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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