Let's Talk Dog

08/12/2024

Time to look at the majority of pet dogs now...?

Many domestic horses’ needs for space, forage and socialisation are not being med, a survey has shown – as it provides opportunity to improve equine wellbeing. The National Equine Welfare Council (NEWC) has announced the publication of a “groundbreaking” two-part study that “delivers a com...

08/12/2024

Wise words - oh and don't dress them up! They're animals with fur, not bald humans!

❌AT CHRISTMAS YOUR DOG DOESN’T HAVE TO:

🧑‍🎄 Visit Santa at the garden centre

🎄 Be around your visitors

🎅🏽 Go to other peoples houses

🎄 Go to see the Christmas lights switch on

🍺 Go to the busy pub on Christmas Eve

If they are anxious or get worried about people, dogs or busy places or if they just don’t like doing these things. It’s not a fault if they don’t like doing these things, many dogs don’t enjoy ‘human activities’ like this (some do, I have one that loves all of it and two that would be 🫤 ).

✅ Instead they may prefer to:

🚪 Be in their safe space (see upcoming post on this), a quiet room they like being in with a dog gate on the doorway when you have a house full of people who may scare them

🐕 Have an extra trip to a freedom field on Christmas morning and some extra enrichment at home while you go and visit family for a few hours if they’d find it stressful to come with you

🐶 A meet up with a dog or human friend at a place they like rather than a trip to the heaving pub on Christmas Eve

🦴 A trip to a dog enrichment centre or a 121 in an activity they love (scent work, mantrailing etc) rather than an outing to see the Christmas lights switched on

🍖 Some dog safe Christmas biscuits you’ve made them rather than dressing up in a dog Santa outfit

Loads of these Christmas ‘traditions’ that we enjoy are not enjoyed by our dogs, especially if they are anxious or more sensitive. Even the most robust dog may tolerate these activities rather than love them.

Please be mindful of your dogs wants and needs and don’t put them into situations they find stressful just because we want them to be part of Christmas. It’s your Christmas, not your dogs, they really won’t mind not being included in everything you do ❤️

Laura McAuliffe Dog Communication 2024

25/10/2024

Interesting read... the emotional stress and welfare implications of taking street dogs and transporting them thousands of miles to have as 'pets'.
fil:///C:/Users/Owner/Downloads/Adda2024_WellnessorHellnessRediscussingFree-RangingDogsWelfare_REF.pdf

14/10/2024

Dog bites child... owners call us... they now understand dog.
Such a shame every dog owner doesn't have to learn these basics when they have a puppy. Which might then go on to save some of the 30,000 young dogs that are PTS every year in the UK.

Belly rubs. ✅ or ❌ ?
Flopping on the ground in front of us, showing their belly and wanting rubs may not be what your dog is saying at all....or it could be. Tricky stuff indeed.
This graphic can help a little to decipher what is actually happening.

Generally speaking.....tongues licking noses or poking out, ears flat and back or tight against head, stiff posture with paws tucked in tight can all be signs your dog may not enjoying that rub on the belly.
Another issue is they may only enjoy it for a very brief amount of time and then we may not recognise those signs that it has moved from enjoyment to being uncomfortable....so we may persist WAY beyond a dogs comfort level.
..Just something to think about the next time a dog flops down in front of you.

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08/10/2024

New Puppy?

04/10/2024

Cockerpoos are a great example, 2 working dogs mixed...

27/09/2024

Paddy's Rainbow Bench has arrived, a wonderful tribute to all the beautiful souls passed...

Pam and the gang, some of Paddy's Friends and Stuart's photo bomb - Paddy would've been proud of him!

22/09/2024

Would it be seen as cruel to drag children around by their necks? I see this EVERY DAY with dogs... why have them if you're just going to mistreat them? Is it just a macho 'control' thing? I don't understand.

11/09/2024

We're judging a family pet dog show - pop along and see us if you're free!
Thyme Kitchen

09/09/2024

Please choose your trainer very, very carefully, there are still lots around locally using aversive, cruel methods...

19/08/2024

TEACHING SLACK LEAD WALKING EXPLAINED!

The easiest time to teach is as a young puppy - 9-10 weeks old is ideal. You can start in the garden if your dog's vaccinations aren't clear yet. Teaching a dog to heel when they've been used to pulling for a long time is hard, and requires significant input and patience. But it can be done!
Always use a harness - it's cruel to put pressure on their neck. Would you like it?
Correcting a dog for pulling never works (unless you're really harsh, which we don't want). Pulling them back may put them in the correct position for a moment, but they don't learn what you actually want them to do. Worse still, the lead becomes a very negative item (not helpful when you're trying to get them on a lead after a run off lead!).
The way to nice lead walking starts OFF the lead - with the 'invisible lead'! You can also use a 3-5 metre fixed line for this. It's all about having a connection to your dog on walks, rather than just being the 'restrainer' holding them back.
If your dog pulls, just stop immediately to end their progress but don't pull them back - turn away and wait until they come closer to you by themselves, then lavish praise and move on again. Talk to them in the silly voice you'd use for a 3 year old child to keep their attention. Praise every time take even a couple of steps on a loose lead.
It's a good idea to give your dog an obvious indicator that you want them to walk on a slack lead, because as the start they won't be able to do it for long at a time, and certain trigger points such as the entry to the park will be just TOO exciting for them to concentrate - clipping an additional lead on to their collar (which stays slack all the time) gives them a physical indicator of their connection to you.
If your dog always pulls to particular places such as the park, walk past it - don't go in! Or drive somewhere else. Always practice the most on the way back when your dog is tired and more likely to respond. The better chance of them responding, the more you can praise = better learning.
Everyone who walks your dog needs to do the same.
If they stop to sniff - let them! This is how dogs read and enjoy their environment.
Some dogs respond well to a high value treat held to their side of you, occasionally getting one for walking in the right place. But if your dog pulls hard as soon as they've had a treat, this won't work.
VITAL: make sure you're constantly 'jiggling' the lead so they can feel your contact, but the lead is loose.
Finally - if you're standing around with your dog - keep the lead loose too. The more your dog feels a tight lead, the more you will desensitise them to that all-important connection. AND you may cause anxiety around strange people / experiences / dogs (that's a topic for another day!)

Modern, kind, educated and science-led trainers will all use these techniques - if they don't, walk away.

Meet Deb and Pam, qualified and dedicated clinical canine behaviourists.
Modern, kind methods - any issue, any dog.

01/08/2024

Quick fixes... they work, but at a huge cost to dog welfare...

28/06/2024

Discussion...
When we speak, is it always aggressive?
Why do most people think a barking dog on a lead is aggressive? 99% of the time they're just trying to say hello to their fellow dogs...

Remove the lead... remove the reaction!
Remove the reaction... remove the frustration!

Ok so we have roads... our pet dogs can't all be roaming free - but if you let them be dogs, they'll choose which other dogs they like and dislike and approach or avoid.

Loose lead + socialisation (if both done correctly) = happy dog.

Happy dog = happy owner!

Picture of a RARE actually aggressive dog to show the difference...

27/06/2024

If I do *insert punisher* he stops reacting!

I saw someone a number of months ago, not in a professional training capacity, who was absolutely adamant that a firm ‘no’ and a leash pop would stop his dog reacting to others. I stood and observed as he demonstrated for me his training. He told the dog to sit when another dog appeared and his dog turned his head away from the handler, ignoring the first cue. He then leash popped the dog with a firm ‘no’ and asked for a sit again. The dog again turned his head away and licked his lips, flashing the whites of his eyes but obeyed and sat. The handler was then very pleased and told his dog what a good boy he was, eliciting a soft tail wag. The handler informed me because he was confident that the dog was confident.

This got me thinking about how we view our dogs and how we often focus on obedience over emotional stability. In this particular dynamic, this handler valued obedience moreso than his dogs emotions in that moment. I’m not convinced the dog felt the same. I felt for the handler because he didn’t know better, and we can only do what we know. He went on his way and I saw him a few months later but more on that below.

Now I’m not a super fluffy trainer. I do interrupt behaviours I don’t like (and shock I even use the word no!) but I am a firm believer that punishment is not the solution to reactivity. ‘No’ does not change emotion and ALL behaviour is driven by emotion of some sort. Remember the last time you were crazy stressed and upset and someone told you ‘calm down!!!’ How did it make you feel? It probably did jack s**t.

Imagine you came to see me to deal with your fear of spiders. What I’m going to do is put you in a bathtub filled with spiders and every time you shout or kick or scream I’m going to give you a firm ‘no’ and hold you in place. Eventually you’ll likely stop screaming and kicking off, but have I dealt with your feelings about the spiders? Not likely.

‘But it’s not always fear!’ I hear the fanatics shout! Say you came to me because you’re addicted to chocolate. You just can’t stop! So every time you reach for the chocolate I tell you ‘no’ and hold you in place. You’ll probably stop reaching for the chocolate but when I’m not there, you’ll go right back to it!

Behaviour work can be tricky and you can get bogged down in the details, but put simply, good behaviour work is about working with the emotions of the animal in front of you (dog and human!). For long term changes to behaviour, avoid the quick fix that seems to elicit immediate response. Look at WHY it works too.

The leash pop dog I spoke about at the start? He didn’t react because the worry of his handler was greater than the worry of the other dogs. Six months down the line I spoke to that same handler who told me he had to rehome the dog as he had started becoming destructive in the home and his reactivity was worsening with other dogs and turning to reactivity to people too. The reality is that the lead pop and a ‘no’ had put a sticking plaster on the problem that had no long term viability in terms of behaviour modification and created a pent up ball of stress that had nowhere else to put that stress, and his couch and his neighbour got the brunt of it.

Now obviously this story is on the more extreme end of the scale, but I’m seeing more behavioural fallout from trainers that don’t understand body language or communication or basic behaviourism who have stopped a behaviour without considering the emotion that led to the behaviour to begin with.

Deal with the emotions first, then work on the obedience. Enforced obedience alone is never the fix.

24/06/2024

How do you train loose lead walking? It's easy when you start really young...
Are you waiting for puppy classes? Then you'll probably be starting this too late. That's why our 121 puppy packages are so great - real skills from the moment your puppy arrives home, along with lots of ongoing support. When your puppy is old enough you can choose to add in some group training classes to run parallel to your learning with us, but there's no substitute for 121 early learning.
Kind, ethical, years of experience and a high level of academic learning in dog psychology.