Rye Bread

[bam-reactive]

They're here!

I got this berry pink and a sage green and I really love them!

I got the pink all set up for now while we wait for the other receiver

[bam-reactive]

As someone who works with a lot of hunting dogs, I am extremely lenient with my methods and opinions compared to other trainers, but a hill I will fucking die on is if you are needing to use force fetch methods to get a retriever to retrieve, then you are either not a good trainer, or that dog has no place in your breeding program

[bam-reactive]

Yes, it is a proven fact that R+ based training works for any animal.

Any dog you come across can be trained with R+ methods.

If it "doesn't work" then it's not being applied properly.

But that's the fucking thing. Not everyone, in every situation, can properly apply it.

And I can't find it anywhere in me to think that someone is undeserving of a pet simply because they aren't a professional trainer or behaviorist.

I can't find it in me to think that a dog is better off sitting in a shelter or being trapped in their house when the use of aversive tools can give them the chance to actually live.

If a tool can allow the average pet and their owner to have more freedom and safety then I can't find a way to judge them.

[pacificpoison]

My favorite thing is watching people call marine mammal training abusive - or equating positive reinforcement with food deprivation.

Meanwhile dolphin trainers are responsible for bringing positive reinforcement training to other fields, such as dog training. Dolphin trainers are why clicker training exists, and decades ago pushed for society to view animals as sentient and emotional beings.

Marine mammal trainers played a huge role in creating kind training methods for animals. I don’t think anyone would go through years of college, unpaid internships, a low salary - just to abuse an animal. For all the effort they go through, it requires a genuine passion and love for these animals.

[mercygetbackhere]

I read Reaching the Animal Mind by Karen Pryor. Fun fact, she was originally a dolphin trainer. I think she is the trainer who mainly made clicker training dogs a thing.

Thank you Karen Pryor

[bam-reactive]

I dont know who this is, I will not show their url because I'm not here to call anyone out and I get what they're trying to say

But saying that Gentle Leaders aren't aversive is exactly the same as saying that prongs and ecollars aren't aversive

It's not wrong

But it's also not entirely correct

They are all fundamentally designed to be aversive. But they can be conditioned to be just another piece of equipment

I'm not here to criticize anyone for their use of tools but if you are going to say that gentle leaders/haltis are not aversive, then I am going to make damn sure that viewpoint still stands for prongs, ecollars, and slip leads

[bam-reactive]

Yelling at or arguing with someone who heavily uses corrections and aversives in training is not going to convince them to use gentler methods or start incorporating rewards

The best way to get someone to change their ways is to actually show your success in a judgment-free and polite way

Most people are not just going to stop doing things the way they always have, or have always been taught to, on a whim just because some stranger told them they were wrong

It takes time

And for most, they need to see success

And support

Criticism isn't going to "win people over"

[mercygetbackhere]

Unpopular Opinion

Bashing balanced trainers just makes the R+ training community look bad.

[bam-reactive]

Yall underestimate the power of scatter feeding when you have a difficult dog

Dog barking at absolutely nothing? Throw food on floor

Low on energy and dog driving you crazy? Throw food all around the house or yard

Need to calm down after a big reaction? Scatter that food babe

New people coming over? Throw food on floor

Begging for your food? Throw their food on floor away from you (bonus points if you scatter it in a pen/different room so they start building the habit of going there instead)

Need to distract them from something? Food. On. Floor.

[mercygetbackhere]

Scatter Feeding is so slept on

Its all about watch the trigger and making your own good decision, I'm not going to help you. While I personally almost never use scatter feeding, because we had a non-food inhaled during a session and a vet bill. If you use scatter feeding, please make sure in in an area where the dog can only eat the food and not a mystery object.

I used it once, when I wanted Mercy to not focus on the dog passing us, slowly getting closer and closer. Once she was done with searching, she chose to remain completely neutral even while the dog passed by, straining at the end of the leash.

Its ok to distract you dog and use "bribery" occasionally. Not everything has to be a training session.

[pawsitivevibe]

Apparently one of the "cool" new trends among online dog communities is to hate on Ruffland kennels and say people who get them aren't REALLY protecting their dogs. "Oh they're so much worse than -insertoverpricedkennelbrandhere-"

Because you know. You must drop $800-$1500 on a """better""" car kennel or you want your dog to die in a car accident. If you can only afford $200-500 for a Ruffland you might as well just let your dog be loose in the car apparently 🙄

Can we. Can we consider arguing about real issues. And also maybe stop trying to steer people away from properly containing their dogs in the car just because they can't afford whatever hip new brand is deemed ""the best""

Anyway. This is not really a dogblr thing but boy howdy do I keep seeing it elsewhere. Ughhh.

[bam-reactive]

Day immediately goes to shit when american standard k9 pops up on my feed

[bam-reactive]

I upgraded our weights set now that it's starting to get warm enough for some weight training!

I dont do weights in the winter since the injury risk is just too high for me to want to have that extra strain on their muscles when they're already tight from the cold

But we've been starting to hit above freezing temperatures daily which means it's safe for Bella to be doing some higher impact exercises! (Rossi still needs to wait until it's 50°F regularly though since she still gets chilly)

This year instead of the weights being individuals that I attach to their harnesses, I've made a little holster for them to make sure they sit evenly and so that I don't drop them as much when attaching. I also made the velcro a smaller flap so the hook isn't exposed anymore to catch on brush and get stuck on my pockets

[mercygetbackhere]

Uggg I want to get the Icefang G8 because it's tactical and has patch space but also is not super heavy or covers her whole body

I cant find it on amazon anymore. They had a size small that would have fit her but it disapeered. Mercy is a 25 inch girth. I hate having a small dog where all the good gear seems to be designed for larger dogs ahhh

[bam-reactive]

Just be warned that the G8 is actually quite heavy and stiff and I'd really only say that it's a good fit for a barrel-chested dog

It's also NOT at all escape proof so not for a dog that slips harnesses (like Rossi which is why it quickly became Bella's)

[talesfromtreatment]

My immediate thought:

[bam-reactive]

[maisietheyellowlab]

Does anyone have any good resources on dog-dog resource guarding in multi-dog households?

I'm looking for force free resources of any kind, so videos, podcasts, books, blogs, whatever, as long as it's sensible and useful. Please, and thank you!!!

Navi has always been a typical little herding dog who takes it upon herself to "enforce rules" and it was usually not problematic at all, it was moreso a quirk. However, she's tried to guard her bowl and a cardboard box (love that for her) in front of Maisie and a friend's dog in the past month. I'm pretty convinced this is linked to her being in heat, since it's been a tough one for her, but I think we'd benefit from working on this regardless. Don't want it to escalate and create conflict with other dogs and I also don't want her to feel unsafe with her food etc. I already do a lot of things to manage it, and I know how to work on resource guarding between dogs and people, but I honestly don't have that many resources on dog-dog resource guarding and how to effectively manage or solve it.

[mercygetbackhere]

Ok so my dog is a resource guarder and reactive. I personally do not train to change her resource guarding habits. I would rather work on her people reactivity in public and I don't have the energy or knowledge to do both. Somethings that I do to prevent dog resource guarding against our other dog is. Keep Mercy, the resource guarder, muzzled when we are out of the house for a short period of time (like two minutes or less) and crate her for longer periods if nobody is there to watch her. (if we drive the car away somewhere and its def gonna be over ten minutes). If she goes up to Noca (the victim) and tries to steal a toy, she goes in the crate. So for us anytime Mercy is in a situation where she has the change to resource guard she goes in the crate.

The crate is not a method of "punishment" or to "correrct" her behavior. We use it simply as a management method to prevent anything from happening in the first place. Mercy does not see her crate at punishment, she loves her crate and spends a lot of her free down time in it on her own accord.

However if your looking for management and training on resource guarding in a mutidog household I reccomand this Dogwise book. I will admit that I have not read this book, but it is positive reinforcement based, and I trust anything by Dogwise. They get all their books from professional trainers who are certified.

[red-k9-shop]

Harness design is complete!

Once I have nylon webbing restocked I'll start with a couple premades (I found some amazing colors and patterns that I can't wait to work with) and then open up customs and full sets! (Harness, leash, and collar)

Features:

5 point tri-glide adjustment (neck, girth, and chest)

Removable belly pad and chest protector

Quick release girth (can also upgrade to have quick release neck)

As much shoulder room as possible to allow free, natural movement (by keeping all back padding light and restricted to the width of the strap, it allows for as much natural movement of the scapula as possible)

Removable pads are lightweight and flexible, but provide enough extra structure and grip to keep harness securely in place (because I KNOW yall are sick of them fuckers slipping and sliding all willy-nilly)

Chest O-ring is front clip compatible for training if desired but also kept flat to the dog's chest to prevent it from catching on brush

D-ring/main leash attachment point is placed behind the girth to evenly distribute pressure and to prevent uncomfortable pressure points and uneven wear that occurs if the attachment point is between the girth and neck

O-ring at the top of the neck was a long mental debate in trading off between allowing one design to fit a wider range of dog shapes (having the ring) vs cutting down top weight and preventing discomfort if the harness is fitted too loose (sewing the straps) but in the end the o-ring won out to allow the design to fit both deep-chested and barrel-chested dogs and to allow for an additional leash attachment point or for a place to attach tags

[mercygetbackhere]

OMG ur getting so good

the quality has gone up omg its amazing

[red-k9-shop]

Thanks!

My testers that I've done typically do not look pretty but since this it the template I made sure to actually color match the thread and padding

[mercygetbackhere]

Why do the Ruffwear colors keep getting worse?

I have owned Ruffwear in the past and loved it so much. I stuck with grey at the time but now I'm looking into getting some harnesses and they keep "upgrading" them, but the colors getting uglier and uglier.

Why is lichen green even a option, I don't know who in there right mind would pick that color

[bam-reactive]

Muzzle positivity accounts hate to see me putting a muzzle on my dog specifically to keep people away from me when I don't feel like talking

[mercygetbackhere]

This is so real