dog walker

Poppy & Patch

Poppy and Patch are springbats (springers x basset hounds). Poppy is Patch’s mum; she had just the one litter and they decided to keep Patch. Their owners got in contact with me because they were struggling with a few of their dogs’ behaviours.

Poppy has a very short temper with Patch; she did not like sharing her space with him and was not happy if he was receiving attention from her humans. She also had a skin condition, with small patches of dry skin and lost fur, which the vets were unable to help with.

Patch’s behaviours were more of a problem outside of the house. He was reactive to other dogs, bringing far too much excitement, which resulted in pulling on the lead, lunging and barking, all of which resulted in walks becoming very stressful.

Both Patch & Poppy were big barkers at home, barking at their owners but also continually barking at guests and being unable to settle.

To begin, we spoke about the importance of ignoring unwanted behaviours and giving the dogs something else to do, rather than barking. We looked at how enrichment can be used to promote calmness and reduce stress. Once we’d put these things in place, just a few weeks later, the demand barking was almost non-existent, Poppy had relaxed into Patch’s company and her fur had grown back.

Next, we began looking at Patch’s over-excitement on walks. We introduced basic command work to teach him that listening to his owners is valuable, with a focus on commands that teach impulse control. We also focused on engagement activities and loose lead walking techniques. Together, we also looked at how Patch’s owners can manage the environment on walks to prevent him from becoming over-stimulated.

Now, Patch’s owners can enjoy walking their dogs again and are no longer living in a barking-mad household. Both of the dogs are calmer and more confident in themselves.

Well done to Poppy & Patch!

Ready to work!

Enjoying a cuddle together.

Introducing unfamiliar dogs

Not all of us are comfortable meeting new people. We may feel shy, self-conscious or out of place in a room full of new people but happy and confident when surrounded by close friends & family. Or, we may love social interactions and thrive off of meeting new people. The key is: every person is different and our dogs work in much the same way.

Some dogs enjoy meeting other pooches and enjoy a butt-sniff and maybe a game of chase. Others can take it or leave it and mostly ignore other dogs they come across. However, there are some dogs who are reactive and fearful when they see another dog and this can cause complications for owners should they ever need to introduce another dog.

As a dog trainer, I am often asked by people how they should introduce their nervous or reactive dog to another dog, whether it be a friend’s dog or new puppy. There is no sure fire way to secure a positive introduction but there is a set of steps that you can take to make an introduction as stress-free as possible for all dogs (and people!) involved:

Step 1: following

You want your introduction to take place on neutral ground, preferably a quieter location. Your garden is not neutral ground; this is your dog’s space. Quiet roads surrounding one of your houses, a nature reserve or the best option is a private field for hire (if one of the dogs is very nervous).

Have the dogs on lead and walk one behind the other. You want a fair bit of distance between them, think 10+ meters. The more nervous dog should follow behind. This allows the dog to smell and get information about the other dog from a safe distance and get to know them before meeting them head on. If either dog shows any signs of nervousness or over-excitement, increase the distance between them.

Once the dogs have settled into the walk, swap them over (not allowing a greeting whilst you swap!) and repeat a few times until they are calm. You can slowly decrease the distance between them, without actually letting them greet each other.

Step 2: parallel walking

Once the dogs are comfortably taking it in turns to walk behind each other, you can start walking parallel. Again, start with some distance between you. The dogs can look at each other but any overreaction (barking, pulling, whining, growling, lunging) and you need to increase the distance or go back to step 1.

As you walk, gradually decrease the distance between you until the dogs are walking side-by-side. Allow them to walk next to each other, greeting each other if they wish, for no more than 3 seconds and then walk them apart again. Repeat until the dogs are happily walking side-by-side, not paying each other any mind.

Step 3: home turf

You may need to repeat steps 1 & 2 several times, over the course of several weeks, before you can get to this stage. You cannot rush a reactive dog and need to move at their pace.

Once both the dogs are comfortably walking in tandem for extended periods and perhaps they’ve enjoyed an off-lead walk together (assuming they have reliable enough recall to be allowed off-lead) then you can introduce a home visit.

It’s a good idea to keep both dogs on lead. You may also need to create separate spaces for them to retreat to if they become overwhelmed. Don’t leave one dog alone without people, you may need to split into two groups.

Keep an eye on body-language: we don’t want to see any stiffness or tension. Tails should be soft and body language should be floppy. If the dogs play, you want to be seeing green-flag behaviour outweighing red-flag behaviour.

And that’s it! You know your dog best and how you think they will react to a new dog in their space. Some dogs are completely fine to meet at home on the first meeting whereas others may take weeks, if not longer, of step 1 & 2 before step 3 is an option. Move at their pace and don’t rush it.

And as always, if you are unsure or worried about an introduction for your dog, click here to drop me a message.

Adopting littermates

I am fortunate enough to spend a lot of time working with puppies and their owners and often, I am asked by prospective puppy parents about adopting two puppies from the same litter. Many cite the fact that the puppies will be able to keep each other company or that training two at the same time makes sense but whilst it may seem like a good idea, adopting littermates actually makes life a lot more complicated.

Littermate Syndrome

Littermate syndrome is a term which describes unwanted behaviours between sibling dogs. Most commonly, these behaviours are aggression and intense attachment between the littermates. Littermate syndrome can also form between young, unrelated dogs in the same household.

Littermate syndrome occurs when two (or more) puppies do not correctly learn to interact with other people and dogs. Pups who have developed littermate syndrome form such a strong attachment that they become highly dependent on each other, at the expense of other relationships (both human and canine). This happens because the littermates bond so intensely with each other that they do not form proper connections with their human family.

Littermate syndrome can form if puppies are kept in the same household, beyond the usual period of between 8 – 12 weeks.

Signs of Littermate Syndrome

Fearfulness when presented with unfamiliar people, things, places and environmental stimuli (e.g. strange noises)
High anxiety if separated from their littermate
Unwillingness to eat without their sibling present
Reluctancy to play when separated from their sibling
Struggling with basic training and commands
Aggression between the littermates

Challenges of Littermate Syndrome

Puppies with littermate syndrome form hyper-attachments with each other. This can mean they fail to learn to play and communicate with other dogs, which in turn can result in fear & aggression towards other dogs.
As littermates are often so focused on each other, they may also fail to learn to engage correctly with humans
You triple your workload in terms of training; the puppies must be trained separately and together
Attacks between littermates are more common than between unrelated dogs in the same household

Preventing Littermate Syndrome

The easiest way to prevent littermate syndrome, is not to adopt two puppies from the same litter – or to have two dogs under the age of 1 in the same household.
Treat the dogs as individuals. Spend time with each dog independently each day, playing, training and exercising.
Train the dogs together as well. Teach them to listen to you in each other’s company.
Gradually separate the puppies – use separate crates, feed them in separate rooms, take them outside at different times.
Socialise them well with other dogs, animals and people during the crucial socialisation period.

This does not mean that you should not adopt puppies from the same litter but be aware of the challenges and prepared to spend the time preventing littermate syndrome from developing.

It is also really important to note that adopting a brother and sister from the same litter presents an additional challenge when the dogs reach sexual maturity. Depending on breed, a bitch can have her first season as young as 5 months of age. She will need to be kept entirely separate from her brother at this point, as dogs do not follow the same patterns as humans and she will mate with her brother. Neutering is not an option that should be taken lightly, as there are significant dangers to heath (both physical and mental) associated with early neutering (early neutering is generally considered to be any neutering done before 18 months of age).

Many breeders will not allow two puppies to go to one household and so if a breeder does not mention littermate syndrome and question your preparedness to prevent it, then this is a red flag.

If you are considering bringing home littermates and would like advice on preventing it or if you think your dogs might be exhibiting signs of littermate syndrome, then click here to get in touch.

If your dog is attacked

As a dog owner, my dog being attacked is my worst fear. Dog attacks are all too common and sadly, we can’t always prevent them from happening. So what should you do in those crucial moments and days after your dog has been attacked?

Being attacked by another dog is about the most stressful thing that can happen for our dogs. They will have entered fight or flight during the attack and their cortisol levels (stress hormone) will be sky-high. This moves them into a state of chronic stress. It’s really important that we manage this stress correctly as reactivity following an attack is a very common (and completely understandable) response for our dogs.

During the attack

Do not put your hands into a dog fight, this puts you at great risk of being bitten (by both the attacker and your own dog).
If both dogs are on lead, lengthen your lead (or drop it completely) to give your dog space to get away from the attack
Startle the other dog. Make yourself big (stand in a starfish) and shout in a loud, firm voice, “NO, GET OFF, BACK!”. You want to startle the other dog to create a pause in the attack to get your dog away.
If the other dog is on lead, maintain this big, loud stance. Your body is very powerful and dogs are not used to seeing people stand and move this way so it should give you the space to get your dog away.
Get away and get your dog on lead and back to the car/home ASAP. Get them back to their safe space so they can begin decompressing and processing.
Assess the damage. You may need to take your dog to the vet if skin has been broken.

Days following the attack

Studies have shown that this cortisol takes a full 72 hours (3 days) to drain from a dog’s system completely. This means no walks – even walks where you think you won’t see another dog, for 3 days. Whilst their cortisol levels are elevated, they have very little room to handle additional stress before tipping back over into that fight/flight response. Walks are, by their nature, stressful experiences for our dogs. Yes, most of the stress is positive, but by exposing our dogs to further triggers immediately after an attack we are greatly increasing the chance for reactivity to occur.
Promote calmness at home. Rather than walks, we want to be building confidence and reducing stress. Scent games, scatter feeding, snuffle mats, Kongs, lick mats, training games – all these are great ways to tire your dog out mentally and physically without adding to their stress levels.

Weeks following the attack

Despite what we might think, getting your dog to play with other dogs is not a way to help them after an attack. It is likely that another dog coming into their space will cause stress and interacting with unknown dogs is always a risk. Keep your distance from unknown dogs.
Create positive experiences with other dogs around. This doesn’t have to be interacting with other dogs directly but could be playing a fun game with you when a dog is nearby or snuffling for treats in some grass as another dog walks past. Show your dog that good things happen when dogs are around.
Gradually reintroduce walks. Your dog may find it helpful to have a walk every other day, to allow them time to process and decompress fully between each walk. You could drop down to only having a half hour walk for a week or two. Listen to your dog and don’t try to do too much, too quickly.

It is worth noting that every dog is different. I know dogs who have been viciously attacked, with broken skin and stitches needed, who are completely fine and still unbothered by other dogs. On the other hand, I know dogs who have only been snapped at by another dog and who are now very reactive. Until the initial wave of cortisol has flushed away, it’s impossible to know where your dog might sit in terms of their reaction to dogs moving forward.

As always, prevention is better than cure when it comes to dog attacks. To prevent an attack from happening in the first place, keep your dog on lead if their recall is unreliable and don’t allow extended interactions with unfamiliar dogs. However, an attack can still happen even if we do everything right so knowing how to handle one is important.

If your dog is struggling with a lack of confidence and reactivity, then I am here to help. I am a qualified Reactivity Specialist and have worked extensively with reactive dogs from chihuahuas to rottweilers. All dogs (and owners!) deserve happy, stress-free walks and it is absolutely possible to rehabilitate a reactive dog.

To read more about my work with reactivity, click here to see my client stories.

Refusal on walks?

Often when I start working with a new dog, their owners tell me that their dog is not interested in treats on walks, won’t play with other dogs around or has gone off their favourite food. As a trainer, this is immediately important as this tells us a lot about what is going on for our dogs in those moments.

Stress

When our bodies experience acute stress (both ours and our dogs’!), we go into fight or flight. We produce a surge of adrenaline so that we are faster and stronger and our pain receptors are dulled, which mans we have a higher heart rate, higher blood pressure and higher respiration rate. For our dogs, this might activate during a firework display or when being chased by another dog. For a fearful dog, this response can be activated purely by seeing a dog at some distance away.

However, this response is not maintainable for more than a few minutes. We cannot keep increasing our blood pressure; we would die.

After a few minutes, we switch from an acute stress response (fight or flight) and to a chronic stress response. Adrenaline switches off and cortisol (the stress hormone) starts being released. And it is this state of prolonged stress that can be really damaging to our dogs.

If you picture a time when you were stressed and think about the effect that this had on your body. Many people lose their appetite, may experience auto-immune responses (like eczema), hair loss, poor sleep, depression, anxiety, weight loss/gain. This is the same for our dogs.

Also, when in a state of chronic stress, mammalian brains have a reduced sensitivity to reward. This means we are less motivated by things we would normally love and this is why our dogs won’t take cheese at the vet, won’t accept chicken at the groomers, why they won’t want to play ball in the dog park and why they may freeze when they are walking along a road that is busy with traffic. A high state of chronic stress.

If your dog is exhibiting this reaction of refusal, then this is a big sign that they are experiencing chronic stress. It may be that this stress has only lasted for a few minutes (for example if going to the vets for a one off trip) but what is a real concern is if this state of stress is prolonged over time. For example, a reactive dog who is being walked every day and exposed to their triggers multiple times, again and again, will constantly be flooded with cortisol.

So what can we do?

If you have a dog who is showing signs of refusal, linked with chronic stress, then it’s important that we look at strategies to reduce their cortisol levels as a priority. We can look at enrichment, distraction strategies and how to reduce exposure to triggers.

We also need to look at how to expand their capacity to cope with stress, so they have more room to hold stress before tipping over into fight/flight and then a chronic stress response.

All of this ground work needs to be laid before we can begin to think about reconditioning our dogs to the idea that their trigger is not scary. This means that we cannot help a reactive dog simply by giving them a tasty treat every time they see their trigger, as this is not helping them out of their state of high stress.

If you have a dog who you think may be experiencing chronic stress, reactivity or refusal, then click here to drop me a message.

Apollo

Apollo’s owners came to me because they were struggling to manage the standard poodle’s behaviour at home and on walks. Apollo was reactive, mainly towards dogs but also towards some people. His reactivity came out in the form of barking, lunging and growling and he would pull on the lead continually, making walks very difficult and stressful for him and his owners. He would also bark whenever a person or dog walked past at home, which meant the family were living in darkness with the curtains shut at all times.

We looked at strategies to build Apollo’s confidence as well as how to promote calmness at home. We spoke about how to respond to Apollo’s barking behaviours at home and how to set him up for success. We also looked at the equipment being used for Apollo’s walks and how different pieces could support him before teaching Apollo to focus on us and the value of walking to a heel. Additionally, we spoke about how to manage walks for Apollo to predict his triggers and prevent him from feeling like he needs to react.

Now, Apollo is like a different dog. He walks beautifully to heel on a loose lead, no longer barks at home, is calm when visitors arrive and is able to see multiple people, cats and dogs on walks without becoming over-stimulated.

A massive well done to this beautiful boy!

Loki

Puppy training for Loki, the Frenchie. His owners got in touch when they first brought Loki home to start their Puppy Package as they were keen to get advice on certain behaviours that come with bringing home a puppy. He was 11 weeks old when we first started work together.

Over the course of our 2 puppy sessions, we worked together on a number of key areas: toilet training, puppy biting, settling at night, crate training, separations, impulse control, jumping up, barking

After his vaccinations, Loki joined us at Puppy Classes where he learnt lots of new skills (most importantly, how to listen to his owners when there are distractions around!) and he did a wonderful job. Have you ever seen such a cute little face?!

Adolescence

Have you been in the position where your perfect puppy with a solid recall, good manners and wonderful listening skills seemingly woke up one day and turned deaf and chose violence? Well, you’re not alone! Welcome to adolescence.

Adolescence is the dog equivalent to the teenage years and they are just as challenging for owners as these years can be to parents (although thankfully, in dogs it doesn’t last for as long!). Generally, this starts at around 6 months of age and can last until around 2 years of age (depending on breed).

Adolescence is the stage in which dogs are noy yet fully grown or socially mature but where where they begin the process of being sexually mature; female dogs come into season and male dogs’ testosterone will start to come through. During this period, our dogs have reduced impulse control and it is also the period during which a dog is most likely to be rehomed.

But WHY?!

Why is adolescence so challenging? Well, there is actually some evolutionary science behind it. Adolescence has developed as a family relationship test and it occurs in all social mammals who live in groups (like dogs and humans).

Only the familial bonds that are strong enough will tolerate the teenage rebellion and challenging behaviours that come with it and so the genes of those whose family did not continue to love and support them through this time were not passed on. This results in the dogs (and humans!) whose families continued to support them through adolescence, rather than removing them from the family group, being the ones who survived. And here we are!

How to handle adolescence

The good news is that adolescence does not last forever. At around 2, our dogs reach full maturity and have finished growing and developing, both physically and cognitively. Luckily, it isn’t just a case of waiting it out and there are also some things that we can do for our dogs to set them up for success in this time.

Enrichment

It’s really important to continue to nurture your dog during this time and make sure you are providing lots of enrichment opportunities to keep their minds busy. Scent games, natural chews and lick mats/kongs are a great way to calm your dog down and tire them out.

Over-exercising

Don’t over walk your dog during this time. When our dogs offer us unwanted behaviour, it can be tempting to think that it’s because they aren’t being entertained enough. This may be true, but adding to their walks is likely going to overwhelm them and lead to further poor decisions being made. Look for ways to replace an extra walk with some calming enrichment instead.

Positivity

Try to keep your calm. During this period, it can be very difficult to keep a level head and stay positive with your dog. Just remember, this will pass! You are the most important thing to your dog and a telling off from you can be really damaging to our dog’s confidence.

Training

This is the big one. It’s really important to keep up your dog’s training during this time. Their brain goes through an almost complete rewiring during adolescence and they will need to be retaught things (even the most basic things like ‘sit’!). Training isn’t something that is ever ‘finished’ and should be ongoing. Practising with your dog every day, at home and on walks, by doing what they already know and introducing new commands will keep learning fresh and exciting. Crucially, continuing to train and reward your dog will mean that listening to you is fun and rewarding and will mean your pooch is more inclined to choose to respond to you, even when there’s other exciting things going on.

Other than that, it’s just a case of waiting it out and taking the bad with the good. There will be good days and bad days and every dog is different: some struggle more with this period than others.

If you are unsure of how to handle adolescence or are looking for some guidance in general, click here to drop me a message or give me a call.

Dogs’ noses

Dogs’ noses are mind boggling. Everyone knows that dogs have a powerful sense of smell but just how powerful they are and how they use them is not something that many people are aware of. Dogs can be trained to use their nose to detect everything from bombs, cancers, truffles, property damp, endangered species and people across all kinds of industries ranging from police, to medicine, to property surveillance.

The dog’s nose and scent work is a whole area of research and study of its own but I thought I would share some of what I think are the most interesting and crazy facts about our furry friends’ noses:

Dogs have 300 million scent receptors, compared to our measly 5 million
They can smell 10,000 – 100,000 times better than us (depending on breed)
The olfactory bulb (scent centre) in a dog’s brain is 40x larger than ours
Dogs can inhale and exhale at the same time, using the slits at the side of their nose
Dogs have an additional organ in the roof of their mouths which can detect if someone is unwell, happy, sad or angry based off the pheromones they release
They can detect half a teaspoon of sugar in an Olympic sized swimming pool

If we use vision as an analogy, what we could see 1/3 of a mile away, dogs could see 3,000 miles away – that’s the distance from London to New York!
Dogs can smell the time of day, due to the scents released when the sun moves across the ground
If you were to roll out a human’s olfactory (scent) system, it would be the size of an A4 sheet. A dog’s would be the size of a football pitch
Dogs can smell in layers; they smell in 3D, like we see in 3D. Dogs’ nostrils can work independently from each other and then their brains put the information together to help dogs locate exactly where a smell is coming from
Typically, working dogs like retrievers, spaniels and shepherds have an advantage in scent work over sight hounds or brachycephalic breeds. This is due to the fact that the number of scent receptors a dog has is limited by the length and shape of a dog’s muzzle

Scenting is highly stimulating, rewarding and tiring for dogs. This is because of the increase in respiration rate (the amount of breaths taken per minute) when a dog is sniffing and how hard the brain is working to process the information being sent to it from the nose. To give you an idea of just how tiring scent work can be for dogs, let’s think of it in terms of reps per minute:

At rest: 15 reps
On a lead walk: 30 reps
Off lead, running, agility work: 60 reps
High frequency sniffing (inhaling and exhaling at the same time: 140-200 reps

This means that half an hour of scent work is the equivalent to a 1-2 hour run for our dogs!

As a trainer, I often work with owners to help them understand their dogs’ primary sense and how it can be used to enrich their lives, drain their energy and even reduce reactivity. If you’d like to find out more about how to work your dog’s nose, then click here to drop me a message.

3-3-3 Rule of Adopting a Dog

As a dog trainer, I am often asked how long is will take a rescue dog or a puppy to adjust to their new home and how owners can help settle their new family member in. Also known as the ‘honeymoon period’, the 3-3-3 rule is a general guideline that represents the common milestones your new dog or puppy will follow. The 3s represent the 3 days, 3 weeks and 3 months after bringing your dog home.

To help understand what your dog is going through, picture (if you can!) your first day at a new school or in a new job. Everything is unfamiliar: new people, new rules, new surroundings. It takes us a while to settle into new routines, to get to know people and to let our full personality show.

It’s important to note that the 3-3-3 rule is a general guideline and all dogs will move at their own pace, depending on their personality, background and breed. You should give your dog plenty of space and allow them to move at their own pace. With enough patience and time, you will one day look back and be amazed at your dogs transformation!

In the first 3 days…

Feeling overwhelmed
Maybe scared
Not comfortable being themselves
May not want to eat or drink
Sleep a lot or retreat to a safe space
Testing boundaries

After 3 weeks…

Starting to settle & learn the routine
Decompressing and feeling more comfortable
Learnt the home environment
Beginning to let guard down and show personality
Realising this might be a forever home
Behaviour issues may start presenting themselves

After 3 months…

Completely comfortable in their home
Set in the routine
Trusts their owner and building a bond
Formed a sense of security with new family
This is your dog!

It is common for owners to be lulled into a false sense of security, believing they have adopted the ‘perfect dog’ during those first few weeks (although I think every dog is perfect!). Once their dog decompresses, they finally feel comfortable enough to show themselves and this when unwanted behaviours are most likely to present themselves.

Most commonly, these behaviours will include: lack of basic obedience, toileting inside, resource guarding, reactivity and destructive behaviour.

Rather than being frustrated at our dogs, it’s important for us to empathise with their situation and view the behaviour through a different lens. These ‘bad’ behaviours are our dogs showing us that they trust us and are finally feeling happy and comfortable in themselves. There are no bad behaviours, just dog behaviours, and it is up to us to show our dogs the right way to behave.

If you have brought home a rescue dog or puppy and are looking for training advice, click here to drop me a message.