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Making You & Your Dog Happier

Meeting people on walks with your dog

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Meeting strangers on walks? How to keep your dog calm.

Out on walks at the moment we are meeting so many new people (from a distance of course), and so many of them comment on our little dogs as we go. Dogs are a great conversation enabler, and of course lockdown means we need our daily exercise, close to home. So, the world is out, walking.

Our dogs get used to friends and family, but can sometimes feel unnerved when meeting new people. Here are my tips to help your puppy or adult dog feel more comfortable in the presence of new folks. 

Please don’t touch my dog

First of all, your dog should not be touched or greeted by anyone not in your household presently, since it usually means you will be too close to those people. Keeping your dog on lead is very important since if anything goes wrong, again, you will need to get too close to someone not from your household. 

It’s essential that you take good hygiene measures, so if you have to touch another dog, wash your hands and use sanitizer afterwards too. 

And it’s not just strangers on walks! A first time visit to the Vet, pet sitter or groomer, and visitors to your home (when finally allowed again) all need to be welcomed by a happy, calm dog.

How to introduce your dog properly

Safe dog introductions to new people are achieved with thorough, gradual training using rewards such as food or toys. Good puppy training habits, starting early with dog-dog socialization and getting used to the presence of visitors are all essentials. From an early age, your puppy needs to spend most days meeting new people and dogs. 

First impressions count! Meeting new people can be overwhelming. You can help your dog to feel more comfortable by introducing a calm, trained behaviour such as teaching the dog to come to you for positive reinforcement such as a food treat. Always reward your dog in the presence of visitors, asking the dog for a simple ‘sit’ so that you can prevent the dog from jumping up, too (keeping your dog on a leash will help control over-exuberant greetings at this stage).

What dog body language is best?

A wagging tail is not necessarily a sign that a dog is feeling relaxed or happy. It could be that the dog is worried and agitated, their tail thrashing around uncertainly.

Pay close attention to your dog’s body language. Are their ears pulled tightly back? Are their eyes are showing some of the whites around the edges? Is their head is lowered or they are turning their head away (or moving away)? If so, let the dog retreat and calm down. Your dog needs you to look out for them – so do this every time they see another person.

Want to learn more about your dog, their behaviour and how they see the world? Why not get ‘Being a Dog’, my book all about the latest in scientific research on dog behaviour – uniquely written from the dog’s perspective! Click on the above image to find out more!

Keep your dog happy during lockdown

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Simple ways to keep your dog busy at home

Are you back working from home, or want to make sure your dog is fulfilled every day when they are not on walks? You may need to listen to a work meeting without distraction, but don’t want your best friend to be bored! 

Dogs are intelligent, busy creatures and need mental stimulation, especially when young. Keeping your dog entertained is more fun for you and for them. Much better than just buying toys and hoping for the best. We all know the toy box is left gathering dust whilst your dog raids worktops and the leftover Christmas chocolate (very bad idea!).

What does my dog enjoy?

Firstly, decide what your dog actively enjoys. Do they sniff and hunt a great deal, or are they into dog treats, or just like listening to you for great social interaction? If you can provide things that cater to these needs, your dog will be more settled naturally. 

Boredom really means that there is nothing rewarding around. You don’t need to constantly work to keep your dog entertained, but they need to have an outlet to burn off excess energy. Providing chew toys, a dog puzzle with treats inside, interactive dog toys are great. Some of them can even be ‘smart’ toys that turn on and off to vary the frequency of play. All will help. A simple game is to take a muffin tin, place a small piece of dog treat in each section. Then place tennis balls over the top. Your dog can use their nose or bring their paws in play to knock the balls aside to earn their reward.

Does my dog need to be busy all the time?

Introduce rest and relaxation as part of your fun indoor activities. All dogs, especially puppies, sleep a great deal, so make sure that you aren’t experiencing puppy boredom by giving them activities and then routine ‘sleep times’.

What activities might my dog enjoy?

Activity ideas include simple games such as hide and seek, or finding tennis balls, or basic obedience training. If you really can’t spare the time, employ a dog walker so that your dog can be out having a great time whilst you sit at your desk.

Fetch and tug of war can sometimes lead to problems with obsession and injury. From crazy leaping around for a tennis ball, or pulling hard on items as a ‘win’ game. Basic obedience comes from your dog learning that it is fun to interact with you. It enriches their quality of life immensely. So start teaching sit, down, come, heel… yes, easy and useful too.

How about some basic nose work, where you scatter tiny pieces of their food around the garden for them to seek out? Repeat this with your dog a few times rather than giving them their dinner in a boring bowl.

Even though you may be at home, you will need regular breaks. As long as your dog is fit and well, you should provide at least two walks outdoors a day. Healthy dogs also keep their owners active. A good sniffy walk helps everyone’s quality of life. 

How do I keep my dog happy when alone?

Be cautious not to develop a dependency between yourself and your dog. It might be that when you finally leave the house the dog has nothing to keep them entertained. Create a big list of all the activities your dog can enjoy without you needing to interact with them. Food puzzle toys, interactive dog toys, the frequency of play with you and without you. These are all important guides for what your dog will need when you are not there

What can I buy that will help my dog stay busy?

Here’s some examples of interactive dog toys. Click the images for more info.

Some fun toys are just what you need! Click the images above for more.
How about a snuffly mat? These are great fun. Click the picture to find out where to buy one.

Is your dog your best friend?

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Does my dog actually like being with me?

I saw a meme the other day about lockdown, saying that all the dogs are celebrating as we are meant to stay at home. However, I am still getting behaviour referrals for dogs that aren’t, and haven’t been coping when their humans are around. So, let’s ask ourselves the burning question ‘Does my dog actually like me?’

Dogs show affection easily, but it can be hard to spot the signs that your dog loves you. However, dog body language is actually easy to spot once you know how. This is a great way to get closer to your best friend.

What does dog affection look like?

It feels so good when you see your dog give a full body wag. It starts with the tail swooshing happily side to side. Their mouth is open and tongue lolling. That’s one of the reasons we get a dog (or more than one).

If your dog likes you, your dog will want to spend time with you. What if they constantly spend time away from you? If they seek out their beds or like to be in another room? It doesn’t mean they don’t like you but it might mean they need their own space. We should always respect that. And don’t forget to check your dog is actually fit and well if they suddenly start hiding. Poorly dogs avoid contact.

In my work as a clinical animal behaviourist, I look for an understanding between owner and dog. Strong bonds form over time, but sometimes this relationship can be affected by fear or stress. A dog that is comfortable with you shows affection with coming to you. They lick your hands or face, keeping soft eye contact.

How do I know my dog isn’t happy?

How do you know if your dog isn’t happy with you? Well, if they want you to stroke them, do so for a couple of seconds then stop. See what they do. Do they walk away? The dog may yawn and look a little tense. Their eyes may narrow and they may lick their lips. Their tail may wag but this can be deceptive. A stiff tail is a sign that your dog isn’t relaxed.

Is my dog bonded with me?

How do you know if your dog is really your best friend? If you already look after your dog’s well-being, give him enjoyable exercise, decent food, and play games? Then you have built a nice bond already. Dogs show their love by being around us and relaxing. You need to show a similar sign of affection. Patting your dog hard, hugging them tightly, are not signs that you love him. They can be seen as scary and confrontational. So, show your dog you love him by giving him space to come to you instead.

A lovely way to get your dog involved and be your best friend is to provide interesting toys! Here’s an idea above – just click on the picture for more information!

The true price of a puppy

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What is a puppy really going to cost you?

dog on lead karen wild

Buying a puppy? What is the cost?

The other day I saw a list of puppy prices, a year on year comparison. For anyone still considering a pup right now, you need to know that the price of a puppy has doubled, and in some cases trebled, compared to the same breed and time of year last year.

Covid-19 clearly has had some impact on this market, since a lot of people at home have time now to look after a dog. Let’s hope you can keep that level of care going. Dogs are social creatures and need regular contact throughout the day. It isn’t fair to leave them for more than a few hours at a time (and no, I don’t mean just seeing them for an hour lunch break in a seven hour working day five days a week). 

Extra costs. The real price of a puppy.

The financial cost doesn’t start at purchase. This isn’t just a car that we then buy and MOT once a year. A dog is a living being and needs regular care and money spending on them to make sure they are safe, happy and well. Those of us with dogs can easily tell you about the Vets bills that sometimes come out of the blue. We can also tell you about the time and cost of training if you aren’t going to end up with a bigger problem further down the line.

The cost of a puppy doesn’t end at purchase.

I had one call some time ago from a lady whose young dog had wrecked their carpet. I told her my rate for helping them with the dog who was clearly needing some training and support. She said she couldn’t afford it. I appreciate that, and I also think that trainers should and do charge properly for our time, qualifications, experience. However she also told me that the puppy had cost £2400 (of which my proposed fee was a tiny fraction). She simply had not factored in the additional costs that educating the puppy would incur, and of course, repairing the carpet was going to cost her an awful lot now.

Prepare for dog insurance too.

The same for insurance. Thinking that you won’t pay into a policy but that you will just add money into a pot is a risky plan. Vets are highly skilled and there is no ‘Vet NHS’ (although the PDSA may help if you’re really stuck). If you have a spare £2000-£5000 sitting around, maybe you don’t need to factor insurance in. Even so, your dog needs third party liability insurance in case they cause accident or injury. 

So, a little thought for you considering getting a puppy or a rescue dog – the costs are far more once you have them, than when you start. There’s no such thing as an impulse bargain when it comes to getting a dog.

You can get some weird and wonderful chew toys for your puppy! Click on the photo above to explore some fun goodies for them.

Fjord’s Mountain Mission to help children and dogs

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NEW – Amazing Ski Safety E-Book for children needs your help!

Caroline Elliott, a snow safety expert and French qualified ski patroller who specialises in promoting safety on the ski slopes for children, is raising funds for her book, Fjord’s Mountain Mission.Caroline, who has been working with avalanche dogs for over 10 years, has also spoken extensively in schools and at winter sports industry events and conferences, including on the main talk stage at The Telegraph Ski & Snowboard Festival in London. The book will be published as an e-book version and then if the funding allows, there will be a print edition produced. Evgenia Malina, a professional commercial artist, is creating the 64 illustrations that will bring the book to life and make it appealing to the target age group of children between 5 and 12 years of age.    Fjord, a French flat coated Retriever, sadly died in 2020, but his name and legacy lives on in Caroline’s book and on her website Fjordsar (fjordsar.com). Caroline is now training her new dog, Källa, who will follow in Fjord’s footsteps, helping children around the country to learn about how to stay safe on the slopes. 

Caroline said: “’Fjord’s Mountain Mission’ is a magical account of a real avalanche dog and his mission in the snowy mountains. Through his adventures, your children can learn the essentials before they head to the resorts for their winter holiday, empowering them to enjoy their trip to the full. The book also has lots of helpful tips to keep safe and learn some fascinating facts about the life of a working avalanche dog and how to reduce your carbon footprint when visiting the mountains”.Caroline is hoping to raise £5,500 through a Go Fund Me page and is planning to release the book in time for the lead up to Christmas 2020.

All donators can opt to have their initials printed inside an individual snowflake on the inside cover. 

The book will be translated later into German, French and other languages if there is a demand.

If the funds are raised in time the Children’s illustrated book will be ready for Christmas in E book and printed form. 

Donate here: gf.me/u/wugfrn

Mud and your dog walks today!

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Dog walking in autumn leaves

It’s sunny, and yes it’s muddy! The Autumn dry days are great for romping through the leaves (I mean for our dogs, but you’re allowed too). However, the mud is starting to build up. Yesterday wasn’t even overly damp but my shortest dog came back totally filthy, so it’s probably time to talk ‘mud management’ for our dogs.

Especially during these damp Covid-safe days, fresh Autumn weather can be great as we take our dogs for some cold air away from stuffy indoor working. Wrap up warm and out we go! On the other hand, it can be a constant battle against teazels in their tails and grimy feet and bellies. Not only mud on our shoes, but on the dog’s paws, on his fur, and of course anything he chooses to roll in along the way. Incidentally, why is fox poo so attractive to dogs? On a wet day in forthcoming wintertime, even just letting the dog out for a quick wee can be a major mud trauma.

Add a coat for any dog that is very young (their coats haven’t really developed yet), one with a thin or fine coat, and of course any hairless dogs need additional layers. Older dogs will also benefit from a warm outer layer, but try and find one that means they can still move freely.

Here are some thoughts on how to cope. Although mats at the door are great for human visitors, they are far too small for most dogs who of course have to wipe all four of their feet. Invest in a dirt trapper mat. Not all mats are the same… the trademarked ones really do work but cost a fortune, so look out for cheaper brands with the same texture. You need one big enough, more of a runner than a mat, but they are a long-term investment and can usually be washed, even tumble dried.

A cheaper and much easier solution is to use old bath towel sheets. Lay them inside the door just before you leave, and you have plenty of space for your dog to trample them as you re-enter.

If your dog is too fast, or absolutely filthy, set yourself up for success before you leave. Find a dog crate and place towels inside, over the top and sides, and a handful of really tasty treats placed towards the back. Place it across the door so that as you enter, your dog can see where best to go. If you take time to build up his confidence, your dog will race straight in, drying himself off before you get that ‘shake off and drown’!

Here’s an example of a lovely warm coat you could provide for your dog to keep them cosy. Click the image for more info.

Pack Leader is out of date for dogs

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Dog owners always like to know the best ways to help their dog, and often tell me they watch every program that is out there to learn more about this amazing animal. However, just as we don’t think Made in Chelsea is unscripted, or believe we would be able to mimic Bake Off recipes just by watching the show, we really need to accept that TV shows for dogs are there for entertainment – sadly, often at the cost of the dogs’ welfare.

It’s still on TV, and talked about as a mysterious wonder, the idea that we somehow have to be ‘pack leader’ of our unassuming pet dogs. People even call themselves dog experts and have probably paid a few hundred pounds to ‘qualify’ in the topic. It means that dogs are often treated badly, punished physically, shushed at in a weird hissing noise, or yanked around on their leads. All in the name of ‘pack leader’.

What if I told you that this ‘Pack leader’ dominance theory was never proven and is at least ten years out of date now?

Even the person who originally talked about ‘alpha’ (referring to wolves, which are of course, not dogs) has said he was wrong. Dr David Mech from the University of Minnesota has since recorded himself on Youtube saying how and why this wasn’t accurate. This is good science. Good science finds new evidence that renders the old theories inaccurate, and starts using the new evidence instead. It’s not anything to be ashamed of. It’s simply that we know more now.

Dogs are intelligent creatures that we have genetically modified over the years to suit our purposes. That used to be mainly for working – hunting, helping guard our homes, alerting, picking things up, but also sitting on our laps and being cuddly. Not all dogs were bred the same of course, that’s why even the ancient Greeks had little white fluffy dogs for companionship, and great big hounds for pursuit.

However, everyone has always been aware that we have to be responsible for training our dogs to do all the things we need and want, so that they and we are safe. This doesn’t mean being horrible to them in the name of an imaginary ‘pack leader’. It means understanding how they like to live, that they are driven largely by scent, movement, food, safety, and of course, mating, and how great they are at things we humans are often terrible at, which is why we want them around. They are above all nowadays, our friends, and they need us to help them and teach them in a sensible, kind and clear way – not demand and dominate.

If you’d like to learn all about how dogs really live and learn from us humans, my book Being a dog tells you everything you need to know about our much loved family friends.

Reality vs. Dog Training on TV

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The magic of TV dog training can often be very misleading!

This week a couple of new enquiries have surprised me somewhat. They have severe issues with their dog’s or cat’s behaviour, and really need help, but approached with a strongly pre-conceived idea of how we would work. It’s unusual for someone to tell you how you will do your job, and not a little irritating if I am honest, but I thought it would be worthwhile having a discussion about our expectations.

Notwithstanding we are in the middle of a pandemic and have a risk assessment longer than the Bible, cannot handle the animals in our care, cannot go to people’s homes for as long as it needs, and generally have been forced to change how we work (currently we work remotely, and it’s been brilliant!).

On a TV show, you are shown the disastrous home, terrible owners, awful pet’s behaviour. Then up pops the charismatic person who saves the day. It’s very interesting, but what it doesn’t show you are the hours of discussion, assessment, and planning that go into changing and retraining a human family and their pet. The TV show loves to see the crazy behaviour but this in itself is really damaging, since the more practice any animal gets at a behaviour, the more permanent it becomes.

Contrary to this, a registered practitioner never deliberately tries to provoke a problem behaviour from any animal. It’s unethical and unkind. In addition, we don’t need to see the pet in their home, behaving badly, because the owners can tell us every single thing about that behaviour (and they do!). 

Yes, we need to understand what is happening, and that makes total sense, but we do that by interviewing the owners and family, as they can describe what has happened before. Imagine me asking someone to get their dog to bite them, so I can see what’s going on.

It could be likened to an electrician asking you to touch a bare wire just to see if it’s live, or a driving instructor sending you off down the road in the car on your own at your first lesson ‘so that you learn by your mistakes’.

That’s not how a professional works.

Instead we get a really clear picture of what has happened before, implement safety advice, then we re-establish some basic ‘better behaviour’ skills (because most pets and owners haven’t had this either, no fault of theirs). We then build up the exposure to the problem (noise, other dogs, visitors, cats, etc) very gradually whilst we make sure the pet stays calm and happy instead of getting upset. Satisfying and effective and above all, kind and sensible. But undramatic!

My book 21 days to the perfect dog tells more about how I approach your dog’s behaviour as well as your role as an owner. Click the image for more info.

Dog leash tech gives more reasons to walk our dogs daily!

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Exercise. We probably all need a little more of this, and pets are no different. Is there an ultimate lead that makes this easy?

The idea of an all in one convenient leash means we have seen them equipped with treats holders, water bowls, and of course, poo bag holders.

Leash fashion is taken care of with designer branding and colours, but the humble short lead may not be the future as we try to exercise our dogs under control.

Dog training is desirable to stop pulling on lead and to allow lots of freedom, but many people prefer not to let their dog entirely off their leash, or aren’t allowed by law. Longer ‘retractable’ leashes and lines combine safety and responsibility too and it is here that the human trend for tech and fitness has really overtaken leashes with functionality at the fore. Some trainers aren’t keen on flexi or retractable leads, but as with all tools, you need to know how to use them to make them safer.

So, the humble leash has seen an upsurge in style and technology!

Smart leashes, such as the Go from PetKit are hi-tech retractable leashes. Their functions include measuring walking and activity, linking via bluetooth to a smartphone. Rechargeable on usb, with the ability to charge your own phone too, these leads are designed to be more comfortable to hold too. Led lights are a popular tech addition allowing nighttime dog walks to be safer as the dog wanders to the extent of the lead, as well as reflective or luminous bands and stitching.

Encouraging a comfortable walk is assisted by the TUG ‘360 degree’ lead that again is extendable but prevents tackles with a rotating section on the handle. The SmartLeash reflects the uncomfortable nature of a dog that may pull with a shock absorbent bungee/elastic attachment.

Here are a few of my top picks for now, if you’re heading towards a new choice to keep your dog exercised but remember, long lines of this type need you to be vigilant – never ever walk your dog on an extending leash next to a road!