PuppyKins

23/09/2024

Interesting bit of research on serotonin, for the nerds among us.

A recent study found that serotonin is released both when a reward is anticipated and consumed. The amount of serotonin released increases with the reward's value, helping the brain encode and respond to expected rewards.

11/09/2024

Snake sightings have started for the summer already!

🐍⚠️Snake Bites⚠️🐍
We are officially in Spring, and with weather being warmer than usual at this time of year, our snakes are already out and about.
If you think your pet has been bitten by a snake, call your closest vet immediately.
Keep your pet as calm and quiet as possible whilst transporting them to the vet.
Under no circumstances should you try to catch or kill the snake, this will only risk you getting bitten too.
Common signs of snake bites to our pets include, but are not limited to:
-collapse, often followed by apparent recovery
-lethargy
-tremoring, shaking
-sudden weakness or wobbliness
-drooling
-vomiting
-dilated pupils

11/08/2024

Nickel enjoyed our last day together, with sunbaking, a mini-walk and a Macca's filled Freework session. I was navigating a line between pain and joy, as her spine degenerated. After a year of therapy, exercises and pain relief, the line got too thin. The balance between pain and quality of life had tipped for this sweet beautiful girl, so it was time to thank her for her unconditional love with a peaceful send off.

26/07/2024

What is quality of life for your dog? Nickel loves exploring and sniffing out rats. When Nickel is no longer free to do the things she loves, then I'll need to reassess her spinal degeneration and think about compassionate end of life options. Today cheeky Nickel disappeared into the long grass. Quality of life = tick. Obedient recall = not quite a tick.

07/07/2024

Training is not just for the young. Lifelong learning means ongoing fun and relationship development, with quality of life for as long as possible, in thanks for a lifetime of unconditional love.

New study of canine cognitive decline and dementia could help teach old dogs new tricksABC Riverland / By Timu KingPosted 2h ago2 hours agoSat 6 Jul 2024 at 10:40pm, updated 1h ago1 hours agoSat 6 Jul 2024 at 11:34pm University of Adelaide PhD candidate Tracey Taylor says dogs should be actively tra...

21/05/2024

To hug or not to hug? Kudu definitely hated hugs, but could consent to being picked up. Pats were also challenging for Kudu. We'd do pats, I'd pause, and see if she tapped me for more or walk away.

A new study of videos of people hugging dogs showed frequent signs of stress and anxiety, and two thirds of the dogs responded by nipping or biting the hugger.

09/05/2024

The joys of separation anxiety. When all the hard work and dedication from wonderful people is paying off and I get to watch a dog sleep without a care in the world for almost 3 hours. 😍

27/04/2024

Rest in peace my little Kudu. Or rather run free, explore, jump and bark all with crazy hair, a big smile and mischievous twinkle in your eye. Thank you for 12 years of adventures by your side.

21/04/2024

How many spoons or candles might a medical issue be using? If your dog only has so many candles a day, an underlying medical issue can use them up, leaving no tolerance for life's little annoyances.

As a dog behaviourist, ruling out medical causes for behavioural changes and challenges is really important. By working in partnership with the dog's vet and other professionals involved in the dog's life as well as the owners can give a holistic picture of the behaviours that are being displayed. D...

17/03/2024

I'm always a bit tired on a Monday morning but today I received THE BEST NEWS! A beautiful sep anxie update that a special brave dog can now do a whopping 7, yep SEVEN HOURS of alone time. His humans have been able to go to the movies, go out for dinner, do normal life things! Sep anx can be such a challenging journey and I'm so impressed at the dedication, patience and empathy from these brilliant people. We started the journey together when the poor pupper couldn't handle even a minute of alone time, we got to 3 hours together and now they've more than doubled that! Well done!!!

08/01/2024

The dog knows (nose). A nice little quick read to remind us all how awesome that wet thing out the front of our dogs really is. What's the best (or worst thing) your dog's found for you?

Conservation dogs perform vital roles across Australia. Some are guardians protecting wildlife from predators while others put their powerful sense of smell to use as sniffer dogs or detection dogs.

09/09/2023

09/09/2023

For all you sep anxies out there. Enjoy this love ballad.

14/08/2023

Join us for a two-day tracking workshop by Sonja Needs, Scent Dogs Australia on 9 and 10 September, 9.30am to 4 or 5pm at Kaleen.
This is an outdoor workshop for BEGINNER level tracking dogs. This means you and your dog have not previously trained in tracking.
There are two types of registration available:
Participants: The same 10 participant dogs and their humans will participate in both days of the workshop, with online theory completed prior (included in cost of registration).
Observer helpers: Observer helpers may be asked to assist with laying tracks and support the learning of participants and their dogs. This will build the observer's skills, to take home and apply to their dogs. It is recommended observers complete Module 3. Scent Dynamics and Module 4. Tracking at https://scent-dogs-australia.thinkific.com/collections/courses to ensure you can keep up with the course and get the most out of it (at additional cost through thinkific).
Register at
https://puppykins.snapforms.com.au/form/tracking-workshop
Further information and questions to: [email protected]

08/08/2023

Thank you.

Let me introduce you to ACT Pet Crisis Support, their mobile Tiny Vet Clinic, and the brilliance behind their genuine care and love for pets.

25/05/2023

Just because this is a cool video of positive reinforcement training and there's a long weekend coming. Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDGEuihopWs

I denne video kan du se dyrepasseren træne hantigeren. Tigrene i Zoo trænes, så det er lettere for dyrepassere og dyrlæger at arbejde med dyrene og komme tæt...

13/05/2023

Happy Mother's Day for all the dog mums out there!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCITCn7A3Mc

Anthem for all the women who love taking care of their pups like LADY BOSSES. To download the track go to: http://ruv.me/dogmoms4eva a...

01/05/2023

Play is conversational. "Do you want to play with me?" "Why yes!" or "No thanks" is all said through your dog's (and its prospective playmate's) body language. Cut off signals, role reversal and polite invitations to play are all a part of good play. Possibly my favourite line of this article is "It is NOT the other dog's job to train your dog."

An IAABC Foundation Publication

15/04/2023

Nickel (my Weimaraner, born to Hunt, Point, Retrieve) made me extremely proud today. We did a walk around Narrabeen lagoon and she detected not one, but two red belly black snakes. I've been working on her pointing skills. She gets extremely over aroused around rodents and reptiles. I can positively build her ability to point by letting her stand still and watch, or physically drag her. I can't reward with food treats in these moments because the environmental stimuli (and associated functional reinforcer of stalking) is too intense from the moment she detects. If I physically drag her away, she'll physically fight back and can bunny hop towards the prey. Today, on two seperate occasions she detected, stopped, stood, pointed and the snake slowly slithered away. Once the snakes had each moved a little away, Nickel turned away on her own choice and walked with me. A brilliant outcome that sure beats her grabbing a 2.5m snake and holding it in her soft gun dog mouth. Photo from after the first snake when I was calmer on the board walk section.

08/04/2023

A book to add to the reading list by the sounds of it.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/animal-emotions/202304/veterinarians-are-family-doctors-who-cross-species-borders

An interview with author Karen Fine on why veterinarians are eclectic physicians.

20/03/2023

Training that builds your dogs problem solving skills (aka information processing) are important for all dogs. Start your puppy off well with the exploration style activities we do in puppy class. Build your dog's thinking abilities in our group classes. Chat with me about 1 on 1 training for the anxious ones. Together we can work on the underlying challenges, instead of patching the symptoms.
https://theconversation.com/anxious-dogs-have-different-brains-to-normal-dogs-brain-scan-study-reveals-201775

If your dog is struggling with anxiety, their brain could be wired differently. Understanding these differences can help our furry best friends.

17/02/2023

Separation anxiety often requires creative solutions to stop validating the dog's fear of alone time during restorative systematic desensitisation based training. (Sounds complicated but as a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer I can help you.) This is a heart warming example of suspending absences!

Caesar used to be a shy and anxious dog that nobody wanted, but after prisoners participating in a program fell in love with him, he's now enjoying a life sentence at Risdon Prison — and the inmates are feeling the benefits as well.

06/02/2023

Paws a while or as I often say, 'they stop, you stop' can really help a dog slow down and relax on walks. Get rid of the erratic zig zag pulling and rushing to get all the sniffs. Walking the dog each day isn't a chore to be quickly ticked. Make time for it and it's more relaxing (for both humans and dogs).

13/01/2023

A handy bit of info on heat stress. Keep your pooch cool with frozen Kongs or for a summer treat, fill a cup cake tray with low lactose yoghurt, add some banana or berries, put it in the freezer overnight, serve on easily mopped floors!

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=608424461291158&id=100063708276886&sfnsn=mo&mibextid=RUbZ1f

☀️🌡Heat Stress🌡☀️

How do I know my pet is suffering from heat stress?

Heat stress can come on very quickly and signs can be varied
Signs to look out for include:

🌡 Panting
🌡 Drooling
🌡 Vomiting
🌡 Agitation, restlessness
🌡 Breathing distress
🌡 Bright red gums and tongue
🌡 Lethargy, collapse
🌡 Seizures

If you are worried your dog is suffering from heat stress, do not hesitate to call our team right away.

📱6288 4777

30/12/2022

New Year's Eve. A night to stay home with the dogs.

Does your dog get scared of fireworks? Sadly, plenty of dogs are completely terrified of these loud, unpredictable reverberating bangs. You were planning on doing noise desensitisation but got busy? Life happens. It’s now time for a New Year’s management plan.

Thankfully, Lyndal from Puppykins is back with 6 steps to manage your furry friends fear.

Step 1. Reduce all stressors in the 3 to 5 days prior to fireworks night. This will prevent your dog from having a body pre-loaded with stress hormones.

Step 2. On New Year’s eve (and the days prior) fill your dog’s daily enrichment bucket with happy walks, sniffs, games, play and training.

Step 3. Reduce or remove your dog from as much noise as possible. This could mean going for a dogmantic midnight drive and car picnic.

Step 4. Have a selection of long-lasting chew toys ready. Kong with frozen yoghurt, mash pumpkin in a licky mat or a peanut butter chew. Chewing releases happy relaxing hormones. A few minutes before firework o’clock, give your dog the chew treat. Stay calm and relaxed with your dog.

Step 5. If your dog can’t keep working the chew toy, your dog needs less exposure to the trigger. Do your best with the highest ever value treats (steak even), try some play or for some dogs calming pats and hugs. Unfortunately, there’s little you can do in the moment, except know that just by being there, you’re limiting the potential for injury and escape.

Step 6. Rest well, it’ll be a new year when you wake up full of new dog training plans and resolutions.

For further tips on how to prepare, check out https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/dog-advice/life-with-your-dog/seasonal/fireworks

If your dog has a long history of firework panic and stress, book in now with your vet!

Did you know noise sensitivity is the most common comorbidity with separation anxiety? Lyndal at PuppyKins is a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer and can work with your vet to help you and your pooch.