Bella’s Hounds

30/04/2024

06/02/2024

Following on from the previous post…here are 3 more top tips……

4. Polish up on commands your dog already knows or teach them new ones which will be very helpful when baby comes. “On your bed” is particularly useful especially for when you’re feeding baby or when you have visitors / health professionals coming over in those early weeks. *If there are any behavioural concerns you have with your dog then seek advice from a qualified professional before baby arrives*

5. For early days when you’re not able to go on your dog’s usual long walks or you’re doing tummy time with baby and want your dog to also be enjoying something on their bed then having enrichment already prepped is so useful. Stock up on some great long lasting chews from .paws.and.claws and / or

6. Does your dog get upset when their food is given to them at 6:02pm instead of bang on 6pm? Do they have to be walked at 8am every morning, otherwise they might start finding their own entertainment? Whilst you’re getting to grips with having a newborn in the house it can be tricky to always keep to your dog’s usual routine. Slowly make changes to it during your pregnancy so they become slightly more flexible. You can go back to original routine but just for the early months it will be helpful if your dog can be happy with a 8am walk or 9am walk….lets be honest it can take a while to get ready and out of the house with a newborn 🫠

As mentioned in my previous post this is not an exhaustive list of tips! Preparation is so key….fail to prepare, prepare to fail! For more in depth help and guidance then please get in touch 🐾

29/01/2024

This is by no means an exhaustive list but here are 3 little tips for helping prepare your dog for the new arrival 👶 check back later in the week for 3 more tips!!

1. Playing sounds and pairing with positive things will help desensitise your dog to those sounds but also enable you to see how they cope with novel sounds. Do they bark, run away out of the room, are they unable to listen to commands you’re giving them or do they take no notice at all? Seeing how they respond will give you a good idea of how much work you need to do around sounds and how they may react to all the different baby noises and toys! Obviously a real baby cry is quite different to a recording so that’s why using other sounds as well can help with seeing how they may react and respond.

2. Making it normal for your dog/s to see you carrying something will help with the adjustment when the time comes. It won’t be new or interesting because it will be so familiar to them. Especially important to practice if your dogs jumps up at you regularly or get excited when you’re carrying things. Will they go to their bed whilst you’re rocking baby or carrying baby on your front? Again a good idea to play sounds to help replicate a real life scenario. With my dogs I would frequently throughout the day walk around the house carrying my “baby” and just reinforce the dogs staying on their bed or the sofa and remaining neutral to it all.

3. Babies come with a lot of stuff! Our dogs have enough to adjust to as it is so make it easier for them by having things around for a long time before baby arrives so it has already become part of the furniture. If they appear worried by anything then reach out to a professional to help.

There is much more to add to each of these points and so much more to introducing a baby into a household with dogs but small steps like the ones above will go a little way with helping our fur babies adjust to their lives changing forever. Please reach out for further help and advice 🐾👶

17/01/2024

My cute new starters 😍🫶🏼

🐶 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝘂𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹! 🐶

Bella welcomed another new set of trainees to Puppy School in Reigate tonight and what a gorgeous bunch they are!

Welcome to Happy Buddies' Puppy School:

🐾 Arlo Cocker Spaniel
🐾 Finley Sproker
🐾 Huxley English Pointer
🐾 Piper Cockapoo
🐾 Ronnie Miniature Dachshund
🐾 Sephie German Shepherd

🐶

16/01/2024

My gorgeous graduates from last night 🌟🌟🌟

09/01/2024

How cute is my little assistant who “helps” me set up for my Monday evening puppy class at the .pawandwhistle 🫶🏼🐾