A dog called Bob

Very proud of Bobble taking things in her stride as she heads towards adolescence. She's a busy, barky, bonkers, babe and we love her! <3 Here she is on a very blustery beach walk seeing kite surfers for the first time and not being phased! 😍

Bit blowy out today! 🌬️🌊

Advice from Drax's Galactic Adventure on how to survive a new puppy in the house. . . . 1. Pretend they don’t exist 2. Don’t make eye contact 3. Do a low moody growl if they bop you on the head - that is NOT acceptable 4. Keep looking at mum 5. DON’T MAKE EYE CONTACT! 🥰🥰 (He’s so sweet with her and I know they’ll be best buddies once they find their groove.)

Bob demonstrating the "back on the lead or close to me" when we go around blind corners. This is a great way to avoid being 'surprised' by something that may overwhelm your pup and it's something I do with all of my dogs to avoid any conflict or them being spooked. Simple yet effective <3

Recall is coming on nicely! 🥰 I’ve got some flack on social media from some hideous trolls 🧌in an attempt to ridicule my expertise by saying all I do is offer dogs Primula cheese. I’ll stand by my methods - my dogs are happy & have fantastic recalls ✌️😉❤️

Another lovely woodland walk with lots of check ins and recall success. There were a few tree stumps that spooked her today plus a lady with her hoody up that was PETRIFYING (!) so I think we’re in the dreaded adolescent secondary fear period! 👻

Recall with distractions is coming along well 🥰🍂🍁🎃

Last night at the wonderful classes with Goodall Dog Training tonight and we got to practice our impulse control around food. I love this exercise as not only can it help pups learn to cope with frustration and be ‘patient’ it’s a great safety tool so they don’t just grab and eat anything that’s dropped (which could be dangerous). Thanks to the Goodall team for such a fantastic course, bring in the bronze!! 🥰

First ‘Puppachino’ today and she loved it 🥰 We’ve got lots of work to do in busier environments where there may be dogs but Miss Bob had moments of brilliance so I’ll take it as a win 🥰

Lovely little bimble with Bob letting her stop to sniff and investigate plus a game of ‘treat tree’. Walks with pups should be all about safe exploration with no planned destination so you can go at their pace 🥰

A little bit of recall practice at the local park. I love these lightweight long lines for puppies 🥰

When you have dogs that love to play with each other, it can sometimes be tricky to manage. Whilst it’s lovely to see Fish and Bob frolic together, I don’t want Bob to become too magnetised towards Fish and for her to keep badgering him to play when he might want to mooch, sniff and bimble. It’s natural for puppies to want to bite and grab when they’re running along and playing, but I don’t want Fish to become Bob’s toy 😜 So what are the options? 1. Make sure I do regular solo walks with each dog so they get some 1:1 time with me 2. Step in and redirect Bob if she’s bothering Fish and the play isn’t consensual 3. Redirect Bob onto something she can chomp on whilst she’s running with Fish so he’s not being grabbed, but she has an outlet for the bite/grab. Here’s a little video of the “where’s your ball” in action 😍

Adult interaction

Little Bob and I are so lucky to have amazing friends to call upon with fantastic adult role models to teach Bob the way of the world. Adult interaction is so different to puppy play and involves the more intricate art of body language and reacting appropriately to canine communication. Not all adult dogs can cope with puppies which is absolutely fair enough and we should always manage these interactions carefully to ensure no one is getting overwhelmed. Thanks Maple & Freddie for the lovely walk! 🥰

Rockin’ recall

I may well regret this when she’s 20kg and covered in mud but our ‘jump into my arms recall’ is coming on nicely 🥰

“I loves my bowl”

New behaviour . . . parading 🥰🥰🥰

Play, play, play 🥰

Fish is being such a superstar entertaining little Bob and teaching her the ways of the world. Best of all, Bob is making excellent choices and listening when Fish takes himself off for a well deserved rest 🥰

Little Bob isn't out on walks just yet so we're practicing her being happy wearing her collar, harness and lead and our wonderful Goodall Dog Training puppy class is a perfect safe place to do it <3 She seems pretty happy and isn't phased by the touching or clipping of the equipment so we're off to a good start! :)

Rain dance

The rain has sent somebody slightly bonkers. She’s been doing zoomies for the past 20mins! 🤪🥰☔️

Bitey face

Another day, another round of bitey face 😆🥰

Playtime

The temperature is finally dropping so it’s time for all the lunacy they’ve built up being sensible in the shade 😜🥰 I love their relationship and I hope it’s going to be a lifelong friendship 🥰