The Dog Owners Club

22/02/2023

Some great advice here, thank you Claire xx

As Rose is in season it prompted me to post another educational post, as this topic comes up alot with clients

Your females first season...

It's worth having a little understanding and knowledge to help you plan for your young females first time in heat. With a little planning it shouldn’t cause too many issues for you or your young dog.

Be aware that she may have her first season any time from around 6 months of age. The average age being between 9 and 12 months of age. It varies from dog to dog.

Seasons usually happen about twice a year, occurring between every 6 and 12 months. Again this varies. Some only have 1 season a year.

The season can last an average of 3 - 4 weeks.

There are some physical changes and signs to look out for when your young female comes into season.

It's likely that the first thing you notice is her v***a becomes swollen/enlarged. It can be significantly larger than usual, sometimes more than double it's usual size.

There will also be some bleeding. You may expect to see a lot of blood, but, it's not always obvious. Sometimes you may only see odd spots on the floor or on her bed/blanket.

As she becomes fertile, the bleeding may become more watery looking or even stop. She will be most fertile between around day 8 and day 15 of her season. However, be aware that she can become pregnant until the end of her season.

Some females keep themselves very clean, so spotting day 1 can be tricky. Once the v***a is swelling I tissue test daily to check for signs of blood.

It's quite normal (but not always the case) to notice a few changes in her temperament or behaviour. Every female is different, with some they may seem lethargic, or, seem more clingy than usual. Some may be more excitable and full of beans, maybe even behaving a little bratty. Some may try to hump other dogs. She may urinate more frequently, and some scent mark.

Do take care when your female dog is in season. A male dog can pick up the scent of a female in heat for MILES.

Be extra careful if you have an entire male dog and a female in heat living together. They will need to be kept apart.

Do not underestimate the lengths a male dog will go to, just to get to a female in heat. Dogs have been known to start tracking a female in heat if out on a walk, escape gardens, break through garden fencing and jump very high fences to get to a female in heat.

Some male dogs can become very stressed, I've even known dogs to stop eating if there is a female in heat nearby. He may vocalise, howl, whine, bark and pace.

My advice is to avoid walking your female in heat where you are likely to see other dogs. You don't want a male dog following you home! If there is somewhere secure you can go and exercise her safely, great. I'd also recommend keeping her close by or even on a lead. She may decide to go looking for a mate!

As your female comes out of season keep an eye on her for signs of a phantom pregnancy

https://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/reproductive/c_dg_false_pregnancy

And for Pyometra

https://pets.webmd.com/dogs/what-is-pyometra-in-dogs

30/06/2022

While no food suits ALL dogs, I've fed Burns to mine for over 30 years, it's been brilliant for them.

15/06/2022

If it's too hot for your bare feet, it's too hot for theirs.

06/06/2022

Such good advice, well worth a read....

It can be very stressful living with a dog which barks excessively.

Barking is often connected to frustration, attention seeking, or demanding behaviour.
The overriding factor is very often a lack of self control. Noise is very often a symptom of the root cause (lack of self control)

There are factors to consider with dogs who bark excessively, like why he is barking?

You might not have considered why your dog is barking, you may just want him to stop.

The method that we use to stop dogs barking may alter depending on why the dog is doing it. It is important to point out that we usually work with excessive barking cases as part of a behavioural consultation as we need to see the behaviour and understand the dog we are working with. This is essential to giving the right advice and getting the desired result. The wrong advice given could actually make the dog or the unwanted behaviour worse.

However, here are a few top tips for barking in general:

A few common types of barking are:

Barking for attention
Barking at sounds outside
Barking at the door
Barking at other dogs

To stop excessive barking requires behaviour modification. This includes teaching the dog to stop barking on command, and, teaching the dog an alternative behaviour.

To understand the dogs bark you need to understand the intensity and frequency of the barking, and, seeing the dogs body language helps to understand the intent and the dogs barking/behaviour.

If your gorgeous dog is a bit of cheeky and is barking at you for attention you will very likely have to change some things to turn this relationship around.

Attention seeking barking usually occurs when the dog has been inadvertently rewarded for barking. By ensuring you remove the reward you can improve the behaviour relatively easily with mild barkers. You will also need to train a quiet command. If the barking has been working for the dog for some time it will require persistence, and, behaviour modification.

Having fun with your dog is great, and, is absolutely essential, but, equally important is teaching your dog to listen, to have good manners, and, to accept that your rules and boundaries matter.

Reward the good stuff with play, affection, and, praise.

Equally do ensure that you insist on good behaviour and if your dog is doing something you don't like this needs to be addressed.

03/04/2022

Excellent Dawn, and full of great advice for those getting a rescue dog xx

ARE YOU THINKING OF GETTING A REACUE DOG?
from the UK or a dog from abroad?
Here are some tips that will help you settle your dog into the home.
Where is the dog going to sleep? Make sue their bed is in an area where people don’t have to keep walking by. Keep away from doorways so the way in or out can’t be blocked. No need to buy expensive beds until you know they won’t get chewed, dragged outside. Just get an old duvet and some blankets.
Make sure the bowls for water and food are big enough for the dog you are getting. Use a stand if it’s a larger breed.
What food are you going to feed? If the dog is coming with food, then make sure you change the food over slowly. If they are coming from abroad, they may have not eaten properly so they may need some pro biotics for a while to help their guts. (Speak to your vet about this)
Collar and lead. Make sure the collar fits snuggly (I use martingale collars) that way if the dog pulls backwards, they are unable to slip it. Buckle collars are good (just make sure the catches are secure). YOU MUST BY LAW have a tag with your details on your surname and address on it. The lead I use is called a training lead; it has several loops so you can have different lengths of lead. You may need a house line on while you get to know the dog and them you.
Crate, you may need to offer your dog a safe place to hide. The crate needs to be big enough for your dog to stand up and turn around. It can be helpful to put a blanket over the top and sides, so it acts like a den. Again, you don’t need to buy posh blankets until you know your dog is settled.
What are the house rules? Set the house rules before the dog comes home. Will it be allowed on the furniture, upstairs? What commands are you going to use? (Keep them simple and use words that are natural to say). The house rules should start the 1st day your new dog comes home unless they are from a foreign rescue. They may have never been in a home before so they will need to decompress. It will take some dogs a long time to get used to being in a home so try and be patient.
You may think about changing their name. it may help in case they have trauma connected to it. Although a lot of dogs in rescue may only be there due to not being trained in the previous home, so don’t treat them any different unless they are traumatised.
Once you have your dog at home they are no longer a rescue dog they are the family dog. Enjoy and have fun.

24/02/2022

So true....

You probably know that dogs are social animals. For dogs, social engagement is an extremely powerful motivator and will often be prioritised over food and sleep. The benefit of social behaviour for dogs is well supported...

20/02/2022

hahaha

From the lol file ………

MSAR services offered: service dogs, therapy dogs, dog training, dog board and training, working dogs and family dogs
MSAR also provides certification for service cats
MSAR's head office is in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada and has trainers in most provinces and does provide service / working / and guardian dogs outside the country around the world.

14/12/2021

Lots of good information.....

27/11/2021

Very interesting.....

This film is based on the ethnographic research we carried out in different companion dog training classes. It was made in the hope that it would be useful f...

26/11/2021

What a fun chat 😊

23/11/2021

23/10/2021

So true....

29/08/2021

Still a few places left for the September course....

10/08/2021

So true....

Without a doubt we are seeing more and more dogs dangerously out of control, both in the home, and out and about. In the last few weeks alone we have been contacted by several owners of young dogs (under 2 years of age) displaying inappropriate behaviours, including resource guarding, aggression towards dogs and humans, and demanding and pushy behaviour.

In most cases these young dogs haven't been educated, they haven't been told these behaviours are inappropriate, or should I say unacceptable.

In many of these cases we are not the first trainers the owners have reached out to, in some cases they have seen more than one, and have already tried distracting the dog, and ignoring bad behaviour.

One client sought help because her dog was chasing the cats. After taking John's advice we received a lovely message including the statement:

'Yes it’s amazing! In fact we had a very successful and calm introduction to one cat yesterday evening with only one rattle at first as she’s was a bit over excited, after that she was very polite. I’ve also found her far better behaved and a bit more respectful of us all generally since implementing this it’s like the power balance has shifted slightly'

We asked if we could share the content...

'Absolutely feel free to use I think it’s amazing, I know it’s early days but I never thought we’d even get to a point where I could distract her from chasing the cats and this has had an instant impact literally magic'

So, how do we teach appropriate behaviours?
We work with every dog and owner individually. Every dog and owner is worked with individually based on their needs (hence it would be unprofessional and could be dangerous to give advice on corrections and application of corrections on social media)

In case you are wondering, we are predominantly reward based trainers.

We aren't force free, because in truth every time we pop that lead on we are in some way forcing the dog to carry out an action, or behaviour.

We aren't what some people call 'balanced trainers' because we use predominantly reward based training methods.

The best description for how we work is PRAMA (Positive Reinforcement and Minimally Aversive training)

We educate the dog, and encourage the dog to make good choices, and he is rewarded for those choices. However, if the dog understands what is required, but chooses not to comply, we use appropriate (not harsh or abusive) corrections to encourage the dog to make the right, and rewarding choices in the future.

Correcting a dog does not mean being cruel.

We teach appropriate behaviours, we do not to avoid problems, or distract the dog, we don't bribe the dog, and we don't correct the dog unfairly.

We truly believe, and see through proven results, that this training ethos, along with being open to each individual owner and dog's needs, leads to the best, and most successful results.

Distracting isn't training so ensure you are teaching what is and isn't acceptable. Distracting has its uses but isn't a substitute for training your dog.

What each dog values as a reward or wants to avoid as a negative consequence will hugely vary from dog to dog. We work with the individual dog in front of us, we look at what will get the best result for each dog and owner.

09/08/2021

Full of good, sensible advice.....

As a trainer, I am seeing more and more facebook forums and Internet advice pages pop up and I feel its time for us to say something.

This is becoming more of a concern and something that gets me more passionate about what I do.

1. HOW can these "trainers" advise anyone when they have not seen the dog in question. A lot of the time, just going off information they are recieving from a simple post. There are so many questions to go through and often as trainers, we have to dig deep as there is normally not one behaviour that needs "fixing" there is normally a number of smaller behaviours that the owner has not thought about as the biggest issue has overtook all the smaller behaviours. If your dog cannot control itself to walk nicely on the lead, how can we begin to think it will be able to control itself when the postman arrives at the door. This is just one example.

2. What works for one dog does not work for the other and the advice you recieve could be more detrimental to your dog than you realise. I read a post of a poor lady with a 6 month old collie, the collie was "mouthing" them. The advice given was to wear gloves and wellies indoors. This is criminal, they will likely end up with a dog that's a 1 year old, that thinks its acceptable to bite.

And finally,
3. At no point in these posts do we believe it is okay to set rules and boundaries for our dogs. Or to simply say "no. "
I have no concerns about saying I use prodominantly food and rewards but when needed too i will use tools that teach a dog that the behaviour they are doing is unacceptable. Im not talking about hurting, or crushing a dogs soul because ultimatley their welfare comes first and as explained earlier its on each individual case. But, just like a dogs mother snarls and snaps when the puppy latches on and mum is trying to wean it, I too believe that our dogs need to be taught when a behaviour is wrong, but it is just as important if not more so, to reward the behaviour we do want and i believe that in dog training these two components are essential.

I took a call from someone who had a dog that barked at the door or people passing by. They had 3 trainers out all of which told them to throw food on the floor. Of course this just rewarded the dog for barking so it barked more. The last trainer told the couple that they will never change it and its in the breed of the dog. I believe all 3 of these trainers set the owners and the dogs up to fail, miserably.

No matter what trainer you go to for help, if it does not make sense, dont do it, question it. If the trainer has not even met the dog then question it. If it sounds wrong to you, as that dogs guardian, dont do it.

16/07/2021

So true....

It can take weeks for a shelter dog to decompress. Please be patient, it all worth it ❤️

11/07/2021

Please bear this in mind when walking snub-nosed breeds in warm and hot weather.

Please be safe out there! Just got word from a fellow classmate (ER veterinarian in Seattle area) during her shift yesterday they had 8 dogs DOA due to heat stroke, most short nosed breeds! Please provide shade, plenty of water, allow access to house if possible and DO NOT take any walks unless early in the morning. ~ Dr. S

06/07/2021

hehehe

28/06/2021

Aren't animals amazing.....

25/06/2021

Worth listening to......

17/06/2021

Worth knowing.....

🔴 ATTENTION ALL CAT OWNERS 🔴
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) and other veterinary practices in the UK have been made aware of a link between some cat dry food and a very serious, in most cases fatal, illness.

Whilst our wholesalers have assured us that we haven’t received any of the brands or batches in question, if you buy your cat food from Pets at Home, Sainsburys, or any other online retailer, please see the list attached to make sure your feline friend isn’t at risk.

If you are worried about your cat, please give your local Mark Nelson Vets branch a phone call.

17/06/2021

16/06/2021

These are some of the lowlifes just waiting to steal your dog. But oddly enough, they do give you some ideas on how to make it harder for them to do so.

16/06/2021

Sooo informative.

Join our amazing Featured Experts Emma Stevens, Claire Denyer, and Samantha Thorneycroft-Taylor as they deliver a live session to a 100 participants on the t...

12/06/2021

One of the most misunderstood terms in puppy education.

How your puppy is socialised is critical to its psychological development. Getting socialisation right can help you give a happy, well-rounded adult. But get...

08/06/2021

Please familiarise yourself with the symptoms. Early diagnosis can save the dogs life.

As we move into the warmer days of summer, it’s important that we keep in mind that our dogs are susceptible to heatstroke and it can come on seemingly without warning.
Keep an eye out for the following symptoms below and check out our blog for further advice on what you should do if you think you dog has heatstroke: https://bit.ly/3bZd4Bv
MONDA

05/06/2021