Lizzie’s Pet Care: Dog Behaviour Consultations & 1-2-1 Training

08/02/2024

Recognizing your dog’s stressed body language is important because lowering your dog's stress level is key to maintaining their health.

11/01/2024

Famous doggy mottos…

06/01/2024

Whole Dog Journal‘s mission is to provide dog guardians with in-depth information on dog food, training, behavior, health, and more.

06/01/2024

The Multi-Purpose Human…

31/08/2023

You’re on a walk and you see a dog on a lead. Your dog is running free.

Q: What should you do next?
(Cue *who wants to be a millionaire* music).

Is it:
A: put your dog on a lead
B. Let your dog run over and say hello.
C: Shout “Don’t worry, he’s friendly.”
Or
D: What dog? You were playing candy crush.

The answer is…. A.

Did you get it right?

Many dog owners don’t. They don’t understand what a negatively life-altering situation a rogue dog can be for on-lead walkers.

Here’s why:

Dogs you don’t know could be on lead for 100s of reasons.

They could be blind.
They could be recovering from surgery.
They could be deaf.
They could be aggressive.
They might be scared of being approached by strangers.
They might be training.
They could be a service dog.
They may be a rescue.
They might be terrified of dogs they don’t know.
They could be elderly or physically vulnerable.
They might simply prefer to walk on lead.

In the end, it doesn’t matter why they are on a lead. It’s none of your business. But what is your business is CONSENT.

Leads are a little flag that say “don’t come close”.

When you see them, putting your dog on a lead is respectful. You show the other owner that you CARE about their choice and consent. It doesn’t matter if your dog has 100% perfect recall. You respect the other person and their dog enough to be courteous and kind to uphold everyone’s safety by making absolutely sure everyone is on a lead (no matter how much you trust your dog).

As a person who is often walking a dog on lead for all of many the reasons listed, I can’t tell you how my heart sings when I see someone extend this gesture to me and my pack.

Your dog has no right or business running up to ANYONE (dog or human) without clear PRIOR consent to do so.

You have a responsibility to ensure your dog is in control in a public place. Failing to recall is an offense. It counts as a dog out of control in a public place.

06/07/2023

Separation Anxiety.

Something many dogs suffer from and a behaviour that has risen significantly since the pandemic. Does your dog struggle with being left?

Find out how to help dogs that struggle when they are left home alone.

26/12/2022

Belated Happy Christmas to all our incredible four legged friends.

Even though I’ve always been lucky enough to share my home with my pets, our two dogs have been my constant nurses, therapists, shadows and best buddies over the last two months of bedridden illness.

I’ve never been more appreciative of you both, Kiki and Ruby. Thank you for staying with me and watching over me morning, moon and all night too.

Here’s to a healthy 2023 🐶🐱❤️

04/11/2022

Some key points from Dogs Trust to help with fireworks and their impact upon our four legged friends.

If your dog has a lot of fear and anxiety when exposed to the sound of fireworks a trained behaviourist like myself can help calm and ease this time for them.

03/11/2022

Hard at work helping a client and her Doodle work through issues with stranger socialisation and confrontation.
This week I have also been helping puppy owners get off on the right track with their new arrivals. Busy busy!

18/07/2022

Clear and concise advice from Dog’s Trust. I personally don’t work with or walk dogs on hot days. We must protect our furry friends from heatstroke.
https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/help-advice/dog-care/warm-weather-advice

If you're planning to be out and about with your dog this summer, it's important to keep them happy and healthy. Visit us for tips and advice today.

15/07/2022

☀️ HOT WEATHER ALERT - KEEPING PETS SAFE!☀️

A hot weather alert has been issued in the UK for the next few days and Europe is already in the grip of a heatwave. As well as taking care of ourselves and others, we also need to protect our pets. Most are already wearing a fur coat and they do not sweat like we do, so cannot cool down quickly. Follow these tips from the BSAVA for keeping your pet safe!

https://mcusercontent.com/25cdc95a10c39b56efdae5fd8/files/46e4d4f5-1fcd-dc8d-f7e4-82a4a330e81d/BSAVA_Tips_to_avoid_Heatstroke_Downloadable.pdf

18/06/2022

20/05/2022

A really useful PDF on how to help nervous dogs. Anxiety when on walks and interacting with other dogs is a growing behavioural concern for many owners.https://www.apbc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/APBC-Advice-11-Nervous-Dogs.pdf

12/05/2022

28/04/2022

28/04/2022

A useful article I recently sent to a client on adding another dog to the household.

https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/care/adding-a-new-dog-to-a-multi-dog-household-plan-ahead/?amp=1

This Whole Dog Journal article reports on how to add another dog to your already "multi-dog" household.