Urgh! Don’t do that!
Urgh! Don’t do that! It’s disgusting and embarrassing, isn’t it? Our dogs sniff each other’s rear end. Why do they do it? The first point to note is that it is not disgusting for your dog, it is, simply, normal canine behaviour. We have to understand that dogs olfactory capabilities are immeasurably superior to ours. […]
Separation distress and lockdown
Separation distress and lockdown I discussed separation distress in my last article. Given our changes in home circumstances during the Covid-19 pandemic, I thought a little more about what we can do for our dogs is warranted. Changes in dogs home environments can produce unforeseen problems. Unfortunately, separation distress is, likely, to affect many of […]
Separation Distress…
Separation Distress Much has been written over the years about dogs and separation problems. Separation anxiety is the normal term applied to such problems. I tend to agree with John Bradshaw, a biologist based at the University of Bristol, who has studied the behaviour of domestic dogs and their owners for over 25 years when […]
Let sleeping dogs lie…
Let sleeping dogs lie… The current crisis (coronavirus 19) affecting much of the world poses additional challenges to our dogs. There is, of course, a huge amount of, often conflicting, information and guidance flooding the news outlets and social media. Do we walk our dogs, do we touch other peoples dogs, can our dogs’ contract […]
Situations can get out of hand…
Situations can get out of hand… Owners must keep a close eye on any situation when meeting other dogs. Things can get out of hand quickly. I was minded to write this short piece today by a little incident while out with Ziggy this morning. I was chatting with a couple who had 2 dogs, […]
Wolves in our homes?
Wolves in our homes? More enlightened thinking has led many modern dog trainers and canine behaviourists to change their approach to working with domestic dogs. There are still, unfortunately, too many who cling to the outdated, discredited by research, theory that dogs are pack animals with a structure based on an alpha (top dog) ruling […]
Punishment or reward (kindness) based training – research
Punishment or reward (kindness) based training – research Generally, well-informed, dog owners understand that aversive (punishment) based methods of dog training are bad for our dogs. However, although this is accepted by many there is very little decent research that underpins this view. One, of course, that I, agree with. I read a very interesting […]
Can you train your dog? Poor advice…
Can you train your dog? Poor advice… I was prompted to return to this subject after an encounter with a lady a couple of days ago. A responsible dog owner who had her rescued dog on an extending leash (a pet hate of mine) was walking a few yards in front of me. We struck […]
Keeping your dogs safe…
Keeping your dogs safe… Increasingly, dogs are being stolen throughout the UK. You need only to take a look at Facebook to see distraught owners looking for help. Of course, some dogs are found but most aren’t. I, of course, feel for the owners who have ‘lost’ their dogs. However, prevention is always better than […]