I'm a bit late posting this but I had the pleasure of teaching this two gorgeous dogs and their humans last weekend. Both dogs are having a bit of a tricky time around other dogs at the moment. The golden retriever is very young (about 9 months old) and entering adolescence - he wants to be everyone's friend! So he is learning to manage his impulses and learn some frustration tolerance. The little Springer is worried about interactions with other dogs and so needs help building her confidence around them. Their humans are friends and would like both dogs to be able to get on together so this session was our first step in helping this process. Didn't they do well 🥰🐾🐾
Many of you may have seen my previous post about Riley's unfortunate corn cob consumption🫣. This has required a muzzle as a short term management strategy to avoid future ingestion whilst maize is being harvested in the area. But we have been working on a very specific cue to leave food articles on the floor and I took the opportunity to test it when I saw some cobs in my field. It's working well - I was super proud of him. He is still muzzled whilst I proof the behaviour with different food types (carrots have been very difficult as he has a history of eating them when I scatter feed pieces in the grass).
Muzzle up! 🐕
There is a lot of stigma around dogs wearing muzzles. I think historically it was always assumed the dog was dangerous and this reflected on the care giver being a ‘bad’ dog owner. I still get lots of resistance when I recommend a dog wear a muzzle for whatever reason, mostly because the care giver is worried about what others may think.
But having a dog that can wear a muzzle comfortably and without stress is a sign of a responsible owner and dare I say it, a good trainer. Because not everyone has the patience to get it right. It takes timing and skill and a good awareness of body language to really get the muzzle wearing to a comfortable stage. Of course, there are people who may just put it on the dog with no training and let him or her habituate to it– but these are few and far between and it is likely in this instance that the dog has some learned helplessness and doesn’t actually enjoy wearing the muzzle.
For me, it’s an essential life skill for a dog to be comfortable in a muzzle. You never know when you might need it! Let’s take my dog, Riley. He’s been trouble with a capital “T” since I got him. He had already had intestinal surgery to remove some blanket remnant when I got him at 5 months of age and since then has managed to get a bit of shoe, a yak bone and sock stuck in his intestine, all of which required surgery. He now has a narrowing (stenosis) which means that even a little object may be life threatening for him. Well, last Sunday, he was hunting for mice in the long grass in my field and came across a bit of a corn cob that a crow had dropped in passing ( the farmers are harvesting maize at the moment). I didn’t see him in time to get him to drop it, and I realised what was happening too late. It resulted in an emergency dash to the vets to make him vomit it up before it got stuck! A few more grey hairs to add the collection!
But I now had a bit of a conundrum. I can’t check my whole 2-acre paddock for more
Hooper stars in this mornings class!
Muzzle training is a life skill. The boys love this game …..🥰
Thank you to everyone who supported my business this year. I am so lucky to do what I love and to meet and help so many special people and their extra special dogs. See you on the other side. (We will be spending the evening tucked up on the couch, watching telly and hoping it’s really windy and rainy so that the fireworks are cancelled).
And that’s a wrap until 2024! Merry Christmas to all the wonderful people and their dogs I have met this year 🎄🐾
