A flower slowly blooming

Last Saturday I had another session with Bronson the rescued staffie.

If you did not see previous posts about Bronson, here is a short intro.

Bronson had a dark beginning and due to that, he is very unsure of other dogs and sometimes people as well.

He is a very quiet dog overall, walking slowly and with a low head. He will lunge and growl at other dogs from a certain distance and might feel intimidated by strange people if these do not respect his space.

Although, in our last session on Saturday, we saw a different Bronson.

We started by practising some lead handling skills and then moved to simple exercises to build a connection between Bronson and his dad and also to increase Bronson’s activity when outdoor.

During our session, Bronson searched for food, played tug, initiated play, walked freely and happy and even wagged his tail several times during interactions with myself.

It was beautiful to watch, just like a flower slowly blooming.

A previous trainer advised that Bronson needed to be corrected with a sharp “No” when he reacted. That is obviously unprofessional.

Using such methods is wrong, but especially with Dogs like Bronson, it is wrong and very unethical.

Bronson is obviously depressed and unsure of the world when out of his safe den (his family house) and what he needs is to develop a more positive perspective of life, grow his confidence, become more stable, trust humans and dogs and be able to control the environment in a more positive way.

That can only be done with loads of positive experiences which will help him grow into a stable adult dog.

Bronson is a very young dog, and he deserves a better future.

Thank you,

Dog Behaviourist Ricardo Ministro

http://www.connectedbehaviour.co.uk

http://www.facebook.com/connectedbehaviour

http://www.instagram.com/connectedbehaviour

#ricardoministro #dogbehaviour #dogtraining #connectedbehaviour #TreatAggressionwithLove
@ Edinburgh, United Kingdom

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Aggressive and Reactive Behaviour is not wrong.

Dogs show aggressive and reactive behaviours to achieve an outcome.

The majority of the cases that outcome is Safety.

They want to protect themselves and feel safe, and for that reason, they show certain behaviours which can be problematic for us.

Although, these behaviours are not wrong…

Watch the video below to know more.

Let me know your thoughts and experiences in the comments’ section.

Thank you,

Dog Behaviourist Ricardo Ministro

www.connectedbehaviour.co.uk

www.facebook.com/connectedbehaviour

www.instagram.com/connectedbehaviour

Rusty, Aggressive Behaviour around Food

Short clip of yesterday’s session with Rusty.
 
Rusty has been showing aggressive behaviours towards his family when around his food.
 
Aggressive behaviours around food or other items appear when the Dog believes that he will lose the resource and needs to protect it from others.
 
The worst thing we can do in these cases is to punish such behaviours.
 
This will only create more stress, fear, and damage the relationship between the dog and his family, and will not solve the problem.
 
What we need to do is to develop more Trust, so that the dog does not feel threatened when others are around his resources.
 
In this clip, you can watch Rusty and his mom implementing a simple exercise which will impact Rusty’s behaviour for the better.
 
Please, be aware that this is just one of the several exercises we will be doing throughout the process and is not enough to solve your dog’s aggressive behaviour around food.
 
If your dog is showing aggressive behaviour, please get in touch with me.
 
I can help.
 
Thank you,
 

Dog Behaviourist Ricardo Ministro

Should we say “No” to Dogs?

– Should we say “No” to Dogs?
 
– Is “No” a behaviour modification tool?
 
– Are we teaching Dogs by saying “No”?
 
– Is “No” providing enough information to Dogs?
 
In the video below you can get the answer to all these questions and more.
 
Let me know your thoughts and experiences on this.
 
Thank you,
 
Dog Behaviourist Ricardo Ministro
 
 
 

Step by Step, Working with Bronson the Staffie

Yesterday I had another session with Bronson.

Bronson is a rescued Staffie who sees unknown dogs and some humans very dangerous and will try to defend himself if needed.

To provide the best learning environment for Bronson and his mom we are working in a secured field at this stage so that both can relax and focus on the task in hand.

We humans also adapt our behaviour to our experiences, just like dogs. And is not uncommon to hear the stories of my clients becoming nervous and stressed as soon as they step a foot out of their door, see another dog at 200m away or runner in the same path as them, expecting their dog to react aggressively to those (possible) triggers and maybe even create damage to some other being.

This is fully understandable and I have full compassion for those who experience such situations and emotions.

Although, remaining in this cycle is only going to further damage the dog, and the human, and also their relationship.

Instead, we should break the cycle. We must control the environment so that we can control our learning experience, and the dog’s learning experience, and also the experience the dog has with us in “those” events.

Nothing changes if all is done in the same way. No matter what it is.

And is also worth to mention, change must be done step by step, for both the Human and the Dog.

That is exactly what we did in our session, that is exactly what we tried to provide for Bronson.

Step by Step, at his own pace.

Thank you,

Dog Behaviourist Ricardo Ministro