Support dogs that need space poster!
January 12, 2012
If there is one thing that would help all dog owners is if other dog walkers respected that dogs on the lead need to be left alone! This poster, sent to me by Sue, sums this up in a fun way!
Contact me if you want this poster emailed to you for posting near you or passing on!
Comment from Cathy about Vets!
August 3, 2010
Below is the contents of an email I received from Catherine, it is here with her permission! Catherine thought I might not think it appropriate to mention her Vet, but I know this practice and I can endorse her comments! If you would like to comment with favourable mentions for a Vet please do? I can’t put up the less favourable for risk of being sued, but I think it is great to mention the ones where we have received great service!
Losing a dog is a testing time for the relationship with your Vet and can be made or break, it sure has been for me! So sorry you had to lose your precious boy Cathy, but glad you had the right support and that Sam was treated so well at the end!
I recorded Panorama last night, I didn’t want to watch it so near to bed time, any one else brave enough? I will watch it at lunchtime and come back to you all later!
“Hi Avril
I missed this programme, but have just spent a few very upsetting minutes reading the comments made on the K9 magazine site in response to that programme. That led me to a site called Rights 4 Pets at Vets, which incorporates Justice for Ted (www.rights4petsatvets.co.uk).
I read the blog which tells the sad story of Ted’s treatment. I must admit that it really struck a chord, having only lost Sam this time last year. However, we were fortunate in that Sam was treated with dignity and respect by the Bishops Stortford Veterinary Hospital (who we had never dealt with before that sad day). This is by no means our nearest vets, but I have made this Sally and Ben’s vets for that very reason, as the animals appear to be treated with compassion and respect.
As I understand it, the current situation is that the RCVS have no jurisdiction to consider complaints where vets may be guilty of negligence, rather they will only adjudicate on matters that have the potential to be regarded as serious professional misconduct. In short, Rights 4 Pets at Vets are looking to promote an effective system of regulation for the veterinary profession.
I thought that this might be of interest to you and fellow pet owners.
Best wishes
Cathy”
Pie trains Betty!
June 15, 2010
Betty trying to convince Pie that she is more interesting than his bone!
I am fascinated watching Pie and Betty, I don’t have them together all the time, they spend a good time apart or I will lose my puppy to Pie! And I need and want a good relationship with both of them! But when they are together I love to watch the interactions, in a little over a week Pie has taught Betty not to jump on him when he is lying down, well for most of the time! She does forget sometimes when she is very excited, how has he taught her you ask? 
He is a lesson in determined persistence, he never loses his temper, the volume goes up sometimes to a bark, but mostly it is a grump noise that deters her! Every time she jumps on him he grumps, it took sixish times for her to get the message (the 6 repeats to train anything applies to this too it seems!), sometimes he backs up the grump with walking away, sometimes he stands up to bark then lies down again. Betty ends up squirming on her back looking as cute as she can to win him over, and submitting to boot! Sometimes, when she is half-hearted in her attempts he simply ignores her. The most I have seen him do under severe provocation is to hold her nose in his mouth, but he can’t be biting as I have not heard Betty squeal once, he hasn’t frightened her once! Pie is a very good puppy trainer! Every day and on every occasion he repeats the same similar procedure, and now he is reaping his reward, he can lie in the kitchen or garden nine times out of ten without being pounced on. Betty tries every angle, playing with his tail is allowed until she hits his tail bone, when the grump comes again!
My old Teddy, the dog that Pie grew up with was more fierce with him, I wonder if that was because Pie was a tougher puppy, but I suspect it was more to do with Teddy being a tougher leader, as was his Mum, Truly, who he grew up with.
I know in the wild the pack leader varies in how bossy and tough they are, it is about personality types, just as in people.
In dog training it is far more productive to be gently persistent, by repeating over and over the exercise or deterring a behaviour the dog will learn and retain training only through these consistent repetitions. Where as if “scare” tactics are used the dog simply freezes, learns nothing and once recovered from the scare will repeat the old behaviour.
Betty is truly learning not to jump on Pie, and I am coming to appreciate Pie in a new way. My dear Teddy, who died last February, was a saint of a dog, and it has been tough for Pie to become top dog in my heart, but he is working his way through just as persistently as he is training Betty!
Betty learns not to jump on Pie!
Recall training morning at Barbary Cottage!
April 28, 2010
Sarah giving great body language for the recall
Sharon looking great on heelwork!
Sarah looking very pleased with Charlie!
We start by getting the short recall right!
more short recall for Charlie
Jane and Freddy can do the short recall too!
A lovely shot of great lead work!
We all need a tea break, well we had worked hard!
We had a great morning, and the sun shone for us too! The dogs responded well to the strutured training, by the time we felt brave enough to leave the safety of the fenced garden and go into the paddock, the dogs were responding well. Anne and Sharon had been to the training session a month before so were able to advance more, I was thrilled to see the improvement in their dogs and in their handling!
Recall on the long line out in the fields
The long line is our safety net!
Could this be Toto?
April 8, 2010
A young Dennis on his skateboard!
I am proud to introduce you to Dennis and his owner Maggie (of Allsorts Dog training),
Dennis was from a litter I bred from Gracie and my Teddy and I am very proud that Maggie has been attending the auditions for Toto, fingers crossed for Maggie and Dennis this week as they wait to hear if they go before the “Lord” next week!
Needless to say I will expect you all to vote for him on TV should he get to the last 5!
Do you want your dog to help with the gardening?
March 31, 2010
Does this look familiar? Have you got a photo of the real thing to share?
Spring is coming and the dogs will be spending more time out there, typically I am sure to be having a lot of questions about how to stop the puppies turning the garden into a bomb site! In anticipation here are some tips for those of you who are keen gardeners and do not want to lose your favourite plants this summer!
The good news first, dogs grow out of gardening by around their second birthday! If they don’t, it is not normal behaviour and you need to come and see me to correct the misunderstanding they have!
While growing it is natural for a puppy to explore their world and the garden is a wonderful place for them to do this, eating dirt, chewing sticks up, eating plants, digging around for insects, or just to see what is there is all normal behaviour, and if you fight this natural need to explore you will create more behaviour problems for yourself.
Management is the answer, by either fencing off an area that you give over to the puppy, or protecting your precious shrubs by fencing them off, to protect them from your puppy will make your life simpler, and allow your puppy to develop without upsetting you!
Ideally create a digging area for your puppy that is more interesting than the rest of the garden, this can be an earth area or you could make a sand pit, to reduce the mud you might get in the house. For a sand pit/digging area to be interesting you will have to dig it over once a day, add toys and objects of interest to the area, preferably bury these bits to make it more fun to find them!
Remember if you have just dug a part of the garden, or even better planted bulbs or plants, your puppy will make a bee line for this spot, your scent will make him think it must be interesting, prevent the puppy having access to this area for a few days until your scent has faded.
I am always delighted to have your queries and comments on any of the articles as it can lead to more clarity! Do you have a photo of your puppy digging in the garden for me to add to this post please?
What is okay for puppies to eat?
March 11, 2010
For first time dog owners the world can seem a dangerous place for their precious puppies! But I have to tell you puppies have remarkable constitutions, this is a born scavenger and nature equipped them with a stomach that can withstand most natural materials and decomposed matter!
If you allow your human squeamishness to interrupt your puppy eating rubbish every time, and this will be frequent while the puppy is young, you will be giving out this message: I want what you have, it is something I am interested in and I am competing with you to have “it” first! Young dogs learn from older dogs in the pack what is valuable in this world, if the other dogs are interested then it must be good! You or the humans in the puppy’s life play this part in a human home.
If you don’t want your puppy to keep showing interest in stuff then you must not either! If you are too disgusted use some tasty food to distract your puppy from the thing, do not let your puppy see you remove “it” or you will be back to encouraging again. By using something tasty to distract you will be actively demonstrating that there is something better to eat as well as demonstrating your lack of interest which over time will teach your puppy not to go for inappropriate things to eat.
Stones are one of the commonest problem that I come across especially in new dog owners, though some more experienced owners do make the same mistake. The reality is that puppies will pass small stones easily, and they are bound to consume a few in discovering that stones are not food, by distracting the puppy over and over with a tasty tit bit you will soon persuade them to leave stones alone! If not this problem can soon escalate to eating larger and larger stones that could block the bowel and endanger your pets life or incur large vet bills.
The other downside of not addressing this issue is that the puppy can become possessive over something as simple as tissue if you constantly remove them from her.
here is a list of stuff that puppies can and should be allowed to explore that are harmless and will if ignored soon be forgotten:
- Tissue, including kitchen roll, toilet paper
- Paper in any form
- Cardboard
- Wood pieces (do not throw or play with sticks)
- Tea towels (leave old ones lying around until they get bored or old bits of cloth)
- Ash, bits of coal
- animal excrement!
Dogs will take food that is left out, if I leave my kitchen with food on the side I don’t expect it to be there when I return! It is the nature of the dog to scavenge, and fighting this natural behaviour will just give you a headache and spoil your relationship with your dog.
If your dog is already possessive about any or all of these items please contact me, this is curable!
What to look for if you think your puppy has eaten something dangerous
- Lethargy
- Sickness
- Diarrhea
- Loss of appetite
call your Vet immediately!
Preventing or curing food possession in your dog!
March 4, 2010
Let the training begin! Here is the first step of preventing or curing food possession in any dog, any age!
Follow the steps on the clip and repeat every day for 2 weeks, if your dog is already food possessive you may need to continue for a month, it will work, if you have any questions or comments please post them?
Dry food is ideal for this process, wet food can be used, but if you have a food possessive dog please consider changing to a good quality dry food. Contact me if you want more guidance.
Please show tell all the dog owners you know about this simple method of preventing food possession, it will save lives and injury to people!
More information coming on upcoming posts, watch this space!
Dogs, babies and children and how to be sure they all get along!
November 11, 2009
Dogs, babies and children
Having a new baby is an exciting and a scary time for Mum and Dad, only new parents can really know how precious that new baby is when you first bring them home, and no matter how loved your dog is, they now rank second in your affections to this new person in your life, coupled with the fact that all of our human instincts are to protect and keep this baby safe. Suddenly your family pet can seem very threatening to your family added to this is the guilt you are likely to be feeling at this change in loyalty!
The reality is that with some careful management and understanding this phase of your dog’s life can go reasonably smoothly.
- Ø New mother and father to start using some baby products a few weeks before the due date, for example soap or baby lotion, to accustom the dog to the new smells of a baby
- Ø Prepare your dog by changing appropriate daily events for example if sleeping in your bedroom start training the dog to sleep in the kitchen or utility room well in advance of babies due date
- Ø It is likely that as a new Mother you will want to have private time with your baby, start accustoming the dog to being shut in another room away from you for sensible time slots say 1 hour two to three times a day, if you are at home a lot.
- Ø Teach your dog a half hour down stay in your living room and commit to daily practice to adjust your dog to be trained to be in the same room as you without having your attention
- Ø If a crate will suit your lifestyle, introduce this well in advance of your babies arrival, say at least 3 months before the due date or sooner if possible
- Ø When you first bring the baby home once you feel comfortable bare the babies feet for the dog to sniff or lick, this will satisfy the dog’s curiosity and he/she will then lose interest in the baby.
- Ø Do put your dog away when you need time alone with your new baby, this is a precious time and it is important for you to enjoy yourself as much as possible, your dog will be fine.
- Ø Do not feel guilty that the time you used to have for your dog now has to go to the baby, this phase will pass and you will soon want to escape for a dog walk.
- Ø You and your dog’s life has changed for good now, your dog will adjust to this much faster than you!
- Ø Babies are more important than dogs and that is okay!
- Ø Never never leave a baby or child alone with a dog, however trusted the dog is!
Older babies
As your baby grows so will the relationship between the baby and dog develop, luckily around the time babies start crawling they also start to throw food around, your dog will soon become a very faithful companion to your child as a result!
However with time new rules must be enforced:
- Ø The dogs sleeping area is a no go for any children, this may mean using a baby gate in a doorway to protect the dog or putting the dog in a crate.
- Ø The child’s sleeping area is a no go for the dog, or if not this will mean child and dog are alone unsupervised.
- Ø Do stop your child from pestering the dog, such as when the dog is asleep or minding its own business, do not let your child approach, or your dog may have to tell the child off.
These rules are necessary for your dog to respect your child as a human and therefore higher in the pack than them. As the child grows we can encourage the dog to respect the child further by involving the child in the training and feeding of the dog.
- Ø While supervising give your child food to place in the dogs bowl for the dog to eat, thereby teaching the dog that the child is not a threat at feed times.
- Ø Teach your child how to use a hand signal with food to get the dog to sit and/or go down.
- Ø Teach your child how to play retrieve with the dog, if your dog likes this game.
The biggest reason dogs see children as not higher than them in the pack is because they see adults ordering children about, much as they do dogs or maybe more so, as in my childhood, by having clear rules and boundaries we can keep our children and dogs safe.
