#78: We Need to Talk About This Hot Tub Dog
A recall lesson worth stealing, a viral mindfulness walk, homemade apple treats, and one dog who may have life figured out.
đ Editorâs Note
Happy Friday!!!
If youâve been loving what weâre building here, consider becoming a paid substack subscriber yourself! Itâs just $8/month (less than your fancy coffee order) and helps keep this newsletter running. Take a look at our past articles to see what youâd get access to! Plus, yes, we absolutely do a little happy dance every time someone new joins. đ
And as always, weâre so grateful when you share this newsletter with fellow dog lovers.
đ§ Training Tip of the Week: Building Recall in Adolescent Dogs
We love this video from @clickstartdogacademy on building recall with adolescent dogs in a novel environment. They take an adolescent golden retriever and an adult golden retriever to a rented sniffspot with plenty of space to sniff, explore, dig, and play â and their approach is a great example of smart antecedent arrangement in action.
Rather than asking for recalls right away, they give the dogs time to settle into the environment first. Once a space isnât quite so novel, your reinforcers have a much better chance of competing with all that exciting stuff. The presence of the older dog â who has a solid recall â is also doing some quiet work in the antecedent picture. Dogs often follow other running dogs, so watching an experienced dog run to their person can make it more likely the younger dog will too, which means more opportunities to contact the reinforcer (treats!).
Recall is one of my absolute favorite things to teach. If you want to go deeper, we have a full guide in our Substack.
â¨ď¸ Life Goals: Be This Hot Tub Dog
Every once in a while, the internet introduces us to a dog who seems to have cracked the code on happiness.
Meet Ollie, a Jack Russell Terrier from San Diego whose favorite hobby appears to be soaking in a hot tub. And before you ask: yes, there are receipts. Ollieâs entire Instagram feed is essentially a celebration of his spa lifestyle.
How did this start? We have no idea. Maybe he followed his humans into the water one day and discovered that warm water plus bubbling jets equals perfection.
For other dogs, a hot tub would likely be a nightmare. This is a great reminder about how individual reinforcement is and that it doesnât always come from us. While I cannot magically make a hot tub appear for my dogs, I am always thinking about ways to enrich their environments.
đś A Walking Game for Humans, Not Dogs
If youâve been following us for a while, you know weâre always on the lookout for simple ways to reduce stress and be more present with our dogs.
This week we came across a post from @miriam_tinny about trying the viral TikTok âletter walk.â The concept is simple: as you walk, look for every letter of the alphabet in the world around youâon signs, tree branches, shadows, fences, cracks in the sidewalk, wherever your imagination takes you.
What we loved most wasnât the activity itself, but Miriamâs honest reflection on how it changed her experience of the walk. She said she found herself covering far less ground and noticing way more.
This is one of the coolest things about being human. We can play these little games with ourselves and fundamentally shift our behavior and how we feel. This game is really just shifting contingencies on the walk and that can dramatically change the look and feel of the walk. I think itâs so cool that you can travel the same ground and orient to such different stimuli as a result of a simple mind game.
The comments were full of creative variations, but this one was our favorite:
âWhen I go for walks I look for cats in windows... there are so many delightful surprises and treasures in peopleâs apartments and windowsills and sometimes a happy warm curious cat.â
Whether youâre searching for letters, spotting neighborhood cats, or counting rabbits, thereâs something refreshing about giving your brain a gentle scavenger hunt while your dog sniffs â especially if you want to shift how you are feeling or thinking on that walk.
Have you ever tried something like this on a walk? Weâd love to hear your version.
đ¨ DIY This for Your Dog: An Apple a Day
We love this idea for simple at-home dehydrated apple treats. The author @furever_healthy claims that the teeth will help your dogâs breath, gut and teeth. Weâre eager to try these. If you make them, be sure to tag us to let us know what you and your dog think.
đą The Lawn Sign Debate Nobody Asked For
Youâve seen them: the little signs asking dogs not to pee on the grass.
This week, @thehonestvet shared a thoughtful carousel unpacking what these signs may be trying to communicateâand whether theyâre actually accomplishing their intended goal.
As expected, the comment section quickly turned into a neighborhood ethics seminar.
One commenter pointed out that rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, deer, neighborhood cats, and countless other animals arenât exactly known for respecting lawn signage.
I 100% am with the sentiment of wanting to make space for dogs to exist in our world, and I also just donât think itâs actually that hard to keep dogs off of the few lawns that have these signs. What do I know though?
So weâre curious: when you see one of these signs, do you steer your dog elsewhere, or do you keep walking as usual?
Tell us where you land in the comments. đż
Did You Know We Sell Training E-Courses?
Theyâre actually more about bonding with your dog and finding joy through learning than achieving perfection. Join us.Â
If you already have our e-courses and still want to support TOCâs future projects, you can always buy us a coffee.
Do you like our newsletter?! Consider forwarding it to your friend so they can enjoy it too!
Do you have suggestions for us? We canât wait to hear from you! Email hello@tailsofconnection.com.
*[Disclosure: This newsletter may contain affiliate links, meaning TOC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through our links, at no cost to you.]
We Love Y'all,
â TOC