Everdogs

20/02/2025

TEENAGE DOGS AND FRUSTRATION - here's what it can look like! Excellent video from the fabulous The Mutty Professor 👇

19/02/2025

TEENAGE DOGS AND FRUSTRATION 😤
Your adolescent dog's brain 🧠 is going through massive and rapid change. Changes to the mid-brain (striatum) mean there's an increased focus on REWARD - and this can be anything the dog wants.

Food and toys, yes. But also:
🔸️Access to social opportunities with dogs or people
🔸️Access to running (yes, just for the fun of it even!)
🔸️Access to interesting scents and sights such as squirrels, other wildlife, the birds in the garden, the football match at the park, anything they find interesting or exciting.

Yet we manage or restrict that access in so many ways:
❌️Withholding food rewards for 'incorrect' responses - slow to sit when asked? We often hold onto that treat in our hand and ask again
❌️Withholding toys for similar reasons, or removing them to finish the game, often without giving a clear signal it's over
❌️Walking our dog on lead which prevents access to the dog, person or squirrel in that moment
❌️Walls, fences and windows preventing access to the birds, squirrel, delivery person

How FRUSTRATING for that teen brain who wants it all and wants it NOW.

But remember that teens also have an under-developed pre-frontal cortex, responsible for self-control and emotional regulation? 🧠

Aha! 💡 All that frustration slams into low emotional regulation and 💥 BOOM! 💥

Now do we see why we see behaviours in teenage dogs like:

✔️Pulling on the lead
✔️Jumping up
✔️Mouthing (including grabbing leads, clothing or even hands and arms, biting feet and ankles, often accompanied by jumping up)
✔️Barking
✔️Lunging
✔️Humping (female dogs too)
✔️Running or moving further away from you than before on walks
✔️Failure to recall in previously successful scenarios
✔️Increased interest in other dogs and / or people

All of these are generally considered to be problematic for most people, annoying or a sign of 'disobedience'. Some of them can be scary, especially if your dog is big - having a dog jumping up and mouthing you or grabbing clothing can obviously be perceived as aggression and is clearly scary if you don't understand why your puppy is suddenly doing this.

Dash was a super easy puppy but is a typical teenage dog - he gets frustrated in training if I ask him to redo a sequence and this can sometimes lead to barking, jumping and some mouthing if his arousal levels are high. He is pulling on the lead when there are interesting scents or things he can see he that wants to investigate, and that's a lot of the time! He's ranging further ahead on walks and will sometimes ignore a known cue (although not so far his recall cue).

Is it annoying and a bit stressful? Oh yes! But here's what I do:

🔸️In high arousal training, like agility, I use a lower value reward for incorrect attempts and even the high value reward, I avoid multiple repetitions where he is struggling that day (and it will change day to day, brains are busy rewiring all the time right now)
🔸️If he jumps at me in frustration, I cue a known and highly reinforced cue of 'down' and slowly feed a few treats in a known 'pattern game' then calmly restart
🔸️I use a double ended lead with a front clip harness and I clip the lead to the front when he is unable to think and is pulling. When he calms down, I unclip the front attachment and we carry on just on the back clip as normal
🔸️I use a long line intermittently on walks where I know he will get over excited (high arousal) and always at the start of the walk to encourage slower mooching and sniffing before being let off the lead
🔸️If he's very high and can't hear or focus, I wait calmly, shorten the long line and wait for as long as it takes for him to be 'back in the room' - usually this involves looking at me (not just a glance). I then ask for a known behaviour. If he can do this, we calmly carry on.

But mostly, when he is showing adolescent behaviour I remember he is struggling, I remember that he literally can't process and think clearly right now.

I take a deep breath and try to stay calm and do what I can to help support him.

It's definitely not always easy! It's frustrating for us too, it can be hard to work with when life has been difficult, you've had a busy day, you're tired, and here you have a teenage dog having a moment!

But it will pass. You weren't always easy as a teenager! And you were a teenager a lot longer than your dog is going to be!

Be kind, be patient. Make things easier for them where you can. Take a deep breath. It's a small fraction of their life with you and you will come out the other side!

18/02/2025

TEENAGE DOGS
Dash was a super easy puppy, but now he's in full adolescence and that is always a challenge! Time for a repost of this 👇

Did you know that one of the main reasons a young dog dies is because they are put to sleep for their behaviour? Adolescent dogs also make up a large percentage of dogs surrendered to rescue.

Why? Because teenage dogs can be hugely challenging.

This is a time of massive change in the body and brain. The pre-frontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for self-control and emotional regulation, is under-developed, while at the same time the mid brain (striatum), which is primarily involved in movement and rewarding experiences, is developing rapidly.

Can you see the issue here? Gung ho, full speed ahead with no brakes? No emotional regulation?

So what we see is an increase in behaviour like running off, poor recall, frustration and, often but not always, aggression. Responsiveness to previously learned cues and new training decreases.

All this brain and body growth needs fuel, and if we over exercise our teenage dogs, the fuel for the brain - glucose - is diverted to the muscles, leaving the brain starved.

Do we want to starve the full-steam-ahead-no-brakes teenage brain? Do we think that will help our young dog be able to make the right choices and have any self-control?

Nope.

If that already under-developed pre-frontal cortex - the "brakes" - is starved of sugars, what you see is irritability, emotional reactions and a lack of self-control.

We need to feed our teens regularly. We need to be mindful of exercise - and often this is a time when people ramp up the exercise to try to "tire out" their young dog.

We also need to make sure training is not frustrating. Make it easy to earn reinforcement, make the reinforcement predictable. This is not the time to start to "wean" your dog off rewards or make things harder.

Stabilise the brain, stabilise the dog.

But most of all, remember that being a teenager is hard. Be patient, be kind ❤️ You will get through this!

05/02/2025

Is your flea and tick treatment poisoning wildlife? This interesting story appeared recently, showing the dog fur birds use for their nests contains the pesticides from flea and tick treatment. These same pesticides have recently been found in rivers.

I personally don't use spot-on flea and tick treatment, opting to use a herbal product year round, as well as a spray and daily brushing and checking in peak tick season. I would use pesticides if my dogs had fleas, which they never have.

Similarly, I use a herbal wormer 3 days a month and do a postal 'worm count' every 3 months to check for intestinal parasites. If they are present, I would then use a veterinary wormer.

What do you use for your dogs?

Exclusive: Chemical in treatment for pet fleas and ticks is found in nests of blue and great t**s, killing chicks

26/12/2024

This is great information and advice.
Yesterday morning Piper and Dash got their stockings, which of cause caused a lot of excitement, then we went to visit family for a bit. Both dogs are super people friendly and Dash is so young he gets very excited. This meant they had not had any of their usual morning rest and sleep.
We drove to a walk, during the drive my van developed a fault which stressed me out a lot! Lack of sleep + excitement over arousal + me being stressed meant Dash couldn't walk on lead without pulling as was struggling to regulate. I was also tired and stressed about the van - this also applies to humans! My emotional responses were different and I was far less equipped to deal with an over aroused teenage dog pulling than I would usually be.
We're having a lazy day today!

⚠️ BOXING DAY : EXTRA CAUTION REQUIRED ⚠️

Your dog or puppy may be over stimulated, tired, sore and irritable 😠 🥱 😩 😵‍💫

Take extra care today, please keep in mind that sometimes the first symptom of a dog or puppy being too tired, sore or over stimulated is behaviour change. Behaviour change which, in some instances, can appear to come from nowhere.

‼️ A dog’s usual levels of tolerance may be at risk of lowering.
‼️ Their startle responses may increase.
‼️ Their sensitivity to stimuli, including being touched, may heighten.
‼️ Their ability to recollect prior learned information (their training) may decrease.
‼️ Their social skills may become compromised, which may result in them failing to read the room or being more irritable.
‼️ They may be quicker to fatigue on walks.

Nick and I travelled to see my step mum on Monday. Christmas Eve, we spent the first part of the day cleaning the house and Christmas Day we travelled to see Nick’s parents.

My dogs don’t sleep deeply in the car and despite taking their beds to both family homes, they didn’t sleep for as long, nor as well as they would have at home. They were understandably easily disturbed by the activity and were even following me to the bathroom each time.
Our cleaning related hustle and bustle on 24th would have also interfered with their usual sleep quality.

Yesterday Amigo also dedicated a good hour of his day on his feet putting pressure on kitchen door activity - hoping for a management slip up that would get him access to the food being served and the plates being cleared away from the dining room. You can take the stray off the streets…… 😆

So all in all, across three days- I would guess that my dogs are about 15 hours in deficit (of sleep).

During sleep, stress hormone levels are lowered, the brain’s toxins are removed, cellular repair across the body occurs, and the immune system gets a boost. The body is given an MOT that helps regulate its responses to stimuli the next day.

This includes regulating the perception of pain and of course, quality rest supports the reduction of any inflammation.

My dogs were on their feet - getting up and down more than normal - across the past three days. Any muscular or skeletal pain can become heightened- especially for my senior dog Kanita.

Additionally, during sleep information is processed and stored. Whilst relevant for all dogs, those with young puppies should be especially considerate to the fact that there’s only so much sensory stimuli the young brain can process. A high intensity of stimuli (noise, sights, scents, and touch!) parallel to compromised sleep can lead to an over stimulated puppy- this usually results in a puppy that jumps and mouths more!

Lastly, most of us humans get tired from all of the activity. The usual level of management and ‘tolerance’ of our dogs and puppies may start to slip.

Contexts in which to be cautious:

☑️ Visitors arriving to the home- caution letting dogs greet them at the door or in narrow hallways!

Also be cautious of your dog accidentally escaping out the door or gate left open. Stay vigilant and remind guests to keep the usual doors and gates closed.

☑️ People touching your dog or puppy! Does the dog WANT to be touched? Have they asked to be touched? Is touching the puppy leading to them jumping and mouthing? Is the dog and puppy being touched and/or picked up too often?

Make sure everyone, especially children, leave a resting puppy or dog well alone and that there's understanding of what 'no thanks' looks like (they don't approach to interact when asked, or look away, move away or tense up when being interacted with).

☑️ Monitor anyone playing with the dog/puppy very carefully. Normally, it's the humans that struggle to regulate their behaviour intensity or duration - and the dog/puppy simply responds to that.

☑️ People (including children) behaving in an animated way (loud noises and sudden or unusual movement).

☑️ How WE humans respond to undesired behaviour. Are we appearing confrontational? Are we intensifying the level of stimuli or calming things down?

☑️ Leaving dangerous foods and items around. Keep things out of reach of your dog or shut them away from your dog.

If your puppy or dog 'steals' an item that they 'shouldn't have', trade it for treats. Don't rush to grab things off them and ensure everyone present knows to do the same (or better yet, alerts you to do it). You'd be suprised how many bite incidents happen towards people who aren't the dog's primary carer and who go to take things off the dog/puppy.

☑️ Interacting with unfamiliar dogs on walks (or even their buddies!). Dogs who are tired or in pain may be more quick to be defensive, over stimulated dogs and puppies may be more likely to socialise inappropriately- which may result in them being the target of defensive behaviour.

☑️ The walk itself! Pay attention to the environment, something that’s harder to do when walking in a group!
Be aware and considerate of others, but also towards livestock and wildlife if you’re walking somewhere different to usual.

Keep your dog on lead if you’re not sure their recall is up to the usual standard! Remember, memory recollection AND sensory processing is compromised when dogs are tired.

Lastly, if your dog doesn’t normally go on epic, long hikes, then stick to a distance similar to their usual walk duration. Please don’t exhaust your dog by taking them on an endurance hike they’ve not built the fitness up for, or that they may be too old or less physically able to enjoy.


Today we are meeting my brother, his wife and my two young nephews at the pub for lunch. Kanita doesn’t like children too close and Mohawk gets a bit nervous of their excitement- so we have opted to meet away from the home so my dogs aren’t put in a situation they may struggle with more than normal.

It’s just not worth the risk! I’d rather be labelled as too cautious than there be a concerning or serious incident. My dogs will be happier at home resting.

Be your dog's advocate ❤️

24/12/2024

Merry Christmas from the Everdogs ❤️🐾
First one in 13 years without my heart dog Cara, and the second without Zeke, which is hard, but it's thre first one for my little ray of sunshine Dash, which makes it easier.
He and Piper make excellent Christmas reindeer 🦌🦌
Hope your festive period is happy, restful, busy, thoughtful, however you wish it to be ❤️

12/12/2024

A busy couple of days recently assessing 11 dog and veteran teams for their Public Access Tests for the fabulous BRAVEHOUND - delighted to pass them all! 🥳
Also lovely to see two unusual assistance dog breeds - from the very small Lhasa Apso Gizmo to the very big Newfoundland Hagrid!
Always a pleasure working with these amazing people and dogs and their equally amazing team at Bravehound.

28/10/2024

FIREWORKS and safe spaces. Remember it's up to your dog what and where makes them feel safe - don't shut them in a crate, don't get them out from under a bed, don't get them off the back of the sofa. Give them options and let them choose

26/10/2024

🎆FIREWORKS🎇 It's Diwali on Wednesday and of course bonfire night shortly after.
Get your dogs used to the drums on a low volume now.
Give them somewhere to hide now.
Speak to your vet now if your dog is very distressed by fireworks.

17/10/2024

Think about what your dog has been selectively bred over generations to do and how you are going to meet that need. Because they are going to find a way to do, because they NEED to do it.

08/10/2024

Great to be out doing some in-person CPD, learning from the fabulous Leslie McDevitt, creator and author of the Control Unleashed programme and its pattern games.

Patterns create predictable actions with predictable consequences, as well as giving the dog some control. They're deceptively simple, but don't be fooled! There's a LOT going on.

Someone who has anxiety once described predictable patterns to me as "safety anchors" that helped them navigate something otherwise stressful, and I love this explanation.

If you've done a 121 with me, chances are we used some pattern games, like looking at a dog or person, moving between two or more stations, reorienting to you, or even taking a deep breath.

Speaking of 121s, im.working my way through people I had to reschedule and new enquiries that came in while I had to take time after losing Cara. Many thanks for your patience and understanding.

If you're waiting to hear from me, I am getting to you, but do give me a prod if you need me urgently or think I've forgotten you.

26/09/2024

A good life ❤️ and a good death 🖤
When I feel up to it, I might write a similar post. It's not easy breaking your own heart to save your best friend from suffering, but it comes to most of us with dogs.

We talk so much about giving our dogs a good life; a life that is enriched, and safe and full of love, I feel sometimes we need to talk more about giving our dogs a good death.

Death, for all of us, is inevitable. We can tip toe around that fact, or we can face it and discuss it, which I prefer to do, especially when it comes to dogs. My own, or yours.

As much as dogs deserve a good life, they deserve a good death even more so. But what is a good death? Well, here are my thoughts and experiences.

A good death is humane, and soft. It is like slipping into a warm bath, or taking an afternoon nap. It is calm and welcoming.

A good death is with familiar people. Not alone, not worried or confused. It is beside someone trusted who is guiding the way.

A good death is not in fear or pain. It is not on the worst day, or the hardest one. It is as merciful as it can be to that.

A good death is when there is recognition. When the dog is not so far gone in fear, pain, distress or cognition that they do not know who is with them or how they got there.

These standards to me are what I uphold with all my dogs and I believe all dogs to be deserving of. The cause of death, whether age, illness, behavior, or a combination, are important of course, but their final moments on this earth are totally beyond their control, and I view it as one of the greatest things we can do for them to make them feel valued, cared for and loved in that time.

I say this because I often watch dogs suffer poor deaths, and this may be a trigger for some but it’s a trigger for me too, which is why I am writing this. I watch dogs who have severe behavior issues get rehomed and rehomed and returned, only to suffer an awful death with people they don’t know, wondering what they did wrong, scared and alone. I watch dogs with illnesses or age get left behind, only to die alone and in pain and of a broken heart. I see these deaths because the people couldn’t bring themselves to be beside their dog at the end, or kept thinking there was something or someone else who could do it instead, and the dog ends up maybe having had a great life, but a very poor end. That is not fair.

Behavioral euthanasia is talked about a lot more than it used to be nowadays. And it’s not incorrect when we say sometimes it is the most HUMANE thing you can do for your dog is to give them a good death, beside you, rather than hope someone else can take them on and then they suffer alone after their issues prove too much for anyone else.

All of my dogs are promised a good death. The moment they step into my home. I do not hold on to my dogs because I can’t let them go. I give them an amazing life, and also a good goodbye, and I support my clients when they have to make these decisions too, no matter what the reason is behind it. I have been present for more euthanasias and goodbyes than I ever care to discuss. My own, my clients, shelter dogs. I have performed them myself. For every reason you can imagine. And for that very reason I stand by that while we should talk always about giving a good life to our dogs, we should advocate and talk about good deaths. Safe, free of pain or fear, and so very very loved.

- Helen St. Pierre

18/09/2024

Cara 2/08/08 - 17/09/24 💔😢
There are no words. I am broken.
By my side for 14.5 of her 16 years. My heart dog. A piece of me.
I won't be answering emails or messages for a while. I won't be seeing clients for a while. Please bear with me as I process this huge loss.

06/09/2024

Wee Dash (or I should say not-so-wee Dash!) is now in his adolescence. He's doing pretty well but we are seeing an increase of pulling on the lead, frustration related behaviour and some fear where there previously was none. Adolescence can also bring regression to puppy like behaviour like chewing and mouthing. It's understandable that people find it frustrating, but now is a time for calm and patient responses from us. As noted below, unpredictable behaviour from us such as shouting generally exacerbates the situation, often causing appeasement behaviour such as jumping up and mouthing - which may be the very things you're frustrated about!
Patience, calm, understanding for our teens will see them through this period. It's not the easiest, but it's not forever!

Adolescence occurs between six months and 18 months of age—a time when guardians typically struggle the most with their dogs. Some guardians are so overwhelmed and underprepared for this developmental stage of their dog’s life, they choose to surrender the dog to a local shelter or rescue group. In a recent study published in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science found that the majority of the surrendered dogs (47.7 percent) ) were between 5 months and 3 years of age (M.D. Salman,John G. New, Jr.,Janet M. Scarlett,Philip H. Kass,Rebecca Ruch-Gallie &Suzanne Hetts, 2010)

The neurobiology of adolescence is fascinating, with some key events that alter both the structure and function of the brain.

During canine adolescence, changing s*x hormones effect the animals stress responses. Adolescent dogs have a decreased ability to process information they are receiving from the environment including the presence of dogs, vehicles, people, or really anything around them. They behave in ways that might feel frustrating or upsetting for the dog’s person.

The connectivity between the frontal cortex (responsible for decision making) and amygdala (responsible for emotional processing) decreases, resulting in less behavioral control. We see increased risk taking and more sensitivity to fear.

So what does this mean? This could mean that what was once no big deal to the dog now feels scary; what was once easy to do is now stressful; what once made sense is now confusing. At times, the world can feel like ‘too much’ for the adolescent dog.

As your puppy undergoes this transition into adulthood their inner world is intense, even chaotic. Many pet owners experience an increase in undesirable behavior and find themselves becoming increasingly frustrated. In turn, our own frustration and impatience can cause us to act unpredictably. This adds to our puppy’s inner turmoil. When the inside and the outside are both unpredictable it can be difficult for our dogs to adjust.

If you have an adolescent dog, what can you do? You can give your dog the time and space to observe what is going on around them when on leash at a distance away from the activity when possible. You can give your dog long walks to sniff and explore in nature, giving their brain time to decompress. You can offer your dog a quiet space to sleep so that they can consolidate memories effectively. You can continue training various skills, breaking them down into easier steps that can be generously reinforced.

By understanding what our adolescent dog is experiencing we gain greater compassion and understanding. When we approach adolescence with patience we create a world that is predictable and gentle so our puppies grow up to be their best adult selves.

23/08/2024

"He's not in pain, he runs around like mad on walks." ⚠️ Don't make this mistake! 👇

DOGS IN PAIN STILL RUN AND PLAY

This is Twig my yorkie, as many of you know she was born with deformed back legs. She has patella issues, cruciate issues, malformed hocks and also elbow disease.

Despite all of this, Twig would play all day. She is a young dog and would run non-stop, play with toys, play with my other dogs 24/7 if she could. She always wants to go for a walk- she never wants to turn to go home, she would walk all day if you let her.

She’s never grumpy, never shows any aggression even when she’s in pain. She partially ruptured a cruciate a few months ago and despite not being able to use her leg she was still desperate to go for a walk and kept dropping balls in my coffee (obvs I didn’t let her walk or play!) 😳

She has phases where her legs are really bad and she is in pain. It would be really easy for me to think she’s ‘fine’ and not in pain as she would still play all day if I let her. My only behavioural signs of pain with her are that she wakes in the night and takes a while to settle again and she barks a bit more than normal at outside noises.

I’ve also seen night-waking with my Dalmatian, Lucky, when he was in pain and my first sign of his back issues was that he would wake up and wander around in the middle of the night. He also still wanted to walk and play.

People often think that a dog who is in pain won’t want to go for a walk but dogs in pain are often still keen to go for a walk and they will want to chase a ball etc and play if you let them. Don’t ever assume they aren’t in pain because they want to run and play!

Signs of pain can be subtle and these are some that I commonly see in dogs I work with -

🛌 They may wake in the night or find it hard to settle in the evening, pacing or moving from bed to bed

🐕 They may vocalise more (whine or bark) and be more attention-seeking (nudging your hand to stroke them all the time or following you from room to room)

🛋️ Hesitating or unable to climb on/off the sofa, go up the stairs or get in and out of the car or needing a bigger run up to get in. Being slower to get up from resting.

😔 Being unhappy about being handled (groomed/dried etc) or unhappy about people sitting next to them on the sofa or walking past their bed

🐩 Changes in interactions with other dogs on walks- less keen on interacting or less keen on certain types of play etc

🏀. Lying down on walks or walking at a slower place but also conversely running excessively (‘runners high’ endorphins make them feel good temporarily)

You may also notice physical changes (the way your dog moves or the way their body looks.

💊 Please chat to your vet if you see any changes, dogs don’t suddenly change and start or stop doing things for no reason.

Pain is one of the primary causes of many aggression in dogs. Dogs also often don’t stop running and playing when they are in pain- signs of pain can be subtle and easy to miss so please, please seek advice from your vet if you see changes

Laura McAuliffe, Dog Communication 2024