Well this has made my day! Gizmo (dark grey dog) came to our Rethinking Reactivity course earlier in the year, and I received this today. Incredible progress 🤩
"Gizmo making friends with my Son’s dog Bailey (who is very laid back!). Thank you Charlotte for the work you did with us that helped us to achieve this. Thank you so much for the advice you gave us- we couldn’t have done it without you." - Gizmo's owner.
Calm greetings with Rosie. Rosie is completely deaf and thrives off cues and behaviours that have a tactile element - she took to 'touch' very quickly!
Sitting is not a prerequisite for touch, and Rosie doesn't do this every time - it just so happened that she did in this video.
Thank you to Jade for the confidence building experience of greeting a stranger here.
Let’s talk about relationships between dogs in the home.
I think it’s a common thing for people to get a second dog and hope that they will be best of friends with the first. While this is a lovely thought, unfortunately it isn’t always that simple, and multi-dog households can present a diverse range of problems for owners.
With this in mind, let’s look at some considerations you should make before introducing a second dog to your household.
What is your current dog’s temperament / what are their preferences?
Would your dog actually benefit and enjoy having a second canine in the house? Do they prefer their own space? Do they struggle to settle around other dogs? This in particular can result in difficulties if it is not addressed prior to introducing the second dog.
How old is your current dog / how long have you had your current dog?
If your dog is very old and has a long history of being the only dog, you will need to think carefully about how you plan to introduce the new arrival. Puppies are intense and it is not fair to expect an elderly dog to endure their oftentimes relentless onslaught of excitement. Similarly, if you have a dog that is still quite young or is relatively new to the home, would they benefit from more 1-2-1 focus before you add another?
How much extra time do you have?
Don’t assume that an extra dog won’t require any extra time. It is tempting to think that all of your dogs’ walks will be together – but dogs can have diverse needs, and you may find yourself in a position where they need to be exercised separately to fulfil these. Training separately is also important; you won’t be able to carry out all your dogs’ training requirements with them together at all times.
How will you manage things if the dogs don’t get on?
Sometimes, dogs in the same household do not get along, and in some cases this can lead to fights. What will happen if you find yourself in this situation? Can you realistically separate the d
It was just Buxton at Back to Basics on Tuesday, so we really got to work on his recall.
Here, he is recalling away from the flirt pole. We did some recalls for food, but also used Premack for many of them.
Our Rethinking Reactivity duo are doing fantastically. We brought Tucker into this session, handled by Alice, to introduce Ted and Gandalf to a dog that looks a little different.
We're always prepared to adjust our plans to meet your dog's needs!
Absolutely fantastic work from our Rethinking Reactivity group last night. One of the topics we talked about was how to react if our dogs fixate on another dog - we then began putting some new techniques into practice 🐾
Our reactivity course is all about teaching you as well as your dog. Getting in tune with your dog's communication systems and knowing how best to respond to them is essential for success.
Sometimes we are walking a fine line between leaving our dogs to make all of their own decisions, and micromanaging - finding that sweet spot in the middle where the dog is making choices and learning with our guidance can be hard.
This video is from week 7 of our recent reactivity group. You can see that Bob becomes a little frozen looking at Archie, and his handler makes the right decision in calmly and quietly moving him away from the situation.
Enjoy this view of Chase snoozing while I chat about muzzle training, and why it's important for every dog! 🐾
Tucker and I have been training in agility for the past few months. Recently, we began our competition journey, with the aim of keeping things very low-pressure and making sure Tucks is still having fun!
In his third show, he got his first clear round which was a great achievement for both of us. I'm a novice when it comes to agility, so we've been taking lessons with Sara Simply meant to be agility dogs
I highly recommend Sara for anyone looking to learn, whether it's for fun or competition - her sessions are engaging and use positive reinforcement to bring the best out in your dog.
A very short video to show where Bob is at in his Rethinking Reactivity journey. Bob finds people standing with dogs very triggering, more so than just seeing the dog by itself. We've been using stooge dogs (not real dogs) and Alice has been standing with them while we work with Bob on this.
He's not quite ready to be out seeing the other class members yet and that's okay - some dogs just need a little more time.
A big success in our Rethinking Reactivity course on Monday, as Archie and Joni were out together at the same time.
Lots of work still to be done, but this is huge progress - well done all! 🐾
First time off-lead together for these four puppies. No frenzy of activity, just calm sniffing and polite greetings - this is how socialisation should be!
Of course, there are times when puppies will start to play, and this is fine - but we need to monitor their interactions carefully and intervene before things become chaotic - chaotic play does not teach puppies good social skills!
Off-lead time should be followed by calming activities, too. We followed this up with settling the puppies back down on lead, teaching them vital skills in emotional regulation.
Chase, our rescue terrier, has very awkward social skills and has rarely shown interest in playing with other dogs. He is dog reactive and can be aggressive.
Since introducing Tucker earlier in the year, Chase has coexisted with him without play ever really having a part in their interactions.. so you can imagine my surprise and joy when this happened yesterday!
A special moment for two very special dogs 💙
Calm behaviour around other dogs should be a priority with puppies. It's not about completely distracting them from other dogs - they need to notice them (and other things in their environment) to be able to process the world around them. But developing the ability to remain quiet and attentive is a preventative measure against reactivity, and also makes loose lead walking much easier to achieve!
Here we have two puppies in class working on passing each other calmly. You can see that they notice each other, but carry on walking with their handlers without pulling towards the other dog. It's not about neat walking to heel here - this is all about teaching puppies to moderate their emotions, and building desirable behaviours as a result.
Here's a little look at how we're preparing ourselves for Bonfire Night. Preparation can never begin too early, especially with young or fearful dogs.
The three steps we're taking to prepare Chase are:
1. Establish safe spaces. Chase has a few of these anyway, but now is the time for us to really reinforce the use of them and pair that with somewhere to find safety when there are loud noises.
2. Desensitise to firework sounds. We began with our firework recordings on a super low volume, and over the weeks have gradually increased it so we can now play it loudly. Your dog should never show signs of fear during desensitisation - if they do, you've moved too quickly and need to take a step back.
3. Habituate to a thundershirt. Thundershirts are a fantastic tool, but make sure your dog is prepared for wearing one. Chase is especially wary of anything like this, so we're introducing it very gradually and making it his choice to interact with it. I'll share more on this as we progress!
Make sure to keep an eye on the page nearer to Bonfire Night, when we'll discuss how to manage the real thing 🐾
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Practicing our recall to the whistle today. He was getting tired here - I wish I'd got a video of his fully stretched out run, he's a fast critter 🐾
With everything else we have had to prioritise with Chase, recall has always come pretty far down on the list. It's nice to finally have him in a place where we can dedicate time to this.
We are slowly but steadily making progress with Chase. He has met Tucker a few times and recently we have felt that he has been relaxed enough to have his muzzle removed - even with Tucker running around him off-lead. He is finally showing signs of wanting to play, although they can be a bit intense at times! Tucker handles Chase's behaviour very calmly which is exactly what we need at this stage. It's amazing to see him running and relaxing with another dog 🐾
I love seeing progress videos throughout my puppy courses. Here is Lola demonstrating some great loose lead walking 🐾
A short film of Bertie and Milo enjoying the confidence workshop. While some of the exercises might seem simple, they provide a safe way for dogs to gain confidence in novel situations, and are great for mental stimulation too! Some of the exercises also included proprioception, self control, and scent work.
