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Coming soon ... Perfect pup pills. A unique blend formulated just by us.
Just add one pill for small breeds. 2 for medium and 3 for large breeds.
Guaranteed to stop - Toilet training issues. Pulling and lunging. Nuisance barking. Human aggression. Predation. Fear. Dog -dog reactivity.
Free sample available...
Guaranteed to work... Cus sleeping dogs don't lie..
Have you considered castration for your male dog's behaviour? Do you know that if you have your dog castrated for anything other than s*xualised behaviour (running off to find the breeding bi***es, and fighting with other intact males.) you risk making them worse? Studies show increased aggression towards people (including owners) and increased reactivity (to noise, being left alone, and any other insecurity based behaviours.)
If you need to prevent accidental breeding because you have intact mixed gender dogs, would your vet consider a vasectomy instead? Have you? That option has all the health benefits of remaining intact. (Behavioural, physiological etc) With all the perks of shooting blanks, no babies..
The science on Saturday will be the science around this topic.
👇Pop opinions in the comments.👇
Weird Wild Wednesday.... Birds see more colours than us, because they see UV. Birds perceive a vibrant world that extends beyond our human vision. Their ability to see UV light and distinguish subtle color variations enriches their experience of the environment. So next time you encounter a bird, remember that its view of the world is far more colorful and intricate than ours! 🌈🦜
I Love Sally, and I love Canine Principles, but this is too good to miss. Our dogs will mask pain, or have symptoms we don't recognise, so be given the opportunity to see it and support it in our own dogs, for £1, what is not to love.
Pain regularly goes unrecognised in our dogs, as they are so good at hiding it. So how do we know if our dogs are in pain?
This weeks been very quiet here, whilst I nursed the two poorly woofers back to health. :)
Both ladies are recovered beautifully, and normal life can commence. :)
We will resume our usual service from today with the feel good Friday. (Since everyone is now feeling good again here,)
What is your feel good vibe today?
Happy Mother's Day. Seniority Priority will concentrate on having a good massage.
The canine body, like any living body, requires balance, or homeostasis, to thrive; without this, systems can suffer. To maintain balance, all the body’s systems have to work together. For example, pain in the muscular system can affect behaviour patterns (as any form of pain will affect behaviour), the digestive system (stress from pain can have an effect on digestion), and compromise the peripheral neurological system.
The speed or rhythm of the stroke can also have an effect of relaxation or calming, if applied slowly, or a more invigorating effect, if applied faster. It is possibly one of the most versatile of all the techniques as many aspects of the basic technique can be varied, including pressure (superficial or deep) and direction of application, according to the muscle fibre direction. (Follow the direction of your dogs muscles.) Superficial effleurage is used for the introductory strokes, and works on a superficial level, using light pressure. See photo's
Build your bond and support your seniors health. What's not to love. Xx
Happy mother's day to my daughter (see my granddaughter on the end.) my mother and my grandmother.
So proud to be one of 5 generations of bossy, opinionated, loving, funny and fierce but soft women. X
Does stress run through the leash? An examination of stress transmission between owners and dogs during a walk? The science on Saturday 😊
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-020-01460-6
Feel Good Friday.... What's your weekend plans? I'm nursing not 1, but 2 poorly pooches. No dancing shoes for me, and Mother's day plans are on hold...
Just wowse s, poor groot
Thinking Cap Thursday :
When considering getting a dog, do you think you can have any dog and it's all how you raise them OR do you look up types of dog breed, and consider the job the breed was genetically tinkered with by humans to do.
Breed is not irrelevant, it decides what a dog will find "emotionally stimulating" and will just enjoy doing.
It will decide how a dog plays.
It will decide what a dog does when it has "big feelings."
A collie will herd and run up to nip.
A GSD will become a canine wall and grab bite people trying to "escape" (they guard as well, so blend nicely between herding and guardian livestock work.)
A Great Pyrenees will guard it's home environment and guardians on the move.
Depending on your mix of breeds, and strongest genetic traits in that mix, you can have all sorts actions this dog enjoys.
Why is that important? Well most times a family and dog are struggling together, it's breed traits that haven't been considered, which cause some of the biggest struggles.
Dogs are NOT just breed, but it's a definite contribution to the lens from which your dog experiences the world.
Tell me YOUR dogs breed, why you chose them, and what your dog does that comes from their genes.
Weird wild wednesday brings to you: The Dugong.
This cute, plump little marine mammal is related to - The Elephant 🫣 and Manatee.
Trainer tip Tuesday.
Pattern games:
Superbowls - This game gives a predictable pattern for a dog to follow, and can help develop a sense of security, confidence, focus on you, and played in multiple locations, can support working through reactivity based on anxiety, by giving something your dog can make sense of.
(Superbowls pattern game instructions
• Starting the Game: Ask your dog if they’d like to play Begin with your dog on a leash, particularly if they are easily distracted, reactive, or still learning the game. Stand by the first bowl with your dog.
• Placing the Treat: As your dog watches, place a treat into the first bowl. This action grabs the dog’s attention and sets the expectation for the game.
• Moving to the Next Bowl: Walk with your dog to the next bowl in a controlled manner. This helps in teaching the dog to focus on moving with you and anticipating the next step in the pattern.
• Repeating the Process: At the second bowl, repeat the process of placing a treat in it, and then continue to the next bowl. The repetitive nature of the activity helps to create a predictable and calming pattern for the dog.
• Adapting the Superbowls Pattern Game: As your dog becomes more comfortable with the game, you can increase the distance between bowls, add more bowls, or introduce slight variations to maintain engagement and keep it challenging. For dogs who react to certain stimuli - other dogs, windows, fence fighting, play this onlead walking towards and away from these triggers, at a comfortable distance, then increase how close you can get to a trigger over time. (Always involve a professional for this bit.)
• Focus and Impulse Control: Throughout the game, encourage your dog to focus on you and the task. This game teaches impulse control and attentiveness to you.
• Ending the Game: say all done and toss a few treats away, don’t resume play go and get a drink or do something different for 20 minutes.)
Here's a quick demo, (ignore my PJ's it was bed time when I filmed this.🤣 But it's a real life demo , right.) try it and let me know how you get on.
Good Morning. Does anyone fancy playing a game of reactivity bingo with me?
Thank for all the help and offers of a home for Bowie, he's all set off to his new home.
What did you and your senior dog do today?
Ahhhh adolescence, the time when emotional regulation is hard for any species, and when many dogs can become reactive because their brains are going through a whole heap of changes, even if you have trained them. (This starts between 5=7 months and ends at 2 yrs aprrox.)
It is a good idea to get support if your dog is finding this a hard time.
My boy is not struggling too much with it, but he finds dogs leaving without having opportunities to interact hard, and will verbally protest but it is short lived.
My girl became reactive in a few ways, but has settled down again now at 18 months, but we literally practiced training games from a distance, on a long line until she mastered ignoring, so she can do it off lead or on lead now, and ignore dogs who are reacting to her. (she turns round to face me and play tug, but we have phased out tug to every other time so she just ignores them.)
We went to supermarket car parks and had a pork sandwich with gravy dip for her, and a pork sandwich with everything on for me from the shop, and she got a bit of sandwich when cars, people or anything of interest happened,(trolleys, push chairs kids.)
We stayed near the edge of the car park. I have done this from day one with both about once a fortnight but I increase it every 3 days during difficult hormonal stages.
They have paired busy events with a pork sandwich, we also go to the vets without needing the vet about twice a month as part of our walk, and have training pate in the car park or door way, sometimes in the reception if it is quiet.
Its really helps to mitigate a difficult reactive stage, I do everything in short bursts of 3/5 seconds or long enough to eat the sandwich (if we have one) and go home.
The science on Saturday around adolescence and dogs. https://www.mdpi.com/183270
Bowie needs a home, he's bereaved, and none of the family can keep him. He's lived with two cats,( one of whom can come with him if you have the room for lots of love,) one who's landed on their paws somewhere. He's 12 months old, Up to date with everything, very people oriented. He's met lots of kids but never lived with them.
He's going into rescue otherwise. (I just feel really awful for him to lose everyone and everything all at once.)
Please DM if you think you could give him a home...
Feel good Friday..........
Getting rid of the shudda, wudda, cudda, I mean whose life is it anyway? Whose voice is telling you what you " Should thinking sets you up to feel like you are doing something wrong. This is such an easy mindset to get into if you have a puppy, senior or sensitive dog.
The puppy should be socialised... This is true, but what does it mean? What does that look like to you, or your puppy? Socialised doesn't mean getting to run up or interact with everything and everyone, it is learning how to do it.
My dog should be walked for 2 hours or at least twice a day because their breed is for XYZ.... Maybe that's true, but would that breed do 2 hour forced exercise, or would they work for a bit, rest for a bit, and use their mind for most of that 2 hours? In which case do they need such a big walk or can they do other things as well as a walk.
Do you have a busy home full of visitors and children, because this then becomes a lot of constant socialisation, mental exercise, and your dog may find that they only want to go a little walk to sniff something outside but then really feel tired. Just because someone said you should doesn't make it true for all dogs, in all cases.
Your lifestyle, your dog and you are all unique, there's no broad brush one size fits all.
Then there's the wudda.
Would haves usually come from the inner critic or the friend/ family member that thinks they know better (rightly or wrongly.) If they were you (they're not) they would or your dog would, or their dog did..... This entire dialogue can be heard and ignored, unless you are paying for it from a professional, asking for it, and or it can help find a solution to something you have asked for support to solve. Biased judgements and ill informed opinions don't help you to achieve you own goals. Please don't ever listen to a wudda which encourages you to bully/ hurt/ or put yourself and your dog at risk of harm. Ask your self, would my dog feel happier for this? Is the safety of my dog or other people or their dogs compromised by this? Safety can be physical and emotional so really consider if this action WOULD be or WOULD HAVE been of benefit to your own and your dogs wellbeing.
Cudda.... (Could have.) Just change this totally, if you could have then you didn't. Look at and analyse what you did do, then use it to decide whether to carry on (its working for you and your dog.) or change it because it isn't.
This then becomes I can and I did, it will work or won't so you can grow/ adapt/ learn and take steps to progress, without any negative self talk holding you or your dog back.
(High energy breed, low energy activity, because cuddles when people feel poorly, is part of what families do.)
How good are you at recognising your dog's emotions?
https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/full/10.1079/hai.2024.0005?fbclid=IwAR10mKJC3WLngwHcnOusA5bmNUMhHaCXwPdOWMKAsPcuKD2OnNgjC766v7s
Weird Wildlife Wednesday.
The cl****is of the female hyena closely resembles the p***s of the male, to the extent that only a very brave naturalist (presumably wearing gloves and protective headgear) could hope to tell the difference. (For the record, the female's s*x organ is slightly thicker, with a more rounded head than that sported by males.)
Less weirdly, spotted hyena females are dominant during courtship and mating, and prefer to hook up with younger males...
What made you decide to get your dog?
Is your dog calm or fizzy?
I have a calm and a fizzy, how's your dog(s) unique?
Seniority Priority.
Most people don't realise that dogs reach seniority at different ages.
My dog here is a senior, in his 9th year. (In the photo he was young man in his prime, loving life.)
At his weight (34kg) He has been a senior dog for nearly 3 yrs now. In fact any dog over 22.7kg is a senior dog between ages 6-8yrs old. (Geriatric by 9 yrs old.)
Small and medium dogs are senior for longer, starting at age 7 -10 yrs old. and geriatric from 10 yrs onwards.
This is when we see the changes in coat shine, changes in sleep patterns, and changes in behaviour and activity levels.
As their body ages it can be hard to know what is healthy aging and what is not. (Especially if you don't know when and where your dog needs have changed.)
Senior dogs may not enjoy going for walks anymore, but they do enjoy sniffing, and they love you more with their age, as they love strangers and novel experiences less, because their attention levels drop, just like old people's attention levels drop, but they may still enjoy learning a few new tricks.
Look at trying a brain food blend of supplements, (foods rich in fish oils, B - vitamins and L-arganine can't hurt and can help keep back the brains slowing down process.
Most senior dogs are actually easier to live with, but need a few more comforts (joints ache and drafts are more easily felt when fat increases and muscle drops.)
How old is your dog, and how do you support their age?
Do you think your dog is self aware? Geeky this week with Science on Saturday.. Self awareness in Animals study.
Lei Y. Sociality and self-awareness in animals. Front Psychol. 2023 Jan 9;13:1065638. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1065638. PMID: 36710826; PMCID: PMC9881685.
Feel Good Friday.....
What are you doing to feel good today?
I've got a super special family event, so I'm out to do some sniffy walks and salmon flake search drops..xx
What do you think your dog's best skills are?
Weird Wild Wednesday:
Penguins can shoot P**p bombs.
These foul f***l Grenadines can fire as fast as 5mph..
Coaching a whistle recall.. I really love a keep coming tune (or MANDS) to say yep keep doing it...
This was coached by pairing the whistle to food, then to play, so I could use either later on. I then took it out and about, this is practicing in a highly distracting, (smells, people, sounds, away from home.) safe environment (the area is secured by fencing but it's still public access, so I can build on recalling from strange people and dogs.
Nyx working a recall off lead, outdoors, to a whistle.
Why is it important to give yourself and your reactive dog a break from training and the behaviour modification sessions?
Because you will both experience low levels or increasing levels of stress during these sessions, even if your dog was kept "under threshold."
Having short but sweet set up sessions, then having a day to relax and do something you both enjoy, away from the training and even without going for a walk if you need to help support your dog this way. (Set up a training session for relaxation protocols with your dog and for yourself. )
This allows for the stress chemical "cortisol" to leave your body, and your dogs body. (This takes 2-6 hours if there is only a singular exposure to a stressful event, but takes much longer if there are multiple events, or continued mini events also called "Trigger stacking".)
Long term elevation of Cortisol can lead to reduced health, as it weakens the immune system and can increase inflammation (Morey, Jennifer N et al. “Current Directions in Stress and Human Immune Function.” Current opinion in psychology vol. 5 (2015): 13-17. doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.03.007)
but that's continuous cortisol from recurrent stress.
This will be present in both you and your dog, which is why stress holidays are recommended, for both of you.
It helps to protect our dogs and ourselves from additional stress after a stressful walk or training event.
(However, the period needed to recover from a serious recurring stress event can be 30 days. So if you have never given yourself and your dog a break, and your dog is losing their mind with lunging, barking, and threatening others, or trying to run back into the house from the minute you step outside. or when you get your dog from a shelter or kennel, they may actually need 30 days to recover from long term Cortisol exposure.)
Take some time to bond, lessen the amount of visitors, lower stress factor for you both, set up sniffari's and toilet breaks away from things which can upset your canine friend, and create a haven for you both. )
Massage your dog so they can enjoy touch and release some oxytocin and serotonin for you both. Remember to take it easy on you both.
Science for Saturday: Excitable behaviour, Normal for dogs, (especially juvenile and adolescent dogs.) Difficult for people. Lots of dogs given to the shelter have excitability related behaviours.
Shabelansky A, Dowling-Guyer S. Characteristics of Excitable Dog Behavior Based on Owners' Report from a Self-Selected Study. Animals (Basel). 2016 Mar 15;6(3):22. doi: 10.3390/ani6030022. PMID: 26999222; PMCID: PMC4810050.
Sheffield
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Feel Good Friday.... What's your weekend plans? I'm nursing not 1, but 2 poorly pooches. No dancing shoes for me, and Mother's day plans are on hold...
Trainer tip Tuesday. Pattern games: Superbowls - This game gives a predictable pattern for a dog to follow, and can help develop a sense of security, confidence, focus on you, and played in multiple locations, can support working through reactivity based on anxiety, by giving something your dog can make sense of. (Superbowls pattern game instructions • Starting the Game: Ask your dog if they’d like to play Begin with your dog on a leash, particularly if they are easily distracted, reactive, or still learning the game. Stand by the first bowl with your dog. • Placing the Treat: As your dog watches, place a treat into the first bowl. This action grabs the dog’s attention and sets the expectation for the game. • Moving to the Next Bowl: Walk with your dog to the next bowl in a controlled manner. This helps in teaching the dog to focus on moving with you and anticipating the next step in the pattern. • Repeating the Process: At the second bowl, repeat the process of placing a treat in it, and then continue to the next bowl. The repetitive nature of the activity helps to create a predictable and calming pattern for the dog. • Adapting the Superbowls Pattern Game: As your dog becomes more comfortable with the game, you can increase the distance between bowls, add more bowls, or introduce slight variations to maintain engagement and keep it challenging. For dogs who react to certain stimuli - other dogs, windows, fence fighting, play this onlead walking towards and away from these triggers, at a comfortable distance, then increase how close you can get to a trigger over time. (Always involve a professional for this bit.) • Focus and Impulse Control: Throughout the game, encourage your dog to focus on you and the task. This game teaches impulse control and attentiveness to you. • Ending the Game: say all done and toss a few treats away, don’t resume play go and get a drink or do something different for 20 minutes.) Here's a quick demo, (ignore m
Trainer tip Tuesday live - The ping pong. This is a great way to build focus on you, because fun stuff starts for checking in. This skill can be practised no distraction then low distraction, and increasing difficulty until you have focus on all areas. Guest starring Luna, the lunatic.
In this live we will discuss how to reset and take a breath, so you can build the skills as a default in order to use them when you need them, during the rehabilitation process for your reactive dog. I hope this little live helps.
For the feel good Friday theme I wanted to quickly discuss walking with your dog. This is for any dog, sensitive (reactive) or secure (just takes things in their stride.) Any questions that I don't see and answer immediately will be answered in the comments, I am happy to answer belated questions from comments too. :)
I agreed to do a live about CCD based on a question I had on a trainer tag. Its a little later in the day than anticipated, and I am not going into too much detail because of that, but I am happy to review any questions and will happily post any studies regarding this in the comments for anyone wishing to geek out about it. There's a great book by Eileen Anderson called Remember me, which has lots of tips for caring for our canines who are struggling with CCD, including her own experiences.
On the build up to Christmas my doggo gave to me, Pattern games to build predictability.
Trainer tip Tuesday..calmness in doorways...
Bit late for trainer tip Tuesday, but here is.. The out.. (Cybele is learning to manage teenage impatience 🤣)
How many hours do you spend training your dog? I bet you started thinking about coaching/training time, right? You train your dog every single time you interact, in every single day. According to a 2009 study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, it takes 18 to 254 days for a person to form a new habit. The study also concluded that, on average, it takes 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic. So building impulse based self control in our dogs, is nearly halfway there in a month, established in 2. It's going to be harder for our teenagers because how many well adjusted 15 yr olds are there? It's the same with our dogs. Consistent reminders and patience are truly required in this stage, but it's worth it. In adults, they've established a habit. We've established a habit. Relationship and Agency based training is just tweaking some of what you both already do, once your dog has some self control, and uses their thinking brain, over their feeling brain. So unless your dog lives in a vacuum, you spend 8760 hours, every year of your dogs life, training your dog. Spend 91 hours of that year, building good habits. (That's 15 minutes a day.) Attis was initially supported to build waiting at the door using treats, and built into using real life reward of the door staying open, then going through it. The teenage dog in the background wanted to walk with us, even though she'd just got back. 🤣Xx
Show and tell Friday This looks like nothing...this is in fact, nothing... Or is it? This is slow thinking and cognitive processing. Attis chooses the distance to observe, sniff and take in information at his own pace. It's his walk, his time. Allowing him to do things at his own comfort levels during walks means I can guage his comfort levels. It builds trust between us because he's happy to come with me and I'm happy to go with him. It builds confidence in his own decisions. Because he's comfortable, and he's developing his own impulse control strategies. (No small fete for 6 month old Shepherd boy.) If you have a herding breed, you will know 🤣 Show me or Tell me something you've done with your dog this week, that you're proud of.
#caninecare #canineenrichment #germanshepherd #dogtips101
We are launching live next Friday (1st of September) @ 6pm to talk about Training tips, for multi dog homes? Ask anything. Put questions in the comments 👇🐶
Dog Trainer life..Unedited..🤣 What quirky stuff does your dog do?
Did you know Montaguer (LeGuerer, 1994) has found that dogs exhibit a repulsion toward the odor of psychotic children?
Dog trainer tip Tuesday.. Mat work (or bed.) with My Aditi MacFeety. #dogtrainingtips #dearnevalley #goldthorpe
Cheap and simple crate games... You never know when you'll need a crate travelling or unfortunate vet visits...
Today he's getting ready for Tuesdays, training tip.. Settle on a mat.. 🤣😉 Yes he's caked the bed in mud, it's big laundry time xx
Neil Losada - K9 Behaviour and Training Consu
Catley Road
