All To Play For

27/02/2025

The Most Important Thing After a Scary Incident
One of the biggest worries for new dog owners is how to protect their pup from negative experiences that could lead to reactivity. If you have a puppy or a rescue dog, you might be especially concerned about this.

Those of us who live with reactive dogs know how quickly a bad experience can stick. That’s why, when your dog gets jumped, barked at, or scared out of their mind, the most important thing you can do is change how they feel.

It’s like when you’re watching a scary movie—your heart is pounding, the music swells, and you’re thinking, Nooo, don’t go into that barn! Then someone cracks a joke, and suddenly, the tension evaporates.

That’s what you want to do for your dog.

✔️ Tell them a joke (OK, maybe not literally—unless your dog appreciates stand-up. But if you can crack yourself up, they’ll feed off your energy!)

✔️ Play a game, your dog loves.

✔️ Move their body—tug, walk, shake it off.

✔️ Most importantly, stay lighthearted.

We can’t always protect our dogs from every scary moment, but we can help them recover. ❤️

25/02/2025

IT'S TRAINING TIPS TUESDAY

Reactivity is Hard to Hide
Let’s face it—reactivity isn’t something you can sweep under the rug. It’s loud, it’s visible, and it often feels like the world is watching. That’s part of why it’s such a tough behavior to manage.

Even if you know your dog won’t actually hurt anyone, reactivity can still leave you feeling embarrassed. The barking, lunging, or growling might feel like a spotlight shining on you and your dog, especially in crowded spaces. People may stare, judge, or even make unhelpful comments, and that can make every walk feel like a high-pressure situation.

But here’s the thing: your dog isn’t acting out to embarrass you—they’re simply overwhelmed and communicating the only way they know how in that moment. The noise and public nature of reactivity might make it feel harder, but it also gives you an opportunity to focus on progress over perfection.

Every time you step out the door with your dog, you’re making a brave choice to keep trying, learning, and improving together. Celebrate that effort—it’s a win in itself!

What’s one small success you and your dog had recently, even if no one else noticed?

24/02/2025

What's your score?

20/02/2025

Hattie vs. The Kitten – A Surprise Twist!

Hattie doesn’t like cats. At all. But thanks to my son moving to Australia, we now have a very confident 6-month-old kitten named Poppy. And let’s just say… she didn’t get the memo about staying out of Hattie’s way.

To keep life simple, I rely on management—separate spaces, no forced interactions, and a general “let’s keep the peace” approach. Hattie knows Poppy exists and will bark at her if she’s behind a closed door. That’s been the extent of their relationship… until the other day.

Poppy, in true fearless-kitten fashion, dashed straight through the dining room door—right into the same space as both dogs. Dash, being his usual happy-go-lucky self, didn’t even notice. Hattie, on the other hand, froze and started moving toward Poppy.

And then—cue dramatic pause—Poppy’s tail poofed up like a toilet brush. 🚨

Was this about to kick off? Who would come off worse? Would I have to make an awkward, guilt-ridden call to my son explaining that his adorable kitten had been turned into a snack? 😨

But then… nothing happened.

Poppy just sauntered off, cool as anything, and Hattie just watched. That was it. No explosion, no chaos—just a whole lot of anticipation for absolutely nothing.

Honestly? The thought of what might happen was far worse than the reality. And I am so relieved. 🙌

That said, I’m still very much sticking with management—because just because it didn’t happen this time, doesn’t mean I’m rolling the dice again! 😅

18/02/2025

IT'S TRAINING TIPS TUESDAY!

Ever wondered why one dog might react intensely in a situation while another remains calm? Reactivity in dogs often comes from emotional responses like fear, frustration, or over-excitement. By understanding what's driving their behavior, we can better support our dogs.

Common Causes of Reactivity:

Traumatic Experiences: Just one difficult experience can cause lasting reactive responses, as these memories are stored for quick recall.

Repeated Negative Encounters: A single event might not trigger reactivity, but repeated exposure to negative experiences can lead to it.

Physical Discomfort: Pain or discomfort can make your dog more sensitive or irritable, just like we might react when we’re unwell.

Genetics: Some fearful or reactive behaviors can be inherited from past generations.

Whatever the reason, remember that your dog’s reactivity is not something to feel guilty about. It may not even be your fault! Instead, focus on what you can do now to help them feel safe and build their confidence. 🐶💪

Question: Have you noticed specific triggers or patterns in your dog's reactivity? How do you usually handle these situations? 🤔

17/02/2025

11/02/2025

IT'S TRAINING TIPS TUESDAY!

🐶 Reactivity Isn’t Just Barking and Lunging!

Many people assume reactivity = aggression, but not all reactive dogs growl, bark, or lunge. Some may freeze in place, back away, or even shut down completely.

Reactivity simply means a dog is over-responding to something in their environment. That response might look big and loud, or it might be silent and still—but it’s still reactivity!

🚨 A barking, lunging dog isn’t being “bad.” A frozen, retreating dog isn’t being “stubborn.” They’re simply responding in the way that makes the most sense to them at that moment.

Understanding these different ways reactivity shows up can help us respond better and support our dogs more effectively.

💡 Which type of response does your dog show? Do they react BIG, or do they freeze and withdraw? Let us know in the comments! ⬇️

06/02/2025

It's been a pretty stressful time here at our house lately.

My son has just moved to Australia, so we've been running around like blue bottomed flies, no swearing here, trying to get everything ready for him. And of course, I'm really, really sad that he's going even though it's not losing a son, it's gaining a holiday destination.

So the other day, we took the dogs to stay in kennels so that we could take Sam down to London to get his flight. When I went and got them back, they were fine. They usually are, but as you can imagine, it's a pretty stressful time for them. And then today, we decided to go out for a walk.

So this morning, it seemed to be the first lovely sunny day that we've had in about 8 million years. So off to the country park we went and of course, everybody and all their dogs were there too.

Now, those of you who've been with us for a while are probably thinking or even shouting at your computers or phones.

"Julia, what were you thinking their buckets are going to be so full, it's going to be a nightmare!"

Well, I hope that's what you're shouting. But here's the thing, I had a plan.

We started off walking in a really quiet area, because I wanted to see if something was the case or not, Hattie was walking fluidly. Now, Hattie has arthritis down her left side, in her shoulder and in her hip, and when her arthritis is bad and she has a flare up, she becomes much more stressed, and her bucket fills up, dash picks up on this and then he struggles as well.

But at the moment, her pain seems to be pretty well controlled. And sure enough, As we went into the more busy parts of the country park.

Neither dog had a reaction to anyone. They were perfect, no problem at all. So lesson learned. Pain is a massively bucket-filling factor, and one that we should never ignore.

04/02/2025

IT'S TRAINING TIPS TUESDAY!

So now we have a personality profile for your dogs and when we take it all into account it's clear that there are going to be some things that we just can't change. Just like us, our dogs have a personality which is uniquely theirs.

See your dog for who they are and ride the waves rather than swimming upstream.

A fast-paced, intense dog is always going to want to do life at top speed, and the high prey drive dog is never going to decide that fast moving fluffy things just don't do it for them any more.

And here's the thing, the most important thing we can change is how we feel about our dogs' strengths and frustrations. By working with their individuality you will end up with a happier you, a happier dog and as a result, guess what? Your training and behaviour journey with your dog will not only be more enjoyable, but more effective as well.

03/02/2025

In the US, today is National Pet Travel Safety Day. How do you keep your dog safe in the car?

28/01/2025

IT'S TRAINING TIPS TUESDAY!

Today is the final part (well, nearly!) of getting to know your dog. Are they flexible or persistent?

Do they get locked onto an activity or are they easily swayed to change direction?

Flexible dogs are great at changing tasks and switching gears but can be easily distracted.

Persistent dogs are more likely to stay on tasks they enjoy but may be tricky to interrupt or redirect to a new activity.

So which is your dog?

Using the profile you've build up over the last 4 weeks, comment with situations your dog might find challenging and where they'll need your help.

Next week we'll have a look at how your dog senses the world and how we can use that knowledge to help them.

23/01/2025

Today, meet Dash!

Known to his friends as "The Dude".

Dash came to me (Julia) back in 2019. You see, I was still teaching back then and had the long summer break coming up, so I had a brilliant idea! As Hattie was doing so well, I thought we could offer a short term foster for the holidays to another nervous dog from the rescue.

So my son and I took the 4 hour drive down to Norfolk to pick up a dog! When we got there, we had to choose between two - Ace or Dash. Oh my goodness, we were so close to coming home with both!

In the end my son decided on Dash as he'd been in the rescue for 6 months and not had a single enquiry. This was despite the fact that he wouldn't come into the room with us, he was that nervous.

So home with us he came. He quickly got attached to me and spent most of his time behind my back. Bonding with the male members of the family has been a much longer process, but after he'd been with us two weeks it was my husband who decided we couldn't let him go. So we failed at fostering.

He's had a few adventures in his time due to his scaredness - about two months after we'd had him we went out for the day and left the dogs to be looked after by a friend, with the instructions that if she took them for a walk it was fine to let Hats off lead but under no circumstances to let Dash off. What happened? Well he was being so good she let him off. Luckily it was not far from home so he ran back home with her in hot pursuit. He stayed on the pavements the whole way - such a good boy!

Dash will now choose to snuggle my husband rather than me and whilst he's definitely on the more aloof side, he's such a funny, silly character with the most irresistible tiny tail wag.

21/01/2025

IT'S TRAINING TIPS TUESDAY

Part 3 of your dog's profile looks at how on the go are they. Or are they a bit of couch potato.

This one can be difficult, because it can depend on how full (or empty) their stress bucket is. However, if you think about what they are like when they are relatively chilled - it looks very different for different dogs.

Fast dogs might be ready for action at the drop of the hat but have a really tricky time walking calmly on leash. And relaxing really just means "less manic that usual". These dogs are often more likely to be labelled as "difficult" as their emotions are very firmly worn on their sleeves.

More mellow dogs can roll with the punches more easily. BUT, don't mistake their mellow nature for always being happy and content. They are easy for humans to take advantage of as they don't tell us clearly when they are on happy.

My guess is you know exactly which your dog is already, but if you're not sure, answer these questions:

Does your dog:

Get up first in the morning?

Like to run more than walk?

Need LOTS of action / entertainment?

If you answered YES then you have a busy bee. If you answered no then your dog is more mellow.

BUT - be careful! As our dogs get older and, like us, have more aches and pains they can appear more mellow, when in fact they are just more sore and we need to help support them with their discomfort.

Which is your dog? Let us know!

14/01/2025

IT'S TRAINING TIPS TUESDAY

So let's have a look at part two of getting to know your dog.

What about the social spectrum? Sometimes we expect all dogs to be super sociable, but like us this isn't always the case.

Social dogs love being around guests and in busy spaces but may struggle to be left alone.

More aloof dogs may be perfectly happy with their own company but may be a bit more picky about who they choose to share their space with.

So let's have a look at your dog.

Is your dog:
The first to greet a visitor?
Excited to meet people outside?
Happiest in the company of others?

If you answered yes then you have a social butterfly! Your dog is more likely to enjoy guests and outings to public places but may struggle being left alone.
If you answered mainly no, then your dog is more aloof and then leaving them alone will be easier but they will need to be able to choose when, how and with whom they interact.

So you can see that you're starting to get a picture of what your dog's personality is like, and how it impacts on behaviour struggles they may have - remember that no particular personality trait is good, and none are particularly bad, all have their positives and negatives.

Share whether your dog is social or aloof.

13/01/2025

Would it be:

“The Squirrel Chronicles”
“Why That Doorbell Is DEFINITELY Evil”
“Adventures in Barking: A Journey of Love and Noise”?
Share your dog’s memoir title and include a picture of the author themselves! Let’s have some fun and get creative! 😂

09/01/2025

Would you like to hear a little bit more about my dogs?

Julia's going first to tell you all about Hattie the Wonderdog!

Hattie was one of over 200 dogs rescued over one weekend from a shelter in Mizil in Romania which was to be closed and all the dogs put to sleep. The people in Romania who carried out this were totally heroic and needed to find homes for these dogs who had experience extreme trauma and weren't going to be the easiest dogs to fit into a human world.

This is Hattie in the shelter before rescue – it’s no wonder she was so scared when she got here.

So I went to pick up a scared little dog who looked a bit like a bat crossed with a gremlin.

She was scared of everything. She wouldn’t go for a walk – I wish I’d known then what I know now and not even attempted a walk for the first couple of weeks. I took her to a dog training class after 3 weeks – in retrospect I should have waited longer but I was reassured by the trainer it would be fine. And sure enough, she was perfect in the class – but no behaviour was mistaken for good behaviour. This is really common with scared rescues, people think they have an amazing perfect dog but what they have is a frightened dog trying to find their feet.

Anyway, she did really well in class but this did not transfer outside the training hall – I’m sure that so many of you have had this experience! She was also scared of men and people coming into the house, she was scared of other dogs (this was not helped by some of the free-for-all running around which was allowed at the training class) and she barked at me all the time when I was in the living room with her.

It was clear that the "standard" way of training left a lot to be desired to I took it upon myself to learn EVERYTHING I could about scared and reactive dogs. It changed EVERYTHING! I learned that putting a dog in a position where they feel uncomfortable and shoving treats in their mouth wasn’t the solution. What was, was growing skills in a dog in a comfortable environment then transferring these to increasingly challenging environments slowly and carefully, was.

So now she’s my super demo dog. She’s getting on a bit now and has some evidence of cognitive decline and osteoarthritis – but that’s just a new training challenge for us, and Hattie loves training.

I recently got her DNA tested – top 2 breeds were chihuahua and german shepherd – weird but so spot on!

Hattie has taught me so much and I am so grateful for having her. Without Hattie I wouldn't be who I am today.