Puppy Education with Valerie Vdawg Wilson

06/07/2025

Very important info….

Recent research by Vet Compass and the The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) showed correlation between human heat warning and heat stroke cases. Heatwave peak set to bring 34C to parts of UK. The UK Health Security Agency has issued heat health alerts are across England.

Is it true that if we use cold water on heat stroke pets they will go into shock?

One of the most common things we still hear is that we can only use tepid water on a pet with heat stroke, incase they get some complications like hypothermic overshoot, peripheral vasoconstriction hindering a cooling response, and cardiogenic shock...

We have heard not to use cold water in case it causes shock... this rarely happens!

But guess what? In a recent study over 26% of dogs presented with heat stroke died, with flat faced breeds making up nearly half of heat stroke cases seen in the study.

You should:

💧Get someone to call the local veterinary practice and tell them you're going to travel down with a heat stroke patient
💧Pour, hose or if safe immerse the pet in very cold water (this should obviously be done under constant supervision, ensuring the head is fully above water and immersion should not be attempted if the animal is too large, or you are unable to do so without hurting yourself)
💧NB: If using a hose pipe, make sure it has run through until cold, as they can often contain water that is extremely hot in the tubing initially
💧Do not drape in towels and leave them in situ. Keep the cold water flowing.
💧Move to a cool, shaded area
💧Prepare to transport to vets in a cold, air conditioned car

In studies they found that:

🌅International consensus from sports medicine organisations supports treating EHS with early rapid cooling by immersing the casualty in cold water.
🌅Ice-water immersion has been shown to be highly effective in exertional heat stroke, with a zero fatality rate in large case series of younger, fit patients.
🌅Hyperthermic individuals were cooled twice as fast by Cold Water Immersion as by passive recovery.
🌅No complications occurred during the treatment of three older patients with severe heat stroke were treated with cold‐water immersion.
🌅Cold water immersion (CWI) is the preferred cooling modality in EHS guidelines and the optimal method applicable to UK Service Personnel
🌅Studies suggest using either ice-water or cold-water immersion

The best intervention is PREVENTION, but if you find yourself with an animal with heat stroke, using cold water either by pouring, hosing or ideally (if safe) immersion then this may help reduce their temperature to safe levels while you transport to a veterinary practice.

Read more below with updates from Hot Dogs - canine heatstroke education for dog owners

https://www.vetvoices.co.uk/post/cool-icy-cold-or-tepid

01/07/2025

ITS ANOTHER GREY MATTER 😆

Studys show that despite early neutering having taken place for a dog, the brain still goes through the stage we term adolescence....yup, neutering doesmt stop it!!

Hormones do play a role in, behaviour and development but the risk taking part of the brain still develops at an increased speed which means dogs still take more risks, appear harder to train, appear less interested in us etc.

Neutering can impact hormone driven behaviours such as roaming, urine marking and sexually motivated hu***ng ( not all hu***ng is sexually motivated) BUT if you are considering neutering to stop a dog being a KEVIN AND PERRY teenager, you are likely to fail and I would hope a good vet would tell you this and point you in the direction of a reputable Trainer or Behaviourists before doing something you cant undo.

There are also many health implications and considerations to neutering, alongside the impact the procedure itself can have on some dogs.

I have a dog with a retained testicle whom i am weighing up my option on the impact it would have on him having it removed, over possible health benefits...again its about researching and making informed choices for the individual DOG as much as we can.

We really need to consider the pros and cons for that individual dog and not just take the easy option of blanket advice.

Yes Derek definitely has kept his ( sorry DD)

26/06/2025

We want to make training and asking our dogs for mutually compatible behaviours as fun and enjoyable as possible.

This doesn’t change the fact that we are asking our dogs to work for us. To do something they might not naturally choose to do.

Just like our dogs, we know our motivation would drop without payment, and we would stop showing up. Most importantly we would loose respect for our boss, not gain it.

24/06/2025

A space has become available - Pet Gundog Class in Kilmarnock on a Sunday evening at 18.30-19.30
Any breed or type will benefit from the life skills they learn….. and they have fun!🐕‍🦺🦮🐕🐩😄
Message me if you would like to enroll your dog.

23/06/2025

We like to think we’re in control of our homes, our routines, and, let’s be honest, our dogs. But here’s the truth: we cannot truly control another species. Not dogs. Not humans. Not anyone with a brain and a will of their own.

We can influence behaviour. We can create environments that promote safety and cooperation. But when we try to control or suppress behaviour, particularly in dogs, we run into serious problems.

Because the moment we try to dominate or override natural behaviours barking, growling, guarding, running away, avoiding we’re not solving the problem. We’re just pushing it underground. And buried behaviours don’t disappear. They escalate. That’s when relationships break down. That’s when dogs become dangerous. That’s when we start hearing, “It came out of nowhere.”

But it never does.

Just like humans, dogs have needs: to feel safe, to communicate discomfort, to rest, to explore, to have choice. These aren’t luxuries. They’re biological imperatives.
In both human and animal models, lack of control over one’s environment is one of the strongest predictors of aggression, anxiety, and learned helplessness.

Seligman’s classic experiments in the 1970s demonstrated that when animals were repeatedly exposed to uncontrollable stressors, they eventually stopped trying to avoid them even when escape was possible. This “learned helplessness” is now a widely recognised psychological condition.

More recently, research in animal welfare (e.g., McMillan, 2005; Beerda et al., 1999) has shown that suppressing normal behaviours in dogs leads to elevated cortisol levels, behavioural shutdown, and increased aggression over time.

Instead of asking, “How do I stop this?” we should be asking, “What need is this behaviour meeting?”

When we give dogs:
Safe outlets for natural behaviours
Predictable environments
Choices within boundaries
Consent-based handling and interactions
Listen to their body language

…they thrive. And we build something far more powerful than control: a relationship based on trust.

21/06/2025

27/05/2025

At first, it just looks like a dog lying quietly under a table.
Or a dog being "shy" at the vet. Or a dog yawning on a walk. Or a dog that's "stubborn" at training class.

But once you understand fear in dogs - once you really get it - you start seeing something else entirely.

You notice the tucked tail. The frozen posture. The darting eyes. The way they're trying to make themselves invisible.

And suddenly, what used to look "normal" now feels heartbreaking.
Because here's the thing: fear doesn't always look dramatic.

It's not always growling or cowering or hiding behind furniture.

Sometimes it's a dog who "just lies there." Sometimes it's the one who seems "calm" - but is actually shut down. Sometimes it's the dog who's scanning constantly, unable to settle.

And once you see it... you see it everywhere.
At puppy classes where dogs are supposedly "socializing"

In busy dog parks full of big personalities

In shops and cafés and family BBQs where the humans are having fun - and the dog is just enduring it

Look, this isn't about making people feel bad. It's about compassion. And clarity.

Because when we can see fear, we can finally stop blaming the dog. We can stop calling them dramatic, reactive, or difficult. We can start asking: What would help them feel safe right now?

And that's when everything shifts.

You become the person who leaves the party early because you saw that look in your dog's eyes. The one who crosses the street not because the approaching dog is aggressive, but because yours whispered "please, no."

You start hearing what they've been trying to tell you all along - in the lip licks when nothing's wet, the yawns when they're not tired, the way they turn into statues hoping the world will just pass them by.

People might not get it. They'll wonder why you're being so careful, so protective. They'll insist your dog needs to "toughen up" or "get used to things."

But you can't unhear what you've learned to hear. You can't unsee what you've learned to see.

Understanding fear doesn't mean permanently wrapping your dog in bubble wrap. (Though sometimes that IS the right thing)

It means being the person who says, "I see you. I hear you. I've got you."
Because once you know what fear looks like in dogs... you'll never unsee it.

And you'll never stop fighting to make the world feel safer for them.

If you've had that moment - the one where you suddenly saw it - share this. Let someone else see what you see now.

01/05/2025

Growling is valuable communication. It is the dog telling us that they are uncomfortable and need space. If we ignore (or even worse, punish) the growl they may realise it does no good and escalate to a more severe action. This is when we hear that the dog 'bit out of the blue' or 'with no warning'. The truth is that there were warnings, but they were ignored or suppressed and so from the dog's persepctive didn't work to help them feel safer.

It may be that the reason for the growl is something that needs working on (resource guarding, for example) in which case find an educated and experienced kind canine professional to create a plan to address the underlying issue.

Be thankful for the warning power of the growl and respect it to help your dog feel safer and more comfortable in their world.

29/04/2025

Find Local Dog Trainers You Can Trust Near You

20/04/2025

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