Hybrid Canine Podcast: Recent Episodes
Matt Hubble
Welcome to the Hybrid Canine Podcast, where we discuss how to achieve success with your dog (and in life) through training and mindset. Our goal is to help you create a bond with your dog that is built on trust and mutual respect, so that you can enjoy a lifelong friendship.
We'll be discussing everything from obedience training to behavioral issues, and we'll offer tips and advice on how to get the most out of your dog. Whether you're a first-time dog owner or a seasoned pro, we hope you'll find something helpful in our discussions. Thanks for tuning in!
In this episode Matt answers questions from Instagram (@hybrid.canine) and discusses how to stop your dog from poop eating, goes over the 4 quadrants of operant conditioning, and more!
In this episode, we discuss how to overcome self-limiting beliefs that are preventing you and your dog from making the progress you want and desire.
On this episode of the Hybrid Canine Podcast, we answered questions from our live audience on TikTok about dominant dogs, dogs growling at infants, and how to pick the right breed.
In this episode of the Hybrid Canine Podcast, I answer questions on Instagram live. I discuss the importance of crate training as a life skill for dogs, how I got started in dog training, how to practice recall, and more.
In this episode, I dissect some of the reasons why "balanced trainers" use the tools they do.
Every pressurized system needs a relief valve. There has to be a way to find relief, because if the pressure doesn’t find a way out...it will explode.
Ok, no lie but I got that from Grey’s Anatomy, Season 7 Episode 8🤣 . But it served as really great inspiration! . She was referencing about humans and how we are similar to a pressurized system and without finding outlets to relieve pressure, we explode in unpredictable ways (anger, anxiety, depression, irritability, addiction, etc) . Couldn’t that also be said for our dogs? . Our dogs living in a human world must be incredibly stressful.
So many of them have a huge lack of clarity, constant confusion, unmet needs and no relief valve.
In this instance: biological fulfillment.
When we are stressed and anxious, we turn to things that fulfill us, make us feel whole and happy.
Painting, hiking, reading, drawing, swimming, running, sleeping, eating, hanging with friends, video gaming, etc.
It’s how we blow off steam.
What fulfillment does your dog have that fills a biological part of them?
Without fulfillment of things like say nose work, bite work, flirt pole, spring pole, running, mental stimulation and so on, our dogs can have those outburst of behaviors we don’t want them to have.
Especially dogs that have behavioral problems like reactivity, it’s extremely stressful living in that mental headspace and being able to offset that stress through biological fulfillment can drastically help them decompress and blow off steam. What do YOU as the human-like to do to blow off steam? . What do you do for your DOG to help them blow off steam?
Something I personally struggle with when it comes to dog training😞 and it may be impacting you too.
Extreme empathy.
I’m a highly empathic person.
It’s served me well through my life and has acted as a survival mechanism during my childhood, but as an adult it can cause more harm than good for me emotionally at times.
As a dog trainer I am manipulating, teaching and un-teaching behavior.
Dogs come to me for a reason.
By the time a dog comes to me, their behavior has reached a precipice of pain for the owner.
They can no longer handle the hyperactivity, jumping, barking, destructiveness, leash pulling, biting, reactivity, anxiety and more.
The dog is then placed at my feet and I must teach the dog that certain behaviors are not allowed anymore. I must teach an animal that is a different species, with different learning processes, different needs and desires of what I want them to do instead.
That’s not always easy.
Guys, the dog training process is sloppy, ugly and stressful sometimes. For all parties involved.
Anyone who tells you “dog training should ALWAYS be fun” is a liar.
Yeah, obviously, that’s the goal, for it to be as fun as possible at all times. But to say “always” is aggressively incorrect.
That dogs anxiety rubs off on me. That dogs hyperactivity where the gears in their head is turning a million miles per hour and they are so out of control they can barely function correctly, rubs off on me. The reactivity or aggressive responses to stimuli rub off on me. And when I go in to change behavior and the pushback you sometimes get and having to remedy that, rubs off on me.
At the end of some days I’m torched. I’ve absorbed so much emotion from these dogs.
So, instead I’ve tried to be less empathetic and more sympathetic.
Empathy is taking in and feeling the emotions from another being.
Sympathy is understanding the emotions from another being but not taking them on as your own.
I’m not saying DONT have empathy, but if you are struggling with training your dog because you “feel bad” during certain necessary parts it may be because you have too much empathy and not enough sympathy.
Do you struggle with taking on your dogs emotions?
One of the reasons “WHY” your dog does what they do.
What does nail picking, pacing, foot tapping, leg jiggling, exercising, stalking, gambling, etc all have in common? . The answer: they are self reinforcing.
Meaning: you can control your own behavior and the behavior in and of itself is rewarding.
Nail picking is your own choice in behavior, and simply doing the behavior of nail picking is rewarding.
Pacing is your own choice in behavior, and simply doing the behavior of pacing is rewarding.
Must I go on? . Ok, so let’s talk dogs now that we understand self reinforcing behaviors.
Your dog participates in things like: jumping, barking, zoomies, squirrel chasing, sniffing, whining, etc because simply the act of doing those behaviors are rewarding to the dog.
What does this mean? . This means that if you do nothing, the behavior is going to continue...and over time become stronger and stronger because it is always rewarding to them.
So, in order to change these behaviors, you must either: . Look at why the dog is doing those behaviors and redirect the dog into a different behavior (i.e. teaching incompatible behaviors) . Remove the dog from the situation completely so they can not self reinforce (i.e. Negative Punishment) . Or, apply a correction so the dog learns that the behavior is not desirable and will choose not to do that behavior less frequently in the future (i.e. Positive Punishment) . Perhaps even a combination of all of those things! . But, without doing one of those things, the behavior is going to continue. And since it is self reinforcing, that means that you must be consistent in always interrupting or stopping that behavior until the dog no longer does it or else the dog will find reward in doing it and will continue to do it.
What self reinforcing behaviors have you had to work on with your dog?
One of the TOP pieces of advice I now give to people.
Over the course of my dog training, owning and handling career, there have been (or are currently) a lot of things I’m passionate about.
Crate training your dog Boundaries in the home Structure for your dog Accountability and consequences for behavior
On and on.
But most recently to add to the list is this: . TEACH YOUR DOG HOW TO HANDLE FRUSTRATION
Teach your dog how to handle the frustration of being contained. At some point in your dog’s life, they are going to be put in a box. And if your dog doesn’t have that frustration tolerance, it’s going to be unpleasant for everyone.
Teach your dog how to handle the frustration of being restrained...like physically. Your vet appointments wouldn’t be as traumatic if you teach your dog how to handle physical restraint. Clipping your dogs nails or giving them a bath would be much easier if you teach your dog to be ok with physical restraint.
Teach your dog the frustration of wanting to get to something and not being able to. That dog over there? Yeah, you can’t have that. The squirrel that is about to run across three lanes of oncoming traffic? Yeah, you can’t have that. That food on the counter? The pill that dropped on the floor? Yeah, you can’t have those.
Teach your dog to handle frustration of being away from you. Separation anxiety would be less common if more dogs were simply taught to be ok being alone on the other side of a door. To be ok being away from you at all.
I could literally go on and on and on about this topic but I’m running out of characters😂 . So, if there is anything at all, you can take away from this account-PLEASE- learn to teach your dog how to handle being frustrated.
Have you taught your dog how to be alright with frustration?
Too many choices are scary. Not enough information to make those choices are even worse.
Who here has overthought a new relationship?🙋🏻♀️ . Maybe one day something feels off, you read a message that makes you think something is wrong and you get it into your head that they’re going to break up with you.
You have all of this anxiety and panic because you don’t know if it’s true or not. You also don’t have enough information to make choices.
Do you break up with them first? Do you confront them about it and get it over with? Do you avoid them as much as possible? . And then it happens. They break up with you. And yeah, it’s sad but at the same time you feel...RELIEF.
All of anxiety and panic is raised off of you and you can finally have clarity moving forward.
I really think for our dogs they have a lot of unwanted behaviors because they’re uncertain about what’s happening in their life. They don’t have enough information to make good decisions.
Having a lack of clarity creates a ton of grey.
This happens from a lack of corrections. A lack of rewards. A lack of communication. A lack of structure. A lack of boundaries. A lack of clear expectations.
Take that anxiety and panic off of your dogs shoulders. Take time to dedicate teaching what’s expected of them through corrections and reward. Have solid structure and boundaries so the dog ALWAYS knows what’s going to happen in their life.
Have you ever been in a situation where you weren’t sure what the outcome was going to be and you felt like you couldn’t make decisions because you didn’t have enough info? (Ex: at my old job there were rumors of mass layoffs and I was so stressed trying to decide if I should just leave the job or wait to see if I’ll be let go or kept on - stressful stuff for sure)
Honestly, there would be significantly less poorly behaved dogs in the world if people treated their dogs like toddlers. “Whaaa? Omg is this trainer saying to anthropomorphize dogs?!”
No. Dogs and humans are different. The mental and emotional capacity that dogs have is extremely different than a human. The way they communicate, process information and biological needs are different.
I’m saying that the principles and fundamentals of rearing a child are extremely similar to proper owning and caretaking of a dog.
Some of you may read this and go, “oh yeah, well my dog is my baby so I’m doing that.”
Again, not what I’m saying.
Raising a dog isn’t like having a baby, it’s like having a toddler.
A baby is helpless and does not have high enough cognitive functioning for choices or self caretaking. A toddler has decision making power, capacity to understand consequences and make choices.
A toddler requires supervision. You wouldn’t allow a toddler with a handful of permanent markers to freely run around the house and then be SHOCKED when they draw all over the walls.
A toddler requires structure. When it’s time to eat, take a nap, go to bed, brush teeth, take a bath.
A toddler requires boundaries. They don’t have unlimited free access to go out the front door whenever they please, to go into all rooms of the house and rummage through closets and drawers. They start to move to their own bed and their own room because the relationship dynamic changes.
A toddler starts to understand that certain actions have consequences and as a parent we hold them accountable for actions.
So the problem wasn’t that you should parent your dog, the problem was that you chose the wrong age for your dog to be when you started to parent.
Choose the toddler age. Not a baby.
(Again. Not anthropomorphizing. I want you to take away the fundamentals and the principles and similarities between the two)
Hard truth: protection dogs are built. Your dog being “protective” of you is unhealthy.
It can be quite a sinkhole of explaining this concept during a phone consultation.
Frequently, I’ll take a phone call or a virtual training session of someone explaining behaviors from their dog, that at first glance, look protective of their owner.
They go on to explain how they like certain behaviors, saying things along the lines of “if someone breaks in he’ll protect us.” . But then continue to say that they want to get his growling, lunging and barking under control or eliminated on a walk.
Unless your dog is a professionally trained protection dog, your dog should never be showing protective behaviors.
Those behaviors are rooted in fear, insecurity and anxiety. The behavior is because of an upside down relationship where the dog is more concerned about their own wellbeing and possession over you than your own wellbeing. The dog is also showing you that they have no trust in your leadership and relationship for you to handle potential problems and threats.
Is it possible for a dog to be accurately protective at certain times? Sure. But those dogs are RARE.
So, please realize, if you don’t want a lunging, growling, snapping dog when you’re out on walks, sitting down at restaurants, or having people over...you also do not want a dog that displays “protective” behavior of you either.
We are the caretakers, guardians, parents of our dogs. It is not their job, duty or obligation to protect us.
We protect them.
PILLAR 5 CHALLENGE: Contest Rules & Prize Info Below
If you’ve followed along on my account, you should be very familiar with my “5 Pillars of Dog Training” and know that the last and fifth pillar is Relationship+Leadership.
So, we are launching this challenge to encourage our community build a stronger relationship and become a better leader for your dog(s) over the next 30 days.
We designed the rules of the challenge to be simple, but not necessarily easy. You see, it’s all too common for us as dog owners to let training become an after thought (even if our intentions are otherwise). The point of this challenge is to develop a new set of habits and accountability so that daily training with your dog can be intentional and routine.
Anyone can participate in this challenge no matter your or your dogs experience level.
Use the hashtag #pillar5 and tag us @canine_performance so we can keep along with your progress. Here are the contest rules: . •Hand-feed your dog 1x per day •Go on 2 structured walks •Take a picture or video of you working with your dog every day •Post the graphic + accountability pic/vid every day to your story and mark that you have completed the daily tasks with an emoji for each consecutive day •Tag us when you post to your story
PRIZE: We’ll be choosing ONE winner who completes the Pillar 5 Challenge and adhered to all of the rules to win: . -Mini Educator from Ecollar Technologies -Herm Sprenger Prong Collar -Elevated Dog Bed
Of course feel free to go above and beyond! These are just the minimal requirements. Teach your dog new tricks/behaviors. Implement new tools into your tool box. The options are limitless!
We’ll post the graphic to our story and save it to a highlight. CHALLENGE STARTS MONDAY 3/23 WINNERS ANNOUNCED ENDS WEDNESDAY 4/24
Erick Innis is the founder of Coastline K9 and Rescue 22 Foundation based in Naples, FL. After an extensive special forces military career handling and training K9's for various military contracts, Erick found a training niche that was perfectly suited for him Personal Protection K9's.
We're ecstatic to have Matt Fiala as a part of the Canine Performance Team. Expect to see and learn a lot from Matt in the coming months!
You have to be strongly committed to your goals, more than your dog is committed to their goals.
Obviously, we want to be on the same page and working towards the same goal with our dogs as often as possible.
But that isn’t always going to happen.
You’re going to have friction at some point. You’re going to have pushback. You’re going to have conflict.
My goal as a trainer is to minimize how much conflict we have with dogs during training.
You can minimize a lot of conflict during training in a multitude of ways, but the #1 tip I have to give to you is to be more persistent than your dog and make the alternative worth their time.
Your dog is continually looking for opportunities to better their situation.
Opportunities to sniff during a walk. Opportunities to go and check something out instead of recalling back to you. Opportunities to pull ahead on a structured walk. Opportunities to barge out the door, jump on the counter, get on the couch, etc.
These opportunities your dog finds success in gains them a step closer to their goals and further reinforces whatever they were trying to accomplish. It brings you one step backward in YOUR training goals.
Often I’ll see owners trying to bring their dog back into heel position or stop sniffing during a walk, and after a while of the dog consistently pulling ahead or sniffing, the owner goes “whatever” and checks out.
If you want to progress in your training, you NEED to be clear on what it is you want and then stick to it. Be committed. Make the alternative to whatever behavior your dog would rather do be worth their time.
Do you want a heel position? Don’t let your dog ever find success in pulling ahead. Don’t want your dog to sniff all the time distractedly? Don’t let them sniff. Don’t want your dog to jump on guests? Barge out the door? Get on the couch? Just simply never let them find success in those behaviors.
Be more committed than your dog is.
Crates are IMPORTANT!!! . I will fight anyone on this.
Ok, not actually, raise your dog however you want it’s not my dog.
But color me livid if I hear a story about how a dog destroys items in the house, barks at people constantly from the window and someone’s priority in the dogs life is to “get the dog out of the cage and free-roam” . There is zero benefit to free roaming.
Zero.
Can some dogs do it? Yeah for sure.
But just because a dog CAN do it doesn’t mean they SHOULD.
The likelihood of your dog getting into toxic substances while you’re gone is extremely high.
The chances of them destroying something out of anxiety or boredom is also quite high.
You know what dogs typically do when they destroy things? They usually eat them as well. The amount of dogs I’ve trained where owners have said they had to spend thousands of dollars in vet care for exploratory surgery for a bowel obstruction is high.
Your dog could also practice ALLLL of those behaviors you dislike. Counter surfing. Trash diving. Barking at strangers out the window. Pooping in the house.
And at the end of it all, if your dog isn’t doing those things...aren’t they just going to be sleeping? So why not have them sleep in a crate.
A crate where they are safe from ingesting chemicals.
Safe from chewing and eating objects.
Safe from practicing unwanted behaviors.
They can have proper rest (dogs need adequate deep sleep just like we do) . They have a place that provides structure and boundaries.
And finally dogs are DEN ANIMALS, they enjoy small, safe areas they can feel protected inside of.
As long as you are giving your dog proper exercise and mental stimulation, your dog should be perfectly fine being in a crate while you’re at work.
TL;DR: crate your dog.
Reward more so you have less to correct.
During a phone consult yesterday, one of the things I said was: . “I say “good” and “bad” choices -quote in quote- because the dog doesn’t see what he’s doing as bad. To him, all choices he makes are good because he’s doing exactly what he wants to do. It’s “bad” to us because WE deem it “bad.” But he is not a human and doesn’t inherently understand OUR “good” and “bad,” we need to teach him both.” . The key word being BOTH.
We need to teach what’s both “good” and “bad.” . However, we tend to focus a lot on what the dog is doing poorly. -Barking -Can’t calm down -Jumping -Destructive chewing
But....what if....we paid more attention to the things the dog did right and rewarded that more frequently? . Don’t you think the dog would be more likely to choose that behavior more often in the future because we’ve shown him we like that behavior, and we’re clear about it? . Rewarding when your dog chooses to lay down and relax instead of pacing.
Rewarding when they choose to go to their crate on their own.
Rewarding when they choose not to bark in a situation you thought they would typically be triggered in.
Rewarding when they make eye contact with you during a walk.
Rewarding all of the moments of good behavior can lend a lot of clarity to your dog's life. When you add clarity, you increase the chances of your dog, making better choices.
Not only will they be more likely to choose better behaviors in the future, but when you do correct behavior, it’ll be clear what’s not allowed because you’ve been clear on what IS allowed.
I mark and reward at the wrong times. I use a marker and grab food at the same time. I mess up my leash handling. I miss opportunities to correct behavior.
Rookie mistakes.
Yup. I do it occasionally. And I bet many other trainers do as well from time to time. I bet you do too.
Every time I rewatch videos of myself, I can pick out like fifteen different things I did wrong or could have done better. It’s hard to put out content honestly because I want so badly for everything to be perfect.
And each time people comment, “oh, this helped a lot!” Or “great video!” I sometimes internally cringe. Because I constantly feel like I am not a great trainer. That I’m not good enough to put out content. That I need to be perfect, and then I’ll be qualified enough to share knowledge.
A portion of this is that the more I learn, the more I learn I know nothing.
I know a drop of knowledge in a bottomless bucket.
But I do it and show my work anyway because maybe someone can give me feedback. I put out all of the knowledge I know anyway because maybe it can help someone. I work every day to get better, practice, and learn more. Mistakes and all.
There is nothing you do more of that you get worse at.
So I keep working on the things I know and improve on the things I don’t know as well. I keep cognizant of the fact I don’t know everything and their are WAY better trainers out there than I.
The point is that you’re going to make mistakes all the time. Rookie ones too. And you’re going to beat yourself up about it, but you just try to keep it in mind going into the next session to do better. And just because you don’t know everything doesn’t mean that you can’t share what you do know.
Off-leash dogs and on-leash greetings.
On Facebook today, in a dog mom group, a woman posted an emotional post about how she feels targetted that other dog owners won't let her pit mix come and say hi when they're out walking.
Another woman posted a link to a news story of how a dog was mauled to death (screenshots on the last picture. WARNING: GRAPHIC) and explained that she would rather be safe than sorry, so she does not allow any dogs on-leash or off-leash to approach hers.
I chimed in to offer her comfort that it’s most likely not because of the breed of her dog, but rather that many other dogs are reactive/aggressive on leash. You never know how another dog will respond even if they've never shown signs of aggression.
It was one of the rare times on Facebook that someone lamented and confessed she could see where they were coming from. She had never seen or been around aggressive dogs before, as this was her first dog, and had never thought about this happening.
Some other individuals asked for advice on what to do, to prevent something like this happening to them.
Here's what I said . Off-leash dogs: it's your responsibility and duty to protect your dog to the best of your capability. If another dog rushes you, you have to do EVERYTHING possible to keep that dog away from yours.
If that means using your feet to create space, telling the dog owner to leash their dog, telling them you'll call the authorities, carrying pet corrector, pepper spray, an umbrella or a baton...do it.
From the accounts of this story, the dog that was killed was the off-leash dog, the dog that killed the other one was on leash and had to fend for himself. The owners couldn't get him off before he successfully killed the other dog.
Don't let this become your story. Maybe it may seem ”dramatic” to some people until it happens to you.
On-leash greetings: . Just say ”no” or ”no, thank you” ”were in training so we can not” or just walk away.
If you go to group classes or are at pet-friendly places, keep your dogs more than 10+ft away from other dogs.
Ok, so you did the thing.
You established boundaries, rules, and structure in the home.
You’ve been consistent in training.
Your dog's behavior has significantly increased, and all is well.🥳
Except for the fact that you kind of miss having your dog up on the couch with you.
You miss having them sleep in the bed and snuggle.
You are kind of tired of continually having them on their dog bed or in their crate.
So what can you do?
I tell my clients this all the time. My goal for my dogs is for them to live their lives seamlessly around mine. I want them to make good choices, understand certain behaviors have consequences, and in general, live a great life with them without always feeling like I need to watch over them.
So I tell my clients that they are ultimately in charge of their dogs life. You’re the one who decides the behaviors you like or don’t like and change the dog's behavior accordingly.
If you see excellent behavior from your dog consistently over some time, start to allow more freedom.
Then monitor what happens.
Did allowing your dog back up onto the couch start to affect your relationship?
No?
Ok, great! Now add in being allowed back up onto the bed.
When you added that, did you see any problem behaviors pop up again?
The great thing about your dog's behavior is that you can increase or decrease all variables.
Once you have established a baseline, you’ll always know how to get back to it.
However, it’s much harder to pinpoint when problem behaviors arise if you’ve implemented boundaries, rules, and structure in the first place.
Your dog’s breed is not an excuse🗣 . “Huskies can't be off-leash.” . “Chihuahuas are just yappy” . “Labs are always going to be overexcited around people and will never be calm.” . “Bulldogs can’t be trained because they’re lazy.” — Well, you better tell my husky she’s doing the off-leash thing wrong.
Or the Frenchies and the bulldogs I’ve trained.
Heck, that lab that learned how to be calm and polite around people better figure his stuff out
Sure, breeds have stereotypes around them and for a reason. But just like the stereotypes above, it doesn’t mean you use it as a crutch not to improve your dog’s behavior.
I see comments of owners almost saying these things as a badge of honor, that they have a particular breed of dog and so they can’t do XYZ.
Just because you have a Malinois doesn’t mean you have to have a hyperactive, destructive velociraptor that destroys your life and home.
If you have a Pug, Frenchie, or Bulldog, it doesn’t mean you can’t train it, just because they enjoy having a nice snooze and cuddle most of the time.
Or a husky that will always run away dig holes in your yard and be vocal all of the time.
All dogs deserve training, and all dogs can benefit from it.
The moment you brush off your dog's behavior because of the breed and stop pursuing growth is the moment you began doing a massive disservice to your dog.
Don’t use your dog’s breed as a crutch.
Don’t stop trying to live a better, happier, fulfilled and balanced life with your dog because of a stereotype and behaviors your dog participates in that fit the stereotype.
Do better. Be better.
Embarrassment. Guilt. Frustration.
Owning a dog surprisingly came with a lot of those emotions. When I first experienced them, I wasn't sure how to handle it.
At first, it was embarrassment over my dog's behavior before they had training.
Then when they were trained it was shame and guilt for the tools I used in training.
Over time it turned into a mixture of guilt for not training enough, then shame when I did train because of the tools I used, embarrassment when people would make comments, then frustration at feeling those emotions at all.
I realized it was because I was tying my worth of being a dog owner to what everyone else thought.
Ultimately, I was doing a huge disservice to my dogs.
Training them isn't about me.
It's about them.
It was my responsibility to provide the best life possible where they can feel fulfilled, safe, secure, and happy.
However, I couldn't do that when I was always second-guessing myself. I couldn't do my best when I was more concerned about the opinions of others.
It was hard.
It still can be.
But what helped the most was education.
Before I even became a dog trainer, I started educating myself. Through that education came confidence in knowing that what I was doing was right and was 100% best for them.
What other people do with their dogs is what's best for them.
I don't give a shit how you train your dog, as long as it works for both of you.
Some truths are harder to accept than others.
In the dog world this is especially true and unfortunately, a very hard blind eye is often turned.
Like most things, I believe this comes down to a lack of knowledge and education.
Because I work inside of the dog training industry, I have more education and knowledge about dogs than the everyday pet owner.
So while some of these things are not shocking to me, they can be shocking to other people that hear them.
So shocking, to the point that some people will vehemently argue against it. Resorting to nasty comments, belittling and public attacks on something they don’t understand. . (i.e. my page is at times a landing ground for ‘force free’ or ‘pure positive’ trainers to make nasty and rude comments during my livestreams or on my posts. Sometimes going so far as attacking some of my followers here on Instagram) . In example, I’ve seen more and more awareness regarding canine obesity. It’s interesting to look at the conversations and comments on posts that bring awareness to this topic.
To those that do not have education on what a “fit and healthy” dog should look like, they feel personally attacked when someone shows a picture of their fit and healthy dog and their dog does not look like that.
Which means to them that their dog is unhealthy, which means it’s a personal attack on them, which then leads to them becoming offended and hurt and saying things like “Your dog isn’t fit and healthy, he’s sick and starved!!” . This lack of education on “hard to swallow pills” in dog training/dog ownership is very obvious to me and other trainers/enthusiasts in the industry.
But we are the minority.
Being a part of this minority usually means we take initiative to educate ourselves. We actively seek education on the things that we don’t understand or trigger us.
If you’re still here reading this long ass post, you are most likely included in this minority🤣 . You’re invested into learning more, asking questions and seeking wisdom.
Setting boundaries are hard or near impossible when we have emotional illusions tied to them.
These illusions are often created from other people’s criticism, comments and opinions. (“You put your dog in a cage” “Spikes on her neck” “Shock her into submission”) . They can also be formed from inaccurate education and knowledge. (“If you punish your dog you destroy your bond”) . Or when we emotionally tie ourselves to dogs in ways that are unhealthy (“My fur baby”) . Sometimes it’s difficult to not see dogs for what they are: dogs.
They aren’t capable of highly complex emotions like humans are (albeit they are wicked smart). It still doesn’t change the fact they can not have complex reasoning skills, complex emotions like hatred or spite or determine what’s right or wrong in relation to our human world.
So when it comes time and is necessary to set boundaries its difficult and near impossible to do, because those items listed above are forgotten.
When human emotions are put onto dogs, this is typically the narrative, “I feel XYZ about this and therefore my dog also feels XYZ about it too” . This is made even worse when dogs fill an emotional void.
They serve place as a “child” which leads to an unhealthy bonding, resulting in improper caretaking where behavioral issues ensue.
Every healthy relationship has boundaries.
Think of any relationship you’ve ever had that didn’t have boundaries.
A relationship built off of only love and affection leaves no room for growth.
It’s an aspect. But it is not it’s entirety.
I encourage you to take a deeper look into why you may feel resistance towards setting boundaries with your dog. If your emotions and feelings are a part of your decision, to the point you’re overlooking your dogs needs, it may be time to have a hard conversation with yourself.
►Get Your Dog Trained - http://www.canineperformancecoach.com ►INSTAGRAM @canine_performance
“Energetic” “Can’t calm down” “Hyper” “Zoomies” - Most commonly heard words during a phone eval, virtual lesson or DM message.
What’s a dog owner to do?
Well, obviously, the first step is to make sure that you exercise them to the point of exhaustion.
Doggie daycare needs to happen at least 5x per week while you’re at work.
Dog parks on the weekend so they’re adequately exhausted before you leave to go out with friends.
Several miles of walks if doggie daycare and the dog park don’t address the hyperactive, zoomie fur bullet ricocheting haphazardly off of your furniture.
Too tired for those 3-5+ miles of walking? No problem, an hour-long game of fetch or tug should do the trick.
Then finally, if all else fails, you can always ensure that you or your partner will always pay attention and distract your dog so one of you can clean the house or make food. — Raise your hand if you’re here and you feel like you can’t keep up this type of lifestyle🙋🏻♀️ . I’m here to tell you that your dog ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT REQUIRE all of those things in order to relax. (*disclaimer: each dog is different but unless you have a sport/working dog this is probably not going to be the case. Let’s not go to the comments & argue semantics🙃)
If you have a dog that constantly requires your attention/hours of physical activity before they get hyperactive and mischievous/destructive, it’s not that they need MORE exercise...they need MORE mental stimulation.
I see too many dogs in a constant state of hyper-arousal. The brain constantly unfocused and reeling at 99mph.
The best thing that you can do for this type of dog is to teach them to switch their brain off, relax, learn to decompress &/or harness that brainpower towards more productive things like training.
Physical exercise is good.
Your dog naturally needs adequate physical exercise (the back yard DOESNT COUNT), but doing that much exercise just builds an athlete who needs will continue to increase over time.
Don’t forget about the other half of your dog’s needs in order to drain energy: their mind.
How do you exercise your dog’s mind that exhausts them to create calm?
For me, I use duration climb and free shaping🤓
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You could do everything right...and these 4 things could set you back in training😣
The single most frustrating thing to happen when training your dog is to have events happen outside of your control.
An off-leash dog being able to get around you to your reactive dog you’ve been working on rehabbing for months and a fight breaks out.
Your mother (or family member/guest) coming over and when you ask her to not address the dog when she first comes in, to avoid him getting excited (because you’ve been working really hard on guest greeting and no jumping), totally ignores your wishes and screams “OH HELLO CUTIE!! HOW ARE YOU?!?”
High pitched and allows the dog to jump all over her. To which she replies “oh I don’t mind if he jumps, he just loves me!!”
You’re out working on neutrality to new environments when someone comes up and without warning or asking gets in your dog's face and starts petting them.
These situations are irritating at best and dangerous at worst.
So when this happens what can you do?
Management to the best of your ability is your course of action during the event and proactive measures are the best course of action moving forward.
The off-leash dog you can learn to carry items such as an umbrella, collapsible baton or pet corrector with you.
The family member or guest that constantly refuses to acknowledge your wishes, you need to have an honest conversation with. “Look, I love having you over but if you can’t adhere to the training I’m trying to do with my dog, unfortunately, I can’t have you here in my home anymore.”
The strangers that go to pet your dog, be more vigilant in your environment to intercept them earlier, patches of “DO NOT APPROACH” on your dog and an RBF face that can melt a snowman doesn’t hurt to have as well🤣
However, at the end of the day, these are normal parts of owning and training a dog. We have to troubleshoot in real-time, learn from those moments, ensure our dogs recover and continue to move forward.
►Get Your Dog Trained - http://www.canineperformancecoach.com ►INSTAGRAM @canine_performance
Put your dog away.
Social media can be super inspiring and motivating. You can pick up new techniques, ideas, methods, and tricks.
So much good has come from accounts that share their information to the best of their knowledge and are doing their best to help dog owners. Even if that’s sharing their own journey, dog trainer or not.
However, that being said, how is it not possible to get discouraged at times?
Flashy heads-up heel, flawless “outs”, engagement, toy, and food motivation to die for, beautiful precise obedience or a just dog that has learned to be calm.
It’s so hard to not get frustrated, unmotivated or discouraged when you see that and aspire to have that with your dog.
You get your dog out, you’re ready to work on something new (heck, maybe it’s something you’ve been working on for months), and then...everything goes to sh*t💩
It seems like all of those days, weeks or months of hard work have suddenly disappeared like a desert mirage, nowhere to be seen but feeling like a far off memory.
You drop your food, fumble with your toy, click and reward at the wrong time, your dog is disengaged, no amount of reps can lead you even a SMIDGEN closer to your goals.
And you get mad.
This manifests differently for everyone. Some people get more serious, their heart rate goes up, joy and fun leave, exasperated sighs can be heard every couple of minutes.
For some people, this manifests as drooping shoulders, a lack of enthusiasm, shaky breaths and ultimately leaving the session and dejectedly going off to sit or lay down.
Guys. Don’t force it.
Put your dog away.
Take a breath. Your dog deserves you at your best.
Remember, your dog only does all of this stupid stuff for YOU.
It’s not natural for them to flip into a heel, climb on top of things at command, sit or down for extended periods of time outside of their own accord.
This is all stuff WE’VE MADE UP.
So, getting angry, frustrated and disappointed is alright. That’s ok. It’s in our human nature to do so.
Just make sure you’re not taking it out on your dog!
Dog training isn’t always fun. Sometimes it’s frustrating. Disappointing. Exhausting.
I’ll admit it, I’m an impatient person. I see where I want to go and I want to get there as fast and as quickly as possible.
However, when you’re a teacher, coach, trainer, or whatever else you want to call yourself, you have to break it down into small and easy to understand chucks.
Slowly layering in more and more as progress and understanding happens.
Too many of us want to rush the process with our dogs. We see tools and think “ah yes, this will get me where I want to go!”
And yeah! It for sure will! But there is a time and a place for everything and each additional step should be taken after ensuring understanding and proficiency have been accomplished.
While each dog is going to be different and some tools can be utilized right away, there are some dogs that require more time.
Even then, some dogs may be ready for certain types of training, but their humans are not.
Its important to see where your dog is at and meet them where they are. It’s important to know your own understanding, education and knowledge before moving forward as well.
That’s one of the gigantic problems with ecollars, is that many individuals want to utilize this tool without taking the previous steps beforehand.
Does your dog understand verbal markers?
Do they understand leash pressure?
Do YOU understand how to teach your dog leash pressure?
Do you know how to have proper leash management?
With each new command and behavior did you start from the first step and work your way to the top?
When you see your dog or yourself struggling do you take a step back or do you continue to try and climb to the next step?
One step at a time. One new tool at a time. One new behavior at a time.
Don’t look for the big quick improvement. Look for the small improvements every day, because when that happens it will last. Never underestimate the importance of repetition until automaticity can be achieved.
Have you been rushing the process?
►Get Your Dog Trained - http://www.canineperformancecoach.com ►INSTAGRAM @canine_performance
In this episode, Natalie discusses the importance of equipment quality. Where should you buy dog training equipment from? What are the negative effects of bad products on the market? These questions, and more, answered right here on the Canine Performance Podcast!
►Get Your Dog Trained - http://www.canineperformancecoach.com ►INSTAGRAM @canine_performance
In this episode, Natalie discusses bill #677 in Hawaii which would include the banning of e-collars.
►Get Your Dog Trained - http://www.canineperformancecoach.com ►INSTAGRAM @canine_performance
In this episode of Canine Performance Podcast, Natalie dives into the topic of advocating for your dog in public.
►Get Your Dog Trained - http://www.canineperformancecoach.com ►INSTAGRAM @canine_performance
In this episode, Natalie discusses Reinforcement Schedules and how you can utilize them to turn your dog into a 'Gambler'
In this episode, Natalie discusses the importance of socializing your puppy early on and goes over her puppy socialization checklist.
In this episode, Natalie covers the 3 C's of Control:
1) Control over your dog 2) Control over your dog's environment 3) Control over YOURSELF
visit us on the web at www.canineperformancecoach.com
IG: @canine_performance
In this episode Natalie explains why dog bites drastically increase around the holidays and how to prevent it happening to you or a loved one.
In this episode, Natalie goes over some puppy training tips that can help you start out with a strong foundation when training a new puppy.
In this episode Matt and Natalie discuss the importance of building confidence within your dog, the consequences of not, and how you can start improving this within your dog today!
On this episode, Natalie reflects on our trip to Houston, TX. We also discuss why you should not take your dog to the dog park!
IG: @canine_performance www.canineperformancecoach.com
On this episode, we conclude our mini series, the 5 Pillars of Dog Training by diving into the importance of relationship and leadership as it relates to dog training.
In this episode, Natalie dives into Dog Training Pillar #4, Clear Communication! She explains why this is so fundamentally important, the history of establishing communication with dogs, and answers your questions.
Find Us At: IG @canine_performance www.canineperformance.com
In this episode Natalie & Matt discuss why consistency is often times overlooked, why it's critical to dog training success, and several ways to easily incorporate consistent training into your day-to-day life!
In this episode, Natalie and Matt discuss Motivation as it relates to dog training and answer your questions!
In this episode, Natalie and Matt discuss the importance of timing as it relates to dog training, answer your questions, and talk about the future of the Canine Performance Podcast!