The Learned Canine

01/16/2025

I can not stress enough how important this is. If you have a puppy now or are thinking about getting one, this is a must read!

PUPPY SOCIALIZATION - IMPORTANT MESSAGE!!!

I don't know how to say this more clearly and emphatically: Please DO NOT wait until your puppy has had all his or her vaccinations before beginning socialization. The socialization period is finite, limited, of short duration, ending at 14 weeks for the average puppy. This is a non-negotiable fact of nature and cannot be changed! 80% of the problems we deal with in adult dogs could have been avoided with timely socialization. You have a few weeks to get this right - your puppy will not wait until the holidays are over, you finish your overseas trip or your kids finish their exams. They will not wait until the weather is cooler (or hotter ) or you are less busy and they will NOT wait until all the vaccinations are done. They will continue to grow and develop emotionally, regardless of whether you are prepared or not. Those first 6 weeks when you have your puppy within that impressionable period will be gone in a flash, DO NOT waste them!

An absolutely miniscule TINY proportion of healthy, well cared for pups contract diseases and die - on the other hand, a huge proportion of dogs are euthanized or end up living severely limited lives due to serious social problems.

Yes, there are horror stories of puppies dying of parvo, but in some of those cases the pups had all their vaccinations and still contracted the disease, because there was a failure to immunize due to an inherent problem in the dog - so waiting for all the vaccinations before socialization made zero difference!

PLEASE also DO NOT wait for us to socialise your puppy for you. We also need a holiday! We worked right up until Christmas this year to accommodate new pups as far as possible, but for our own mental health we also need just a couple of weeks off. There are PLENTY of excellent articles on socialization DO's and DON'T 's. Start googling! Get proactive! I have shared numerous of these articles on this page previously and here is one I have written myself: https://www.tarynblyth.co.za/what-is-the-socialisation-period

Please note that what has been done cannot be undone! We are not running Hogwart's School of Magic - we cannot undo the damage caused by lack of early socialization, we can only help you manage it and try to do some form of damage control - there will always be scars. So, choose wisely how to spend those first few weeks with your puppy!

12/25/2024

Wishing you and your loved ones, both two and four legged, a very happy holiday! 😊💕

12/08/2024

'Tis the season for having visitors! 🎅🎉 If you have an anxious or overly excitable dog, this can be a stressful situation. Here's how I handle it in my household...
When someone knocks on the door, Capone is cued to enter his crate. He is rewarded for doing so and then I go and let my guests in. Once the guests have entered, I provide Capone with a deliciously stuffed Kong in his crate. This creates a positive association with new people in our home and helps him to settle. It also frees me up to focus on my guests! Once the Kong is finished, I release him from the crate and by then he has had time to adjust to the new arrivals and things are much calmer.
Just one of the many benefits of crate training! 🐾

11/30/2024

This little monkey is Bella and her confidence has grown by leaps and bounds, I tell you! LEAPS AND BOUNDS! Which, not coincidentally, is also how she tends to move around now. 😁💓

11/02/2024

10/24/2024

ONE COOL TRICK TO HEALTHIER DOGS

While there is no scientific evidence that one brand or type of dog food is better than another, there is a LOT of evidence that serious dog illness can be reduced, and that dog lives can be extended, by proper feeding.

And this is NOT new information, nor it is closely held information.

And this ONE SIMPLE TRICK is not just true for dogs; it’s also true for humans, rats, mice, fish, monkeys, and even worms.

This ONE SIMPLE TRICK has extended the lifespan and reduced illness in EVERY ANIMAL STUDIED.

And it’s held true no matter WHAT they ate or WHERE they lived.

Are you ready for this ONE SIMPLE TRICK?

Here it is: EAT LESS.

Calorie restriction ALONE extends lifespan of a population 10 to 50 percent, depending on the animal and the amount of restriction.

This is NOT NEW INFORMATION.

More than 80 years ago, McCay, Crowell, and Maynard wrote a paper entitled “The Effect of Re****ed Growth upon the Length of Life Span and upon the Ultimate Body Size”.

The data presented showed that restricting calories without malnutrition (i.e. not absolutely starving, and keeping up vitamins and micronutrients) significantly prolonged the lifespan of rats.

In subsequent years, experiments with EVERY OTHER ANIMAL studied have shown the same results.

LESS CALORIES MEANS LONGER LIFE AND BETTER HEALTH.

So what’s the data for dogs show?

Just this: Dogs from the same litter, when fed 75% of what their siblings were given, lived 1.8 years longer. Labrador Retrievers who ate their fill every day had a medium lifespan of 11.2 years, while the median life span of dogs on the restricted diet was 13 years — over 16 percent longer.

But that’s not all.

The dogs who ate fewer calories also had fewer expensive illnesses.

At age five, over half the dogs eating a full diet had osteoarthritis in their hips compared to 13 percent of the dogs on a calorie-restricted diet.

At age eight, 77 percent of the dogs fed a full diet had osteoarthritis, while only 10% of the diet-restricted dogs did.

What about cancer? Cancer showed up in all the dogs at the same rate, but showed up two years LATER in the calorie-restricted dogs.

That’s a LOT.

To be clear, NO OTHER FOOD INTERVENTION has been shown to so dramatically increase a dog’s lifespan.

What’s that mean in terms of dog food, no matter what or how you feed?

Simple: LESS CALORIES MEANS MORE LIFE AND LESS ILLNESS.

So what are the caveats?

Just this:

▪️No matter what you feed, your dog will eventually die of something. A lot of the gains in cohort mortality are due to eliminating mortality due to obesity, not absolutely extending the life of the healthiest animals.

▪️Size matters. No matter what you feed, big dogs (as a group) tend to die sooner than smaller dogs (as a group).

▪️Right feed cannot fix wrong breed. While a calorie-restricted diet will probably help extend the life of your dog and reduce veterinary costs, it is NOT an antidote for genetic defect (often due to inbreeding within a closed registry) or morphological deformity (brachycephalia, freakishly long or sloped backs, etc.).

▪️Real world mortality gains in dogs may be less than what we see in the laboratory where the base line is often a "free feed" situation that encourages obesity. In addition, once-a-day feeding appears to extend life the most perhaps by providing a longer period of "fasting" between meals.

Links here >> https://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2022/10/one-cool-trick-to-healthier-dogs.html

09/26/2024

I'm excited to get my learn on this weekend at the Dogs and the City Conference! 🤗🐾💓

 CAPDT, the Canadian Association of Professional Dog Trainers, stands as the foremost national professional association dedicated to individuals involved in dog training, dog-related professions, and the provision of dog care services in Canada. It proudly represents the collective national voice a...

09/12/2024

Adolescence can be a trying time - hang in there!

Adolescence occurs between six months and 18 months of age—a time when guardians typically struggle the most with their dogs. Some guardians are so overwhelmed and underprepared for this developmental stage of their dog’s life, they choose to surrender the dog to a local shelter or rescue group. In a recent study published in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science found that the majority of the surrendered dogs (47.7 percent) ) were between 5 months and 3 years of age (M.D. Salman,John G. New, Jr.,Janet M. Scarlett,Philip H. Kass,Rebecca Ruch-Gallie &Suzanne Hetts, 2010)

The neurobiology of adolescence is fascinating, with some key events that alter both the structure and function of the brain.

During canine adolescence, changing s*x hormones effect the animals stress responses. Adolescent dogs have a decreased ability to process information they are receiving from the environment including the presence of dogs, vehicles, people, or really anything around them. They behave in ways that might feel frustrating or upsetting for the dog’s person.

The connectivity between the frontal cortex (responsible for decision making) and amygdala (responsible for emotional processing) decreases, resulting in less behavioral control. We see increased risk taking and more sensitivity to fear.

So what does this mean? This could mean that what was once no big deal to the dog now feels scary; what was once easy to do is now stressful; what once made sense is now confusing. At times, the world can feel like ‘too much’ for the adolescent dog.

As your puppy undergoes this transition into adulthood their inner world is intense, even chaotic. Many pet owners experience an increase in undesirable behavior and find themselves becoming increasingly frustrated. In turn, our own frustration and impatience can cause us to act unpredictably. This adds to our puppy’s inner turmoil. When the inside and the outside are both unpredictable it can be difficult for our dogs to adjust.

If you have an adolescent dog, what can you do? You can give your dog the time and space to observe what is going on around them when on leash at a distance away from the activity when possible. You can give your dog long walks to sniff and explore in nature, giving their brain time to decompress. You can offer your dog a quiet space to sleep so that they can consolidate memories effectively. You can continue training various skills, breaking them down into easier steps that can be generously reinforced.

By understanding what our adolescent dog is experiencing we gain greater compassion and understanding. When we approach adolescence with patience we create a world that is predictable and gentle so our puppies grow up to be their best adult selves.

08/26/2024

Cojack says, Happy National Dog Day! 🥰🐾

06/23/2024

I got to work with one of these today! Can anyone guess the breed?? 🤗

04/25/2024

How cute is wee Roger figuring out his homemade slow feeder?? 🥰

04/12/2024

Have you noticed that physical exercise alone doesn't tire your dog out? Get their brain involved and see what happens! Instead of regular old fetch, Fergus is retrieving a ball from a box in a bin! He is also a very smart and eager pupper, so be sure to work at your dog's level and gradually increase the difficulty as they catch on. 🐾

02/06/2024

It's time to play guess that breed! This little nugget is Roger and his human is making sure she has everything in place prior to bringing him home. I can't wait to meet you in a few short weeks, little man! 😍