Blog — Canine Body Language

  When you listen to your dog, your dog listens to you... But what does this actually mean? Your dog is like an outer manifestation of your nervous system. When you listen to your nervous system and practice good habits of self-care and self-regulation, your nervous system receives cues of safety. When you listen to your dog and respond to their need for connection and co-regulation, your dog receives cues of safety. Cues of safety calm the dog just like they calm your nervous system. Now we have a positive feedback loop. You are calm, your dog is calm, and...

We have a series of online classes coming up, which will be held on Zoom as a regular calls. So these webinars are interactive and we will leave time for questions! If you miss the live class, the recording will be made afterwards so you can join either way. To get all your questions answered, join our online community: Natural Dog Network. The schedule:   June 28th at 6pm Eastern: Canine Body Language     June 29th at 7pm Eastern: Calm Dog Happy Dog     July 6th at 6pm: Working with Shy Dogs

  Understanding Canine Body Language You can talk to your dog all day long, but do you also know how to listen? This lecture will give you some insight into your dog's only language: Body Language! In this lecture, we will introduce the basic concepts of canine body language, how dogs play with each other, and the best practices for introducing your dog to people and other dogs. The class will end with a Q&A. Please note: This class is for humans only. Doggies stay home! Where: The Chattery, 1800 Rossville Road, Chattanooga When: June 19th at 6:00 pm Registration:...

The Problem: Your dog is talking smack at my dog, my dog reacts, your dog gets even more amped up, the neighbor's dog notices and starts barking. Now we have two lunging/barking dogs and a whole neighborhood bark party going on. But WHY must it be like this? Things We Must Understand: 1. Dog's read body language from far away! Before getting anywhere close, they have assessed the posture, tone, tenseness, quality of movement, and intention of another dog (or person). This happens in an instant! 2. Your dog is better at reading body language than you are. Dog's are...

In my last blog post, Dominance Debunked, I explained how physical force and emotional intimidation can make a dog fearful and even aggressive. The thing is, with a lot of these methods, including alpha-style "pack leadership" and even e-collar training, you can produce a dog who appears obedient and calm. But the underlying state of many of these dogs is actually a freeze-response. These dogs are fear-compliant. They obey out of a sense of self-preservation because their nervous systems are overwhelmed with fight/flight/freeze signals. This is why a dog may "snap" out of nowhere, because they are moving from the...