FairlyDunn Dog Care & Training

15/11/2024

Thursday fun at Paws2Pasture 🐾

15/11/2024

Friday fun at Paws2Pasture 🐾

10/11/2024

Never alone in this job😅❤️ Good night, folks😴

27/10/2024

Sunny morning at Paws2Pasture ❤️🐾

24/10/2024

Some photos from this week 🐾🐾

18/10/2024

Lovely walk with this trio on a warm autumn 🍁 day. Tired pups ❤️

16/10/2024

Lovely Teasel came to stay with us again. She came first as a young puppy, now she is a mature lady. I love having my regular guests as they settle straight in like it's their second home, and it is ❤️

01/10/2024

It’s easier to know when to put a coat on a dog when on a walk – but what about in the house? How do we know our dogs are cold? With the weather turning and cost of living high, many houses are not being warmed as much as previous years (ours included). In addition, older dogs feel the cold more readily than younger ones.

Good places to check a dog’s body temperature are their ears and feet. Do their ears feel colder than normal? Are their feet colder than normal?

Behaviour can also change when dogs get cold. Some dogs get hyperactive – our Schnauzer will start frantically playing with her toys, running around the house, start nibbling our toes, refusing to stay still even though she’s clearly tired and generally she gets crankier. Other dogs will start curling up tighter and move less to try and conserve body heat.

The dog may also start to shiver. Older dogs or ones with OA may also start stiffening more in the house as the muscles have to work harder in the cold.

If you are unsure if your dog is cold, place a coat on them and see if their behaviour changes, if they look more relaxed, or if they start looking more flexible when moving around the house. The good thing with a coat is that you can always take it off if it doesn’t help the dog physically or behaviourally.

You can get special onesies, pyjamas or jumpers, but a normal walking coat will work just as well in the house. We have been coating Tegan for the past week (in the evenings and nights) with the weather cold, wet and horrible. We started coating Tegan when she was more unsettled during the day and curling tighter when sleeping. Tesla has had the occasional coat night when she has gotten damp during her evening walk, but I know the closer we get to winter - the more often she will need her fleece pyjamas.

27/09/2024

We had a great morning at Paws2Pasture ❤️

15/09/2024

Lovely Sunday stroll with these guys.

06/09/2024

The first time I saw someone do this I was shocked.
I thought it was a one off, clearly it isn't and social media "influencers" have started to spout this as a "solution".
When I first saw this a few years ago, I could see the skin under the belly twisting and stretching while a lead was tightly pulled up from above.
There was bruising and this dog was certainly in pain.
All because someone wanted a quick way to teach a dog to walk beside them.
Companies even sell carabiners that encourage using this method.
What people may not realise is this can kill a dog.
The belly is not well protected...at all.
The intestines are right there and there are no bones in that area to protect those precious and vital organs.
That constant pressure and squeezing can and DOES cause serious abdominal issues.
PLEASE don't be tempted to follow this trend if you have seen it on social media.

21/08/2024

It's vital to make your research carefully in order to maximise the chances your puppy will be healthy with a sound temperament. If unsure, ask help from a trainer or a behaviourist. I am happy to help with selecting your new puppy. I recently helped a family member, and there were so many red flags for me with various sellers that this person did not recognise. It's not easy to spot them unless you are an experienced dog enthusiast.

Survey found almost a third of UK dog owners spent less than a day researching the breeder

20/08/2024

Cutiepie Cocapoos having a blast😍

12/08/2024

Early morning trip to Paws 2 Pasture before the heat

01/08/2024

More about pain !!

Teaching owners to recognise signs their dog is in pain is an ongoing and lifelong commitment for me.

Dogs are exceptionally good at hiding pain and owners are sadly very good at either not seeing the subtle signs or choosing to ignore them. This creates the perfect storm.

Naturally, owners don’t want to feel that their dog is in pain or suffering so they don’t see it. This is known as perception bias and is now thankfully becoming much more widely recognised. Of course you want your dog to be well and happy, we all do ….but in some cases this can lead to denial and avoidance of seeking help for issues that are right there in front of you. Sadly I see this day in day out.

On top of this ,often the changes that come with chronic pain are so subtle and develop so slowly over time that owners don’t pick up on these changes at all and they are considered the new normal and therefore go untreated.

Remember ‼️

Dogs will rarely vocalise chronic pain (whimpering, yelping, whining).
Limping is a more obvious sign something is wrong but your dog could display his pain in other subtle ways.

Things to look out for include:

✅Sleeping more
✅More reluctance to walk
✅Reluctance to play
✅Not wanting to go up stairs
✅Not wanting to jump on the sofa
✅Not wanting to walk on slippy floors
✅Being more clingy with you (often mistaken as being more loving so owners see it as a positive trait in their dog)
✅Wanting to spend more time alone
✅Changes in their coat
✅Changes in how they move/ sit/ stand
✅Being more grumpy with other dogs or people
✅Becoming more anxious
✅Excessive grooming
✅Noise sensitivity

Remember ‼️ when you are in pain you have options- you can take some pain medications, you can alter your daily activities, you can go and see a doctor or a specialist for advice.

When your dog is in pain he doesn’t have these options. He relies on you to do the best by him.
It is your choice if you want to ignore your dogs pain or if you want to help him .

Choose to help him /her 🐾

Please share to spread the word!

01/08/2024

Give me that treat! 😄

26/07/2024

Lovely walk in the sunshine with a fellow dog walker. Photos by Mirka Kaaria from Mia’s petcare