Heather's Personalised Pet Services

08/11/2024

06/10/2024

Lazy recall training with Mable.

Mable started a game where she'd run over to Daisy then back to me.

She's choosing to recall by herself which means I have lots of opportunities to pair the behaviour with her name and a treat.

30/09/2024

Playtime!

29/09/2024

Happy 4th Birthday to Parsley!

Pup and Batman enjoyed their celebratory treat. Thank you very much!

06/09/2024

I thought it might be interesting to start doing some body language breakdowns.

Here's one I managed to capture today. Parsley passing a fairly exuberant doberman (i think).

Parsley doesn't always feel like being social with other dogs. Today was one of those days.

Just like we don't want to stop and have a chat with everyone we pass on the street.

Parsley very clearly communicated that she didn't want to interact with our passing friend, but it took him a little while to get the hint.

This wasn't an ideal place for dogs to meet. Parsley passed other dogs during this walk, but had the space to keep a wide birth, suiting her much better.

Dogs are constantly communicating during interations. It's important we understand what they are saying so we can see when one is being too much or not listening to the other and step in to help them out.

06/09/2024

26/08/2024

22/08/2024

Taz and I had this lovely encounter yesterday.

I was expecting some barking but he was showing curiosity so we waited and observe a while.

His body language was quite stiff and he was somewhat hyperfixating on the cows, but he kept his cool.

He's normally quite responsive when I talk to him but was struggling to disengage from the cows. I didn't want to let the hyperfixating go on too long and risk it escalating to barking, so I eventually added in turning myself away and taking a few steps back which he was able to respond to.

He then gets the choice to go back to watching or too move on and he chose to walk away. I love that he was able to do that.

13/08/2024

We're getting lots of this, this week 💤

We'll be refreshed and back for more walks next week.

01/08/2024

Wet Wednesday in the stream

01/08/2024

When you fit into a mud hole perfectly

13/06/2024

Stubborn Dogs

The word stubborn is always used in a negative way. I’ve never heard anyone say ‘I love how stubborn my dog is’. For a dog to be labeled as stubborn, two things are assumed.

1. That the dog has heard and understood your request, and
2. That they are intentionally choosing not to do it.

Lets say, that in a specific scenario, both of those statements are true. Why is that such a bad thing?

What does it say about us, that when another sentient being has a different opinion to us on how they think they should behave, we think negatively of them?

The things we ask of our dogs, sometimes make no real sense.

It’s very common to see a guardian of a dog-reactive dog, tell their dog to sit, and look at them when other dogs are near. Sitting can be part of communication for dogs, and wanting to keep an eye on things you’re concerned about is natural for every species, so that request might feel completely wrong and unnatural for the dog. Yet we think we know best and that they should do it anyway because we said so.

For a long time, we have been preached that well-trained = good dog. But how much of themselves do dogs have to give up in order to become completely obedient to our wishes.

Next time you notice yourself thinking your dog is being stubborn, remind yourself that it’s ok if they have a different opinion from you. Ask instead, why might they not agree with what you want them to do? What might they prefer to do instead that also works for you?

It’s ok if they have a different opinion to you. It’s not an argument, it’s an opportunity to get to know your dog a bit better.

This can work wonders for your relationship, and build cooperation rather than obedience.

26/05/2024

The Unnecessary Recall

The unnecessary recall.

Have you noticed that the only times you use your recall, are because…

1. Your dog is doing or wants to do something and you want to stop them
2. The walk is over and you’re going to take them home

Essentially, the recall is a big old NO.

No wonder so many dogs don’t buy into it!

If these are the only times we use our recall, our clever dogs are pretty soon going to realise that recalls are just us being a buzzkill, and all the effort we put into training their recall will start to unravel.

What can we do about this?

One solution is unnecessary recalls. Using your recall when you don’t need it and they aren’t doing anything, waaay more often than when you actually NEED to use it.

This way, as long as your recalls are fun and rewarding, you can make sure that coming back to you is going to be a positive, enjoyable experience for your dog 99% of the time.

So when you need that recall in a real life scenario, they won’t automatically think that you're ending their fun and blow you off, but offering an opportunity to have fun with you.

You might find that the more fun your dog has with you on walks, the more they want to stick around you anyway!

25/05/2024

Daisy

25/05/2024

Beautiful ladies 🥰

25/05/2024

Parsley consensually putting on her harness ❤️

There's still lots of room for improvement here, notice how she stops sniffing for treats as the strap is done up. Ideally I would have backed off there to show her I recognised her discomfort and built further her trust, however we were running short of time at that point.

Even so, look what a wonderful job she did anyway in spite of my mistakes!

25/05/2024

How fascinating something as simple as a newly discovered boot must become if you have the senses of a dog