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Unleashed: Getting through the ‘teenage years’
Unleashed: Getting through the ‘teenage years’
Most of us are aware that puppies, whilst seriously cute, can be lots of hard work. I often hear clients exclaiming that they are ‘looking forward to their puppy growing up!’ However, it can often be a case of be careful what you wish for. The next stage in dog development, the adolescent stage can be equally as challenging and if you have adolescent kids, you’ll know this already…
Unleashed: Don’t give the dog a bone
Unleashed: Don’t give the dog a bone
Giving a dog a bone seems to be the quintessential thing to do. But like most things, it isn’t quite that simple. I get asked a lot whether it’s safe to give dogs bones, and the answer is always the same: Yes, and No! Which, to be fair, isn’t exactly helpful. So let’s dig a little deeper…
Unleashed: To feed or not to feed...
Unleashed: To feed or not to feed...
A topic that comes up frequently is when and how often I should feed my dog. Conventional wisdom suggests a standard breakfast and dinner routine unless you have a young puppy, which we’d often spread into three to five smaller meals depending on the size and age of the pup.
Unleashed: It’s all in the bite…
Unleashed: It’s all in the bite…
Puppies are proper cute, there’s no denying that. They can be endless fun and you’ll take billions of amazing lovely photos of them when they’re playing, falling over, or mostly when they’re sleeping – which they do, a LOT. But despite the endless amount of cuteness, the additional seemingly endless amount of ‘biting’ can get annoying and leads to one simple question: “How do I get the biting to stop?” Short answer: You don’t.
Unleashed: No, this is mine!
Unleashed: No, this is mine!
Food is a primary resource – this is true of all animals. However, having a dog that guards their food can be problematic. I’m not one to advocate reaching into your dogs bowl, and whipping their food away to prove “you’re the master” – and if anything, depending on the dog, this could make things much worse – but I do advocate doing lots of work with your dog with food being a central tenet.
Unleashed: Crating a safe space
Unleashed: Crating a safe space
I cannot overemphasise the importance of crate training. It is such a useful skill and can help with house training and some other problems. First off, whilst we humans like our open spaces, high ceilings and open air surroundings, we need to understand that dogs prefer dens and enclosed spaces. This is why they often curl up under a chair, or table, or snuggle up under your feet, or next to something.
Unleashed: Guilty as charged!
Unleashed: Guilty as charged!
We have to credit dogs for their remarkable ability to communicate an incredible range of emotions through expressive facial patterns, and interpretative body language. The problem is, we’re human and some – actually, most – of the time, we get the interpretation bit wrong. And it will come as no great surprise that it’s our misinterpretation of these signals and emotions which is what causes problems.
Unleashed: Give us a kiss!
Unleashed: Give us a kiss!
Dog kisses are a bit like Marmite. Folks either love ’em, or hate ’em. Some folks will go all in to seek out a sloppy dog kiss, whilst others think it’s disgusting, such is life. However, most dog owners attribute a fair amount of meaning to such dog licks, suggesting they are giving us “affectionate kisses!” But how true is this…?
Unleashed: Learning to let go
Unleashed: Learning to let go
All of us have items which are valuable, be they expensive items or sentimental ones. We don’t want to lose them, which is why we may own a safe, and why we lock our doors. Dogs are no different and many are reluctant to give up a valuable object, whether it’s a favourite toy, your favourite shoe or even a tasty piece of eight-day old dead fish from the beach…
Unleashed: Don’t leave me!
Unleashed: Don’t leave me!
Many people are often quick to say their dog suffers from separation anxiety, when in reality the dog’s response can often be conditioned over time by our activities.
Unleashed: Dog day afternoons
Unleashed: Dog day afternoons
In case you’ve missed it, there’s a bit of a global pandemic about at the moment. Countries in lockdown, people staying home and life is certainly anything but normal. And whilst there are obviously some serious things to be concerned about right now, and following the advice of health professionals and governments is a clear priority – it’s also important to remember our dogs have no idea what’s going on, but they know something is different.
Unleashed: Benefits of being in the doghouse
Unleashed: Benefits of being in the doghouse
Let’s start with a key disclaimer: I’m a fan of crate training. I find it an invaluable tool as part of a balanced training programme. Oh and incidentally, despite what you’ve read, been told, or possibly think – dogs do like crates.
Unleashed: Pawsible dangers of dog vs. dog
Unleashed: Pawsible dangers of dog vs. dog
Last week we had a quick look at the common misunderstandings between canines and humans and how OUR responses can indeed be the triggers. However, whilst it’s one thing to get you to change your behaviour, it’s quite another to get your dog to do the same. A better understanding of our canine friends can go a long way to making the difference between an enjoyable walk down the beach, and fearing to go in the first place!
Unleashed: Once bitten twice shy
Unleashed: Once bitten twice shy
Following on from the ‘dog attack’ in Krabi the other day (Feb 7), I thought it would be good to talk about human-canine behaviour, and how the misunderstandings between the two are often the primary cause of unwanted issues. As you can probably imagine, this is quite an in-depth topic, so we’re going to spread this out over two columns.
New Year’s pup ‘How to…’ guide
New Year’s pup ‘How to…’ guide
Many people, and vets, will tell you that training your puppy should not begin until after six months of age. This is utter nonsense and what’s worse, by the time your pup has reached six months, many of the primary developmental stages have long passed and habits, good and bad, have begun to take hold. It is the early training, and indeed socialising, that are massively important factors in producing a well rounded dog.
Unleashed: Keeping your Fido fit and healthy
Unleashed: Keeping your Fido fit and healthy
Some dogs (probably yours) just love food. Put anything re­motely resembling food within their reach, and they hoover it down as fast as they can, then stare at you blankly as if to ask “Why is my bowl empty? Please fix this, I’m starving!”
Unleashed: Teaching your dog to come back when called
Unleashed: Teaching your dog to come back when called
Perhaps the most important skill we can teach our dogs is recall. It’s the one thing eve­ryone wants. Sure, it’s great if our dogs will sit or stay, but coming back when called down at the beach takes priority.
Unleashed: What are the most aggressive dog breeds?
Unleashed: What are the most aggressive dog breeds?
Before googling or reading any further, write down what you consider to be the top three most aggressive breeds of dog… Got that? No doubt you’ve included Chihuahuas, daschunds, chow-chows and dalmatians, right? Or are we still stuck on the pit bull, Rottweiler, Doberman hysteria?
Unleashed: Understanding canine aggression
Unleashed: Understanding canine aggression
Aggression is a term that’s often misused. People see another dog barking and label it as aggressive, seemingly forgetting that barking, growling, snarling, etc are all part of canine communication.
Unleashed: The human behaviours that cause dogs to bite and how to avoid them
Unleashed: The human behaviours that cause dogs to bite and how to avoid them
“The safest way to approach a dog is to walk towards them so they can see you, reach your hand out first and let them smell it.” If you’re telling this to your kids, please stop! Right now! This is basically an old wives’ tale and completely ignores what we know about canine behaviour and so­ciology. It is also the reason so many people, particu­larly children, get bitten.