Deborah Milner

Beatrice Nutmeg turned 1 today. What a wild ride! She is my first introduction to the world of working terriers. (She was bred for squirrel hunting.) I mainly worked with herding dogs before, Mudi, German Shepherd, Malinois, Dutch Shepherd... Our first year together have been a real culture shock. To have a dog who has all the energy and drive of a herding dog, but not much handler focus can be a real challenge. It's about constantly working on becoming "sexier than a squirrel". 😁 A herding dog wants to do things with you. A terrier wants you to sit back and relax while they are taking care of the work for you. Which becomes a problem when you disagree on what the "work" is. You can't train dogs like these with conflict. Training them is about mutual respect and aligning agendas. Otherwise they will blow you off. They barely care about pleasing you, they work for themselves. It's all about what's in it for them. They mature a lot slower than herding dogs. At 1 year old Beatrice is still very much a puppy/adolescent. There are times when she is really exhausting. But the learning opportunity she provides is so valuable. Difficult dogs teach us the most. [Brown Mountain Feist sniffing on a brick path with tropical plants in the background.] #reactivedogs #reactivity #dogtraining #dogtrainer #dogbehavior #dogtrainingmethods #reactivedogsunite #reactivedogsofinstagram #workingterrier #ratterrierworld #ratterrier #mountainfeist #feistdog #workingdog #workingbreed #terrierworld #terrierlove #terriersofinstagram #dogtrainer #behaviormodification #malinois #herdingdog #squirreldog #huntingdog #terrierwork #jacksonvilleflorida #dogblogger #dogtrainingtools #rewardbasedtraining #dogtrainingmethods

Internet arguments would have you believe that Balanced and Force Free are two very different categories. You are either balanced or force free, and all balanced trainers train the same way, just like all FF trainers train the same way. This couldn't be further from the truth! First, let's look at the continuum of force. On the left of the scale you see Force Based training. These trainers use only pressure and punishment to train dogs. As you are heading towards the blue side of the scale, you are going to find trainers who use increasingly less and less force, until you get to the "Force Free" territory. Now this is where things get interesting! First, let me start with the fact that there is no training that is completely force free. The fact that you are using a leash means that you are using some force. And the amount of force they use varies among FF trainers too! For example, some will use a head halter/ gentle leader or a front clip harness. These tools are absolutely aversives! They discourage pulling because pulling in these tools create discomfort. I would argue that a gentle leader is often more aversive than a prong or e-collar! Yet, these tools are absolutely acceptable for many FF trainers! So, are they really Force Free, or actually balanced? The other important thing to consider is that less force isn't always better. While there are many Force Free trainers who are absolutely amazing, those who go too extreme towards the blue end of the scale do so at the expense of becoming less effective and leave the dogs in a stressed state of mind longer. Which defeats the purpose of using less force. There is a lot of research about humans and monkeys how experiencing low, manageable levels of stress leads to increased resiliency and better mental health compared to their peers who didn't experience and stress. I'm a firm believer that just because you know a less stressful way of training dogs, it isn't always the best way. What the dog thrives on is also a huge part of the equation. Good trainers are somewhere in the light purple - blue part of the scale. But the exact location varies, and it's okay. [Accessibility in comments]

"When can I stop rewarding my dog?" Some behaviors are intrinsically rewarding. It feels good to perform these behaviors. At first maybe you have to teach the dog to value them, but after that they will do them without rewards. One example is hunting, but also relaxation works that way. At first trying to relax can be uncomfortable for high strung dogs, but once they learn to value it, they will do it without you rewarding the behavior. Other behaviors don't have an intrinsic value. It feels neutral to perform them. An example is obedience. Sitting or heeling are only rewarding if you reward them. If you don't reinforce these behaviors at least once in a while, the dog gradually stops performing them. Some people reinforce these by punishing non-compliance. Others reinforce by rewarding compliance. The choice is yours. [Accessibility: Infographic with the caption above] #reactivedogs #reactivity #dogbehavior #dogtraining #dogreactivity #reactivedog #reactivedogs #reactivedogtraining #reactivedogsaregooddogstoo #reactivedogsunite #reactivedogsofinstagram #reactivedogsofig #reactivedogsofflorida #reactivedog #reactivedogtraining #reactivedogsuccess #dogtrainer #dogtrainingtips #dogbehavior #rewardbasedtraining #forcefree #forcefreetraining #balancedtraining #balanceddogtraining #dogtrainingtools #dogtrainingmethods #dogtrainersunite #positivedogtraining #positivereinforcement #positivedogtraining #positivelybalanced

Dog training isn't something you do for a few minutes a day, or even for a few hours a day. That's maybe 10% of what makes training successful. The rest of it is how you live with the dog on a day to day basis. It's the boundaries you set, the enrichment you provide, the management you do. It's your body language, and your mindset. Most people reward their dogs for good behavior during training sessions, but completely miss the opportunity to acknowledge when their dogs just spontaneously did something good. Having food with you all the time to reward your dog will make a huge difference in their behavior. Whatever you reward you get more of! (Check out the mini course "6 days to a new life with your dog" to learn more about this concept!) Whatever training you do, if you aren't consistent, it won't do you any good. If you are working on curbing a behavior during training sessions, but ignore the same behavior outside of sessions, you are spinning your wheels. Dog training is a lifestyle, not a weekend activity! [Infographic: "You are always training your dog. The question is whether you are training them or untraining them.] #dogtrainingmethods #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainer #dogbehavior #dogblogger #dogtrainersunite #dogtrainerlifestyle #doginfographics #dogtraining #dogtrainingmemes #dogtrainingtools #dogtrainingadvice #dogtrainingisfun #dogtrainingrevolution #reactivedogs #reactivedogsofig #reactivedogsupport #reactivedogsofinstagram #reactivedogsofflorida #positivedogtraining #balanceddogtraining #forcefree #forcefreetraining #positivereinforcement #positivelybalanced #cookietosser #cookiepusher #snackleadernotpackleader

A dog that is not food motivated raises a red flag. Food is the most basic need of a dog, if your dog refuses food, figure out why. If you are sick and don't want to eat, are you not food motivated? If you are nervous before an exam and don't want to eat, are you not food motivated? If you are full and don't want to eat, are you not food motivated? The level of food drive varies by the individual. But all dogs need to eat, so they are all food motivated to a degree. Your dog's appetite is an important indication of their mental and physical wellbeing. [Pictures show an infographic with the text above.] #reactivedogs #dogtraining #dogbehavior #dogtrainer #reactivedogawareness #reactivity #dogtrainingmethods #dogtrainingtools #dogtrainersunite #rewardbasedtraining #positivedogtraining #balanceddogtraining #forcefree #reactivedogsofflorida #reactivedogsofinstagram #reactivedogsofig #reactivedogsofinsta #sportdog #workingdog #workingdogsofinstagram #sportdogsofinstagram #snackleadernotpackleader #conflictfreetraining #cookietosser #cookiepusher #tbte #trainingbetweentheears

[Puts on bullet proof vest] I don't mind if my dog growls at my daughter once in a while. If you are outraged over this, read on: My daughter is 4. A 4 year old kid has the self control of a puppy. Even though we have discussed the rules of interacting with dogs many times - sometimes she forgets them. If I don't see it, Beatrice growls. That gets my attention, and I help her by separating them. She gets a treat. In part because I want her to feel better about the situation, and in part because I want to reward her for showing restraint. She wasn't a bad dog. She was a good dog, who showed appropriate communication skills, to let everybody know that she is uncomfortable when her other signals are ignored. And if you are worried about "rewarding the growl": you can't reward emotions. And if somebody is asking whether I'm afraid that my dog will bite my daughter: no, I'm not. As long as I keep advocating for her. The reason this post was created is because I was part of a disturbing conversation yesterday in a professional dog trainer's group. Somebody posted a video of her dog interacting with her husband. The dog's body language is very tense, and soon starts growling and putting his teeth on the man. Most responses were about punishing the dog. Very few trainers considered that the dog is uncomfortable, and you have to change how he feels before you can tell him what to do. Understanding canine psychology and emotions should be part of every dog trainer's education, balanced and force free alike.

TikTok is going wild right now because I posted a video of me counterconditioning a barking dog. The amount of trainers out there who don't understand basic behavior science just seriously blows my mind. Don't misunderstand me, I think the label "science-based" is often just a gimmick, where they blindly follow studies without actually examining their content with a critical eye. But there are a few basic scientific principles that every trainer should understand - and many don't. For example, I'm talking about classical conditioning. How many trainers don't understand it is just crazy. They might probably heard the story of Pavlov and his salivating dogs, but don't know how to use the same principles in real life. It doesn't even occur to them that they could use those principles in real life. This includes my past self. I have known about classical conditioning since I was a kid, but I was only told about how to use it in dog training a couple years ago. Because most dog training education out there focuses on operant conditioning and nothing else. And this is really dangerous, because classical conditioning occurs during training, whether we intend to use it or not. So let's use it with intent.

It's okay to give your dog free food. It's also okay not to. I've been seeing a lot of posts and back and forth arguments about "free food". One side says to always ask your dog to do something for food, never give it away for free. The other side is convinced that this is coercion and the dog shouldn't have to work not to starve. In reality, this is a bit more complicated and the truth is somewhere in between and it entirely depends on your dog. First, giving your dog free food doesn't make them spoiled. Your dog won't become suddenly bad because you gave them a treat or even a full meal for free. Second, existential feeding (when the dog gets all their food as training rewards) can be an incredibly powerful tool to build food drive and resolve behavior issues quickly and effectively. If you are training small dog with big issues, you often won't have much of a choice, because they eat so little to begin with. But it's also a tool that is really easy to abuse and turn it into something coercive. I'm planning on doing a post tomorrow on how to existential feed ethically, but here is one idea in advance: at the beginning most of what you do should be classical conditioning instead of asking the dog to do things. This time, Beatrice got the Yummy Comb for free. :) Treat: @yummycombs @pupfluence [Photo of a brown Mountain Feist chewing on a Yummy Comb held by a woman's hand.] #pupfluencer #yummycombs #dogsl❤️vethetaste #tbte #reactivedogs #dogtrainer #dogtraining #dogbehavior #snackleadernotpackleader #cookiepusher #rewardbasedtraining #forcefree #balanceddogtraining #positivedogtraining #positivelybalanced #dogtrainersunite #dogtrainingmethods #dogtrainingtools #dogbehaviorist #dogblogger #mountainfeist #ratterrierworld #reactivedogsofflorida #reactivedogtraining #reactivedogsofinstagram #reactivity #dogreactivity #dogrehabilitation #behaviormodification

There are suddenly a lot of new followers here, do I would like to introduce ourselves a bit. I'm Deborah, and this is my Mountain Feist, Beatrice. Beatrice is 11.5 months old and reactive to dogs and animals, and is also very territorial. She is easily aroused and is very high energy. On this account I'm sharing her journey of her learning to let go of her nervous energy and becoming calmer and more relaxed. I'm a professional dog trainer who specializes in reactive, high drive, and hyperactive dogs (just like Beatrice). I follow the Training Between the Ears system, developed by Mark McCabe. This training system teaches a variety of reward and relaxation based techniques, to help very difficult dogs. Mark is often the last chance of these dogs, who have been through multiple trainers without satisfying results. I also promote his online courses here in case you don't have a TBTE trainer nearby. I'm always happy to answer any dog training questions, my DMs are always open! I also love to share info about Feists, every Friday is Feist Fact Friday in my stories! [Brown Mountain Feist treeing a squirrel] #reactivedogs #reactivity #dogtrainer #reactivedogsofflorida #dogreactivity #dogtraining #rewardbasedtraining #positivedogtraining #balanceddogtraining #forcefree #limatraining #tbte #dogblogger #dogbehavior #dogtrainingmethods #dogtrainingtools #dogtrainersunite #mountainfeist #ratterrierworld #smalldogsaredogstoo #smalldogsrule #smalldog #huntingdogs #squirreldog #squirrelchaser #squirrelkiller #workingdog #sportdog #workingterrier

Working breeds are the only dogs where the more out of control your dog is, the "better" dog handler and trainer you are. If your Chihuahua is a raging lunatic, you are considered to be a furmom. But if it's your Malinois? Well, then you are one of the few people who is cool enough to own one! Them acting like an idiot just means that they are "not for everyone" and most people "can't handle them". Or did your Feist scream all night long because they treed a possum and won't leave the tree until you shoot it? Evidence that your dog has 🔥🔥🔥! (And that really is an awesome tree dog, but IMHO you failed as a dog trainer.) Being an out of control high drive dog is exhausting for the dogs themselves too. It's our responsibility to install an off switch in dogs who didn't come out of the factory having one. I mean, would you want to live with a brain that gives you a full meltdown every time you see a critter and can't chase it? Or the brain that makes you running in circles around the living room all day long, unless you are told to go to "place"? It's possible to have a working dog who isn't crazy, you just have to let go of the idea that working dog = out of control idiot. [Brown Mountain Feist portrait with a lake in the background] #mountainfeist #treedog #squirreldog #malinois #protectiondog #workingdog #workingdogsofinstagram #reactivedogs #reactivedog #reactivedogsofflorida #reactivedogsofig #reactivedogtraining #reactivedogsofinstagram #reactivedogsunite #reactivity #dogbehavior #dogtrainer #ratterrierworld #terriersofinstagram #huntingdogsofinstagram #huntingdogs #reactivedogsupport #reactivity #dogbehaviorist #reactivedogsaregooddogstoo

Scrolling through my Facebook photos I found some old photos of the dogs I used to work with! I started my professional career volunteering in a working dog kennel that bred and trained Malinois and Dutch Shepherds. I miss these dogs so much! Even though I obviously train very differently now, I still learned so much and loved working there. The first picture is Mia, the most loyal German Shepherd who was trained for cadaver search. She thought I'm the most awesome person on the planet lol. Isn't that cool when a nice dog thinks that highly of you? [Bicolor German Shepherd standing on a forest hillside in the morning sun] The second picture is Mia with Pearl-Honey (the puppy) and Teddy. Teddy was supposed to be a Dutch Shepherd x Malinois, but her Malinois mom obviously cheated with a Canaan Dog. He was a Search and Rescue dog. [Malinois mix, Malinois puppy, and bicolor GSD laying on a desert dirt road] The third picture is Pearl-Honey. She was my best friend and I took her everywhere. Here she is sightseeing with my brother and I when he came to visit me. I loved her the most and I was heartbroken when she was sold! But I know her family loves her very much and she is well taken care of. And then later I moved in with my husband and I was taking out the trash when I suddenly saw a very happy Malinois running towards me. It was Pearl-Honey! It turned out that her owner's in-laws live in the apartment above us. [Malinois puppy in woman's arms next to a man, limestone buildings in the background] The fourth picture is Makita, the Dutch Shepherd, whose owner was in the army and she missed him so much, nothing could make her happy without him. Later they reunited and now she is very happy. [Dutch Shepherd standing on a road with hills in the background] The fifth picture is I think Gil, the cadaver dog who was obsessed with collecting tortoises. If she got hold of one, good luck taking it away! Like the necklace I made her? [Portrait of a Malinois with a necklace made of plants] And of course there were puppies, but I tried not to work with whole litters that much because taking care of a Malinois litter isn't fun. 😬 They have too many teeth 😂

Inspired by @herdynhappy 's post I would like to write a more detailed description of Beatrice to my visually impaired friends here. She is a brown Irish marked Mountain Feist. She has slender, muscular build with long legs. She has only a little white on her body, mostly a thin white line on her nose, white chest, white paws, a spot on the back of her neck and white point at the end of her tail. She has very thin, short hair. Her upright ears and her black eyes are big for her head. Her nose is pointy. Her tail is almost always held high up. She often has an intense expression on her face on outdoor pictures, with what is described as "crazy Feist eyes", since she is usually thinking about finding prey when we are outside. She is almost always on leash, even inside the house she has a long line attached so she doesn't start anything naughty. She still has very much a "puppy brain". On this photo she is fishing leaves from a lake, which is her favorite thing to do in our backyard. #accessiblity #visuallyimpaired #dogtrainer #mountainfeist #feistdog #imagedescription #dogtrainingmethods #reactivedogs #dogtrainerlifestyle #dogtraining #rewardbasedtraining #positivedogtraining #balanceddogtraining #positivelybalanced #reactivedogsofig #reactivedogsofinstagram #reactivedogsofflorida #reactivity #ratterrierworld #terriersofinstagram #feistsofinstagram #feistdog #jacksonvilleflorida #floridawinter #floridadogs #floridadogtrainer #dogtrainer #dogblogger

It funny how things that make you upset at that time often turn out to be the best. I was reflecting on what a happy accident was it to start this account. I used to have only cheap phones because I couldn't justify the cost of getting a fancy one. But it also meant that I didn't have a good camera either. Last summer my kid dropped my cheap phone and it broke completely. I was upset, but thought I should now get something that takes nice photos. I still didn't want to pay the full price for a fancy camera phone, so I did some research and came across @backmarket where they sell refurbished phones. Picked up a @googlepixel for $100 and a few days later started this Instagram account. So now I have to thank my daughter for dropping my old phone. 😂 [Brown Mountain Feist staring into a blue lake] #mountainfeist #feistdog #feistsofinstagram #happyaccident #reactivedogs #dogreactivity #reactivedogsofflorida #reactivedogsofinstagram #reavtivedogtraining #reactivedogsofig #reactivedog #dogtrainer #rewardbasedtraining #positivedogtraining #balanceddogtraining #dogbehavior #floridadogs #floridadogtrainer #jacksonvilleflorida #jaxdoggos #jaxdogtrainer #ratterrierworld #terriersofinstagram #terrierworld #googlepixel3 #dogtrainingmethods #dogtrainerlifestyle #dogtrainingtips

Fishing out leaves from the lake is so much fun! [Brown Mountain Feist holding a yellow leaf in her mouth, background is black and white] #reactivedog #reactivedogsofflorida #reactivedogawareness #reactivity #reactivedogs #reactivedogsofinstagram #reactivedogsunite #reactivity #dogtraining #dogbehavior #dogtrainer #rewardbasedtraining #positivedogtraining #balanceddogtraining #fallphotography #floridadogs #floridadogtrainer #floridawinter #jaxdoggos #ratterrierworld #mountainfeist #feistdog #huntingdogs

When working on behavior problems, don't start with the behavior that bothers you the most. One of the most common mistakes made in behavior modification is jumping head first to solve the main problem. Think about aggression, anxiety, reactivity etc. as a giant iceberg. The top of the iceberg is what you see, what bothers you the most. Under the water there is a lot more anxiety hidden that you don't see, either because they don't bother you, or because the main issue is so disturbing that in comparison everything else is a small matter. Without solving the "underwater" issues first by uncovering the hidden anxieties your dog has, working on the main issue is going to be like trying to meditate while watching a horror movie. For example, the "tip of the iceberg" issues for Beatrice are dog and small animal reactivity. The "underwater" issues are things that many people would overlook: getting too excited when we get home, barking at the broomstick, inability to settle etc. Many of these "underwater" behaviors are easy to manage without actually solving them, or are even cute. But how could I expect her to ignore a squirrel when she can't even ignore a broomstick? If you lover your dog's overall excitability and anxiety issues by working through these lower level challenges, working on the main issue is going to be super easy. Can you identify some of those "underwater" behaviors in your dog? Let us know in the comments! #reactivedog #dogreactivity #reactivedogs #reactivedogsofflorida #reactivedogsunite #reactivedogsofig #reactivedogsofinstagram #reactivedogsaregooddogstoo #preydrive #highenergydog #highdrivedog #huntingdogs #mountainfeist #feistdog #dogbehavior #behaviormodification #jacksonvilleflorida #jaxfl #jaxdoggos #ratterrierworld #terrierlove #terriersofinstagram #terriersofig #workingdog #sportdog #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainer #positivedogtraining #balanceddogtraining #rewardbasedtraining