Dog behaviour?

As is typical of most dog behaviourists Sarah travels and works one on one with the owner in the home. Though in exceptional cases where the dog behaviour dictates, the training may take place at her Hampshire base. As with all dog behaviourists communication, observation and understanding are the keys to good dog behaviour. It is the owner’s responsibility to learn what their dog is “saying” and why. All dog behaviour training is based on co-operation between human and animal. The dog must have confidence in their owner, the owner must have confidence in their dog and the animal must have confidence in itself. This is confidence is achieved by understanding, communication and observation. What is dog communication?

About dog communication

Dog communication refers to body movements and sounds dogs use to send signals to other dogs, animals and humans. Dog communication comes in a variety of forms, and is taught as part of the foundation of dog social behavior. Dogs use certain movements of their bodies and body parts and different vocalizations to express their emotions. There are a number of basic ways a dog can communicate its feelings. These are movements of the ears, eyes, eyebrows, mouth, head, tail, and entire body, as well as barks, growls, whines and whimpers, and howls. Humans however communicate differently. Our main form of communication is the voice. The timbre, tone and volume the voice conveys many different messages to the dogs. This has to be managed with great care and used in the minimum. Our body language is our strongest form of communication.  Our eyes can be used to praise or halt an action and the body to signal your requirements or to block undesired behaviour. Our voice should be used as little as possible and when used it should be low pitched and quiet. Dogs watch us constantly for the small subtle movements which signal their next ...

What is a dog behaviourist?

A dog behaviourist studies dog behaviour, and works towards modifying and managing the behaviour of particular dogs, with emphasis on problems such as aggression, separation anxiety, fears, timidity, phobias, and obsessive-compulsive dog behaviours. Most dog behaviourists are experienced dog trainers who have developed their skills over many years and studied dog behaviour either formally or through personal research. Dog behaviourists apply their experience and knowledge to the interaction between humans and dogs. Typically dog behaviourists work one-on-one with the dog and its owner. This is often carried out in the home or the area where the dog is showing behaviour problems. Many dogs are cautious or nervous in neutral territory making it difficult to establish the root cause of some common dog behaviour problems. The dog may act very differently when in strange territory. The methods and tools of the dog behaviourist will depend on several factors including the dog's temperament, the dog behaviourists personal philosophy on dog training, the dog behaviourist experience, and the dog behaviour problems being addressed. At one end of the spectrum some dog behaviourists attempt to train dogs without any aversive or coercive methods at all, relying solely on food treats or praise. Other dog behaviourists believe that ...