I just wanted to share with you a little trick I often use when working with dogs that struggle to leave their owners alone, be it due to separation issues or just because they are just a bit of a ‘Velcro dog’ – a food-dispensing toy tethered to something heavy.
There are plenty of dogs out there that seem to think that all the interesting things in life come from their owner. While some people quite like this attitude, I prefer dogs to have a bit more independence; after all, most dogs are left alone for at least a few hours every day. One of the ways that we can build independence is by setting up interesting activities that the dog can choose to engage in that have nothing to do with their humans being present. It doesn’t have to be much – a handful of kibble tossed around the lawn, a new toy to destroy, or a food-dispensing toy.
So why do we tether the toy? Because dogs are clever. There are plenty of pups out there that will take the Kong you’ve left them with, pick it up and bring it to wherever you are, turning your independence building activity into a social activity.
When doing these independence training set ups, it’s important that we aren’t shutting our dog away from us. We’re not forcing them to be alone, we’re trying to teach them that sometimes it’s enjoyable to be alone. If at any stage while they are playing with their food-dispensing toy they want to get up and check on what you are up to, they can. But the tasty activity in the other room is only available if they choose to go use it by themselves. This is by no means the only strategy we can implement when working on independence training, but it is something useful that can be set up quickly and easily. Here is a short video of Jinx demonstrating how it works!
Now that the lockdown restrictions have eased, I'm pleased to say that I can now book in person consults for fully vaccinated people! If you would like to arrange a session, please shoot me an email and I'll get back to you ASAP.
I've attached a video of my own lockdown project, a flock of chickens. They have settled in beautifully and seem to enjoy the enrichment toy I made for them yesterday.
Enrichment toys don’t need to be expensive to be effective… as Jinx is demonstrating so beautifully with this soy-milk box! A handful of treats in an empty container from your recycling bin is a great way of making your dog’s day a little more interesting, and the only cost is your time to clean up the mess.
I just wanted to take a quick moment to talk about muzzles. I was speaking with a client the other week about the benefits of muzzle training, and it reminded me that there’s still a lot of negative feeling about the use of dog muzzles out there.
People often think that they are only for ‘dangerous’ or ‘aggressive’ dogs, but the truth is that muzzles are just another tool we can use to keep ourselves and our dogs safe, much like a leash or a collar. Muzzles can be useful in a wide range of circumstances, such as introducing a nervous dog to a new person, as an extra layer of safety during vet visits or as a means of preventing dogs that love to forage for snacks on walks from eating something they shouldn’t. When used properly, a dog shouldn’t find wearing a muzzle stressful. A correctly fitted basket muzzle should allow the dog to drink, take treats and pant comfortably, and muzzle training should result in a dog that can pop on their muzzle gladly, as it most likely indicates a situation in which they can earn themselves some treats!
Here’s an old video of my boy Cody and I doing a little muzzle training. Cody has a bad back and isn’t the biggest fan of being poked and prodded by the vets (with the exception of his vet mother of course!). His muzzle, in addition to some cooperative care skills we’ve taught him that I’ll discuss in another post, helps the veterinary staff feel comfortable examining him when they need to, and Cody doesn’t have to deal with the additional stress caused by wearing a muzzle that he wasn’t prepared for.
