AWE Canine - Awe & Wonder Experience for dogs

27/07/2024

💝 Could not agree more 💝

08/07/2024

The reason all this ‘dog stuff’ started 💝

08/07/2024

Monday musings 🤔💝

Smelling the sweet peas 🌺

No part two ☺️

I returned home and our snug smelled soooooo beautiful of our freshly cut sweet peas, Tara lay in the sunshine, on the bed in her favourite spot, and life is good 💝

Also, wanted to update to say that our latest foster puppy Poppy had a meet and greet on Saturday and they loved her, OF COURSE THEY DID, 💝. Another meet and greet has been arranged. Please pray it's a perfect match. 💝

Daisy also gets a meet a greet this week . And today I get to pick up Dream, the Chihuahua that we rescued last week, and take her to the vets for a check up following a week of decompressing in her beautiful foster home getting the love she should have always had 💖

Huge thank you to those who sent money over for fuel, it was truly appreciated. Today's trip will cost approx £20 if anyone would like to donate for the fuel and anyone wanting to contribute to the vet visit, that would also be gratefully received. 🥰

🌺🌼🌻☀️ Today I would urge you to get outside either on a walk with your dog or on your break and look up and listen to all that today brings. Let your ears hear all of nature surrounding you. Watch those birds and smell those flowers 🌺🌸🌼🌻. Remember, it's the smallest of things that can bring you the greatest joy. Today it's the sweet peas for me 🥰. What is it for you? I'd love to know. 🥰

08/07/2024

Spending the day smelling the sweet peas 🌺

Monday musings to follow 🤔💝

01/07/2024

💝🐾 Monday musings 🤔 - all things dogs - PART TWO 😉🐾💝

01/07/2024

💝🐾 Monday musings - all things dogs 🐾💝

23/06/2024

Musings on a Sunday of all things dogs 💝🐾🤔

I was turning 50 at the end of December 2019 and my plan was to have dogs back in my home after a busy time of work and business and life and I had nearly 10 years with a houseful of cats, we had 9 at one point 🐈‍⬛ 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛ 😲, but truly missed having a dog in my home and missed being back out in nature on walks, so I made the decision to have dogs back in my life, and along came Tara and Lola all the way from Romania in December 2019. 💝💝

The plan was for one of the girls to stay and one would go out for adoption, and that I would foster at least 3 dogs each year from thereon in. Lola went off to her new home on the first day of lockdown and so began the crazy times, no fostering going on with the pandemic. However, sadly in August 2020, we woke one day with Tara unable to use her rear legs due a spinal bleed 💔 Our whole world turned upside down and from there was a long recovery for Tara, sensitivity and chronic pain meant this little girl would have an ongoing struggle with anything that caused her upset ❤️‍🩹 And here my learning for all things dogs and their behaviour and communication began 🐾🥰 I have geeked out and studied and made the decision I would formally embark on dog training and behaviour as a new career and I'm truly loving it. 😎🥰

2022 we fostered Lizzy and last year we fostered Maggie. This year we fostered Daisy and Poppy. I have always taken my role of fostering seriously and put my heart and soul into the dog that comes into our home to build confidence and help them learn any basic skills that will help set them up well for future, such as work around impulse control around doorways and vehicles and they always leave having learned lots of new life skills but mostly they know they've been loved during their time with us 🥰 Alongside fostering we’ve also transported many dogs around the country particularly due to the XLBully crisis ❤️‍🩹

Tara struggles to have other dogs in our home, so sadly we can't foster longer than a couple of weeks and made the decision what we would now only do “emergency emergency” fostering to collect any ‘at risk’ dog and keep them for a couple of nights maximum to get them to a safe foster home. I can still transport and do home checks and admin support so still lots of support to offer where needed 🥰

Poppy went on to another foster yesterday and Tara has not let me out of her sight since. So now we can get back to our fun and chilling and learning together for the next season of our lives 💝

I could not do any of the above without my wonderful husband who helps me every step of the way 💘 and also spends time with each animal so they have had love from a male just as much as a female as sooooo many dogs are scared of men sadly 😔

Each dog that comes into foster comes due to no fault of their own 💔. Each one that has come to my home came with hardly any socialisation and any basic life skills that would help to build confidence and to keep them safe 😔

Fostering Poppy gave me lots of time to think of my role within the world of animal rescue and for this season it means we can't bring other animals into our home, but there are many other ways in which I can play my part. I have a long term goal of fostering and rescue, but whilst Tara is with us, this time will be spent building up my knowledge and experience outside of our home ready for the future and see how things go. Plans are great, but I've learned that regardless of any plans we make, we need to adapt where life is turned upside down and inside out as it certainly has this last 6 years for us. ☺️

If you love animals and are saddened by the crisis within our rescue centres, there are many ways you can help: Here are a few suggestions;
❌ Don't let your dog bring any more puppies into the world ‼️❌ Get your females spade ‼️
💖 Adopt dogs from your local rescue shelter instead of going to breeders.
💖 Ask at your local shelter if they need any hands on support, this could be a multitude of things such as admin, cleaning, spending time with the animals, walking any dogs.
💰Financially support the rescue centres to pay for treatments of sick animals, food etc but also to support staff and volunteers to do the incredible work they do.
🥰 Volunteer to foster any animals where you can.
🥰If you know any friends who are fostering, ask them how you can help them.
‼️ TEACH YOUR DOG BASIC SKILLS TO BUILD THEIR CONFIDENCE AND TO HELP KEEP THEM SAFE ‼️. It’s sooooo much easier to teach a behaviour you want than unpick undesirable ones

So for me, I'm continuing with all things dogs and helping their humans understand them better and/or to help them learn new skills to build confidence and live their best lives. 🥰

Enjoy the photos of my BFF Tara, Tara & Lola, Lizzy, Maggie, Daisy & Poppy 💝💝💝💝💝💝

If you need any support with your dog, please get in touch, I'm here to help you. 🐾

21/06/2024

💝 ADOPT DON’T SHOP 💝

❌ SAFETY FIRST ❌

Poppy picking up doorway manners BEAUTIFULLY. We have worked hard to get to to this and Poppy has done AMAZING to get this far in such a short space of time. 🎉💝🏆

21/06/2024

💝 ADOPT DON’T SHOP 💝

Watch this clever girl totally smash her understanding of staying on the bed with distraction of chopping treats!!!! and for a fabulous amount of time 🎉💝

There is no limit to what this girl can learn as her confidence continues to build 💝

If you need any help to learn how to do this with your dog, please get in touch. I’m here to help 🥰

20/06/2024

As Poppy awaits her forever home, the fun learning continues 🥳

When Poppy arrived 2.5 weeks ago, she had zero impulse control, she would be desperate to get out of the crate and management and positive reinforcement was used to help her understand what was needed, and she has worked soooooo hard to get to this in such a short space of time. 🎉💝

Yesterday we practised our learning of impulse control around staying in the crate in the van until it’s time to leave. 💝

(Don’t let my rubbish videoing take the attention away from how AMAZING Poppy is doing with her learning 😉💝). Still some sensitivity, so more practice is needed to get this strong and comfortable for her 💝

All this learning happens with positive reinforcement to help Poppy understand what is needed to help her grow in confidence and KEEP HER SAFE 💝

If you’d like this behaviour from your dog, please get in touch, I’m here to help you 💝

03/06/2024

💝 ADOPT DON'T SHOP 💝

🥰 Help needed from my friends please 🥰

Meet our 2 new young pups 💝💝 that are in foster in our home currently and we need an urgent foster place for one of them to give them the best possible chance for the next stage of their lives with helping them learn to feel safe in the world so their learning can begin 💝💝

We need someone who is experienced with large breeds as these dogs are 6 month old Caucasian Shepherd Dogs x staffie. Both need support with socialisation and help them grow in confidence and need an experienced foster or a new foster that has knowledge and would like to get into foster care. You will have our full support. 🥰

We also need financial support for their food, treats, toys, chew toys and harnesses. 🥰

Also, if anyone has any large bathsheets or fleeces for their beds, they would be very welcomed. 🥰

If you are interested in fostering, please contact Celandine Wood Animal Rescue directly completing their fostering applications 💝💝

10/05/2024

Well..... that was an exciting and busy start to all things AWE Canine 🐾 4 clients on my books that need some support to help their dogs and I have loved every minute of it. 😍

A common theme for the enquiries I have had is that management is in place for a variety of undesirable behaviours, however if behaviour modification isn't part of the process, the situation will not improve and most likely escalate to other undesirable behaviour, such as jumping up or pulling on the lead during walks, or dog to dog reactivity. Dogs only learn a more desirable behaviour when we help them to do so. 👩‍🎓

If you are looking for support, whether it is for a puppy, adolescent or an older dog, I am here for you. 💝

PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE, of course it is, so the younger your dog is, it is important to get support and guidance to PREVENT undesirable behaviour. However, that does not mean that we cannot undo some learning we'd rather not have if it is already here and your dog is older. You absolutely can teach an old dog new tricks. 💝🐾

Dogs love to learn and they want to do the right thing, it is our job to help them get it right. 💝🐾

Looking forward to helping many more dogs. so please get in touch if you need support or general guidance for all things dogs and learning. 💝🐾

💝 Photo of Tara being a great support whilst I planned a session for one of my clients. 💝

29/04/2024

If you find yourself with a 'different' dog than you planned on and struggling to accept what is going on, please know I am here for you. ❤️

If you need help with reactivity, I am here for you. ❤️

If you are thinking of getting a dog and want to work through the pros and cons to help you make the best decision you possible can, I am here for you. ❤️

Many people I know, including myself, did not end up with the dog we 'thought' we would have when we had all the dreams and plans of what we would do with our new family friend. This is INCLUDING pedigree puppies direct from breeders, Please don't think only rescue dog have their struggles. I am in many groups for support with their dogs, and I'd say an equal amount of the dogs who are struggling are not 'rescue' dogs. 😔

A dog is a living, sentient being. They have their own personality, feelings and emotions and what happens long before they are born and the life they are exposed to, can get in the way of their development. There are many reasons for this, it's not as simple as getting a puppy and "it's all in how you raise them". Many dogs are 'raised' by the very best of guardians after leaving their birth mum, INCLUDING the best dog trainers, but may still have their own struggles. ❤️‍🩹

They need our understanding and support and THE BEST trainers will be helping you to work out what is going on and work with you and your dog to get the very best out of them by helping you understand them better. 💝

If you are thinking of getting a dog and would like some help in the kind of dog you think would suit your home and life, please contact your local rescue centres and they will help match you with a dog as they will have done an assessment on their personality and character. This is not to say that a dog cannot learn new things once they come to you, only that if you want a snuggly pup, then the rescue will know this. If you want a dog that will go hiking with you, they will have found this out. If you want a dog that is happy to sit in a cafe, they will have done assessments. They will know more importantly if your home is suitable for the dog to ensure the best match possible.

Having a puppy is HARD WORK and you are never guaranteed that 'perfect' dog. Much like human babies, there is no guarantee they will grow to be everything you hoped for. Therefore unless you are prepared to put in all the work and accept the personality of your puppy when it grows up, regardless of what behaviours come up, please don't get a brand new puppy straight from it's mother regardless of what a breeder will tell you of how well they've been reared so far.

Y'all know my heart is to support rescue centres and have all the dogs that are waiting for a brand new home, settled and living their best lives, and volunteering with them more of late has totally cemented my belief that to have the best chance of bringing a dog into your home, comes from knowing the personality of the dog to have the best chance of success for you and your family and of course, for the dog. You get a trial period before you fully commit. The cost of a rescue dog is much less than from a breeder. You have rescue back up for support if needed. And you are helping to give a dog a brand new forever home that it should have had in the first place. Many of the dogs have come from breeders and been allowed to go into unsuitable homes, hence ending up in rescue shelters.

If you would like to book a session with me to talk you through getting a dog, or if you have recently got a new dog and would like some guidance on anything at all to help, then please get in touch.

To end, whilst I did not get the social butterfly 🧚‍♀️ I 'wanted', Tara has opened up a brand new world for me that I totally 'needed' and as an added bonus, we get to go on the best walks and meet the best people I could have every imagined on our journey. I brought her into my life and it is my responsibility to ensure she has everything she needs to have the best life she can. She has helped me have compassion and understanding for others struggling with their dogs which I would not have understood before her. Tara is my very best friend, and other than help her to continue to grow in confidence and feel safe, I wouldn't change her for the world. I accept her completely. ❤️

19/04/2024

When people ask me why I use so many treats in my training, here is a great post that articulates why beautifully 💝

The more value we build into a cue by rewarding the dog consistently in the early stages, the more likely they are to listen when we really want or need them to.

We don't have to keep paying out every time the cue is given for the entire life of the dog (although there are some cues where I will do that - we have an emergency recall where I want my dog to drop everything and come back to me immediately for safety, and that always earns them a big jackpot of treats). Once the dog knows the cue reliably, we can start to reward intermittently, every few times the dog does what they are asked.

The most effective reward schedule once the cue is well known by the dog is variable - the number of times the dog carries out the cue before they are rewarded is different each time. It might be the 2nd, then the 5th, then the 3rd, for example.

There is a valid reason behind this and it is often explained using the analogy of people using slot machines. After a while of playing without winning, people become reluctant to leave because surely the machine is going to pay out at some point. What if it's the next time and they have walked away to leave someone else to reap the rewards of their hard work?

Obviously if they never win anything at some point they will give up because the effort becomes not worth it. The same is true for dogs and so it is important to periodically offer a reward for your dog responding to the cue, to make sure they don't give up because of lack of reward (a principle called extinction).

The main point is, when training a new cue with your dogs, reward well and reward often - because it will definitely be worth it when you need that cue listened to in the future!

08/04/2024

Yes!!! This!!! 🙌

30/03/2024

30/03/2024

Very proud to have achieved my very first qualification in dog training 🤓. I have so enjoyed putting my knowledge 'on paper' to demonstrate the learning I have been doing for these last 4 years on a deeper level of all things dogs. 🥰

Lots more learning that I will be doing as I move forward to make sure I have uptodate information of force free, positive reinforcement, reward based training 😍. This is to ensure any dog I am supporting is listened to, and that I am able to help them using kind and respectful methods in order they can live their best lives 😍

26/03/2024

Restarting our ‘chilling in the garden training’ now we are getting the sunshine back. Tara absolutely smashed it this morning. 10/10 for effort 💝

In all seriousness, we have had to work VERY hard to help Tara feel safe to stay settled for all this time with counter conditioning and desensitisation, and so pleased that we are still early in the season and appears Tara has maintained the learning from previous years. 🥰

I’m sooooo proud of my beautiful brave girl 💝

14/03/2024

A little bit of fun and engagement in the woods. These are our best days 🥰

01/05/2023

😳💝