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!
www.4pawswalkies.co.uk
Thursday 29 August 2013
Thursday 15 August 2013
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
www.4pawswalkies.co.uk
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
www.4pawswalkies.co.uk
Monday 5 August 2013
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
www.4pawswalkies.co.uk/
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
www.4pawswalkies.co.uk/
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