Debs&Dogs

16/09/2023

Out and about at Newbridge and in Saltash

25/08/2023

The page hasn’t been very active lately, though Minnie, Barney, Rosie, and their friends have been going out for regular walks. Here’s a photo dump from their outings over the past several weeks.

04/05/2023

Brachycephalic animals are those with short, flat faces. While these animals have an undeniable 'cute factor', they also come with plenty of risks. Find out more.

25/04/2023

Out and about at Latchbrook today with Barney and Minnie and newbie Rosie. We met up with Wild About Walkies and the dogs had a shmooze with The Whisperer. 😉😘

24/03/2023

I was too angry to watch this clip to the end. It illustrates just how bloody awful these ‘dog training’ programmes are. Tormenting a poor dog over and over again for the sake of ‘entertainment’ and Hall’s ego.

03/03/2023

Some of this week’s walks, with Maisie the Gorgeous Greyhound; Daisy and Rosie the Pretty Poodles; and, last but not least, our beloved Minnie the Fabulous Frenchie, doing what she does best: posing for the camera

28/02/2023

Minnie and Barney met up with their friends Ken/Daisy and Sadie in the park today and ran and leapt and chased and had a Jolly Good Time. Sadie was positively balletic!

28/02/2023

Being aware of dog body language is a necessary skill for any guardian to enable you to understand what your dog is trying to 'say' (communicate with their non-verbal language).

If you felt like you weren't being listening to, you might be tempted to raise your voice to try and be heard and our dogs are no different. If they aren't heard when they are 'speaking' quietly (the green zone), they will 'raise their voice' (the yellow zone) and if we still don't listen they will be forced to 'shout' (the red zone).

Over the next few weeks I shall be posting some examples of dog body language using the same colour scheme as this ladder.

As our dog's advocate and source of support, we can increase our skills of observation so that they don't need to shout.

26/02/2023

Minnie and Barney continue their regular walks; and we’re going to be seeing more of Maisie the lovely Greyhound and Daisy & Rosie the dear little Poodles.

24/11/2022

There is never any excuse for using pain , threats or coercion in training 🐾

Upgrade your dog training skills today by hitting the “visit group” button at the top of this page .

21/11/2022

Today is Stir-up Sunday, the last Sunday before Advent, and the traditional day to prepare and mix your Christmas puddings🎄🎁

Remember that raisins, sultanas and currants are toxic to pets, and ingestion of a small amount can be enough to cause kidney damage. It is not fully understood how these foods cause poisoning, and there is no correlation between the amount eaten and the likelihood of an animal developing complications. This means that even a small amount can be enough to cause serious kidney impairment.

20/11/2022

A miscellany from last week’s walks: little Barney-no-mates for a couple of days; an ad hoc walk for pretty Sasha the Shih-tzu; Barney, Minnie, and Daisy raving it up in the park; and a solo walk for Min

18/11/2022

How can dogs be stupid and smart at the same time? How can they have less intelligence than humans and still control our households? For all our intelligence, we humans certainly find our reasons to claim to be both inferior and superior to our canine companions when it suits us.

12/11/2022

We’re very pleased to announce that little Barney is joining us for regular walkies once again. Minnie and I have missed him and it’s lovely to have him back. We had a planned meeting in the park with little white Daisy in the week, and the zoomies with unexpected playmates were an extra treat.

15/10/2022

Minnie at last managed to meet up with a group (a gaggle? a scrimmage?) of mates in the park and had a lovely time with them all.

06/10/2022

I am very sorry to announce that my dear, sweet friend Nemo won’t be coming out for any more walks. He died on Monday 3 October, gently assisted out of his pain, leaving his adoring family and close friends shocked, bereft, and grieving.
He was truly one of the sweetest, most endearing dogs I’ve ever known, a gentle giant if ever there was one. I feel so sad that I shan’t see him again.
Rest in peace, Nemo, my darling.

06/10/2022

The Cockleshell Micropub is always open for its regulars.❤️

28/09/2022

Dear old Nemo’s got a bit of a limp today, so we only popped out briefly for the bare necessities. Once back home it was the usual small smackerel of something, and then siesta time.❤️🤗😴

27/09/2022

It was lovely to be out and about with Minnie again today after our long break; and the icing on the cake was a chance meeting with little Daisy. The two crazies hit it off together really well and enjoyed their zoomies in the park.

25/09/2022

The DTAS book is available on Amazon as a paperback book, an ebook and free to download on kindle unlimited.

We are pleased to announce that the audio book will soon be in production. Watch this space.

If you don’t want to buy from Amazon you can purchase it direct from us. £9.99 including UK postage- just message us .

For trainers, vets, shops etc you can purchase 5 or more for resale or give aways for £6.50 each.

We have also donated 10 books to a rescue this month and will do this for a different rescue each month.

Review by Lottie Bennett, Lottie’s School for Dogs - “𝐃𝐨𝐠 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤. 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐝, 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞-𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫-𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭!

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩, 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐬. 𝐀𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨.

𝐀𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭. 𝐈𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠.

𝐀 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞-𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬
𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞-𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞.

𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥 ‘𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞’ 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬.

𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐭 (𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞) 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬. 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧, 𝐬𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝.

𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞
𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝; 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐮𝐩 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐧.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱 𝐣𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐧, 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐝. 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐝𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠𝐬’ 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 “𝐃𝐨𝐠 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬” 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐃𝐨𝐠 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 (𝐃𝐓𝐀𝐒)”.

👇Get it here :

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09ZCL5PN9

US - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZCL5PN9

Canada - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B09ZCL5PN9

Australia - https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B09ZCL5PN9

16/09/2022

05/09/2022

Please, please let your dog sniff.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬 ….

Fun fact : dogs possess up to 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses, compared to about six million in humans . The part of a dog's brain that is devoted to analyzing smells is about forty times greater than ours. Dogs also have something called neophilia, which means they are attracted to new and interesting odours .

04/09/2022

Darling Nemo was so fast asleep when I arrived to take him out he never even heard me come into the house and then the sitting room. I took a picture of the sleeping beauty and softly said his name, whereupon he turned over and had a little think about maybe getting up and going out for a walk. The routine was pretty much as normal after that: a slow, stately, sniffy progress down to Pillmere and back; a light luncheon upon one’s bed; and an afternoon spent pondering the meaning of life in this vale of sorrow.
Sweet, gentle, handsome Nemo… ❤️

28/08/2022

Prevention is key.

𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐯𝐬 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠

Management is an important aspect of any training or behaviour modification plan, but sometimes management alone is enough to prevent a behaviour happening.

When we wish to teach a new behaviour, or change an unwanted one, it is important we use management to prevent our dogs practicing unwanted behaviours.

For example, jumping up at people. We teach Four on the Floor instead (see guide 2 in main group) , but we need to prevent our dog jumping in the first place to change the behaviour, or prevent it being practiced.

How do we do this? We have our dogs on lead, behind a baby gate or in a pen. This is management. We are using those management tools to prevent the jumping up.

We then teach them what we want instead – them to sniff for treats on the floor, when a person comes towards them.

By repeating the management and therefore prevention, plus the reinforcement of the new skill, then the new default behaviour becomes ‘see a person, sniff the floor’.

Without management to prevent the unwanted behaviour, this change in behaviour cannot occur, as they will continue practicing the unwanted behaviour (jumping up).

However, sometimes management alone can be enough to simply prevent the unwanted behaviour. Yes, you would always need to use that management, as you aren’t teaching a new, alternative behaviour, but that is OK.

What level of management and what level of training you do will be personal to you, your situation, your priorities in your lives together and your dog and their personality and abilities.

For example, I saw a client recently whose dog likes to greet visitors at the door. She gets very frustrated and therefore reactive with any sort of restraint, so a lead wasn’t an option (the first option of management we considered).

It is entirely possible to teach a dog a boundary and Kikopup (Dogmantics Dog Training) has some great youtube videos on how to do so, however this is a long training process that requires a lot of proofing to make it solid and safe.

So, in our door situation, we decided to use the dog’s long line to allow her to greet people at the door with relative freedom, but she is still safe and cannot run off their driveway into the dangerous road.

This is management. This is the best option for the client, the safety of the dog and the situation.

Yes, they will have to use this management each time they answer the door, but it is the best option for them and their visitors and, most importantly, the dog!

Sometimes, simple management is the easiest solution to prevent unwanted behaviours, to enable you to get on with your lives together, without undertaking a big training commitment, where you can focus those training methods on more important elements of your lives together.

It is also possible, that with simple management, extinction MAY occur (not always a guarantee), and the unwanted behaviour may fade by them simply not practicing it.

By Abby Huxtable

26/08/2022

WHY SQUIRTING IS HURTING
Using a spray bottle to sq**rt water at a dog to stop an unwanted behaviour is not something I support and I’ve seen many cases where the consequences of this have caused long term problems.
This method of stopping a behaviour is unfortunately still very popular and even some puppy schools and dog trainers believe that it’s an effective, humane way of correcting behaviour. Just because it doesn’t cause physical harm doesn’t make it right. There are emotional consequences. Consequences like creating negative associations, fear, mistrust, a fear of water and / or bottles and more. Behaviour is driven by an underlying emotion, creating more negative emotions certainly doesn’t solve anything.
Consequences like a puppy being continually sprayed for chasing a child that resulted in the puppy associating the child with the punishment. This family had been advised that this was the quickest and easiest way to stop the behaviour. This pup developed a fear and dislike of children that he may never fully get over.
If a dog is sprayed for jumping up at a person, it doesn’t teach the dog what behaviour they should be doing instead. Rewarding a dog for having four paws on the floor instead of jumping up is the logical way to teach this. Yes, it may take more effort and time, but the dog will learn an alternative behaviour and the jumping up will stop.
Teach dogs what to do instead of what not to do. Dogs live in our world and are expected to follow our rules. How can we expect them to behave the way we want them to if we only punish unwanted behaviour and don’t teach them what behaviour we are looking for? Stop focusing on unwanted behaviour and focus on teaching an alternative behaviour – how else will our dogs know what to do?

24/08/2022

Minnie couldn’t understand why her friends weren’t at home today; and Nemo got lightly sprinkled with mizzle - but a nice little snack, followed by a siesta, put him right for the rest of the day. ❤️

22/08/2022

13/08/2022

https://www.facebook.com/1135104503232369/posts/5297926590283452/

🐍 Adders 🐍

The adder (Vipera berus berus) is the only venomous snake native to the UK, and is also found across northern Europe. It is a protected species in the UK. Adders are most commonly, but not exclusively, found on dry, sandy heaths, sand dunes, rocky hillsides, moorlands and woodland edges. The clinical signs of an adder bite can include rapid and progressive swelling around the bite site, pain, lethargy, vomiting, bruising, bleeding and collapse.

What should you do if your pet has been bitten by an adder?
❌Do not panic.
❌Do not interfere with the bite.
❌Do not apply a tourniquet.
❌Do not attempt to touch or catch the snake.
❌Do not kill the snake – it is a protected species.
❌If practical, carry your dog to your car and go to your veterinary surgeon - do not delay seeking advice even if your pet is well as things can change quickly.

Adders are not aggressive and generally only bite when provoked. They hibernate in the winter and as a result most bites occur in the summer. Pets are frequently bitten on the leg, head or neck. If your pet has been bitten by an adder (even if you did not see the snake or are not sure what happened) – contact your vet immediately. Your vet will examine your pet to determine the location of the bite and extent of the swelling.

Veterinary professionals can call us any time on 02073 055 055 if required for assistance with managing cases of adder bites. We also hold a list of Antivenom stockists across the UK so if you do not have any in stock but need some urgently for a case please call us and we can assist you in obtaining some.