The Perfect Puppy Company

18/07/2025

Yesterday I was working with two large dogs in the park. As we walked along a child ran up to us yelling "Dogs!" and started trying to touch the dogs. I intervened and told them her that she needed to ask if it was ok first. Her parents laughed. When the dogs' owner gave her permission to pet the dogs she bent down, put her face right up to one of the dogs and tried to kiss him. Again, we intervened and again the parents laughed. This time everything was fine... the dogs were cool and no damage was done...but the next time? The same behaviour with a different dog could have a very different outcome with potentially traumatic results for everyone.

Children are at risk of being bitten by dogs when they aren't adequately supervised and/or they haven't been taught how to interact appropriately & respectfully - when they've been allowed to approach dogs indiscriminately, allowed to invade their space, hug them, pick them up, sit on them, mess with their food bowls or climb in their beds. When they haven't been taught to ask permission and they haven't been taught that dogs aren't playthings. And none of those things are the dog's fault.

Things every parent should teach their child -

• always ask permission before you touch a dog
• not all dogs want to be petted
• pat gently, with one hand from collar to tail
• no kisses, hugs or picking dogs up
• leave dogs alone when they are sleeping, resting or eating
• dogs aren't playthings

Dogs & children can be a wonderful, joyful combination and good relationships can be hugely beneficial to both. But only if dogs are taught how to behave around children and, crucially, children are taught how to behave around dogs.

(PS …and when children do approach politely and ask permission we should always praise them profusely for asking, even if the answer is ‘no’)

16/07/2025

“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘹𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘸𝘦’𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 …” – Daisy’s mum after our first loose lead walking session.

One of the common criticisms of positive reinforcement based training is that it takes too long. But is that true (…let’s leave aside the question of whether prioritising speed over your dog’s welfare is fair or reasonable)?

Can you (ethically) resolve well-rehearsed, deeply ingrained behaviours like pulling on the lead in one session? No. You can’t become fluent in a new skill overnight and neither can your dog. It takes time & practice (for both human & dog) to build robust, reliable, fluent behaviours.

But that doesn’t mean that you can’t make improvements quickly. How did we start to take Daisy’s walk from stressed to more relaxed in one hour?

• we slowed down. A lot. A more relaxed pace is almost always easier for dogs who, like Daisy, find the world very stimulating. Too much movement, too much speed, too much rushing just gees her up…which is the opposite of what we want.

• we used a longer lead. A 6 ft (min) lead allows more natural freedom of movement and lessens time under tension.

• we were consistent & clear about which behaviours would be effective for Daisy and which wouldn’t.

Is Daisy’s pulling “fixed”? Not yet…it’ll take more practice for these new behaviours to really bed in. But they’re off to a great start.

Long term change doesn’t happen overnight. But that doesn’t mean you can’t effect change quickly.

15/07/2025

𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩.

When Charlie come to us he’d been abused, physically & emotionally. And he has the scars, physical & emotional, to prove it. He’d be well within his rights to be wary of, or aggressive towards, people but he never has been. Not once. Right from the start he trusted us despite his previous experiences of humans.

Now imagine repaying that trust with physical force, intimidation or coercion in the name of training? What an abuse of his trust that would be.

We can create clear, consistent boundaries and raise well behaved, polite dogs without having to resort to these things.

We can teach dogs without using tools which rely on aversion & coercion to work - slip leads, grot collars, prong collars, electric (shock) collars.

We can. And we should.

12/07/2025

Park on a wet day? Deserted.
Park on a (v) hot day? Full of dogs…🤷🏻‍♀️🫣

10/07/2025

"𝘿𝙤𝙜𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙨"

That's a stance I've seen expressed more & more on social media recently & it's becoming a more commonly held view because too many people have had adverse experiences with dogs who have been given more freedom than they have the skills to deal with.

Dogs undoubtedly benefit from being off lead. They can move more, sniff more, behave more naturally and generally have a more enriched, fulfilled life when can move freely offlead*. We are exceedingly fortunate in the UK that we aren't subject to restrictive lead laws and can allow our dogs off lead freedom in many places.

𝘽𝙪𝙩....

With rights come responsibilities...to teach our dogs the skills they need in order to ensure that they don't cause a nuisance or danger to those around them. Allowing your dog to run up to other dogs, jump up at people, chase joggers or bikes, worry livestock is not only unfair and anti social but also has the potential to add weight to the argument that no dog should be off lead ever.

If we want to protect our current freedoms it's incumbent on all of us as dog owners to actively teach our dogs how to be off lead - to build a strong recall and teach them proportionate & polite responses to people & dogs. Not simply to let them off and hope for the best...

And it's also incumbent on us to educate ourselves - about when & where it's appropriate to allow our dogs off lead, to check our entitlement and understand that just because we 𝘤𝘢𝘯 have our dogs off lead doesn't mean that we 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 have our dogs off lead and to be honest about our dogs skill set and not put them in situations they aren't ready for.

Here's Bibi and her family learning how to safely & responsibly navigate a busy park full of dogs, children, joggers, birds, squirrels and umpteen other distractions while also giving Bibi freedom to move, explore and be a dog.

*𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘨𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘨𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺, 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘴, 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴.

07/07/2025

Bow finds people entering his home difficult. And once they are in the house he doesn't like them daring to move from their seat and will lunge, bark and, in the past, he has nipped.

It would be easy to dismiss Bow's behaviour as "territoriality" or "protectiveness" and to see it as something requiring correction without looking at the bigger picture. But is it?

Bow didn't react to strangers in his home prior to a house move and renovation works. He has almost certainly been in some physical discomfort as a result of ongoing musculoskeletal issues (now being addressed). He was refusing to be walked (almost certainly as a result of said discomfort) which meant lack of enrichment, poor physical and emotional wellbeing and some degree of anxiety about movement.

His challenging behaviours are far, far more likely to be a reflection of this combination of factors than a simplistic diagnosis of "territoriality".

With his physical issues being addressed he's started to look forward to walks, he's getting more exercise which means he's resting better, his life is more interesting and more enriched. All of which can only have a positive effect on his general demeanour and behaviour. Which means we can now start to teach him that strangers in his home, and moving about in his home, isn't anything to be concerned about.

No corrections. No punishment. Just addressing the underlying issues, making it easy for Bow to make good choices and then rewarding them consistently.

Effective, ethical training should always consider the bigger picture and not solely focus on the "bad" behaviour. Because behaviour doesn't happen in a vaccum.

24/06/2025

"𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙖𝙮 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙣"

Two lovely things happened to me today. I was given these beautiful flowers. And a lovely stranger found the purse that I'd stupidly left in a shop (with all my cards and cash in it) and handed it in.

Yes - both of these acts of kindness made me feel great in the moment..but, more than that, they increase the likelihood that I will, in my turn, be thoughtful and kind to someone else. Because the more kindness we see, the more likely we are to be kind in our turn.

When you are kind to your dog - when you smile at them, talk to them gently, handle them respectfully, allow them choices, let them sniff, reward them or treat them as a friend, not an 'it' - other people see that. Including people who may treat their dog differently.

Our behaviour has power. Far more power than anything we can say. And every time we choose to treat others, of any species, with kindness we are putting a little bit more good out into the world. And god knows we need as much of that as we can get right now...

Kindness is a superpower. And it's one we all have, if we choose to use it. ♥

20/06/2025

“𝗪𝗲𝘁 💦 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗩𝗲𝘁 🏥”

It’s hot here just now so PLEASE keep your dogs cool, don’t exercise them in the heat, know the signs of potential heat stroke and, crucially, know what to do if your dogs starts to struggle.

• immersion as quickly as possible in COLD water
•then straight to the vet

And please remember that flat faced dogs & double coated dogs (their coats do NOT keep them cool) are most at risk.

Enjoy the sun but stay safe!

🐕HEATSTROKE IN DOGS🐕

We've been banging on about this for years! HEATSTROKE is a MEDICAL EMERGENCY! Fortunately, now more and more professionals are communicating the same message!

Whilst the need for rapid cooling with COLD water (1-15°C) has been recognised for decades in equestrian and human medicine, the dog world has lagged behind, and very poor information still circulates. e.g. "cool the paws", "cover with wet towels", "avoid cold water as it will cause shock"

THE KEY MESSAGES ARE............

💦"WET THEN VET"💦

💦"COLD WATER IMMERSION" (1-15°C)💦
(If you can't immerse, keep pouring ANYTHING COLD over the dog - hose, soft drinks, milk, etc)

💦Dogs die of heatstroke because they were NOT COOLED QUICKLY ENOUGH, NOT BECAUSE THEY WERE COOLED!

♨️RISK FACTORS FOR HEATSTROKE IN HOT WEATHER♨️

♨️Large dogs
♨️DOUBLE-COATED breeds
♨️Brachycephalic breeds
♨️June, July, August (UK)
♨️Exercise, being outdoors, left in cars

EDIT: - If a dog is PANTING, it's struggling to control its body TEMPERATURE! 💦HOSE IT TO COOL IT DOWN!💦

❤️PLEASE SHARE - Spread accurate information; potentially save a dogs life!❤️

CHECK OUT FREE RESOURCES HERE: https://askanimalweb.com/managing-dogs-in-hot-weather/

Welfare in the Heat: https://askanimalweb.com/heat-welfare/

If you don't believe me, look at the research: Beard S, Hall EJ, Bradbury J, Carter AJ, Gilbert S, O'Neill DG. Epidemiology of heat-related illness in dogs under UK emergency veterinary care in 2022. Vet Rec. 2024;e4153. https://bvajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/vetr.4153

19/06/2025

I use food in training because...

🍗 It's highly motivating (for most dogs...there are exceptions but there are often underlying reasons for lack of food motivation which can be addressed)
🌭 It's efficient. Food is quick to deliver & to consume (which is handy when you want multiple reps quickly)
🦴 It can be delivered in multiple ways - tossed, caught, chased, searched for, delivered calmly, delivered energetically
🥕 It can be used to calm or it can be used to energise
🫐 It's portable
🍉 It's cheap
🫑 It offers huge variety - flavours, textures, size, shape
🥩 It works...

We have many potential rewards open to us when we are teaching our dogs. Food is just one of them but it's a really excellent one!

Using food in training is motivating, effective & efficient. Using food in training is not bribery and it's not burdensome. So why wouldn't you?

18/06/2025

This happy little guy is Pablo. Pablo did NOT like me when we first met. He really (really!) wanted me out of his space and he wasn't backwards about telling me.

Did we punish him for that? No. A stranger coming into his home is a legitimate thing for him to be worried about for a number of reasons... It's not something he's used to. He's a tiny dog and being in close proximity with a stranger in a small space is overwhelming. Small dogs also often have a history of being loomed over by strangers who think it's ok to pet them (question...do we think people are as 'handsy' and forward with larger, more intimidating dogs?).

Would punishing him have helped him feel safer? More secure? More relaxed? Of course not. In all likelihood it would just have confirmed what he already believed...that strangers are scary.

So what did we do? I ignored him. Totally. No eye contact. No talking to him. I kept my distance and gave him space. No cajoling or encouragement to approach me. No using food to lure him towards me. Reinforcement (from his humans, not me) of any more relaxed behaviours, even if they were only marginally better than what had gone before. No shouting at him, grabbing him or manhandling him.

Did it work right away? No. But over the course of the next few sessions he realised that I wasn't a threat, that the ball was in his court and that good stuff happened when I was around.

And now? Pablo really (really!) likes me. I get kisses, I get offered a belly to scratch, he sits beside me on the sofa. But while that's lovely, it wasn't our goal. Our goal was simply to have him not freak out when a stranger enters his home. That would have been enough. The rest is a lovely bonus.

Dogs are allowed not to say 'no' to interactions with strangers. They are allowed to not want to interact with people they don't know. Do we need them to be safe? Of course. But they don't need to be everyone's best friend.

If we want to help our dogs feel better about strangers we need to remove stress, not add it by punishing them or pressuring them. We also need to be realistic in our goals. If we exceed those goals, as Pablo has, that's wonderful. But expecting every dog to be cool with every human they ever meet (often regardless of that human's behaviour) is an unfair & unrealistic expectation.

09/06/2025

Behaviour change isn't a linear process. Not every day is better than the one before. Some days you are flying high. And some days you might struggle to get off the ground.

Torrin has been doing really well and making steady progress but today was hard for him. He struggled to settle, was more vigilant and less focused. Why? It's impossible to say for sure but changes in medication & building works going on near his home are likely to be playing a part. So instead of pushing on we took a step back, lowered our criteria and made things as easy for him as we could.

Behaviour doesn't happen in a vacuum. It's affected by all manner of things - how the dog is feeling, how you are feeling, the behaviour of other people & dogs around you, the environment you are in, the weather, how active your dog has been, how much rest they have had, what else is going on in their life.... Some days these things work with us, some days they work against us. Some of them are within your control, some aren't.

So don't let a bad day get you down. Assess what might be contributing to it. Change what you can. Accept what you can't. Adjust accordingly. And then shake it off.

04/06/2025

𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙫 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜*... The window cleaner came this afternoon. Charlie gets a bit agitated by the noise and the movement of the brushes on the window and, left to his own devices, will shout about it all!

Have I trained him to be calmer in the presence of the window cleaner? No.
Have I managed the situation to avoid the problem behaviour? Yes.

𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙙𝙤 𝙄 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙧?
I move him away from the windows and give him a chew while the window cleaner is around. Problem solved!

𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙄 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙣 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜?
• The window cleaner comes once a month which means training opportunities are infrequent
• It's not a huge problem for me. The behaviour in question isn't serious or dangerous. It has no significant adverse consequences if it does happen so training an alternative behaviour isn't imperative or a top priority for me
• It's not a huge problem for Charlie. If it was something which was causing him stress or overarousal on a regular basis then teaching him a new response would be the better long term solution for his wellbeing. But for occasional, minor disruptions a solution centred on management is fine.
• It's easy. And there's nothing wrong with easy!

Management is sometimes criticised as a cop out or avoidance (which it can be) but, sometimes, it's a pragmatic, sensible choice. For minor, temporary or infrequent circumstances then management can be a totally valid option. And it doesn't have to be a binary choice between training & management. Management can also be a temporary fix while you train new behaviours and then, ultimately, fade out the management because you no longer need it.

Sometimes management is all you need...and that's ok!

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*𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦? 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘨 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘦.𝘨. 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥. 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘨 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘦.𝘨. 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘨 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧𝘧.