The Dog Nose

24/12/2024

Wishing all my clients past and current a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

It’s been a pleasure working with you all and your wonderful dogs.

28/10/2024

I love this and I really would encourage dog people to step away from classic obedience type training and let your dogs be dogs.

It doesn’t mean you don’t have rules and boundaries - in fact this is the equivalent of authoritative parenting which experts and science have shown to be the best way to raise happy confident children.

If anyone has any questions about this style of dog training which is more dog centric then please message or email me!

Just because I like to be kind,
Just because I believe that dogs should have choices,
Just because I believe that I can teach my dogs without using discomfort, pain or fear,
Just because I prefer to be my dog's parent/friend and not their boss,
just because I like my dogs to be under the cover, keeping me warm on a cold night.
Just because I like using food and herbs to heal my dogs,
just because I like my dogs to be a little bit feral,

does NOT mean I am weak. It doesn't make me too soft or a pushover. It doesn't mean I don't have boundaries, limits or rules.

I just do not feel the need to be controlling. My ego doesn't need my dog to behave like a robot to impress you. In fact, I couldn't give a s**t what you think about how my dog behaves because I know we are happy and I know I make them feel safe.

Some of the most powerful, influential people in the world have proved that power and strength come from mindfulness, wisdom and love.

Remember that it takes courage to be kind.

22/10/2024

If anyone is interested in some foundation agility training I can recommend Lucy Turmaine

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/hg6shB5jqTP88DMs/?mibextid=WC7FNe

21/10/2024

Lovely post and words from my friend and colleague Donna.

Our dogs need us as much if not more than we need them. It’s our responsibility to be there for them.

Being there

When we’re concerned, worried or frightened about something, we would seek out who we feel safe with, the ones that we trust, know will listen, feel comfortable around and available to us no matter what

We wouldn’t necessarily go to those, that ignore us, untrustworthy, be weary of and would avoid those that we didn’t feel safe around, unsure of what they may say or do

Our dogs are no different, looking not only for an attachment figure, but a secure base, that is on us being available, trustworthy, respectful, safe, and for them to share their emotions

Being there can help emotionally

Finding out what we can do to help offers care

Taking them through supportive steps can offer connection

Sitting with them being there can offer comfort

Allowing space and respecting their boundaries can offer trust

Taking them away from a scary situation can offer relief

Being there when are our dogs need our support that is consistent, compassionate and caring can provide a feeling of security and safety, to allow a sense of comfort, agency, confidence, and a voice to express themselves

16/10/2024

Dogs are very much interested in things we are interested in. I haven’t taught Tollie to do this - she has chosen for herself…..

At the moment, I hand feed my tortoise in the morning (it’s a tricky time of year - not quite ready to hibernate but it’s cooler outside). I need to keep his weight up so I warm him up by the AGA and then supervise his feeding of weeds - mainly dandelions.

Tollie likes to watch and waits patiently while I feed Herb. Once he walks away, she’ll go and eat the dandelions he has left!

Obviously dandelions are not normal dog food but because I hand feed them to Herb they are important! Tollie has decided if they are good enough for him then they are ok for her too.

She hasn’t quite understood that he doesn’t want to play with her destuffed pheasant though.

They have a sweet relationship and Herb follows both of my dogs around inside and out!

Anyone else’s dog (or tortoise) got little quirks?

(NB: I never leave the dogs and tortoise together unsupervised for safety reasons - dogs can bite as can tortoises!)

14/10/2024

Hello! My name is Tollie and I am a 6 month old puppy.

When I go out with my human I get lots of compliments about how beautiful I am but also people are surprised that I am only 6 months because I look like a grown up dog.

This can be a bit of a problem because I don’t yet have the behaviour of a grown up …… in fact I will shortly be hitting adolescence. My brain is only really starting to develop and things I struggle with are:

🐶 controlling my impulses
🐶 getting over excited about very small things
🐶 sometimes I can’t do what my human asks me (but she’s ok with that)
🐶 I get overwhelmed and a bit jumpy
🐶 I sometimes bark at things I don’t understand

My human says this is all normal and she doesn’t get cross. She helps me to regulate my emotions and she reassures me when I am unsure and a bit barky.

So if you are a human with a puppy in a big dog’s body or if you are a human who meets a puppy who looks like a grown up, please make allowances and understand that we are not being naughty - we are learning about and processing your crazy world. In the 2nd photo I needed to sit on my human because I was a bit worried about the tent noises.

Thank you, woofs and licks - Tollie the giant puppy!

23/09/2024

Thanks to EXEmplar for this video. I tried to go up Friday to check it out but the CP was closed on the evening for hay bailing!

Use is limited to 20mins at a time but this should be plant to give your dog off lead time and to practice recall.

Thanks Countryside Rangers!

06/09/2024

A lot of you ask me about Graeme Hall and his program. I don’t recommend it because I don’t agree with his methods which don’t involve understanding what the dog is feeling. This is an interesting read.

( Please note, I haven’t verified this info so can’t say 100% it’s factually correct.)

⚠️ 𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝑫𝒐𝒈𝒔 𝑩𝒆𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 (𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒚) 𝑩𝒂𝒅𝒍𝒚

Yesterday, I received the following email from a researcher for the TV programme *Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly*:

"𝑀𝑦 𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑠 (redacted) 𝐼 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑇𝑉 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤 ‘𝐷𝑜𝑔𝑠 𝐵𝑒ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 (𝑉𝑒𝑟𝑦) 𝐵𝑎𝑑𝑙𝑦’.

𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑛𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑒𝑝𝑖𝑠𝑜𝑑𝑒𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑤𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑘 𝑖𝑛 𝐿𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑎𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝐿𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑚.

𝑊𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 𝑇𝑢𝑒𝑠𝑑𝑎𝑦 10𝑡ℎ 𝑆𝑒𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑜𝑔 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑟 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑏𝑜𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑚 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑢𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑛 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑜𝑜𝑛. 𝑊𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑜 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑑𝑜𝑔𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑎 𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑒.

𝑊𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑑𝑜𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑛𝑜𝑛-𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑏𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑙𝑦 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑔𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠.

𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛. 𝑂𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦’𝑑 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑎, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑎 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑠𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑠!"

My first thought was to delete the email. I'm not a fan of Graeme Hall. I've watched a few episodes of his show, and in my opinion, he seems to make things up as he goes along, relying on outdated training methods.

However, I was puzzled. Was the “cravat” unwell, and they needed a stand-in? I'm a nobody – why on earth would they want to film me training a dog when there are so many high-profile trainers out there? Curiosity got the better of me, so I decided to give the researcher a call.

I'm still in shock as I write this. The researcher explained that they wanted to invite me to Lytham with my Border Collie to "demonstrate" to Graeme Hall how I would train my dog not to respond to a phone ringtone.

Graeme would then take my training method and use it to teach the Border Collie of the family seeking help – all while filming it for his TV show!

WTF 😳😳😳

I decided to dig a bit deeper and reached out to the force-free dog training community to see if anyone else had experienced something this bizarre.

It turns out that many trainers had also been asked to attend filming sessions to show Graeme how to train dogs before the cameras rolled. Most reported that they refused because of his methods, but a few had shown him and his team how to train a dog, only to be dismissed without any credit for their expertise.

I then did some open-source research on "The Country’s Best Dog Trainer," as the *Daily Telegraph* calls him. He has no formal training in canine behaviour or training. He’s essentially winging it with the help of whatever trainers are willing to show up and assist him.

According to his website, he charges £875 per session 🤔😧

Now I’m not someone who normally criticises other trainers. I prefer to let my clients decide if I’m the right trainer for them based on how I work with their dogs.

However, I couldn’t let this pass without making it public knowledge.

If you're looking for a dog trainer, please avoid this programme and this man. You have no idea whose techniques he’ll be using week to week, and given that most qualified and accredited trainers want nothing to do with him, the quality of training you’ll receive is questionable at best.

Instead, do your own research and find a local trainer who aligns with your own dog training ethics. Organisations such as The IMDT or APDT - Association of Pet Dog Trainers can help guide you to qualified & accredited trainers in your area.

𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒐𝒈𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒔!

29/08/2024

I love this post from Canine Bond Dog Behaviour & Training

Who I am?

You smell different, look different and you behave differently. I know you aren’t a dog.

I can pick up your emotion’s and read your body language although you may be different from me

I can distinguish between your different tones of voices and react accordingly

I can detect the human face and discriminate between sad, happy, angry and neutral faces

When I feel securely attached to my human, I am better at sensing my guardians moods and provide comfort with the ability to understand

A recent study suggested that even the odour of a stressed, unfamiliar human affects my emotional state, perception of rewards and ability to learn, showing that stress odours can travel through the air

I can learn your language and hope you can learn mine

Who am I? I am your dog ❤️

I think it’s just incredible to think how much dogs really know about us using their amazing senses ❤️

27/08/2024

Today the giant puppy got herself stung on the paw by a wasp! I didn’t see the wasp or I would have evicted it before she discovered it.

I’ve treated the sting with a vinegar compress because the acidity in the vinegar neutralises the alkalinity of the wasp sting.

I soaked some cotton wool pads in apple cider vinegar and applied pressure to the area with them. Tolerance was very tolerant of this! I shall keep an eye for any swelling.

If your dog is stung inside the mouth then it’s best to seek vet treatment as any swelling could compromise their airway and breathing.

Within 5-10 minutes she’s stopped trying to lick at it. Poor little lady - I’m sure she’ll still be intrigued by them.

(By the way, bee stings are treated with bicarbonate!)

27/08/2024

Amazing job by these people to get theft of a pet dog or cat punishable by a custodial sentence. Can’t thank you enough on behalf of all
Dogs and cats 🐈 🐶👏

26/08/2024

Did you know it’s International Dog Day today? I didn’t.

Anyway, it is so here are the two dogs I am lucky enough to share my life with Prudence the beagle and Tolerance the Golden Retriever (who is just a pup)!

Celebrate your gorgeous dogs today and appreciate them for the dog they are alongside the wonderful companionship they bring to your life.

25/08/2024

The giant puppy was 5 months old yesterday!

She is being a pickle in the garden today pulling up grass and getting easily overexcited.

WHY? It’s important to ask why……. And not just think she’s being naughty!

She’s been loosing her baby teeth this past week and today I noticed a loose baby pre-molar and quite a lot of blood on the top and bottom jaws where teeth are loosening and falling out.

She can’t tell me this hurts but she can show me with her behaviour and I believe her being a ‘pickle’ is down to some tooth pain or soreness in her gums and her not knowing how to cope with this.

I’ve made sure she’s got lots of different things to chew on and when she is in the garden I’m supervising so she doesn’t wreck things that I don’t want her to wreck. I can redirect her to play with me with a toy or to engage with her doggie sister for a game.

This helps her to cope and me not to get annoyed.

Ultimately I have a lot of sympathy for her because I had a lot of dental pain as a teenager when I had braces on my teeth to straighten them. It’s no fun.

(the green blob is a modesty blob 😆)

09/08/2024

This will be a great and very informative course so don’t hesitate to sign up!

Do you have a dog? Walk your friend's dogs? Are you a dog walker, groomer, sitter, trainer, vet, vet nurse? This seminar is for anyone who spends time with dogs in any capacity.

One week to go! Still a couple of spots left!
17th August 9.30am - approx 2pm Canine Body Language seminar. Only £25 per person. Opportunities to ask questions and discuss. We will be looking at the subtleties of Canine body language, now they communicate with us humans, other dogs, factors that can affect their communicational skills. Using images and videos to help you understand what you're seeing.

Delivered by a qualified, experienced and accredited Canine Behaviourist, and published author on topic of dog behaviour (me 😂).

£25 is an absolute steal for a half day seminar and I am not likely to be running this again for a while, so don't miss out.

This will be held in Holcombe, just outside Dawlish.

24/06/2024

Today we’ve had a better night and not such an early start which has been helped by having my husband join me.

When you have a pup, and you have others in the house, it’s really important to work as a team.

Tollie still needs early toileting although we can now go from 11pm to approx 5:30am before we are disturbed. I am still getting her up and out at 5:30am as she needs to go toilet (both p*e and poo). She wakes me not the other way round so she is clean in her sleep area.

I keep it very calm with little interaction. If she’s hesitant to leave my side, which she can be, then I walk around the garden quietly and the motion sets things in motion! I keep my wellies/slip on garden shoes by the door so I’m ready to go.

After this I bring her back in to her sleeping area which is still next to my bed and she resettles until the rest of the household stirs. This morning she got restless again about an hour later so I gave her a yak bar to chew on which helped.

She was probably hungry but the yak bar did the trick until a slightly more reasonable breakfast time of 7am.

Having a young pup is hard work and your normal routine will be interrupted so my tips today are to BE PREPARED!

Set up what you need for the morning the night before. (I actually get her breakfast ready the night before as easier to just pop it down rather than prepare it!).

Shoes, poo bags and jumper by the back door (early morning can be cold) and something (a chew or a long) to resettle your pup so you can grab another hour of sleep.

Tollie (on the slide) and her sister enjoying the morning sun.

Tomorrow I’ll talk about litter mates and how to cope with 2 pups from same litter.

23/06/2024

The Dog Nose has a new recruit - this is Tolerance (Tollie) the Golden Retriever. She is 11 weeks old.

As you know I am a dog behaviour and training professional and I can confirm that puppies are exhausting - mentally and physically! My current dog is 6 in October so it's been a while since we had a pup in the house.

Tollie and I will be posting tips and hints for all you new puppy guardians over the next few weeks to (I hope) help you settle in your new family members.

Todays tip is SLEEP!

Puppies grow at a very fast rate and all that body and brain development means they need a lot of sleep (as well as fun, food and toileting).

Today has been a tough one for us. Tollie woke up at 05:40am as she needed a wee and a poo. Rather uniquely we are still with Tollie's Mum and sister (who are my best friend's dogs). We are giving Tollie time to bond with me and my dog before taking her home. However, I digress ..... Tollie's sister Tiggy woke up too and the pair of them have been quite challenging this morning.

Tollie seems to need more sleep than her sister and unfortunately Tiggy often wakes her up to play so today I have enforced rest and quiet sleep as Tollie had started to do quite a bit of 'gardening' that wasn't required. I knew she was tired as she had only had about an hour's sleep since waking at 05:40 due to various interruptions.

Puppies at 11 weeks still need a lot of sleep. For every 1.5-2hrs awake they should be having the same in rest.

So we have come into a quiet room, closed the curtains and she is sleeping - phew! I am staying with her because I don't want her to wake up and panic. Puppies born in a non-human environment would not be left alone until about 7 months - an Auntie dog or adolescent from a previous litter would stay with them. I will be getting Tollie used to being left but that's a post for another day.

TODAY IS ALL ABOUT QUALITY PUPPY SLEEP - not sleep where they are interrupted. If this means you have to go to a quiet room and catch up with work or social media while they sleep then do so! Grab a tea or coffee and enjoy some quiet time too.

You will have a more reasonable puppy as a result. 😍