empaw

16/12/2022

Great advice by Dog Communication

15/12/2022

Should you get a dog, and which dog - great considerations by Bone Canis

There are many things to consider before getting a dog; if you are truly serious about adding a pooch to your family, make sure you can check-off all the points below...

🐾Finances - dogs aren't cheap! Can you afford insurance, decent food, grooming, vet-bills, dog-walkers, daycare etc. Owning a dog in the UK can cost on average £1,000 a year (more in my case!!), and that doesn't include the upfront cost!
🐾Energy - some dogs have higher energy-levels than others. It is important that you can (and will be able to provide) the necessary exercise needs for the dog - make sure you choose a breed whose needs fit with what you can supply.
🐾Lifestyle - does your particular lifestyle suit having a dog? Are you away from home a lot for business or pleasure? Do you like to host lots of busy/loud parties at your house regularly? It could be that it wouldn't be the right time to bring a dog into your home, so wait until things settle down a bit.
🐾Commitment - a dog is a life-long commitment. It is important to remember no matter how alluring a puppy is, soon that puppy will be an adult dog! You need to be prepared to take care of a dog throughout their life, including when they are elderly, or if they ever have any physical or behavioural issues. We can't just focus on the fun bits. A dog certainly is for life.
🐾Time - do you actually have time for a dog? Dogs need training, walking, quality-time, enrichment, grooming etc. Will you be able to fit in all of these into your schedule daily? Be sure to spend some quality time with them when you are home. I’m sure that you couldn’t sit in a room with nothing to do, and no-one to talk to for a long time, so we shouldn’t expect our dogs to do it.
🐾Family - Is everyone 'on-board' with getting a dog? Even if you will be the primary carer of the dog, it is important to remember the dog will need to coexist with other members of the household and extended family too. If having the dog will cause resentments or fights, it won't be a very healthy environment for the dog to be in.

If, after reading through this, you feel now may not be the time for you to own your own dog, but you want to enjoy their company, then volunteer at a rescue- centre. Go and walk the dogs; play with them; spend time with them; they will love the attention: you will be enriching a dog’s life, and it may even help them to find and settle into a new loving home, by preparing and helping to 'train' them…

23/11/2022

Good and bad breeders of companion dogs - signs to watch for

My ideal next dog is first and foremost a confident, friendly, resilient, versatile, well rounded and healthy companion who isn’t prone to developing nervous, tense, aggressive, or shut down …

11/10/2022

The spotlight effect & walking a reactive dog ... and great tips for how to make it a better experience

06/04/2022

Adding to the list of canine dream jobs

24/03/2022

A Dog's World on ABC iView ... about dogs, their logic & emotions, & how they've evolved to fit so extremely well into human society

Quite good

https://iview.abc.net.au/video/DO2009H001S00

Explore the scientific journey of canine evolution from wild wolf to our best friend and trace the fascinating history of the human/dog relationship. Dogs were the first animal ever domesticated and this long-shared alliance has intertwined their biology with ours.

08/03/2022

How to introduce yourself to strangers... great tips from Irwin Dog Training. Also some good guidelines for meeting unfamiliar dogs in general, because:

- they might be nervous

- even happy-dancing, falling-out-of-myself-to-come-over-and-say-HI kind of dogs can benefit from being ignored at first, and not be fussed about by random strangers

It can help them to learn to approach strangers in a calm composed manner, and improve their chances of maturing into calm, stable, go-anywhere kind of dogs who know there's a time for parties, and a time for ignoring (and being ignored) in public

21/01/2022

Precisely

The more I do this work the more I’m convinced that what’s at the core of the most rewarding and joyful dog-human relationships isn’t training experience, or exceptional handler skills, or having raised dogs your entire life. It’s basic compassion and common sense.

It’s the ability to see the world from the point of view of another living being, in this case, from the point of view of our dogs.

It’s taking a moment to decenter ourselves and see our dogs’ behavior not based on how it impacts us, makes us look or feel, but from their point of view.

Dog training info and social media can be downright scary—pseudoscience, egos, fear mongering, and constant assertion of power and control.

People are made to feel guilty for showing their dogs basic acts of kindness or indulging in small moments of pleasure like sharing food or cuddling on the couch.

Our time with our dogs is so brief. None of us are going to look back and say, “wow, I’m so glad I never let my dog on the couch!” or “I’m so happy I didn’t comfort them when they were scared.”

Yes of course teaching life skills matters, but please don’t forget why you’ve chosen to share a life with a dog in the first place.

Don’t forget the joy and give them the compassion you’d want to receive if you were navigating a foreign world that wasn’t designed for you.

[ID: A screenshot of a tweet and tweet replies by Jack Herrera that read We give dogs a hard time for overreacting to normal things, but I think I too would react poorly if someone grabbed me and started trying to give me a bath. A stranger suddenly walks into my house? My reaction likely wouldn’t be quiet and calm. A massive explosion and a shower of sparks suddenly fills the sky for reasons I do not understand? I’d also be concerned!]

Original tweet: https://twitter.com/jherrerx/status/1483310435466153984?s=21

20/01/2022

How to invite a bite

29/12/2021

Fantastic resource - and remember to see body language in context

22/12/2021

Just a reminder this holiday season (and always)...
please DON’T walk up to dogs with your hand outstretched to “say hi and let them sniff”. Even if you think they’re friendly.

It’s common advice but it’s not good advice! This is not good doggy manners and you risk being bitten. Dogs don’t have hands and they don’t understand that weird human “handshake” ritual. Approach them while extending your hand into their personal space and they may well feel the need to protect their space and their body. This is especially the case if they are tied up.

If you really feel the need to greet a dog, let them approach you. Turn slightly side on, ask them if they’d like to come over and say hi by patting your leg and chatting quietly or making silly noises, and then *respect their answer* if they say no thanks.

You wouldn’t walk up to a stranger in the street and put your hand into their face, so don’t do it with a dog. The dog and your local ER doctor will thank you for it.

Visit this page, discuss with your kids and show them the cartoons:

https://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/preventing-dog-bites-by-learning-to-greet-dogs-properly/amp/

17/12/2021

An evergreen

You can find all the Christmas Bites, with lots of detail and video demos here: https://aniedireland.com/christmas-bites/

Including the current bite, no.3, here: https://aniedireland.com/2021/12/13/christmas-bites-2021-no-3/

01/12/2021

How to REALLY be a leader for your dog.

This is so good - a Kim Brophey podcast distilled into pictures by Canineology. I can warmly recommend the podcast too:
"Talking dogs, social currency and leadership" on DogSpeak
https://listennotes.com/podcasts/dogspeak/talking-dogs-social-currency-VEtQfsiRBWg/

24/09/2021

Precisely

🐑🐕
-Do you own a breed that was developed specifically to do a job or task?
-If they aren’t doing that specific thing- what do you do for/with them that scratches that genetic itch?

I’m sure other breed owners would love to learn about new ways to meet their dog’s needs. ❤️

Great post by SpiritDog Training!!

24/08/2021

The dog sociability spectrum

25/07/2021

Coping strategies (and coping opportunities) of companion dogs VS streeties

16/07/2021

When we train dogs, we tend to focus on operant conditioning (behaviours we want, and how to get them) and forget that classical conditioning (emotions & sensations that form links with the situation and/or elements in it) is always at work too at the same time.

This excellent illustration by Lili Chin & The Cognitive Canine explains it really well

Both operant and classical learning are happening at all times; they are not standalone principles. When I say this, it often causes pushback and confusion, so I teamed up with Doggie Drawings by Lili Chin to create this graphic. I hope it helps! Please share and do be sure to like Lili's page!

20/05/2021

Normalise dog selective dogs - great little slide show.

Occassional antagonistic reactions doesn't necessarily mean a dog "is aggressive" - it can mean "I don't like you, so get out of my hair" and "I need more space" in the situation.

A dog owner may worry that "my dog is becoming more and more aggressive, today he snapped at a friendly puppy" - when actually their dog is really just a normal dog becoming more socially selective as they grow into adulthood, like most adult dogs