Willo's Doggy Sitting

04/09/2024

04/09/2024

Keeping your dog's teeth clean is important, but not all dogs love getting their teeth brushed! 🐶🦷🦷🐶

To wrap up Pet Dental Health Month we are sharing some tricks to make it easier: https://www.pd.com.au/blogs/dog-teeth-cleaning-dental-care/

04/09/2024

Have you heard of grass awns? These sharp little grass seeds can become stuck in your pet’s soft tissues, creating inflammation and infection. 🌾

Whilst we most commonly find grass awns embedded into paws, they can also become lodged in your pet’s conjunctiva (the pink tissue surrounding the eyeball) or ear canals! This leads to significant pain and can result in damage to your pet’s eyes or ear drums.

If your pet develops sudden skin, eye or ear irritation during spring or summer, it’s best to have them checked prompt by our awn-aware team! 👂

04/09/2024

Lola's look of love ❤️

04/09/2024

The Tuesday crew that's not just awesome, they're fantastic times four!

03/09/2024

These are really good tips for introducing dogs✅
Number one tip.... TRUST YOUR INTUITION ✅
Especially if you know your dog struggles to meet others⚠️ and if they do struggle, that is ok.
Not every dog is a dog social dog.
One of the biggest mistakes people make is only concentrating on their own dogs emotional state and not watching the rising stress in the other dog involved....
These cause those "Out of the blue" reactions....
They weren't out of the blue, they were just missed.
Micro meetings are essential.
🔵Parallel walks are a must.
🔵Avoid face to face.
🔵Keep your voices light and happy.
🔵DON'T make a dog sit or lie down.
🔵Tension creates more tension so keep those leads loose.
🔵NEUTRAL territory....not your yard, your house or even your immediate area around your house....go somewhere else.
Biggest tip though (as mentioned) watch the body language of both dogs.....IGNORE the tail wags (a wagging tail does not always mean a happy dog) and watch the whole body and all the little tell tale signs given.
If it doesn't feel right...it likely isn't.
Trust your gut.
ALWAYS advocate for your own dog no matter how "friendly" you are told the other dog is.

Please respect that these graphics take time and effort to make. Everyone is free to share on social media🙂, however off social media use of these marked graphics is prohibited.
Unmarked graphics are available for $ 1.20 USD or $ 2 NZD each (approx), these are then able to be used off Facebook for client handouts, posters or for personal use.
Screen shots are a violation of the copyright.
Please visit ABC Dogs Patreon Shop for unmarked graphics. All graphics belong to ABC Dogs NZ and are under copyright.

02/09/2024

With Koko's entrance and Stella's farewell, Lola finds a new companion. A turning point marked by positivity and promise.

30/08/2024

This really does have the ability to help reactive dogs 💥✅
I know it may look a little confusing which is why we made a video that shows EXACTLY what to do and when.
Those that know about movement words and u turns...know just how powerful these two small steps can really be when helping a reactive dog.
The link to the video is in the comments. 🙂

Please respect that these graphics take time and effort to make. Everyone is free to share on social media, however off social media use of these marked graphics is prohibited. Unmarked graphics are available for $ 1.20 USD or $ 2 NZD each (approx), these are then able to be used off Facebook for client handouts, posters or for personal use. Screen shots are a violation of the copyright.
Please visit ABC Dogs Patreon Shop for unmarked graphics. All graphics belong to ABC Dogs NZ and are under copyright.

29/08/2024

Brilliant Thursday group, enjoying play in the sunshine and the wind.

29/08/2024

Prepare for paw-some adventures! We've created a doggo maze with a cubby that's a doggone hit, especially with Stella.

29/08/2024

Jungling, ball play, rolling in the sun and grass, then zoomies. All in the afternoon's frolicks. Oops!!!! Sorry about the poops 💩

28/08/2024

Wonderful Wednesday's Woofaliciousness

28/08/2024

An animal welfare charity that provides a FREE service to Australian pet owners between 9AM-5PM AEST (AEDT during DST) 7 days/week

27/08/2024

Tuesday's Treasures are making memories and laughter, priceless!

26/08/2024

Does your dog feel ok to play with others?

Oh boy this can be tricky❗
Very subtle and easily misread. 💥
Yes, dogs can absolutely consent (or not) to play.
Many people think a sign that their dog doesn't want to meet or play with another dog is a growl (which of course there absolutely can be), however even before that growl there can be lots of other signals given that they do NOT want to meet.
These signs are often more subtle.
Scratching.
Sniffing.
Nibbling away at themselves or a stick on the ground, these can all be signs that they may not be comfortable with what is about to happen.
We need to pay close attention to this as these signals can be our dog saying.
"No thanks".
Unfortunately some of these signals can be subtle and easily misread by us, so we persist in letting dogs meet.
That is when our dogs need to use a much stronger signal such as growling, air snapping or worse.
It is important to note these signals as we need to respect just how our dogs are feeling.
They have every right to consent to meeting or playing, or not.
If these signals are shown, they may just need more time or careful exposure to this potential new friend.
They can certainly warm up to them.
Imagine how many incidents could be stopped if we just took the time to see exactly what they are trying to say to us and the other dog.

Please respect that these graphics take time and effort to make. Everyone is free to share on social media, however off social media use of these marked graphics is prohibited. Unmarked graphics are available for $ 1.20 USD or $ 2 NZD each (approx), these are then able to be used off Facebook for client handouts, posters or for personal use. Screen shots are a violation of the copyright.
Please visit ABC Dogs Patreon Shop for unmarked graphics. All graphics belong to ABC Dogs NZ and are under copyright.

26/08/2024

In recognition of International Dog Day, Willo's Doggy Sitting is honored to be joined by our distinguished furry friends, Miss Lola and Mr Juju.

24/08/2024

Being frantically chased is not play❌
You may have noticed this yourself. 👀....if play is allowed to get to that hyper, frantic play, signals are not given well, and not received well and that can lead to big issues.💥
Maybe you expect your dog to play with all other dogs.❓
Guess what ?
Dogs do not need to play with all other dogs, in fact it is healthy to be choosy with who they interact with.
Dogs have the right to consent to play or not.
Just because we wish them to play does not mean they consent.

Toys.
So many issues arise with dogs playing with their own toys around others they do not know.
They can be highly prized items. The simplest way to avoid issues is don't play with your dogs toy around other dogs you do not know and even if you DO know them caution is needed.
Many dogs do not like to share.

Pairing dogs with different play styles and energy can cause big problems.. A dog that constantly chases may not read the "cut off" signals given by the less energetic dog.

Always listen to the little voice inside....and if you are at all unsure, advocate and stop play, or don't allow it to even start.

🙂Unmarked graphics are available for $ 1.20 USD or $ 2 NZD each (approx), these are then able to be used off Facebook for client handouts, posters etc. Please visit ABC Dogs Patreon Shop for our collection of graphics.
Everyone is free to share these posts on social media, however off social media use is protected.
Screen shots are a violation of copyright.
Please respect that these graphics take time and effort to make . All graphics belong to ABC Dogs NZ and are under copyright.

23/08/2024

Gosh darn it, these snuggle furbabies are just too adorbs!

23/08/2024

Simba's first day stay just got a Fri-yeah upgrade with Lola and little Juju's mischief-making skills. Let the good times roll!

22/08/2024

If you want to know how to have puppy potty training success, then you need advice from a puppy trainer because we know all the puppy toileting tips you real...

22/08/2024

It is hard...no doubt about it.
Having a new puppy is challenging. Also rewarding 🥳🍾😀.
We have just uploaded a new video to YouTube that covers all the tips and tricks we KNOW work, details in comments.
There will be good days, there will be bad days.
Puppy toileting issues are just as common as feeling the puppy blues and often they go together. It can be incredibly frustrating for everyone, including your puppy.

Hang in there new puppy guardians ! 🙂

Everyone is free to share these posts on social media, off social media use is protected.
Please respect that these graphics take time and effort to make . All graphics belong to ABC Dogs NZ and are under copyright. Unmarked graphics are available for $ 1.20 or $ 2 NZD each (approx), these are then able to be used off Facebook for client handouts, posters etc. Please visit ABC Dogs Patreon Shop for Graphics

22/08/2024

Fursday? More like Fur-tastic day! Freya's back, Lola's here for an extended paw-cation, and Juju's joined the paw-ty for his holiday! Miss Rosie was so excited to see her family walk in and take her home.

20/08/2024

Tuesday's cuties.
Who let the dogs out for a lactose-free puppuccino party? 🐾🎉

19/08/2024

Don't wait for the bark.💥
I cannot stress this enough when working with reactive dogs.
Unfortunately too many people only react to their own dogs reactivity when there is a bark.
A bark is just an audible sign of a reaction but there are many other signs given before that bark and when we don't recognise those signs, guess what happens ?
Barking, Lunges, Spins, Jumps and a dog unable to control their own emotions.
There is a LOT that is shown before the bark, even if it is very fast, it is still shown.
So why is it so important to know the unique signals and changes in posture and body language your dog shows ?
So you can STOP the escalation....and yes, even stop the barking from occurring in the first place.
Barking is often at the END of a longer chain of events.
First is usually (not always) a hard stare, a fixation.
THAT is a reaction.
It is not audible but it is often the first sign your dog has changed their emotional state, they ARE reacting.

A change in ear position IS a reaction.
Puling harder on the lead IS a reaction.
A lengthening of the neck/leaning in IS a reaction.
A wrinkled face IS a reaction.......use that information!

Remember a reaction is a change in their emotional state.....and those non verbal signs are a reaction.

A bark is just a reaction we recognise more.

Imagine how we can help our dogs with their reactivity if we started to recognise all those other changes and escalations in their emotional states as easily as we recognise a bark.....

Please respect that these graphics take time and effort to make. Everyone is free to share on social media🙂, however off social media use of these marked graphics is prohibited.
Unmarked graphics are available for $ 1.20 USD or $ 2 NZD each (approx), these are then able to be used off Facebook for client handouts, posters or for personal use.
Screen shots are a violation of the copyright.
Please visit ABC Dogs Patreon Shop for unmarked graphics. All graphics belong to ABC Dogs NZ and are under copyright.