PawPrintPets

Making You & Your Dog Happier


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Ask The Dog – Book review

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I often get asked to review books but sometimes there are ones that just get the message across clearly, easily and in a way we want to share. Joanne Hinds has written such a book.

‘Ask the dog’ is a simple, easy to read and enjoyable way of saying what dogs need when they interact. Joanne comments ‘It’s to help children (and adults) understand how to identify the signs that a dog may not want to be stroked, its to help prevent children being bitten. As I am sure you may have encountered, many children run up to dogs with out realising the danger and their parents often can not read the signs either’.

Illustrated by Scott Hinds, the human and dog characters are easy to interpret and send the much-needed message. Always ‘Ask the Dog’.

Available in paperback and Kindle on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2J6Vg9C

Are dogs and cats alike?

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Dog and cat comparisons

As dog owners we need to remember that just because a cat is a companion, comparing them to dogs is like comparing apples to oranges. There are marked differences between the two, and cat experts advise caution when it comes to treating these two very different species in a similar way. No matter what we see on TV or YouTube, cats are not small dogs in disguise! Each species has their own unique qualities that really do lead people to state that they may be a ‘cat person’ or a ‘dog person’.

Dogs and cats are different species so what are the differences low res

Dog owners feel they can choose and train their puppy for a particular purpose and lifestyle. Cats are very unlikely to change to fit into a human’s social setting and change from a timid cat to a sociable ‘lap cat’. Even getting a kitten and hoping it will adjust has limited effect. Individual cats vary enormously depending on previous experience and genetics, as well as the experience of the cat’s mother whilst pregnant.

Walking cats on a lead is something that crops up from time to time, but cats are generally allowed out by themselves. Dogs in this country aren’t meant to be allowed out without an owner, and it is the norm for people to see a dog roaming freely and assume it is lost. Imagine if this were so with a cat? In contrast, the idea of an ‘indoor cat’ is on the increase but many behavioural experts believe this to be contrary to a cat’s instinctive needs. Cats need to roam, but what if they are near a busy road?

Dogs seem to really put up with a lot more than a cat might. When we ask ourselves why a dog that has been mistreated still returns to the same place, or takes a lot of harsh training without vanishing, this could be credited to dogs’ incredible tolerance levels.  Cats tend to vote with their feet and are not adaptable to changes. They can rehome themselves surprisingly easily if there is too much disruption in their home and they will look for somewhere more to their taste. This no doubt leads to the common problem of a cat being fed by a neighbour who thinks the cat calling at their door is a stray. It might just be they are fed up where they live.

Most dogs give off clear body signals, and of course tend to make a lot more noise for a lot more reasons. Both dogs and cats really do want to avoid conflict wherever possible, but as silent hunters who don’t really have a need for social contact, cats give a lot less away than our dogs do. Learn the differences!

Autumn Joy with our Dogs

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Pawprint puppy class with Karen WildI don’t know many people that say they hate Autumn.
We all complain about the gloom and the damp, the cold weather and the grey skies, but there’s the brightest colours to make it all feel good.

Yesterday whilst with a client, the leaves from her Lime tree suddenly rained down like confetti, fluttering around us as her puppy played and chased them around.
Autumn, for our dogs, brings all the smells and damp earth that they love. The smells of wild animals sneaking around at night, the hunting amongst piles of fallen foliage, are a dream landscape for a dog.
Of course, there is something really heartwarming for us about kicking through crunchy leaves and seeking out conkers.

Now is the time of year to take your dog for longer, rambling walks. Let your dog sniff to his heart’s content as he potters around following the squirrels’ paths as they tease him from high above.
Let the dogs learn how to play with one another, especially those of you with puppies. Set up a nice Autumn walk, wrap up warm, even think of getting a little coat to keep puppy warm whilst their coat develops. Find nice adult dogs that are generous with a youngster. Let them get to know one another and have a little game. There are fewer things more enjoyable than watching your dog caper about with another one!

Along with leaves and damp comes plenty of mud! Leave some towels laid out flat by the door, so that you and your dog can come in without fear of transferring the wet any further. It keeps the doormats a little cleaner, and towels soak up most of the moisture from their paws. There’s nothing to stop you bundling them around your dog too, for a drying off cuddle, as long as you both enjoy this of course!

If your dog really is soaking, and you know this is likely, set up a drying crate. Our Collie used to jump into every dyke possible, some very silty! I would then try to send him to swim in a clearer one, before we came home. At home I had set up his crate by the door with a tasty chew placed inside and a few treats thrown in as we arrived. Inside the crate were dry towels with a few more over the top to catch the inevitable shaken off water.

Result? One dry, clean-ish dog by the time he had finished his chew. It also gave me lots of time to change my shoes and clothes into something a bit more indoor-friendly.

Next, another favourite Autumn pastime. Cuddling on the sofa with my dogs snoozing on a blanket, watching repeats of ‘Bake Off’ and seeing the squally weather remaining firmly outside the window.

A dog training walk workout!

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dog on lead karen wildYou walk your dog every day (and if you don’t, start now). Why not use the time to do some on the spot training that will build your skills and help your dog learn?
You might as well use the time, rather than meandering along wondering what you will have for tea tomorrow. Here’s a few quick dog training workouts for you to add into your walk.

Before you start: Take some food treats with you. The best things to use are small (the size of your little fingernail, no bigger!) pieces of meat such as ham or sausage, mixed in with a portion of your dog’s normal biscuit. Either get a treat pouch, or line your pocket with a plastic bag. These are your dog’s wages, so don’t be a mean boss.
Next start on your walk. Don’t allow your dog to drag you down the path. Stop, call your dog to you, give him a treat, then say it’s ok to move. If he lunges forward, repeat. Keep repeating until he stops and waits for you. Congratulations, you have made a great start already. If your dog is just too excited to do the first exercise, don’t panic. Try it each day. It will come!

As you walk down the road, try to say ‘Good dog’ and give your dog a treat every time he is by your side and not pulling. Easy and quick.
You will find he walks at your side waiting for his next bit of wages, if you do this every day.

Steadiness challenge! Count 5 paces, and ask your dog to sit. Pay him with a little bit of food, then tell him ‘heel’ as you walk again. Count 10 paces, then sit him again. Another little food piece. Then count 5 paces again… as before, sit, and reward. Vary the number of paces you take but always ask your dog to sit when you’ve counted the number. You might want to do a few more, or even just 2 paces, to keep your dog guessing.
If you get it right, your dog is soon going to be watching your every move, waiting for the sit command. This is what we call control, and is the kind of behaviour that makes others admire your cool, calm and collected handling!

Now it is time to do a bit of recall practice. Either on or off the lead, whichever you prefer, step back a little way and happily call your dog to you. Give him his wages (a food piece). Walk a bit further, and repeat, calling him, step back, he comes to you, reward. Do this at least twenty times on every walk.

If you have problems and your dog ignores you, put him back on the lead so that as you step back, he is drawn gently towards you.

Keep repeating these little circuit training workouts as you walk, until you are home.
Congratulations! Your workout is complete!

Play with your dog!

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What a strange thing to suggest! Playing with your dog is something we all do, isn’t it?

You’d be amazed how many pet dogs sit alone for long periods of the day, then get fed, and sit on a cosy sofa or lap for the evening, and that’s their daily lives. They may get a walk, they may not. ‘They are too old’, people say. ‘They never pick up their toys’.

In fact, a lot of play is social. This means that whilst some dogs when younger might fling their toys about and chew most things around them, this wears off after a while.
The novelty value of items fades, the longer the dog has access to them. Toys get put into the toy basket and lose their interest.

Playing is such a great activity because it’s really useful for teaching lessons. Our dogs learn to be gentle, to calm down after the excitement of the game. Play is mentally stimulating, leaving the dog tired as a result. Not the sort of tired we get from flopping onto the settee after a day at work. The exhilarating tiredness that we might get after playing on a bouncy castle, or winning the latest round of Call of Duty.

Here’s a few tips on how to wake up the play instinct and get a happier dog.

Firstly, pick a toy they enjoy. Hard rubber toys aren’t usually fun but softer ones can be wriggled about and made to ‘come alive’. Of course, if you know your dog is likely to grab and not let go, or shred it and swallow the contents without giving the toy back, then choose a stronger one. Pick a time when your dog is looking for mischief, or is excited about something else such as you coming home.

Keep the toy low to the ground and wiggle it about, moving it away from your dog. Imagine how a running rabbit might dart away, and get the toy to mimic that movement. If you decide to use a squeaky toy, only use the squeak part once or twice. Apart from the sound being annoying to us humans, it tends to switch the dog off rather than on.
To get the toy back if your dog has decided they really want it, have some treats ready. Tiny bits of sausage or chicken (or other meat, as long as your dog isn’t allergic to it). Swap the toy for some of these goodies, and you can continue the game.

Long before your dog gets fed up, swap the toy for a treat and put it away out of reach. This will keep it exciting and new for next playtime!