Companion Minds

21/06/2025

Polite Puppy & Puppy Progression classes are cancelled this morning due to the heat! We've messaged everyone due to attend too.

Stay safe in the heat everyone 🐶

19/06/2025

This is lovely 6 month old Walter 😍 He is 3/4 flatcoat retriever and 1/4 German shepherd.

On our first session together we looked at loose lead walking, recall foundations, and ‘not’ jumping up 🖤

Walter did some great stuff, and rather enjoyed a chew on a buffalo horn whilst we chatted!

Look forward to watching his progress 😍

17/06/2025

16/06/2025

This week is due to be very warm, with temperatures increasing across the week.

As ever, your dog's welfare is our top priority, and we will be in touch with clients individually to rearrange sessions if we are due to be working outside in particular.

Please be careful exercising your dogs. Some dogs will not slow down despite the heat (looking at you Mr Monty!), and just walking in such weather is a risk.

🐾 Early morning is best for walks- evenings are often still too warm.
🐾 Shaded woodlands work best- how about Paddock in the Pines if you need a secure space.
🐾 Don't encourage running by throwing balls.
🐾 Carry water and stop regularly to offer it- even if it feels cool enough.
🐾 Sit and 'do nothing' together rather than march round.
🐾 Keep on lead if they are going to try and do alot of running, or break up the running with slower paced movement.
🐾 Some breeds are more at risk than others- bulldogs, pugs, french bulldogs, chow chows, and shih tzus (or anything else with short noses) are all more likely to suffer with heatstroke than dogs who have normal length noses.
🐾 Heavy coated dogs will get hotter than shorter coated dogs.
🐾 Puppies, adolescent dogs and older dogs are more at risk than adult dogs.
🐾 At home, offer cooling mats and access to cooler rooms of the house, particularly when you leave them at home.
🐾 Paddling pools/hose games: Be careful with playing with water too much- if your dog ingests 'too much' water, this can lead to water intoxication. Short supervised games are fun though (if your dog likes water, not all dogs will appreciate being 'encouraged' into a paddling pool so please know your dog's preferences and respect them).

Be sensible, if you're hot, your dog probably is too, and they have a coat they can't remove...

❗If you're concerned your dog is overheating (lethargy, trouble standing, excessive panting, drooling/foaming, vomiting, disorientation, unable to stand, uncoordinated, seizure etc etc), contact your vet as an emergency.❗

16/06/2025

❗New Animal Professional Online Workshop!❗

This event is for aspiring Clinical Animal Behaviourists, trainers, students of animal behaviour, those accredited Clinical Animal Behaviourists looking to refine their emotional assessment skills, or vets looking to learn more about emotional assessment in animals with clinical behavioural problems.

👉In this workshop you will work through 4 case vignettes where the focus will be on practicing the emotional assessment aspect of the psychobiological approach to clinical animal behaviour. Emphasis will be placed on helping attendees think about evidence to exclude emotional differentials.

💻Book online at https://www.companion-minds.com/book-online/p/case-study

14/06/2025

You’re allowed to say ‘no thanks’

Even to an expert!!

If something doesn’t feel right.

✨ You don’t need to be a dog expert to know when your dog is distressed.
✨ You’re allowed to say “this isn’t working for me.
✨ You’re allowed to advocate for your dog, even when it’s awkward.
✨ You’re allowed to walk away.

If it feels wrong, it probably is.
If your dog looks worried and you feel uncomfortable, that matters.
Your empathy is not a weakness. It’s your superpower.

You don’t need to hurt your dog to help them learn.🐾❤️

13/06/2025

Beautiful 6 year old Sprocker Blue has been recently fostered and rehomed from Spaniel Aid and has been settling in well! 😀

We met with him and his mum to do some fun gundog drills with him. Blue used to be a working gundog so we were putting him through his paces to see where he was at, and how we could help his understanding. This is all for fun, to give Blue and his mum something to do, and keep his brain busy!😍

A super start, he LOVES retrieving! 🖤 Here he is with his big dummy he so brilliantly works with!

13/06/2025

An increasing number of dogs are being walked on prongs. This is a really informative blog on how they ‘work’ (because they do of course stop dogs pulling, because they hurt the dog!!). The video in the blog is a real eye opener.

If you’d like some help moving away from using prongs, do get in touch. No judgement here on using it in the first place.

I’m seeing prong collars used in the UK much more than I have ever seen before, along with a perpetuated idea that if we oppose putting them onto dogs, we must not know how they work. Ironically though, it’s partly because I do know how they work that I oppose the use of them. So let’s take a ...

12/06/2025

This lovely little boy is 5 month old working cocker, Otter😍

We met with Otter and his mum recently to optimise helping him settle at home, building tolerance and confidence in being left alone, and general spaniel business! 🤪

Best of luck little Otter! 🖤

08/06/2025

Monty is 1 year old today 😱 where has that gone!

New chews, new gnawing items, new toys, a new gundog dummy, and a birthday cake and bow of course 😍

Anyone else celebrate birthdays?

06/06/2025

Couldn’t choose which one so have both!

Here is the beautiful 11 week old Denzel, a (liver) Dalmatian!

Our 1-1 covered puppy biting, housetraining, managing and preventing undesirable behaviours such as jumping, and thinking about socialisation! 😍

Such a good boy, who very much enjoyed a good chew on a gnawing item whilst we chatted. 🐾