Sevenoaks & District Dog Training Society

17/11/2024

The reasons why we never advocate the use of retractable leads

⚠ Retractable Leads ⚠

Ensuring the safety of your pets and others is incredibly important when using a retractable lead.

While retractable leads are appealing for their flexibility, it's vital to be aware of the potential risks and consequences that come with using them

🐾They can contribute towards bad walking behaviour and pulling.
We have seen many animals suffer from painful neck and back injuries with long-lasting effects.
Retractable leads can cause a snapback effect, that may result in injuries to the trachea and neck vertebrae.
An injured trachea can also lead to a persistent cough and affect your pet's breathing

🐾It's crucial to keep in mind, that even if your pet is not aggressive, how their behaviour might be seen by other animals.
Retractable leads can pose unexpected risks, as they allow pets to stray into the personal space of other dogs heightening the chances of conflicts.
The time it takes to pull back from an aggressive dog varies significantly between a retractable lead and a standard lead.
This disparity could be the difference between preventing an injury and a potential incident.

🐾When you're out walking your dog near the roadside, it's essential to select the appropriate lead.
We highly recommend using a regular walking lead, as it offers better control and safety for your pet.
During your walks, your dog will experience a variety of stimulating, captivating, and occasionally frightening situations.
Dogs on retractable leads have the freedom to run in any direction or chase something that grabs their attention, limiting your control.
A regular walking lead can prevent the danger of road accidents and injury.

🐾Excessive lengths of lead can pose a risk, not only to you and your dog but also to passersby, as they can become tangled or present a tripping hazard.

🐾However, we acknowledge that retractable leads can be useful when used carefully in a safe and open area, as they can aid in providing dogs with more freedom.

🐾If you choose to use them, please carefully evaluate your surroundings to ensure the safety of your pets and those around you. 💕

31/10/2024

Halloween can be a tough time for our dogs so here is some great advice from Canine Thinking to keep our dogs safe today

Halloween is here and it can mean a lot of fun for us humans, however it can be tough for some dogs to cope with so here are some tips for keeping your dog safe on Halloween:

🎃Keep your dog indoors—The excitement of Halloween can stress dogs, so it's best to keep them in a safe, quiet room away from the action.

🧟‍♀️Costumes—Costumes can make it hard for dogs to move and communicate. If you do dress your dog up, make sure they are happy and comfortable, don't force them. Keep the costumes simple and limit the time they are wearing them.

People and children in costumes can be scary for dogs. If your dog can not figure out that there is a person in them, this might cause them to be more barky or stressed.

👻 Keep sweets out of reach - Chocolate is toxic to dogs, so ensure your dog can't get into any sweets or chocolate. Keep an eye on the childrens sweets, making sure they are out of reach from your dog.

🧟Keep collars and ID tags on - If your dog gets frightened, they might want to run and hide, so just in case ensure your dog is wearing a collar with visible ID tags and a microchip with your contact information.

Prepare a safe space - Before the costumed kids arrive, and all the excitment starts, set up a space for your dog, such as a crate or a separate room. Somewhere they have free access to and is also quiet, where they won't be interferred with.

Keep an eye on your dog - Just because they are out of sight, it doesn't guarantee they are relaxed; make sure to keep checking on them so they don't end up struggling alone.

Whatever you do, ensure you and your dog are both enjoying it.

Share your Halloween dog photos below!

29/10/2024

Still time 🐾

🎆🎆🎆FIRWORK WEEKEND IS HERE! 🎆🎆🎆

Have you prepared everything to help keep your dog safe and stress-free while all the bangs are firing?

THERE IS STILL TIME TO ENSURE YOUR DOG DOESN'T STRUGGLE

If you NEED help, sign up for our FREE Fireworks survival course. It has all the information you need to help you and your dog cope over the next week.

Remember, there is no reason why the dog should be suffering from stress and anxiety once the fireworks start. Stand up to support your dog.

https://caninethinking.com/fireworks/

26/10/2024

Still time to help your dogs cope during this firework season

NOT LONG UNTIL FIREWORKS 🎆🎆🎆🎆

Don't panic!!

There is STILL time to plan and provide support for your dog so they don't have to suffer with stress and anxiety throughout the bangs.

We are here to provide help and support with our Fireworks Support Group! Follow the link and sign up, to start today.

https://caninethinking.com/fireworks/

22/10/2024

It’s not too late to get help for your dog if they struggle to cope at firework time. Lisa Webb and the team at Canine Thinking can offer that help

2 WEEKS TO GO UNTIL FIREWORK SEASON!

Do you get really cross about fireworks? Do you share photos or videos of your stressed dogs on social media?

This year we’d love to help you do things differently.

Although we know fireworks can be awful, it doesn’t have to be that way for your dog (and in fact we have a big responsibility to make sure it isn’t).

Please help your dog feel relaxed first and THEN focus on supporting those that don’t have anyone else to advocate for them.

Sign up for our FREE FIREWORK SURVIVAL COURSE. start planning now to prevent your dog getting stressed.
https://caninethinking.com/fireworks/

11/09/2024

Does your dog struggle during firework season? If so and with that time is fast approaching, it's not too late to help your dog and make sure they don't suffer this year.

Sign up to the Canine Thinking FREE firework course and support - your dog just doesn't need to suffer it CAN be prevented.

FIREWORKS—Like them or hate them. If you have a dog who struggles with fireworks, then NOW IS THE TIME TO START PREPARING so you and your dog can survive them with little or no stress.

♦️Do you worry about your dog when it’s time for fireworks?
♦️Do you feel like you’ve tried everything to help, and nothing has worked?
♦️Or you just don’t know where to start?

There is ALWAYS a way to help your dog get through fireworks with a minimum of stress (and ideally little to no stress at all). It doesn’t have to be hard, and it is so, so important.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE SUPPORTED, WEEK BY WEEK, TO MAKE THIS YEAR’S FIREWORKS AS LOW STRESS AS POSSIBLE? This year we’re offering you the chance to do this FOR FREE.

With 8 WEEKS TO GO you need to start NOW, have your plan in place and ready to go when Fireworks start (usually from the end of Oct).

How:
▪ Just a tiny bit of preparation every week.
▪ We’ll guide you through it, a step at a time. We'll be on hand in the group to answer all your questions,
▪ A short weekly lesson (just 15 minutes or so),
▪ Short easy to do exercises to follow (another 15 minutes)
▪ We will review your exercises with you and then guide you to the next steps.

You can do it all at a time that suits you or hop into the live sessions—whatever makes it easiest.

So what are you waiting for? Come and join us and let’s make this year the safest, kindest year yet for our wonderful canine family members.

Just hop onto the canine thinking website and you’ll find the link to sign up. It’s on the homepage and under courses.

We want this to be available to absolutely everyone, to offer every dog the best chance of being free from fear and suffering. So this year we are offering it on a ‘pay what you can’ basis. You can sign up COMPLETELY FOR FREE, or, if you’re in a position to pay the suggested price (or anywhere in between, whether that’s £5 or £50 or the full £90) then that will help us offer more things like this for free in the future.



The choice of what to pay is yours – our priority is simply your dog’s wellbeing.
https://caninethinking.com/fireworks/

19/08/2024

A lovely group of dogs and guardians successfully completed their APDT Companion Dog Foundation Awards! Everyone worked so hard and had such a lot of fun!

Well done to Sarah and Winnie, Alice and Daisy, Josh and Mango, Marion and Rosie, Trish and Meg and Phoebe and Olive!

See you back in the Autumn to do your Improvers Course!

We are looking to September now and the start of our Autumn Basic Lifeskills Course. We are now taking bookings for the course which is starting on Wednesday 11th September. Places limited to 5 dogs and guardians – so do book early! https://www.sddts.org/basic-training/

13/07/2024

As we head into the summer break, two Basic Lifeskills courses have graduated with flying colours! Well done Cece, Ziggy, Agatha, Freddie and Rosie – and of course their lovely guardians. It was joy to teach them all!

Have a lovely summer and we will back in September. We are already booking for our September Basic Lifeskills Course so if you would like to join us BOOK NOW!!

08/04/2024

Our Lifeskills for Puppies course also graduated recently! Well done to Ada, Charlie and Cece!

We’ll see a couple of you back for our April Basic Lifeskills Course starting this week 😊

08/04/2024

Our March Basic Lifeskills Course graduated on Wednesday!

Well done to guardians and dogs! Diamond, Daisy and Finn - happy training - this is not the end, it’s just the beginning!

31/03/2024

A very Happy Easter to our clients and followers!

22/02/2024

Another lovely Basic Training Course graduated with flying colours last night! Very well done to Lottie, Nixon, Buddie and Nely and of course their guardians - they all did really well and were a joy to teach :-)

The course starting next week is full but we are currently taking bookings for our April course - https://www.sddts.org/basic-training/

21/12/2023

21/12/2023

Exactly…..

19/12/2023

Our last Basic Training Course of 2023 all graduated and were presented with their rosettes and certificates! Well done Fred and Barney and Corkie and your lovely guardians!

They were a joy to teach and so special to see them all progress so well :-)

19/12/2023

Congratulations to our first graduates of the APDT - Association of Pet Dog Trainers new look Good Companion Foundation Award! We had a great 6 weeks and everyone passed with flying colours!

Well done Oatly, Bertie, Winnie, Maude and Olive! And if course their lovely guardians!

See you all back at in the spring for the next stage 😃