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Dogs Playing or Fighting?

6/27/2017

Some of you may remember our friend Kepler, whose mom, Rebecca, used iSpeakDog to figure out that when he was lunging and growling at another puppy, he wasn't upset with the puppy -- he was experiencing barrier frustration. Once Rebecca allowed the dogs access to one another, they played together beautifully. (Read all about that story here.)

Well, Rebecca shared with us some videos of Kepler playing with another friend -- a Pit Bull puppy named Marley. There's so much to learn from watching these two kids play.

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Training with Treats, and Doing It Right

6/14/2017

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by Tracy Krulik

Have you ever said any of the following:

"My dog is so stubborn!"
"She just won't listen!"
"I've tried using training treats -- it didn't work."
"He used to come when I called him, but he doesn't do it anymore. He did it great in class. It's so frustrating!"
"She's being so dominant!"
"I shouldn't have to bribe my dog!"

You're not alone. Most people know that the best way to train our pups is to find something that motivates them (like tasty treats or toys if they love to play), and use that to reinforce wanted behaviors. And many people even know that you can use delicious foods to help change dogs' minds about things they might find scary.

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Stubborn or Scared?

5/1/2017

Hi! This is Tracy Krulik, the founder of iSpeakDog. I wanted to introduce you to my pup, Emma the Beagle, and share how learning to speak Dog has helped me transform Ems into a confident, happy girl.

When most people think of Emma, they go straight to separation anxiety, because that has been our greatest hurdle to overcome with her. But I'm going to share a story today about our challenges getting Emma to walk politely on-leash.

Let Puppies Play

4/24/2017

Meet Kepler! This lucky pup goes to work with his momma Rebecca, who has a 1,000-sq. ft. office space and baby gates the area around her desk for Kepler to hang with her. On breaks they play fetch in the room. (Can we work there too?!?)

Overall, Kepler is a happy and playful pup, with no issues approaching dogs or people he hasn't met before. But about a month ago, a friend came by with her roommate's dog, Pheebs, and there was a little scrap when Kepler crawled under Pheebs' belly, No one was physically harmed, but the experience was scary for Kepler, Rebecca, and the friend.

Patrick, Please!

4/17/2017

Meet Patrick! This handsome young Staffie mix, was... er... *blush*... humping... all the time.

He's being fostered in Scotland by Claire, who turned to iSpeakDog for help. Patrick is "very playful, a very quick learner, and wiggly!" Claire says. And, as mentioned above, he humps. A lot.

Moving to a new home can be stressful for any dog, and by looking at the Body Language Gallery and learning about dog behaviors, Claire was able to see that Patrick was, indeed, distressed. From the webinar and the website, "I learned that dogs just want to be dogs, and that this behavior was coming from anxiety and stress more than anything," she says.

Back Off My Bully Stick!

4/13/2017

Meet Cookie! Recently, her momma Alyse gave her a bully stick to enjoy. Cookie happily took it and ran under the table to get to work.

A few minutes later, Alyse dropped something on the floor and went to grab it. But it fell nearby where Cookie was snacking, and when Alyse reached down, Cookie barked and growled at her.

Alyse used iSpeakDog's three-step formula to figure out what was going on:

Reactive No More

4/13/2017

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Meet Ranger! Ben G. found it challenging to walk with this adorable pup on-leash when dogs were near or when people jogged past. Then Ben visited iSpeakDog and watched our webinar.

Using the three-step formula, Ben figured out that:
1. He was dealing with a leash issue problem.
2. Ranger was not distressed. "His body language was a smiling face, he was bouncy and also had a play bow," Ben says.
3. The challenges occurred when dogs and people passed by.

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