A video clip of Katie which I thought was interesting - I gave her a naturally dried pigs snout as a treat, she trotted off outside with it and I thought she might be chewing it in the grass thinking the earth below might be cooler for her with it being warm.
When she took it she didn't just slope off with it, she looked more like a lady on a mission, so I gave her space but went to check on her to find this what you see below - as you can see I was a bit late to the party as I went back for my phone to grab the video clip.
What she did was pull the soil back and then bury it, so what you see if her using her nose as a shovel to cover it.
The place where she chose to bury it was right on top of where I buried lucky (the cat) a few months ago - so maybe it was the softest area of soil which made the job easier?
It didn't stay there long as she got it back out and reburied it in another area of the garden, before getting it out again, this time to take it into the bedroom and try and bury it under the duvet on her couch.
I find it interesting to observe dogs in general and this was one of those opportunities, these moments may leave us with questions rather than answers and this is the first time she's done this - she's also coming to the end of her season so does this play it's part? I don't honestly know but it's good to think about things.
One from the other week, taking advantage of the quiet time.....
Here's a short video clip of Buster, which I got at the start of my time walking him, which was around the middle of October.
He's approx 2yrs ish old with his struggles but he's a lovely lad and I really enjoy spending time with him.
Since we started walking together I've been observing him to see what he enjoys and struggles with, and what his signs look like in times of struggle or where support is needed.
He's interesting to observe and a great learning source (as all dogs are).
When I'm out with any dog with me, I'm always observing them, as well as other dogs we see while out, because even if the dog I have is doing ok I've seen others really struggling, which can be a tough site to see, even moreso when the handlers attention is elsewhere, so the dog has to go it alone and are usually overwhelmed and lost - it's so so important to be present with our dogs when we spend time together because we need to be there to help and support them when needed and we may need to take action to help any given situation which arises with other dog's to help them out too.
With Buster though it got me thinking - what does he like?
Since we started I've taken the short drive to a location which has open grassy spaces, smaller woodland areas, a couple of small ponds as well as a mixture of harder and softer pathways - so there's variety all in one place.
Upto date I've noticed he does struggle more with the open spaces, and if there are other dogs about even when in the distance he can get upset by particular movement's, as often people can appear and then get the ball/chucker out.
He does though enjoy sniffing within the woody areas, and takes his time when there are leaves to sniff, or the trees as well as any fallen branches or bushy growth - I do have to pay attention though as he is a roller in the smelly stuff, and if there's an odd squirrel it can upset him too, so it can be tricky to find the right balance when it comes to offering enrichment and enjoyment witho
A few seconds at the start of Charlie's walk this morning - sniffing the mole hills out took a little more effort today, but he still managed without issue as we made our way round 🐾
Carrying on from last night's post, my little friend had a power nap then was full of beans again.
Even though he knows me, well it's not been that long since we started so it's still quite early days in the grand scheme of things, but his association to me is taking him out - whereas last night I roll up to his house, he takes a quick look at me (the light bulb goes on as if to say "hey I know you") and is then like yeeee-haaaaa - he's like where's the party!!
Seeing he was a bit all over, including giving the cat grief, it was time to help the situation out - so in the brief pause in play as it were I siezed the chance.
His owners brilliantly left me a couple of empty egg boxes (they are worth saving the cardboard ones as well as empty kitchen rolls), so just a simple nose/brain exercise which wasn't too hard (this is important especially when starting out).
I say a 'simple' nose brain exercise - I can't stress enough how important choosing the right type of activity and allowing a dog to use their natural abilities is to them in numerous ways - I'm not feeding the adrenaline rush here, and even though they are not blasting about chasing something activities like this can and does take it out of a dog.
I placed 5 small pieces of food (no bigger than a pea size as that was the size in the packet) inside the box and closed the box. It's worth mentioning when first starting out with a dog doing this make is REALLY simple (by leaving the lid open) so they can understand what's going on.
Sometimes people may want to show what their dog can do and make things harder quicker, but if the dog is new to something or they are nervous/uneasy or lacking confidence etc then it can not only frustrate the dog if they are unable to find it or get it out if it's an activity like this but also really knocks their confidence, and that includes the owner/handler physically pointing the treat out to show them where it is - so starting slow and steady is the way forward in my opin
