A Dog's World

16/08/2024

The sun came out for these guys yesterday afternoon  ☀️ No raincoats needed luckily 😆

16/08/2024

Yesterday morning's soggy dogs! ☔ I didn't get a lot of photos as it was to wet to bring the phone out 😆 Got some lovely close ups though 🤩

14/08/2024

Nala joined us this morning 💞 Finally her and Mirren got to meet after eyeing each other up at scent class 👀. They were so playful together 🥰. Poppy chased some butterflies 🦋 and had lots of pool and shady breaks 💦 🏖️. Bailey and Nala had a good time running around with the pet face balls 🍅 🫐 Hard to tell who likes them more? 🤔😂

Sorry to everyone for having to cancel the afternoon session and scent class tonight - van is all fixed and we are back on the road tomorrow 🚐🐾

13/08/2024

Week 4 of Tuesday's UK Sniffer Dogs Classes! 🐽 This week we worked on strengthening the freeze indication and building up the duration that the dogs indicate on the odour. We also worked on searching novel environments such as fences, tyres, gates, cable drums, chairs (plastic, rattan and metal), baskets, pipes, pallets, sheds, wooden gates and much more!

Included in this week's searches was also a blank search which helps to iron out any issues with dogs that falsely indicate. With working detection dogs they may search all day and not find anything, this blank search helps calms the dogs down and makes them less frantic about finding something as they still get reinforced for a good search! 🔍

There are a few spaces left in our next upcoming 6 week block of UK Sniffer Dogs Classes.
The start date is:
Thursday 12th September 6pm-7pm.
If you are interested or have any questions just give me a message and I'll send you all of the information 😄. Keep your eyes peeled for the event to be posted soon 🗓️ 👀

12/08/2024

I didn't have the boys today so enjoy a couple of pictures of Buddy on our walk yesterday 💞

09/08/2024

08/08/2024

This week's Thursday UK Sniffer dog class 🐽. We had the added distraction of rain today 🌧️ but all the dogs still performed fantastically. We significantly reduced the size of the target scent and worked on shaping the indication on chairs 🪑. Well done everyone for showing up despite the bad weather 😄

08/08/2024

Loki boy doing some great indicating on chairs yesterday! He missed the UK Sniffer Dogs class on Tuesday so we got some practice in! 🐽 The last one was especially impressive as he decided to get some height to find it 😆 We practiced on one chair first and then completed a 3,2,1 search which he was great at!🥳

06/08/2024

What a fantastic post! The information in this post is why I stopped writing the weekly A-Z dog breeds as when I was researching them it would give you generalised characteristics that portray a different message to people. This is exactly the way to put it.
KNOW. YOUR.BREED! It will save you so many problems in the future if you are prepared.

Terriers, Hounds & Husbands

Why did we choose the dog that we have? What was it about that particular breed or cross or mixed breed that attracted us to him?
Often our choice is governed by size, their looks that please us, type of coat, shaggy, smooth, colour.
How many of us choose a breed because we actually like the behaviour that they have been specifically bred for over the generations?

Not the behaviour that we can read about in the breed club description of them:
Border Collie - excellent at herding sheep.
German Shepherd - great guard dog.
Chihuahua - fabulous lap dog.
Beagle - great at following a scent.
Bull Terrier - particularly good with people.

No not those behaviours, these ones:
Border Collie - will herd and nip the children when they are running about, will be sound sensitive and not cope well with traffic and busy households.
German Shepherd - will bark ferociously at all of your visitors.
Chihuahua - will resource guard your lap.
Beagle - will follow a scent to timbuktu and not hear you calling.
Springer Spaniel - will resource guard anything he picks up if there is the slightest chance that you have previously taken items from him as a puppy and especially if that was accompanied by a stern telling off for taking it.
Cocker Spaniel - will resource guard anything he picks up if there is the slightest chance that you have previously taken items from him as a puppy and especially if that was accompanied by a stern telling off for taking it.
Cockapoo - will resource guard anything he picks up if there is the slightest chance that you have previously taken items from him as a puppy and especially if that was accompanied by a stern telling off for taking it.
Golden Retriever - will resource guard anything he picks up if there is the slightest chance that you have previously taken items from him as a puppy and especially if that was accompanied by a stern telling off for taking it.
(No prizes for guessing what we get posts about the most)
Labrador - Should be the same but they are a bit goofy so less likely to.
Sighthounds - Saluki, Borzoi, Greyhound, Lurcher et al - will chase small furries that they spot in the distance. When playing with other dogs will bring them down either by grabbing back legs or the back of the neck or the back.
Terriers - will dig, will go down rabbit holes, badger sets, drain pipes.
And then the breed temperament descriptions and what they really mean ..
"Aloof" won't like strangers
"Wary of strangers" won't like strangers
"Naturally independent" won't be eager to please
"Loyal to his master" won't like strangers
"very protective of owner" won’t like strangers
"particularly good with people" not good with dogs

We can also group dogs into those that work with man and those that work independently.

Gundogs, herding dogs, guard dogs mostly tend to take instructions from us and often hang on our every word.
In contrast the independent breeds, sighthounds that hunt by sight, scent hounds that hunt by following a scent, terriers that go down holes, stock guarding breeds that live with the flock. We just leave them to get on with it because their skills far outweigh ours. They don’t need us.
These are the breeds that are often labeled as stubborn but of course they are not stubborn, they are just not designed to follow instructions and take orders.

The secret to a successful partnership with all dogs but particularly the independent breeds is to always let them think that it was their idea, that they have trained you to give treats for checking in, for lying on their bed when you are busy. And that by pretending to be thinking of going hunting you will produce a toy and play a great game with them. This line of thinking works well with husbands too.

There are always exceptions and we know that with appropriate training and socialising these traits can be channelled effectively but please always do your research before buying a breed that you like the look of.

06/08/2024

Week 3 of Tuesday's UK Sniffer Dogs Classes! This week we were shaping the dogs indication on chairs and reduced the size of the hide dramatically. You can't see the hide on the pictures as it's so small but the dogs are doing a great job of showing you where they were 😉. All the dogs worked brilliantly and you can really see how strong their indications are becoming. Fantastic! 👏🏽 Unfortunately we were missing Loki this week but he will be with me tomorrow to catch up so I'll post his updates then 😊. I'm also sorry to bring the news that Harris the border collie that has been in our previous classes had an unfortunate accident at home and had to be put to sleep last week ☹️. He was progressing in the classes superbly and was a lovely boy! We send all of our love to his family and are thinking of them ❤️

06/08/2024

Alfie standing to attention in that first pic 😂 He joined us yesterday on our walk and was such a good boy! 😇 I kept him on a long line as I have never walked him in public places before but his recall was fab and he just wanted to explore and sniff around 🐾 🐽

04/08/2024

Eartha and I went to see Katy at the Red Collar Retreat Dog Day Care Dog Day by the Bay, as she was judging their fun agility set up 🐾 ⛱️. We even entered into the Best Senior category and Eartha got 3rd place 🏆🥳 (podium picture to come 😆). We visited lots of lovely stalls and Eartha even got a pic with the famous Henry, Cooper and Arlene from Henry & Co - a great business using organic and sustainable ingredients in their pet products! As you can see from the last photo Eartha was completely goosed 😆🥰

02/08/2024

I wear my badge with honour 😂

pro

02/08/2024

The ladies got another day with the handsome Bailey today!💞 It was a great distraction for everyone as there was lots of farm noise with the surrounding areas harvesting 🚜 Look at the double ear back flip from Bailey in the first photo 😂

02/08/2024

Oh how quickly they grow up 🥹❤️ These two have been friends since they were pups and occasionally get to reunite some Friday's 🥳. Every meeting is as good as the last 💞

01/08/2024

Week 2 of Thursday's UK Sniffer Dogs Class!🐽 It was really hot today and some of the pups had a lot going on during the day (play group, visitors, being irritable due to heat) yet they still did a fantastic job!

We worked on searching and indicating on bags this week. This was more of a challenge than the pvc pipes they were searching last week as the material of the bags are porous and absorb lots of distraction scents which makes it harder for them to isolate the scent they are targeting.

You all done so well, especially in this heat! 🐾💞

01/08/2024

Spot where Quinn is hiding in the first photo 😂 The second one gives a clue 😆 This was the last week these guys will all be together as we have Ruby joining this puppy group this weekend 🥹💞 I'd like to say they will all miss each other but I think Nala and Paddy are a bit wild for these guys 😆 You can see them on the outskirts on that last photo of Nala and Paddy 😂

01/08/2024

Alfie and Quinn are back this week 🥳 We certainly missed them! Eartha joined them today which they LOVED, she's certainly made a good impression 😄 These guys stuck to mostly the sand pit (I think they have the holiday blues 😆) and everyone picked a toy to play with - another reason Bailey enjoyed having Alfie back! He gets a good run with him and it's someone else that shares in his enjoyment of toys 😆🐾

31/07/2024

How gorgeous is Miska! ❤️ She was full of fun today so I got her doing some in/out games in the pool to make sure she was cool enough. Her friend Oren (she follows him around everywhere so maybe the friendship is onesided? 😆) joined us too but decided to lay in the shadier parts and supervise 😎 There was lots of loud noises around the farm with the surrounding areas getting strimmed. Luckily the snuffle mat kept everyone occupied until they were finished. Well done guys 🐽

31/07/2024

We were joined by the beautiful Eartha today! It was very warm so there were plenty of shaded breaks and lots of splashing around in the pool 💦 We tried to keep running and vigorous play to a minimum (it's hard with this lot 😅) to make sure these guys weren't over worked in this heat 🌞 Luckily everyone loves the water and was more than happy to have a dip - I never got a pic of Bailey in the pool as he was super quick to submerge himself and jump out 😆

30/07/2024

Week 2 of Tuesday's UK Sniffer Dog Classes!🐽
This week we advanced to using a smaller piece of rubber for the dogs to indicate on making it more of a challenge to sniff out and really putting those nose muscles to work. We also completed a line up search on bags which all the dogs did really well on!

Everyone be super proud of yourselves and your dogs - especially in this heat! 😅🥵

29/07/2024

The three musketeers ⚔️
You wouldn't believe these guys were on the older side of life after the zoomies they had today 😆 I even got a little excited nip from Kyser 😂 watch your ankles!!

26/07/2024

The girls were joined by the handsome Bailey today ♥️ Gutted that Miska was on holiday as her and Bailey were bestest friends when they were pups (before and after photo in the pipeline). Today was another ball-less session 😄 This was so I could test different types of reinforcement as some types (the ball for Clova and Bailey) are too stimulating which makes it hard to focus. Katy's mentioned Teto is the same for training some behaviours so it is not uncommon. Luna used treats as she's happy to train for them 😊. We again focused on hind leg awareness and I made the surfaces that Bailey was using taller so he can stretch as he's a big guy 🥰 I used a soft plush toy as the reinforcer which was a nice middle ground as these dogs much prefer toys than food rewards. Eartha did not want to participate today and that's okay 😄 she still had a great run around with her friends and plenty of chin rubs 🥰

25/07/2024

Thursday's UK Sniffer Dog Group! 🐽💪🏽 These guys were on fire tonight 🔥 I am so happy with how all the dogs this week have picked this up. This group also worked on Scent I.D and building up a freeze indication on the target scent. Look at them work those pipes!📣

We have in this group:
•Mirren
•Nala
•Zeus
•Reggie
•Sonny (is on holiday this week but will be with us next week 🤩)

Well done guys, you honestly smashed it! I'm so proud ♥️

25/07/2024

Everyone say hello to Ruby 🤩👋🏽 She is a staffie x rottie pup and has such a lovely nature 🥰 I LOVE her!! She met Nala and Paddy today in the hope that she'll be joining them soon in Rompin' Rovers! 🥳 Her and Nala are bestest friends already and Paddy LOVES her so much - she likes him too but after a few chases liked to go off and do her own thing 😄 What a lovely trio!

25/07/2024

This lovely group this morning! We worked on some hind leg awareness by doing "two paws" on some of the equipment which helps the dogs balance, coordination, confidence and overall mobility 🦿🐕.
We were missing Quinn and Alfie today (Bailey especially 🥹). Luckily they are back next week to join in the fun 🥳

24/07/2024

Miska's afternoon with Oren and Teto today! She was fantastic at doing some training cues on the raised/textured surfaces 🥳 She's a very confident lady 😄 Oren and Teto smashed it of course as Kate has done some parkour with both of them -my photo skills didn't do them any justice however but I promise they are fantastic 😂

24/07/2024

We got out various surfaces today to practice some training on different heights/textures 😆. This was a tricky one for everyone (as you can see Mirren has done this before in Kates puppy class and was smashing it! 💪🏽) so we just worked on getting one or two paws on the different surfaces and building up each dog's confidence. Everybody did really well for their first try 🥳. There's a pic of Bailey with his two back paws on the wood block which I found hilarious as it's normally the back ones that is a struggle to get on the blocks 😆. Loki decided to lay down infront of the wobbly textured one ( the most difficult) I like to think in protest but know it's just because I haven't built him up to that one yet and Poppy was off zooming around chasing butterflies but did decide to join in for certain surfaces and a dip in the pool 💦. Good dogs 😇

23/07/2024

Our first UK Sniffer Dogs Class tonight 😄 Everyone was amazing and I'm so happy how well the dogs picked it up in just one session. We worked on Scent I.D and Indication training.
In this session we had:
• Luna
• Oren
• Harris
• Indy
• Loki

Well done to the dogs and their fabulous owners! I can't wait to see their progress! 🤩