Paw Chores

10/04/2025

A journalist recently asked my opinion on dog day cares and the impact this is having on canine behaviour. My case load is currently full of reactive and fearful adolescent dogs, many of which suffered significant behavioural regression after starting day care, so I shared my experience, which is quoted here.

Heres the article if you'd like a read.

Dog daycare isn’t always fun and games. Learn how it can impact your dog’s behaviour, signs of stress to watch for and alternatives to keep them happy.

28/03/2025

Another busy week for the Paw Chores team.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend! I'm off for a change. Yay 🥳😅🐾

28/03/2025

There is so much judgment surrounding reactivity. It's even worse when you are a dog trainer and your dog is reactive. People are quick to put themselves on a pedestal because their dog is perfect and clearly it is your failings that resulted in this behaviour. It couldn't possibly be the case that they were fortunate enough to have a dog born with great genetics or to avoid a traumatic experience.

I see horrible comments on social media saying that reactive dogs should never be walked outdoors or should even be put down! Imagine if we said that everyone that has a phobia or anxiety has no value and should be removed from society!

Many dog guardians can't appreciate that the reactive dog would likely be the same, if not worse in their care, because believe it or not reactivity is rarely caused by the dog's guardian. We know that our stress can impact our dog's levels but our stress on walks likely appeared after the reactivity started rather than triggering it. We also know that the use of aversives can trigger reactive and fearful behaviour and it may be the case that guardians have sought the help of a trainer and chose poorly, through no fault of their own. Reactivity has many other potential causes such as:

Temperament
Environment and experiences
Ill health & undiagnosed pain
Trauma
Genetics
Generalised Anxiety
Chronic Stress
Hormonal and neurological changes

Some dogs can be born predisposed to reactivity and confident dogs can become reactive when they are in pain or lose their sight or hearing. Some dogs can have the best start in the world and then be attacked by another dog during a sensitive time in their development, like my dog Mando. In reality, any dog can be reactive at some time in their lives through no fault of their guardian.

In reality, reactive dog guardians are often the best dog guardians out there, because they have had to struggle, train and research endlessly to improve the life of their dog. They have gone through thick and thin with their dog and loved them warts and all. They've walked early in the morning and late at night. They've hidden in bushes and dived behind cars, in a effort to keep the walk enjoyable for their dog. They've devoured every book on fear and anxiety and completed lots of training. They aren't oblivious to their dogs struggles or communication, in fact they are likely trying to help their dog every day, every walk and every time they see a dog.

So the next time you see a dog barking and lunging and the person is trying to calmly coax them away, remember that behind every reactive dog is a guardian desperately trying to make them feel safe. Help them, by moving your dog away. -Holly Leake🐾

Please feel free to like and share this post but please share from the source and do not copy and paste the text, screenshot the graphic or edit the graphic in any way. Thank you. ©

21/03/2025

Another very busy week! We are definitely enjoying the walks in the sun and so are the dogs!

Hope you all have a good weekend! I'm working as per usual but going to treat myself to a cheeky Chinese takeaway as my positive reinforcement 🤣

20/03/2025

It's Yellow Dog Day. 💛💛

This is my boy rocking his yellow nervous dog lead.

If you see a dog in yellow please give them space. Some dogs are anxious and reactive due to a number of factors such as trauma, genetics or health issues. Those dogs are likely in training but they need more space to build their confidence and progress.

You can help ensure all dogs feel safe by respecting the space of other dog walkers (especially those in yellow) and recalling your dog if they are off lead. If your dog has poor recall, they should be kept on lead to prevent them running up to on-lead dogs. Failing to do this can significantly impact the dogs training success.

All dogs deserve to enjoy their walks! 🙏

20/03/2025

I see a toxic pattern in dog groups and even community groups. Someone is struggling with their dog and they post to ask for advice. The comment section is a mix of poor advice, sarcastic questions and the occasional recommendation of an unqualified trainer or punitive methods. Sometimes, you even get nasty comments from qualified trainers. Maybe the OP is naive and maybe they have made some mistakes but at the end of the day we are all learning. Let's face it, if dog training was easy many of us would be out of a job 😅 and if it's something we could all learn quickly we wouldn't need qualifications or professionals that specialise in particular behaviours.

We can't hold people accountable for what they do not know. Only when we know better can we actually do better. So let's not vilify dog guardians for asking for help.
This is why I created this group. A safe space where there are no stupid questions and where judgmental, sarcastic or passive-aggressive comments are not tolerated. Dog training is a minefield and it's so hard to find reliable resources. Social media is also full of trolls and can be the worst place to find unsolicited advice. I hear the same things from clients daily about how hard it is to find trustworthy information. We should be commending guardians for seeking help and information. It shows they want to help their dog and it's not their fault that the industry is unregulated.

So in this group, don't hesitate to ask questions. That's what we are here for and we are more than happy to help. This is a safe and positive space where your quest for more knowledge will be celebrated instead of criticised.

If you haven't joined the group yet, here's the link.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/dogdilemmas/

17/03/2025

"Positive reinforcement didn't work with my dog!"

If I had a pound for every time I have heard this. However, when I ask the guardian how positive reinforcement was used it was obvious it was inadvertently misapplied. Positive reinforcement means to add a pleasant consequence to increase the frequency of a desired behaviour. So if you are trying to reinforce a desired behaviour but the dog isn't responding to you, it is not positive reinforcement that has failed but your reward system and choice of environment.

So why may this occur? There are a variety of reasons such as:

❎ Incorrect environment
❎ Poor generalisation or lack of it
❎ Reward value is too low or wrong type
❎ Fear, stress or anxiety
❎ Too close to a trigger or distracting stimuli
❎ Poor timing
❎ Confusion or frustration
❎ Lack of consistent marker
❎ Inconsistent tone of voice, cue words & body language
❎ Use of aversive methods and/or scolding
❎ Lack of outlets for natural behaviours
❎ Insufficient practice in the home
❎ Phasing out rewards too soon
❎Unreasonable expectations

Positive reinforcement never fails but our application of it can, so it is crucial to ensure that we reflect on the reasons why our dog is not responding rather than simply assuming positive reinforcement is ineffective. - Holly Leake ©️

Please feel free to share but do not copy and paste my writing or screenshot my graphic. Thank you.

14/03/2025

Did you know that in the UK, 75% of dog bites involve children, with a bite to the face or head?

Did you know we could prevent this with education? Teaching children and their parents the subtle signs of stress is crucial to bite prevention. When working with children as a KAD approved trainer, I teach the children that whale eye (whites of the eyes), seal ears (pinched back ears), lip licking and a tight closed mouth are 4 ways a dog whispers "I am sad, please give me space". Nine times out of ten, this communication is seen when children are hugging their dog (something that most dogs don't like but will tolerate for a time).

I explain to children that when we don't listen to the dog whispering, he/she has to shout and might growl, bark or bite. This helps children to empathise with their dog and start recognising how their behaviour makes their dog feel. This is the first step in preventing inappropriate behaviour that will lead to bites.

It should be noted that most dog bites, involving children, are inflicted by the family dog ( often with no prior bite history). Most will say there was "no warning", but in reality the dog has been politely whispering all along. Don't assume that because your dog tolerates inappropriate behaviour from your children, that that will always be the case, because every dog has a breaking point. Don't make your dog shout!

13/03/2025

It's been an interesting morning..
The dog of mischief Loki pood on a religious noticeboard (don't worry I cleaned it) and Betsey posed with the devil. 😅🤷‍♀️

08/03/2025

Great first puppy training session with Winston today. We worked on his counter surfing, frustration based behaviours like biting the lead and started some recall work. He was a very fast learner and a very cuddly boy. 🐾🥰

07/03/2025

It is time we dispel the myth that we should greet dogs by sticking our hand in their face and allowing them to sniff it!

Look at the dog's body language.

- Closed tense mouth
-Fixed stare (potential pupil dilation)
- Pinned back ears
- Tension in the body
- Slight raised hackles (piloerection)
- Braced legs

This dog may not be growling, showing his teeth or barking, but he is subtly communicating that he is uncomfortable with the interaction. Usually, when a dog tolerates a hand in their face, this moves the person to then stroke the dog's head, another thing most dogs don't like, especially if it's a stranger.

Dogs can smell us from quite a distance, so putting our hand out to sniff isn't necessary. Neither does it help to build trust. We should keep our hands to ourselves and respect a dog's space. If the dog wants to be touched, they will initiate physical contact and even then, this should be on the dog's terms.

05/03/2025

Anyone else's cats steal nail files? No? Just mine? 🙄🤷‍♀️🤣

I find them all over the house. He has a stash somewhere.

03/03/2025

If your female dog doesn't produce milk, mother items or show nesting behaviours, it seems logical to conclude that she doesn't suffer with phantom pregnancies. Nevertheless, there are two types of phantom pregnancies.

Overt- . An overt phantom pregnancy may include physical symptoms, such as swollen abdomen, weight gain and swollen mammary glands that may or may not produce milk. Behavioural symptoms can include excessive licking of ni***es, mothering items, nesting and resource guarding.

Covert- If your dog experiences a covert phantom pregnancy, they will not show any physical symptoms or the typical mothering behaviours, however, sudden behavioural changes may be observed, such as resource guarding, anxiety, reactivity and even aggression.

It's important to be vigilant for these behavioural changes during this stage of their cycle (no matter how subtle) and carefully manage their environment until the phantom passes. This may mean breaks from walks, increased enrichment in the home, separation from or avoidance of young children (especially in cases of aggression or resource guarding) and keeping their life quiet and as stress-free as possible.

Spaying when the prolactin levels are too high, can cause a persistent phantom pregnancy. This can cause behavioural symptoms, such as aggression and reactivity, to persist if there is no medical intervention. Therefore, it is crucial to only spay during the anestrus stage of the cycle, 4 months after their last day of oestrus to allow the prolactin levels to drop and significantly reduce the chances of a persistent phantom pregnancy.

If you have any questions, feel free to drop them in the comments.

Here's one of my articles with more info.

https://www.theiscp.com/post/what-you-should-know-about-phantom-pregnancies

28/02/2025

Which one shocked you the most?

(Disclaimer: This is not a post to bash vets but to remind others that not all vets are qualified to provide behavioural advice.)

27/02/2025

How gorgeous is Zeus, our new regular! 😍

26/02/2025

I'm terrible with human names but I always remember the dogs 😅🤷‍♀️

25/02/2025

Caption this! 🤣😅🙏🙏