K9 Coaching Evesham

03/11/2024

Missing from AERODROME LANE, WITNEY, OXFORDSHIRE since 02/11/2024

Please DO NOT shout, chase, or grab. Report sightings immediately by calling 0330 124 2004.

DO NOT POST SIGHTINGS ON HERE PLEASE.

Remember, the owners of the missing animal read your posts. Please be kind, positive, and show empathy.

02/11/2024

❤ UPDATE - Reunited ❤

Missing from ARTISAN CLOSE MORETON-IN-MARSH GL56 0DH since 01/11/2024

Please DO NOT shout, chase, or grab. Report sightings immediately by calling 0330 124 2004.

DO NOT POST SIGHTINGS ON HERE PLEASE.

Remember, the owners of the missing animal read your posts. Please be kind, positive, and show empathy.

02/11/2024

CAN YOU HELP? AN URGENT FOSTER HOME IS NEEDED FOR BLENCATHARA.....

Cathara really struggles with life here at Oak Tree Animals' Charity due to having severe separation anxiety. Cathara lost her companion of 20 years last month and Daisy, who she got attached to following that loss, has just left us for her new home.

Cathara is, understandably, upset and a foster home could be the answer.....

Find out more: https://www.oaktreeanimals.org.uk/homing/adopting-an-animal/equines/horninglow-blencathara.html

02/11/2024

As I hear of another case of a dog losing his life due to extendable leads I really must take the time to write another post to highlight the dangers these leads hold.

I think it's one of those things where we think "oh it won't happen to me and my dog" but trust me, it does happen:

* They happen to be unlocked when the dog lunges into the road after something like a leaf blowing in the wind.
* They get dropped when the dog suddenly pulls to get somewhere then gets chased by the cassette.
* The locking mechanism fails when you need it the most.

I KNOW they're convenient. I honestly know that. I'm not denying they're much easier to use than actual longer lines especially in these wet months. We think we are giving our dog more freedom whilst keeping our hands cleaner.

But when you're using an extendable lead by the road you're not only putting your dog's life at risk but you're potentially going to put other people's lives at risk if a chain accident is caused. I literally cringe driving by dogs on extendables by the road because more often than not they're way up front, or behind on the path and could so easily move into the road suddenly. In fact yesterday Adam and I joked that the dog was still in the next village along, the lead was THAT LONG and RIGHT BY THE ROAD as cars were zooming past. But it wasn't really funny.

I don't say this to be a spoil sport. To be a drama queen. To be a lead snob.

I say this because a dog not only lost his young life, but a family lost their best friend, and another family lost their innocence having accidentally killed someones pet for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It's devastating all around all because the wrong lead was used. An extendable lead was trusted when it absolutely shouldn't be.

Please, please, please.... short leads by roads only. Please please please 🙏🏻

31/10/2024

❤ UPDATE - Reunited ❤

Missing from BURBAGE COMMON SMITHY LANE BURBAGE LE10 since 30/10/2024

Please DO NOT shout, chase, or grab. Report sightings immediately by calling 0330 124 2004.

DO NOT POST SIGHTINGS ON HERE PLEASE.

Remember, the owners of the missing animal read your posts. Please be kind, positive, and show empathy.

30/10/2024

30/10/2024

❤️UPDATE- REUNITED ❤️

Missing from EPWELL BANBURY OX15 6LP since 29/10/2024

Please DO NOT shout, chase, or grab.

Report sightings immediately by calling 0330 124 2004.

DO NOT POST SIGHTINGS ON HERE PLEASE.

Remember, the owners of the missing animal read your posts. Please be kind, positive, and show empathy.

28/10/2024

24/10/2024

23/10/2024

In collaboration with Evesham Noticeboard
This poster on pet calming ideas was put together
So here it is once again
Let’s keep our pets as calm and safe as possible trouble this season

21/10/2024

Drone To Home need your help. ❤️

As a registered charity, Drone to Home depends on the generosity of individuals like you to sustain and enhance the valuable services they offer.
Your contributions directly impact their ability to reunite missing animals with their owners. Here are some ways you can support Drone to Home:

1. Make a Donation:

Every penny counts! Your donations help fund essential resources such as new thermal drones, drone training, search training,insurance, fuel and equipment.
Whether you can give a little or a lot, your contribution matters in reuniting more missing animals.
Please visit www.dronetohome.org.uk

2. Fundraise for Drone to Home:

JustGiving: You can create a fundraising campaign on **JustGiving**, a leading online platform that helps charities raise funds. It's a convenient way to engage your network and encourage them to contribute to this worthy cause.
- **Easyfundraising**:
By shopping online via**Easyfundraising**, you can raise free funds for Drone to Home. It won't cost you anything extra, and your everyday purchases can make a difference.

Remember, every act of kindness, whether big or small, contributes to the success of Drone to Home.
Let's come together to support our mission and ensure that our vital services continue to make a positive impact in reuniting lost animals with their families. 🐾❤️

For more information, you can visit our official website: www.dronetohome.org.uk

Please help if you can ❤️

19/10/2024

Some of you will know that I’ve been having problems with my eyes for some time.
This afternoon I’ve been told I need to have a macular peel and two cateract ops

So I’m afraid I’ve had to cancel the scent course as they are hoping to start asap
Which will mean I can’t drive.

19/10/2024

QUITTING SO MUCH SITTING
How did we become so obsessed with making our dogs sit for everything?
Maybe because it’s believed that dogs that sit on cue are obedient, well mannered, calm, self-controlled and that sitting is incompatible with unwanted behaviours. Maybe because we think it makes us look good as responsible dog guardians.

But is it all really necessary or more importantly in the best interests of our dogs, both physically and emotionally to expect them to sit so much?

Sometimes what we have always believed to be true is not always what’s best for our dogs. As we continue to learn more through research and ongoing education, our methods and beliefs need to change accordingly.

“Sit” is usually one of the first thing puppies are taught. Just one session at puppy school may include up to 20 or more “sits” - that’s a really high intensity workout for a dog at any age, but puppies in the growing stages are particularly at risk.

These sitting repetitions put excessive pressure on the developing skeletal system which may lead to damage or injury that may only become apparent at a later stage.

Senior dogs may find it really painful to sit down and then get back up. Sitting puts pressure on the lower back, hips and supporting muscles. Certain breeds are just not anatomically designed to repeatedly sit.

Asking a fearful or reactive dog to sit in the presence of whatever is triggering that emotion is probably the worst thing to do. The belief that sitting will magically create calmness and stop the negative emotion is not logical.

There is nothing wrong with teaching our dogs to sit and occasionally asking for sits in certain situations, but look at teaching more natural, alternative behaviours, that are just as effective.

In the words of Turid Rugaas – “If you yourself want to sit, sit! If you want your dog to sit, think twice!”

For more detailed information on this subject, here are some links -

https://blog.bharcs.com/2021/03/06/should-we-ask-our-dogs-to-sit/ #:~:text=Young%20dogs%20are%20very%20good,which%20starts%20causing%20compensatory%20issues.

http://www.turid-rugaas.no/sit.html

19/10/2024

DISTANCE ASSISTANCE
It’s not easy having a reactive dog. As much as we may feel frustrated, restricted, angry or even ashamed or embarrassed, our reactive dogs are also experiencing a range of negative emotions when they react to something that triggers them.

This reaction is usually caused by anxiety, fear, feeling threatened, frustrated or related to pain.

These emotions cause high levels of stress and stress prevents both us and our dogs from being able to process information, think clearly or learn a different, more acceptable way of reacting to whatever triggers us.

This is why creating enough distance is so important. I’m really scared of snakes and even struggle to look at them. The only thing I want to do is run away and create as much distance as possible.

If someone was restraining me, forcing me to sit down and look at the snake while trying to feed me my favourite chocolate, telling me there was nothing to worry about or trying to educate me about the specific species, it would do nothing to alleviate my fear and would only increase my stress levels.

Doing this at a sufficient distance, where I felt safe would be far more effective and my stress levels would be much lower. In time, with patience and practice, I may even be able to get much closer to the snake without having a negative reaction.

The same principle applies to reactive dogs. Creating sufficient distance where they can see the trigger but still feel safe and don’t react is the best way of helping them to cope with their feelings.

Some dogs (and people) may never be able to decrease that distance and that’s also okay.

Accept your dog for the unique individual they are, keep working on the things you can change and accept the things you can’t.

18/10/2024

When dogs are afraid, it’s really worth using reward-based methods to rehabilitate them as quickly as possible. Chronic fear and anxiety cause real suffering so if you can rebuild the dog’s confidence quickly, it’s so very worthwhile because it means they can get back to enjoying life that much sooner.

If you want to build a dog’s confidence and help them feel comfortable, one of the most valuable tools you can use is food. If a stimulus is paired with food frequently enough, the dog will start to associate the stimulus with food and this will cause the dog to feel better about the stimulus. Luring a fearful dog with food can be a very powerful technique that really accelerates rehabilitation BUT YOU HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL that you don’t push the dog too far too fast.

If a dog is very food motivated, you can lure them too close to something that makes them feel very scared, and this can be a dangerous and counterproductive situation. If the dog is too scared they might take the food and then react aggressively as soon as the food is gone, or they may simply be so scared that they are unable to form a positive association from the food.

On that note, you should not use this exercise (or any exercise you read about on the internet!) with a dog that is dangerous. If a dog has bitten a person hard enough to cause a serious injury, it means they are likely to do so again. This dog needs help from a professional dog trainer who understands how to read body language and use positive reinforcement methods to safely rehabilitate the dog.

Fortunately, most fearful and reactive dogs are not dangerous. They bark, they lunge, they snap, and they may even “bite” but their bites don’t make contact with the skin, or they don’t break the skin. These dogs have learned bite inhibition and they are safe to work with and you can use this technique to quickly rebuild their confidence.

Yes, this technique involves using food to lure the dog to approach you (or some other stimulus that makes them uncomfortable) but you don’t lure them so close that they are overwhelmed with fear or in danger of reacting aggressively and that makes all the difference.

As they approach, they get high-value treats, reinforcing them for approaching and helping them form a positive association with you (or the scary stimulus). But then, you use a lower value treat to lure the dog further away again. This low value treat is still providing a Classical Conditioning effect, helping your dog form a positive association with the stimulus, but it’s also providing a contrast to the high-value treats that the dog received during their approach.

Crucially, the dog is now back to a very comfortable distance again so when you toss high value treats to lure them to approach, they are moving towards you, but they’re comfortably far away.

Luring a dog to approach a scary stimulus like this is a very powerful and useful technique that can really accelerate the rehabilitation process, so long as you don’t push the dog too far too fast. And as you repeat these steps, luring the dog to approach and retreat repeatedly, the dog is going to get much more comfortable about approaching and being near you.

You can test this at any time by pausing the exercise and seeing what the dog does and where they go when there are no treats offered. At the beginning, a fearful dog will stay quite far away, but after a few minutes of this exercise, there is a good chance that they will readily come closer to the person, even without any food to lure them.

Be patient, watch your dog’s body language, and keep luring the dog back to a very comfortable distance to reset and this technique can work wonders.

If you do this long enough, you will get to the point where the dog will come right up to you without you offering a food lure. If the dog comes right up to you without you tossing a treat to lure your dog, and the dog looks comfortable, you can now try offering a treat directly from your hand. When you do so, you should keep your hand down by your side and you should always have multiple treats in your hand. When you get to the last treat, either toss it to lure the dog away from you, or withdraw your hand before you feed the last treat because an empty human hand is much scarier than a human hand with treats in it.

If you do this enough, it won’t be long before the dog happily takes treats from your hand. At this point, you can feed the dog an entire meal by hand and they will quickly start to feel comfortable around you, and the dog’s life will be much more relaxed and happier as a result.

Again, you should not do this with a dog that is dangerous, and you should be very patient with this exercise. Don’t rush it. Keep luring the dog back to a comfortable distance and it won’t be long before this dog loves approaching you and being near you.

Wow, did you really read all this? Amazing! Do you have or know a fearful dog? If so, tell us about them in the comments.

If you’d like help rehabilitating a fearful dog, you should join the Top Dog Academy, which you can do now for free with a 1-month free trial. We can help you rehabilitate your fearful dog with methods that are easy, gentle and also quick and effective. We want to rebuild your dog’s confidence as quickly as possible!

https://dunbar.info/oct2024TDA

Sign up now and you’ll get instant access to lots of great resources. We’ll be available to guide you through the process with personalized training advice. In one month, you could resolve their fearfulness and be back to enjoying a fear-free life together!

And if you’d like to download a PDF version of this document, or if you’d like to learn more about it, go here: https://dunbar.info/retreat-with-honor

14/10/2024

I’ve shared this from the lost dog tracking page as it really is worth knowing if you ever have the misfortune of losing your dog !

Why will your lost dog not come to you straight away - meet Floyd the missing Sausage dog!

Floyd is a seven month old puppy who was out on a walk with his owners when he was frightened by three other dogs, which caused him to bolt into a vast rural area.

At some stage in the search for a lost dog, owners will be advised to not shout or chase their dog, which is met with disbelief, “My dog always listens and will come back if they can hear me”. Whilst we, as humans, think this to be true, the dog, whom is lost, will not. At this point it is important to not humanise the situation your dog is in - you are not looking for YOUR lost dog, you are looking for a dog that is lost. This change in the thought process is not a reflection of any owner or their bond with their dog, it’s about the dog whom is lost. ��For three days, the tried and tested search protocols were carried out for Floyd, as advised by The Lost Dog Trapping Team, including two key ones;
1. Scenting, which involved the owners walking around set area’s to allow their human scent to guide Floyd back.
2. To spread the message that should Floyd be seen, he must not be approached, called or chased but that people should follow the STOP DROP THINK method. A method which can seem counter intuitive to people, especially for a puppy whom had been missing for three days.

Don’t understand why? This is where knowing about canines and survival mode is vital and can help you find your lost dog quicker and help keep them safe. A canine that has gone into survival mode prioritises these things; survival, food, water and shelter. When they are in this state, every human is viewed as a predator, even the one that has fed, loved and walked them for the last 2-4-12 years. It is not the owners fault and it is not the dogs fault, it is simply a lost dog. �
Research has located a point in the canine brain that responds to the scent of familiar humans, much more strongly than it does to the scent of other humans or familiar dogs. Your lost dog will be trying to find you, by scent, rather than by sound or sight. Whilst its instinct to ask people to help search for your dog, it’s also wise to wait and hold of that search party to allow your dog to find you, without being presented with ‘scary’ people your dog does not know whom are also introducing unfamiliar scents to the area. ��Calling a lost dog by name, or whistling for them can have a negative result, the result often being they are pushed away from their location. The lost dog does not know whom is calling them, they heard a noise, saw it as a threat and moved on which results in owners have to start the search all over again. As an owner, walking around the area your dog was seen to a point you want them to come back to, such as the missing point, is key. This will help your lost dog track back, such as in Floyd’s case. He was seen some distance away from his missing point, but came back to this area as his owners scent was there. ��This was not the end of Floyd’s journey. Imagine seeing your missing dog, after three days, thinking they would be unable to survive for those long cold nights alone, all you want to do is run up and grab them. This is the situation Floyd’s owners, and many owners across the country are often presented with and it’s one of the most crucial. Floyd’s owners followed the advice to stay low, to not call or shout Floyd and make no sudden movements. For forty long minutes, Floyd was in their sights, he was carefully assessing the situation and the environment around him. Were these humans to be trusted? ��The video, which has been cut short, demonstrates the behaviour of a lost dog when presented with his owners, whom he knew well and whom he trusted. It took him forty minutes of investigating from a distance whilst they stayed low to the ground and let Floyd figure it out on his own. You can imagine how hard this will have been for them, but if they had not done this, Floyd would have bolted and probably would have left the area all together. This video documents the final part of Floyd’s journey to be reunited with his owners, even the part where his owners saw the ‘lightbulb’ moment where Floyd picked up his owners scent which enabled him to trust the humans he was presented with and make that final journey, safe into his owners arms. ��Floyd’s journey can help many owners who are in the same position, so please share and educate members of the public about the STOP - DROP - THINK aka REMEMBER FLOYD protocol. ��Welcome home Floyd!

14/10/2024

FIREWORK PREP TIPS 🎇
Is your dog prepared for fireworks? The loud noises and flashing lights of fireworks can be very frightening for your dog, but there are things you can do to minimise your dog's stress levels.
🎇Walk your dog before it gets dark and make sure they have been out to the toilet
🐶 Make sure your dog is wearing a collar with a tag that has up to date details on it. When a dog is in public, legally it should have a tag on its harness or collar with the owner’s details.
🐾 Make sure your pets microchip details are up to date, its easy to forget updating any mobile phones or your address if you have moved house recently.
🎆 Make a den – Make a safe space, like a den for your dog. This can be a crate with a blanket over the top to make it darker and feel more secure. Keep the door open so the dog can choose to go in and out as they please. Keep a favourite soft toy or blanket inside that has theirs and your smells on it to add comfort. Pick the most naturally quiet room located in the centre of your house. A room that has minimal windows to create you dog’s safe space
🐶 Keep curtains closed and tv and radio up! This will help block out any visual and sound effects from the displays. S
🐾Calming aids – There are a variety of calming aids to help your pets. These including collars, pug in diffusers, tablets, liquid drops, sprays and even waterless shampoo. These work but using a synthetic version of pheromones to help calm your pets.
🎇 If you pet shows multiply signs of stress and anxiety when fireworks are going off i.e heavy panting, pacing, unsettled and becoming destructive then we recommend speaking to your licenced vet about what prescription medication can be of help.
🐶 Enrichment - Provide natural tasty chews, stuffed kongs, licki mats etc to help keep your dog occupied whilst fireworks are being let off

13/10/2024

Congratulations to Camilla our lovely trainer on passing her PACT (Professional association of canine trainers)course.
She is also now a member of ABTC -ATI

07/10/2024

Absolutely couldn't imagine anything worse than this, please share and get Ozzy home ###

06/10/2024

❤ UPDATE - Reunited ❤

Missing from CORNFIELDS NR KETTLETHORPE LANE, KETTLETHORPE, LINCOLN since 06/10/2024

Please DO NOT shout, chase, or grab. Report
sightings immediately by calling 0330 124 2004.

DO NOT POST SIGHTINGS ON HERE PLEASE.

Remember, the owners of the missing animal read your posts. Please be kind, positive, and show empathy.❤️