Talking Paw Behaviour

03/10/2024

Graduation day for this clever boy at the end of his 6 week puppy course ❤️ Well done Zebedee!

22/08/2024

Just because a cat doesn't have a home, doesn't mean it wants one, some are happy living free and avoiding humans

There are many suitable pet cats in shelters and homing centres waiting for someone to welcome them into their home. However, a cat without a traditional home doesn’t always mean an unhappy cat. Some cats are less suited and tolerant than others to living indoors and with humans.

We use the term ‘unowned cats’ to describe the many different lifestyles of cats because not all cats are made the same. All these cats need different types of help based on an understanding of the range of these lifestyles. To help, we created Cat Friendly Solutions for Unowned Cats, take a look here 👉 https://icatcare.org/unowned-cats/

Keep your eyes peeled for more information on our upcoming event, for anyone working in the global unowned cat community. Supported by Battersea

21/08/2024

Hissing is often misinterpreted as a cat being aggressive but it actually means the cat is reluctant to engage in aggression.

21/08/2024

I'm sure you've always wondered what these bits were for ...

I’m sure you’ve noticed the intriguing structure at the base of the outer part of your cat's ear. It's that delicate slit that forms a tiny pouch. Medically, this thin flap of skin is known as the cutaneous marginal pouch, but the name you’ll most often hear when referring to this part of

14/05/2024

Don't forget to get your cats microchipped before 10th June

Cat Microchipping Law 💉 🐱

‼️From the 10th of June 2024 it will become mandatory for all cats to be microchipped‼️

🐱This means that cats must be microchipped before 20 weeks of age and details must be kept up to date. Even cats that are kept indoors must be microchipped!
Cats that are not microchipped can mean you could face a fine of up to £500💰

❗️There is estimated to be around 9 million pet cats in the UK, of which 2.6 million are not microchipped. Trying to locate an owner if your cat becomes missing or injured without a microchip can be impossible and it’s important we can do so!

❕Microchipping can be done in a normal consultation or if your cat comes in for a general anaesthetic! AND if you join our Paws Pet Health Club you can have your cat microchipped for no extra cost‼️‼️

Please give us a call if you have any questions or would like to book in to get your cat microchipped.

08/05/2024

The dog's tail is often misinterpreted ...

The tail is perhaps one of the most misinterpreted parts of canine body language. So often people assume that a wagging tail means a happy dog, but this is definitely not the case. Tail position, speed of wag, and even which direction the tail is wagging in, all of these tell us more about how the dog is feeling in that moment.

Generally speaking, a tail carried higher than normal indicates a raised level of arousal. This is not necessarily showing that the dog will display aggressive behaviour, but it is a sign that means we should be paying close attention to what the dog's attention is focused on in case we need to intervene.

A lower than usual tail is a dog who is very unsure or scared. When we see this we should be looking to get the dog some space away from what is bothering them so they can get relief from that feeling of fear and start to feel safer and more secure again.

As with many things in canine body language, when looking at the wagging tail, a relaxed position and motion indicates a relaxed and content dog. A happy but excited dog may wag their tail in a fast but wide motion - even going so far as 'helicoptering' and moving around in a circle. A short but fast wag, especially if the tail is raised is definitely not signalling friendliness, and this dog should be given space.

There are many things to observe and think about when interpreting a dog's tail position, including their breed and type as this will affect their normal neutral tail position. Consider how the Greyhound for example carries their tail naturally, low and in a position that in many dogs would indicate stress or fear. Then compare that to a Spitz type dog, whose natural tail position is curled high over their back.

One of the most important things we can do is ensure we are educated about canine body language. There are some excellent books available with a quick search, and this website is fantastic as a free resource to help you expand your understanding: https://www.silentconversations.com/

18/04/2024

Beautiful Bunny passed his puppy training course with flying colours! Well done Bunny, looking forward to seeing you for the next stage of greatness! 😻

06/04/2024

Underneath a behaviour is an emotion. Underneath that emotion there is a need. When we can focus on what is driving the behaviour, on identifying that need that is not being met and how to give that dog what they need, then we can begin to see how to help that dog.

07/03/2024

🤭 oops!

07/03/2024

Worth remembering when you head out for a "quick" walk; if you only walk 100 yards because your dog was sniffing, that's fine, it's his walk not yours

What's the most important part of your dog walk? What's your dog's? Those valuable moments/minutes/long durations spent sniffing are too good to cut short

06/03/2024

Great info and advice

THE GOBSTOPPER
Many dogs will be motivated to pick up & hold an item when greeting people, particularly Gundog breeds, as a “displacement” behaviour, to help regulate their arousal levels. Shoes are the common choice because they are near the door where greeting occurs. This often results in the owner getting annoyed with the dog and/or taking the shoe off them. If no items are available, clothes, hands or arms often end up in the dog’s mouth which is obviously not appropriate, and as with being told off for picking up an item that doesn’t belong to them, leads to emotional conflict - the dog is motivated to have something in their mouth to help them displace their arousal associated with greeting, they get told off, they become anxious about greeting people, which requires more displacement… etc etc!
So find something your dog finds satisfying to pick up & hold & make sure it’s available at the entrance to the home where greetings take place: a gobstopper.
This is theirs to parade and hold for as long as they wish. Some dogs might seek contact whilst holding the item, some dogs won’t want to be touched during greeting (and this is likely to vary depending on who they are greeting) but the rule is to keep hands away from their item!
Spencer Bear is Eric’s favourite. If it’s not somewhere obvious when he greets someone he now searches til he finds it (a great scentwork game for him that also helps regulate arousal!)

02/02/2024

Just like people, some dogs are better communicators than others and some can just simply be misunderstood

WHY DO DOGS REACT BADLY TO SOME DOGS?

I was walking my easy pair today who love everyone and we saw a young cockapoo coming towards us who was really pulling on the lead. The lead was attached to a collar and the poor dog was making an awful choking noise and walking on his back legs as he dragged his owner along.

I could see Twig stop and growl slightly under her breath, she absolutely loves a curly friend normally but she wasn’t loving the look of this one and it’s entirely predictable that she wouldn’t and neither would many other dogs. Dogs who are really pulling on the lead and are up on the back legs are sometimes not loved by other dogs as they look like they are highly aroused and a bit out of control, they may feel unpredictable to other dogs.

Combine that with a choking sound or snorty sound and it’s a bit off putting for other dogs as they don’t sound at all at ease or relaxed and the snorting or choking may even sound like growling. If you have a dog that looks like this when they are walking onlead and they are getting bad reactions from other dogs it’s really worth working on loose lead walking and switching to a harness. Switching to a harness will mean they can breathe easier and aren’t potentially damaging their trachea and they will also sound a lot better to other dogs.

Other dogs who tend to get a hard time are the starers. Dogs who walk down the street staring and making prolonged direct eye contact with other dogs are often not well received. We say staring is swearing and it’s absolutely perceived like that by most dogs. Some dogs naturally do stare lots and are friendly but they are just intently interested in other dogs. If you have a starer it’s really worth trying to encourage them not to stare- encourage them to sniff (do a ‘find it’ with treats) or get them to check in with you to break eye contact. Dogs are likely to be friendlier to dogs who don’t stare. Staring can be a prelude to play and dogs who know each other well may stare and stalk their buddy before play bowing- that’s totally fine between friends and normal rules don’t apply between good friends. If you are trying to help your dog make friends with new dogs though, try not to let them stare.

Other dogs may get a hard time because of the way they look- certain breeds and types can be harder for other dogs to read or may have a body confirmation that makes them look unfriendly (like my Inuit (pictured) who looks permanently confrontational as she has a curled tail, prick ears and stands with her weight fowards!), flatter faced dogs and all black dogs can also get a hard time as other dogs may not understand them well.

Dogs can also be targeted by other dogs due to the way they smell- chemical messengers (pheromones) can tell other dogs everything they need to know about your dog and some dogs seem to not like the way other dogs smell. Stress hormones and other hormones are also detected by other dogs and are likely to influence how they react to each other. So much of a dog’s communication is by scent and that’s a whole world we have no access to.

Communication style can also cause some dogs to have a hard time, some dogs communicate effortlessly and have a great range of communication and some are more awkward and this can also cause issues around other dogs too.

Does your dog get a hard time from other dogs and do you know why if so?

Please share from this post and don’t copy and paste text or save my images or the original source gets lost

Laura McAuliffe, Dog Communication 2024

01/02/2024

Bit of a long read this one, but explains a lot about how dogs learn and how we need to teach them

Dogs are great at many things, but one thing they are not so good at is generalising. It makes sense to us that, when they have learned a cue at home, they should be able to understand and respond to that cue wherever they go. The thing is that dog brains don't work in quite that way. Dogs need to be taught that the same cue means they do the same thing in all different kinds of environments and situations.

To do this, we need to generalise or 'proof' the cue. Help the dog to understand that the cue asks them for the same thing, wherever they are.

To do this we look at the three factors listed here.

Distance: Initially when we are working on cues with our dogs, we will be very close. But there may well be a time when you would like or need to ask your dog to do something when they are a distance away from you. To do this, gradually start asking the dog to respond to the cue from further away. For recall, as an example, once the cue is well established at home, start practicing at slowly increasing distances when out for a walk (use a longline attached to the dog's harness until their recall is solid in all locations and from distance). Periodically call the dog back from a distance, reward, and then send them off to explore again. This is one that's good to keep doing once their recall is reliable and they can go off lead, as only ever calling an off lead dog back to put the lead on might well put them off coming back! And remember to always call your dog back if they are approaching an on-lead dog as a simple courtesy to the others using the same area.

Distractions: This is an important one for many dogs, especially young dogs who are keen to explore the world and learn about their environment. Once the cue is well established at home, start building up distractions slowly. Going from your garden at home to a busy local park will be far too much for the dog to be able to concentrate so take it in little steps. Outside your house, perhaps, or somewhere like a car park with plenty of space but where there will be some people/cars etc to act as distractions. Build up the number of different places and how busy the places you go to are to help your dog see that the cue means the same, no matter how busy the environment. (But play fair and let them have plenty of time to explore new environments safely and happily, for both you/your dog and the others using that space).

Duration: Sometimes we will need to ask our dogs to do something and have them keep doing it for a while, perhaps a sit, a down, a wait/stay. Something that helps with building duration is having a release cue, and this is something that we can teach the dog at the same time as the initial cue we'd like them to respond to. For instance, I use 'OK' as my release cue, so I'll ask my dog for a down, and then say 'OK' to let him know that he's fine to get up again. Initially we'll say this almost immediately after we've marked and rewarded the down, and then gradually increase the length of time between the cue and the release.

You can combine all three of these factors to have a cue that your dog can respond to at distance, in any kind of environment, and (where appropriate) will stay there until released. Having this kind of reliability in your cues means you can be confident and enjoy being out in the world with your dog, knowing that they will listen to you wherever you are.

18/01/2024

So very true

One of the biggest fallacies out there.

Can we please stop recommending this as a behaviour fix 🤦‍♀️

04/01/2024

Things to think about when you notice a change in your dog's behaviour.

27/12/2023

New puppy for Christmas? You'll need to start on that training as soon as possible! Get in touch for totally force free, reward based training packages, delivered to you and your pup at locations to suit you!

20/12/2023

There is always a reason, just because we haven't seen it, doesn't mean its not there - never punish the growl