Cognitive Canines MTL

*Not a dog post* This is Feta, my 1yr old Black and white Argentinian Tegu. I adopted him 7 months ago, after the passing of our beloved uromastyx Skittles, and we had a close encounter with impaction (a blockage in the intestines) right after I adopted him. The vet team and I struggled to give him his medication and treatments, and he's not even fully grown, so I decided that I would clicker train him and work as much gentle handling as possible, to be better prepared in the future. It's not exactly cooperative care, I'm not even sure if they have the cognitive capability to attain that level of understanding, but I'll keep trying and learning what works for each of my pets! It's nothing too impressive, but I'm proud of our small success with verbal 'wait' cues to freeze/stop walking, and a visual cue (towel) for recall. Tegu are large omnivorous reptiles that are extremely intelligent and social. They are curious by nature and very food motivated, making them the most interesting reptiles to train. They were recently discovered to be capable of REM sleep, which in humans, is a big part of dreaming, memory, emotional processing, and cognitive development. Feta enjoys scratches and massages, which wouldn't work for my female blue Tegu, Kevin. Whether that's because she's younger and still in her adolescence because they're different sexes or even genetic differences, I'm not sure. Each Tegu has individual personalities and preferences. There isn't much research on training these animals, so I'm using my @clickertraining knowledge of how to work with another species. Working with his natural behaviors and specific reinforcers has gotten us this far and I'm really happy about it! PSA: Males can attain lengths of 5ft and 25lbs, these are not easy pet reptiles, require a lot of attention, mental stimulation, need to be socialized, or they will behave like wild animals, with a mouth full of sharp teeth and a bite force of 250-300psi. When needs are met, they like to free roam in the house and even play with toys. A lot of them are abandoned or euthanized within their first 2yrs of life, so please always do your research before adding a pet to your family.

My highlight of #clickerexpo2023 was the husbandry panel, for obvious reasons, but mostly because my question about training and grooming, was answered in so many ways that helped me forgive myself. I gained more tools for my box from their shared experiences with husbandry training. Outside of the panel, Kathy Sdao answered my question in her Q&A Q: Do you have any tips to encourage our clients to be more force-free in their day-to-day life with their pets? A: She said she wouldn't call herself force-free because it's a label that is unforgiving to yourself and your clients. Add in @sg.friedman comment to my private question, "Feelings are for actions, what is that feeling telling you to do?" And Chris Pachel's "Learning and Doing" dance routine... 🤯 On my life journey, facing physical and mental health problems after the pandemic, being heavily invested in dog training for almost 2 years, making the shift from the grooming industry, and wanting to help the grooming industry advance in the well-being of dogs, this past weekend has broken through my mental roadblocks, and saved me from burnout and compassion fatigue. I am so grateful that this expo exists and that I took the risk, against a doctor's recommendation, and made the choice to attend. @clickertraining

Clicker trainer socialization #clickerexpo2023 #clickerexpo #clickertraining #chachaslide

I am attending #clickerexpo2023 This means that I will be in seminars all day, from the 17th to the 19th, and will not be able to answer any messages. As a Karen Pryor graduate and Certified Training Partner, we are spending the day behind the scenes at the Smithsonian zoo 🥰 I will be focused on learning as much as I can and will not be answering messages for the day. Please email me with any questions and I will be able to respond on Monday. Stay tuned for fun photos from this incredible experience.

Wow! @opawz how incredibly grateful I am to be nominated on a list with so many incredible groomers! I have been so focused on running my business and educating for cooperative care grooming, that my muse and grooming partner (my poodle Candy) has been a blank canvas for far too long! For those of you who aren't aware, Opawz is made for dogs and is completely safe for them. Any decor that is added for photos is removed shortly afterward. Candy is a trained professional for grooming competitions, but we have been out of the ring since covid. She absolutely loves the grooming table and is highly rewarded for her table behaviors. Sessions are broken down into 2-3hr segments, no longer than a usual poodle grooming session. Here are some of my favorites from over the years.

I am currently on vacation! I am doing my best to disconnect so if you have any questions, please email me at cognitivecaninesmtl@gmail.com and I will get back to them when I am able. DM's, text messages, and phone calls will not be answered. Thanks for your understanding!

Russell is a champ 🏆 He's always struggled with nail trims and paw grooming after being forced through it at a younger age, and now you wouldn't be able to tell! Breaking up the sessions into smaller segments like "pawdicure day" and then a week later "face and body" helps dogs be more relaxed and prevents trigger stacking, keeping grooming sessions as something to be excited about. Using reward based training and enrichment is what made this possible for Russ and we're all so proud of him! 🥰

A little RESPECT for Lola 🥰 with behavioral grooming aka cooperative care aka low stress grooming aka force-free grooming. It has many names but it should all look the same!

It's a good thing her human is a groomer 😂 #letdogsbedogs

I fall in love all over again 💕 enjoy your long weekend, take time to go on adventures with your pups!

Finally received in the mail 😍 @clickertraining

Finally got around to @michaelshikashio aggression in dogs masterclass! So wonderful to know everything that I've been doing right and add some new skills to further help my clients! If you've been considering this program, it really is great! I highly recommend it!

It's unfortunately quite common that dogs don't enjoy having their nails trimmed. Thankfully, along with reward based training plans, @scratchsquare is a fun alternative for dogs to maintain their own nails! Although it is a game, you put treats inside and give it to your pup, I like to click/capture the behavior of scratching, reinforce with a treat from my pouch and put it on cue for future use. I'm currently still accepting training clients, send me an email for more information. CognitiveCaninesMTL@gmail.com

This year has been quite the experience! I'm so proud to announce that I have officially completed @clickertraining professional dog training program and I am an officially titled KPA-CTP, from the first ever Montréal group class! At the same time as completing this intensive program, I was part of the first ever ABA3 group class with @dogue_academy , another intensive program that dove deep into "out of the box training", scientific research, understanding human psychology and undergoing personal growth to better help our canine and human clients. I will never stop learning, growing and teaching. I look forward to completing many more certifications and bringing my knowledge to the community. I'm happy to have all of my friends, family and client's support on this journey.

Heat stroke is no joke! Please be mindful of how much time your dog spends in this heat. Alternatives to outdoor physical activities are brain games by @nina_ottosson , snuffle matts, training sessions, lick matts and frozen treats! #canineenrichment #mtl #staysafe #hotdog

No dogs today! Wedding season with my one and only @_monotone_ Have a safe and wonderful Canada day weekend, remember to hydrate and keep your pets cool this long weekend. It's going to be an enrichment weekend for certain!

Being trapped at home with covid means my own dogs get groomed. Candy's rocking her @celtick9collars custom collar, it fits perfectly!

Daisy is miniature poodle, about a year and a half old, and she was born blind. Daisy's mom brought me in to help desensitize her for grooming, specifically, trimming her face. Daisy's now able to have a full trim without snapping at the scissors in fear so we've moved on to other behaviors. 'Touch' is an excellent recall behavior as it's heavily reinforced with great rewards. Teaching a dog who is missing one of it's senses means we need to rely on the others. Notice how I wiggle my fingers when her nose leads her to my treat stash? I started with the wiggle and slowly faded it out so that she can search with her nose. I will still help her out when she needs it but our goal is for her to come searching for her mom when she hears the cue. Training with distractions like this is great work for Daisy! #clickertraining #blinddog #forcefreetraining #forcefreegrooming #miniaturepoodle #rewards

Avec ce beau temps, il est important de se rappeler que nos chiens ne peuvent pas en profiter autant que nous! Protégez-les contre les coups de chaleur cette saison! - With this beautiful weather, it's important to remember that our dogs can't enjoy it as much as we do! Please keep the safe from heatstroke this season!

"Sit stay" for these good boiiis! I love that you can literally see them thinking 🤔🤔 it's not easy to train 2 dogs at the same time, great work @jadefawn_ 🥰