Christmas and your dog

Christmas is now just around the corner, and I’m sure most of you like to get your dog’s involved in the big day too!
It can be quite a hectic time of year, with family gatherings, parties and lots of other activities, so please be aware of this big change in routine for your dog. Some dogs will love the extra fuss and attention and going-ons in the house, but other dogs can become very stressed with too much going on at once. So try to create them a nice quiet retreat area where they can relax in peace, maybe with a nice kong, away from all the noisy activities.

We all love to decorate our homes this time of year to give them a nice festive appeal. If you have a real tree in your home the needles which fall daily can become stuck in your dog’s paws and are also dangerous if eaten, so try to vacuum daily and keep your dog (and other animals) away from them.
Also, keep in mind that the tree decor from a dog’s point of view is pretty tempting and begging to be investigated, trees can easily topple over especially once weighed down with decorations and lights etc so try to secure the tree down so it does not fall over so easily if bumped into by your dog (or wagging tail). Dogs can easily be caught up in tinsel and find hanging decorations particularly appealing and ripe for pulling off.  Life will be a lot easier and safer if you limit your dog’s access to the area if you need to and don’t leave tree and dog unattended!

Christmas time is also the time of year where we love to indulge on lots of good rich foods. Please remember that a lot of the food we love to eat at this time of year is actually poisonous or not very safe for our dogs to eat, chocolate, raisins, sweets, and any bones from your meat should not be given to your dogs. Spoil them instead with safe dog treats, or cuts of turkey, but remember to not stray from their normal diet too much as this may upset their stomach.

As the New year comes closer, also remember that fireworks may begin to fill the night skies again, if you need any tips on how to cope with fireworks, please read the blog post on fireworks season.

We hope you all have a lovely Christmas with your four legged friends. Don’t forget to wrap them a nice present under the tree too!

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Beware of grit, it could be lethal to your pet!

The cold weather is already upon us here in the UK and; as well as the usual keeping your pet warm on those ice, chilling walks by providing them with a nice, warm coat, you should also get into the habit of rinsing off your pets paws every time they come back from a walk.

As the roads tend to get icey and frosty at this time of the year, as well the higher potential of snow, the gritters will be out in full force in order to keep our roads clear and safe to drive on. Grit, however (although necessary at this time of year), can be highly lethal to your pet. Dogs and cats will walk through  gritted roads when they are out and about during the winter period and, if your pet then licks his paws after his walk, it may just kill him. Consuming rock salt can cause dehydration, liver failure and pancreatitis, while antifreeze (used to defrost windscreens) contains the chemical ethylene glycol, which can be lethal when ingested.

What can we do about this in order to keep our pets safe?
The best thing to do, as stopping walks would be very unfair on your four legged friend, is to rinse off the animals paws every time after a walk. It really is as simple as that.
Cats are a little more tricky as they tend to come and go as they please. If you know your cat walks on streets that will potentially be gritted or where there are a lot of cars parked, the safest option would be to keep him indoors until the weather warms up. He may not be particularly happy about having his outdoor freedom taken away but at least it will potentially save his life! If you do decide to keep your cat indoors, remember that you will need to interact with them much more to keep them well stimulated; and, provide them with plenty of places to climb and scratch so that they are still able to perform all of their natural kitty behaviours!

So, as well as ensuring you keep your pet as warm as possible on those brisk, winter walks also remember to wash his feet down after every walk to ensure he won't end up poisoning himself if he licks his paws. The last thing anyone wants is a loss in the family so close to Christmas!

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Coping with fireworks

It’s that time of year again, when the evening sky gets filled with colourful explosions. Fun for us to watch, but not so fun for our pets.

Fear of loud noises is very common in dogs and cats, which can make fireworks season pretty traumatic for many of them. So, what can we do to help?

There are many ways we can make fireworks season less of a scary thing for our pets. We should provide them with a safe haven that they can go to when feeling nervous. A good example is an open crate, with blankets covering the walls of the crate. We can teach our pets that this is a nice cosy place to be by giving them fun things to do in there (such as a stuffed kong). The safe haven should also be placed in a nice relaxing area of the house, and it is important to not disturb our pets when they are chilling in their dens. So, make sure, if you have children, you teach them to leave your pet alone when he is in his safe place.

There have also been studies showing that the use of D.A.P (Dog Appeasing pheromones) can reduce the signs of anxiety during fireworks. For D.A.P to be effective it is important to introduce it before fireworks season starts and also still give your dog the safe haven to go to.

Keeping the animal’s mind occupied could also benefit some individuals. Giving your pet trick puzzle games with food rewards will occupy their mind from focusing on the loud noises. It is also important to remember not to over coddle your pet when they are feeling anxious. It is OK to offer gentle reassurance, but giving too much attention to the fearful behaviour could cause attention seeking problems, or it could exasperate the fear because by acting differently than normal (I assume you don’t usually over fuss your pet when he’s relaxing in the evening) you are showing your pet that fireworks are strange things, because they make you behave strangely!

If you do have a pet that really does not enjoy the fireworks, please look into a behaviourist (make sure they use up to date methods) to help your pet overcome this problem. They will be able to work alongside you and your pet in a program of desensitisation and counter conditioning.

Remember to keep your pets as safe and happy as possible during this fireworks season!

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Dogs, their secret lives?

I am sure many of you watched this documentary on channel 4 on Monday night. It was very interesting, but at the same time quite shocking to watch those dogs with the bad separation issues.

What was more shocking than the obvious cases of separation anxiety, were the silent cases that were found. Basically dogs who their owners did not think had separation problems, but their cortisol levels (the stress hormone) rose just as much as the dogs who were howling and tearing up the house. It makes you wonder how many dogs are feeling this stressed each day when they are left alone in the house.

So, what can we do to help our dogs?
Thankfully, our dogs don’t have to suffer every time we have to leave them on their own, we just need to teach them how to be left.
To start with, the first step is to give your dog something fun and time consuming to do. For this I would recommend a well stuffed kong toy, filled with some of your dog’s favourite treats. Give this to your dog, and as he is enjoying this tasty treat, get up and move away from him and then move back to him, repeat this first step a few times.

The next step is to move out of the room whilst your dog is enjoying his kong, and then the step after this is to move out of the room for longer periods and to move to other rooms whilst he is enjoying his kong. What you are teaching your dog is that when you leave he can still relax, and most importantly that you always come back.

The end goal of this is to leave the house for a set period of time. When you start this step of leaving the house when your dog has been given his kong, start with only a minute and then build up the time gradually from there.
This method teaches your dog to relax when you leave the house, and shows him that you always come back.

Other important steps to know are to never scold your dog if he has had an accident or destroyed something whilst you were gone. So far studies to date show that dogs have no concept of guilt. In fact scolding your dog when you get home can make them more anxious when they are left, because your arrival home predicts a telling off!
Never over fuss your dog when you get home either, just greet them calmly like it was no big deal that you were gone for a few hours.

If your dog ever has to be left alone for more than 6 hours, which of course for some dogs is unavoidable if we have to go to work, then I do strongly recommend having someone come in to break up the day for them. Having your dog walked whilst you are out at work, saves you a job when you get home from a long day, and also tires out your dog so he is more likely to sleep away the hours that he is left in the house alone (hitting 2 birds with 1 stone!), after all a tired dog is a quiet dog!

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Respecting other dog's space

Respecting other dog's spaces

I feel this is a very important thing for all dog owners to be aware of.
When out on walks with our dogs we usually encounter all sorts of different dogs for our dogs to interact with, but when is it OK to approach another dog with your dog and when isn’t it?

My general rule of thumb is if the dog is on a lead, either ask the owner first, or give that dog some space from your dog. The reason is because when dog’s are on their leads, they are restrained from natural communication with other dogs (you’ll notice dog’s often wrap each others leads up trying to sniff each other), and this can lead to displays of aggression from one or both of the dogs. And, if the dog’s are tangled, it’s going to be tricky to safely separate them.

Another reason why it’s not always best to allow your dog to greet another dog that’s on lead is because that dog may be nervous, fearful, in pain etc. so, always respect the other owner’s wishes, and if they say ‘no’ to your dog approaching, it’s nothing against your dog, they are just looking out for the best interest of their own dog. Even if your dog is the friendliest dog out there, don’t allow them to approach other dog’s on lead without permission.

When dog’s are off lead, it’s usually safe to allow your dog to go over and say hello, assuming that if their owner’s let them off lead that they are approachable dogs. However, always assess for yourself, if the other dog looks unsure and stiff, call your dog away and ask the owner first. It’s better to be safe than sorry!

Another point I feel is important to add is that a dog that growls is not a nasty dog. So, If a dog does ever growl at your dog, he is just telling your dog to back off a bit. Or, if your dog is the growler, please don’t feel obliged to tell him off, just remove him if you feel he is getting a bit overwhelmed. As humans we feel it is necessary to tell our dogs off when they growl because we are embarrassed what the other owner might think. Forget about them, as long as your dog is causing no harm to the other dog, let him growl, it’s their way of communicating how they feel.

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A day out in London!

Last Saturday we decided to go to London with our dog Zuko for a nice day out at a dog event that was happening in Primrose Hill to raise awareness against puppy farming. However, things didn’t turn out as planned because poor Zuko caught scent of something in that environment that gave him a spook, and it wouldn’t have been fair to keep him there. So, we donated some money to the cause, and decided to head back on the Tubes to Hyde Park instead.
Zuko is such a well behaved dog on the tube trains, he just lies by our feet the whole time, and sometimes says a cheeky hello to one or two fellow passengers.

Our day in Hyde park ended up being a brilliant day out. We were apprehensive because of Zuko’s behaviour at Primrose Hill, but, whatever it was wasn’t bothering him now, and he was back to his cheeky terrier self showing the London squirrels who’s boss in this park! 
It’s days like this where I feel so proud of how far we’ve come with this little dog, his re-call was absolutely perfect so he got to enjoy lots of off lead time in hyde park.

After our journey around the park we decided to walk the streets of London for a bit and use it as a chance to practice Zuko’s on lead manners (after all you should always take any opportunity to brush up on the dog’s training!). He did very well, even in the crowded places, and we ended up walking up to the Buckingham Palace without even realising we were heading that way. Zuko had a quick nose through the gates of the palace, but unfortunately the Queen didn’t come out to say hello.

Overall, it was a really nice day out, and I recommend all dog owners to every so often get out of the routine and take the dog out with you on one of your day trips, they really do enjoy getting to see the fun new places, and it’s a good chance to practice what they already know in a new environment.

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Walking dogs in groups - why?

Although the word has become quite a dirty word in the dog world, because of it's misuse in training, strictly speaking dogs are 'pack' animals in the sense that if left to their own devices they will very often live in groups, much like their ancestors. However, the difference with the dog on your rug and the wolf in the wild is that the pack structure feral dogs will form is much more loosely operated than the pack structure of a wolf pack. Another interesting fact is that the 'leader' is not the most dominant of the group or the parent (as seen in wolves) but is in fact the one with the most friends, the kindest and least selfish of the group. What I am attempting to explain though, is that dogs are very social animals and do enjoy interacting with other members of their species (as well as members of ours!) which is why walking dogs in groups is such a good idea, providing the individual dog has not had a past which has resulted in him not enjoying other dogs company.

Although we do offer solo walks most of our walks will take place in groups. You only have to sit and watch a group of dogs play to truly understand it's importance. Not only is it great fun, it's also a great opportunity to learn important social skills (especially for younger dogs) and learn how to appropriately interact with one another without causing upset. A lot of dogs live in one dog households where, unless they are provided with walks where they have the opportunity to interact with other dogs, they may end up lacking in these social skills and may have trouble coping if circumstances change and they end up sharing their life with another dog.
Walking dogs in groups is also a brilliant way to effortlessly tire them out. A 45min-1hour walk just strolling along is not much of a workout; however, a 45min-1hour walk romping about with other dogs, never ending a continual jog is a huge workout and is bound to leave your pooch extremely content and very tired. Which has it's benefits for the owner also as, in general, a tired dog is a quiet dog!

Obviously sometimes it cannot be helped but have a dog to be walked solo, especially if it has a tendency to act aggressively towards other dogs, it wouldn't be safe to integrate this dog into a group until after undergoing extensive behavioural adjustment for him to view dogs in a different light. However, if a dog has none of these issues than the importance of being given plenty of opportunity to interact with many members of his species cannot be stressed enough! Just remember to not take on more than you can chew! A maximum of 4 dogs per person is my rule, unless you have eyes in the back of your head!

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How to make dried chicken dog treats!

As well as buying packs upon packs of various kinds of doggy treats at the pet shop, mostly for convenience and ease, we also enjoy making dried chicken (and soon to be dried liver) treats for our dog and also to use on the walks with our clients dogs.
One of the best things about home made treats is that you know exactly what is in the food! So, if your dog has any food allergens (a lot of dogs are typically allergic to wheat and other grains, which are found in cheaper foods) you can avoid them by making your own treats.

Dried chicken treats are also a very healthy option, as well as extremely salient, for your pooches as they are literally just 100% chicken. Chicken breast is obviously a little more costly than buying a few packs of cheap dog treats but they do last a while (especially if you prepare an entire pack of chicken breasts like we do) and, I would say, are worth more in the long run as dogs will generally work harder for food they find more rewarding; and, typically you will find that dogs will choose smelly or meaty foods over bland dog biscuits if given the choice.

The method we use is very simple but just to be clear, this isn't a recipe for chicken jerky, it's just a method to dry out the chicken so parts of it will still be soft.

The first thing you want to do is obviously buy some boneless chicken breast! Quality is entirely up to you and depends on how much you are willing to spend. Cut up all of the breasts into long strips and then place them into a saucepan with water. Bring this to the boil (which normally takes about 10 minutes) and once boiling, turn the heat down and check a few of the pieces to see if they are white all the way through. You can use the chicken broth from this for your dog if you wish to, maybe add it to a meal or you can freeze this and also cut it into treats.

Remove the chicken and broth from the pan, into a colander/sieve, then place the chicken back into the pan. You'll also want to turn your oven on about now, onto a very low heat. We will normally cook ours between gas mark 1 and 2. Then you will want to get out a baking tray (or more, depending on how much chicken you have) and lightly grease with oil (optional). Now for one of the tedious steps. You will want to, piece by piece, pat the chicken dry, using a small hand towel/tea towel, and and place it onto the tray. This step can be quite long depending on how much chicken you are preparing. Once all your chicken strips are on the tray, place them into the oven and cook for about an hour and a half (depending on your oven) until they are a golden brown colour.

Once the chicken is dry and a golden brown colour, remove them from the oven and let them cool. Once they have cooled it's time to cut them into treat size for your dog. The size you cut them depends on the size of your dog, we cut ours quite small as our dog is small but we also leave some pieces a little larger for clients dogs. This step is extremely tedious so you may want to take breaks whilst doing it! Once you have cut all of the chicken into treats, keep a couple handfuls in a separate container of freezer bag as you can use these treats straight away. With the rest place them into a freezer bag or a container and freeze them, as otherwise they will go off.

The treats typically last us about 2 weeks but that could completely vary depending on your treat size and how often you use them. At the end of this blog I will post a video which also shows the process step by step and shows the finished result.
So, now that you know how to make super tasty and healthy noms for your pooch, what are you waiting for? Go and buy some chicken and bake your canine friend a batch of dried chicken treats, I guarantee they'll love it!

Step by step - How to make dried chicken treats for dogs

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Keeping the walks fun!

When walking several dogs, it can sometimes be tricky keeping everyone entertained and making sure that they get the most out of their walk. Being more entertaining and engaging than the environment can be a real challenge, because after all, somebody’s got to keep those squirrels in check!

I always find a good chase game can get even the shyest of dogs engaged, especially if you throw in fun and random rewards to spice things up a bit.
It may sound silly, but a high voice can grab your dog’s attention much more successfully than a lower voice, so when running around with your dog be sure to encourage them with your “dog voice"!

Other things to keep your dog’s attention on you rather than on annoying a family with their picnic in the field, is to play hiding games. You can get out their favourite toy, hide it behind a tree or bush and then send your dog off to find it for you. If you act super excited and proud of them when they find it, they’ll be sure to want to repeat this game with you again!

It is important to allow dogs to be dogs as well though, so allowing dogs to splash about in puddles, greet other dogs, chase that squirrel away or just have a good sniff, is also something that dogs should be allowed to have time to do on their walks. Teaching them a release cue (such as “go on then!"), can control when you will allow your dog after that squirrel and when you won’t allow it, and it will also teach them to look back to you when they see something they want to go to. If they learn that you are the one who controls these actions, you can avoid times when you don’t want your dog heading off to something, say, for example, to the children playing ball.

Here is a fun small video of one of our walks, the terriers love a good chasing game!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtPebM-tZos

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Keep those pooches safe in the heat!

As some of you may have read, two dogs in the UK sadly lost their lives over the weekend after being left to cook in their owners cars. You would think that with the amount of media coverage at this time of year which is surrounded around keeping safe in the heat that people would know better. Sadly that's not the case at all. What a lot of people don't realize is, dogs are far less tolerable to heat than us humans. They don't have the benefit of being able to 'sweat' to cool down like we do, in fact, apparently dogs only have sweat pores on their paws but their most effective way of cooling is via panting. In order for panting to cool them successfully, the air they are breathing in HAS to be cool, otherwise it is extremely ineffective. I'm not sure if any of you have sat in a warm car before but let's just say the air is certainly not cool, temperatures in a warm car far exceed the actual temperature of the outside, so imagine how hot it would be in a car if the temperatures outside are nearing 30 degrees (which they did in some areas of the UK this weekend)!

There are several ways we can aid our dogs cooling and ensure we can keep them as comfortable as possible in the humid heat we are often faced with in Britain. The number one rule is never, ever leave your dog unattended in a warm vehicle. If the temperature outside is about 15, it will be too hot for the dog in the car. If, however, leaving the dog in a car for just a moment is the only option then leave the air con on full or leave windows open wide; if you're concerned about theft have window guards fitted. It only takes moments for a dog to die from a heat stroke. With walks, avoid the peak times. If it's possible walk your dog early morning and late evening as these tend to be the coolest times in the day. However, if this is not an option, like for me and other fellow dog walkers who's work takes place during peak heat time, then make sure you bring plenty of water (and a bowl) and provide plenty of opportunities for the dog to drink; try and walk in shaded areas if possible; have short breaks in the shade; and, pour water on your hand and rub the dogs chest with it as this aids cooling, this is especially important for dogs who refuse to drink on a walk. Also, do not overwork your dog and drag him around with you for hours on end on those hot days.

Heat is unavoidable at this time of year but it is possible to make sure our pooches don't suffer and this can be done if you follow the advice given above. You could even go the extra mile and provide a small paddling pool for your canine to wade about it, or take trips to water sources on your walks if you live close by to any.
Just remember the number one rule: do not leave your dog unattended in a warm vehicle! You may well just be popping into the shops but is it worth returning to a dead dog for? It only takes a matter of moments for a dog to die of a heat stroke so please, please try your best to keep your four legged friend as cool and comfortable as possible!

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Make them WANT to come back to you!

I see this all the time when out walking my dog or client’s dogs, people with trouble getting their dogs to come back to them.

It’s a real shame to see owners shout aggressively at their dog’s and then act bewildered as to why their dog won’t return to them. Would you head to someone who was calling out to you aggressively? I know I wouldn’t!
Another thing I see is when the dog finally does return to his owner, he is punished for doing so because “he should have known better”, when, in fact, what’s just happened is the dog has been punished for coming back to his owner, making it less likely that he will come back to them next time they call!

One thing I do with my dog, and client’s dogs who I walk off lead, is give them a reason to come back! Find what that particular dog loves, and use that as a reward when they come back to you.
 For example I walk a yorkshire terrier who thrives on verbal praise, a German spitz who loves her treats, and a Jack Russell who loves her ball, so I use these things to my advantage. If they stay close by or come to me when I call them, they get the things that they love, making them want to come back to me.

A re-call is vital for all dog’s to have, as it’s matter of safety, so it really does worry me when I see dog’s not responding to their owner’s calls, because what would happen if the dog got out on the road?

If you are having trouble with your own dog’s re-call, just remember some key points, reward your dog for checking in with you on walks, reward them when they come back to your call, never punish a late re-call (just go back a step and practice on lead for safety), and always stay patient and calm.
Practice makes perfect, so just keep pairing your dog’s name with fun rewarding things!

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Beware of telephone advertising scams!

One of the most frustrating things about owning a business is the vast number of telephone scammers who call our business phone. Every. Single. Day!
Being in a business service where it is essential for us to take calls in order to make arrangements with potential clients, we have to answer every call, especially now that these scammers seem to be wising up and will call on a mobile number so not one we can choose to ignore (like the obvious 0800 numbers). We have since saved the continuous culprits under various forms of "don't answer" so as to conserve us some energy!

What I really want to talk about though, is what to be careful of saying to them over the phone. If you say 'yes' to something on a business phone and that phone call is being recorded, you may find yourself in a binding contract! They will often call in relation to advertising opportunities with the big companies such as Google, Facebook or Yell, to the unaware it's easy to be warped in by this, especially if you're a new business and want to explore every advertising opportunity available to you. These are all scams though. You can advertise on Google through Google adwords which is free to set up and then from there you will pay by click, they even allow you to set a monthly budget. As far as advertising on Facebook goes, just don't agree to anything over the phone. We don't have an advert on Facebook, we just post our page around on various groups; however, I assume the set up for an advert is similar to everywhere else and can be done online. Yell offers free advertisement but they may call you concerning the advert and then you may find yourself 'promoting' the ad for a fee, even though there is no need to.

As a business owner you will come across such calls, very likely on a daily basis. If you find yourself talking to one of these lovely people (which you will) just tell them you are not interested or tell them to email you (which they won't because they can't trap you in a contract over email!). Do not agree to anything over the phone (I can't stress this enough) as only personal phones are protected from this, agreeing to such a thing on a business phone could land you in a contract. I would recommend purchasing a separate phone as your business phone so as to have personal affairs dealt with on your personal phone.
These companies have several alias's and several different numbers, they will often ring on a mobile (as those are seen as trusted numbers) but don't be fooled by this. Don't give these scammers the time of day and, remember, just say NO!

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