Canine Reactive

06/11/2024

Shout out to my newest followers! Excited to have you onboard! Maggie Regan, Loran Price

01/11/2024

For the pets and owners who find fireworks season distressing, try our radio sanctuary: Classic FM’s Pet Classics. 🐾

On Saturday 2 and Tuesday 5 November from 5-9pm, join us for soothing classical music and practical tips from RSPCA (England & Wales).

Just tell your smart speaker to “play Classic FM” or listen on . 🎶

29/10/2024

Canine Reactive provides supportive Behaviour Therapy for Reactive dogs. As a fully qualified Behaviourist and trainer, I am also a Dynamic Dog Practitioner. This means no stone gets left unturned when I try to help you explore why your dog behaves the way they do. It also means I work very differently to your traditional behaviourist and trainer. As such, there is a certain protocol and approach to how I do things.

Modern technology is great, and the vast ways in which we are able to contact with each other and converse instantly through various platforms can be useful. However, nothing is more time consuming than playing the messaging game of ping pong. Back and forth messages, time consuming and very impersonal.

For you to be able to understand how I work and for me to gather information I need to conclude wether or not I can help you, we need to do that old fashioned thing of getting on the phone. But here's the best part, you don't even have to dial as I do that for you.

All you need to do is spend two minutes picking your time and day that you want me to call you. Simple.

The call lasts twenty minutes and there is no obligation to sign on.

Please use this link to book your call. https://calendly.com/canine-reactive/discovery-call

Booking a discovery call means you get all the information you need at once, I can give you my undivided attention, rather than trying to answer your questions while driving between clients using interrupted bluetooth signals, and you won't have to wait staggered times between me answering each question you have, as I am there with you in that moment to go through everything. No waiting your end for a reply to a question.

Thanks so much!

Gemma
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28/10/2024

Polite reminder: office hours are 9am-5pm Mon - Fri CLOSED Sat & Sun. I am to respond as soon as possible, but defiantly within 48 hours. Please bear in mind that my work schedule varies from day to day, and as such so will my response time.

Messages, emails, Whatsapp etc sent before 9am or after 5pm will not be looked at until the following day. If sent on the Weeknd I will not look at them until Monday.

Please note that as much as I LOVE my job I am also a full time mum of two and have a very busy schedule aside from Canine
Reactive.

Where possible I ask new clients potentially looking to work with me, that they use this link to book a discovery call to save the ping pong of messages. I will invite you to do this anyway, so to save time and repetition please just book the call.
https://calendly.com/canine-reactive/discovery-call

Current clients, please refrain from contacting me either side of office hours. As much as support is part of your packages, I also need some down time, my work phone is also my personal phone (this will be changing soon), so it can be stressful when I get notifications late in the evening or on weekends when I am supposed to be with my family.

EVERYONE: Please do not PM me on my personal messenger. I have a business page which you can message me there. Or like I say book a discovery call if enquiring about my services, or use one of the many other ways of contacting me.

Thank you so much for your understanding.❤

Gemma
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25/10/2024

My amazing mentor, and founder of the truly amazing Dynamic Dog assessments has posted this fab summery of the effects of pain meds on our dogs.

Many of the clients I have worked with have already gone to the vet to rule out pain as a cause of their dogs behaviour, and just as Gemma Harvey has mentioned 50% of them come back as having made no change in behaviour on the pain trial, so it is then dismissed and purely put down to behaviour.

As a qualified behaviourist and Dynamic Dog practitioner I am fully aware of, and can see when this is not the case.

I am sharing this because I would like everyone to be mindful of this information if they suspect their dog may be in discomfort, but may be finding it hard to prove it, or get any further with the vet than a ten minute consult.

You know your dog inside out, and if you have a constant nagging in your gut that is saying you think your dogs behaviour may be due to discomfort, then I would confidently take a guess and say that your right.

How you get to rule this out and go further with your vet than a pain trial or basic physical exam, is with a Dynamic Dog assessment.

If you would like to talk to me further about this and how it can help your dog, book a free call with me to discuss the process.

https://calendly.com/canine-reactive/discovery-call

What you need to know about pain relief trials!

As a bare minimum for my clients I often request a pain relief trial (analgesic trial), especially if the dog is “sensitive” at the vets and cannot be examined properly.

50% of the time we see results - hooray!

The other 50% of the time, we don’t and the Vet rules out pain and puts the issues down to just being behavioural.

As we all know from my little rant a few weeks back:

“Pain cannot and should not be ruled out” its impossible for one species to say with 100% certainty that another species isn’t in pain … truth is we just don’t know because pain is subjective.

That 50% of the time where the vet says its not pain but just behavioural needs rethinking and more questions asked.

If pain relief is given, and no changes occur, does it really mean the dog is not in pain?

It’s not that simple.

There are many different types of pain that a living being can experience;

Visceral - Visceral pain is pain that originates from the internal organs and blood vessels, such as the heart, lungs, or pancreas. It can feel deep, squeezing, or colicky, and is often difficult to pinpoint.

Somatic - Somatic pain is pain that affects other bodily tissues like muscles, skin, and bones.

Neuropathic - Neuropathic pain is nerve pain - spinal cord, peripheral nerves etc.

When a being experiences pain, they can experience one or a combination of the above types.

Consider this…

- Quite often Metacam, for example, is a vets first port of call which targets Somatic pain and inflammation - what happens if the dog is experiencing a different type or combination of pain? Is the dog on the right dosage, does it need to be and can it be increased?

- Quite often the course of the pain meds is only given for 10 days largely due to licensing of the drug - but is this enough time to get on top of CHRONIC long term pain (Sarah Heath recommends 6 - 8 weeks)?

You smashers know I like to put a human spin on things, and I quite often use my own experiences to get my point across so it will be of no surprise when I tell you I threw my back out yesterday morning. I'm in agony. No position is comfortable, standing, sitting or lying. I'm waspy as hell.

I am taking Paracetamol and Ibuprofen regularly and NOTHING is touching the discomfort I am experiencing!

The difference between me and a dog is that I can tell you that the pain meds aren’t working and I am still in pain.

So where does that leave our dogs?

18/10/2024

Puppy class! I look forward to welcoming you to week one this evening at 7pm at Whitecroft memorial hall. Please check your emails for info regarding tonight's class . 🐾☺️

10/10/2024

Meet kayza- today she didn't want to do training, so instead she sneakily took my shoe and decided to use it as a head rest to go to sleep on whilst me and her owner were catching up on things. 🩷🩷🐾

29/09/2024

Well BT and EE I think you need to rethink your adverts, claiming to be the best broadband around now that you have joined together. What F***ING joke!!!! One week at the beginning of month without phone or broadband. Didn't tell me when the engineer was coming out, only by chance I caught them working on the pole at end of street on my way out to work. Two weeks later and the broadband and phone has gone again, and don't even gete started on the seven hour phones calls, being on hold for hours on end, falsely being sold something that was supposed to help but didn't. Oh yeh and the EE Sims that were supposed to change number over in two hours ended up taking a week and various phone calls to sort. F***!!!!!!!!!!!!😡🤬😡🤬😡🤬😡🤬😡🤬 So, yet again. Apologise everyone if I am slow responding to emails etc, i have data on my phone but the 4g signal isn't always great so bear with me.

24/09/2024

New date for a new lot of puppy classes.

Starting on the 18th of October 2024 at Whitecroft Memorial Hall. The course runs for six weeks and is held on Friday evenings 7-8pm. This course is for puppies aged 12-22 weeks.

The course will teach your pup the following essentials.
🐾 Name recognition
🐾 Grooming
🐾 Handling
🐾 Drop
🐾 Leave
🐾 Settle
🐾 Foundation lead skills
🐾 Foundation focus skills
🐾 Calm greeting to other dogs
🐾 Calm greetings to other people

All training is done using force-free positive methods, based around setting your puppy up so he can naturally offer what we want and get rewarded.

You will be under the watchful eye of a fully qualified trainer and behaviourist, meaning you have the opertunity to get both behaviour and training support for anything relating to puppy development.

Each week owners also receive informative handouts on various topics relating to training, behaviour, care and surviving puppyhood.

BONUS: Unlike other puppy classes you will get access to me in between classes via WhatsApp to ask any questions you have for extra support.

The course is £85 payment and booking is done over the phone.

ONLY SIX SPACES AVAILABLE.

Please contact Gemma on 07508765210 to book.

05/09/2024

Hate technology with a passion.
Long story short, no internet since Wednesday, was supposed to be fixed today, but now it won't be fixed until the 12th!!!! I have data on my phone but because it 4g it very hit and miss as to whether it works.

Have been on the phone to BT for hours. Tried setting up new equipment, and a special booster device to allow us to connect to internet even though main line down, but guess what? That doesn't work either.

So, if you are a client or friend and have been trying to email or WhatsApp me i apologise for the delay in response. I also may not get it to start with.

Work regarding dynamic dog reports unfortunately will be pushed back due me not being able to access what I need on my main computer, I do not have a laptop which I can take somewhere else to connect to WiFi to do the work, so you will really have to bear with me everyone.

Many thanks
Gemma.

14/08/2024

PUPPY CLASS
Starting this Friday. 7-8pm at Whitecroft Memorial Hall for six weeks.
Get your pup off to a great start. using force-free positive training. we teach:
Sit
Down
Lose lead
Leave
Drop
Settle
Grooming
Handling
Calm approaches dogs
Calm approaches people

AND MORE!

Support is available for owners in between classes via phone or email should they need it, plus supportive handouts are given each week.

For pups aged 12-20 weeks.

£85 for the six weeks. Payment on booking over the phone.

Contact Gemma on 07508765210.

13/08/2024

Still spaces available! Please contact me on 07508765210 to book.

13/08/2024

I'm Back! Hey everyone, I am back, feeling refreshed and raring to go. Hope everyone has been well. Here is an update for current business hours and events during the remaining school holidays.

PUPPY CLASS: New course starts this Friday. Still spaces available. If you would like to book please call me on 07508 765210

HOURS: Kids are still off school until the first week of September, which means I am still working limited hours. Please note response times to messages and emails may vary because of this.

Here is a rare photo of me on holiday NOT covered in dog hair, or smelling of dog and Frankfurters. 🤣🤣

11/08/2024

The last positive quote this week.

Just learn to accept that they don't understand.

Beating yourself up about the remarks or looks from others is just mentally battering. Why would you do that to yourself? If it was a friend or family member what would you say to them? I imagine you would encourage them to ignore it.

Theirs no point trying to explain your dog in the brief encounter you have on the walk. It will just be waisted breath, and you are taking focus off your own dog. In those reactive moments you need 100% be focused on your dog and help support them as best you can, the only thing you will have time for regarding the other dog walker, is to maybe shout out "please get your dog".

We can spread the word and help educate others by sharing things like these posts and others all over Facebook, any educational posts that explain reactivity, what its like to like with a reactive, spreading the word about yellow apparel, the whole lot. Eventually we will start to change the majority of ignorant owner to more respectful and understanding ones.

Gemma
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10/08/2024

Positive quote of the day!

Reactive dog guardians are the most knowledgable, respectful, and patient people I know in the dog pet world. Why? Because just like a parent who lives with a child with a learning difficult or who is neurodiverse, you have learnt about your dogs behaviour in order to try and understand them better, you support your dog as best you can with the tools and knowledge you have so far. You work tirelessly every day to ensure everything you do is catered for your dogs needs, and most empowering of all you Never give up.

Regardless of how challenging living with a reactive dog can be, you love the bones of them, and accept they have their quirks, or issues. But you find ways to manage and cope.

Give yourself a pat on the back for being the most awesome dog guardian there is. Better still comment below saying " You are an awesome dog guardian". You never know who might need to hear it.

Gemma
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09/08/2024

Quote of the day!

It is not your fault your dog may suffer with reactive behaviour. As explained in the previous positive post reactivity is an expression that the dog is not comfortable with something for some reason. There can be many reasons why a dog is reactive. pain, digestive issues, irritations from allergies, illness, heat, previous bad experience, they may be rescue, ex street dogs, shelter dog, ex breeding bitch, the list goes on.

Reactivity may not be a temporary thing, and may not show itself all the time, it can be random, unpredictable, and have no clear trigger.

I would say 95% of cases I work with have several contributing factors the thier behaviour issues. Reactivity doesn't just happen because of one thing. In addition to the things that originally triggered the behaviour their is always maintaining factors, things that happen daily in our routine with our dog that add fuel to the fire.

So many owners blame themselves, especially if they have had the bad luck having more than one reactive dog, they seem to think they are then the problem. I asure you you are not, unless you are miss treating your dog then I guarantee you are not the cause.

Even owners that suffer from depression and anxiety, you are not the cause. Yes our dogs can feel our emotions, and our emotions and behaviours impact our dogs, but this will not be the initially triggering cause for your dog's reactivity. There is much more going on beneath the surface.

Gemma
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08/08/2024

Positive quote of the day!

You are not alone in the journey. 73% of dogs in the Uk have some form of reactive behaviour for varying reasons.

Remember reactivity is a way of your dog communicating they are not comfortable with something. They cannot speak so a bigger form of communication through more elaborate body language and vocal cues is needed.

On the social spectrum only a small number of dogs are social butteflies, a huge number of dogs need time to establish relationships through controlled and positive meet ups. The expectation that EVERY dog should be dog friendly and want to play with every dog it meets has come from social pressure, not the dogs.

You only have to look at a dog food ad or a camping ad to see the pressure society puts on dogs. Unfortunately the half time these ideals that are put out there are not realistic. Bear that in mind when you next speak negatively to yourself. Your dog IS normal. Having reactive behaviour DOES NOT make him an outcast.

Gemma
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