Ask the Trainer - Dog At Heart

June is a special issue that will focus on systematic racism, specifically Anti-Asian hate, in the dog training industry. For that, we are talking to two industry leaders- San Choi and Rachel Forday to more about what they do and hear their experiences so we can learn together.

This blog features the wonderful Rachel Forday from Dog At Heart, her experiences and story in her words.

What is Dog At Heart?

Dog At Heart is the dog training business I founded. I specialise in working on reactivity cases and do so entirely virtually. It has been really effective because my clients really learn the skills they need and are not reliant on me handling their dog for them. I came up with the name because I wanted my clients to remember to celebrate the dog that they have and celebrate their dog for who they are at heart.

What inspired you to start Dog At Heart?

I decided to volunteer to be a dog walker at a shelter in Singapore one day and from there, I was taught a lot about force-free training, positive reinforcement, and enrichment. I got to work with a lot of reactive dogs and it really made me want to go further and turn this into something I do full time. I was working as a sound engineer at the time, and I found myself thinking, reading, and just all round being more interested in learning about dogs and their behaviour. I also really wanted to show, through my work, that rescue dogs, street dogs, and mongrels can all benefit and learn with force-free training methods. No breed needs a heavier hand.

I learned about you from Dave the Doggo- can you tell me about his journey?

Dave had lived in the shelter in Singapore for 7 years from the time he was 2 years old. I had met him when I was volunteering at the shelter and fell in love with him. I walked and trained with him on all my weekends and days off for about 2 years before finally adopting him to Liverpool, UK with me!

Dave the Doggo

Not much is known about how he arrived at the shelter but he was likely a street dog. At the shelter, he was very reactive towards other dogs. He would bang against his kennel door and spin every time a dog went past his kennel. He’s even damaged one of the kennel doors and scared some dogs out of going on their walks if they have to go past him. On walks, he would also lunge, growl, and bark at other dogs at certain distances. He didn’t get many interested potential adopters possibly due to his reactivity, but also probably because he also wasn’t that interested in people. It took me a long time to get him to warm up to me. On the day I signed his adoption papers, I went to his kennel to tell him and that was the very first time he rubbed himself against me and solicited petting from anyone as far as I know.

Since adopting him and really working with him on his reactivity, giving him lots of opportunities to decompress and relax, and meet his needs, he is so much better with other dogs now that I wouldn’t even use the “label” reactive with him. He’s not sociable, but he’ll walk past most dogs with no trouble and will even walk with and hang out with some more chilled out dogs.

Why do you focus so much on cooperative care with Dave the Doggo?

Dave is 11 years old now, so he’s getting old. With him, not being the cuddliest dog, I wanted to make sure that he would be comfortable with handling should anything happen as he ages. Fortunately, he’s incredibly healthy for his age. But the cooperative care skills we have have allowed him to be a lot more comfortable with his vet and also with me. I do feel like it is partly thanks to the cooperative care work that we do that he is much more affectionate with us because that trust is there.

Do you have any tips for people who have reactive (fearful, stressed, overaroused or frustrated) dogs?

One of my most important tips to help with reactive dogs is to reduce their stress levels. So if we have a dog who is reacting at other dogs on their walks really often, they are likely to be incredibly stressed and they need time to recover from that. The way we can do that is we can walk our dog in quieter places or at quieter times. In the UK, there are secure fields that we can rent for an hour so that we can let our reactive dog off leash without worry of running into anyone or any dogs. Another thing to remember is also that it is absolutely fine to not walk our dogs everyday. You can skip a day of walks or do a short walk and instead provide your dog with a lot more enrichment activities such as snuffle mats, lickimats, and “treasure hunts” around the house so that you are still meeting their needs of sniffing and exploring, but doing so without causing them so much stress. A client of mine started with doing only 3 walks a week and they were initially worried that their dog would be really full of energy on the walks, but it turned out that their dog became way more relaxed on their walks, was able to cope with triggers at a distance a lot better, and just generally calmer.

Now I know that to some, this can sound like avoiding the problem, but that is not the idea. Because we will be working on how our dog feels about these triggers (like dogs, people, or traffic) with those things present at an intensity our dog can cope with, but to begin with, we need to give our dogs time to reset and decompress so that they can learn better the next day and not feel constantly on edge. Like my client’s dog that I mentioned early, with that time to reset, they were able to get better training in with their dog when their dog was more relaxed.

You recently completed a Leslie McDevitt course. What are some key concepts and cues that you learned that could help pet guardians?

With Control Unleashed, one of the important concepts is understanding that predictability can bring about more calm for our dogs. Giving them safe, predictable behaviour patterns to engage with can really help them feel better in the presence of something that could typically worry them, and we of course do this at an intensity that the dog is comfortable with to begin with.

Another important concept is giving our dogs choice and control in the matter. So they can use their behaviour to tell us to keep going, or to help them create more distance. Choice and control is a positive reinforcer and it helps dogs, and any animal really, feel safer when they know they have a choice. They aren’t forced to move closer to the scary thing. They can choose to stay where they’re at, move away, or if they’re feeling brave, move a little bit closer.

How do you feel represented in the dog training industry as a female BIPOC?

I don’t feel very represented to be honest. It’s always a big deal for me to see a POC speaking at any dog training and behaviour conferences because it is so rare. When I did my first certification, I was the only Asian and minority in the class and it has taken me some time to find peers who are POC like me. I’m grateful to have found a lot of them through both Instagram and the Control Unleashed certification group as Leslie is incredibly open, supportive, and welcoming.

Have you experienced Anti-Asian hate, racism and sexism in the dog training industry?

Yes, to an extent. I have experienced mostly microaggressions, such as racial gaslighting (someone trying to make me think something that happened was not racist), as well as being asked to do emotional labour on someone else’s racist behaviour.

Sometimes racist remarks aren’t directed at me, but as an Asian person it makes me feel unsafe in this community and industry. For example, when a well-known animal trainer used the term “Chine virus” on a social media post, it certainly made me very uncomfortable, especially considering the number of other trainers who continued to be supportive and not question the use of that language.

Outside of dog training, when I walk my dog, I have been asked racist questions like whether I eat dog where I come from or just get yelled at sometimes.

Are there parallels/links between animal welfare, human welfare and systematic racism/sexism in the dog training industry?

I am careful not to compare animal welfare issues to issues like racism and sexism so as not to downplay the very real struggles that marginalised people face. However, it is clear that racism and sexism exist in every aspect of our lives, and the dog training industry is not exempt from it. The unfortunate thing about racism in the dog training industry is that it is common for people to use their kindness towards animals as a shield to not face the real issues of racism that hurt so many people and really do more about it.

What language is used to perpetuate violence/bullying towards, damage or ignore conversations about racism and sexism in the dog training industry?

One of the things that I see a lot of in dog training groups is that whenever conversation about race or racism come up, people are quick to brush it off or say “This is a dog training group. Stick to talking about dogs.” The problem with this is recognising, first of all, that it’s humans that work with dogs. Our clients and our colleagues are people and some are POC and so it is an important discussion to have in dog training circles so that we can do better for both our clients and colleagues and help them feel safe. The second issue with this, is that when people are talking about racism and sexism in the industry, there clearly is a big problem and it needs to be discussed so that we can improve the industry on the whole.

The other way that violence/bullying is perpetuated when conversations about race come up is when people are calling someone out for being racist because that’s the behaviour they’ve displayed over and over again despite giving multiple opportunities to learn and grow, they get told that it’s “not very force-free of them to do that”. The issue with this is that calling out racist behaviour is important. Our POC colleagues need to know who they can feel safe around and who they can’t. It’s also important that a racist person loses support from people because of their racist behaviour otherwise they feel they can continue to be racist and continue to have that fame and support and therefore continue hurting people.

What is your hope for future BIPOC and female dog trainers/professionals in the dog training industry?

I would love to see more trainers who are POC speaking at big conferences like ClickerExpo as well as more POC in positions of authority in the various training and behaviour organisations. I hope to see more open discussions about these issues of racism and sexism in our industry so that we can continue to do better for both our peers and clients.

WFA hopes you enjoy hearing different force free perspectives and are excited to soon share San Choi of Ruff n Roll Academy’s experiences and story in our double June ASK THE TRAINER feature.