Eating is a consequence. But it’s also a BEHAVIOUR. Therefore, it can be trained and practiced like any other behaviour you’d like your dog to get better at. Archie doesn’t like eating his allergy medication. Instead of being sneaky and hiding it in food which sometimes he’s suspicious of and can spit out, we have taught him to ‘eat it’ on cue. Having Dotty to help him with eating her arthritis tablets also speeds up the process as he mimics her and the value of the food increases as he’s not particularly food motivated.
If he ‘eats it’ then he gets marked with a verbal cue ‘YES’ and he gets rewarded with a higher value treat. Let me know if you’d like any help with teaching this behaviour as there was lots of previous steps not shown to get to this point.
Teaching Dotty the ‘bucket game’. She has to have her blood taken due to her arthritis medication so we have taught her to participate in a 2 way conversation where she can give me permission to continue or stop if she’s uncomfortable. The result is a dog that will allow her hair to be shaved in preparation with no fear of the noise of the shaver. And her blood can be taken from her front paw and she is fully in control and happy having the whole thing being done.
Give us a shout if you’d like us to help you teach your dog this game and it will help with grooming, vet visits and husbandry procedures.
https://www.facebook.com/events/159336368183344/?ti=icl
Roz MuttyProfessor is doing a talk 17th July on husbandry (grooming, vet checks, handling etc of your dogs) at Holly Hedge soon. If your dog is nervous when you inspect their paws, ears, eyes, teeth then I’d recommend attending!
Here is Henry pug who is scared of having his ears checked, so much that the vets can’t look inside them and he has a potential ear infection. Notice how he lip licks and flinches when I go near it.
I have taught Dot a chin target so she rests her head on my hand and I can access her whole body easily. If she’s ever nervous she just needs to remove her chin and I stop. If she keeps it there I can groom her, check her ears and apply flea treatment which used to scare her.
Fresh marrowbones for all daycare dogs today from the butchers
Thanks for everyone’s kind messages and and love for my old Dot Dot 💕 . She has been diagnosed with spondylosis of the spine and severe arthritis of her right hip. I have now upped her fish oil to 3-5g per day and turmeric added to each meal. This has allowed us to half her metacam dosage keeping her pain free for now. I’ve taught her to (enjoy) using a ramp into the van too so she doesn’t jump up and down.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/20043801/
Does your dog dribble, drool and slobber? Mine does! Here’s how I taught my dog Dotty to lick her chops on command!
If you make it worth their while, your dog will realise it’s the most logical thing to lie down quietly on their bed when you’re eating your dinner, without you even asking them. And not beg for food. Even if you’re having 2 pieces of salmon like a fat pig.
Last one....Little Nala is scared of the hoover because it is very scary. She used to bark and lunge at it which made it go away. Instead, I left it about the house not switched on so it became boring. Then I hoovered in the other room when she was eating her dinner. Then I hoovered in the same room throwing treats away from it. Now she tries to follow me about when I’m cleaning up. Gets right in the way.
It’s Phobia week here at MBF
Phobia: putting her harness on and being handled.
Poppy was nervous of being picked up and putting her harness on. We now give her lots of space to move away if she wants to, don’t back her in a corner and don’t lean over her. We pair it with lots of treats and praise and now we are listening to her signals so she’s gaining confidence. She no longer rolls onto her back with her owners and has no fear of her harness being put on her.
It’s Phobia week here at MBF.
Phobia: Being cleaned off in the shower.
Here is Dot doing spins as she’s so excited to be washed off. She jumps into the shower voluntarily now instead of shaking and running away. By using desensitisation and counter conditioning techniques she now views the shower as a fun and positive place, which makes cleaning her off much easier and it’s nice knowing she’s no longer stressed.
My 2 years work of desensitising Spot to firework noises looks like it's paying off. Fast asleep. Hopefully it translates to the real thing over the next week.
I know lots of people have trouble with their dogs not eating their medication so here's a sure fire way to get it in 1 every time.
Step 1- take the pill in your hand.
Step 2- open your hand flat.
Boom. Easy. What is everyone struggling with???
What does your dog LOVE to do? What was it bred to do? Let them do it ❤️
Beckham is a working cocker and he loves to play 'find it' where he can use his nose to locate items that I hide around the house. He's amazing at it every time and he get so much enjoyment from it.
Doing invoices with the Monday Crew.
Spot the dog 🐶 playing her new slow feeder/ puzzle game. Let me know if you'd like me to feed your dogs using this if they have dry food
*NERD ALERT*
As Dotty Dog is getting older I've changed her diet slightly to help her stay young, fit and healthy. Here I am making a paste in the blender which I mix into her food each day and each ingredient is explained below if anyone is interested, taken from my notes folder when I research food and nutrition.
Tumeric, Spiruina, Coconut oil, Fish Oil, Mustard powder, black pepper, Spinach.
TUMERIC
There has been a great deal of research on turmeric's anti-cancer properties, but results are still very preliminary. Evidence from test tube and animal studies suggests that curcumin may help prevent or treat several types of cancers, including prostate, breast, skin, and colon cancer. Tumeric's preventive effects may relate to its antioxidant properties, which protect cells from damage (1). More research is needed.
Curcumin (the active compound found in Tumeric) is poorly absorbed by the body. Therefore black pepper should be added, making the curcumin more bioavailable. A 2014 study showed that ''curcumin bioavailability was increased by 2,000% at 45 minutes after co-administering curcumin orally with piperine'' (2).
SPIRULINA
A number of animal and test tube studies suggest that spirulina increases production of antibodies, infection-fighting proteins, and other cells that improve immunity and help ward off infection and chronic illnesses, such as cancer. (4)
Animal and test tube studies suggest that spirulina may protect against allergic reactions by stopping the release of histamines, substances that contribute to allergy symptoms, such as a runny nose, watery eyes, hives, and soft-tissue swelling. (3)
COCONUT OIL
There is zero evidence showing any health benefits to orally administered coconut oil. People exaggerate it's claims. This is just used to bind it together into a paste.
CRUCIFEROUS VEGITABLES
isothiocyanate intake (in particularly- Sulforaphane) has been consistently associated with lower incidents of bladder (5), lung, breast and prostat
It doesn't really matter how many times you go round, the tyre bed isn't getting any bigger #greatdaneproblems
Nala getting in the festive spirit ☃️🎇🎄🎄🐶
