Hello, Fellow Dog Lovers!
Can you believe it's 2016 already? Hoping you all had a wonderful start to the New Year. At Positively, we've started the year off with a bang with the release of a special sneak peek of my Guardians of the Night project (more on that below!), the finalization of this summer's UK Dog Bite Conference schedule (amazing lineup), and preparations for our inaugural class of students for the VS Academy for Dog Training & Behavior. Busy times!
For this edition of the Positively Newsletter, you'll find tips on improving walks and playtime with your pups, as well as some special thoughts for anyone in the animal welfare world. As always, throughout this newsletter you'll find exclusive content and training tips that you won't find anywhere else. Hope you enjoy!
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Victoria recently released a sneak peek at her new project, Guardians of the Night.
The new project follows a police K-9 unit in Georgia, and it gives the viewer an never-before-seen intimate look inside their daily lives. Make sure to follow Victoria on Facebook for all the latest updates on when and where the series will be airing.
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| Lara Wilber of Rubicon Days gives some insight to animal welfare organizations on how they can better improve the volunteer experience.
As someone who has volunteered with many different organizations, I have gained perspective on the ways they can best attract, maintain and support their volunteer base. Many shelters, rescues and other advocacy groups depend on volunteers for everything from business operations to fundraising as well as working directly with animals through transport, fostering and rehabilitation. The strength of an organization that depends primarily on passionate, committed volunteers is a force to be reckoned with!
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Lucy Bennett of Good Dogs & Co. shares her ideas for improving playtime with your dog this year. Working on any resolutions this year? What about your dog? Here’s one resolution I can get behind for us both: why not resolve to play with your dog more in 2016? Playing is an important part of your dog’s life. Beyond the daily walk, playing with your dog has a number of positive benefits. - It makes you and your dog happier, as play provides a release of oxytocin.
- It increases the strength of your bond with your dog.
- It helps you both feel healthier through increased physical and mental stimulation.
- It promotes better behavior, if you incorporate training into your play sessions.
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Rachel Sheppard of My Kid Has Paws gives her top tips for improving walks with your dog. January is National Walk Your Dog Month! That's excellent news for those pet parents who have renewed their efforts to get in shape. Although walking with your dog seems like a routine activity, a good walk always starts with preparation and the right equipment. So today I would like to share with you some tips for having the best walk with your dog!
1. Leashes:
Make sure that you select the best leash for your walking activities. I suggest a soft, standard 6-foot leash to start, and possibly a reflective or light-up leash for night walks. You want to stay away from leashes that are too long and don’t provide you with control.
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Positively Contributor and dog trainer Tom Mitchell of absoluteDOGS starts a 3-part series on training "naughty but nice" dogs.
Naughty But Nice (NBN) dog is exactly how it sounds - they are nice, beautiful, loveable dogs underneath but sometimes they make bad choices! These bad choices might be because they are easily overaroused, reactive, frustrated, worried, scared or anxious! Naughty but nice dogs are often termed aggressive, angry, overconfident, EVIL - but - you know your dog isn’t any of those things really, they just need to be taught to make better choices and be happier about the things in their life! In fact, many of the things that NBN dogs do are often motivated by fear! You may feel alone, but you aren’t! We have been through it, we know you can turn this into a strength and, most importantly, we know it can be fun!
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New last-minute spots available! Grab one of the newly-opened last remaining seats for the very first Dog Trainer Course at the Victoria Stilwell Academy for Dog Training & Behavior.
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Victoria's UK Dog Bite Prevention and Behaviour Conference is coming back to the UK for a third straight year! The last two sold out, and we're anticipating the same this year, so grab your spot now! If you're a pet professional or a pet parent who wants to learn about dog bite prevention and get cutting edge dog behaviour advice from some of the UK's top experts, you won't want to miss this event.
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Erica Lieberman is the founder and Head Trainer at Pawsibilities. Erica has dedicated her life to helping owners in the New York City area with their dog's obedience skills, leash-walking, separation anxiety, aggression, and even agility. Need a dog behavior expert in the New York City area? Get in touch with Erica today: CALL ERICA:
631.848.8377
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Victoria is featured in the latest edition of Dogster Magazine, where she gives advice on improving your dog's impulse control around food.
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| Do you have a new dog that seems to hate being contained or left alone? When bringing home a new addition, try seeing things from the dog's point of view. Entering a completely new environment and then quickly being forced into an empty room or crate can be stressful for any dog, regardless of their level of confidence or history of anxiety. For most dogs, these are entirely new experiences that need to be introduced slowly.
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