Respectful Communications Animal Training LLC

Love is a warm animal that asks to share your space.

Dogs have a special way of taking up space in your heart, your home and your bed.

They lean in, curl up, and somehow make themselves the center of your world.

And instead of feeling annoyed, you realize it’s a gift: their unconditional love, their absolute trust, their unrelenting loyalty.

To them, you are their world, their safe space, their comfort and their home.

Velcro dogs aren't clingy; that constant companionship is love in its purest form.

What a privilege it is to be someone’s safe place.

Does your dog also think your personal space belongs to them?

The Five Freedoms are a recognized framework used to look at an animal’s quality of life. They help us look beyond first appearances and consider what a dog may be experiencing underneath the surface.

Looking okay and feeling okay aren’t the same thing.
Welfare isn’t always something you can see.

The Five Freedoms are a recognised framework used to look at an animal’s quality of life. They help us look beyond first appearances and consider what a dog may be experiencing underneath the surface.

When these needs are generally met, many dogs tend to cope more easily with the world around them. When an area is overlooked or not considered, the changes are often subtle at first.

They show up small.
They build gradually.
They’re easy to miss unless you know to look wider.

This isn’t about blame. They were never designed for that. What they help everyone with is the bigger picture.
It’s about context, awareness, and understanding.

This is enrichment for another captive species… Betta Fish

Say NO to tiny cups — YES to creative tanks! 🛑🐟✨ Bettas deserve space to swim, explore, and live their best fishy lives. Let’s make responsible fish keeping the trend. 💙🌊 #BettaWelfare #ResponsibleFishKeeping #AquariumDIY #BettaCare #BettaFish

More good tips…

January is ! Here's a tip from The Pet Professional Guild:
When training dogs, rather than using a choke chain or prong collar, which rely on punishing undesirable behavior, use targeting and a harness to train and reinforce good behavior, while at the same time ensuring less trauma to the dog's neck.

Dogs often show better self-control than some adult humans, and neuroscience offers some insight into why this can happen. Studies using 'delay of gratification tasks' sometimes compared to the human “marshmallow test”, have shown that many dogs can resist immediate rewards when they’ve been properly trained or when social cues are involved. This kind of impulse control is linked to the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for regulating behavior and decision-making. While dogs have much smaller brains than humans, brain capacity isn’t simply a matter of size. Research suggests that dogs have a relatively high concentration of neurons in brain areas involved in social behavior and emotional regulation. This is widely understood as a result of thousands of years of domestication and close cooperation with humans. By comparison, adult humans may show reduced self-control during periods of stress, fatigue, emotional overload, or impaired executive functioning, even though the human brain is larger overall. It’s important to be clear that these observations are not, in any way, an excuse for non-consensual human behavior. Humans have moral awareness, legal responsibility, and a clear understanding of consent. Comparisons between canine and human impulse control are useful only in the context of training and neuroscience, not as a justification for inappropriate or harmful conduct. From a scientific perspective, this highlights that dogs can outperform some adults in specific impulse-control tasks, that brain efficiency and neural organisation matter more than raw size, and that self-control is a product of neural regulation rather than alone. #suppawtapp #DogTraining #dogtrainingadvice #selfcontrol #papillon

BARRIERS TO BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
“My dog is so stubborn.”
“They just don’t listen.”
“He is such a slow learner.”
“But she does it at home.”
“He’s being dominant”

These are comments we might hear when behaviour change just isn’t happening — but they rarely tell the full story.

Dogs, like people, can only begin to change behaviour when they feel safe enough to do so.

Dogs are not machines that can be programmed with a set of inputs that guarantee results. They are individual, sentient beings with nervous systems not so different to ours. Shaped by genetics, life experiences, learning history, and sometimes trauma.

Their behaviour is always influenced by how safe, regulated, and supported they feel in that moment.

When we are stressed, anxious, exhausted, unwell, overwhelmed, or emotionally dysregulated, our capacity to learn, adapt, or change is unlikely if not impossible. This isn’t a lack of capability or willingness, it’s a lack of capacity.
The same is true for dogs.

A dog’s nervous system state, emotional safety, environment, motivation, developmental stage and physical health all affect whether behaviour change will progress. When these needs aren’t met, asking for different behaviour can be unrealistic and unfair.

If your dog is struggling, the most helpful question is not - “Why won’t my dog do this?”
It’s - “What might be making this hard for my dog to do right now?”

Sometimes our dogs need fewer demands, not more training.
Sometimes they need rest, decompression, distance from triggers or more predictability.
Sometimes today just isn’t the day — and that’s okay.

Trauma-informed care reminds us to slow down, lower expectations, and prioritize safety and regulation first.

Behaviour change doesn’t come from force, intimidation, pressure or control – true behaviour change happens when dogs feel safe enough and regulated enough to try.

Another reality check....
Sometimes your dog needs a break too! Give her an open invitation and a place to go to decompress and have some alone time if she wants.

Let's get real for a second.

The world often paints a picture that dogs who live together are best friends and do everything together.

This is just not true. Many many many multidog household utilize management in different situations to allow dogs personal space to enjoy things such as:

- feeding time
- chew time
- play time
- attention time

This. Is. Normal.

Just because someone utilizes management, doesn't mean their dogs don't enjoy each other's company or have fun together. It just means that there are certain activities that they prefer to do on their own.

And I will tell you firsthand that implementing safe space zones and time apart can be so beneficial to the relationship between two dogs.

Think about it-- do you enjoy doing every single activity that you do at home with your spouse, family, or sibling RIGHT there? I don't think so.

So let's normalize management between dogs who live together!!

Do you want to work on your dogs' relationship and/or interactions? Go to my website here to schedule a private consult: perkedears.com/private-training-sessions

Respectful Communications Animal Training follows the FAIR PLAY WITH DOG Code

We base our approach on the latest scientific findings in canine science. Our approach to training and general handling of dogs is therefore scientifically and empirically grounded.

The dog's well-being and health are paramount, as they significantly influence its behavior and learning ability. The individualized, highly effective training plan always aims to achieve the training goal while minimizing stress and anxiety and maintaining the dog's overall well-being.

Our training approaches never involve the systematic, targeted application of pain or fright stimuli, anxiety-inducing stimuli, intimidation, or the deprivation of the feeling of control.
Our training approaches are based on the following models:

"Least Intrusive Principle"
Principle of minimally invasive effective treatment according to Friedman, 2016
© Friedman & Fritzler, 2024

«LIFE Model»
Least inhibitive, functionally effective model according to
© Fernandez, 2024

This means for us:

We prioritize the well-being and health of the dog. We meet the dog's basic physical and mental needs at all times and provide it with protection and security.

We act proactively and take management measures adapted to the situation in order to prevent undesirable behavior from arising in the first place (Antecendent Arrangement).

We focus on the causes of the behavior. With negative emotions, we transform them into positive ones.

We follow a needs-based approach. This means we take into account the individual, breed-specific, and natural needs of the dog.

We use interventions, learning techniques, and training measures that inhibit behavior as little as possible and instead give the animal as many choices as possible.

In addition to operant conditioning, we use other forms of learning such as observational learning, insight learning and social learning, classical conditioning/counterconditioning, as well as systematic desensitization, habituation and sensitization.

We focus on learning and reinforcing alternative behaviors to sustainably change undesirable behavior.

Operant conditioning

We work on the basis of positive reinforcement.

Negative punishment is used briefly and at the lowest possible level of frustration and stress. The dog is given the opportunity to exhibit desired behavior as quickly as possible, which is then positively reinforced.

If negative reinforcement is used, the potentially unpleasant stimulus is presented at the lowest possible intensity (e.g., by increasing the distance to a fear-inducing stimulus).

In all training methods, the well-being and safety of all involved is paramount, and we avoid frightening, intimidating, causing pain, deliberately overtaxing, or creating a feeling of loss of control.

For reasons of learning biology and ethics, we refrain from the targeted use of positive punishment and thus the deliberate infliction of physical and/or psychological stimuli that, for example, trigger fear, terror, pain, and/or a feeling of loss of control. In emergency situations, or due to overwhelm and in the heat of the moment, things can happen that are aversive for the dog. However, this has nothing to do with planned and targeted training.
Interpretations of dog behavior

To assess canine behavior, we rely on scientifically proven findings regarding body language and a benevolent interpretation. We distance ourselves from behavioral labels such as "dominant," "disrespectful," or "cheeky," as well as from scientifically refuted interpretations based on the "dominance model" in the human-dog relationship ("hierarchy," "alpha," "pack leader"), which are used to legitimize aversive actions (Bradshaw et al., 2009; Yin, 2007).

Continuous professional development

New scientific findings are constantly being published, and the practical application is continuously being adapted and changed in its details. We are committed to ongoing professional development in order to incorporate new insights into our work.

Collaboration with specialists:

It is a strength to recognize one's own limits of experience and competence. Should we reach our limits in a difficult case (especially with fearful or aggressive behavior), the right next step is to involve or refer the case early to an experienced professional who supports the code (behavioral training, dog training, behavioral medicine, veterinary medicine, physiotherapy, etc.).

Our ethical stance

We believe that the end does not justify the means if the means are disproportionate and better alternatives exist.

Our actions are guided by an ethical framework. We consider the interests and capacity for suffering of all living beings involved and always strive to sustainably improve the situation for all living beings involved.

We are aware that dogs are sentient beings capable of suffering. We are in a position of power and therefore have a responsibility to meet their needs as best as possible, to protect their interests, and to strive for and maintain their emotional and physical well-being.

- Respectful Communications Animal Training LLC Imagine having a dog that: walks calmly beside you and enjoys sitting for attention. You can have that well mannered dog in your home!

We tell puppy parents this all the time. Slippery floors as well as jumping from furniture can actually cause structural problems in your pet.

Whether it turns up as lameness or aggression that seems to have suddenly appeared, it is better to be proactive in preventing injury. No slip mats or even in rooms where puppies are confined in favor of giving them more room than a crate, no slip floors are important.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗜𝗚𝗚𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗧𝗛 𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗞 𝗜𝗡 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗦𝗘 𝗠𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗕𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗥

It’s not the stairs.
It’s not the couch.
It’s not even the backyard.

It’s the smooth, shiny floor your pet walks on every single day.

Slippery surfaces don’t just cause the occasional slide, they quietly change how a body moves. Dogs and cats start bracing. Tensing. Adjusting their posture to avoid falling. And that constant compensation takes a toll.

We see it all the time:
• Subtle hip and lower back strain
• Tight shoulders and necks
• Arthritis flare-ups that seem to come “out of nowhere”
• Nails that grow unevenly because paws can’t grip
• Pets reluctant to walk across certain rooms

Older animals are at higher risk, but young, athletic dogs aren’t immune. Repeated slipping stresses joints and soft tissue long before limping ever appears.

And the hardest part?
Because it happens slowly, it gets blamed on age. Or breed. Or “just one of those things.”

But many of these aches start underfoot.

Animals weren’t built for polished tiles, floorboards, or laminate. When the ground doesn’t give feedback, the nervous system stays on high alert, and the body pays the price.

A few well-placed rugs, runners, or traction solutions can dramatically reduce strain and improve confidence almost overnight.

Sometimes better health doesn’t start with medication.
It starts with footing.

Have you noticed your pet hesitating on certain floors?
Slipping more than they used to?
Let’s talk - this one gets missed far too often.

📍 1016 Stanley Street East, East Brisbane QLD
🕗 Mon–Fri 8am–6pm, Sat 9am–1pm (Closed Sundays & most public holidays)
📞 (07) 3393 1359
🌐 animalwellness.com.au

Want to explore what’s right for your pet? Book a consult – we’re here to help.

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