:: a day late, but every day is #nationaldogday when you have the loveliest girls in the world. @gildathegoldenretriever is now a year old, while #stellaD the #dachshund is a spry 11.5 year old #seniordog. It seems impossible that my little Stella is the elder stateswoman for the house, but time does funny things.
I’m #blessed beyond belief to share my life with these two gals, and missing #rufusdachsador and #andthentheresmaude today - it’s been so difficult to say goodbye to those lovely pups mere weeks apart, but I carry the lessons they so generously gave me. I’m so #grateful for every day with these girls.
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#goldenretriever #goldenretrieverpuppy #goldensofinstagram #dachshund #dachshundsofinstagram #wienerdog #bestfriends #theoddcouple #yycdogs #yycdogtraining #forcefreetraining #clickertraining #yycdogs #yyc #canidapt
:: saw this post in my feed and my heart swelled ten sizes. This is really what it all boils down to. Thanks, @dogminded, for the reminder!
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Posted @withrepost • @dogminded If you asked me to name the single most important thing you can do for your dog, it would be this.
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Keep your dog feeling safe.
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This is not to be confused with your dog being safe, or whether or not you think your dog is safe. This is about keeping your dog *feeling* safe. Which means identifying what your dog finds stressful or scary by learning how to observe and read their body language to recognize when, where, and under what circumstances they feel uncomfortable, and doing whatever you can to avoid those situations.
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This can mean that your dog never visits another dog park.
This can mean that even though it’s a beautiful Sunday and you’d love to have brunch on a patio of your favorite restaurant with your dog, your dog stays home.
This can mean that you politely (or not) decline requests to pet your dog.
This can mean that when children come over your house, your dog is in another room with a yummy Kong.
This can mean that you walk your dog during quiet times of the day.
This can mean that you drive your dog to walk them in a different area.
Whatever it means for you and your dog, keep your dog feeling safe.
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You are your dog’s best and only advocate. You are what stands between them and the rest of the world, a world where dogs are set up to fail every day with often heartbreaking consequences. This doesn’t mean that we don’t also actively and *humanely* work to help our dogs feel more comfortable and confident in this world, but it does mean that until they do, WE HAVE TO KEEP THEM FEELING SAFE.
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Our dogs are relying on us, it’s our job to have their backs.
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#keepyourdogfeelingsafe #fearfuldog #reactivedog #advocateforyourdog #dogtraining #positivedogtraining #positivereinforcement #forcefreetraining #forcefreedogtraining #forcefree #fearfree #sciencebasedtraining #moderndogtraining
