Oxfordshire Animal Behaviour and Training

21/12/2024

That’s a wrap! Our last day today for 2024. It’s been an absolute pleasure working with all the dogs, cats and owners this year. We really appreciate everyone who chooses us in what is a very saturated industry!

We’ve had some really fabulous success stories this year! One of our final sessions is pictured below. This particular dog struggled with her interactions with dogs, especially after being attacked a few times! Today we were confident enough to let her off lead and make choices to interact, or not, with Benji our stooge dog. Apart from the warm-up at the start and settle-down at the end of the session, she spent the entire time off lead as we went for a mooch around. It was lovey to see her be brave enough to come over to Benji and enjoy herself! Although she can still be unsure of certain interactions, she copes so much better by now choosing to move away instead of reacting. Of course, her journey continues but I just wanted to highlight the hard word this particular client has put into supporting her needs.

Finally, OABT is not OABT without the help of some very special people too! A massive thank you to Charlotte for supporting us with the reactive sessions, of which without her, they wouldn’t be so relaxing for the dogs. A huge thank you to Cathie and Caz for not just volunteering, but adding valuable perspectives when discussing cases. Finally but certainly not least, Cerys at Blue Lemon Dog Training. She has done a fabulous job with puppy classes throughout the year, clearly being a positive force for owners! It’s also been lovely speak to her about the more academic side of our work.

Ryan will be taking a bit more of a backseat in the New Year to explore other ventures, but he will still support ongoing clients and take on fewer clients.

Thank you everyone! 🥰🐶

16/12/2024

02/12/2024

Season’s Greetings (we thought it was too early for Christmas!)!

Just a short update that we are now on holiday until the 9th December. In addition, we are fully booked for December and already filling up quickly for January.

Thank you in advance for your patience in waiting for any replies until after our holiday 😊

23/11/2024

Storm Bert won’t stop our reactive sessions 🤣🐶

16/11/2024

It can be all too easy to look at a behaviour, particularly one that we find problematic, as an isolated thing that just occurs, or is put down to false and outdated ideas like 'dominance' or 'stubbornness'.

Think of behaviour as a symptom - underlying that behaviour there is an emotion driving that behaviour. Behaviours don't happen just 'because', there is always a reason for them and so it's up to us to learn how to understand what they are trying to tell us so we can work out what that emotion is.

And at the root of it all there will be a need. Something that is causing the dog to feel that particular emotion and so lead them to show the behaviour that we are seeing. Once we have discovered the emotion the dog is feeling, we can work out what the dog needs and help them to get whatever that may be.

The three pictures here give an example:

Behaviour: the dog is barking at something. If you look at their posture and body language the body is leaning back, away from what they are barking at. The ears are back, whiskers flared, and eyes fixed on something. The front paw is slightly lifted and there is a back paw in the air, and the back end of the dog may be lowered towards the ground a little.

Emotion: what the overall picture of the body language is telling us is that the dog is scared of the thing they are barking at, so the emotion they are feeling is fear.

Need: What this dog needs is immediate space from the thing that is bothering them, so they can feel relief from that fear and feel safer again. What they need going on is an increased feeling of safety and security, more trust in us to help them if they need it or get them out of a situation if it's too much for them.

When we can understand the need and emotion driving the behaviour we can understand our dogs far better and see where they need our help.

28/10/2024

We think about this on a daily basis and often say “but what if there is…”. What makes this even more challenging is that we are not vets, so our influence is limited when it comes to supporting clients in this area, despite being trained to understand the interlinking of pain and behaviour so thoroughly in establishing and maintaining problem behaviours. We’re hoping vets will, going forward, be more open to exploring options to manage suspicions of pain more effectively so that there is a more informed judgement of it possibly being ruled out.

This is becoming a welfare issue!

Im tired of hearing “the vet says there is no pain” by a guardian after they have taken their dog to the vet. It leaves me deflated and frustrated and feeling so sorry for the dog.

Myth Bust:

PAIN CANNOT BE RULED OUT IN ANY ANIMAL (dog, cat, horse or hamster), by anyone!

* A quick palpation - CANNOT RULE OUT PAIN

WHY?

The dog may shut down due to environmental factors or dislike of a strange human touching them, they keep still to get it over with ASAP!

The dog may be over aroused or overwhelmed by the clinical environment (excited/scared etc) to the point that adrenaline is so high it blocks pain!

* Blood Tests - CANNOT RULE OUT PAIN

There is currently NO blood test that can detect pain.

* Diagnostic imaging - CANNOT RULE OUT PAIN

Yes they can pick up a variety of conditions, but even the GOLD standard MRI doesn’t pick up everything, but NONE of them can detect PAIN.

Just because a source cannot be found doesn’t mean there is no pain.

PAIN is subjective, it is whatever that being (human or animal) perceives it to be!

Pain can come in many different forms, it is extremely complex, and can effect the individual in many different ways. A dog may get injured, the injury may have healed, but the pain remains … this is known as maladaptive pain.

Behaviour can be a HUGE indicator for PAIN:

* There could be a change of behaviour that has been directly caused by PAIN.

* There could be a worsening of behaviour due to an increase or new presence of PAIN.

* There could be a lack of “normal” behaviour due to PAIN.

* There could be behaviours that are present but that the guardian/owner don’t deem to be problematic that are indicators of PAIN.

* The dog may have ALWAYS displayed behaviours that are indicators of PAIN, but they have been ignored and put down to “just the way they are”.

* There may be NO problematic behaviours at all …. And the dog might still be in PAIN!

* The dog might be energetic, always on the go … and still be in PAIN.

* The dog might be lazy … and still be in PAIN.

* The dog may zoom up and down stairs … and still be in PAIN.

Diagnosing PAIN is not simple and can be difficult to get on top of.

A PAIN relief trail can be great! But often only one type of analgesic is tried and sometimes this doesn’t get results leading to the ASSUMPTION that there is no PAIN!

Here’s why:

* The drug was only trialed for 2 weeks - when living with chronic pain it can take longer to relieve. 2 weeks is not enough.

* The drug used wasn’t targeted to the type of pain the animal is feeling; soft tissue, bone, nerve or a combination of all.

It might take a number of different medications or a combination OVER TIME to see a difference.

ALWAYS keep in mind, NO ONE can rule out another being’s PAIN.

NO ONE. Not me. Not you. Not a Doctor. Not a Vet.

07/10/2024

It was such an honour to be asked to speak at the recent DogX Conference last weekend. Ryan presented a topic which explored inequity in dogs and it’s possible impacts on training success. Both Ryan and Charlotte also had the lovely opportunity to listen to the other speakers covering a range of impactful topics, including canine and human welfare and wellbeing, puppy training, assistance dog training and predation.

Next up at the wonderful Ryan Dillon, testing Equity theory with the audience in the form of Skittle sweets :-)

07/09/2024

Great post on adolescence in dogs. We often find adolescent dogs have too much pressure put on them and relaxing this demand can have really positive effects.

Adolescence occurs between six months and 18 months of age—a time when guardians typically struggle the most with their dogs. Some guardians are so overwhelmed and underprepared for this developmental stage of their dog’s life, they choose to surrender the dog to a local shelter or rescue group. In a recent study published in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science found that the majority of the surrendered dogs (47.7 percent) ) were between 5 months and 3 years of age (M.D. Salman,John G. New, Jr.,Janet M. Scarlett,Philip H. Kass,Rebecca Ruch-Gallie &Suzanne Hetts, 2010)

The neurobiology of adolescence is fascinating, with some key events that alter both the structure and function of the brain.

During canine adolescence, changing s*x hormones effect the animals stress responses. Adolescent dogs have a decreased ability to process information they are receiving from the environment including the presence of dogs, vehicles, people, or really anything around them. They behave in ways that might feel frustrating or upsetting for the dog’s person.

The connectivity between the frontal cortex (responsible for decision making) and amygdala (responsible for emotional processing) decreases, resulting in less behavioral control. We see increased risk taking and more sensitivity to fear.

So what does this mean? This could mean that what was once no big deal to the dog now feels scary; what was once easy to do is now stressful; what once made sense is now confusing. At times, the world can feel like ‘too much’ for the adolescent dog.

As your puppy undergoes this transition into adulthood their inner world is intense, even chaotic. Many pet owners experience an increase in undesirable behavior and find themselves becoming increasingly frustrated. In turn, our own frustration and impatience can cause us to act unpredictably. This adds to our puppy’s inner turmoil. When the inside and the outside are both unpredictable it can be difficult for our dogs to adjust.

If you have an adolescent dog, what can you do? You can give your dog the time and space to observe what is going on around them when on leash at a distance away from the activity when possible. You can give your dog long walks to sniff and explore in nature, giving their brain time to decompress. You can offer your dog a quiet space to sleep so that they can consolidate memories effectively. You can continue training various skills, breaking them down into easier steps that can be generously reinforced.

By understanding what our adolescent dog is experiencing we gain greater compassion and understanding. When we approach adolescence with patience we create a world that is predictable and gentle so our puppies grow up to be their best adult selves.

25/05/2024

It’s hard work being a stooge dog 🐶🤪

29/04/2024

Love this!

30/03/2024

After working very hard to support our reactive dogs, Benji and Ryan are now on Easter break! They will be back 9th April!

22/03/2024

We often have discussions with our clients about the prospect of aging pets and possible pain/discomfort from a range of alignments. Even if no formal diagnosis has been made (yet) it is important to be aware of signs of pain and the management techniques that can be adopted to make your dog's life easier. This student is researching what techniques the dog owning population are aware of or use. Can you help fill in this survey regarding this really interesting piece of research that will help owners, vets, trainers, behaviourists, etc?

All dog owners are invited to complete the survey regardless of whether you have owned a dog with arthritis or not. Many dogs face the possibility of developing arthritis, especially as they age, so management techniques are worth considering even if your dog is healthy. This survey aims to identify...

19/03/2024

Do you have a dog with arthritis? Can you help a student with her research? This short survey is investigating the effects of nutritional management of arthritis and will only take 3 minutes to complete. SEe QR code in poster and here is a link too: https://docs.google.com/forms/u/0/d/e/1FAIpQLSfYswPzSTFrTQwD4xBKjh5s2jR_fB_SaJkTjCNXYWQVcsrG2A/formResponse?pli=1

08/03/2024

Ryan is so excited to be presenting at this year’s DOGX conference at Wi******er University on October 6th. The theme is “Training Through a Dog-centric Lens”. If you want to grab a bargain, the good people at PACT are doing a ticket bonanza for FOUR DAYS ONLY where you can purchase a ticket at the reduced price of £125 Starting TODAY. Once the four days are up the tickets can still be purchased but at their regular price (£180). Order your ticket here:
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/pactdogsltd/1134288 #
Hope to see you there!