Wolfsounds K9 Services

24/09/2025

🎉 I PASSED 🥳

Last week I got word that I passed my final assessment with the IMDT on their Learning, Motivation and Reinforcement course, with an average of 80% 🥳 I can now officially say I’m qualified for dog training! 🤩

It feels like ages ago that I started this business on a whim - certain I wanted to work with dogs but totally unprepared on how to approach it, and just crossing one bridge at a time, but at the same time, in no way did I think I’d be confidently starting the journey into dog training just 2.5 years later!

Thanks to all of my fabulous clients for keeping me going through my studies and sometimes letting me use their dogs as my guinea pigs 😄Juggling two part time jobs and a part time study isn’t without it’s hiccups so your patience and loyalty means a lot 💗

There’s a lot of work to be done behind the scenes before I can hard launch any new services, but at least I can say that the train is now leaving the station 🚂

22/09/2025

Wee bit of Monday madness 😅

Apologies - late getting started today folks , a wee robin made a tit of itself (😉🤣) and flew into the kitchen this morning! It’s not my first rodeo so I managed to scoop the young thing up and let them come to for a bit before flying off 😁

18/09/2025

Biiig September Photo Dump 📸

A rare set with every one of our Wolfsounds walkers over the last wee while! Also we got the car back last weekend - narrowly missing all this crap rain! 💦☔️

02/09/2025

‼️ Client Notice

I’m working around a disruption this week because the car’s suspension failed yesterday 🥲 Then I thought ‘aha time to crack out the bike’ to discover it has a flat! So I’m on foot until further notice whilst we wait on it being repaired (manufacturer only parts - love that 🙄).

Pic of brand ambassador Lucy for the algorithm 🤍

19/08/2025

Why small dogs are commonly aggressive 😢 These factors have consistently re-appeared in other studies I’ve found in my research, but punitive and aversive training tools and methods also contribute to fearful behaviour - particularly towards people. Aggression is always a symptom of a problem, not the problem itself 🔑🧠

13/08/2025

Hope those with the luxury are enjoying the sun! (Me lol 😜😎) and all my precious doggy friends are staying chill and safe 🥰

Lucy and Bella had these prepped for them this morning and are loving the warm breeze in the shade of our back garden just now ☺️

04/08/2025

‼️Holiday Reminder 🏖️

A little deviation from our usual posting, Lana from Wolfsounds HR is here to remind everyone that I’m on annual leave next week Aug 11-15th so will not be responding to any comms during that time 🔕

If there are any urgent matters then I will be reachable by text/phone but I will otherwise be resting up 😌

01/08/2025

📸 Close Ups, a Reunion and a Farewell 💗

Lots of happy dogs on their adventures recently 😁 Sandy seems to be loving the camera, and as she should with her beautiful smiley face 🥰 We also have Bia back with us - clearly delighted to see me too!

And last month we said goodbye to Rottie Gray as he and his family have moved on to new pastures 🏡 I’ll look back on our time with many happy memories and I will be forever grateful for the experience it gave me, I think we learned from each other equally - it wasn’t always easy but it was never once dull big boy 🖤 Wishing them the best for their new chapter 🍀

11/07/2025

Some important info which could be life saving this weekend, if you suspect heatstroke:

💧Get them wet then contact the vet 📞

Recent research by Vet Compass and the The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) showed correlation between human heat warning and heat stroke cases.

Yellow heat health alerts are now in force with temperatures expected to hit 34C (93F) in parts of the UK this weekend.

Is it true that if we use cold water on heat stroke pets they will go into shock?

One of the most common things we still hear is that we can only use tepid water on a pet with heat stroke, incase they get some complications like hypothermic overshoot, peripheral vasoconstriction hindering a cooling response, and cardiogenic shock...

We have heard not to use cold water in case it causes shock... this rarely happens!

But guess what? In a recent study over 26% of dogs presented with heat stroke died, with flat faced breeds making up nearly half of heat stroke cases seen in the study.

You should:

💧Get someone to call the local veterinary practice and tell them you're going to travel down with a heat stroke patient
💧Pour, hose or if safe immerse the pet in very cold water (this should obviously be done under constant supervision, ensuring the head is fully above water and immersion should not be attempted if the animal is too large, or you are unable to do so without hurting yourself)
💧NB: If using a hose pipe, make sure it has run through until cold, as they can often contain water that is extremely hot in the tubing initially
💧Do not drape in towels and leave them in situ. Keep the cold water flowing.
💧Move to a cool, shaded area
💧Prepare to transport to vets in a cold, air conditioned car

In studies they found that:

🌅International consensus from sports medicine organisations supports treating EHS with early rapid cooling by immersing the casualty in cold water.
🌅Ice-water immersion has been shown to be highly effective in exertional heat stroke, with a zero fatality rate in large case series of younger, fit patients.
🌅Hyperthermic individuals were cooled twice as fast by Cold Water Immersion as by passive recovery.
🌅No complications occurred during the treatment of three older patients with severe heat stroke were treated with cold‐water immersion.
🌅Cold water immersion (CWI) is the preferred cooling modality in EHS guidelines and the optimal method applicable to UK Service Personnel
🌅Studies suggest using either ice-water or cold-water immersion

The best intervention is PREVENTION, but if you find yourself with an animal with heat stroke, using cold water either by pouring, hosing or ideally (if safe) immersion then this may help reduce their temperature to safe levels while you transport to a veterinary practice.

Read more below with updates from Hot Dogs - canine heatstroke education for dog owners

https://www.vetvoices.co.uk/post/cool-icy-cold-or-tepid

11/07/2025

☀️ Adapting to Hot Weather

As a solo walker, profits arent as easily come by due to the limited spaces we can offer, that’s why many walkers gain canine specific qualifiations, because a bit of knowledge and creativity stops the weather getting in the way of our work!

On top of the obvious - providing water, reducing length and intensity of physical exercise, adjusting walk times, and staying in shade; we adapt every summer booking so your dog still gets the enrichment and expected benefit with us 🥰
👃🏻 Sniffing engages a dogs brain whilst keeping physical movement lower. Walk times can be greatly reduced if sniffing is encouraged to help your dog feel as satisfied with their outing. Or a sniff-search game can be set up afterwards in the house - a long time favourite for many of our walking buddies 💖
🎁 Novelty inspires curiosity and new experiences are often more engaging than the same boring routine. A new location can spruce up walk time - new smells, sights and sounds give your dogs something to dream about when they head back early to rest at home. Mushu likes the odd ramble in the woods to climb over fallen trees and big rocks! 🪵🪨
🎰 Games! Of course many dogs miss out on their active ball sport games, but when it’s so hot out, games can be made safe and fun even if they’re not physical! There are so many games we can make up with basic every day items which are low activity, but require some focus and learning - which is an ideal hack to keeping energetic working breeds occupied without compromising on their normal activity routine. Have a google search or join some canine enrichment groups here on Facebook for ideas!
❄️ Frozen treats! After working in a zoo and making summer enrichment for a variety of animal species, there are so many different ways to freeze goodies to keep them occupied and cool them down. Who ever thought snacks could substitute walks! It engages their their patience and problem solving skills, and doesn’t have to be fancy shop bought - freeze carrots or other fruit, make bone broth ice poles or simply spread some natural yogurt on a lick mat. Adding treats to the frozen medium of choice can be a great added challenge - Lucy loves peas (whole or mushy 🫛) and sprats 🐟 to excavate from her yogurt licks 🩷

02/07/2025

🤣🤣 The walk is always for the dog, not me!! I’m happy to let all my lovely clients dogs walk me, maybe I should change my role to ‘walking assistant’ or ‘supervisor’ 🤣

This really is my *actual face* I make. 😏

Thanks, I haven't heard that one, ever.

Very original material, real knee slapper there. 🥱 🙄

08/06/2025

A landmark study that directly addresses this question is:

Cooper, J. J., Cracknell, N., Hardiman, J., Wright, H., & Mills, D. S. (2014). The welfare consequences and efficacy of training pet dogs with remote electronic training collars in comparison to reward based training. PLOS ONE, 9(9), e102722. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0102722
Summary of Key Findings:

Study design: This was a controlled, scientific field study conducted by researchers at the University of Lincoln. It compared three groups:

Dogs trained using e-collars (shock collars) by experienced industry trainers

Dogs trained by the same trainers but without shock

Dogs trained by independent force-free trainers using positive reinforcement only

Trainers were certified and professional, with Group A and B trainers belonging to the Electronic Collar Manufacturers Association (ECMA) and having extensive experience using the devices.

Key results:

There was no significant difference in training efficacy between the groups using shock and those not using it.

Dogs trained with positive reinforcement exhibited fewer signs of stress and anxiety.

The study concluded that the use of shock collars was unnecessary and posed welfare risks without added training benefits.

Salivary cortisol levels, behavioral stress indicators (e.g., yawning, lip licking), and vocalizations were higher in the shock collar group.

Conclusion:

The researchers explicitly stated that the use of e-collars "has negative welfare consequences for some dogs" and "no clear advantage over reward-based training"—thus the use of shock collars is not justified.

So, even if the person operating the collar is a manufacturer-trained professional, this study showed the results were no better than training without shock, and the use of electronic collars resulted in unnecessary stress.

Cindy Ludwig, MA, BS, RN, KPA-CTP, CPDT-KA
Owner, Canine Connection LLC
Voted Best Springfield, Missouri Dog Trainer