual sessions based on reviewing the changes that your dog will face during the holidays and creating a plan for success. This might include some training you can do before the craziness happens, some enrichment you can add or other ways to help meet your dog's needs, and tips for making sure all the pets in the house and visiting pets can share space successfully. You can schedule your 30 min Virtual Session for just $30 or your 60 min Virtual Session for $50. (My normal rate with be $75 for any session up to 60 min long.) 
This is one-on-one time to look at your holiday plans and your dog's individual needs and brainstorm ways to meet your dog's needs in an attempt to prevent or reduce the challenging behaviors that happen when your dog becomes stressed.


I look forward to hearing about you and your dog plan to spend the holidays with as much peaceful feelings as possible and reducing stress as much as we can for everyone!


Friday, November 24, 2023

Whispers, Screams, & Singing

Do dogs whisper, scream, & sing?

And if so, what does that look like?


Most dog owners would say that their dog has different barks or levels of bark to mean different things. They may use in "inside voice" or whisper on cue to get a treat, their alarm bark for an intruder that can be heard miles away, and sometimes a singing voice that often comes out when they are playing with good friends. Just like the audible voice dogs have, their behavior also reveals body signals that can be divided into these 3 categories. The emotions a dog is feeling in any given moment plus the level of arousal the dog is experiencing work together to create the behaviors we see. Humans then can observe these behaviors to take an educated guess at what our dogs might be feeling.

Screams

The loudest, most energetic, obnoxious, extreme behaviors are signs that our dog is extremely aroused and over-threshold or rapidly going off the deep end. This might be that audible alarm bark, lunging at a perceived threat, running away, or any one of the behaviors that we recognize as fight, flight, freeze, fawn, or fool around behaviors. New dog owners might struggle to recognize this body language, but most seasoned dog owners recognize when their dog is over-the-top reacting to a change in the environment.

Whispers

These are more like the subtle body language cues we can observe in our dog that suggest something has gotten their attention and their arousal level is starting to increase. Unlike screams, the whispers are very easy to miss! Whispers vary greatly from individual to individual, sometimes impacting the common places we watch for body language (eyes, ears, mouth, tail, etc) but creating such a minor change that it's easily missed. Often dog trainers will refer to these smaller actions as micro signals, meaning small or almost barely noticeable actions.

Azul's nose is his first thing to change when he notices a change in the environment. His biggest distractions are other dogs, deer, farm animals, and burrowing animals. When Azul smells things of interest, his nostrils flare a bit faster which is really hard to see since his nose is generally facing away from me or buried in the ground. Often the first thing I see is his nose point up towards the sky or down to the ground followed by the rest of the body freezing in place. How long that freeze position lasts will depend on how high Azul's arousal level is in that moment; the more excited he is the longer he freezes. Azul generally carries his tail high, often curled to the point of touching his back. However as his arousal starts to climb, his tail goes straight out like a pointer. If his tail drops below his back level, then whatever he is smelling is a bit scary going even lower for extreme scares. If Azul's tail points out then curls back up quickly, it's likely he's spotted something that he wants to chase. 

Sometimes whispers or micro-signals happen so fast that owners miss them entirely not recognizing a pattern for their dog. This is especially true for owners who ask their dogs to stay in heel most of the walk. If your dog is walking by our sides, yet our gaze tends to be out in front of us along the path, we simply can't see many of those signs. This is one the great advantages of getting comfortable with walking using a longline of 10-15ft as this places your dog out in front or off to the side far enough for you to easily watch their whole body as you walk.

Singing

You may have guessed that this is when you and your dog have spent countless hours walking, training, engaging with each other and now you seem to have hit your stride where you are just in tune with each other. This would be my comparison to an opera singer or someone with great talent. But there are also dog/owner moments where perhaps you're both singing the same song, but perhaps in different rhythms or at different volumes. This would be the case if you've been able to get to a routine walk that both you and your dog enjoy together, but perhaps there is still a hiccup or an unpredicted tempo change every now and them.

I've always considered this to be like dancing with your dog with some give & take, changing out who is leading for a nice back and forth silent conversation as go through your daily activities. Another trainer refers to this as tracking, or paying attention to movements and motions of another being. It doesn't really matter what you call this form of communication between you and your dog, but it should be every dog owner's goal; to spend more time in a singing or dancing mood state and as little time in the screaming state as possible. Recognizing the whispers helps us to sing in better harmony.

My job as a Canine Coach is to help you reach a point where you and your dog can meet each other's needs, communicate clearly, and enjoy moments in time together. I love helping dog owners turn the screams into whispers. And if we can spend enough time together, I love seeing you hit that magic point where you and your dog are singing together!

If you're not thrilled with your dog's behaviors, let me help you! 
  1. The blogs in this website are easily searchable from a web browser, which leads to a whole bunch of free information.
  2. Several specialty FB Groups are available to help you depending on what you need. You can always message me to see what group(s) might be best for you.
  3. Virtual classes & workshops can help with learning to understand your dog, communicate better as a team, build confidence, increase focus around distractions and work on advanced training.
  4. Monthly memberships are one of the cheapest ways to get help with your specific issue, mixing webinars, workshops, printed text, video demonstrations, and live group sessions.
  5. Private session packages are a great way to save a bit a money when we need to build up skills as your puppy grows up or to work on a challenging behavior. I have several package formats available right now including in-person and virtual sessions, 1 hr sessions, 2 hr sessions, & 4 hour sessions.
Most of these allow you to mix & match a few services to get the most bang for your buck!

And be sure to check out the Yooper Paws Patreon Page where you can select memberships, including a free option that is going to have a Creating a Calm Christmas Collection available beginning Dec 1st!



Canine Christmas List

December Theme of the Month Things to Do With Your Dog in December We all tend to get busy during the holidays and sometimes that means we l...