Winnie's World Dog Behaviourist

24/12/2025

Let’s try to prevent some dog bites this Christmas ⬇️

'TIS THE SEASON TO BE JOLLY......UNTIL SOMEONE GETS BITTEN IN THE FACE.

And it was likely entirely preventable.

Sorry to come across all grinch-like, but this is the season for dog bites. Read on to learn how to prevent them.

1️⃣ ADJUST YOUR ATTITUDE AND EXPECTATIONS OF YOUR DOG.

Most dog bites happen to someone known to the dog (i.e., a family member).

Many dog bite cases seen by professionals are a first incident that caught those involved completely by surprise.

They thought their friendly and tolerant dog would never bite.

Indeed, some dogs are a lower risk than others. But expecting a dog to NEVER bite is like expecting a person to go through their whole life without saying 'no'.

Everyone and every animal has a threshold. Some have far higher thresholds than others. But thresholds are not fixed. They fluctuate.

Bites are unfortunately too often the first behaviour people notice that reveals their dog is not as tolerant as they were yesterday.

Don't take your dog's tolerance for granted.

2️⃣ NO FACES NEAR FACES

I must have told my young nephew this 10 times across three hours on Monday when I visited my stepmum (who has two dogs).

A high percentage of dog bites are directed onto the face of a person. More often than not, this gives us clues as to what that person was doing immediatly prior to being bitten.

Children tend to have strong face-face orientation and a reduced sensitivity for proximity that others may find inappropriate or invasive.
Dogs as a species generally find face-face (especially head on and up close) threatening, with the threshold for perceived threat to be far lower (increased sensitivity) when the relationship is new or unstable.

When we see so many adult humans miss warning signals in dogs, can we expect young children to spot them too?

Warning signals include;

🎄 Angling the head away
🎄 Ears pulled back
🎄 Lip licking, yawning, tension in the face- especially in the muzzle (the mouth will often close tightly).
🎄 The whites of the eyes will often show (caused by the dog angling their head away whilst keeping their eye on the person and carrying increasing tension in their face).

Putting faces near or into faces doesn't enable an easy perspective to observe warning signals, nor does it give you much time to move away/ avoid should you see warning signals.

The safest thing is to is to not put faces near faces.
Proactively drill this saying into kids (nicely) until they start to remember.

3️⃣ STOP PICKING UP THE DOG / PUPPY

On my morning walk yesteday, I walked parallel to a family with two dogs for about 5-10 minutes. In that time I saw a young child pick up a small (ish) dog about 10 times.

The dog started running ahead and the child followed. The dog stopped to sniff something and the child opportunistically caught up and picked the dog up again.

If I were that dog, at some point I'd say "ENOUGH!" or "WILL YOU JUST F**K OFF!".

Running away didn't work for that dog, so how else can the dog communicate that they don't want to be picked up constantly?

A dog may be more quick to lose tolerance if they are stressed, tired, hungry or sore, and generally behaviour change (including reduced tolerance) is the first clear indicator people notice of a dog feeling any of these things.

Let's encourage children to not treat dogs like objects. Some adults will benefit from remembering this too.
Everyone should treat their dogs as though they were a Great Dane. Stop picking them up all the time!

Your dog has legs, they can move themselves around. Your job is to learn to communicate with your dog so they understand where you want them to move to, such as off the sofa, away from the christmas tree etc.

Interactions should be consensual.

🎄 Invite the dog to come over for attention.
🎄 Take 'no' for an answer (the dog doesn't respond to the invitation).
🎄 Interact with the dog without restraining them or blocking/ boxing them in. The dog should be easily able to move away.
🎄Stop the interaction after a few seconds, see if the dog wants to move away, settle down or asks for more fuss.

Excitable children and those who are enjoying the novelty of having a dog around them (visiting family with dogs, new dog brought into the family) are often at a high risk of invading that dog's space and doing so persistently.

Set clear boundaries, helping children learn to respect animals beyond forced cuddles.

4️⃣ LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE

How would you like someone going up to you and giving you a cuddle when you're in a deep sleep?
How would you like someone physically removing you from your resting spot without verbally inviting you to move first?

Dogs get tired. Especially at Christmas when their routine is disrupted by increased activity within the home and often longer, family walks.

Tired dogs can be startled or grumpy.
Make sure your dog gets plenty of rest and that they are left to rest in peace.

5️⃣ RESOURCE GUARDING IS NORMAL BEHAVIOUR (to some degree!)

It's normal in dogs and many other species, including humans.

Take my Christmas present off me unexpectedly and I'll probably express how rude that was. Request for me to pass it over so you can have a look, and I'll likely oblige.

Forcefully taking food items or an object your dog has found off your dog increases the risk of resource guarding behaviours.
Let your dog rip the used wrapping paper up, or trade any items of concern for treats.

Ensure guests know to leave your dog alone if they are eating (food or a chew), and to leave you to deal with any problem behaviours.

If your dog is thought to be a resource guarder already, give them something enjoyable to do away from a resource laden context- such as when the family is opening presents.


6️⃣ STOP TELLING THE DOG OFF

I meet a lot of dogs who get shouted at a lot. A stressful existence for both dog and people involved!

At family gatherings, young children can mirror adult behaviour and other adults may also be involved in responding to the dog.
Before long- everyone is telling the dog off.

I'm not suggesting that dogs should be allowed to do what ever they please and we just ignore undesired behaviour.
My dogs have boundaries, and boundaries can be communicated with kindness.

If you have not spent the time teaching your dog what you'd like them to do, it's not very fair to shout at them for doing something you perceive to be wrong.

It's likely too late to teach your dog to settle on a mat or on their bed while you all eat Christmas dinner, not jump as guests arrive, not steal newly opened presents- more so if they have a history of doing that undesired behaviour!

Manage the environment- give your dog something enjoyable to do elsewhere. Ideally behind a barrier nearby, so your dog is not isolated (unless they can relax whilst being shut away somewhere else).

7️⃣ BE PROACTIVE

All of the above can only be achieved if you are proactive.

🎄Communicate guidance to guests in advance.
🎄Manage the environment and consider utilising barriers if you are cannot supervise or trust someone else to.
🎄Supervise (simply observe, pay attention) to interactions.
🎄If in doubt, get them out. Ask the human involved to adjust their behaviour - should you have time. Recalling the dog away is often the quickest solution.

Christmas can be chaotic. Booze is often involved, the environment is full of resources and things that smell delicious to dogs!

Things can get loud, people want to switch off, relax and fully enjoy the moment....... and that is unfortunately why so many dog bites happen at Christmas.

15/12/2025

🙌 So happy that this year ended on a good note - I’m officially a Clinical Animal Behaviourist 🙌

I’ve spent years working towards what I see as the highest level a behaviourist can reach. And I’ve finally done it!

Thank you to the clients who allowed me to film and share everything we did together. And to all my human and non-human clients who have taught me so much and continue to make me want to do better.

And for those who say qualifications and accreditations don’t mean anything when it comes to dog training and behaviour, you can’t do this without practical experience. To become a CAB, a degree-level qualification is just the start. My theoretical knowledge was rigorously assessed two years ago. Now my practical skills have been assessed, involving two assessors reviewing three of my cases and interviewing me not once, but three times, about my work.

When so many outdated methods are still being used on our pets and they’re suffering as a consequence, it’s so important professionals are properly assessed. But here’s to not having to do any more assessments for a while 😂

05/12/2025

🎄 5 ways to have a stress-free Christmas with your dog this year 🎄

Christmas Day with the entire family is not the time to train a dog who can’t cope with those situations. Instead, make life easier with these simple hacks:

🎁 If your dog doesn’t like being around guests, put up a baby gate so they can still see you but can enjoy time in their own space. Give them lots of nice things there. Some dogs may prefer not to see people at all or it may not be safe for them to do so. In which case you can have them in a different part of the house with similar nice things. Practise leaving them there a few times before the big day.

🎁 Having multiple dogs in one house can be stressful, particularly if they don’t all get on. We see this a lot where one member of the family has a new puppy and wants to bring them to the house of an elderly dog who would rather be left alone. Either leave other dogs at home for a few hours or use barriers such as gates, pens and leads to give them their own space. Ensure resources like food are also given in individual spaces to prevent guarding.

🎁 Got a counter-surfer or table-jumper? Pop a comfy bed or blanket on the floor and give your dog a long-lasting chew while you’re eating dinner. Ask guests not to feed them from the table to reduce begging. Pop all goodies onto the blanket so they’re more likely to remain there.

🎁 If your dog can cope being around visitors, supervise them with guests who may not be able to read them very well such as people they don’t see often or children. A bite can happen very quickly but can often easily be prevented.

🎁 Meeting your dog’s needs before people arrive or you take them to someone’s house can really help them settle. Christmas Day often involves a routine change but if you can ensure they’ve had their usual walk and give them opportunities to sniff, lick or chew, they’ll be less fizzy.

And if you can’t be bothered with any of that, it’s okay to have a quiet Christmas or leave your dog at home if you’re going elsewhere for a few hours!

27/11/2025

🚫 When I ask people what they do when their dog does something they don’t like, they’ll almost always say ‘no’ 🚫

And when I ask how often that works, the answer’s usually rarely! Why? Because ‘no’ means nothing to your dog. And neither did the words ‘sit’, ‘come’ or ‘drop’ until you taught them.

The reason dog trainers often advise you don’t say ‘no’ is because you’ll use it in lots of different situations to mean lots of different things.

So how is your dog meant to know if they’re supposed to drop, come back to you, leave something on the floor, get down...? 🤷

If you want to teach your dog that ‘no’ means something useful, use it as a cue to come back to you or to give you eye contact. Otherwise, use other cues to help them know what you’d like them to do instead.

As you can see here, Winston pays absolutely no attention to ‘no’ when he’s sniffing something gross or when he starts to speed up on the lead because a squirrel runs in front of us.

The reason he then looks at the squirrel in a driveway and carries on walking is because we’ve worked a lot on this skill. Me saying no has absolutely nothing to do with it and was probably getting on his nerves! If I carried on like that, he’d probably learn to ignore me completely 😂

23/11/2025

The most incredible experience free diving with sharks (though less diving and more trying not to drift away in the roughest waters I’ve ever been in) 🦈

And when one decides to bump you when you’re not looking and you can’t walk properly for a few days after, you realise just how powerful they are 😂

Dog content will resume shortly!

🐠

03/11/2025

😰 Lots of dogs are feeling scared and anxious because of ongoing fireworks. But what’s the worst thing you can do if they’re feeling this way? 😰

Ignore them!

Dogs are social animals. A bit of gentle reassurance from us when they need it can really help them get through things. Just like it would help us.

This is Winston during a bad storm. He’s not a dog who seeks out cuddles or anything like that. But he came and stood right by me.

A couple of gentle strokes allowed him to feel better and he eventually settled 🧘

You can’t reinforce an emotion so you can’t reinforce fear.

The only thing you want to be aware of is that you’re not acting panicked as this can heighten a situation or being OTT with your dog when they want some space.

Calm and gentle is key. But there’s no need to ignore them.

16/10/2025

🎆 If your dog is scared of fireworks and seems unsettled for a while afterwards, speak to your vet now 🎆

There are things they can prescribe to help your dog and reduce the chance of a longer lasting issue.

I’ve worked with several dogs this year who had such a bad experience with fireworks that they refused to leave the house for a long time afterwards or became scared of other noises.

So act now and help your dog get through fireworks season better than before!

And don’t take your dog to a fireworks event, walk them when it’s dark or leave them alone when fireworks are going off. It’s just not worth the risk.

04/10/2025

If you’re in Kent and want something to do tomorrow, head over to ’s Canine Carnival. I’ll be answering all your behavioural questions at 12:15 (but be warned. There will be a lot of ‘it depends’ 😂)

And there’s some fun demos and other expert sessions to get involved in.

I won’t be bringing my dog as he’d rather stay at home. So you can absolutely attend without yours!

02/10/2025

After it was way too hot in the summer, looking forward to an autumn event this Sunday! I’ll be chatting all things dog behaviour at 12:15 if you want to come say hi 👋

Lots of other fun things to do as well with or without your dog 🐶

01/10/2025

18/09/2025

Nothing to do with dogs, but just a little palate cleanser and a reminder to enjoy yourself (whether that’s with or without your dog) ⛵️

10/09/2025

If your behaviourist isn’t working with your vet, then you should probably find a new one.

Here are just a few recent cases that have been diagnosed with medical issues after my behavioural observations and discussions with the vet. (To protect my clients’ privacy, the photos aren’t of the actual dogs I’m working with.)

Now treating these problems doesn’t mean the behaviour’s going to disappear completely, though it will almost certainly help (and can save you a lot of time and effort). But we can’t train away pain so that does need to be managed as best as possible before any behavioural plan can work.