Nosy Dog Training

30/06/2024

What can I say about our fabulous pupstars Alfie, Rupert and Mabel?

Yet again another awesome week for our little super stars. They learnt how to settle which is great for them and their guardians.

Drop means good things happen and they started learning a hard skill for puppies which is leave as it can take some self control not to grab at food.

Awesome teamwork as usual👏👏🐕 ❤️ 😊

26/06/2024

Please read this in the event your dog suffers heatstroke. It can safe their life.

There is sadly a lot of misinformation out advising against cooling your dog down. Yet this is exactly what you need to do.

Is it true that if we use cold water on heat stroke pets they will go into shock?

One of the most common things we still hear is that we can only use tepid water on a pet with heat stroke, incase they get some complications like hypothermic overshoot, peripheral vasoconstriction hindering a cooling response, and cardiogenic shock...

We have heard not to use cold water in case it causes shock... this rarely happens!

But guess what? In a recent study over 26% of dogs presented with heat stroke died, with flat faced breeds making up nearly half of heat stroke cases seen in the study.

You should:

💧Get someone to call the local veterinary practice and tell them you're going to travel down with a heat stroke patient
💧Pour, hose or if possible immerse the pet in very cold water (this should obviously be done under constant supervision, ensuring the head is fully above water and immersion should not be attempted if the animal is too large, or you are unable to do so without hurting yourself)
💧NB: If using a hose pipe, make sure it has run through until cold, as they can often contain water that is extremely hot in the tubing initially
💧Do not drape in towels and leave them in situ. Keep the cold water flowing.
💧Move to a cool, shaded area
💧Prepare to transport to vets in a cold, air conditioned car

In studies they found that:

🌅International consensus from sports medicine organisations supports treating EHS with early rapid cooling by immersing the casualty in cold water.
🌅Ice-water immersion has been shown to be highly effective in exertional heat stroke, with a zero fatality rate in large case series of younger, fit patients.
🌅Hyperthermic individuals were cooled twice as fast by Cold Water Immersion as by passive recovery.
🌅No complications occurred during the treatment of three older patients with severe heat stroke were treated with cold‐water immersion.
🌅Cold water immersion (CWI) is the preferred cooling modality in EHS guidelines and the optimal method applicable to UK Service Personnel
🌅Studies suggest using either ice-water or cold-water immersion

The best intervention is PREVENTION, but if you find yourself with an animal with heat stroke, using cold water either by pouring, hosing or ideally (if safe) immersion then this may help reduce their temperature to safe levels while you transport to a veterinary practice.

Read more below:

https://www.vetvoices.co.uk/post/cool-icy-cold-or-tepid

24/06/2024

This week our pupstars - Rupert, Alfie and Mabel had some new experiences to help build confidence and resilience to novel items.

This is a very important part of puppy development which is often overlooked in favour of traditional training such as loose lead walking and recall.

They also got to experience some enrichment which is just as important as physical exercise. Dogs like us, thrive on mental stimulation and it also helps with that all important puppy sleep time.

Us humans had a great chat about dog body language, in particular was tail wags which isn't always an indicator that a dog is happy.

We also talked about the importance of listening to our pups when they are upset and how growls are a vital source of communication that need respecting.

Absolutely brilliant class. Well done everyone, humans and pups 🐕❤️ 😊 👏 👏

23/06/2024

Thank you to my pupstar guardians for an awesome class today 😊

17/06/2024

Meet our newest pupstars - Mabel, Alfie and Rupert who are absolutely adorable.

They had super fun playing with some toys this week and their guardians learnt that have a preference when it comes to which toy they like.

They also tried some different foods to help their guardians understand that they also have food preferences. This will help when they engage in learning as having the right food motivation can really impact how your dog responds to training.

Gorgeous wee pups and fab guardians off to a great start on their training journey ❤️🐕❤️😊 👏 👏

08/06/2024

PAIN AND BEHAVIOUR

Cwaniak is the most adorable dog who I have been seeing for reactivity.

On our 1st session I noticed quite quickly that something wasn't quite right with his gait. His lovely guardian informed me that Cwaniak had already had 2 xrays which indicated that nothing was amiss.

I'm not a vet but something wasn't right. I suggested that they go their new vets and request a pain trail which is when medication is given to ease pain.

The vet they saw was amazing and gave Cwaniak a thorough examination which indicated pain that had been missed. He was prescribed an anti inflammatory with a follow up to discuss further investigation.

Since taking the medication, Cwaniak's behaviour has started to change. He's not so wary of other dogs and is less grumbly with his guardians. There is still training and further medical investigations to be done but it is a stark reminder that PAIN does impact behaviour.

Dogs are good at hiding pain, until it manifests in other ways.

05/06/2024

Isn't Tilly just gorgeous ❤️

Tilly gets a little worried when out and about. She scans the environment looking for anything that might cause her to be anxious.

To help Tilly we picked a location where we knew there was no chance of off lead dogs getting into her secure bubble space.

We did this to help Tilly feel secure and we started helping her feel better by reinforcing positive reactions to anything that might worry her.

When working with dogs that can find walks stressful, the 1st priority is management - making them feel safe as without this, they will be on high alert which increases anxiety.

One interesting question that came up from Tilly's guardian was regarding picking Tilly up to make her feel safe.

Yes absolutely if it calms Tilly and reassures her. There is no truth in the often well intentioned advise that this is molly coddling a dog and makes them more anxious.

If anything, it reassures your dog that you are listening to them, you have their back and that you are someone they can trust to keep you safe.

Tilly is so lucky to have a guardian that wants to help her feel better on walks. Looking forward to our next session ❤️🐕❤️😊

03/06/2024

03/06/2024

Congratulations to our super pupstars who were absolutely amazing on their graduation day 🎓 📜 super proud of you all 👏 👏 🐕 ❤️

Loki, Lilly, Luna and Tara put their training to the test by recalling through temptation alley which is extremely difficult for pups. Well done everyone 👏 👏 🐕 ❤️

They also had fun sniffing out hidden treats which were concealed inside an egg 🥚 under a cone. Super nose work pupstars 👏👏🐕❤️

Their super guardians put their lead skills to the test in an egg 🥚 and spoon 🥄 race which was very funny when they dropped their eggs 🥚 😂😂

And guardians and pups had a fun game of musical sit 🎶 🎶

Thank you everyone for making classes so enjoyable.

Great pups and guardians who all worked really hard.

Congratulations all ❤️🐕❤️👏👏😊

29/05/2024

Just picked up an amazing puppy natural chew goody box from Amy at Monty & Mabel's - wowsers. If you would like 10% off your first order - quote NOSYDOG10 at checkout -

High-energy teething puppy? Our Puppy Box is a great way to introduce your new puppy to different proteins, tastes and textures. Suitable for puppies 8 weeks + includes: Rabbit Ear Moonbone Duck Neck 23cm Pork Skin Roll Beef Tail Goat Ear 30cm Goat Roll 15cm Beef Braid Large Buffalo Ear Large Buffal...

26/05/2024

Luna, Loki, Tara and Lilly focused on loose walking this week and they also helped their guardians understand that mechanics in training matter.

Although we name classes as dog training, what they actually are is training the person holding the lead.

Loose lead walking is a difficult skill for pups and humans to learn as how, where and when we deliver reinforcement can influence a pup's ability to actively engage in learning to walk nicely.

Today we focused on teaching their guardians the best way to help pups learn this valuable skill and that by improving how we deliver reinforcement, when to and where can greatly change puppy focus.

Super proud of our super Sunday pupstars and their brilliant guardians 👏👏🐕❤️😊

20/05/2024

Our fabulous Sunday pupstars had an enriching class this week.

Tara, Lilly, Loki and Luna took a break from formal training and experienced some socialisation, habitation and mental enrichment which focused on their sensory needs. This included new textures and surfaces, new noises, new tastes, relaxing activities, along with going under, into and over new objects to broaden their experiences.

All of this builds confidence and resilience to help them cope with new experiences as they move towards adolescence.

Brilliant session with awesome pups and pup parents ❤️🐕❤️👏👏😊

14/05/2024

Our gorgeous pupstars Luna, Tara and Loki were brilliant this week.

They've worked hard on their leave and take cues and are now seeing some great progress.

We rewarded them for being calm and settling proving that pups can do nothing!!

And they practised some recall training and loose lead walking.

Great teamwork everyone 🐕❤️ 😊 👏 👏

06/05/2024

Our super pupstars Loki, Tara, Luna and Lilly worked really hard this week. Super proud of them all and their guardians.

They learnt that drop means good things happen, started their loose lead walking and worked on their take and leave cues.

We cover these important training exercises as puppies just love to explore using their mouths and not everything a pup finds is safe or suitable for them.

Great teamwork everyone ❤️🐕❤️👏👏 😊

30/04/2024

Meet our super new pupstars - Lilly, Tara and Luna who had lots of fun learning that training is means good things happen.

Gorgeous pups and fabulous guardians ❤️🐕❤️😊

22/04/2024

17/04/2024

Our Sunday pupstars is back.

New class starting on Sunday 28th April. So excited ❤️🐕❤️😊

15/04/2024

Sunday pupstars is coming back 🐕❤️🐕😊

11/04/2024

03/04/2024

Anyone who trains with me will know how much I go on and on about not reaching for the treat until you are ready to reward your dog after they have performed the behaviour.

We want our dogs to offer behaviours in the absence of a reward being immediately in view. We sometimes start with luring, but then need to fade quickly so the behaviour is not contingent on the treat being seen prior to asking whatever it is we want our dog's to do.

This is why some dogs will only perform when a treat is visible 👇

If you are learning to train your dog with food, but she only performs the behaviors if she sees food first, here's what to do!

31/03/2024

Congratulations to our super bronze level 1 graduates - Elsa, Finn and Martha.

They have progressed so much with their training and had an eggcellent graduation 🎓 searching for treats in mini eggs 🥚and ran the gauntlet of temptation alley which included food.

Super well done everyone 👏 👏❤️ 🐕 ❤️ 😊

31/03/2024

Congratulations to our super pupstars - Dasher, Twig, Kelpie and Disco on graduating pup class.

Well done everyone, you've worked super hard.

Wishing you an eggcellent Easter 😊

Congratulations👏 👏 😊 ❤️ 🐕 ❤️

Our next class starts on Friday if you would like your new pup to join🐶

Contact [email protected]

27/03/2024

Fatigue starts long before your dog is laying down panting heavily, squinting and with their tongue on the ground …
Understanding and recognizing early signs of fatigue is key to keeping our dogs successful in training, and their bodies safe.
The longer you train, the higher the chance that your dog will experience:
🏋️ physical fatigue (tired body)
🤯 mental fatigue (tired mind - too much information)
❤️‍🩹 emotional fatigue (tired mind - too much stress/excitement)
Or often a combination of these!
The subtle signs can be easy to miss. And if we don’t stop training when our dog first tells us they had enough, things usually go downhill fast …
Be observant and look out for the following:

1️⃣ Disengagement
If your dog has been happy and enthusiastic during your session and suddenly disengages, sniffs the ground or wanders off, chances are they had enough. Do not keep pushing them to train … it will likely not be successful.
2️⃣ Overarousal
Your dog was in a focused state of mind, but suddenly “spins out of control”? Even though over-excitement may look like excess energy to us, it can actually be a sign that the dog needs a break! Some dogs “stress up” (become MORE crazy as they get tired).
3️⃣ Fidgeting
Your dog was doing well (for example by staying in a Sit Stay), but suddenly starts adding “random” behaviors? Stepping in place, scratching, sniffing themselves etc. are all signs that your dog is getting tired.
4️⃣ Regression
Your dog was doing well at the beginning of the training session, but seems to actually get *worse* as time goes on? This is a very common and often overlooked sign of fatigue.
We see it especially in reactive dog training, where dogs are fine at the beginning of a session, but exposure near their threshold and trigger stacking makes them more and more stressed throughout.
Don’t ignore these first signs. If you try to push through it, your dog will not magically recover (mentally, physically or emotionally) … but is much more likely to keep making mistakes, rehearse unwanted behaviors or even get injured!
Which of the above signs of fatigue do you see most often in your dog?

24/03/2024

Elas, Martha and Finn are progressing so well in their follow on class.

They are aceing their loose lead walking by walking in close proximity to each other.

Their waits are pretty awesome.

And their nose touches are coming along nicely.

Great class, super well done everyone 👏 👏 🐕 ❤️ 😊

24/03/2024

Twig, Kelpie and Dasher worked really hard this week on their loose lead walking and recall.

They were absolutely brilliant pupstars and showed what great focus they have on their guardians.

Well done everyone 👏 👏 🐕 ❤️ 😊