Rachel's Pawsibilities Pet Sitting

28/06/2022

09/03/2022

TEACH CHILDREN TO BE DOG FRIENDLY
“How can I make my dog more child friendly?” The question really should be - “How can I make my child more dog friendly?” It makes far more sense to teach children how to behave around dogs before teaching dogs how to behave around children.
This is a subject that I feel very strongly about and I cannot stress enough how important it is to teach children how to behave around dogs. I often see children treating dogs like toys, jumping on them, pulling them, poking, kissing and hugging, screaming and encouraging dogs to chase them and then tears and stressed parents when the dog nips them or worse. It’s usually the dog that gets the blame when this happens and it really isn’t the dogs fault.
Dogs don’t come with a built-in ability to know how to interact with children and it’s up to parents to teach their children how to interact with dogs. If children were taught from a very young age how to interact and respect a dog’s space there would be far fewer incidents of dog bites.
Children often like to show dogs love by hugging, kissing or leaning against them - this is the human way of showing affection, but most dogs find this stressful and frightening. This normal “human” behaviour could easily lead to a dog bite, which is why it’s so important to always supervise young children around dogs. When a dog is feeling stressed or frightened and their attempt to communicate this through their body language is ignored, they may see no other way to make the scary situation go away than to snap or bite.
Teach children that dogs don’t like being hugged, kissed or sat on. Teach children that dogs like quiet, soft, calm voices and that shouting and screaming scares them. Teach them never to disturb dogs that are sleeping, eating or chewing something. Teach them that dogs are not toys and don’t like to be jumped on, pulled or pushed, chased or teased. Teach them to respect dogs as one sentient being to another.

09/03/2022

05/07/2021

4th of July is over and so are last night's fireworks ... but your dog's stress might not be!
Hopefully yesterday was not too bad for your pups. This is no dog owner's favorite holiday - fireworks can scare our poor dogs so much, and there is not always a lot we can do to comfort them.
But even though today it's quiet again and you are ready to move on, YOUR DOG MIGHT NOT BE.
Stress does not disappear instantly and can linger for days. Today your dog might still be on edge and prone to reacting strongly to stressors that usually would not be a big deal.
This is known as "trigger stacking" - meaning that stress is cumulative and adds up. Your job as a vigilant dog owner is not over today. In fact, you need to be extra aware of your dog's emotions and state of mind now.
If you already know that certain situations are tricky for your dog (such as being near resources when other dogs are around, encountering triggers on your walk or even having his nails trimmed), you should AVOID those.
Chances are that his reactions would be more intense than usual because they are amplified by yesterday's stress.
Do something calm and fun today - a sniff walk, some food puzzles, teach your dog a new trick or play his favorite game with him. Be proactive about situations that you know are already difficult an "normal days" - today they might push your dog over the edge.
Is your dog annoyed by another dog of the household frequently? Just separate them.
Is your dog easily startled on walks? Do not take him on an off-leash walk or he might bolt.
Be mindful of trigger stacking and keep it in mind today and in the following days. Fireworks are hopefully over - but your dog's stress might not be quite yet!

04/07/2021

Dog owners get it...

29/06/2021

Interesting!

THE NOSE KNOWS WHAT TIME IT IS
How do dogs know the time?
Dogs just seem to know when it’s time for food, time for a walk or even what time we’re expected to come home, sometimes right down to the exact minute!
Yes, they may know this simply from daily routines that are in place or certain cues that predict these events, but studies have shown that there is far more to this ability to tell time than the obvious reasons.
One theory is that time has a particular smell. Morning smells differently to afternoon or evening. As air heats up over the course of the day, air currents change and move around, carrying molecules of different odours with it. These changes become predictable and a dog’s incredible sense of smell allows these odours to become their “clock”.
One example is when you leave the house to go to work, leaving a strong scent behind you. As time passes, your scent becomes weaker. Dogs predict that when your scent becomes weakened to a specific level, it’s time for you to come home. The strength of your scent predicts what time you come home. As dogs can detect both strong and weak scents and all the levels in between, it means that they are actually interpreting events across an interval of time.
Another way dogs may tell time is through circadian oscillators. Just like us, dogs have fluctuations in systems like hormone levels, neural activity or body temperature and these oscillators may enable them to know the approximate time of day - just like when our stomach starts growling when it’s nearly time for dinner or we feel tired when it's time for bed.
Dogs are not the only species that can interpret time. Animals that migrate or hibernate follow seasonal cues from nature in the form of daylight and temperature to know when it’s the right time.

11/06/2021

Sneak attack😂

11/06/2021

Happy Friday!!

01/06/2021

🤪

31/05/2021

Thank you to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. 🙏🏻

28/05/2021

Who's ready for the weekend!?

25/05/2021

🐶 📸

24/05/2021

Happy Monday!

21/05/2021

😂😂😂

15/05/2021

Happy Saturday from Rue❤🐾

10/05/2021

Monday morning mood 🥴

09/05/2021

🤠😆

08/05/2021

😍

06/05/2021

🤣🤣🐶🐶

04/05/2021

😉

WRITE IT DOWN!

01/05/2021

Hope ya'll are enjoying this beautiful Saturday! 🐽

01/05/2021