Mutts Angels

08/08/2025

This is an interesting follow on from yesterday’s post.

A 2024 a study investigated whether changes in guardian stress levels influence canine stress in novel environments. The study was measured by monitoring heart rate and heart rate variability in both dogs and their guardians.

The test participants were divided into two groups: one exposed to a stress-inducing intervention (short term digit memory test) and another to a stress-relieving intervention (meditation).

The test showed that changes in guardian heart rate significantly predicted changes in their dog's heart rate, suggesting dogs exhibit emotional contagion and social referencing towards their people.

Guardian stress levels increased significantly in the stress-induction group, whilst the meditation group showed a trend towards decreased stress. We know that meditation can relieve our stress, but now we know that by addressing our own nervous system responses we affect the physiological responses of our dogs.

Dog behaviour during the experiment correlated with their HR and HRV, the dog’s body language and their heart rate matched.
The research shows that our dogs can easily and quickly match our own stress levels. So not only can they smell our stress, but they also match it via heart rate.

The test also showed that a dog’s heart rate will settle over time, highlighting the importance of allowing dogs to acclimatise to novel situations at their pace, and not rush them through novel experiences.

We know we are connected with our dogs, but do we know how much?

Science is helping us find out.

What a wonderful evolution our species is going through.

Stressed, scared or reactive dog?

Check out my bookstore.

10/07/2025

09/07/2025

🐾😞 WHEN SAFE SPACES NO LONGER ARE…😞🐾

Twenty years ago yesterday, I left for work like I did every morning.

Caught my usual train. Walked to the tube. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Until the tube didn’t leave the station.

I’d been sitting on it for ages. No announcements. No explanations.

I headed back up to the train station, unsure what was happening, and with no idea how to get to work. I only knew how to get there by tube!

That’s when I bumped into a friend who was confused as I was about the tubes.

Fortunately though, she was more clued up than me & suggested getting a bus. So we did.

We were chatting quietly, trying to make sense of the closed stations, the rising police presence, the sirens, when we heard a loud noise.

She was listening to the radio on her phone and suddenly she said ‘we have to get off this bus’.

At that moment our bus pulled over. The driver told us all public transport had been suspended and that we should continue our journeys on foot.

We didn’t know it at the time, but we were less than a block away from the bus that had just been bombed.

We walked the rest of the way; it was a strange experience. People rushing though the streets heads down. Others looking around them in fear. Others jumping at every noise.

As we now know on that day 52 people lost their lives, and hundreds were injured, following the senseless attacks of 4 su***de bombers.

I can’t remember when the tubes reopened. But I know I didn’t use them again right away.

Even once everything was “back to normal,” I didn’t feel safe on tubes.

People eyed each other suspiciously. Any bag left unattended even for a couple of seconds was a potential threat. And any unusual noise or the train stopping where it didn’t usually raised anxiety levels.

I knew, logically, that it was OK. But my body didn’t believe it.

It’s stayed with me. Even now, twenty years later. That experience reshaped the way I move through certain spaces. Not all the time. But enough that I notice.

Because something had changed.

And it’s the same for our dogs.

One unexpected noise. One sudden experience. One moment, and the world doesn’t feel the same anymore.

A bird scarer going off near a field they once loved.

A mug smashed on the kitchen floor just as they walked past.

A thunderstorm booming above the car they’re resting in.

An encounter with a dog who wasn’t as friendly as they expected.

It doesn’t take much. Just one moment. And suddenly, the safe place doesn’t feel safe anymore.

It’s not that they’re being difficult.

It’s not stubbornness.

It’s that their body now feels wary where it once felt calm.

And rebuilding that sense of safety? It takes time. Thought. Patience. Softness. Confidence.

Just like I didn’t jump straight back on the tube, dogs might not leap back into that field, that route, that situation straight away. And that’s OK.

When Sam heard a low-flying plane a week after we moved house, he hit the ground and didn’t move for minutes. For weeks afterwards, he wouldn’t (couldn’t 😞) walk out of our gate. For him, it just wasn’t safe.

Our job isn’t to force them through it.

It’s to walk with them. Show them the world is still safe, slowly. Let their confidence return on their terms.

That’s what connection looks like.

Not demanding they “get over it”,but showing them, gently, that they can.

04/06/2025

I often get asked for recommendations for first aid kits. When I first started looking for first aid kits the choice was severely limited and not great to be honest. As a professional, I need something that covers not just emergencies but day to day things such as a tick remover and nail scissors. This was the best one I could find and the most comprehensive. Now I have 3,(🙈), one for home, one for our private field and one that comes with me wherever I go.

I’m not suggesting that everyone needs such a large kit, let alone 3 of them but for me it gives me peace of mind. I would highly recommend that everyone should have a basic kit and some form of antiseptic such as Leucillin.

Anyone who has visited the shop Alfies Mutts will find Leucillin in a variety of sizes and we are looking to source a decent more compact first aid kit to sell. If you are interested please let me know and I can place you on our priority order list x

03/06/2025

This is just one of the services we offer. One to one dog walking in a private secure field. Just what’s needed for your piece of mind and for your dogs safety and security.

How do the dogs get there, I hear ask? In an air conditioned car with purpose built crates and roof vent for additional ventilation for your dogs safety and welfare.

Also for your piece of mind insured, DBS checked, canine First Aid qualified and experienced in large and small breeds x

03/06/2025

You will all be getting to see more of me over the coming months. Why? I feel it’s important to get to know the person behind the business, more importantly I want you all to know that not only is your dog’s health, safety and welfare paramount to me but that you can relax knowing that they are bringing cared for by a professional.

There are also some new products and services that are being developed and created behind the scenes which I’m excited to tell you about. Watch this space! X

04/03/2025

I love this xx

This thought struck me today.

What if your role in the dog profession was not to teach the dog but to help the dog teach their guardian.

What if you get to interpret the love, patience and tolerance that the dog shows to their person?

What if it's not about changing the dog for the person but helping the dog to show their person how valuable they are?

Would you approach things differently?

27/02/2025

📢 FREE Trauma-Informed **Webinar for Dog Professionals!** 📢

🐾 Guiding Guardians: Trauma-Informed Support Strategies for Dog Professionals 🐾

As dog professionals, we do more than train dogs—we support the people who love them. Many guardians are doing their best, but when they’re overwhelmed, frustrated, or feeling like they’re failing, they need more than training advice—they need understanding, support, and guidance.

How can we help guardians who feel stuck, hopeless, or ashamed?

What does a trauma-informed approach look like in our work with people?

How do we empower guardians to create real, lasting change for their dogs?

Guiding Guardians is a free, live webinar designed to equip you with trauma-informed, compassionate strategies to better support the humans behind the dogs.

🧠 What You’ll Learn:

✅ How to communicate with struggling guardians in a way that builds trust and reduces resistance
✅ Practical strategies for supporting guardians emotionally—without stepping outside your role
✅ The impact of stress, shame, and overwhelm on decision-making (and how to help)
✅ How to guide and empower guardians—even in difficult cases
✅ Ways to help guardians feel safe, seen, and capable of helping their dogs

Whether you’re a dog trainer, behaviourist, or canine professional, this session will help you create stronger relationships, better outcomes, and deeper trust with the guardians you work with.

📅 Live Webinar: 19th March 2025 | 7 PM UK Time

💻 Completely FREE & packed with practical, real-world strategies!

🐾 This is for you if you want to make a bigger impact—not just for dogs, but for the people who love them.

⬇ Drop a 🐾 in the comments or click the link.

https://www.sallygutteridge.com/challenge-page/online-canine-trauma-course?programId=c67b0776-5977-4665-8a79-bf22d4b7bcd2

16/02/2025

positive dog training and compassion for dogs.