Fundog Behaviour and Training

23/01/2025

This 👇

WHY I DON'T STROKE A DOG OR PUPPY THAT IS BEING CARRIED! 🐶

As a general rule, if I do not have a well established, positive relationship with a dog or puppy, I will NOT stroke them when they are being carried by their owner.

The reason for this is that when they are being carried, such as during pre-vaccination exposure to the outside world, they are unable to fully consent to an interaction.

If a puppy (or small dog!) is on the floor, they can move towards a person with relaxed and confident body language as a way of signalling they are comfortable with an interaction.

Whereas, whilst being carried- there is no avoidance option available to them. They are effectively trapped with very limited options on how to use their body language to signal their preference to be left alone, such as by orienting their body away.

Additionally, stroking a puppy or dog in this context tends to mean you are reaching directly for their head, something which many dogs find unpleasant - especially when interacting with unfamiliar or less familiar persons.

If I know a dog or puppy well or if that puppy/dog is clearly signalling they wish for an interaction then I MAY waiver my rule and engage with them briefly- stopping after 1-2 seconds to see how they feel and whether they ask for more.

Signs that they are more likely to be comfortable with an interaction are;

✅ Looking at me (with confidence)
✅ Perhaps wriggling their body TOWARDS me when we make eye contact
✅ Ears pricked forward but not too rigi
✅ Relaxed facial muscles and soft eyes
✅ Absence of trembling

Signs that a puppy or dog does not wish to be touched whilst being held are;

❌ Looking away
❌ Staring with an absence of movement in the body and head
❌ Pulling their ears back
❌ Trembling
❌ Trying to wriggle free, but in an attempt to be put down on the ground

05/01/2025

Someone’s been having fun in the mud! 🫣 If your dog was a car, what would they be and why? I think Jake would be a Subaru rally car - he’s fast, nimble and loves being off road!
Riley would be a Toyota Land Cruiser - less nimble but pretty hard core off road with lots of power

04/01/2025

How are you all doing in this chilly weather? Can’t lie, I’m having a bit of a mare. The boiler broke yesterday so it’s chilly indoors as well as out 🥶. I’ve even put jumpers on the dogs today🫣. Let’s see your winter pics - cozy or cold.

03/01/2025

Do you own a curly coated breed and strugge to maintain it? This is a fabulous e-book by a brilliant groomer with loads of relevant information on how to best manage your dog's tricky coat.

Whether you’re a proud owner of a Poodle, Doodle, Bichon, or any other curly friend, this book is packed with essential tips, grooming advice and health care to keep your furry companion happy and healthy.

01/01/2025

I love this idea 🥰. Such a great way to save memories and remind you of all the good stuff. Who else is going to join be? 🐾🐕

🐾 A YEAR OF MEMORIES WITH YOUR DOG 🐾

Start January by celebrating all the special moments you share with your dog. Here’s a simple and meaningful way to do it:

Find an empty jar, box, or tin, anything to hold your memories. Each week, write down one thing about your dog that made you smile, made you laugh, or reminded you how awesome they are. 🐾

It could be a funny moment, a small achievement, or simply a quiet moment that reminded you of how much your dog means to you. Keep adding your notes each week.

Then, on New Year’s Eve, open your jar and read through a year’s worth of love, laughter, and happy moments. It’s the perfect way to reflect on everything that makes your dog amazing. 💞✨

31/12/2024

I just want to wish all my amazing clients a happy, healthy and peaceful 2025. 🥳🎉🎊 Thank you for choosing me and entrusting me with your precious family member 🐕 🐈. Next year will hopefully bring some exciting new workshops and training classes - watch this space ! See you on the other side! Love from Jos, Jake and Riley

12/12/2024

🎅🎄Let's talk about Christmas and how it might affect your dog (or other pets). Just like people, not all dogs will enjoy the social aspect of Christmas. Lots of visitors, lots of noise and coming and goings can be stressful, especially as they are unpredictable to your dog. There may also be increased novelty in the form of trees and decorations that might create some concern for certain dogs. Higher levels of stress mean that your dog may not cope as well, and will have lower tolerance levels to human interaction. Post Christmas time is a time when we, as behaviourists, will see a high proportion of cases involving bites to people. So, help your dog out by doing the following:

🐾Have a safe space for your dog to go to, away from a crowded room.

🐾Use baby gates or seperate rooms if necessary to keep your dog separate to guests (but only if they are happy to be contained that way.

🐾Ask any guests to be mindful of your dog and to respect their safety behind the gate.

🐾Make sure all your dog's needs have been met prior to visitors coming over: exercise, toileting, feeding, enrichment opportunities.

🐾Don't take your dog's temperament for granted. There may be food dropped on the floor, toys picked up etc and this could lead to conflict, especially with extra people in the house.

🐾Even social dogs will need some 'time out' to decompress and lower stress levels (just like many people will need to do 😏🫣)

🐾Be aware that many of the foods around on Christmas Day may be harmful to your dog. Chocolates, mince pies, grapes, turkey bones etc are all major hazards. Nobody wants a trip to the emergency vet on Christmas Day!

Plan and prepare for the big day with your pets in mind to make sure everyone has a happy, healthy Christmas!

10/12/2024

🎅Need some inspiration for a Christmas gift? 🎅How about a new treat bag? I decided to treat my self to an early Xmas gift and replaced my old pink one with a brand new shiny Pet Remedy treat bag. I love this design of bag - it's easy to wear and has a magnetic opening which makes it super easy to get access to the treats. Fancy one for yourself? Click on the link below for a little extra discount https://petremedy.co.uk/ref/Fundog/

09/12/2024

🐰🐰🐰🐰 Let's 'rabbit' about furry ears (and other furry bits of animal you might consider feeding to your dog) 🐰🐰🐰🐰

Following on from a great chat all about fibre with a client today, it's a good time to revisit the oft cited myth that rabbit ears are effective (de)wormers......

TLDR; they aren't 🫣

🐇👂'Ear, 'ear 👂🐇

Can I whisper something to you? 🤫

*hairy ears (or other hairy body parts of animals) are NOT effective de-wormers for your dog* 🙈

I see this being advertised and advised a lot and it worries me as parasitic worms are capable of causing significant health and welfare issues if not appropriately managed - and feeding hairy ears are not appropriate management methods! 🐰

If furry things were effective dewormers, wild and free-living scavengers and carnivores would not have the parasite burdens we know they can have 🦊🦝🦡🦅

What these chews are however, are tasty (for some dogs) additions to our dogs' daily diet and can provide enrichment and a source of animal-derived fibre that may support gut health. Their effectiveness at 'trapping' worms and microscopic worm eggs in the gut....no robust evidence at all 🪱🔬

(And honestly.... just because you never see worms or eggs, that doesn't mean they aren't there!)🫣

If you want to control parasites;
🪱poo pick regularly and keep housing areas clean - many parasites are transmitted in 💩

🪱ensure good overall health for your dog through diet, exercise, management and care

🪱use a service to know what is ACTUALLY going on

🪱treat based on need and seek veterinary advice on local issues relating to management, parasite species concerns and possible resistance problems - these differ based on geographical location, climate, vector species and a whole host of other variables!

Keep hairy ears as tasty treats (but also source carefully....remember these are by-products of animal production systems and not all are as high welfare as we might like to think 🐰)

If you want to learn about dietary animal-derived fibre, have a look at

Depauw S, Hesta M, Whitehouse-Tedd K, Vanhaecke L, Verbrugghe A, Janssens GP. Animal fibre: the forgotten nutrient in strict carnivores? First insights in the cheetah. J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl). 2013 Feb;97(1):146-54. doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0396.2011.01252.x. Epub 2011 Nov 10. PMID: 22074361. 🐆

07/12/2024

I'm a bit late posting this but I had the pleasure of teaching this two gorgeous dogs and their humans last weekend. Both dogs are having a bit of a tricky time around other dogs at the moment. The golden retriever is very young (about 9 months old) and entering adolescence - he wants to be everyone's friend! So he is learning to manage his impulses and learn some frustration tolerance. The little Springer is worried about interactions with other dogs and so needs help building her confidence around them. Their humans are friends and would like both dogs to be able to get on together so this session was our first step in helping this process. Didn't they do well 🥰🐾🐾