Heather’s Walkies

01/09/2024

You may know that classical music has been shown in many studies to be calming for dogs. But classical music is so varied, and there's a lot of difference between a Brahms lullaby and a Wagner opera!

I've just discovered the lovely Lisa Spector (My Zen Pet) as part of a series of webinars on dog anxiety. She explains that low frequency, smooth (legato) classical music works best to calm dogs. She's put together a playlist called "Dog Gone Calm", which you can stream on lots of platforms. Why not try it tonight, listening together with your dog? Build up that connection so that the dog remembers calm cuddles with you every time they hear the music. After a few sessions, you can then try to see if it helps with their anxiety around issues such as separation anxiety and loud noises / fireworks.

Let me know how it goes.

More tips here: https://myzenpet.com/tips/

01/09/2024

You may know that classical music has been shown in many studies to be calming for dogs. But classical music is so varied, and there's a lot of difference between a Brahms lullaby and a Wagner opera!

I've just discovered the lovely Lisa Spector (My Zen Pet) as part of a series of webinars on dog anxiety. She explains that low frequency, smooth (legato) classical music works best to calm dogs. She's put together a playlist called "Dog Gone Calm", which you can stream on lots of platforms. Why not try it tonight, listening together with your dog? Build up that connection so that the dog remembers calm cuddles with you every time they hear the music. After a few sessions, you can then try to see if it helps with their anxiety around issues such as separation anxiety and loud noises / fireworks.

Let me know how it goes.

30/08/2024

This week our doggy daycare involved some exciting Dungeons and Dragons adventuring with the brave “mastiff” helping sniff out the gnomes with her expert nose (which is also perfectly shaped for dice rolling!).
Other adventures were also had out and about in our wonderful local countryside.

26/08/2024

Happy National Dog Day!!
What’s your dog’s favourite activity? Share a photo in the comments below.

(Being a terrier, Penny is squeaker obsessed. Carrying a squeaky ball is definitely a favourite. 🥰)

24/08/2024

We had the best time last week with this gorgeous boy sharing our home. Activities included lots of walks, lots of sleeping, washing up after doggy baking, and of course helping me study by being a lap warmer. 🥰
Can’t wait to welcome him back.

23/08/2024

It’s been yet another week of lovely smiles. Always a happy face, whatever the weather!

21/08/2024

Unlicensed home boarders are breaking the law (Animal Welfare Act 2006). This can lead to them being fined, imprisoned, and potentially being banned from owning animals. Not really the sort of person that you want to trust your best friend with! Always look for the licensing numbers, and verify with your local councils.

As a dog owner, your pet's safety and happiness are always top priorities. But what happens when you need to leave your dog in someone else's care? With the rise of unlicensed pet boarding services advertised on social media, it's never been more important to make informed choices about who looks af...

20/08/2024

The Dog Friendly Awards have launched!
I don't often enter for awards, but "dog friendly" sums up my ethical approach to treating each pooch as an individual and placing their welfare at the centre of my business model.
If you can, please take the time to vote for me by clicking on the link below.

Heather's Walkies Has Been Entered In The Dog Friendly Awards

20/08/2024

Yup, it seems early, but desensitisation and counter conditioning take a long time.
Also, please don't be afraid to contact your vet to ask for short term medication if your dog has severe anxiety around fireworks. It will make the experience much better for them, and they will recover much quicker afterwards.

02/08/2024

It’s been a rather hot week! We’ve managed with shaded walks near water, frequent stops for drinking, and slowing things down by searching for treats scattered in the woods. We even mixed in some log balancing for the younger ones.

28/07/2024

It was lovely to see so many of you at the Summer Fete today, and meet all of your gorgeous dogs. I really enjoyed sharing information about ethical dog guardianship, good harnesses, and safe ball play. And of course making best friends with all the doggies through careful use of Scooby Snacks!

We had 16 dogs participate in our dog show, including many photo entries from those too nervous (or hot!) to attend. Thank you for your support.

For anyone who is still looking for a well-fitting harness, I have some stock left over - please just send me a message and we can arrange a fitting.

-with Horwich Hounds and Bumby Breast Cancer Care Events New

28/07/2024

Down at St Mary’s Playing Fields today with lots of goodies to buy for dogs, and loads of information about good dog welfare. All profits go to charity (Bumby Breast Cancer Care Events New).

Dog show at 2pm, £5 for entry to all categories.
If you come early, we will take a photo entry if your dog doesn’t want to stay.

27/07/2024

Nearly ready for tomorrow’s dog show at St Mary’s playing fields. I’ll be there from 11am with lots of information to share, and goodies to sell. All profits to charity.
Dog show is at 2pm, but remember that your dog doesn’t have to be there on the day as we’re also having virtual entries-message the organisers for an entry form.
Hope to see you there!

26/07/2024

Many happy faces this week. We’ve been enjoying the sunshine safely, monitoring the temperature, and having lots to shade and water stops.

24/07/2024

What a Waist!!! 🤩🤩

Congratulations Penny on reaching your target weight (of just 7.5kg). It's been tricky, and there's been some self-sabotage along the way (breaking open the Dreamies box, opening the cupboard doors), but you finally got there.

It's estimated that half of our dogs are overweight, and a recent study* (2017) found that nearly half of guardians were unable to correctly identify whether their dog was an ideal weight or not. Add to that the inaccuracies and vagueness of some feeding guidelines on the packets, and it's no wonder that we're finding it hard. If you want to find out how much you should be feeding your dog for their healthy weight, then you can calculate their MER calorie intake using an online calculator, like this one here: https://vetcalculators.com/calories.html

*https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/4/2/30

22/07/2024

I'm going to be one of the judges for the dog shows at this Summer Fete on Sunday. Please do come along and say hi. I'll be sharing a few ideas about good dog guardianship (pawrenting) and how to make your dog happy.

If your dog is nervous or doesn't like crowds, then they can still participate from the security of their own home - just message the organisers to request a form. More details on their events page:

https://www.facebook.com/share/usDYCnNHkrz79fZY/

20/07/2024

Ethical dog walkers carry safety equipment on all their walks:

✅ First Aid kit
✅ Spare leads
✅ Water bottle
✅ Clips for securing other dogs whilst dealing with a first aid emergency
✅ Emergency recall equipment (whistle, squeaker, balls, treats)
✅ Poo bags and storage (required to safely remove dangerous litter)

It might look like a lot, and the hope is it would never all get used, but the reality is that I have used every item of this equipment with the exception of my tick remover. I have dealt with cut pads, thorns in paws, stray dogs, discarded chocolate biscuits and that surprise deer that just popped out right in front of us. Without being prepared, the dogs' walking experiences would have been so much different.

Ask your dog walker what they carry on their walk. Let's keep our dogs safe and happy.

19/07/2024

Phew, it’s been a hot week! We’ve been staying cool with lots of shaded walks and paddling.

18/07/2024

My new crate mattresses have arrived today!! Soft memory foam is perfect for our arthritic dogs (like Penny), making for a more comfortable ride. The colour green was chosen as it’s a calming colour for dogs.
Big thank you to timet_ogo_dog_designs for doing such an excellent job of making sure that they fit perfectly inside my K9 crates, and are nice and easy to clean too.

17/07/2024

As my annual Canine Health training this year, I am completing a series of webinars aimed at dog walkers, helping us care for our doggies' health.
The latest webinar was all about common drugs and supplements, covering everything from Metacam, Librela and insulin to Omega 3 and pre-/pro-biotics.
I'm still no expert (that's the vet's job!), but my understanding hopefully means that I can provide even better care for our dogs.

15/07/2024

Brilliant approach to loose lead walking - allowing dogs to be dogs whilst guiding them on navigating our complicated human world.

Looking forwards to working with this fella! How much fun does he look! 💖

His loose lead walking currently looks like he is trying to spin the world under his feet,

The usual repertoire of loose led exercises won’t help until we look at a few underlying issues that are common in high drive breeds, adolescent dogs and spaniels that want to dive in bushes!!

✅Stimulation and breed specific outlets
✅Lowering arousal
✅Prep Games
✅Looselead exercises
✅Real world considerations and “top trumps” looking at hierarchy or rewards and distractions…….and a lot more!

Watch this space and see how we get on!

12/07/2024

It’s been a sunshine and showers sort of a week, with muddy puddles, wet grass, shade and gorgeous sunny meadows.
We had a lovely weekend looking after our home boarder, and hope she will be back soon.

12/07/2024

A timely post to follow on from the post I shared yesterday about the importance of teaching appropriate puppy play. If we don’t teach our excited puppies the life skills of calm interactions, then we risk them becoming reactive.

Over excited/over arousal/hyper arousal IS a form of reactivity.✅
I know many may struggle understanding that having a dog that is desperate to meet others is a reactive dog because they don't appear "aggressive".
They can be described as "friendly"😊 or "just LOVES other dogs".💓
It can also be incredibly stressful for these dogs.
Stress hormones can be released with both positive and negative stimuli....a difficult concept for some to accept that their "friendly" dog can be stressed.
This is not about dogs that get excited when they see a dog they know...this is purely aimed at dogs that go straight to over arousal at the mere sight of a dog/cat or person...whatever their trigger is.

Bite risks.
Yes even these dogs can bite (or be bitten).
There is no emotional self control and things can change in an instant with these dogs....they do pose a bite risk...and I appreciate that is hard to hear for many as their friendly dog would "never" bite another.
EVERY dog has the capability to bite given certain circumstances and over arousal puts dogs into positions where their emotions take over.
Many dogs bite when over aroused.
Bites can also be redirected back onto their guardians/owners or the nearest person/dog/child present.
They also fail to "read the room", there is no time taken to assess the other dog they desperately want to interact with....so the lead is taken off that friendly dog so they can meet their new "friend".

This is a new graphic based on another I made but this is specifically for over aroused dogs.
Your dog will also have their own unique changes you can see as they go over that all important threshold.

You are not alone with this issue...it is very common.
Reactive dog guardians/owners are some of the most dedicated I have ever met.
These dogs can be incredibly hard to live with.

You can make a difference.

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.

11/07/2024

My new board (dice) game arrived today, complete with cute dogs and mini bones! Can’t wait to play it. Does anyone else own some dog themed games?

11/07/2024

Great opportunity. I especially like the “appropriate puppy play” - our puppies need to be supervised to develop good play manners, just the same as human toddlers.

Haigh Woodland Park, Worden Park and Astley Park Chorley
Real World environments - Great for
✅Your chance to pick the brains of a qualified trainer
✅Meet other pups and their humans
✅Socialisation (meaning introducing your puppy to the world of people, sounds, objects and environments with positive interactions to bios a confident canine)

10/07/2024

Ethical training at its best. 🥰🥰

08/07/2024

Professional, Ethical and Personal Dog Walker.
Get in touch to arrange a free meet & greet.

07/07/2024

“Socialisation” in the dog world is learning to calmly cope with the human social environment.

(Very often it’s confused with “socialising” with new humans and dogs, but it’s a very different concept. I think they probably should’ve chosen a better word tbh!!)

Socialisation. Yes, there really is such a thing as "over socialised".
Play is NOT socialisation.❌
Play is a separate and important skill.✅....but it isn't socialisation.
What is socialisation ?..... Calmness and acceptance of the world.
What it isn't......over excited, scared, hyper, wary behaviour or PLAY.
I know that seems like a big statement to make for some people but society has some strange ideas of what socialisation is.

That doesn't mean dogs and puppies shouldn't play, it simply means one of the FIRST things they need to learn in life is not go to that place of extreme overarousal at the sight of a puppy. Puppies need to learn how to be accepting of dogs in general....then play can be added as a separate skill.

Calmness and acceptance IS socialisation.
Play is play.
Two completely separate things.

Dogs and puppies are a very small part of having a socialised dog. An important small part... but a very small part in a much bigger picture.
The word socialisation seems to be associated with play and that is a big issue with new puppy guardians/owners.

How you let other dogs meet yours and how your dog meets other dogs forms patterns of behaviour.
The more these dogs have over excited, over aroused and hyper behaviour around other dogs...........the more they understand this IS exactly how to meet dogs....and that is really problematic for many dogs.

True socialisation is acceptance and calmness in ALL the world has to offer.
Everything you encounter in everyday life...is exactly what you need to expose your dogs to.

Little and often
Positively and calmly......and you are well on your way to a well socialised puppy or dog.

They don't need to go to that hyper excited behaviour when other dogs are near.

They can be calm, assess the situation and choose to play and interact if they wish.....

That is true socialisation.

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.