Radio, snow and dates!
January 23, 2013
With Steve Scruton leaving BBC Essex I did wonder if I would still get an invite as I would guess the show must be having a complete freshen up, new brooms and all! I did wonder if the sound advice would survive but I am pleased to report it has, though it will be different. Mark Punter the new presented came here this morning to record some top tips, it was really strange to be doing that at home, maybe it was because we were in the living room in front of the fire and not in the work room! (see below for times)
I have had Bonnie staying this week, Jo has been in India, soaking up some sun, though she did say on Facebook that she looked like a red lolly pop as the humidity was so high! We haven’t suffered with that problem this week!
Thanks to Janice for the photo of Riley enjoying the snow, he is so like Bonnie, she has looked just like that most of the week, not wanting to come in from playing with her Mum in the snow!
Here are some training dates, as normal all groups have a maximum of 5 dogs and handlers!
Recall training:
Taking place here at Bury Farm
- Wednesday 30th January recall (beginner to intermediate dogs and handlers)
- Saturday 9th Feb recall (advanced training for the more experienced amongst you, you do know who you are, if in doubt do ask me please?)
Group walk training:
One of these will be in Hylands Park the other to be confirmed according to demand, either Dunmow, Bishop Stortford’s Thorley Park or the Discovery centre on the A130 near Braintree.
- Wednesday 13th February walk
- Saturday 23rd February walk
BBC Essex Radio
You can hear me on Friday 1st February
A new format on BBC Essex Radio, with Steve Scruton off travelling the world and Mark Punter in charge, you can hear a dog training tip from me daily next week, culminating with me live in the studio, answering dog questions from listeners, on Friday between 2.15pm and 3pm, if you miss the show you can always catch up on the iplayer for the following 7 days!
Puppy news and dogs learning to drive!
December 7, 2012
Riley growing fast!
Riley’s Mum Janice kindly sent a great photo of Riley, and apparently he has become a rug designer, Janice now has a fringe on her rug, what a great idea:)
Thanks also to Rob Whitten for sending me the following link, do have a look how they are training dogs to drive in New Zealand! Probably enough room and little enough traffic out there to make it possible!
Puppies gone to new homes!
November 13, 2012
I am puppyless! Not sure if that is a real word, but they are done and gone, flown the nest and I miss them more than Betty does for sure! But then I was doing the looking after in the latter weeks!
I started writing this yesterday and started to get upset as I was missing little Riley so much (the chocolate
Riley the last puppy to leave hom
boy who went last). I do wonder why I thought breeding again was such a good idea! Sure they were lovely puppies, and the world is a better place for them being in it, and I did love having them, but it is hard work and I do get attached to them.
The thing that got me upset yesterday was contemplating what was the one thing I would want their new families to know, I struggled to get it down to one thing, and that got me upset for some reason. But having had time to sleep on the question I came to a decision, not sure if this will be understandable or not….. it is that it is not really possible to teach a dog a negative, for example if you don’t want the puppy to eat stones or other rubbish, saying no and taking it off them will make the pup want the thing more, this is partly because in the wild the young learn what is desirable by what other adult animals want, but also because in saying no and touching the puppy the behaviour is reinforced. Puppies do not understand “no”, they may get that the person isn’t happy but it is still attention to them, and sadly the puppy will keep repeating the behaviour and the human will get crosser. And that makes me sad for all puppies, not just mine.
A more positive and successful response would be to call the puppy or ask for a sit or down and reward the puppy with food, cuddles, laughter etc.
So my dear puppy owners please remember this one thing and I know you and your puppy will be happy together!
Puppies at five weeks!
October 5, 2012
Puppies at five weeks!
Are they even more gorgeous? They are 6 weeks old today, and every day sees them going further afield, yesterday was their first time going to the toilet outside. It takes a few outings for a litter to feel safe enough to toilet away from the nest, clever Mother Nature protects the young by inhibiting toileting on new ground before the ground is familiar to them. This is the reason, when dog owners first take puppies home, they won’t go to the toilet on walks to begin with, this behaviour is designed to keep the young safe from predators. But it is just the reason I want to get the puppies outside as soon as possible to get them used to going outdoors and speed up their house training.
Next Monday I will start their training, sits downs and little recalls, regular grooming and a car ride, the more normal this stuff becomes the easier they will be in their new homes! Not all sold yet!
Thank you to Jo at Jobo design for the great photo’s!
Puppies 3 weeks old today!
September 14, 2012
Gorgeous!
Betty looking glamorous pre puppies!
What a difference a week makes in a litter of puppies! They are now coming out of the box, all eyes are wide open, as are their ears, they respond to sounds now! yesterday was their first time with solid food, I had to shut Betty away from them for two hours to make sure they were a bit hungry, they are so fat I think I should have gone for 4 hours! I gave them some high quality tinned puppy food and they all tucked in a bit, some more than others! It isn’t a pretty sight, lying in the food seems as good as eating it, licking it off another puppy is as good as eating from the bowl!
This morning they were so charming, I went into them and said “hello” and I they greeted me with beeping noises, wagging tails and a scramble toward me, I was soon down on my hands and knees putting my face to them for morning kisses! So gorgeous!
Puppies aged 3 weeks!
Betty and puppy’s
September 10, 2012
Puppies aged 2 weeks
How cute are they now? Amazing the difference 2 weeks makes, as the day progressed the puppies eyes gradually opened and they could definitely start to hear! By next week I won’t be able to keep them in the whelping box they will be escaping!
Betty loves them and is making sure they are the fattest of puppies.
I start to advertise them this week so if you know of anyone who deserves a really well reared puppy? …..
Training a dog is not easy!!
April 27, 2012
Harley hits the spa!
Suffering in the name of beauty!
Wasn't that worth the effort!
At the Thursday class we got talking about how as people we either like to do things that come easily to us or conversely the hard stuff! I found it interesting that the group thought that I would have found dog training easy from the start, which is why I do it for a job! The reality is that it was the opposite for me, I found training my first dog and second, really challenging! That is what hooked me, as soon as I got good at competing with my dog my interest in competition waned! Teaching on the other hand is always challenging, whether is is getting inside the head of the dog or the handler, to find our way through to sucess! Next time you are feeling frustrated that your dog is not progressing as fast as you hoped or expected, just remember that is why I have a job still, lead training particularly takes real dedication and hard work, if it were easy everyone would be able to teach a dog or a person how in 5 minutes!
I believe the reason I am like this is that I am fascinated by learning, I ask myself what can I learn from this, how can I change this behaviour to what I want? If you can develop a sense of curiosity about why your dog is or isn’t doing what it does, you will start to open your minds to the information you need to succeed! So next time you feel like giving up, stop and consider how interesting this could be for you? ! 🙂
Blue Cross worth a visit :)
April 15, 2012
Thank you to Corinne for drawing my attention to a very helpful leaflet on dogs and horses! You may remember my blog recently on a problem I have locally with a neighbours dogs when passing with my horse! I have approached them in a friendly manner but sadly they are not ready for help, yet!
The Blue Cross provide a whole host of helpful and free leaflets on all animal care and behaviour, well worth a visit to their
Lara looks out!
website! There is a link below to the leaflet that Corinne told me about:
http://www.bluecross.org.uk/2146-98538/keep-dogs-and-horses-safe-around-each-other.html
You can hear me on Steve Scruton’s show on BBC Essex Radio this coming Wednesday from 2.15pm to 4pm, on a phone in on dog behaviour problems, or catch up on the iplayer for the following 7 days!
Avril Munson's Blog 