Keep Calm Dog Mediation, Education and Advocacy

27/02/2025

*** Unpopular Opinion ***

I am going to risk writing an epic of war and peace proportions but we all need to be talking about the problems becoming more common in our domestic dogs.

I have an observation to share that is not going to make me popular. I believe that people are losing sight of what dogs are and not addressing their basic needs. This leads to people foisting unrealistic expectations on their canine companions.

We live very abnormal lives in this time. Humans are struggling to navigate our modern world - so is it really so surprising that our canine best mates are struggling too.

We can't let them live as they would wild without us. Our world is far too dangerous. Dogs were not made for this world we made. I often wonder if humans were either but that's another conversation.

Because our lives are so different we need to do more to help our dogs thrive. My grandpa and his dogs used to roam all over the place when he was a child. They were living in a less restrictive time. The world wasn't so big and so urbanized and dangerous and people weren't always plugged in.

Dogs are getting less of our time. People are busy and dogs are missing out on interaction with people, interaction with other animals and becoming more and more isolated.

We field many inquiries where people are unable to attend 4 puppy preschool sessions. This is critical socialisation time. By the time your puppy is 6 months old your puppy's critical socialisation periods are over. You have 7 years to do with a human child what you have 5 1/2 months to do with a dog. If you don't have time to do this properly you don't have time for a dog.

Many dogs are not getting off their own property. Remember COVID lockdowns - that was a glimpse of what life is for many dogs. It wasn't great for our mental health and it's not great for theirs either.

Many dogs don't get play, enrichment or adventures. These are basic needs for them. Humans and dogs have had friendships because we are both a species that thrive on companionship. If your dog is going to spend most of their life alone don't expect them to be well adjusted.

You cannot expect a dog to be a polite canine citizen if their basic social needs have not been met. You can't just put them in your home and expect them to be adaptable or well adjusted. Imagine if children were kept in their rooms until they are 7 years old. Would you expect a child raised like this to be well adjusted or would you expect issues? I would expect issues.

The community at large would have safer dogs if research was done about the needs of a dog prior to getting one. What will he/she need? Can I commit to that?

They need training, socialisation and guidance as to how our world works and they need guardians invested in understanding dogs and covering off more than just the necessities of keeping them alive.

They need our TIME.

Are you someone who thinks about your dog in the frame of meeting your needs or are you the guardian who ensures that your dogs needs are met too?

Get off the couch. Unplug. Participate in the friendship. Include them. Train them. Have a life!

13/11/2024

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08/11/2024

DOGS IN PAIN STILL RUN AND PLAY

This is Twig my yorkie, as many of you know she was born with deformed back legs. She has patella issues, cruciate issues, malformed hocks and also elbow disease.

Despite all of this, Twig would play all day. She is a young dog and would run non-stop, play with toys, play with my other dogs 24/7 if she could. She always wants to go for a walk- she never wants to turn to go home, she would walk all day if you let her.

She’s never grumpy, never shows any aggression even when she’s in pain. She partially ruptured a cruciate a few months ago and despite not being able to use her leg she was still desperate to go for a walk and kept dropping balls in my coffee (obvs I didn’t let her walk or play!) 😳

She has phases where her legs are really bad and she is in pain. It would be really easy for me to think she’s ‘fine’ and not in pain as she would still play all day if I let her. My only behavioural signs of pain with her are that she wakes in the night and takes a while to settle again and she barks a bit more than normal at outside noises.

I’ve also seen night-waking with my Dalmatian, Lucky, when he was in pain and my first sign of his back issues was that he would wake up and wander around in the middle of the night. He also still wanted to walk and play.

People often think that a dog who is in pain won’t want to go for a walk but dogs in pain are often still keen to go for a walk and they will want to chase a ball etc and play if you let them. Don’t ever assume they aren’t in pain because they want to run and play!

Signs of pain can be subtle and these are some that I commonly see in dogs I work with -

🛌 They may wake in the night or find it hard to settle in the evening, pacing or moving from bed to bed

🐕 They may vocalise more (whine or bark) and be more attention-seeking (nudging your hand to stroke them all the time or following you from room to room)

🛋️ Hesitating or unable to climb on/off the sofa, go up the stairs or get in and out of the car or needing a bigger run up to get in. Being slower to get up from resting.

😔 Being unhappy about being handled (groomed/dried etc) or unhappy about people sitting next to them on the sofa or walking past their bed

🐩 Changes in interactions with other dogs on walks- less keen on interacting or less keen on certain types of play etc

🏀. Lying down on walks or walking at a slower place but also conversely running excessively (‘runners high’ endorphins make them feel good temporarily)

You may also notice physical changes (the way your dog moves or the way their body looks.

💊 Please chat to your vet if you see any changes, dogs don’t suddenly change and start or stop doing things for no reason.

Pain is one of the primary causes of many aggression in dogs. Dogs also often don’t stop running and playing when they are in pain- signs of pain can be subtle and easy to miss so please, please seek advice from your vet if you see changes

Laura McAuliffe, Dog Communication 2024

20/01/2024

Given how many of the canine professionals I have come in contact with directly or indirectly are autistic/neurodivergent I knew it was just a matter of time before the industry started applying this language and the lens behind it to our canine clients and companions. Earlier today I spotted a link to the article that is being shared in my training communities and thought I'd share my thoughts since I am now more familiar with the topic of neurodivergence than the context of dog behaviour:

The author of the linked blog lost me at "but why would you?" — they seem firmly rooted in the idea that psychiatric knowledge of neurodivergence is superior to firsthand knowledge produced and curated by the community of neurodivergent people. To us, labels like "autistic", "adhd'er", "pda'er" are not pathologizing — they acknowledge the fundamental lack of equity due to the fact that the majority of working/educational/entertainment environments are set up in a way that excludes us or expects us to operate in a way that takes a toll on our mental and physical health. This is totally applicable to dogs. Dogs that are a neurominority in terms of their sensory setup are expected to tolerate noise, unfamiliar smells, dog clothing including items made for the guardian's convenience, food textures etc the way the majority of dogs do. Dogs that are a neurominority in a sense that they don't read most of other dogs' signals well and are not comfortable with interacting with other dogs are put through endless "socialization" interventions or are forced to be "social" by being put in a doggy daycare or taken on "pack walks". The fundamental idea behind the theory of neurodivergence is that the person's problem is not in their setup — it's in the mismatch between the setup and the environment. This is totally applicable to the ways dogs struggle with certain aspects of their environment. I can't see why looking at their differences through the lens of accommodations would not be beneficial or humane.

The author of this essay proudly fits into several categories of the "psychiatrists tell you if they like your vibes or not" book, the DSM 5.

14/09/2023

25/03/2023

Priorities!

08/02/2023

The same thing that makes dogs live longer makes their lives more fulfilling and meaningful

I usually refrain from commenting on topical matters, especially when it comes to the recent one one on the oldest living dog. Most articles don’t capture the depth and nuance of these dogs’ lives. And more often than not, the story gets reduced to what the dog ate, making it seem like diet is t...

08/02/2023

“Truth does not change, only our awareness of it” - Malcolm X

We live in a system that is far from perfect, but every day is another opportunity to work toward a more equitable future. In order to make progress, we must understand why this system exists the way it does, and educate ourselves about the past events that brought us here. That often means taking an uncomfortable look at our own history.

Dogs have been used globally, by colonizing forces, for intimidation and violence, and the United States is no exception (1). The very hard truth of our past is that dogs were utilized as racial weapons in this country. The relationship Black Americans have had with dogs, historically, looked very different from the relationship that White Americans had with dogs.

Dogs were implemented as a tool to maintain the institution of slavery. From slave ships to plantations, dogs were used to intimidate and were bred/trained to track and attack runaway slaves. The abuse did not end with abolition. If we look forward in time, dogs were still being used to intimidate protestors during the Civil Rights demonstrations (2). This practice is evidenced to still be in use today (3).

When dogs as pets became more ubiquitous, poorer and marginalized communities had to overcome significant barriers to keep dogs as companions. Dog licensing laws made pet ownership more inaccessible for lower income communities and were designed in a way to restrict ownership to wealthier groups (4).

Quite simply, achieving the companion relationship we enjoy with dogs has been a longer and harder road for the Black community than it has for many others. By acknowledging this, we gain insight into the importance of proactively uplifting one another and making equal opportunities for everyone.

1. Cepeda Gallo, P., Taylor, C. (2021) Building Abolition. Carceral Canines:Racial terror and animal abuse from slave hounds to police dogs. Routledge.
2.https://www.themarshallproject.org/2021/06/23/a-dog-can-be-trained-to-be-anti-black
3. United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division (2015) Investigation of the
Ferguson Police Department. 31.https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/pressreleases/attachments/2015/03/04/ferguson_police_department_report.pdf
4. https://k9turbotraining.com/systemic-racism-in-the-dog-community/

01/12/2022

If your dog likes fetch, it's safer not to use equipment like ball throwers and Nerf guns, throw the ball by hand and put a time limit on ball chasing

As a canine massage therapist I am forever talking to my clients about ball launchers and the effects they have on our dogs….so nice to see an article in the national paper….the more publicity the better…hopefully more people will make a more informed choice 🤞🤞

22/10/2022

Now this is huge!

The social worker supports both staff and pet owners, whether that's in difficult conversations or having a counselling session after losing a furry friend.

16/09/2022