Keeping your dog safe in hot weather
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🐾 Keeping Your Dog Safe in Hot Weather
When the summer heat rolls in, your dog feels it too — often more than you realize. Unlike humans, dogs can’t sweat through their skin to cool down. They rely on panting and a limited amount of sweat through their paws, which means they’re more prone to overheating and heatstroke. Here's what every dog owner should know about keeping their pup safe during the hotter months.
1. Know the Signs of Overheating
Watch for these symptoms:
Excessive panting or drooling
Bright red tongue or gums
Vomiting or diarrhea
Lethargy or confusion
Collapsing or unresponsiveness
If you notice any of these, move your dog to a cool area immediately and contact a vet.
2. Avoid Midday Walks
Walk early in the morning or later in the evening when temperatures are lower. Hot pavement can burn paw pads — if it’s too hot for your hand, it’s too hot for their feet.
3. Provide Shade and Fresh Water
Always make sure your dog has access to clean, cool water and a shady spot. For outdoor dogs, this is non-negotiable.
4. Never Leave a Dog in a Parked Car
Even with windows cracked, a car can become a death trap in minutes. It’s not just unsafe — it’s illegal in many places.
5. Be Cautious with Exercise
Dogs still need mental and physical stimulation, but it may need to happen indoors on hot days. Puzzle toys, training games, and brief shaded walks are safer alternatives to fetch under the sun.
6. Consider the Breed and Age
Short-nosed breeds (like Bulldogs, Pugs), senior dogs, puppies, and dogs with thick coats are at higher risk. Be extra cautious with them in warm weather.
7. Cool Down Safely
You can help your dog cool down with:
A kiddie pool or gentle hose spray
Cooling mats or damp towels to lie on
Frozen treats like ice cubes or dog-safe popsicles
Final Thought
Hot weather doesn’t mean you have to stop all activity — just adapt. Your dog trusts you to make safe choices. When in doubt, choose the cooler, quieter option.
Stay safe and have a great summer with your dog!
Off-Leash Dog Training: Stay, Down, and Recall Without Yelling
A calm, early morning routine with my golden retriever Sam—no leash, just trust. We practice sit-stay, recall, walking together, and polite door manners—all off leash. It’s not about control—it’s about connection. Dog training doesn’t have to be loud or chaotic. It can be thoughtful, peaceful, and mutually respectful.
Door dashing…
“Does your dog bolt out the front door the second it opens? Here’s a simple, effective way to stop door-dashing — without yelling, yanking, or using any commands.”
The Method
Clip your dog on leash.
Open the door wide.
If your dog tries to dash out, calmly pull them back inside and close the door.
Wait a few seconds.
Repeat.
That’s it. No talking. No scolding. No bribing.
Within a few reps, your dog will realize: ‘Bolting gets me nowhere. Waiting gets me outside.’ Most dogs figure this out in 2 to 10 tries — and the habit sticks.
Why It Works
It uses natural consequences — going outside is the reward.
If the dog lunges, the reward disappears. That’s called “negative punishment” (THAT’s a type of “Punishement”? Who knew!), and it’s completely non-aversive.
The dog learns directly from the environment, not from your voice or emotion. That makes the learning faster and clearer.
Lasting Benefits
Sets a calm tone for the whole walk.
Teaches impulse control through experience, not force.
Transfers to better leash manners and handler focus.
And it builds your dog’s confidence through predictable, fair outcomes.
Wrap-Up
“Let the door teach your dog what behavior works. No drama, no conflict — just calm, clear consequences. Try it today, and enjoy walks that start off right.”
Is it a correction or a reinforcement?
When you’re trying to determine what reinforces your dog’s undesirable behavior, you’re basically asking: What is the dog getting out of this? That’s smart and foundational for real behavior change. Here’s a practical step-by-step process, followed by how to check if your corrections are accidentally acting as reinforcers instead.
🔍 Step-by-Step: Identifying Reinforcers for an Undesirable Behavior
1. Describe the behavior clearly
What exactly is the dog doing? (e.g., barking at the window, jumping on guests, bolting out the door)
When does it happen? What triggers it?
2. Observe the consequence of the behavior**
What happens immediately after the behavior?
Is the dog getting something (attention, access, stimulation)?
Is the dog avoiding something (discomfort, confinement, boredom)?
Behavior that continues (or increases) is being reinforced — somehow.
3. Look at the environment
What predictably precedes the behavior (antecedents)?
Is there a pattern? (Time of day, people around, sounds, energy level?)
4. Make a hypothesis: What is the reward?
Ask: “What’s the function of the behavior?”
Social? → Attention from people or dogs.
Sensory? → Feels good to bark, dig, chew, run.
Escape? → Avoids being confined, scolded, or restrained.
Access? → Gets to food, toys, open space.
5. Test it
Remove the suspected reinforcer: e.g., ignore attention-seeking barking.
Or modify the environment: e.g., prevent access to window if barking is self-rewarding.
See if the behavior decreases.
🧭 Are Your “Corrections” Actually Reinforcers?
Sometimes, what we think is a correction (like yelling, pushing, or a leash tug) can become reinforcement if:
1. It gives the dog attention or stimulation
Yelling “No!” might be exciting.
Pushing a dog off can feel like play.
2. It functions as negative reinforcement
If the dog acts out and the pressure stops (like barking causing a leash correction to end), the dog learns, “That worked!”
3. The dog is under-stimulated
Any response from you—even negative—might be better than nothing.
✅ How to Know for Sure
Track the behavior: Is it getting worse, more intense, or more frequent? That means it’s being reinforced (even if unintentionally).
Try changing your response: If ignoring the behavior or changing the context makes it decrease, the original “correction” was probably reinforcing.
Use video: Review clips to spot patterns you're missing in real time.
💡 Bonus Tip: Ask Yourself
“What’s the dog getting or avoiding when he does this? And how am I reacting?”
“Thoughtful” Fixes for Smart Owner Mistakes
Smart people overthink. Dogs observe. Here's how to meet in the middle.
Smart dog owners love to analyze. But that same intelligence can lead them to miss what their dog is actually learning.
If you're making the #1 mistake—overthinking instead of observing—here are three thoughtful fixes to help you rebalance your approach.
✅ 1. Stop Explaining — Start Noticing
Instead of asking “Why is he doing this?”
Ask: “What just reinforced this behavior?”
Dogs repeat what works for them, not what makes sense to you. So shift your focus from motive to mechanics.
Try this:
Keep a short log after every walk or training session:What did the dog do?
What happened right after?
Did I reward that on purpose… or by accident?
This builds awareness, not just information.
✅ 2. Use Patterns, Not Lectures
Dogs don’t need to be told what they did wrong.
They need a pattern of outcomes.
Try this:
Open the door wide, don’t say a word. If your dog dashes to the end of the leash, calmly pull them back in and close the door. Rinse repeat. It will take 3-10 times and they will wait for you. The reward is built in…they get to go out.
Pause your walk every time your dog pulls, without a word.
Mark and treat quiet alerting, not just barking.
Consistency = clarity. Clarity = trust.
✅ 3. Reframe Resistance as Confusion
If your dog “won’t listen,” don’t assume they’re being defiant.
Assume the pattern isn’t clear yet.
Try this:
Add a long leash when a dog ignores a recall — not as punishment, but to simplify the choice.
Lower your criteria. Reward the attempt, then build up.
Remove distractions while you rebuild reliability.
The goal isn’t control. It’s understanding.
Final Thought
You’re not failing your dog by being thoughtful — only by assuming your thoughts are enough.
Observe more. Explain less. Reinforce what works.
That’s the path to a truly thoughtful partnership.
🐾 The #1 Mistake Smart Dog Owners Make
(And What to Do Instead)
Smart dog owners are often the most frustrated ones.
They read the books.
They follow the accounts.
They want to do right by their dogs.
And still… their dog jumps on guests.
Still… the recall disappears at the park.
Still… the leash is a tug-of-war.
So what gives?
🤯 The Mistake: Overthinking Instead of Observing
The #1 mistake smart dog owners make is trying to out-think the dog, instead of watching how the dog learns.
They assume:
“He knows this already.”
“She’s doing it to be stubborn.”
“He’s testing boundaries.”
But here’s the truth:
Dogs aren’t plotting. They’re pattern-matching.
🧠 Smart People, Human Logic
Smart owners are used to complex thinking. They want to understand before they act. That works at work, with people, or in theory. But dogs aren’t logic-driven. They’re:
Associative learners
Present-focused
Experts in patterns and outcomes
They don’t care what your intention was.
They care what actually happened.
🐶 What Your Dog Actually Noticed
Let’s say your dog jumps up. You push him down, say “No!”, and step back.
You think:
“I told him not to.”
He thinks:
“Jumping = touch + sound + excitement. Noted!”
Smart dogs don’t need lectures.
They need clarity.
They need consistency.
They need you to observe more and explain less.
🔁 Shift from Thinking to Watching
Want better behavior? Start watching more than you explain.
Try this:
Notice what your dog finds rewarding.
(Even yelling can be a reward.)Reward what you like. Interrupt what you don’t.
Don’t assume intent. Look at the outcome.
Dogs repeat what works for them.
✅ Bottom Line: Be a Scientist, Not a Philosopher
You don’t have to outsmart your dog.
Just out-observe yourself.
At Thoughtful Paws, we believe dogs are observant opportunists. That means your dog isn’t being bad — they’re being efficient.
The more you observe, the more you’ll notice:
They weren’t ignoring you. They were learning from you.
Aggression and Reactivity Revisited.
A more robust way to look at dealing with aggression is to use this method to eliminate causes. Here’s the visual. Got questions?
Loose Leash Walking Step 1
If you can’t get out the front door in a calm fashion, there is no way you can expect your dog to pay attention on a walk. So step one is Joel Beckman’s Doorway method. Here is Sam and I working on it.
Positive reinforcement versus punishment
English is a fickle language
Many words have different meanings. Recently, in the context of dog training, the word “punishment” has taken on a very negative connotation, depending on whether it is being used by a lay-person, or by an animal behaviourist. As a dog trainer, I try to use the word carefully, making it clear that it denotes something that causes a decrease in an unwanted behaviour.
In dog training, reinforcement and punishment are used to teach your dog what behaviors you want and what behaviors you don’t want. Here’s how the four quadrants work, explained simply:
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1. Positive Reinforcement (Add something to increase a behaviour):
You reward your dog to encourage a behaviour.
Example: When your dog sits, you give them a treat.
Goal: Your dog learns that sitting leads to something nice and will do it more often.
A MAJORITY of behaviours are trained in this quadrant
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2. Negative Reinforcement (Take away something to increase a behaviour):
You remove something when your dog does what you want.
Example: You stop pulling on the leash when your dog stops pulling ahead.
Goal: Your dog learns that stopping the unwanted behavior makes the unpleasant thing go away.
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3. Positive Punishment (Add something to decrease a behaviour):
You add something to discourage a behavior.
Example: Your dog barks, and you spray a little water on them.
Goal: Your dog learns that barking leads to an unpleasant consequence and stops barking.
WARNING: ABUSE MOST OFTEN OCCURS IN THIS QUADRANT.
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4. Negative Punishment (Take away something to decrease a behaviour):
You take away something your dog enjoys to reduce a behavior.
Example: Your dog jumps on you, so you turn your back and stop giving attention.
Goal: Your dog learns that jumping means losing attention, so they stop jumping. (DOES THAT SOUND SO TERRIBLE?)
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Depending on the nature of the training challenges, any of the 4 quadrants could have a role in ethical force free dog training.
Aggression…
It all begins with an idea.
AGGRESSION is one of the more difficult behaviors to address.
Dog-to-Person aggression is a bit more straightforward because as owners, we can direct the people involved.
Dog-to-Dog aggression is more difficult.
BEFORE training for aggression, we look at some common contributors like the need for:
more physical exercise
more mental stimulation
socialization
desensitization
THEN start with some fundamental obedience behaviors that have carry-over when it comes to aggression.
Does your dog come when called?
Does your dog go straight to their bed and stay when you ask?
Does your dog know that jumping on you is not allowed?
Can your dog walk on a loose leash?
Does your dog sleep in your bed?
THESE ARE KEY BEHAVIORS that ensure that your dog understands what are the rules and what is their role. Walking on a loose leash means they need to be checking in with you. Recall is a distal behavior that lets the dog know that no matter where they are that they need to listen. A bed stay sets the tone for being calm and having a tool to manage excitement. Not jumping defines boundaries. Not sleeping in your bed sets boundaries.
FINALLY, we need to understand the MAIN ISSUES.
There are different reasons for aggression. The triggers and the underlying issues matter.
Is it fear?
Protection?
Resource guarding?
No established boundaries?
Previous trauma?
Something else?
What are the important missing pieces?
What is THE most important missing piece?
Let’s deal with THAT first, because it will have the biggest impact.
And then…We train.