Sally Tarpey Canine Behaviourist

20/11/2025

🐾Rescue dogs 🐾
Their's a misconception that all rescue dogs are damaged, some are, some aren't.
If you know me, you know I'm a soft touch when it comes to a rescue dog.
The ones who were let down, misunderstood, ignored, the ones who often have the loveliest of temperaments if they're given the chance to show them.
This is my Jess, she arrived earlier this year, her original owners would constantly kick her out, she'd be returned by neighbours and kicked out again, until she was handed into a council kennels as a stray.
With no chip & no one looking for her, I was sent the first photo, a young collie, overwhelmed & shutting down in a stressful environment 💔.
Cue the road trip and a drive to go see her, the rest is history.
She really is the most lovely little girl, she's inoffensive and loving, not so keen on men, but her original owner was a man, good job I'm single 💁‍♀️.

Time, patience, good food & tlc, they ask for so little but give back so much.
I'll show some more of mine this week.

Let's see your rescue dogs.

19/11/2025

18/11/2025

Behaviour consultation with these two girls yesterday & it's a complex one.

Mum on the left, daughter on the right, daughter went to a new home as a pup but had to go back to the breeder after four years.
Daughter is clearly a very anxious dog based on what I was seeing yesterday & when I asked about mums pregnancy / whelping process I found out she's what's known as an 'monoamniotic twin'.

Instead of having her own amniotic sac & placenta, she was born in the sac with another pup, sharing one placenta.
These two pups were considerably smaller when born, weighing in at 104g & 145g compared to the rest of the litter who were a healthy 300g +.
The smaller one sadly didn't survive beyond a few hours.
Instead of developing as normal, they are sharing the nutrients from mum via one placenta, getting variable amounts, hence the small birth weights & being weaker.
Space in the sac is restricted, impacting on the physical development of internal organs, oxygen levels will fluctuate, stress levels will be heightened before the puppy is even born & all of these things will impact the pup once born, while also going through the normal emotional changes such as fear periods & adolesence, while going through into adulthood.

She'll always have the underlying anxiety, it's in her make up, but the aim is to build some confidence skills and teach her resilience to take the weight off her shoulders and allow her to feel more comfortable in herself.

This case is the perfect example of using a behaviourist that is appropriately qualified, experienced & has an understanding of the science behind canine emotions and behaviour.

15/11/2025

On a scale of 1 - 10 for reactivity and trying to herd traffic, this little one was at a 9 a month ago.
Second session, post consultation today and she's at a 4 !
She's happier in the house, more relaxed, more settled & wagging her tail, something she rarely did before.

How have I structured this ?

Started off with a period of decompression, where she wasn't walked as we knew it always resulted in reactions.
Introduced & increased her training, getting her to use her brain, she's a collie x kelpie so super intelligent.
Introduced her to a herding ball & a flirt pole, a perfect outlet for herding breeds to display natural behaviour traits.
Today, I've had her and mum walking past traffic with no reaction, this was massive for them both.
Session 2 of 6 & we are seeing massive progress.
Back in ten days to keep up the momentum & maybe a half day training with me at some point.
Thank you to Shepherds' Vet Centre for the referral.
*I will try and encourage mum to use a collar & harness.

15/11/2025

'BAROMETRICS'
Relates to atmospheric pressure, this is the weight of the air in the atmosphere.
A change in pressure can affect dogs in several ways; anxiety, fear, restlessness, discomfort in their body.
Due to their already heightened senses when it comes to hearing & smell compared to ours, the sound of strong wind & rain or the change in scent intensity can make an anxious dog more anxious, resulting in a behaviour change.
This is why, if we have stormy weather I will always suggest we delay a session or explain the reasons to the owner so they can make an informed decision.

Unrelated pic of Jack sat on the loo thanks to Chat GPT.

14/11/2025

I haven't seen this young man for a few months, he was doing well with his training up until recently, adolescence has hit big time & he's regressed with his behaviour so dad rang me for help.
He's also got a leg injury so is on medication for this, and it may be
contributing to his current behaviour.
I've got mum & dad back onto the training and I'm back with them next week.

14/11/2025

How true

Dogs come into our lives,
choosing to accompany us
for a brief period during our
journey here on earth.
Throughout their time spent
by our sides, they bring
Immeasurable happiness,
demonstrate deep loyalty
and give unconditional love.
You are never lonely in their company
and their dedication knows no bounds.
They leave paw prints on our hearts,
a legacy of bright memories
And we are forever grateful
for having known them..

🖋️C.E. Coombes
🎨 Gillian Rule Art

Serendipity Corner 🍂

13/11/2025

First session following the consultation two weeks ago with this little girl today, she'd found herself at but has landed on her paws with her new mum.
When I first met her she was over aroused & couldn't sit still, the training is going in & today she was much calmer & even fell asleep at the end of the session which was lovely to see.
We're working on separation anxiety mainly & a few basic training issues to bring her up to speed.
Fabulous little dog, she really is.

12/11/2025

Look at him 🥺, such an adorable face.
Thank you to a local veterinary practice for referring him .
We're working through some anxious behaviours he demonstrates at home & on walks.
He's making good progress, despite an ongoing leg injury causing him problems.

Yesterday we did a walk at a later time in the day so the atmosphere was different, headlights on cars, road was wet making traffic sound different, dogs on their teatime walk, people walking home from work & he coped with it all fantastically.
Lots of natural engagement with mum & dad without prompting & cheers from the three of us when he did well, he now has his own cheerleading team 🥳.

12/11/2025

Thank you for the kind words Morgan 💕.
The owner of these two sustained significant injuries to her hand requiring surgery & a long period of time off work.
All is good now thankfully.

I would always recommend Sally and trust her completely with all my dogs!

Sally has helped me many times with my dogs but more so this year after an unfortunate situation took place with 2 of my staffies (one of which I had not long rehomed from someone else). Unfortunately they had a fight over a treat and in the process I was bitten and sustained lasting damage (my own fault). Afterwards I was concerned I would need to rehome one of them but wanted to make sure I tried everything to keep them first.
Sally helped me SO MUCH during the hard time after with all her great advice. They now both always sleep next to each other and are inseparable! I cant thank Sally enough for her all help that has helped me keep my two staffies !

11/11/2025

The first picture is Jess when she was in kennels as a stray, the second is just one of many of how her life looks now, she's a beautiful little collie with the loveliest nature despite the trauma in her previous home.

She's in season at the moment & will be spayed in the new year ( 3 months post season is the safest time to do this ).

I'm helping her through her season by doing the following 👇.

Making sure she's comfortable and sticks to her normal routine, that she's eating & drinking as normal, she's been grizzly some days as though she has period pain, so I've wrapped a hot water bottle in a towel and popped under the blanket in her bed, this seems to settle her.

I offer her comfort & reassurance if she comes to me, she's being a little more clingy & is probably confused by the changes going on in her body just now.

She's keeping herself clean with regular washing, if she wasn't, I'd be using pet wipes or a sponge to maintain good hygiene.

I'm not using dog pants.

She's staying on a lead when we walk in public places, I won't risk an entire male coming into contact with her & having an unwanted pregnancy.

Unspayed bi***es are at risk of something called a pyometra / pyo, caused by a change in hormones & a bacterial infection in the uterus.
This is potentially life threatening & requires immediate veterinary attention.

The pyo usually develops two to eight weeks after the end of the season & although it usually affects older bi***es, I will be keeping an eye on Jess to make sure she shows no signs
Things to look out for are change in appetite and fluid intake & lethargy.
If you have an unspayed bitch please keep a close eye on them, read up on the condition or speak to your vet / nurse about spaying.