Carol's Canine Training and Behavior Counseling, LLC

07/26/2024

07/26/2024

Spending time relaxing with the pup!

07/23/2024

Clients often ask me "why would my dog be stressed?". Dogs, just like humans, can experience stress daily!

A lack of choice in their world, often not having their needs met, genetics and life experiences, and training methods/tools are just a few things that can impact a dog's stress.

Their relationships with humans can also impact their stress. While this study is small, it is interesting and another reason why we should work on our own stress if we want to help our dogs! This is just one way dogs can be therapeutic for us - by forcing us to look at our world!

"Studies show that dogs pick up on human stress through scent, which leads to negative emotions and impacts their decisions. This research suggests stress can travel through the air, affecting dogs' well-being".

https://www.indiatvnews.com/health/smell-of-stress-from-humans-could-affect-dog-s-emotions-2024-07-23-943157 #:~:text=Studies%20show%20that%20dogs%20pick,affecting%20dogs'%20well%2Dbeing.

07/19/2024

Struggling with your puppy? You aren’t alone -“puppy blues” are a real thing !

Hang in there - anything worthwhile in life can have challenges !

Read more and reach out for help-

Dog parents, this is for you.

07/04/2024

07/04/2024

Dogs are associative learners as I always tell clients and they are always watching , smelling and learning.

What associations are you teaching your dog?

Dogs are so clever 🐾

06/29/2024

Enrichment can be a relaxing nap or a summer breeze or visiting a new park.

06/22/2024

A short but must read for anyone who shares their lives with dogs.

A must read for anyone who shares their life with dogs! We often forget and everything we ask our dogs to do go against their natural instincts. Our world has much different "rules" than theirs and it's time we start looking at their needs and our relationship over "obedience"!

Dr. Serpell offered this advice: “By all means enjoy your dog’s companionship. But dogs are not people. Get to know the animal from its own perspective instead of forcing them to comply with yours. It enables you to vicariously experience the life of another being.”

Pets are more popular than ever. Roughly two-thirds of American homes have at least one pet, up from 56% in 1988, according to the American Pet Products Association, and Americans spent $136.8 billion on their pets in 2022, up from $123.6 billion in 2021. An estimated 91 million households in Europe...

06/02/2024

https://www.popsci.com/environment/do-dogs-dream/

Snoozing dogs twitch and woof in their sleep. But what's going on inside their brains? Is your dog dreaming of catching a squirrel? Maybe.

05/28/2024

What is it??? It’s profound relaxation. This from a dog petrified of the outside when rescued from a hoarding situation. Patience, love, safety. ♥️🐾

05/25/2024

https://www.wisn.com/article/milwaukee-restaurants-dogs-only-menus/60900015?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1m8fzqBPLCZHkfBnk65-If3bvv2hysfm1a8VgnzeuYGGofqfU8Bj_Yagk_aem_AdYQCsnhJCYmQuYC1wveDYH2aVNkByyWNW2cfh2UjFMFjTP9x5vvFkBgDSePVXZjpUXsy9Dk3W_dNunkf5GwhXN9

The restaurants offer items ranging between $1 and $12.

05/18/2024

Hugging is for humans !

A new study of videos of people hugging dogs showed frequent signs of stress and anxiety, and two thirds of the dogs responded by nipping or biting the hugger.

05/13/2024

MAY 6-12 was Dog Anxiety Awareness week
IN CLOSING – POST #8

Dogs are emotional beings capable of a wide range of emotions much like a toddler. These emotions can include fear, anxiety, and stress. There is help for dogs with anxiety.
There is much we can do to help them.

For your dog to have good mental health and live his best life:
• Realize anxiety is at an all time high in our society today and this includes impacting our dogs’ lives
• Understand some of the causes of anxiety in dogs and see if you can help improve your dog’s mental health through a better understanding of how dogs view their world
• Address your dog’s anxiety as it can impact their quality of life and even shorten their life
• Become a master at “speaking dog” (learning body language) so you can understand and better communicate with your dog
• Address your human stress/anxiety as yes dogs and human can impact each other’s behavior and co-regulate
• Improve their diet
• Give your dog some choice and control in his world
• Meet ALL their needs as a dog – physical, social and mental health needs!

And ……spend quality time with them! Breath, laugh, play! Let them sniff, chew, explore! Let them be a dog! Make time for your companion and enjoy time together.

If you want to take better care of your dog companion, take better care of you and slow down and enjoy your time together! Reducing your stress can reduce your dog’s stress!

Try a slow walk with a break in the middle of the walk. Take a blanket or chew along and enjoy slow movement. Go to the park and enjoy a change of scenery. Research Forest Bathing and learn about the proven benefits for you and your canine. Meditate together. Dogs are natural meditators. When I meditate my dogs naturally gravitate towards me! They love it when I do yoga too. Dogs naturally know how to practice relaxed positions, take naps and breath through tough times! Let’s help each other!

We are all our dogs have. They have few choices in their short life. We owe it to them to make their lives, and ours, as stress-free as possible with good mental health.

NEED PROFESSIONAL HELP WITH FEAR, ANXIETY, OR AGGRESSION? Schedule a consultation. As a Trauma Informed Professional certified in training and behavior, I take a holistic approach to helping your dog with anxiety and behavioral issues looking at all area of their lives to help improve their quality of life and therefore their behavior. I see clients in Waukesha and Brookfield and can help you and your companion navigate behaviors rooted in anxiety including fear and aggression!

05/12/2024

MAY 6-12 is Dog Anxiety Awareness week

DOG ANXIETY AWARENESS WEEK – POST #7

ANXIETY AND CHOICE AND CONTROL

Looking at things from your dog’s perspective and giving them some control can help reduce stress and anxiety.

This is a topic that I and anyone that specializes in dog behavior could talk about all day! Don’t worry I won’t but I will talk about some basics and how our world of control over our dogs can add a lot of stress and anxiety to their world.

First, remember we have invited another species, with very different rules, to live in our world and we give little thought to how they think, live, and feel.

If I had a dime for every time someone said “my dog doesn’t listen.” For one they don’t speak English. Also, they “see” their world through their nose and the area of the brain dedicated to scent is much larger than ours. Through studies and MRIs, we have learned that their smell is much like our vision. * Also, they have needs too and weren’t just put here to be “obedient” and be a “pet” to meet our needs or sit at home for 8-10 hours a day with the only outlet being a 20-minute walk. They have needs that we must meet as discussed in previous posts.

One such need is choice and control! Think for a minute about your dog’s world and ask yourself are they really “so spoiled” like we would like to think they are? We control their entire world from what they eat to when they eat. We control when they can use the bathroom often expecting them to hold it all day long. Imagine if our boss had those expectations! We expect them to eat the SAME food day in and day out. We expect them not to bark. We expect them to go for a short walk and not stop to sniff even though they see much of their world through their sense of smell.

Even their sleep cycles are very different than ours. However we expect them to sleep for 8 hours during the same times we do although it might not be natural for them. Often, they are crated during sleep times with little space to move or stretch out which can impact their sleep too – think of us going from a queen size bed to a twin bed and being unable to full stretch out or move much and the impact that might have on your sleep.

In addition to all of the above, add to that we expect them to get along with most or all human and canines we know and often expect them to go to the dog park and love every dog there too! Do we get along with all our neighbors and strangers? Of course not! Not only do we implement an incredible amount of control over our dog’s life – every minute of every day and then add on unrealistic expectations from their choice of friends to who gets to pet them and more. Yes, we expect them to be ok with touch from all strangers too even though we would never want every stranger touching us! And I said that before the pandemic!

EVERYTHING we ask our dogs to do goes against their natural behavior. Dr. Susan Friedman inspires many dog lovers to learn about about choice and dogs. It doesn’t have to be complicated! Let your dog have options for sleeping. Let him pick which way to go on a walk. Walk him on a longer leash to encourage more freedom and sniffing. Don’t expect him to let everyone pet him or meet every dog on a walk or at the park. When training, work on the things your dog loves to do! Giving them some choice in our human world can be so empowering and reduce anxiety!

*

The olfactory sense of the domestic dog is widely recognized as being highly sensitive with a diverse function; however, little is known about the structure of its olfactory system. This study examined a cohort of mixed-sex mesaticephalic canines and used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), an MRI techn...

05/12/2024

https://www.aol.com/2014-07-23-dogs-appear-to-become-jealous-of-owners-attention-20936027.html

Man's best friend - whether named Fido, Rocket, Rufus, Porkchop, Spike, or whatever - might want to be your only friend. Okay, it's not that serious but a new study shows canine companions aren't too keen on their owners giving

05/11/2024

MAY 6-12 is Dog Anxiety Awareness week 2024
DOG ANXIETY AWARENESS WEEK – POST #6

ANXIETY AND MEETING YOUR DOG’S NEEDS

I truly believe that if we address our dog’s needs daily, they will be much less likely to have anxiety or behavioral issues. While we can’t enrich or train away behavior problems, making sure your dog lives an enriched life where his needs are met is crucial to sound mental health.

Dog’s needs are not that much different than ours. They need to feel safe first and foremost. They need to have some control and choice in their world. They need social time. They also need appropriate physical exercise and they need mental stimulation.

Appropriate exercise from my experience is best accomplished through sniffing, exploring, choice and spending time in nature together. This is much healthier than over arousing play or hours of fetch. Many dogs’ lives are out of balance and we are learning that excess fetch or play isn’t any healthier daily than us running a daily ½ marathon. A tired dog is often an exhausted dog but that doesn’t equate to good, balanced mental and physical health. By studying the free roaming dogs in our world, we now have a better understanding what dogs choose to do when they have choices. HINT – it’s not over arousing play or fetch! It’s much more about calm behaviors, exploring, “forging” and more.

Training, using their brain, sniffing, and forging for treats or their food are all great ways to meet your dog’s needs. Did you know your dogs can even get feel good hormones by learning a new task, getting a treat, and working for a portion of their food*? Dogs should have opportunities for sniffing, chewing and appropriate licking daily! And we must not forget to make sure they feel safe in their home at all times AND give them some choice in their world!
Choice is so empowering for all species! More on choice tomorrow!

Need more help? Schedule a consultation to improve your dog’s balance and learn more about enriching the life of you and your dog! I see clients in Waukesha and Brookfield and can help you and your companion navigate behaviors rooted in anxiety!

* https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24096703/

05/10/2024

MAY 6-12 is Dog Anxiety Awareness week 2024
DOG ANXIETY AWARENESS WEEK – POST #5

ANXIETY AND DIET

We can’t begin to discuss the outwardly signs of anxiety without the internal impact of diet. This is a simple area we can look at from my experience to help our dogs feel better.

Feeding a dead, dry, overprocessed diet like kibble would be the equivalent of you and I eating cereal every day and expecting to feel at our best and experience optimal health.

While I am not here to convince you to never feed kibble again, I would recommend that you consider adding some natural food to your dog’s diet. This might include eggs, sardines, yogurt, canned food, or homemade options.

Don’t know where to start? There are several companies that make a healthy premix that you can add your own meat/protein. This is an affordable way to add more moisture and nutrients to your dog’s diet. Honest Kitchen and Dr. Harvey are two brands that can help you add some fresh variety to your dog’s diet and still provide balanced nutrition.

Over 90% of serotonin is made in the gut! Serotonin is a key hormone that impacts mood and well-being. Anxiety and the gut connection are well studied in humans and just beginning to be addressed more in our companions.

Using some healthy human treats to teach your dog tricks or other behaviors not only is fun but it’s great for bonding. All species share for as part of a bonding ritual so please don’t be that human that brags “my dog rarely or never gets treats”! You are both missing out!

Addressing your dog’s diet can be a simple step in the right direction to addressing your dog’s overall health and wellness. Plus, dogs only have a chance at one life with us and why not share some tasty food with them? I know I wouldn’t want to eat the same dry diet 365 days a year! Love them with healthy food! It’s good for their mind and body!

Need help? Schedule a consultation. I take a holistic approach to helping your dog with anxiety and behavioral issues looking at all area of their lives to help improve their quality of life and therefore their behavior. I see clients in Waukesha and Brookfield and can help you and your companion navigate behaviors rooted in anxiety!

Photo credit: Photo by James Barker on Unsplash

05/09/2024

MAY 6-12 is Dog Anxiety Awareness week 2024
DOG ANXIETY AWARENESS WEEK – POST #5

ANXIETY IN DOGS – THE HUMAN SIDE OF THE EQUATION – DOES YOUR STRESS IMPACT YOUR DOG?

A 2019 study showed that long-term stress levels are synchronized in dogs and their owners. * That’s right IF you are stressed, your dog is more likely to be stressed. *

Emotional Contagion is the mirroring of emotions. While it can happen to us with our own species - coworkers, family, friends – we can be lifted or brought down by their emotional state, it can also happen with our canine companions. Those of us who have a close connection with dogs knew this but now we have the science to back it up! Keep in mind, this study was also done prior to the pandemic and with the pandemic, stress levels are at an all time high in our human world. The pace of our human world and the increase in our own stress can impact everyone around us and that includes our dogs!

Now please don’t stress or feel bad! We know there are MANY factors that impact a dog’s anxiety and I rarely see a dog without many factors impacting their current emotional state but it is something to think about. I prefer to do so in a positive way. After all, this isn’t all bad news! I believe this is how dogs are therapy for us as they help remind us to slow down, be mindful, deep breath and live in the moment!

Take a slow-paced walk, let your dog sniff, pause on a walk, take time to play with your dog – play is incompatible with fear and playful dogs are less stressed! ** Just be with your dog! Take advantage of the mirroring of behaviors by working on anxiety reducing activities like enjoying physical exercise, taking breaks, doing breathwork and meditation to benefit both you and your dog!

Sources
*https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-43851-x #:~:text=Conclusion,by%20the%20amount%20of%20training.

** https://liu.se/en/article/playful-dogs-are-less-stressed

05/08/2024

MAY 6-12 is Dog Anxiety Awareness week 2024

POST #4 -ANXIETY IN DOGS – LEARN TO SPEAK THEIR LANGUAGE SO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW THEY FEEL

We do a great disservice to dogs when we bring them into our world without bothering to learn their language. Dogs speak only one language – body language. They are talking to us all the time and we must not only learn but also respect their language if we expect to have a good relationship with them.

Dogs that are anxious or stressed often exhibit low level signs by showing some of the following signals: lip/nose lick, yawning, ears back, low tail and body carriage, increased shedding, “whale eye” – exposing the whites of their eye. retreating, and freezing just to name a few.

While most people can recognize the above overt signs of stress, dogs give numerous other subtle signals of stress before they resort to more intense behaviors. These more subtle signs often go unnoticed. Recognizing these early signs will help prevent the stress response from escalating and build a good relationship with our canine companions.

We are all our dogs have so it’s imperative that we are masters at reading their body language if we want to live together successfully.

Dogs watch us all the time for cues on what is happening next and are masters at reading our body language and even our emotions. We owe them the same! Ever pick up the leash, go in a certain cabinet where food is kept or even put on a certain pair of shoes and your dog notices? That’s right. They are watching and reading us.

Some interesting tidbits about dogs:
• Per studies your dog understands pointing and can tell by your response if someone is a friend or foe.
• The same area of the brain that lights up when a dog sees his person is the same area of the brain that lights up when a baby sees his mother!
• Dogs can be trained to alert to seizures and low blood sugar, find missing persons and more!

Think we aren’t connected? Think dogs don’t read our communication? Think again!

We need to give them the same respect and learn and respect their language! If we listen to the “whispers” (subtle signs of stress), they will never have to “speak louder” (growling, barking, lunging, etc.). Learn their language today!

05/07/2024

DOG ANXIETY AWARENESS WEEK - POST 3

DID YOU KNOW ANXIETY CAN NOT ONLY IMPACT YOUR DOG’S QUALITY OF LIFE BUT IT CAN SHORT YOUR DOG’S LIFE?

This is just one more reason to address your dog’s anxiety. Anxiety can cause a host of medical issues and impact the quality and length of a dog’s life as well as or life. *

Anxiety can present in many ways from more severe signs including excessive barking, quick startle response, pacing, fear of noise, people or dogs, growling, fear of being alone and even aggressive displays of behavior.

There are also many subtle signs of stress/anxiety including sleep disturbances (startling or excessive sleep), abnormal eating patterns, tension, boredom, poor social interactions/relationships with humans or canines, vigilance on walks, avoidance/withdrawal, fears of daily life or outside the home, unable to calm/relax or withdrawing socially and more. Just like humans, some dogs stress OUT and some stress IN so the signs may be obvious or more subtle.

Often, I find people don’t address the issues associated with anxiety until they are severe or there is an incident.

Does your dog have anxiety and if so, how is it impacting his life? To get started in helping your dog, be a detective. Over the course of a few weeks, keep a log of your dog’s daily behaviors, eating patterns, sleep patterns, behavior outside the home and things that seem to trigger certain behaviors or fears. Log also what makes your dog happy or relaxed and calm. This will help you pinpoint patterns and get to know your dog better. I am constantly amazed at how many clients do not realize their dog has a host of anxiety based behaviors until they have a severe incident, fight, or act of aggression. The yellow flags as I call them go unnoticed or unaddressed. Start watching your dog and see if you can identify patterns, keep a log with the goal of helping your dog better cope with life to address the “yellow flags” before they turn RED.

*Salonen, M., Sulkama, S., Mikkola, S. et al. Prevalence, comorbidity, and breed differences in canine anxiety in 13,700 Finnish pet dogs. Sci Rep 10, 2962 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-59837-z

*Dreschel, N. A. The effects of fear and anxiety on health and lifespan in pet dogs. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 125, 157–162 (2010).

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159110001243

Fear and anxiety-related behaviors are common in pet dogs and are likely to cause a physiological stress response in individuals that are exposed to t…

05/06/2024

DOG ANXIETY AWARENESS WEEK - #2 TRAINING METHODS MATTER

As a force free trainer who follows the science of how dogs think, I can’t start out this week without talking about how dogs learn and training methods! Force free, humane, relationship building, science-based teaching is at the top of my list for making sure our dogs have good mental health.

Let’s talk about the dogs we share our lives with first …..oh we love them don’t we? BUT some of their behaviors can be annoying or challenging as they have VERY different rules than we do! But that doesn’t mean we should use fear, pain, or punishment to teach them how to live in our human world – a world very different than theirs.

Think about it for a minute…..
EVERY single thing we humans, (myself included!), want our dogs to do goes against their natural instinct and behaviors as a dog! Quite simply dogs act like dogs!
• We expect them not to get excited at meal time.
• We expect them to love all strangers and tolerate touch from them but dogs have preferences just like we do.
• We expect them not to bark but dogs communicate via barking.
• We expect them to walk in a straight line and slower than nature intended them to do so but they are scavengers who view their world through their nose.
• We expect them not to sniff but the portion of their brain dedicated to scent if 40 times ours and sniffing helps them gather information.
• We yell at them when they don’t listen but they don’t speak our language and often we haven’t taught them what we DO want them to do.
• We want them to come when called even when they are distracted! However often our own children or partners, who speak our language, don’t do this one!

We ask a LOT out of another species!
Therefore, if we want our dogs to live successfully in our world, we MUST teach them how and we must do so with patience and kindness and humane methods based in science. After all dogs have the mentality of a toddler. Think about how we learned when we were that age. Hint – it was fun NOT painful! And we go to
school for 13+ years to learn.

Dogs need kind, patient, and humane training to learn that teaches them what we WANT them to do NOT what we don’t want them to do! By using up to date, humane, force free, science-based methods, we not only increase our bond but we can prevent fear, anxiety and stress.

THE SCIENCE OF HOW DOGS LEARN – THINK PRESCHOOL FOR CHILDREN:
• Studies in the last 1-2 decades prove force-free training is more humane and effective.
• Studies show negative training methods cause stress and can raise and anxiety and aggression.
• Organizations including the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, vet behaviorists and other professionals recommend force-free training.
• It’s based in science!
• Learning should be fun – never painful!
• It teaches your dog what you WANT instead of what you don’t want. It’s like teaching a child their ABC’s! It works but does take repetition and consistency. Remember the 13 + years we went to school to learn!
• Science proves it works and builds a strong bond with your dog!
• A LOT may have changed since you had your last dog! We might have even still been talking on corded phones when you got your last dog so do your research! Know better. Do better. Your dog will thank you).

Training methods can have a huge impact on your dog’s mental health. Shock collars (yes even on vibrate), yanking on the leash (even once), and even yelling at your dog can raise anxiety! *

Still not convinced - read this study on “Is punishment an effective way to train dogs?”. The answer is NO but read on for more information and understanding. It is imperative that we understand how dogs learn if they are going to share our homes and if we want them to have good mental health!

*

In much the same way that data shows that spanking human children leads to aggression and acting out later on, research shows that punishing dogs to control their behavior leads to an increase in canine aggression.

05/06/2024

ANXIETY AND DOGS - MAY 6-12 is Dog Anxiety Awareness week
There is help. It starts with understanding on our, the human's, part!

The mental health of dogs is a passion a mine! This week I am going to share some information about dogs and anxiety to better understand our companions, their world, and their behavior.

As a professional who is certified in behavior and training and Family Dog Mediation ™, I am also a trauma informed professional specializing in dogs exhibiting behaviors based in anxiety, fear, stress and even trauma.

We must start with understanding the impact of stress and anxiety on our dogs. True dog lovers have always known that dogs are emotional beings capable of feeling love, joy, stress, anxiety and even grief. We now have studies to back this up! Dogs have the mentality of a toddler with a brain that learns much like ours and processes emotions like we do. There is a huge disconnect often with this thinking and for some reason many people think dogs process emotions like fear, stress, and trauma differently or aren’t impacted by these things like we are but that’s just not true. Dogs feel and experience emotions just like us and are impacted by fear, anxiety, stress, and trauma! This is often reflected in their behaviors.

Dogs in our world have many stressors! Rehoming, being attacked by another dog, living in a shelter or unpredictable environment, long hours left alone, excessive confinement, being yelled at, out of date training methods, lack of outlets for natural instinctual behaviors, conflict in their home with dogs or people, and lack of choices in their world are just a few potential stressors that many dogs experience. These stressors can impact a dog’s overall behavior, cause daily stress/anxiety and even trauma for dogs. Many dogs are living a life of daily anxiety or stress or being surrender to shelters and rescues at record numbers due to behavior challenges rooted in unaddressed anxiety, stress, fear or even trauma!

While experts estimate as many as 30% of dogs have anxiety, a recent, large study in 2020 in Finland estimates OVER 70% of dogs suffer from some type of anxiety! *

The first step to helping our canine fiends is understanding and empathy. We must understand that dogs are a combination of life experiences and genetics including epigenetics, prenatal, early learning, training methods and breed. These factors all impact the personality and behavior of the adult dog.

We must also understand that a dog’s brain responds to stressors just like ours. A high number of negative or adverse experiences not only affect their brain structure and function, they affect the development of their brain, the emotional system, the hormonal system and even their DNA!" Armed with this understanding based in trauma research, neurology, and science, we can then begin to help our canine companions that may be exhibiting behaviors that are rooted in fear, anxiety, stress, or trauma and help them heal.

Remember our dogs aren’t giving us a hard time or being difficult, angry stubborn, or “bad,” – they are having a hard time – and in record numbers but there is help. Stay tuned all week as I share additional information on anxiety in dogs.

* https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/many-dogs-are-prone-to-anxiety-study-finds #:~:text=More%20than%2070%25%20of%20dogs,findings%20appear%20in%20Scientific%20Reports%20.

NEED PROFESSIONAL HELP WITH FEAR, ANXIETY, OR AGGRESSION? Schedule a consultation. As a Trauma Informed Professional certified in training and behavior, I take a holistic approach to helping your dog with anxiety and behavioral issues looking at all area of their lives to help improve their quality of life and therefore their behavior. I see clients in Waukesha and Brookfield and can help you and your companion navigate behaviors rooted in anxiety including fear and aggression!

Certified Behavior Consultant/Certified Dog Trainer, Trauma Informed Approach Professional/Canine, Family Dog Mediator (FDM)™, Certified Meditation Teacher