Jennifer Bartlett Canine Behaviourist

11/01/2023

27/12/2022

On the third day of Christmas my dog trainer gave to me....

An enrichment activity 🎄

26/12/2022

On the second day of Christmas my dog trainer gave to me....

KONG stuffing ideas 🎄



These fillings can be used inside a KONG or Buffalo Horn.
You can use the fillings on their own or mix them with your dog's meal.

Did you know you can freeze your filled KONG/Buffalo Horn?

Benefits:

- enrichment activity
- problem solving
- gives the opportunity to chew a 'safe' chew item
- provides the dog a suitable activity while the owner is cooking/cleaning etc.

25/12/2022

Merry Christmas from all of us.

25/12/2022

On the first day of Christmas my dog trainer gave to me....

A satin ball recipe 🎄



Satin Balls

These are not a meal replacement, they are a high calorie supplement/treat to assist in weight gain.

For some dogs a change in diet can help with healthy weight gain, but for others these work very well and are very easy for the owners to grab and give on the go.

They can be stored in the fridge or frozen and defrosted daily as needed.

28/11/2022

Amazing talent by this wonderful artist.

It's been 6 years now since I started creating pet portraits and as i said in my previous post the young lady this was commissioned for was my first ever client ❤️ the first time i did a drawing of her dog Skyler was in 2017 and i thought it might be nice to put it along side the one i completed a few weeks ago ✍️

15/11/2022

Brilliant work by all involved!

11/11/2022

Remembrance is the day we remember those who have fallen for our country on the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month, marking the anniversary of when the Great War ended 104 years ago.

The "Animals in War" Memorial in Hyde Park, London is inscribed with the famous words ‘They had no choice,’ yet over 16 million animals severed with immense loyalty alongside their brave companions for our country.

Today we remember them.
Today we remember the animals.

Please head over to the very talented Amber Marie Studio to check our her work and please donate to www.britishlegion.org.uk

10/11/2022

Painting with your best friend. 💛

There is pretty much anything you can teach your dog with the right training and approach.
Great video from myaussiegal.

06/11/2022

The freedom or exercise you think your dog needs or is entitled to is not worth their LIFE!

Today on a stretch of national speed limit road a young lady with a little girl (about 5yrs old) decided it was a good idea to walk their Whippet off lead.
The dog was running on the stretch of grass on the other side of the footpath and then ran into the road infront of our car.

Zero control over the dog.

Thankfully my partner who was driving is an observant driver and slowed for the potential hazard and hit the breaks missing the dog by only cms.

This happens daily around the country with off lead dogs and dogs on extendable leads.

YOU have a responsibility to your dog and the public to have control of you dog at all times, especially along a road.

Just because you think your dog needs X amount/type of exercise or you think you are entitled to have your dog off the lead where ever you want doesn't trump their safety or their life.

You should put the wellbeing of your dog and family above wanting your dog to have a run about.

How horrific today could have been for the owners little girl and my small children to witness a dog dying. How horribly traumatic it could have been for everyone. How painful for the dog.

Your dog doesn't listen? ON A LEAD.
Your dog runs up to others? ON A LEAD
You're in an unknown area? ON A LEAD
You're near livestock? ON A LEAD

You're near a road???? ON A LEAD

02/11/2022

The wonderful Amber Marie Studio 's work of our Mabelle our oldest Basset Bleu De Gasgone

🌹 Poppy Appeal images are back! 🌹

As a thank you for donations made toward The Royal British Legion, I'm offering temporary profile photos of breeds. These can be shared on your own profile subject to credit being given to the original artist - Amber Marie Studio - this also means your friends will know where to find me for their own breed!

Please feel free to request breeds, as long as you have popped over a donation to the RBL 🌹 https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved/ways-to-give/donate

As we're approaching Christmas and baby is imminent, I am very very busy, so please be patient, and not expect miracles - If I haven't drawn your breed before, I will not have time to complete a drawing!

28/10/2022

🎃 Halloween 🎃

The GOOD... the BAD... and the UGLY!

24/10/2022

Although some may find this unrelated to canine behaviour/training please read.

Please if you are able to download the 'Be My Eyes' app.
This wonderful app allows blind or partially sighted people to video call volunteers to help them with various tasks.

I've helped someone find the right tin of beans on a shelf, I've helped someone find their brown shoes to match their skirt.
Today I helped a gentleman find a particular flavour of wet dog food for his dog.

This a fabulous app and a great way to help people from around the world.

Be My Eyes

21/10/2022

I am a dog trainer and my dogs are allowed on the sofa.

They are allowed on my bed too. In fact I tuck my staffie into his own blanket on my bed every night and have for 8 years.

They don’t have to sit and wait for their dinner.

They don’t always walk with loose leads.

They bark when the door goes.

They don’t sit when I recall them.

The jump up on me.

Sometimes they get the zoomies in the house and knock things over.

This probably all sounds like I have woefully badly trained dogs but that’s not true. My dogs are trained for my lifestyle. They rest when I ask them to, they recall when I ask them to, they don’t barge out of doors, they love their sports they train and compete in.

Every week I get clients say ‘is my dog allowed on the sofa?’ Or ‘my dog waits before they are allowed to eat is that good?’. Honestly I really don’t care. That’s not to say I don’t appreciate your rules, but your rules are yours and your dog only needs to be as trained as you want and need them to be for your life.

You’ll read online that you shouldn’t allow dogs on your bed or should always eat before them or go through doorways first. At best these rules are weirdly controlling, at worst they are absolute bu****it.

Your rules are your rules and your dog is your dog. Want your dog on the sofa? Cool. Don’t want your dog on the sofa? Cool.

Take the pressure of yourself and your dog. Train what’s important to you. For me I want my dogs to be indifferent to people and dogs. To be confident and happy in novel environments. To recall when I ask. To not chew my house. To not pull my arm out of its socket. To not affect members of the public when we are out and about. That’s all I want from my dogs and they are pretty cool to live with.

Stop reading arbitrary rules on Google and choose your own (within reason!). Your dog is your dog. Your life is your life. Train your dog to suit your life and no one else’s. It will immensely improve your relationship and both of your mental well-being!

19/10/2022

The lovely Peejay Pet Superstores - Hull is running a competition to win a little hamper.
Head over to their page to enter.

👻Halloween Dog Hamper Worth £50👻

For the chance to win:
- Like this post 👍
- Comment your favourite picture of your dog enjoying Autumn 🍂

For an extra entry:
- Share this post

🐶The hamper includes:

- 1x JR Pure Salmon Pate 200g
- 1x Rosewood Duck Fillets 80g
- 1x Carnilove Turkey and Vension Fillets 100g
- 1x Medium Nylabone
- 1x Yakers Dog Chew Medium
- 3x Sports Glow In The Dark Pet Halloween Balls
- 1x Happy Pet Halloween Eyeball Toy
- 1x RW Halloween Mummy Toy
- 1x Happy Pet Halloween Spider Toy
- 1x Barking Bakery Halloween Cookie

We will be picking a winner on the 2nd November 👑👻

17/10/2022

The evolution of the 'PacoPouch'.....

Paco, also known as Puppy Red Coat, belongs to Steph, our Sales & Marketing Manager. He is 11 and a half years old and has been an integral (and very special) member of our team for many years, where he has fulfilled a variety of roles at PerfectFit during this time... From modeling to quality control officer, and general everyday lunch thief!

Aside from making us laugh, Paco has taught the PerfectFit team about the importance of positive reinforcement & how to apply it. He has been the perfect demo dog for many training sessions, and given our team endless opportunities to learn how to train without using force, how to listen to a dog's needs, how to inspire compassion and generally understand dog behaviour on a deeper level.

Having his special soul here with us every day is a constant reminder of how truly special he is (and all dogs are) and how much they impact our lives, leaving such an unforgettable deep imprint in our hearts, forever!

During the development of the PacoPouch in 2021, Paco was taken quite ill and he still battles a number of ailments today, but he is enjoying his twilight years, as much as we enjoy having the privilege of sharing those years with him. We decided that what could pay better homage to everything he has taught us than giving him his very own treat training pouch?

As Paco has taught and inspired us so greatly over the last 11 years, it's time for us to give something back to other dogs, in his name.

What better way to honor his legacy than helping dog owners to help their dogs through the use of kinder training methods, bridged by the PacoPouch itself.

Dearest Paco, you will forever be inspiring better training & welfare standards across the globe.

🙌

14/10/2022

I promised my good friend Tilly I would show her how we share our new doggy advent calender between all 10 dogs.

As a multi dog household there just isn't the room to hang 10 individual advent calenders but we still like to have a bit of festive fun!
So we have 3 large treats and 7 small treats each day to share among the dogs.

Do dogs care about Christmas or advent calenders.... no probably not.
But for £4.99 for Home Bargains and filling with our favourite treats why not have a little fun!

09/10/2022

THIS is not adorable...

While we have one media outlet The Mirror campaigning for more breeds to be added to the banned breeds list under section 1 of The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 - we have the Daily Mail sharing videos like this promoting them as 'adorable'.

A tolerable dog deserves respect from all members of the household no different than a less tolerable or reactive dog.
As a parent and pet owner YOU are the one responsible for both your child and your dog's wellbeing. You should be advocating for your dog and child.

A child should not be taking items from a dog, a child should not be pulling on a dogs ears or coat. A child should not be bothering a dog while it's eating or sleeping.
Parents should also not be leaving a dog and a child unsupervised, this includes not having appropriate safety gates in place to stop the dog(s) having unsupervised access to the baby's room.

There is nothing wrong with children and dogs growing up together, there is nothing more enjoyable than growing up with a pet especially a dog.
But we need to stop this now.
Stop this obsession with allowing her children to do anything to a dog - even a tolerable dog.

A media outlet labelling this adorable is not acceptable, this will only encourage more people to allow this to happen for video 'likes' and 'followers'.

07/10/2022

1991 Dangerous Dogs Act – Breed Specific Legislation (BSL)

In regards to the recent campaign from The Mirror to review the Dangerous Dogs Act, more specifically, to extend the list of banned dog breeds under Section 1 of the legislation.
The Mirror is demanding new laws on dangerous dogs to include the following:
- Add more breeds to the list of banned dog breeds - making it illegal to own, breed or sell these newly added breeds.
- Introduce a law to require owners to register a further list of deemed dangerous breeds.
- Require people who choose to own any deemed dangerous breed to attend mandatory training and have their ‘dangerous breed’ assessed.
Along with many other canine professionals or organisation who work within the canine industry I strongly oppose the original 1991 legislation as well as these suggested changes campaigned by the Mirror.

It is more than heart-breaking to read within the news headlines that this year alone 9 people have lost their lives and that even more have been injured by the actions of dogs. Nine families and communities that will never again be the same. I strongly agree that the Government must implement new legislation urgently to protect the public, however legislation that only highlights certain breeds will not help keep our public, our communities, and our families safe.
There has been a shocking increase in the number of dog attacks since the Covid-19 pandemic, and it is not surprising to see this increase also coincides with the massive increase on dogs owned within the UK over the same period. With an estimated 20% increase in the number of dogs owned in the UK since 2020, it is understandable that the number of irresponsible dog owners and the number of dog owners who lack the educational resources to know better, have grown.
Rescue organisations throughout the country are under pressure from the number of dogs being surrendered to them, many from owners who wouldn’t normally own a dog but bought one during the pandemic.

The original 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act legislation does nothing for public protection - focusing only on a breed or the physical traits of that breed does not highlight or address the real issues. Any dog of any size, any s*x, any type, any breed, can bite. Why a dog behaves in a certain way under certain circumstances can vary massively. Canine behaviour is complicated - it is not as simple as bad breeds do bad things.
Banning the ownership of a Japanese Tosa does not prevent a child being bitten by a Labrador… so what is the point?

The current legislation fails the public and our canine companions. Why do we focus on preventing a problem at the first possible instance in so many other areas, but not when it comes to safety around dogs? To reduce obesity in children we educate families, to reduce lung cancer we support people to stop smoking, to reduce dangerous driving we only allow those who have passed a driving test to drive.
Why is it that in relation to dogs, the Government feels that simply banning a very small selection will impact the number of incidents?
Yes I agree, that sadly a certain type of dog sometimes attracts a certain type of owner, but if you continue to ban these breeds these owners will simply gravitate to a new breed. You can not simply keep extending the list of banned breeds, after incidents with these breeds occur… closing the barn door after the horse has bolted springs to mind!

For many years, I and many other professionals within the canine industry have campaigned for changes to BSL, I strongly believe in a new approach that:
- Educates children within schools about safety around dogs.
- Makes resources available for the network of home educated children to be educated about safety around dogs.
- Provides resources for expectant parents, or those choosing to adopt or foster children to be educated about safety with infants, children and dogs.
- Reviews the current breeding licensing legislation to support small responsible breeders, and reduce puppy farms/large scale breeders, with a focus on licensing only for those breeding for health and temperament and specific rearing requirements for any litters.
- Has repercussions for people who breed and sells dogs against these requirements.
- Provides support, early intervention and mandatory training for any dog who has concerns raised by their owner, pet professional or a member of the public. With a positive, supportive approach.
- Has stricter consequences for those select few who irresponsibly allow their dogs to injure, endanger or kill people.

As many of you know, I now specifically work solely with expectant parents and households where dogs and infants/children live together. I see daily social media posts and videos showing alarming and irresponsible behaviour around dogs, especially with children involved. I see weekly posts where people give dangerous advice on how to introduce a newborn and a dog. I see regular posts where someone is following some stupid trend and putting themselves in danger.

Despite the hard work of many canine professionals and leading organisations there is still not enough educational resources available to support correct safety around dogs. Education is a large part of prevention and along with promoting responsible breeding for health and temperament, and support for early interventions with possible dangerous dogs, I strongly believe the number of injuries and deaths caused by dogs will reduce.

07/10/2022

A simple yet useful poster by us for you to print off when Halloween comes around.
There is nothing worse for you or your dog to have countless knocks to the door upsetting you both - or worse tricks played on your home!

If you have a nervous or reactive dog this simple poster will help you have a peaceful, stress free night on Halloween.

Please share for everyone.
Even for those who just wish to have a quiet night to don't celebrate Halloween.

06/10/2022

Sad news today that Pebbles has passed away.

Meet Pebbles, the world’s oldest living dog!

The 4-pound toy fox terrier from Taylors, South Carolina, is now the oldest dog alive at over 22 years!

03/10/2022

Our beautiful Mabelle has made the Fresh Pet final this year.

Click on the original post and vote for her with a 😮 wow reaction.

Go snow cover basset! Go!

The Face of Fresh Pet (Dogs) Final!

React with:
Love for Ollie
Care for Max
Laugh for Rosa
Wow for Mabelle

(Hold the like button, and select the icon that matches who you want to vote for!)

We've hit the final! Congratulations to our 4 finalists, with some tightly run contests they deserve to be here! We will launch the feline final tomorrow, but for today it's canine time! We'll run both posts until next Tuesday (11/10/22), with the count at about lunch time that day. So get voting, sharing, and celebrating these wonderful pets, and best of luck!

01/10/2022

Happy National Black Dog Day!

26/09/2022

Highly recommended