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How to make the festive season stress free for your dog

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How to make the festive season stress free for your dog

The festive season is well and truly upon us. The tree is going up, decorations shall be hung and soon the house will be filled with an abundance of visitors and the smell of delicious food.

It’s important to remember that the festive season can be a stressful and unsettling time for your dog so check out our top tips to help keep the festive season merry and stress free for your dog.

Plan ahead
It is not always possible to take your dog to visit friends and family, always plan ahead and book your dog walker/sitter well ahead of time. It’s not fair to leave your dog with just anyone so choose carefully and make sure that your dog is happy and comfortable around whoever you choose to leave them with.

Try to keep your routine (as much as possible)
Dogs thrive on routine so it is important to keep their routine as normal as possible over the festive season. Even when you’re full of Christmas feast, your dog should still get their evening walk. Maintaining their feeding and exercise routine will help to keep them calm and happy.

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CHOICE MATTERS TO YOUR DOG!

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CHOICE MATTERS TO YOUR DOG!

Let’s face it, our dogs have very little choice and control over their day to day existence. They have no say over when they want to eat (or how much!!) or how much time to spend in the park. Whether they actually want that stranger to pat them on the head (while they can’t get away ‘cause there’s that thing called a lead that renders them stationary) or if this really is the ideal time to go to bed.

So whereas there are some things that we of course do no need to decide and manage on their behalf, in order to ensure they stay safe and healthy, providing choice for your dog wherever possible will make a huge difference to their overall wellbeing and will certainly improve the relationship you have with your furry friend.

Choice as well as being able to predict what happens next, whether that is via a routine or offering choice, make dogs feel safe. And feeling safe means less stress and more contentment; resulting in a confident, healthy and happy dog. What’s not to love?

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11 Tips to Create a Dog-Friendly Yard, Straight From the Pros

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In celebration of Responsible Dog Ownership Month, Redfin Real Estates has kindly asked me to contribute to their feature on how to create a dog-friendly garden (Tip No5).

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The accidental therapy dog

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The accidental therapy dog

It’s fair to say that Wolfgang has never been quite so keen on kids. Totally at ease with any children passing or being close by and ignoring her but not so happy with kids approaching and trying to interact. And considering she still looks like the cutest puppy most kids want to cuddle her and pick her up…..not knowing that deep inside this little Jack Russell Terrier mix’s soul, there is a big wild wolf!!

Coming from a home with a toddler who, as I could tell when we picked her up, was quite full on with her as a very young puppy (AKA chasing after her, throwing toys at her, etc) to not being exposed enough to children when young. it can be difficult to get hold of kids when you or your friends don’t have any at hand for socialisation purposes, just sayin’….

In addition, her rather sparkly personality to choose ‘fight’ over ‘flight’ when given the opportunity (the ‘fight’ being a surprisingly loud and rolling bark, for such a little furry person, combined with a moving toward rather than retreating) never quite helped the overall situation.

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Post Lockdown Syndrome is a Thing, Even for our Dogs!

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Post Lockdown Syndrome is a Thing, Even for our Dogs!

As lockdown is easing across the UK, our puppies and adult dogs are faced with plenty of lifestyle changes that can be both stressful and plain scary. Understanding your dog’s fears as well as helping them to prepare for ‘the unknown’ is crucial to their wellbeing and to preventing unwelcome habits and behaviour issues from developing.

A problem area I’m working with a lot at the moment is people welcoming guests at their homes once again as well as heading out to busy public places such as busy pubs and restaurants, all with their dog in tow who simply can’t cope.

For all those pandemic puppies who’s never had a stranger visit their home these new experiences can be incredibly disruptive. As is for our adult dogs who’ve enjoyed a year of anti-social bliss and forgot what it’s like to be around more people than their closest family members.

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Communication is the key to success

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If you want your dog to learn and understand your language, then it’s only fair you can talk ‘dog’. Communication should always go two ways and understanding what your dog is telling you will result in a strong, trusting bond, which should be the basis of any training.

To talk ‘dog’ you have to look at your friend’s entire body (eyes, ears, mouth, tail, body stance, etc) as well as listen to the sounds he or she makes. Context and looking at the bigger picture is equally as important; for example a dog who yawns in the morning when he wakes up is tired, whereas a dog who yawns when a dog runs up to her in the park, is worried and potentially stressed.

Some subtle signs of communication to look out for when your dog feels stressed: eye blinking, lip/ nose licking, yawning, averting face/ gaze, lowered or tucked tail, frozen body posture, tightly closed mouth and much more.

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Wolfgang's Way in the Telegraph

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The wonderful Lauren Libbert has written a feature for the Telegraph about how her Cockapoo Freddy has been coping with life under lockdown. Slowly morphing from a chilled and fun loving dog to an often irritated, growly, then suddenly over the top active furry noodle, she’s asked for advice on what the reasons behind his behaviour may be as well as how to help him, and other dogs, through these challenging times.

And I was of course so very excited to be have been able to contribute.

Saturday Telegraph 16/05/2020

Saturday Telegraph 16/05/2020

Telegraph online 15/05/2020

Telegraph online 15/05/2020

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What To Do When You're Hold Up With Your Hound

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I spoke to author and journalist Kate Spicer about how to keep your furry friends happy during the COVID19 lockdown. I’ve known Kate for many years (from my years working in PR) and I’ve always loved her work and writing style so jumped at this opportunity.

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And if you haven’t already, check out Kate Spicer’s book Lost Dog.

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Ditch The Food Bowl

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Provide daily enrichment for your dog by ditching the food bowl and feeding them from stuffed toys, snuffle mats, chews, puzzle toys, 'find it' games or scattering the food in your garden.

Whatever age your dog is, providing daily mental enrichment and a ‘job’ to do will pay hugely into your overall relationship account, with you becoming the centre of all things fun and exciting.

Licking, i.e. from a lickimat, is incredibly soothing and calming for a dog and can be a great tool to settle rescue dogs into their new life or keep puppies occupied for longer (for example during absence training).

If you are feeding from a puzzle toy or a Kong, make it easy for your dog to begin with to avoid frustration and potentially build a negative association with the toy.

You could also use your dogs meals for training practice both at home and out on a walk.

Recommended products:

Lickimat

Kong

Snuffle Mat

Zogoflex Toppl

Zogoflex Tux

Kong Ballistic

Calf hooves

Bobalot

Kong Gyro


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Five Quick Tips....Recall

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Five Quick Tips....Recall

1. Take the time

To generate reliable recall, it’s important to take the time to build a 100% positive experience with your chosen recall cue (command) with high value rewards (such as chicken or hot dog). If your dog’s recall isn’t rewarded often and well enough then your dog will be more likely to continue to do their own thing, i.e. playing with other dogs or sniffing something of great interest which is terribly reinforcing in itself, and ignore your call.

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Farewell to puppy biting

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Farewell to puppy biting

First things first, there’s no quick cure for puppy biting. But if you’re consistent with your messages and, at the same time, teach your pup what to do instead of nipping or biting, your little friend will stop this inappropriate behaviour, well, as soon as his or her personality allows.

There are various reasons why your puppy nips or bites:

  • Puppies use their mouth to explore and interact with their surroundings.
  • They play bite or nip out of frustration, over-arousal or fatigue.
  • Teething/ sore gums can be the reason behind a puppy bite or it can be a defensive or offensive reaction (more often it’s a defensive one!).

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House training your puppy

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House training your puppy

Most puppies are house trained by around six month of age but of course every puppy is different; from size to breed to personality. The more consistent you are in providing your pup with what s/he needs to learn the right behaviour, the quicker s/he will understand.

While being house trained your puppy should ideally be either: outside while you actively look for and reinforce elimination, inside with your constant supervision, or crated/ gated off in a puppy-proofed room...