Being Dog

16/09/2023

I couldn't agree more with the Scottish SPCA's response to the banning of the XL bully.

It is deeply concerning and it is heartbreaking.

My heart goes out to all those affected by this outrageous ban.

16/09/2023

16/09/2023

Rushi Sunak to BAN XL Bully’s by the end of the year (UK mainland)

Humans Beat us.
Humans Starve Us.
Humans Crop Our Ears.
Humans Breed From Us & Steal Our Babies.
Humans Breed Us To Have Painful Life Threatening Deformities.
Humans Force Us To fight.

YET I AM THE ONE YOU FEAR ?

EVERY DOG is dangerous In the wrong hands….

Will your breed be next?

16/09/2023

Dogs come in all shapes and sizes. Some are lucky enough to be raised right, like this beautiful bully pup here, while others are at the mercy of poor breeders and people that raise and shape them to be unsocial and volatile. This ultimately leads to people getting hurt and killed - which is devastating, and as these incidences make the headlines, the politicians including the PM himself, come out all guns blazing, because they have to do something.
We’ve had the DDA for over 25 years and it has caused nothing but pain and misery for dogs that do not pose a risk and their responsible guardians, while doing nothing for public safety. Having learnt those lessons what does the government decide to do - ban XL bully breed types. Here we go again!
Responsible guardians and dogs that are social and do not pose a risk to the public will be targeted while the people that are breeding and raising these dogs to be a certain way will go underground, just like last time.
Wouldn’t it be great if the PM and the government actually listened to the experts in this field - everyone from the RSPCA to trainers like me who work with these dogs and know what they’re talking about, to find a way forward? While a serious problem needs to be addressed, a ban is not the way to do it and the innocent will be penalized because of the actions of a few. Again, we blame the wrong end of the leash.
So, I guess now every XL bully will have to wear a muzzle out in public - and there are ways to make this as positive an experience as possible - and follow a set of guidelines, which of course the responsible folks will follow and others won’t.
There is no doubt about it that these dogs are big and powerful. They are intelligent, emotional and can be intense when expressing how they feel. They tend to be quick to learn and fast to act as well as being couch potatoes. You need to know what you are doing with any breed of dog you have, and now for all bully guardians, you have no choice because yet again, whether your dog meets the ‘measurements’ or not, you will be targeted.

20/08/2023

DON’T FORCE ME TO BE SOCIAL!
Do we like everyone we meet? Do we all enjoy socialising and spending time with lots of different people? I certainly don’t and refer to myself as a “caninetrovert” – a person that much prefers to spend time with dogs rather than people. Maybe I’m a little different to the “norm”, but be that as it may, we are all individuals with different personality styles and social preferences.

Some of us are extroverts, gaining energy from interacting with people; some of us introverts, who find people draining and need alone time to recharge our social batteries and some of us are somewhere in between.

If we acknowledge that we are all different in this way, we also need to acknowledge and accept that our dogs are similar.

They could be overly affectionate or fiercely independent, approachable or nervous, energetic or laid back, confident or cautious, sociable, tolerant, selective or reactive.

We may be really disappointed when our dogs turn out not to be the socialite we expected them to be.

Some may even see this as a behaviour problem that needs to be “fixed”. Sometimes it can be improved, especially if the cause is from a negative experience, but genetics, breed tendencies, individual personalities, health and age all contribute to tolerance levels and sociability.

Accept your dog for who they are, allow them to choose whether they want to be sociable or not, respect their choices and never force an interaction that your dog is not comfortable with.

05/08/2023

Dig, chew, sniff, bark! ❤️

Providing our dogs with opportunities to freely express what comes naturally to them is essential for their mental and physical well-being - and it promotes confidence and positive behaviours!

22/06/2023

THIS!!!!! 👌👌👌

Awesome post by the Dog Training College...

21/06/2023

New research from Edge Hill University shows that dog owners often misinterpret dog behavior which could contribute to the rise in dog attacks and calls for a change in legislation.

15/06/2023

RAISING DOG FRIENDLY CHILDREN
Teach children to be dog friendly before teaching dogs to be child friendly

I’m often asked - “How can I make my dog more child friendly?”

The question really should be - “How can I make my child more dog friendly?”

Children don’t come with an inborn ability to know how to treat dogs. It’s up to us to teach them.

I’m amazed that there aren’t more dog bites considering how often I see children treating dogs like stuffed toys.

If you think about it, dogs are actually amazingly tolerant and patient with people even when their attempts to communicate through their body language, that they’re really uncomfortable, are completely ignored or not understood.

As parents, it’s an important responsibility to teach our children about how to respect and behave around dogs.

Always supervise children and dogs, even if a dog seems relaxed and friendly.

Here are some links to free, on-line resources if you’re looking for more information on how to keep children and dogs safe together -

https://kidsarounddogs.co.uk/pages/free-resources
https://www.familypaws.com/resources/
https://www.cooperandkids.com
https://www.gooddoginabox.com/top-20-ways-keep-kids-and-dogs-safe/
https://poochparenting.net/blog/

29/05/2023

I am so proud of Bella, Bubbles and their amazing humans!

Bella is a lovely rescue dog who will always have a special place in my heart.

I started training Bella shortly after she was adopted as she was highly reactive towards Bubbles, the family cat (also a rescue).

The family had been told by the rescue centre that Bella was cat friendly and had been living with a cat before, but reality proved to be quite different!

Bella has been so lucky to have found such a wonderful, loving family, who have worked so hard to ensure both hers and Bubbles' well-being and who have committed to training with such patience, love, devotion and consistency!

The video below was taken during our last session. Bella and Bubbles are in the same room, both calm, both relaxed. Bella is off lead, happily interacting with me, taking treats.
When prompted by her human she looks at Bubbles, then turns back to focus on me again. And I couldn't be prouder of her ❤️❤️❤️
Ksenia Bradshaw

14/05/2023

Guns against dogs is a thing it seems.
Dogs who are put into a situation that their fight or flight is activated.
By the people with the guns.
Lots of people with guns.
Dogs who are with the person who should have been able to protect them.
But couldn’t even protect himself.
From the people with the guns.
Vulnerable person.
Vulnerable dogs.
Vulnerable dogs doing what they feel they need to do to stay safe.
To keep their human safe, under threat.
Under threat from the people who are supposed to protect, not destroy.
But destroy anyway.
Destroy lives, despite the screams of people telling them not to.
Despite the shock that permeates the air around them.
Lies from the police to justify.
Ranks banging shut.
Again.
Stories of attacks that didn’t happen.
Stories.
But we saw it all you see.
It’s all there for anyone to watch.
For us all to see the needless killing.
The merciless shooting.
The gun waving police.
The brutality.
The bangs.
The blood.
The bodies.
The tazer.
The tears.

When do we get to say enough is enough?
And be heard.

RIP Marshall and Millions.

12/05/2023

Two beautiful dogs were shot at point-blank range on a canal towpath in East London a couple of days ago. Seven Met officers were there; they killed the dogs. One of the dogs was running away when he was shot.

The press tells us that the dogs were aggressive, that the caregiver of the dogs was aggressive and that the police had no choice. The Met tell us that too.

Now though, when everyone has a camera in their pocket, we don’t need to look to the news for our news. We don’t have to believe the ones with all the power. We can gain a balanced view, one where all the evidence isn’t presented in a neatly packaged opinion handed to us to become our very own.

Well, we can see when we want to.

I won’t describe the video to you because it’s everywhere. If you want to watch it, do – but I wouldn’t if I were you. Yet, if you think the police had no choice – watch it from start to finish, you - specifically you, need to.

Shortly afterwards, more videos came out on social media.

One of the dogs and their caregiver on a train is having a cuddle.

One that shows the ‘attack’ on a woman and her dog that led to the police approaching these dogs and their human. A video that shows a woman screaming and the (now dead) dogs and their caregiver in the background. The dogs were not even looking her way, totally relaxed. Not dogs who had attacked or were about to.

One that shows the family of three being followed by the seven, armed police. Seven.

Everyone has an opinion on who is to blame.

Is it the Met because their officers were not prepared or seemingly capable of de-escalating a situation, and instead pointed guns and shouted at two scared dogs and a man who was just trying to protect them. We all know the Met has some serious dysfunction going on in there.

Is it the officers themselves? Because they pulled the trigger. Twice.

Is it the government because they created laws based on a dog’s breed that made people fear those breeds and ignored the fact that other breeds bite and fight much more.

Is it the press, filled with stories about Bully dogs killing people and savaging kids. The press who tells us that every dog breed is in fact a bull breed when it suits them. Stories which create a woman who sees two gentle looking bully dogs and grab her own little one, to run squealing away.

Is it a society that tells us people without homes are lesser somehow, that their dogs matter less? That their lives matter less?

I think it’s all of these. And I also think it’s you and me, because we allow it to happen.

We allow our opinions to be guided, we allow ourselves to be good little people who work and pay our taxes. We allow the fearmongering, divide and conquer approach by the government and press to divide us.

We also assume. We assume that someone different from us will harm us in some way. We assume that someone hasn’t got a home because of their own behaviour, because there is something wrong with them.

We assume that bully breeds are aggressive and stay out of their way.

And we forget, or simply don’t know, that our society is built on trauma. The brain on trauma for a child doesn’t develop. It leaves the child to grow into an adult who never feels safe. It makes that adult vulnerable. They make bad choices; they are always one breath away from their own trauma response. Trauma is a simple as not feeling safe regularly. They might use drugs and alcohol to escape the feeling.

Who knows what Louie Turnbull was feeling that day, we can be pretty sure he wasn’t feeling safe and for good reason. He was attacked by seven police officers. He didn’t stand a chance.

We can be pretty sure what Marshall and Millions were feeling that day though. The dogs were terrified. Their body language screamed fear. And for good reason. And because they were bully breeds, held on the lead by a man who didn’t fit society’s view of what we should be, they were killed.

When I kissed my dogs goodnight last night, I realised I was doing exactly what Louie Turnbull was doing with his dog on the train. I was breathing them in. I love them so much. I touched them the way he touched the dogs he was caring for.

And once again, for Marshall and Millions, and for Louie and for all of us. I cried.

11/05/2023

I am truly shocked about the sickening footage that emerged of met police officers tasering a homeless man and unnecessarily shooting his two dogs in a residential area in East London on Sunday.

The dogs were on leads and although understandably stressed and scared, they did not appear to pose a threat to the police or to anyone else.

I know many lovely, balanced dogs who would bark and lunge as well under such frightening circumstances.
I know my dog would.

The panic of the second dog after the first one is killed is heartbreaking. The police then shoots him too as he is actually moving away.

This is a barbaric abuse of power.

The petition below is to hold the met police accountable for their actions. There are links to the footage under the petition - I have to warn you, they are very distressing - and more detailed info too.

Hold the Met Police criminally accountable for the barbaric killing of two leashed dogs

10/05/2023

I am truly shocked about the sickening footage that emerged of met police officers tasering a homeless man and unnecessarily shooting his two dogs in a residential area in East London on Sunday.

The dogs were on leads and although understandably stressed and scared, they did not appear to pose a threat to the police or to anyone else.

I know many lovely, balanced dogs who would bark and lunge as well under such frightening circumstances.
I know my dog would.

The panic of the second dog after the first one is killed is heartbreaking. The police then shoots him too as he is actually moving away.

This is a barbaric abuse of power.

The petition below is to hold the met police accountable for their actions. There are links to the footage under the petition - I have to warn you, they are very distressing - and more detailed info too.

09/05/2023

When dogs get to be dogs ❤️

04/05/2023

'Consent testing' allows us to give our dogs a voice, as we unable them to communicate their desires and preferences, and to establish their boundaries.

Dogs will learn that they can make their own choices and decisions and that we will not force them to do anything they feel uncomfortable about.

This will create a sense of security and confidence in dogs, and will help us build with them a relationship based on trust, collaboration and mutual respect, which is so, so important!

Consent in dogs (as it is in humans) is a way of saying “yes,” “no,” or “maybe.”

Here is an example of a 'consent test' - courtesy of Eileen Anderson.

This is is a great video that also demonstrates the importance of us understanding dog body language.
In the video we can see clear stress signals given by the first dog who is saying 'no' to being petted, whilst the body language of the second dog, who is saying 'yes' to being petted, is relaxed, soft and fluid.

Lots of dogs tolerate being petted but don't really enjoy it. Learn to read dogs' body language signals and do a simple test to see if your dog really enjoys...

29/04/2023

This is welcome news, such welcome news!! ❤️

From 1 February 2024, electric shock dog collars will finally be banned in England! 👏 👏

The Kennel Club which led the campaign has welcomed the news as a ‘historic moment for animal welfare’

25/04/2023

Once you have taught your dog to perform a behaviour reliably in a low distraction environment, you can start working on fluency -very gradually adding, one at the time, ‘distraction’, ‘duration’ and ‘distance’.
In this video (apologies for the toilet environment 🤣) I’m practicing with Shadow an advanced stage of 'distance ', as I’m asking him for a ‘down’ from a position in which he can’t see me. I’m also relying on the fact that Shadow knows ‘wait’ very well!

23/04/2023

This is also one of the reasons why it is so important to let our dogs have choices!

18/04/2023

Yup. The Golden Rule.

10/04/2023

Roscoe is doing so well as we practice 'stay' in a distracting environment! :) Although he turns his head to the left to look at other dogs on a couple of occasions, he doesn't break the 'stay'.

'Stay' is a hard cue for dogs to learn! Teaching it in stages and gradually building it up by increasing the time and distance of the stay, will set your dog up for success.
As with all cues, it needs to be taught and reinforced in a quiet environment before using it in more distracting situations.

'Stay' is great for teaching dogs impulse control skills and can eventually be utilised in different contexts - before crossing a road for example, or at the front door, or when people come to your house.

06/04/2023

When there is a good understanding between two or more dogs playing together, and when the dogs involved have the ability to correctly read each other's signals and to appropriately respond to them, dog-to-dog play helps develop important life skills and provides meaningful experiences that promote good mental and physical health.

30/03/2023

Animals have lost a true friend with the death of Paul O' Grady, and so have we all.
His dedication to protecting animals has been an inspiration. He had the biggest heart, and he was such a wonderful animal lover.
He genuinely loved dogs - especially rescue dogs (he had five of his own!) and did so much for them.

'Taking any animal into your life will inevitably end in heart ache, but you don't worry about the hangover when you're at the party'.
Paul O' Grady

27/03/2023

Sniffing is one of the most stimulating activities for a dog, both physically and mentally.
Dogs navigate the world with their noses, just as humans do with their eyes.
Sniffing allows dogs to process all the scents and to gather information. By sniffing, a dog will for instance know which other dogs have been walking there, their age, s*x, size, how long ago they walked past and what mood they were in!
Allowing dogs the freedom to sniff on a walk helps them feel more in control of their environment as well.
Research proves that sniffing boosts dogs' confidence, reduces stress levels, releases calming hormones, lowers the heart rate and reduces cognitive decline.
It also gives dogs great joy! 😀

24/03/2023

I couldn't agree more! And the same goes for adult dogs ❤️

21/03/2023

This is what pure happiness and joy look like!! Colombo, Roscoe and Miso running free, playing, and... just being dogs! ❤️