Aldridge Acres

27/08/2026

Teddy the Cockerpoo and Stanley the sausage ☺️are super happy the rain stopped for the visit today 🥰

26/08/2026

🐾 HAPPY NATIONAL DOG DAY! 🐾What better way to celebrate your best friend than letting them run completely wild and free? 🐕💨Bring your pup to Aldridge Acres today for the ultimate off-lead adventure! Safe, secure, and 100% pure joy for your dog.👇 Tap below to grab your slot and book now:🌐 www.aldridgeacres.co.uk
❤️Don’t forget welovedogsafety!! So get on that weather app and check its cool enough 😀🐶

21/08/2026

Our gorgeous Tess joined today for our opening checks and concludes all is beautiful . 2 pm, 3 pm 4 pm and 6 pm available today as we’ve booked sessions this morning for regular maintenance 🥰

20/08/2026

Henry , Milo and Lady are super happy it’s a cool one 😎 have a fab day 🥰

19/08/2026

This used to be called the ladder of aggression , it’s much more appropriately named now as the ladder of communication , as it shows how a dog tries to communicate some level of distress before resorting to its last defence of a bite .

CANINE LADDER OF COMMUNICATION CHALLENGE

We had a brilliant challenge in class. How well can you actually read what your dog is trying to tell you?

Everyone was given different behaviours and had to put them in the order they thought they appeared on the Canine Ladder of Communication from those easily missed early signals right through to a bite.
It was a lot of fun and definitely got everyone thinking and talking! But behind the challenge was a really serious and important message…
Dogs communicate with us long before a bite happens.
A yawn or nose lick.
Turning their head or body away.
Trying to walk away.
Crouching with their ears back.
Becoming tense and staring.
Growling.
Showing teeth.
Snapping.
Biting.
Those early behaviours can be a dog's way of saying:
“I'm uncomfortable.”
“I'm worried.”
“I need some space.”
“Please stop.”
And it's our responsibility to listen.
A growl isn't something we should simply punish out of a dog. It's communication.
If we ignore the quieter signals and then punish the louder warnings, we haven't necessarily changed how that dog feels. We may simply make their warnings harder to spot next time.
And dogs don't necessarily work neatly through every stage of a ladder. They can skip behaviours or escalate very quickly, depending on the individual dog and the situation
That's why learning to read canine body language is such an important part of responsible dog ownership and training.
Notice the subtle signs.
Give your dog space when they ask for it.
Don't force interactions.
Don't punish communication.
Ask WHY your dog is behaving that way.

A massive well done to everyone who took part in our challenge, you absolutely smashed it!
It may have been a fun class exercise, but the lesson behind it could genuinely make a difference.
The best dog handlers don't just teach their dogs to listen to them, they learn to listen to their dogs too. ❤️

17/08/2026

Please share everyone to raise much needed funds for dogs in need thank you ❤️❤️

16/08/2026

Beautiful Brucie came with us to open up and do checks this morning . Very content now ❤️

13/08/2026

Do you have a dog who humps ? Read this ,,,

HU***NG HOUNDS
Some dogs do and some dogs don’t, but if you have a dog that humps at the most inopportune times it can be particularly embarrassing or uncomfortable as though our dogs have just committed the ultimate social faux pas.

Hu***ng is a completely normal behaviour and some dogs are really not fussy about the recipient – other dogs, cats, people, visitors, toys, cushions, furniture - anything that can be mounted and clung to may be fair game.

Like many other behaviours, it doesn’t always have a simple reason. It’s often a complex behaviour that is usually emotionally or socially based.

When hu***ng is annoying another dog or person or causing frustration, discomfort or harm in any way, then obviously this behaviour needs to be addressed, but sometimes we need to consider if it’s really something we need to immediately stop because we see it as socially unacceptable?

Is it just a harmless way of relieving stress or anxiety or a way to release excess energy? Is a little hump now and then okay if it’s not causing any harm?

Taking note of the context, environment, or specific triggers can provide information as to what may be causing the behaviour.

An example of this with my own dogs – every week when we got back from a long walk, one of my younger male dogs would hump my little female. She’s an old lady now and finds it stressful so I needed to find a way to prevent it. I believe that hu***ng was his way of self-regulating, releasing the excitement and calming himself down after the walk.

Now when we return from a walk, he gets a long lasting chewy. Chewing is an alternative, incompatible behaviour. It has a calming effect, enables him to relax, self-regulate and has stopped him from hu***ng her.

We should not just be addressing the symptom, but look beneath the behaviour, understand what’s driving it and then address the underlying cause. Suppressing behaviour is not the same as modifying behaviour.

07/08/2026

Don’t know exactly what Beni is watching out for this morning 😂❤️but he and Bella can confirm all is safe , clean and secure , enjoy visits today 👏