Dog Behaviour

Food guarding in dogs

Food guarding in dogs is a big problem. At best you’ll be on alert much of the time, and at worst it can be dangerous to you, and your dog. But where does it come from, and how can you…

Using Predictors to Reduce your Dogs Anxiety

Dogs are very good at noticing behaviour sequences. Once they spot one, all the steps in that sequence will become predictors of the trigger. If you can figure out the sequence, or create your own, you can often use these…

Is there such a thing as a dominant dog?

a white husky type dog on a snowy forest background. the dog is preparing to howl

The short answer is yes, there are dominant dog, but also no! Yes, because the word dominant actually refers to a role within a relationship. But, no, because I suspect the reason for asking is because the word dominant has…

Why Dogs Guard

black and white collie dog standing against a wall barking. photo is black and white

There are lots of reason why dogs guard, but they all boil down to the fact that the dog believes something they value highly is at risk of being taken away from them. Whether it’s their favourite person, their security,…

Reward Prediction Error in Dogs

Last week I told you how dogs learn new behaviours, but that’s not the end of the story. This week we’ll find out about reward prediction errors in dogs and how dogs can quickly unlearn those new tricks and behaviours!

How dogs learn new behaviours

Ever wondered how your pup learns new (good or bad) behaviours? How can he be great for one person and not another? Why is timing so important? And how it is that you can spend ages teaching him a recall…

Can dogs experience loneliness?

Dogs are sociable creatures, just like us. So it stands to reason that a dog might experience loneliness, just like we do. But what does that mean and how might it look?

What is your Dogs Personality Type

Just like people; dogs have different personality types. The type of personality your dog has will determine the types of traits and behaviours you might expect from them. I have identified six main ones, which one is yours?

Canine Trauma Rehabilitation

Canine trauma rehabilitation is not quite so straight forward as just desensitising a dog to a trigger. Experiencing trauma (PTSD) will affect the dogs overall mental health. It puts a dogs brain into a higher state of alert making them…

Top Common Dog Training Mistakes

Here’s my top common dog training mistakes. I see these loads, so don’t feel bad if you are doing any. But, now you know, you can avoid them in the future!