Canine Understanding

15/07/2025

📌 Dog Training Tip Tuesday 📌

Mark the moment with a “Yes!” or a click (if your dog is clicker trained).

I say it so often but timing is everything in dog training!! The moment your dog does the right thing, use a marker word like “Yes!” or a clicker to let them know they've nailed it 💪.

Doing this pairs the behaviour with a reward! This helps to build clarity, confidence and drive in your dog 🙌.

🐾🐶 Example: Dog sits → You say “Yes!” or click the clicker→ Treat follows! 🐶🐾

14/07/2025

🦄 Monday Myth Busting 🦄

❌ Myth: Mixed/cross breed dogs are always healthier.

✅ Truth: While they can have a broader gene pool, mixed/cross breeds can still inherit genetic disorders from both parents, especially if those breeds share similar risks. It's also important to consider lifestyle as mixed/cross breeds aren't immune to poor diet, inappropriate exercise or lack of veterinary care.

Our Tilly is an excellent example of how this theory is utter 🐂💩. She's a Belgian Malinois x Rottweiler and has exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI), a lifelong condition which requires daily medication.

13/07/2025

✨ Super dog of the week ✨

🤩 B E N N Y 🤩

Our super dog of the week is Benny who has been working really hard on his focus around other dogs and people!! He even managed to resist some people trying to get his attention which is HUGE!

Well done to Benny and his lovely family 🥰.

13/07/2025

⚠️🌡️Due to the hot weather this evening's puppy classes have been postponed.🌡️⚠️

Here's a video Mike took of Tilly enjoying her pool yesterday evening! Murphy has no time for this water nonsense and prefers to snooze on the cool tiles 😆.

13/07/2025

Early start this morning before the hot weather sets in ☀️💪.

12/07/2025

☀️🌡️This weather is too warm for dogs, avoid walks in the day. Instead, you could do some enrichment activities inside to keep them entertained.

We have a firm stance on welfare and as a result tomorrow's sessions will need to be altered/rearranged. If you are affected, I will be in touch.🌡️☀️

***I am on annual leave today but will be working for a couple of hours to contact those affected. All other messaged will be responded to tomorrow.***

11/07/2025

🤓 Fun Fact Friday 🤓

A dog's sense of smell is up to 100,000 times stronger than ours! They can detect subtle changes in your scent and can pick up when you're happy, scared, or stressed. This helps them to read your emotions! ☺️😨😫

These lovely super sniffers often then respond to your emotions. Tilly comes and sits on me or gives me her big old paw when I'm sad! ❤️

Does your dog respond to your emotions? Tell us how in the comments 👇

11/07/2025

Sharing this fab info again from Belle Vue Vets - Pets! 🌡️☀️

🔥Heat Stroke Awareness🔥

We are all hoping to receive some hot weather at some point this year and when we do, we need to be prepared!☀️

As it is now July, we need to be more careful when we are in the heat with our pets. Here is our Belle Vue Vets thermometer which shows you the safest temperatures for your furry friends.🌡

10/07/2025

🐾🐶 Where it all began! 🐶🐾

As cliché as it feels to say, I've literally grown up around dogs! I was the child that would rather be outside playing with my dogs than other kids! My family used to call me "Mowgli" 😆.

We had greyhounds when I was young, they are a wonderful breed of dog and hold a special place in my heart. We then got a border collie x terrier "Skippy" (top right), a cross that now as a dog trainer/behaviourist has me asking so many questions 😂. She demonstrated pretty much every undesirable behaviour you could imagine from those two types of dog - herding, car chasing and nipping at heels! A far stretch from the gentle greyhounds!

My first dog was "Gizmo" (black/white Papillon) who I got was when I was around 11, followed by "Aniu" who I got when I was 12. These two were my heart dogs ❤️.

I was set on working with animals but as I grew up I had so many people telling me I'd "never make money doing that". So I went and did something completely different, I became a registered general nurse but there was always something niggling at me, a missed opportunity that I wasn't willing to let go. In 2015 I decided to completely uproot my life and go back to uni to study animal behaviour. It was honestly one of the best decisions I've ever made 🥰.

ALSO them 90s/00s clothes man! 😂

08/07/2025

📌 Training Tip Tuesday 📌

Keep cues consistent! Pick one word for each behaviour and stick to it! If you say "sit" one day and "sit down" the next, your dog may become confused.

07/07/2025

🦄 Monday Myth Busting 🦄

❌ Myth: A wagging tail always means a happy dog.

✅ Truth: Dogs wag their tails for many reasons! This includes: fear, anxiety, or even aggression. The context, position and speed of the wag matter.

06/07/2025

I've had a super busy weekend seeing 1-1 clients. ❤️

This morning I had a great session with Benny and Rebecca 🥰. They have been working super hard and are achieving some brilliant results 🙌.

Benny struggles with becoming overexcited around people and other dogs. Today we worked on loose lead walking in the park around distractions. Look at them go!!!! Super proud of them both 😁.