Happy Days
Just a quick vid, enjoying the long awaited sunshine.
Winter may have finally ended!!!
Happy Trails with Wagging Tails ❤️🐾
The Beagles having fun, love these cute little girlies ❤️🐾
So, following on from my earlier posts about my beautiful, talented niece and her beloved, gorgeous Zak, unfortunately they did not steal Michael Ball’s heart 💔
I hate to sound a bad loser but our Zaky boy here has really earnt his stripes and not that the winner wasn’t deserving, I did feel my niece and Zak were rather cheated of the winners spotlight!
Anywho, he did get a lovely ‘aaahhh’ and clap when his sweet little face was on the big screen and his age of 18 years was announced.
To make up for it, his claim to fame was not short-lived when a group of fans recognised him as we were leaving, with lots of ‘awww it’s Zak’ and cuddles and fuss and a parting comment from several that they wanted him to win more than made up for it!
You’ll always be our winner Zak ❤️🐾
Some training for you all to try with your pooches, this is one of my favourites I like to use to really reinforce the recall.
There are many things you can use to reinforce the recall, I would advise to teach them all. I always, always have some treats on me, mainly a mixture of pea sized chicken, sausage and kibble. I don’t care that my dog wants to come back to me because I have a supply of food, he’s a dog and if that’s his only reason, SO WHAT, the point is, he comes back to me!
Teach it at home first, it’s the easiest place and very little distraction can happen here. Place a piece of food on the floor when your dog is looking the other way, I use a command ‘what’s this, find it’, guide your dog with pointing your finger or tapping the floor near to the treat. Your dog will smell it before he sees it, his nose will guide him to the treat, have patience when he finds it reward with ‘yes, good boy/girl’. Wait till he is distracted then start again, move the treat to a chair and other places, he will learn that ‘what’s this, find it’ means there is a treat hidden somewhere. At first use quite a smelly treat like chicken, ham or sausage.
Here is some video, I have been teaching Jack this out on walks as he is so smart and we have alone time together as well as group walks, I use this time to teach him useful things that use his brain as well as his energy. It’s so much fun, give it a go!
For now, Happy Trails with Wagging Tails ❤️🐾
Ok so here is vid one! The beautiful, bonnie, Slider snatcher, Disney Dog, tongue exercises (you win Belle) 😘
Busy day phew, nearly there 🥵
For now, Happy Trails with Wagging Tails ❤️🐾
Some vids from today, the lovely Jack exploring the woods and rearranging the bracken! Looby Lou, Baby T & Duggy having fun an games. 🤗
For now, Happy Trails with Wagging Tails ❤️🐾
Today’s doggy jaunts with Magic, Baby T and Looby Lou, bit foggy but we managed to keep sight of each other 😜
For now, Happy Trails with Wagging Tails ❤️🐾
Fun with Mr D, Baby T & Looby Lou. We are just all friends here at Happy Hounds.
For now, Happy Trails with Wagging Tails ❤️🐾
Favourite dog walk of today starring Mr M & Double Trouble in a secure field. Doing some training with the Weimy’s. Reward based games which encourages them to come to me as I’m more fun than the delicious dung, rabbits, dogs walking past and dogs chorus next door 😜 lovely tune I must say.
Mr M is only young so this is great for him as he is learning play with other dogs whilst catching onto the games too.
For now, Happy Trails with Wagging Tails ❤️🐾
So, the fireworks will start tonight and over this weekend, if you have a reactive dog, try a DIY thunder-blanket. Some dogs find this a comfort as it applies a constant pressure at certain points. Try distracting him with games and treats, don’t react yourself or worry, they will sense your anxiety. Close curtains, keep your lights on and tv a bit louder than usual. Some dogs like dog tv and or calming music, believe it or not.
Above all if you know your dog will be worried, stay in with him or get someone to sit with him, get a dog sitter or family member or even let him go round a friends/family member with a another dog that’s ok with fireworks, they can play and not worry about the noise. There are also noise desensitisation cd’s/DVD’s that can help with loud noises, be sure to use these carefully with correct training methods!
Tackle this now rather than later where it may become ingrained and a long process to reverse. All we want here is to make sure that this Guy Fawkes weekend you have Happy Hounds 😁
For now, Happy Trails with Wagging Tails ❤️🐾
https://www.k9ofmine.com/diy-thundershirt/
Well it’s a wet day today, grab those wellies, raincoats, doggies and leads and get a brisk walk on. Good for your poochies and good for the heart. Lift that heart rate into a jog, builds a strong muscular heart to keep your body in good shape. Start gently and build up, always consult your GP if you are going to undertake a new fitness regime, no.1 on the list is your heart, look after it and it will look after you. Let it love and who better to live than your beautiful Hound.
For now, Happy Trails with Wagging Tails ❤️🐾
Good morning to you all, it’s another b-e-a-u-tiful day for dog walking.
This morning I am in a reflective mood, there is a beautiful sight that meets my eyes most mornings when the sun is rising and no clouds are covering our heads. It is a bitter-sweet view of Messing’s very own ‘Tommy’.
Whilst it makes me feel sad but extremely grateful for the brave men that fought for our freedom, it also makes me think of the brave horses and dogs used in war, the horses also receive a lot of attention and so they should. I don’t see dogs mentioned so much and they certainly are very loyal and hard working too, they carried out their duties, so much so that one of the most famous war dogs received multiple medals. His name was Stubby, a bull terrier who was ranked a Sergeant and met three presidents. One of the things Stubby was amazing at was smelling the gas before an attack, he could smell this long before the attack and would alert his infantry.
It was also estimated that 750,000 cats and dogs were euthanised in the UK during the start of the WWII, this was considered to be kinder than them starving or suffering and dying from terrible injuries during air raids.
On Remembrance Day we commemorate those brave soldiers, spare a thought for the war animals and domestic animals as they stayed with us, trusted us and served us too.
For now, Happy Trails with Wagging Tails 💙🐾
Good Monday morning to you all, I think today will be a wet dog day as the rain doesn’t seem to be letting up just yet.
So a thought for the week is POSITIVE, positive attitude, positive reinforcement, positive and most certainly Happy Hounds.
Tension in your voice, your body language, tightening that lead sends only one message, tension down the lead straight to your dogs brain whether it’s engaged with you or not. A tense brain, a dog over threshold leads to barking, aggression and all learning on STOP.
You cannot teach a dog in an alerted state of mind, it’s like smashing on a door expecting an answer when no one is home. High alert can be mistaken for excitement, if your dog isn’t looking at you then he isn’t with you; bottom line you’re on your own.
Science has proven that dogs do not respond to intimidation and pain and the great thing about science is it’s tested, controlled and proven. You could perform the same tests in 10 years time and the result would be the same, there’s no argument.
I’m not saying other methods don’t work, they can appear to work very well, very fast but the danger is you end up with a ticking time bomb or a fearful dog. I don’t want my dogs to fear me, I want them to show their personalities, I want to see that sparkle in their eyes, their characters and eagerness to please and their loyalty and love. Days of slaves are long gone and loyalty must be earned, not demanded!
Have fun, play games, reward loads and you will have a loving and Happy Hound.
For now, Happy Trails with Wagging Tails. 🐶
Fully insured, experienced dog walker. Breaking the day up for your pet, loving and caring and bundles of fun with every step because here we make Happy Hounds!
A little something for my dog owners, happy trails with wagging tails.
SAFETY FIRST
Here’s a short demo with my dogs. Always make sure the pathway ahead is clear, bring your dog to heel or attach the lead, when it’s clear ahead let them go, always remain vigilant. Dogs, people and small children can appear at any time.
For now happy trails and tails.
