Christine's one-to-one Puppy Training

16/08/2024

How to socialise and habituate a puppy you ask? Take a look at Angus, looking forward to the train arriving for a day in Edinburgh. His 'friendly' ears on the train, when they curl them so you can see the inside, show he's enjoying it too. That's because he had a wide wealth of good experiences before 18 weeks old and is now adaptable to whatever life brings

22/07/2024

Congratulations once again to Angus who has graduated from my college level puppy training course! Walking on a loose lead, stay out of sight, control crossing a road, leaving squealy children and wait for it....when he heard 'Angus Come!' whilst racing towards someone else's football, he turned on a sixpence back to us! Incredible. He is now a brave and calm little fella and very keen to learn the next thing - imagine all those new neural pathways, growing and strengthening, in the more mature evolved area of the brain used for a considered response to life (rather than the flight/fight amygdala that so many neglected dogs have to rely on). Well done Murray and Emily, it's been a pleasure to work with two equally supportive dog owners, you make a great team!

03/06/2024

23/05/2024

I'm involved in trying to find Belle - 07920 428312 (mine) or 07920 194852(owner Kirsty). We need owners of entire adult male dogs to search with their dogs around the Glenvale/Kinnesswood area, please can you help? As a Dog Behaviourist I think she will be found

27/04/2024

Congratulations to Angus on graduating from my puppy school at 12 weeks old knowing the full repertoire of basic training!! Beat that. He is a bright little fella who adores his training and his amazing owners Emily and Murray who have given all their spare time to him at this all important early learning stage. Even before he could go on the ground he was taken for plenty of socialising experiences, even the local wine club 😆 He is going to be a dog to be proud of. Tip from Emily and Murray for other new puppy owners - cross your arms and avoid eye contact if you don't want a dog to jump up, this is especially useful for guests to the house

12/04/2024

Two more died on Ladies Day this year, what a dreadful shame. When will we stop using reluctant stressed animals for our entertainment?

🐎 The Grand National returns tomorrow, Saturday 13 April 💷

But we're still thinking about the four beautiful horses who were killed in the same race last year 💔

Beneath the buzz lies a sombre truth: 88 horses have died since the first Grand National in 1839.

The League Against Cruel Sports is calling for stricter safety regulations in horse racing. Each year, we witness more of these magnificent animals paying the ultimate price for entertainment.

Read more, and join us in calling for the establishment of a new independent regulatory body focused on advancing horse welfare: https://www.league.org.uk/news-and-resources/news/charity-warns-of-safety-issues-ahead-of-grand-national-aintree-festival

Let's eliminate the use of the whip in horse racing, a device that only serves to cause pain and exhaustion.

11/02/2024

Have you tried SHAPING a Good Boy?

We don’t praise our dogs enough for the stuff we want to see more of. Is your dog currently sat there quietly? Have you noticed and praised with a “Good Boy Max”? If we were honest, we perhaps don’t even notice the good stuff enough, let alone thank them for behaving well.
The other day a lady, with a new puppy, stopped to chat. The pup sat looking at her quietly for the whole 2 – 3 minutes we were chatting but unfortunately she didn't thank the pup for it, not once. She lost the opportunity to connect outside, reinforce the action of the pup looking her way and thank the pup for making a good choice. So the next time, the pup may not bother and instead might pull to continue the walk, yip and wiggle about because sitting quietly looking at her didn’t work last time.
We all need to say “No” to ours dogs sometimes (well, I say “Nope” as we use less confrontational scary facial expression. Try it) when they perhaps go to steal something, jump up, or belt over the other side of the park but when they stop, grab it with a “Good Boy Max” the second he stops, you will be thanking him for stopping the behaviours you don’t want. Try to praise way more than you admonish.
Don’t under estimate the power of praise. Not only is it a lovely sound, associated with feelings of satisfaction and safety but we inadvertently use appealing, fluid facial expressions and body language that dogs love! Use the dog’s name “good boy Max” so the dog knows you are talking to them and not another dog or person. No need to shout, in fact dogs hear a whisper more clearly than our normal volume.
How often? At least 20 – 30 time a day. Your dog is doing the good stuff so why not shape the stuff you want more of?
Dogs repeat what works. So the next time they are off lead and look up to see where you are, praise to say thank you for checking in with you. If you thank your dog by saying “Good Boy Max” when he chooses to walk next to you, to not bark when looking out a window, to turn away from the visitor he would normally pester and sits quietly while you talk to a friend for far too long, he will do more of it. Its called ‘shaping’, a really powerful training technique that costs nothing

02/01/2024

This may be the time of year you think about getting fit and what better way than by walking your dog more. Forget the gym, your bike or a slimming class - your dog needs you! If you've got time for that, you've got time to devote to your dog. That's whats called love. Most dogs aren't walked nearly enough and most unwanted dog behaviour can be improved by tiring your dog out. Puppies should have 2 x 1/2 mile walks a day up to six months of age - there's no limit to how long you're out for and they need to learn to sit quietly on a bench, beach or in a pub/cafe. From 6 months of age to 18 months of age, gradually build up their exercise until, if they are fit enough, you are sat on the top of a mountain/munro together feeling very proud. All fit adult dogs should be given two 2 mile walks a day. Now that is love.

29/12/2023

GLEN HIGHLAND HUMOR TIME!

25/10/2023

Calling all animal lovers and those who care about their neighbours – there has been a change to the legal use of fireworks in Scotland.
Thank you again this year for not setting fireworks off. Every year fireworks bring utter terror to farm animals, horses, wildlife, dogs and cats who can injure themselves and others in their effort to escape the noise of what they think is their world exploding around them. Fireworks bring misery to your neighbours who can only watch, manage and spend a fortune on help and medication – all for supposed ‘fun’. And no, sorry, ‘silent fireworks’ are not much better for dogs and many other animals as their range of hearing is far greater than ours; those that fizz, crack and snap can bring just as much terror and harm.
There’s been a change. Since June 2023 it is an offence to let off fireworks in a public place without a license. As a result P & K Council has the power to ensure members of the public do not use fireworks (other than category 1, like party poppers and small sparklers) on private property such as a garden.
Please neighbours, consider celebrating these beautiful winter nights in other ways.
It is also an offence in Scotland to let off fireworks before 6 or after 11 and to cause unnecessary suffering to a domestic or captive animal. If you believe unnecessary suffering has been caused to your pet, farm animal , horse etc, try to take photos and let the police know on 101
I always give free firework management advice to owners of dogs at this time of year, so please PM me if I can help.
Christine Fotheringham, Dog Behaviourist Christine's one-to-one Puppy Training | Facebook

21/09/2023

It is not the breed, but their environment and lifestyle which causes a dog to aggress readily. Banning a breed has not and will not solve the increasing number of bites/attacks on humans

Important Update Nov 23: The UK Government have announced that XL Bullies will be added to the list of banned types on 31st Dec 23. Due to this, sadly, we can only take these puppies into classes if our insurance allows. If you would like to bring your XL Bully puppy to our classes, please contact your local tutor to see if their insurance will allow for special dispensation to be given so your puppy can come to school.

🐾XL Bully puppies have always been welcomed at Puppy School (our classes are for puppies under 20 weeks and we focus on carefully controlled social greetings rather than puppy play so size matching is unnecessary).

🐾If you currently own a puppy, we recommend you talk to one of our tutors for information on how to introduce a muzzle positively, how to socialise rapidly and effectively, and book your puppy into our reward-based classes.

🐾All dogs can learn to be aggressive, and all puppies of any breed brought up with kind, knowledgeable owners in a stress-free supportive environment, who use only reward-based teaching methods, can learn to be peaceful and polite. Knowledge for owners is key and Puppy School aims to provide owners with a basic training for life that is ENTIRELY positive.

🐾Problems arise with any breed if outdated punishment-based methods are used or care is not taken to socialise well when young, or if they are kept in stressful conditions or those that cause physical or social deprivation.

🐾Problems are further exacerbated when dogs are very large and strong, where they have hidden accentuated genetic behaviour traits for guarding, fighting, a high play/work drive, or sustained arousal, or where inbreeding is rife, or where little consideration is given to avoiding inheritable diseases that can lead to irritability due to pain and discomfort.

🐾More often than not, it is people, not the dogs who are responsible when dogs bite, and we call for tougher and more immediate controls on members of society who use or breed dogs as weapons or for intimidation.

30/08/2023

I don’t use pain or fear to teach Sidney, and I never will...

Precision and crispness in behaviours are important to me, detail and consistency are paramount in my training and I spend everyday in search of these goals.

I’ve watched all sorts of training techniques in this pursuit as I believe you can learn something from everyone. I’ve seen some exceptional training with some (not all) of the crispest behaviours I’ve seen have being taught in a ways that I wouldn’t choose to use.

But why not?

Because emotion is everywhere, it’s weaved though life and is inextricably linked to tasks, people, places, sounds, colours and inanimate objects.

I love maths... But do I love it because I’m good at it? Or am I good at it because I love it? Or maybe, just maybe... I was tutored in a way where I was setup to succeed and rewarded for my successes.

A debt I owe to Mr Townsend, to him I was a single student, already forgotten. To me, he’s the only maths tutor I can remember.

How we train, what we train has an emotional contingent, whether we like it or not. As the trainer our methods form and shape a huge part of that emotional picture.

A picture in which we are also present!

Ultimately, when I get down to the nub of the issue. These IS something more important than precision to me... and that’s the relationship I have with my boy.

When I reach out for Sidney, I don’t want one single hair on his silly little head to ever doubt my intention. I want him to know I would never hurt him and to trust, beyond any question, that my hands are a place of warmth, security and love.

16/06/2023

We teach our dogs to use their initiative and then complain when they do.....?

23/05/2023

You're welcome

22/04/2023

One week to go until the DOG TRAINING TALK ON RECALL IN GLENFARG VILLAGE HALL - get your tickets now. See below. It might be just a one - off event, to help dog owners relax and enjoy walks knowing they stand a good chance of getting their dogs back should a distraction arise.

Could you benefit from learning how to get your dog to come to you, in an instant? Do you know someone who needs this help? With all this talk about dogs worrying sheep and running up to dogs on lead, would you like to know how to get them to take more notice of you when you call them to your side, for their safety and your confidence? We all know how sheep can suddenly appear unexpectedly on a walk and it really is easy in most cases to get control instantly. Does your dog go sniffing around a family having a picnic, children playing on swings, do they tear off to be with another dog or someone else rather than be with you? Let me help you get a bit more control
I am giving up all my knowledge and experience in a talk at Glenfarg Village Hall on Saturday 29 April 10 - 11.30 a.m.. Tickets £5 from Glenfarg Village Store, phoning on 07920 428312 or by emailing me at [email protected] Other dog trainers and behaviourists are very welcome.
I was a Clinical Dog Behaviourist for over 30 years and Head of Behaviour Services for a chain of vets in England before moving to Scotland 12 years ago. I have retired from helping with behaviour issues on a one-to-one basis but continue to support owners of young puppies with their training Christine's one-to-one Puppy Training | Facebook
Unfortunately dogs are not allowed in the hall and so this is a talk on the theory of recall; I will have a practical workshop another time if this talk is popular.

30/03/2023

Something for you to start your day with 😍

16/02/2023

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1728128220694175&id=473711056135904

To Castrate or Not To Castrate!

For decades castration has been recommended routinely for young dogs as a cure for:
🐶 Barking, lunging and reactivity at dogs or people
🐶 Dog-dog interaction challenges
🐶 Hu***ng, inappropriate toileting
🐶 Adolescence (as if it needs curing like it’s a disease 😂)

Download my free book on this to keep forever here: beha.vet/free-neutering-ebook

⚠️WARNING!⚠️ What I’m about to discuss relates to castration and health and behaviour. This does NOT relate to overpopulation management. However, of note, in some countries, castration is considered a mutilation and these countries have less of an overpopulation issue than countries where it is routinely recommended, highlighting how intrinsic overpopulation is to societal beliefs around and respect for dogs.

👉 What actually happens when we castrate a dog?

Well, to put it bluntly, the testicles get chopped off. What does this lead to?
It completely removes the dog’s ability to reproduce.
It removes a major source of testosterone; the Leydig cells that produce testosterone reside within the testicles and so experience a extracorporeal relocation too! Important to note here that I say a major source as the adrenal glands in both sexes as well as the ovaries in the bitch produce small quantities also.

👉 What consequence does this have?

Importantly, testosterone is valuable as a hormone from a behaviour perspective. In multiple species, it has been demonstrated to be closely associated with confidence. Why is this protective against behaviour struggles? Well, behaviour struggles are often driven by lack of confidence, anxiety, fear and situational pessimism and certainly never the result of positive emotional states that testosterone would promote.

“There is absolutely no benefit to reducing an animal’s confidence when working on their behaviour. Confidence is never a bad thing!”

👉 What the SCIENCE Says!

In 2018, McGreevy et al published a study in Plos One (It’s open access so you can check it how here if you are feeling geeky: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5931473/), assessing how the length of time a dog maintained their go**ds for influenced the risk of behaviour struggles.

👉 What did they find?

The shorter the time they keep their go**ds and, in turn, the sooner they lose most of their testosterone, the less likely the dogs’ owners were to report two behaviour struggles - howling when left alone and indoor urine marking.

Oh! Easy! Question Answered! To theatre we go….

Wait for it.

The findings didn’t end there. The longer the dogs in the study (sample size of 6235) kept their go**ds attached and, in turn, their testosterone, the less likely their owners were to report 26 (Yes, TWENTY SIX!) mostly unwelcome behaviour struggles!!

AND

7 (yes, SEVEN!) of these behaviour struggles that were much less likely the longer a dog remained entire would be labelled as “aggressive” (including “aggression” directed towards people and other dogs).

So let’s dive into the reasons why castration is often wrongly considered and wrongly recommended…

😱Barking, lunging and reactivity! This behaviour struggle is often driven by an underlying pessimism, dogs perceiving novelty in the environment (whether that be a human, another dog, a cat or a kangaroo!) to be something to worry about. Pessimism and lack of confidence are closely linked and so it is no surprise that castration doesn’t help this situation and often makes it worse as the McGreevy findings suggest!

Download my free book on this to keep forever here: beha.vet/free-neutering-ebook

😱Dog-Dog interaction challenges! This refers to unpredictability in a dog’s interaction with another dog. It might be that your dog unpredictably snaps when having a nose-nose interaction. It might be that your dog stands over another dog and raises their hackles. It might be that your dog charges and barks at other dogs upon the approach. The thing is, a successful interaction can only occur with three skills: 1. Optimism, 2. Disengagement (seeing value in moving away from the interaction), 3. Calmness. Any weakness in these will lead to unpredictable (or very predictable!!) breaks in the chain. I’m sure we can all relate to a time in our lives where we’ve had a fail in one of these departments and had a bad interaction with someone (maybe a partner….) - it didn’t come from overconfidence, it came from all the rubbish that went on at the office that day and your sore back!

Now I have a saying when it comes to dog behaviour and that is -

“If you want more of something, BUILD IT! Don’t attempt to squash something else to make it seem bigger!”

Success in’t about trying to correct, inhibit or STOP a behaviour. This is about growing the skills needed to behave effectively and go through the world feeling great! So again, castration has absolutely no place here and again often makes things worse!

😱 Hu***ng and Inappropriate Toileting! These behaviours were long hailed as the ultimate in dogs disrespecting us and, therefore, by some twisted logic, if an animal is disrespecting you, you must chop off a body part, reduce their confidence, show them who is boss. Crazy right?! 😂 Of course not - in fact, these behaviours (just like the ones above) are just a couple of behaviours a dog might select from when feeling worried, anxious, scared or a little bit like “I don’t know what to do here.”

Have you ever had an interaction with another human where you were nervous for whatever reason and you said something crazy or did something completely weird instead of just shaking their hand? Meet the canine equivalent: hu***ng!

Again this is driven by LACK of confidence, not overconfidence and so castration won’t make it better and might again make it worse! Inappropriate toileting and marking behaviours can be much the same, and so while research shows that castration might improve marking in the house in some instances, it can equally make it worse based on this and so, importantly, we should never do something irreversible when reversible (non-body-part-chopping) options exist.

😱 Adolescence! Adolescence is not a disease! In fact, none of this is a disease!

“These are not BEHAVIOUR PROBLEMS! They’re DOG BEHAVIOUR!”

Adolescence is a period of development! It’s associated with structural brain, cognitive and hormonal changes. It’s a period that actively promotes conflict between the animal (human or canine) and their carer as an evolutionarily beneficial temperature check on the relationship (more on that another time maybe). What all the research agrees on in relation to human and canine adolescence is that confidence and relationship are key! The Asher et al 2020 study on canine adolescence found that conflict (in the form of ignoring a sit cue) was much reduced with increasing relationship between dog and owner. What do we take from this?
Chopping off body parts will not help.
Spend the time and money you were going to spend on castrating your dog and invest it in your relationship bank account instead - invest in positive interactions, games, play, whatever you and your dog love!

Download my free book on this to keep forever here: beha.vet/free-neutering-ebook

🩺👨🏼‍⚕️ Health Benefits of Castration

Castration has also been recommended from a health standpoint, reducing the risk of a variety of diseases. However, the health benefits castration brings (such as prevention (and resolution of) benign prostatic hyperplasia) are only of significance after the age of 5 in most dogs when they become at increased risk of such. Equally, there’s early evidence to show that castration before one year of age could increase the risk of joint disease, cancer risk and allergic skin disease, further reinforcing the idea that early castration (if even at all) is not nor should not be a procedure that comes with a blanket recommendation for all young dogs.

Reversible Options!

Finally, we must consider if it is appropriate to give a blanket recommendation on anything that is irreversible and not completely benign when reversible options are available. Short-term implants have the same whole body effects as surgical removal of the testicles while still being reversible! These can act like a test drive of the new hormonal system where castration is being strongly considered without the fallout of an irreversible procedure.

👉 The Future!

So, that’s the wrap on castration with a focus on behaviour and training! Whenever I talk about this, it often causes of a wave of remorse and grieving for the now lost testicles of your dog’s youth. BUT I work with people on a daily basis whose dogs have had their go**ds inappropriately removed at some point and yet they are achieving amazing results and living the lives that they dreamt of when they got a dog in the first place.

The first step they took was ditching the labels, the limiting beliefs and the story of how they arrived where they did. The second step they took is they took their dog-owning dream off the back burner and they made it a MUST.

The reality is that castrated or not, you can unlock real-life results and amazing transformations with your dog with the right plan, the right tools, the right games and strategies! I even wrote a book on it you can download for free here: beha.vet/free-neutering-ebook

This is an opportunity to spread the word, save some go**ds along the way and change the blanket advice for the better, so if you know someone who this might benefit, please share it far and wide :-)

01/02/2023

Take your time about a walk sometimes. Slow your pace and relax your body language. A walk is not always about a destination or how far you travel

19/01/2023

Does anyone have a witty caption for this photo? Latest graduate from my Puppy School, Sonny, adores his new 'big brother' Chester, to the point of half sitting on him

26/10/2022

Update for all animal lovers and those who care about their neighbours
I’ve just spoken to a lady at Trading Standards within P & K Council about when fireworks will need a license to be bought and set off. All we are waiting for is a Commencement Order from the Secretary of State. This can be supplied once all the retailers in Scotland are ready to check licenses and the government department to issue them, which may take some time. However, fireworks in Scotland WILL only be able to be bought by those with a license – it is happening! At last! I am hoping retailers like Tesco will find the licensing system too much hassle and withdraw their sale of fireworks to the public well before then.
Puppies never show a fear of fireworks, it's a cumulative thing that worsens with time. If you have a puppy and would like personal training to help nurture a calm, happy and confident dog call me on 07920 428312 Christine's one-to-one Puppy Training

Calling all animal lovers and those who care about their neighbours!!
Please please consider not letting fireworks off this year. Every year fireworks bring utter terror to farm animals, horses, wildlife, dogs and cats who can injure themselves and others in their effort to escape the noise of what they think is their world exploding around them. Fireworks bring misery to your neighbours who can only watch, manage and spend a fortune on help and medication – all for supposed ‘fun’. And no, sorry, ‘silent fireworks’ are not much better as dogs’ range of hearing is far greater than ours.
Please neighbours, consider celebrating these beautiful winter nights in other ways, but if you do, please post a note on the village’s page to let us know when and where the fireworks will go off – there will be no unwelcome comments, just appreciation as you will give us time to prepare. I have to say this though: please remember, it is an offence to let off fireworks before 6 or after 11, in a public place and to cause unnecessary suffering to a domestic or captive animal. If you believe unnecessary suffering has been caused to your pet, farm animal , horse etc, try to take photos and let the police know on 101
I always give free firework management advice to owners of dogs at this time of year, so please PM me if I can help.
One day this will end and as per the Firework & Pyrotechnics Articles (Scotland) Bill passed in August this year, only licensed firework displays will exist. In the meantime, do shop at Sainsburys and support their lead in no longer selling fireworks in their stores.
Christine Fotheringham, Dog Behaviourist Christine's one-to-one Puppy Training | Facebook

19/09/2022

Would anyone like the last two issues of Dogs Today before I recycle?

16/09/2022

Congratulations to our latest graduate from Puppy School and her dedicated owners!! Trained and socialised at just 15 weeks. She proves, yet again, that safely starting puppy training BEFORE pups are fully vaccinated leads to a settled, happy and confident friend that you can take anywhere. She is so lucky to have been adopted by such dedicated, patient and kind people who should be very proud of themselves. It's been a pleasure 🥰

09/09/2022

Please please let's not let there be a fashionable run on King Charles spaniels. About half of them are born with heart problems and the breed has a disposition for syringomyelia, a painful condition where the brain and neck get compressed due to lack of room.
Crossbreeds are always a great idea, not necessarily the current popular first generation crossbreed - remember the bigger the gene pool the healthier the dog. And don't forget, rescue centres are now bursting with great dogs whose owners are no longer prioritising them in their tight budgets - perhaps give one of them a home instead

15/08/2022

Do you need help to reduce your dog's barking? I was rubbish at solving barking when I first started out as a Dog Behaviourist but since coming up with this method know that its really easy to solve.
Barking is a replication of the human voice, not a dog-to-dog communication. Wild dogs and wolves do not bark; they make lots of other noises but not barking. Wild dogs started to bark when they started to live with humans. So a dog barks to get a human reaction.
Do dogs bark when they are scared, frustrated or excited? All of them. Dogs bark for loads of reasons. A bark is to bring a human’s attention to how they are feeling. They want you to look at them and notice, from their body language, how they are feeling e.g. happy, frustrated, alarmed etc. (They automatically assume that we all know how to read dog body language correctly)
Barking dogs are rarely in an aggressive mood. Dogs likely to show aggression are either silent or they growl

So, if you don’t want your dog to bark – don’t join in! Dogs only repeat what works – if you don’t respond they simply won’t do it. Dogs soon learn which human in the family gives the best reaction too.

Aim to reduce their barking a great deal, rather than stop it completely – if they have had a habit for a few years it might be hard to get rid of completely.

Before you can stop your dog barking outdoors you first need to, stop your dog barking indoors:

• Everyone must totally ignore barking. No looking, touching or saying anything. Totally ignore. This is hard, so pick a date with everyone in the household and only start from that date.
• Tell your neighbours, write a note if necessary, to say the barking may get worse before it gets better but they can bear with you it may be gone in 2 – 3 weeks.
• Place a Notice on front door asking visitors to be patient, you can only come to the door when the dog stops barking

Now you need to do something that shows them you are ignoring their barking:

• The second they bark turn your back on them and walk out the room. But you may not need to walk completely out the room, they may stop as soon as they see you turn your back on them. The second they stop barking, you stop walking away. Slowly return to what you were doing – say nothing and no eye contact.

• If they start to bark again, continue out the room if necessary and shut the door. Wait and listen. After 4 – 5 seconds of quiet return to the room and continue what you were doing. No eye contact and say nothing – actions speak louder than words in the dog world.

• If your dog is barking in a different room to you or in the garden, shut the door noisily between you and them. They may come running to the door. Open it without saying a thing.

With repetition they learn that barking loses you, their friend, but the reward for stopping is they get you back. Not a word is said by you the whole time and be sure not to look at them.

(Warning – after a few days of improvement your dog may suddenly start to bark again, even worse this time. Do not give in. This is called an ‘extinction burst’, a burst before the barking becomes extinct and will go just as quickly as it arrived)

I have other methods to use if you don't make progress with this, call me if you want a visit. 07920 428312