Totem Dogs

07/01/2025

I'm going to be completely honest and say I'm struggling massively with anxiety at the moment.

Yesterday it was so bad that Chris had to drive me around to everyone because I just could not function.

Today it's a bit better and I'm out on my own, but it's still taking me a while to 'get going'... I am doing everything I can to make sure I get to everyone, just please bare with me whilst I try and pull myself together.

05/01/2025

Walks starting as normal this week! If anyone needs any different please let me know! 🐶

03/01/2025

03/01/2025

It's a strange time of year, after weeks (or months for some people!) of anticipation building up for Christmas and New Years I find myself feeling a bit lost in January.

It's something I've struggled with for years, even as a child, although I don't do anything fancy or exciting for Christmas, it's hard not to get swept up into that excitement when it's all around you.

It's nothing new for me to feel anxious, I have struggled with Anxiety for may years, but yesterday I was trying to work out why I felt so bad. My Autistic side loves a good routine, my ADHD side wants to go off on random side quests and find something new to obsess over.

So having had a few days off I had my routine of going to see my horses, walking my dogs, working with Hazel and then chilling at home until it was time to go back to the horses.

Now I've got to get back into the swing of going to work, and although I love my job, it seems a bit daunting and I think it's most likely the reason why my anxiety has decided to chime in.

This got me thinking about our dogs, mine in particular, as they've had nearly 2 weeks of me and their Spare Human being at home, they've been coming out with me pretty much every time I left the house, and when I've been at home they've been curled up next to me on the sofa.

Now, suddenly, I'm going out without them again and I've noticed small changes in all of their behaviour.

Charlie isn't a particularly extroverted dog, but he had a burst of being quite sociable and excitable, he's now gone back to being very quiet and keeping himself to himself.

Reggie is a noisy sod, and he seemed to settle a bit whilst we were at home, but has gone back to his alarm sounding at every small noise.

Hazel is just chaos anyway, but seems a lot more restless the last few days where she's not been able to come out with me in the car every morning.

If I'm struggling with the change, I imagine my dogs are too. And whilst it may have been only 2 weeks, our dogs may have seen more of us, been around more people, may have been away in kennels, may have been going out more, and now their routine is changing again.

Below is a message I sent to said Spare Human yesterday, and I'm lucky in a way that I can verbalise my feelings to those around me, but it makes me wonder what our dogs would be saying to us if they could send us a text.

For the most part, dogs are resilient little beings who will settle back into their routine given some time and patience. But it is always worth keeping an eye on them and watching out for any signs they may not be feeling 100% and understand that they can't verbalise it the way we can.

02/01/2025

Mr Fergie was officially the first walk of 2025 ❤️

02/01/2025

Tora being gorgeous... Who'd have thought just 2 minutes later I'd be wrestling a frozen cow pat off her 😂

02/01/2025

Frosty Fergie ❤️

01/01/2025

Help! My puppy is destroying my house! 😱

Hazel has developed a taste for our kitchen cupboards and the lino. Luckily we are planning on redecorating throughout the year, but obviously these are behaviours we don't want to continue!

When I see her chewing on the cupboards or pulling the lino up, one thing I don't do is punish her. She is not doing these things to be 'naughty', she is doing these things to fulfill a need.

There are usually 3 reasons why Hazel is doing this:

🐾 She's bored.

🐾 She's overstimulated or overtired.

🐾 She has a natural urge she needs to satisfy.

My job is to try and work out which reason it is and then choose a positive way to redirect that energy.

At around 5 months old she's teething, her baby teeth are falling out and her gums will be sore and irritated. She needs to find a way to try and soothe her mouth and she does that by chewing. Rather than chewing things that she shouldn't, more for her own sake than ours, I offer her a safe, tasty alternative... Her favourites are Chicken feet, Chicken necks and Buffalo Ears.

If she's feeling particularly sore, I offer her carrots that have been in the fridge or freezer, they're easier to chew through and the cold helps soothe those sore gums.

She has a range of toys in different materials and textures, she will alternate chewing harder rubber, soft rubber and plush toys depending on her mood.. Of course we make sure she's not breaking any bits off that she may swallow.

After a good chew she's usually satisfied and will settle down. This morning however, she went straight back to ripping up the lino.

So her need to chew has been satisfied for now, but clearly there is another need I have to fulfil.. She's bored!

Hazel is a very intelligent and active little puppy, and due to her age she is restricted on what physical activity she can do. However for dogs of any age, mental stimulation is just as important as physical exercise... If we focus on walking and running, we create a dog that gets fitter and fitter and needs more and more exercise to be satisfied.

So now she will be coming with me in the car to see the horses. She can have a gentle walk and take in all the interesting sights, sounds and more importantly, smells that the stables has to offer. From feral cats to mice, rabbits, badgers, birds, horses, cows, sheep.... There are so many things to investigate, we don't even have to walk very far at all.

I can even do this at home, she still stops to take in the smells of the neighbourhood cats, all the people and dogs who have walked by. Allowing your puppy to sniff is a wonderful way to not only provide that mental stimulation, but it helps them navigate the big world that is all new to them.

Of course, going out is exciting and tiring, and often times dogs tend to be more lively and aroused after a walk than they were befor they went out. This is when I offer a calming activity such as another chew or a Licky Mat, and encourage some down time by popping her in her crate to nap.

The main thing to remember that no puppy (or dog) is ever doing anything to purposely be destructive or 'naughty', it's their way of telling us that they have a need to be met and it's up to us to work out what that need may be, and safer, more positive alternatives for fulfilling it.

31/12/2024

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!!

May 2025 bring you and your dogs health, happiness and lots of good times ❤️🎉

31/12/2024

A look can say a thousand words... 😂

I'm not sure Hazel was impressed with her bath

31/12/2024

I'm not a fan of New Year Resolutions, I prefer to set targets for the whole year, things I can work towards rather than things I must stick to straight away!

This year one of my goals is to be more proactive in working with my own animals, and each one has their own goal for the year.

None of my goals are 'big things', and that's absolutely fine! They are things that will benefit me and my animals and hopefully continue to strengthen our relationship, and maybe even make life a little easier for us!

🐶 Charlie will be 10 in March, and whilst that's not necessarily 'old', I have noticed he's a bit more stiff after walks and when first getting up. So our goal for this year is to improve and maintain his mobility through exercise and even some Doggy Yoga!

🐶 Reggie has come on a lot since we lost Poppy, I do think they unfortunately wound each other up somewhat. He is a nervous boy and no doubt Poppy's constant buzzing around exacerbated his anxiety. Our goal for the year is to continue to build his confidence whilst working on his reactive behaviours (which will go hand in hand), as well as build on our Scentwork skills.

🐶 Hazel is of course just a baby, so this year is all about new experiences for her and working on her training. It's very clear that she is a highly intelligent puppy who needs lots of mental stimulation to stop her literally bouncing off the walls.

🐴🐴 Magpie and Angus have settled really nicely at their new yard, and have adjusted well from being 'wild ponies'. Being able to handle them both and have 1:1 time with them without the other pushing in is going to be so helpful in working on their basic skills. They already know the basics, but we definitely need a refresh and Angus needs help feeling more comfortable with routine tasks such as being groomed or having his feet trimmed.

I will be reintroducing clicker training to them both and working on some fun tricks that will help their confidence, give them mental stimulation and give them a bit of a 'job' to do as they're both turning 5 years old in April.

So what are your goals for the year?

Are you aiming to compete in a dog sport? Are you hoping to just be able to enjoy your walks together? Do you want to learn a new skill? Do you want your dog to just be more settled all round? Or do you just want to have fun?

Goals of any size are a really helpful tool to use regardless of your dog's age and ability, but it's important to make them achievable for you both. Setting a huge goal can seem motivating at first, but it's very easy in my experience to become disheartened and stop working on it altogether.

30/12/2024

Spotties having fun in the sun ❤️

28/12/2024

Hazel had her first paddle in something other than her water bowl 😂

27/12/2024

One of my goals for next year is to be more proactive in training and working with my dogs and horses.

Hazel came to the horses tonight and had a nice little sniffy walk. On the way home we popped in to Sainsbury's, so rather than wait in the car whilst Chris went in, me and Hazel went to observe.

It wasn't too busy, but it's still the busiest place she's been, we watched people, investigated the noisy trollies and even saw a couple of dogs.

We also practiced some cues like 'sit', 'Lie down', 'paw' and 'middle' to practice focusing on me in a different place.

She did so well and was lovely and calm.. She also got lots of compliments from people walking past 😂

26/12/2024

Enjoying some Boxing Day chaos 😂

25/12/2024

Hazel would like to say thank you to Kevin and Layla for the awesome present... No one else is getting a look in 😂