FreeMan FreeDog

09/02/2022

Ever seen someone use a laser pointer to play with their dog? Many owners think it’s funny to watch their dog chase that little red dot of light, and they think it’s a bonus to burn off some of their dog’s energy.

Unfortunately, a game of laser pointer chase can be very frustrating for a dog and can lead to behavioral problems.

The movement of a laser pointer triggers a dog’s prey drive, which means they want to chase it. It’s an unending game with no closure for the dog since they can’t ever catch that beam of light, like they can when chasing a toy or food.

Many dogs continue looking for the light beam after the laser pointer has been put away; this is confusing for your dog because the prey has simply disappeared. This can create obsessive compulsive behaviors like frantically looking around for the light, staring at the last location they saw the light, and becoming reactive to flashes of light (such as your watch face catching the sunlight and reflecting on the wall, or the glare of your tablet screen on the floor). Dogs that exhibit behavioral issues are frustrated, confused, and anxious.

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If your dog loves to chase but you don’t always have the energy to run around with a toy, try a flirt pole. A flirt pole is like a fishing rod; it is comprised of a rigid stick section with a string or rope attached to the end. Commercially made flirt poles are sold by pet supply stores, but horse lunge whips also work well.

You can tie a toy to the end of the rope and drag it around for your dog to chase and tug with once he’s caught it. The advantage of the rigid section is that you can fling the toy around without having to move much yourself. You can even sit in your recliner!

If your dog loves to chase a toy on a flirt pole, then give your dog the ultimate chance to exercise their prey drive at an AKC Coursing Ability Test (CAT)!

This sport involves dogs chasing a “lure” – usually a white trash bag – attached to line set up around a field and controlled by a pulley system that moves the bag around the field. Dogs give chase and have a great time.



For tips, training advice, and to talk directly to a trainer, call the AKC GoodDog! Helpline. You can enroll in the seven-day-a-week training service at www.akcgooddoghelpline.org

https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/lifestyle/laser-pointers-more-frustration-than-fun/

29/08/2021

How do you know the age of dogs

First of all, it will help you very much if you would buy a dog and want to know what you have
The number of teeth at the dog is 42 divided into
Three pairs of incisors in each jaw
2- A pair of canines in each jaw, four pairs of front teeth
Two pairs of posterior molars in the upper jaw, and three pairs in the lower jaw
It is shaped like a triple crown on its upper edge (the shape of a lotus flower
The pupa starts looking up teeth and they have 3 weeks, and we call them milk (temporary) teeth, showing two years in the middle, then two years next to them, then two years, then navan) until they are completed at 7 weeks, and they are small in size, and there are spaces between the teeth and some of them, as the front molars begin to appear at The sixth week of the puppy's age
Permanent teeth begin to appear at the age of 3 months and are large and contiguous without voids between them and the replacement of teeth will be in the same order as their appearance at the beginning
Replacement of the front incisors begins at the 3-4th birthday of the dog
The replacement of canines and anterior molars begins at 4-5 months of the dog's lifespan
Posterior molars (mill) begin at 5-7 months of age
When the dog reaches its first year, the dental crew and permanent molars are completely completed
Teething schedule:
At three weeks ... the onset of milky teeth
At seven weeks ... the milk teeth are complete
At three months ... the beginning of the permanent tooth replacement
At seven months ... the replacement of teeth and the beginning of the rear molars have been completed
The first year .... the teeth and permanent molars are completely completed

10/08/2021

A dog that enjoys the five key freedoms knows what being free really is. Freedog.

27/07/2021

15/07/2021

True or False: Tug is a great game to play with your dog. According to our resident canine behavior expert, the answer is a resounding “true,” albeit with some caveats. Dogs who like it—which is most of them—get a lot from it; even some who don’t take to it immediately can learn to enjoy i...

06/11/2020

Did you know that dogs also choke?
Learn how you can save a life.

04/11/2020

A growl to many is seen as a negative thing. In fact, if a dog growls we should always be thankful.
A growl is a communication, it let's us know there is something wrong. A dog may feel uncomfortable in a certain situation, feel scared or even be in pain.
A growl is like a fire alarm. Giving us a warning. If we punish a growl, it's like the alarm has had its batteries taken out.
We can talk, we can say no. Dogs cant. Be thankful for the growl and manage the situation so your dog doesn't feel the need to.
If you feel that it is a problem you cant handle then contact a fear free, science based behaviour practitioner for support.

27/10/2020

A successful K9 handler needs to be able to identify behavioral changes in their detection dog. Learn what to look for in this article!

26/08/2020

We need to start thinking more...

As behaviour practitioners and trainers, our mission is to help people and dogs. We work with the goal of helping dogs to have the best lives possible and devote our energy and time to share knowledge and skills so that dogs and their humans can have fantastic relationships and enjoy stress-free, happy living.

Unfortunately, the decisions that are made before we encounter so many of the dogs we are asked to work with, very often make this job almost impossible. There are sadly so many problems that we cannot resolve, because situations have arisen that simply do not have any favourable outcome – at least not in the sense of what people are hoping for.

I love working with dogs – that is why I do what I do. However, increasingly, I am preferring to devote my time to teaching and training that PREVENTS problems from arising and am finding myself less inclined to spend emotional energy trying to fix the unfixable or persuade owners to change course when they are going down a road that I know is going to end in disaster when they are not readily inclined to take advice. Daily, I scroll past comments where I am tagged in posts on various dog forums where people are asking for help for the most ridiculous problems – I say ridiculous because they are situations which common sense dictates should never have arisen and usually some nasty punishment is being considered for the dog who did not ask to be in that situation in the first place. From the beagle barking all day when left alone for 8 hours straight in a flat (who is about to be de-barked or fitted with an anti-bark collar) to the Rottweiler obtained as an emotional support dog during lockdown, who received zero socialisation, but is now expected to love and accept everyone and everything, to the umpteenth person with 3 or 4 pit bulls who are now literally tearing each other to pieces and wants to know how to make them all get on – I honestly despair.

As much as we want to help, there are just some things we cannot undo, so this is another post appealing to people not to make the following mistakes:

1. If you get a puppy the only time for socialisation is during the socialisation period i.e. before 14 weeks of age. This will not wait until after your holiday, all your puppy’s vaccinations, busy schedules, your kids extra mural activities or until you feel like it. You will never get that time back and we cannot “socialise” a 6, 8- or 18-month old dog for you in the true sense of socialisation. It is too late.
2. If you want to have 9 dogs in a normal suburban home, please understand that something is going to give. There will be pressure for resources and we do not have happy pills which will magically make everyone get along and relieve the stress of living in such chaos. All the CBD oil in the world will not help you and your dogs.
3. If you insist on getting multiple dogs genetically selected for the work of fighting with other dogs, please understand that there is a high likelihood that this is exactly what they are going to end up doing. We can advise little else except permanent separation, which really is not a fun way to live.
4. If you work all day and are barely at home, please do not be surprised when your dog develops separation related distress or barks as a result of extreme boredom. We don’t have a magic enrichment toy that will keep your dog amused for 8-10 hours. We simply have no way of making up for that huge empty hole in your dog’s daily life.
5. If you choose to take on a rescued dog who has not had the benefit of socialisation, please understand that we cannot change your dog’s history. Your dog may never be dog park or off-lead beach material. Your dog may never be overjoyed with visitors in your home. Your dog may need to be managed carefully in certain situations for the rest of his or her life. You may need to accept some limitations and be willing to give your dog a life that they actually need, rather than the life that you envisioned for them.

Dogs are awesome, but they are living, sentient, emotional beings and cannot be moulded to our every whim. Raising an emotionally and behaviourally healthy dog takes careful forethought, commitment and hard work. Having a peaceful household with multiple canine family members requires wise and sensible decision making. We have to start seeing more of this and less unresolvable situations that never should have arisen in the first place.

25/08/2020

Putting this up here because I think all the world needs to envision this . . .

This is a photo of female dogs used for only breeding purposes at a puppy mill. They never once leave those cages. Ever. Their paws will never touch the grass that is beneath their feet. Their puppies will be sent to pet stores around the country.

The next time you or someone you knows buys a pet store dog, remember this photo. You are NOT rescuing a dog from a life in a puppy mill. You are buying a dog and lining the pockets of the puppy mill owner so he or she has the means to continue doing this and the pet store owner who pays a small price and marks up the profit hugely. You ARE allowing this abuse to continue.

In rescue, we refer to these people as 'backyard greeders'. Most all the 'greed' stock are never handled or given any kind of medical care and many are chronically ill, given poor quality food and then dumped at pounds when bred out or left to die in their cages.

This pic is actually not the worst of the worst, sad as it appears. The conditions often are much more deplorable and inhumane. Most of you likely could not handle those greeder pics. It is the same in every state.

What I am asking here is that you have the compassion in you to share this with others, that you do not buy from pet shops selling 'cute' puppies because all puppies are cute when taken out of the conditions and put up for sale at extravagant prices.
That you spay/neuter your pets and do not litter and ALWAYS adopt, don't shop until all unwanted/discarded animals have their forever homes.

And, remember, if you can't commit, don't get! Pets are family and a lifetime commitment.

Let's empty the pounds/shelters! Responsible pet owners can make this happen. Be a voice for the voiceless!

It takes a Village!

~Picture by Jenn Nagle