📞 Communication during play 🐶
For the most part dogs can communicate quite nicely to each other that play is just that: play! Nice communication to look out for when your dogs are playing;
🐾 Play bowing.
🐾 Breaks.
🐾 Nice bouncy movements.
🐾 Mirroring.
Step in if;
🐾 Play gets too boisterous.
🐾 Lasts too long.
🐾 One dog is getting bullied - constantly being chased, harassed or just generally looks like it’s not have a good time.
🐾 Stiff movements.
🐾 One dog completely freezes.
Here is a video of Torvi trying to communicate with Athena that she wants her to grab the toy & not her. Torvi jumps on the sofa to give herself a break from the annoying aligator & shows Athena the toy whenever Athena starts trying to grab her.
💜 Purple is Torvi’s communication.
💖 Pink is Athena’s (the little aligators) communication or lack of!
Is there any moment you think I should of stepped in & stopped the play?
It’s Friday 🥳
Hope you are as happy as little Ozzy is that it’s almost the weekend 🎉
😇 Bertie 💙
🐶 Does everyone remember the gorgeous puppy Bertie who was being socialised to different noises? Here he is now demonstrating how being socialised at a young age has helped him become brave & confident as he continues to grow. His owners said that he was always fearful of the hoover growing up but by building positive associations with the hoover he now invites the hoover to play with his toys 🥹
Well done, Bertie 🥳
🐕 Anyone wanting to socialise their puppy to different sounds I have started putting together a playlist on YouTube of different sounds that you can use to help. Just follow the link;
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6L4u_ooc_upkWANok5jf2jdSmdNHHMS7&si=p-P69mFAGjjlM-X8
Wishing you all a Happy Easter 🐣
Enjoy baby Torvi as a Easter bunny 🐰
Muzzle Sizing 🐾
🐶 I made a bit of a boo boo 🙈 I wrongly assumed that Athena would also fit in the same size muzzle at Torvi does. I was very wrong! Athena was very patient with me & let me muzzle train her in it & let me do it up & was wearing it for a few seconds but then it came time to start walking in it & she was having none of it! Why? It was too slim on her muzzle & upsetting her. We went back to wearing her old muzzle & she was much happier in it & walking lovely with it on. We went back to the Muzzle Movement & ordered the bigger size.
🐕 When it comes to muzzle training it is really important that your dog is comfortable in their muzzle. If your dog is doing what Athena was doing, refusing to move, pawing at their face & just generally not having the best time take a time out from training. Go through this check list;
☑️ Make sure the muzzle is the right size.
☑️ Go back to a step in muzzle training they were comfortable.
☑️ Try training in an environment they are more comfortable in.
☑️ Try higher value rewards, ie. squeezy cheese.
📧 Message me for a muzzle training session if you are struggling!
🐾 To get 10% off a muzzle from The Muzzle Movement use the discount code PAWSITIVEPARTNERS & follow the link below;
https://www.themuzzlemovement.com/discount/PAWSITIVEPARTNERS?ref=hg_UKylld030lr
Husky (video of my beautiful boy Nero 🌈 ) 🐾
🎂 Life span: 12 - 14 years.
🇷🇺 Originated: Siberia, Russia.
📏 Height: Male = 21-23.5 inches Female = 20-22 inches (female)
⚖️ Weight: Male = 45-60 pounds Female = 35-50 pounds.
🐕 Breed Group: Working Group.
🐕🦺 In my opinion the best breed there is - but I may be slightly biased 😂 loyal, outgoing & mischievous best describes Huskies! Siberian Huskies are directly descended from the sled dogs developed over a period of several thousands of years by the Chukchi people of North-East Siberia. They are intelligent but somewhat independent. These are dogs bred to run, & their love of running may overcome their love for their guardians at times (Nero took himself on a few walks over the years 🙈). Siberian huskies tend to be friendly with people, including children. Siberian huskies can be diggers, particularly in warm weather, because they like to create cool places to lie in. They don’t tend to bark as a rule but they do howl (you could have a conversation with Nero 💖). They can easily become obese if overfed or not exercised. Also, expect hair - everywhere! They need grooming regularly & you will also need a good hoover!
🎾 Enrichment: Canicross! They are built runners & would love nothing more than you to run with them! Make sure to run them on a harness appropriate for running Snowpaw Store (Official) have the best collection of harness & running belts! Activities such as training, fetch, or tug of war are always good, along with ensuring that you provide toys for play & recreational chewing to keep your husky entertained. Huskies also love scent games, hide & seek, interactive puzzle toys, agility training & digging!
Muzzle Cue 🐾
🔑 Communication is key in order to have a good relationship with your dog. Whenever you are training your dog anything new having a cue for it will help your dog understand better what behaviour you want them to display. This is true for muzzle training. Here is Torvi demonstrating her muzzle cue 💖
📧 If you & your dog are struggling with muzzle training please drop me a message!
🐾 To get 10% off a muzzle from The Muzzle Movement use the discount code PAWSITIVEPARTNERS & follow the link below;
https://www.themuzzlemovement.com/discount/PAWSITIVEPARTNERS?ref=hg_UKylld030lr
Have fun with your dog! 🎉
We don’t have them for as long as we would like. We are their whole world. Be goofy with them! Because, why not?
Who do you think had the most fun doing this TikTok trend with me? What goofy things do you & your dog do together? 🐶
Getting used to the click 🐾
🐶 One part of muzzle training that might get over looked is the noise. When doing the muzzle up the clip falls quite close to their ear & due to dogs having much more sensitive hearing to us that click will be quite loud. Some dogs, like Athena, are very sensitive to noises so getting them used to the different sounds will help build their confidence when training them with new things.
🐕 In order to desensitise Athena to the noise of the click I am just clicking the muzzle shut near her & offering her a tasty treat 😋 this will provide her with a positive association with the noise rather than being frightened of it.
🐾 To get 10% off a muzzle from The Muzzle Movement use the discount code PAWSITIVEPARTNERS & follow the link below;
https://www.themuzzlemovement.com/discount/PAWSITIVEPARTNERS?ref=hg_UKylld030lr
Snuffle box 📦
🐾 Snuffle boxes, also known as destruction boxes, are a cheap & easy way of keeping your dogs brain busy, using simple scent work. They also help boost confidence by encouraging them to explore different textures.
🐶 What you will need;
🐾 A cardboard box.
🐾 Toilet paper cardboard.
🐾 Shredded paper.
🐾 Small cardboard box.
🐾 Your dogs favourite treat.
📦 Having a dog that destroys things might be annoying, however it is a very natural behaviour for dogs. Giving your dog outlets to chew, shred, & dig fulfills their basic needs.
⚠️ Make sure to supervise your dog to make sure they don’t eat the paper or cardboard.
Noise Socialising 💥
🐾 Today I have a very adorable little helper to demonstrate how to properly socialise your puppy to different noises. Bertie is a 4 month old Jack Russell puppy & he is very excited to show everyone how he is getting on with his socialising. He even enlisted his sister, Luna, to help!
🐶 As well as exposing your puppy to a variety of experiences, people & environments, exposing your puppy to various sounds will also help make them more confident in adulthood. Sounds are often the source of fears in dogs, getting your dog used to some noises will help prevent him/her from being scared of them later.
🔈 Different noises to socialise your puppy with include;
🚗 Traffic.
🏍️ Motorbike starting.
👧 Noisy Children.
🥘 Pots & pans.
🐶 Dogs barking.
🎆 Fireworks.
🔔 Doorbell.
🐕 To successfully socialise your puppy to new sounds;
🐾 Play the videos at a very low volume to get started.
🐾 Play with him/her & feed him/her treats to ensure a positive association with the noises.
🐾 After a few plays, gradually increase the volume. Lowering it if they start to become worried.
🐾 Do not leave the puppy alone while the noises are playing.
🐾 Play the playlist everyday until your puppy is able to accept the noises played at a regular volume.
🐾 As your puppy gets more comfortable with the noises play the playlist once a week until your puppy is 1 year old.
🐩 Feel free to use Bertie’s playlist for your own puppy, the link is: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6L4u_ooc_uo2pspUIQQavCrQQRYI-bUN&si=jJTCsQ6XsBeJA4Ev
Let’s help Torvi with her seperation anxiety! 🐾
🐶 Torvi is going from strength to strength with being left! As you can see in the video, the difference is amazing! The first video is from August 2023, you can tell she is stressed from her barking, just wanting to leave her crate as well as stress yawning. The second video is from February 2024 & you can see she is much calmer, fully settled in her crate until she sees me & sits up. She does refuse to have the treats of me so she is still wanting to leave the crate but once I let her out she eats her treats. We still have work to do & we do still have better days than others but we are on the right track to make Torvi much happier when being left.
🐕 It is important when dealing with Seperation Anxiety to figure out the cause of it. For some dogs, separation-related behaviours could be due boredom from lack of appropriate physical & mental stimulation. However for other dogs, separation-related behaviours & anxiety are much deeper rooted. When you can figure out the cause of your dogs seperation anxiety you will then be able to put in place the right kind of training that will improve their behaviour in the long term & not just straight away.
🐩 Some of the reasons your dog may have seperation anxiety;
🐾 Boredom.
🐾 Frustration.
🐾 Fear & anxiety.
🐾 Trauma.
🐾 Being left for too long.
❕ Please note this is not a crate training video but more just ideas on how to help settle your dog. This will be a series & so there will be more updates on how she is getting on.
Border Collie (video of the handsome Dexter) 🐾
Border Collie (video of the handsome Dexter) 🐾
🎂 Life span: 10 - 15 years.
🏴 Originated: Scotland.
📏 Height: Male = 19-22 inches & Female = 18-21 inches.
⚖️ Weight: 30-55 pounds.
🐕 Breed Group: Herding.
🐕🦺 Can be described as workaholics! Very intelligent & energetic dogs. Border Collies were originally bred to manage livestock. They tend to be a sociable breed & normally enjoy the company of other dogs & cats (making sure to introduce them properly). They are very loyal, faithful dogs & love company & mental stimulation.
🎾 Enrichment: due to their high energy levels it’s important to promote calm behaviour to help them switch off. Self calming activities such as licking, sniffing and chewing. Lickimats, snuffle mats, feeding with a scatter in grass, scentwork or find it games & suitable chews will help promote calm behaviours. Border Collies are often seen taking part in agility & flyball, these are great ways of physically & mentally stimulating them, just make sure they also have a off switch due to the high adrenaline of these sports.
Licky Muzzle 🐾
🐶 Todays muzzle training game is simple, you just need some of your dogs favourite spread! This could be squeezey cheese (I use primula), peanut butter (make sure it’s dog friendly & doesn’t contain xylitol) or/& kong filler.
🐕 Squeeze your chosen spread inside the muzzle & let your dog lick the filling out. This is a simple game & adds to positive associations with the muzzle for your dog.
🐾 To get 10% off a muzzle from The Muzzle Movement use the discount code PAWSITIVEPARTNERS & follow the link below;
https://www.themuzzlemovement.com/discount/PAWSITIVEPARTNERS?ref=hg_UKylld030lr
Muzzle Ice Creams 🍦
🐾 What you’ll need;
🍦 Greek Yoghurt.
🍦 Your dogs muzzle.
🍦 An optional furry assistant (will need paying in yoghurt throughout 💴)
🐶 Greek Yoghurt is better & safer for dogs than other types of yoghurt. It contains more concentrated levels of probiotics (live cultures of bacteria), which do good things for a dog’s gut! Make sure that it is plain, unflavoured Greek Yoghurt.
🐕 Muzzle Ice Creams will help build positive associations with the muzzle. It will help them get used to wearing the muzzle for longer periods. Make sure the muzzle isn’t too cold before doing it up on your dogs face as they may not like the sensation of it, you can warm it with your hands or a warm towel before doing it up. Letting them just lick the yoghurt off without doing the muzzle up is also great mental enrichment for your dog.
🐾 To get 10% off a muzzle from The Muzzle Movement use the discount code PAWSITIVEPARTNERS & follow the link below;
https://www.themuzzlemovement.com/discount/PAWSITIVEPARTNERS?ref=hg_UKylld030lr
Music: Children Music
Musician: piyushtwentytwo
Site: https://pixabay.com/music/-children-music-13701/
Flirt pole 🐾
🐶 What is a flirt pole?
A flirt pole is a stick with a toy attached to it, it looks almost like a giant cat toy. A flirt pole is a great toy for you & your dog, it provides both mental & physical stimulation & requires low input from you. It’s a great toy for children to play with their dog, it keeps the dog away from them while playing meaning they are less likely to accidentally get hurt. It can provide exercise, help with impulse control, & can even improve your bond & communication with your dog!
🐕 Flirt poles are brilliant for sighthounds, hunting & herding breeds who were bred to chase. It provides them with a fun outlet for their chasing instinct.
🐩 Athena & Torvi loved playing with the flirt pole. It took Athena a bit to start chasing it but she was very engaged throughout playing with the toy. We will be bringing this toy on our walks with us to help keep her engaged when she is on her long line. We will also use it to help with Torvi’s impulse control, as you can tell Torvi gets very frenzied at times & looses her self control. After playing with this toy for twenty minutes each both girls were tired & napped after for about thirty minutes.
Reactivity 🐾
🐶 What is reactivity?
A dog that overreacts to certain stimuli or situations are known as reactive dogs. They are often mistaken for being aggressive when in fact they are more than often reacting due to fear. A reactive dog will often stare, lunge, bark & growl when they are exposed to their trigger & will become fixated on it, making it difficult for the handler to get their focus back on them. Reactivity can be difficult to deal with, both for the dog & for the human who loves their dog & wants nothing but for them to be happy.
🐕 Demon has been reactive ever since we first got him when he was 8 months old. He is now nearly 12 years old, we have been working with him ever since we got him to help him with his reactivity. Unfortunately, when we first got him we got given bad advice that made his reactivity worse. Now using positive reinforcement & giving him the space he needs to be happy on his walks he is able to disengage from his triggers (which are other dogs, motorbikes & cars - these are always heightened in the dark).
🐩 In the video below you can first see we are walking & in the distance behind us is a lady walking two dogs, Demon looks back & then comes to me & is rewarded with a treat. I also mark the behaviour with the vocal cue ‘good’. The second half of the video is two dogs walking passed us on the other side of the road, he has his back to them & I’m getting him to disengage by sniffing out treats on the floor.
Let’s help Torvi with her seperation anxiety! 🐾
🐕 Day three, & today I decided to film her throughout the day to see how she gets on while I’m not there. To get her in her crate, I use a long lasting treat & get her to lie down with it. Once I walk out the door she stops eating the treat & you can see she is just listening to what I’m doing, when I go out the front door she forgets about the treat altogether & starts crying, which then leads to barking which is quite upsetting to see. However, she manages to settle herself down after about a minute 🥳 when she was let out to the toilet by a family member she had eaten her long lasting treat. Once she had been let out to the toilet I checked on her again while I was on my dinner at work & was happy to see that she was fast asleep 😴
🐩 Making sure your dog isn’t left alone for too long, get a dog walker or a family member to check on your dog half way through the day.
🐺 I tend to leave her with a long lasting treat rather than a kong as, even though kongs are brilliant for enrichment, dogs can get stuck in them while trying to get every last piece out of them so I would always advice monitoring them with a kong. Licki mats clipped to the outside of the crate (like in last weeks video) are also great but I would strongly advise monitoring them the first few times they have it to make sure they don’t destroy it & eat it 🙈
🎶 Classical FM is left on all day for them, Reggae music is also great to help calm your dog.
😌 Plug in diffusers like Adaptil & Pet Remedy are also great for de-stressing your dog while your not at home. They also do sprays that you can spray onto their bedding.
❕ Please note this is not a crate training video but more just ideas on how to help settle your dog. This will be a series & so their will be more updates on how she is getting on.
Recall 🐾
🐶 Recall is one of the most important things to have with your dog. A dog with good recall means avoiding situations that could cause your dog getting hurt or lost. Athena is still learning her recall & so when she is given the opportunity to explore her surroundings more she is always on a long line.
🍖 In the video you see me call Athena’s name in a happy high pitched voice, this helps get her attention & when she comes to me she gets a tasty treat. Always make coming to you a fun thing, never shout at your dog for taking too long to return to you as you are more likely to find your dog won’t return to you next time due to you being unpredictable & exploring their surrondings becomes more fun. Try & avoid chasing your dog when getting them back as this is likely to turn into a game. It is important to practice your recall so if an emergency takes place your dog is more likely to come back to you rather than run off.
🐕 Some breeds have stronger recall naturally than others, so bare that in mind before letting them off lead fully. Athena is an Akita & were originally bred as guard dogs & hunting dogs so they love to chase things! This does mean that I may never fully be able to trust Athena off lead but putting this training in place means she can still explore her surrondings in a safe & controlled way.
Muzzle Training 🐾
Muzzle training 🐾
🐶 Here is my friend Emma & the beautiful Benji practising some muzzle training. Benji is a lovely dog who just struggles with interactions with strangers so Emma is using the muzzle as a tool to help while she builds his confidence with meeting new people. Benji has come a long way & is a credit to his owners 💕
🐕 I am a big advocate for muzzle training your dog & I am 100% behind breaking the stigma of muzzles. I have muzzle trained all three of my dogs. Demon wears his muzzle when he is being walked in a area that is busy with dogs, Athena wears hers for vet visits & Torvi is still getting used to wearing hers for long periods of time. Muzzles aren’t a bad thing & dogs that wear muzzles aren’t bad dogs & neither are their owners! Muzzles are a means to keep you, your dog & everyone else around you safe.
🐾 2024 saw the introduction of new legislation meaning that XL Bullies must be muzzled & kept on lead whenever in public, this is something out of the owner & dogs control & has been heartbreaking for dog lovers everywhere. We stand with you & hope that we can break the stigma.
🐩 Expect more muzzle training posts & videos soon! 😁
