Lucky Paws

05/01/2024

05/01/2024

Good to be back! It's been a very wet and muddy week and I'm going through a crazy amount of towels so if anyone is getting rid I'd appreciate it. Looking forward to lots more adventures this year 😊

03/01/2024

Holiday Dates 2024
Friday 1st March
Monday 4th March

13/12/2023

Slip leads. French collars. Grot collars. Prong collars. Figure of 8 collars. Electric (shock) collars. Compressed air sprays. Water sprays. Rattle cans. Alpha rolls. Heel kicks to the abdomen.

Your dog deserves better than that. Every dog deserves better than that.

None of these things are necessary to teach dogs. Their use is an active choice to use force, fear, discomfort, pain, or the threat of these things, to teach. Don't accept that for your dog. They don't deserve it.

26/11/2023

Christmas Holidays
Last day - Thursday 21st December
Back- Tuesday 2nd January
Any issues let me know and I'll try to accommodate 😊

25/11/2023

New phone number - 07868396998

24/11/2023

Some photos from this week ❤ It's been cold and muddy but we have enjoyed some good walks

17/11/2023

Some from this week

10/11/2023

Loved having little Stan back with us today 💕

07/11/2023

02/11/2023

I'm in The Lakes now until Monday. Walks back as normal from Tuesday 😊

02/11/2023

No avoiding the mud today 🙈

01/11/2023

Ball launching is still very common, despite the known adverse effects.

Chasing a ball creates a physical athlete and a mental addict.

Chasing, twisting and turning also adds strain to their joints which could cause arthritis later on.

Dogs who are ball obsessed miss out on so many natural and healthy dog behaviours - because they are always focused on that next chase.

Their brain chemistry changes, leaving them unable to relax even at home.

Ball obsession becomes a life consuming addiction.

Mix in some different activities and even the fittest dog will be more inclined to relax more often.

The Canine Principles Skill-Hub will teach you to have the best possible relationship with your dog, to meet their needs and therefore make them much more relaxed companions. You can get your free 3 day trial here https://www.canineprinciples.com/subscription/skill-hub-membership

01/11/2023

Exactly this

Let’s consider this idea that extreme dog behaviour needs more extreme methods for a little while.

It seems to be based on dogs who show aggressive responses needing a stronger hand. A firmer approach. Even counter threats.

First let’s look at what an aggressive response is shall we?

Aggressive responses happen as a result the stimulation of the nervous system.

The nervous system is a beautiful part of the physiology of all sentient beings. It works so hard to keep us safe. It’s like a very special friend to us and has kept us safe for so long. It regulates its own responses. It’s the reason we go into fight or flight response - not on our own, out of nowhere, but in response to a threat.

Dog and human nervous systems are very similar.

They both respond to threats and they both become dysregulated if they experience trauma.

Dogs who have experienced trauma might have very dysregulated nervous system responses.

These responses might be aggressive. They might not be.

Trauma doesn’t have to be big by the way. It can be just a dog losing control of their environment and getting scared.

To achieve safety in a dysregulated nervous system a dog needs to heal from the trauma that caused it.

We can think of internal trauma like a tightly wound nervous system that is at constant threat of snapping.

This is why some traumatised people may be defensive or even combative.

The dog who snaps more may actually be the most traumatised dog.

And the dog who needs safety the most.

This dog is the one who needs less training not more, for the moment anyway.

Because they don’t have the baseline of safety.

They don’t have a healthy and well-regulated nervous system.

They need to feel safe.

They need gentle care.

And educated understanding.

Can you imagine treating a traumatised child the way that some people treat traumatised dogs?

The world would be in uproar if someone did that on social media.

But people are doing it to dogs all the time.

In the name of training.

And building a vast crowd who are doing it too.

Because it’s the ‘only thing that works with aggressive strong dogs’

But it doesn’t work.

It’s victimising the biggest victims.

And that’s why it hurts so much to see it.

And that’s why educated people never meet force with force or threats with threats.

And that’s exactly why the dog trainer who can ‘make’ a dog do something by using intimidation, force, fear, prong, shock or just their presence…

Rather than working with a dog and meeting them where they are.

The dog trainer who silences dogs regardless of how they may be suffering.

That's the the worst dog trainer of all.

25/10/2023

Having the most awful week. Van has just gone on fire while driving, obviously completely shocked at the moment and awaiting recovery. Unfortunately todays walks will need to be cancelled. Im so sorry, completely out of my hands 😭😭

23/10/2023

Walks today cancelled
Unfortunately someones just drove into the back of my van and done some pretty bad damage. Im going tk have to cancel todays walks while i get sorted. Sorry for inconvenience
Ally