GM News - March 2024

Welcome to edition 57 of Gentle Modern News. We're glad you're with us.

Amanda, David, & Ruth
Gentle Modern School of Dog Training

Ban Shock Collars

The VIC Government is updating the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (POCTA), which will be replaced with the Animal Care and Protection Act (ACPA).

The new Act is currently in draft form. The draft continues the legal use of shock collars in Victoria. A few of us in the force-free training community are trying to get shock collars banned in Australia. Shock collars, also known as electronic or remote training collars, operate by delivering aversive stimulation to the animal wearing the collar.

This is a real chance to enact change and to get our point across that these devices are cruel, archaic and have no place in a progressive society.

To support the Animal Justice Party's campaign to ban shock collars in Victoria, please consider sending an email via https://vic.animljusticeparty.org/banshockcollars (the process is easy with a template guide).

Thanks so much everyone!
Ruth

Ann's pups have been enjoying a 150cm Outdoor Inflatable Pet Splash Pad from Catch. There's no hard or high side that your dog has to climb over. According to the description, "This outdoor inflatable water cushion can be folded up only the size of the book, easy to carry."
Thanks, Ann, for your recommendation!

Ruth notes that it's best to place the Splash Pad on a level, smooth surface, and it's worth putting a tarp or similar beneath it to protect the base.

Top Tip - Behaviour is Communication

Trainer and behaviourist Irith Bloom shared insights in her conversation with Holly Tett at the 2024 Kindness Is Essential, Not Optional Conference that I wanted to pass on to you.

Dogs often behave in ways we find annoying, frustrating, tedious. What if (and I know this is easier said than done!) we saw the behaviour as a form of communication, and we tried to tease out what a dog is telling us with those bursts of barking, for example?

"Maybe they're barking because they're scared every time they hear a certain noise. And if you just dismiss them, all you're doing is forcing them to sit in that fear whereas if you say, gosh, it seems like they bark after a truck goes across this thing in front of my house [speed bump, grate, pothole] or whatever it is, oh, maybe that's a strange sound for them. Maybe they're scared of that sound. And then you can make a training plan and help them feel better about the sound. And now you'll have a dog who's calmer and happier, and when you ask them to sit or come . . . they're going to do it more easily." Irith Bloom

Body Language - Ears

Dog Ear Signals by Debra M. Eldredge highlights the kinds of messages the canine ears communicate. In her article, Debra includes a quote from the Communication in Dogs study by Marcello Siniscalchi, Serenella d’Ingeo, Michele Minunno, and Angelo Quaranta (If you enjoy geeking out on canine body language, this review of dog communication is comprehensive.)

"Ears can vary from simply “back”, to communicate an appeasement intention, to “flattened” or “pressed back”, in frightened individuals or as an agonistic response. In extremely fearful individuals, ears can be pressed back so far on the head that they completely disappear (“seal ears”). On the contrary, ears kept forward are associated with interest, attention, and approach-oriented intentions, while sideward position indicates a conflicting inner state (“airplane ears”)."

Pluto has floppy hound ears, so not as expressive as the erect ears of the German Shepherd or Border Collie, but even so, I can clearly see if his ears are low and held tightly to the head. Pluto may guard objects, and I'm often alerted to him guarding an object by this ear position - I know the low, tight ears signal an aggressive/defensive (agonistic) attitude.

Easter = Chocolate

We all know chocolate is bad for dogs - but why, how much is a problem, and what to do if chocolate is eaten? Dr. Kathryn Allen has the answers in What To Do If Your Dog Eats Chocolate
(Happy Easter, by the way :-)

Dogs in the News

Amazon has a Dogs at Work (DAW) program that operates globally. Amazon Australia's corporate office on Park Street in Sydney recently opened its latest dog playground for staff pooches. Curious? Envious? Check out Amazon Australia Unleashes Dog Playground. The article also reviews the results of Dogs at Work research, commissioned by Amazon Australia.

Your reward for reading to the end . . .

A Dog Biscuit Recipe from the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.