Dog Behaviourist - Nick Jones MA

24/08/2026

Ruby invariably gets on the sofa, but always seeks permission before jumping up.
Calm, polite behaviours maketh the dog.

05/08/2026

Little Bramble is staying with me for a few days. She brings a completely different energy to the home, which is nice. You can see her sweet nature in her expressions…

02/08/2026

A young hare absorbing life in one of his favourite spots, I know this as he would rest in this spot frequently, asking me to take his picture. He said he had two favourite poses, and here he is demonstrating them.

‘Larry the leveret looking lovely’

01/08/2026

Yesterday, I spent a few enjoyable hours on Knap Hill, south of Avebury, sitting in the dry, prickly grasses waiting for the butterflies to blow their way up and over the crest of the hill, camera in hand, feeling optimistic given that they were about me in abundance. Keeping low, the butterflies would make good progress across the varied grasses occasionally settling and basking in the heat of the day, and in calmer moments would fly up into the air in pairs or more in a way that can only be described as ‘delightful’, they dance and twirl around each other as if to portray a cooperative and happy interaction. It was a real treat to be up there on such a bright and sunny day.

The Common Blue is really quite small and was present in good numbers, but that made it no easier to photograph, as they rarely settle long enough to set up a shot. This photo shows the underside, which is very attractive- the males are blue underneath, the females look like this. This one sits on Bird's-foot Trefoil, which is also the primary food plant for Common Blue caterpillars.

The Hummingbird Hawkmoth! Now this made my day as this one came in and allowed me to get a handful of shots and these were nice. Hope you like them.

Gear is Sony. Body is a7Riv, with the very versatile 200-600mm lens. These were hand held 1/3200th and even then the wings were still blurred.

The abundance of light made all the difference, as you can still see good detail in the body of this little beauty as it dips in to the nectar to feed.

This is a female, clue is that the tip of the abdomen ends in a broader, more rounded, brush-like fan of black-and-white scales, and the body overall is slightly stockier to carry eggs, male is narrower. The tail reminds me of a lobster tail.
I saw 2-3 up there, but this was the only one that graced me for long enough to capture these.
I hope you like them,
Nick

30/07/2026

Not quite crop circles, but perhaps it’s a sign I’m getting close? A lovely sunset and a few drone shots from directly overhead tonight’s grassy and empty field.

29/07/2026

A few nights away in the van as I go on a solo nature watch around the North Wessex Downs National Landscape- an area that I feel connected to given that I worked on a fish farm when I left school age 16 in Zeals, just down the road from here.

I’m at a location just south of Avebury with a small cool wood next to me that has a hammock and outside showers. It’s so nice and peaceful. It’s 30 degrees Celsius in the sun and a consistent breeze is being funnelled past me as I sit at the base of a small set of hills before me. The breeze is also bringing a flow of bees, butterflies, dragon flies, seed heads and is making good conditions for the hawk’s overhead as I have a pair calling to each other as they soar on the thermals.

Many of the settlements around Avebury date back to the Neolithic period, roughly five to six thousand years ago, making them ancient centres of early farming communities. I’ve stayed on other farms in the area and the vibe of the land is excellent. You don’t need to try hard to make a connection to the land here, people have been farming the area for millennia.
I was hoping to catch some crop circles, but many of the crops have been taken in early due to the warm and dry conditions recently. Still, I’ll keep my ear to the ground and see what occurs whilst I’m here.
It’s a full moon and the skies are clear, so I’ll be sitting up sky watching too. This is also close to where I had a UFO sighting when I was 18, so there’s another connection to the area, and that has never left me.

I’ve brought my camera and a 200-600mm and a 16-35mm lens so it should cover my bases 😆 GoPro for time lapses I like too. Sunrises and sunsets basically.
Some birding and some landscapes will keep me quiet.

Thanks for reading. I try not to just stick to posts about my day job, and have always shared various aspects of my life on the ol’ socials
Hopefully a nice pic or two to come.
Thanks all,
Nick

17/07/2026

Bramble on the left, Ruby on the right waiting for their Americano and breakfast bowl of the day 😁

30/05/2026

Hi all, hope you're staying cool in the warmer weather. You don't really need me to post images showing when it's too hot to take your dog out...or do you?

I've been building a set of behaviour case videos over at Youtube as I enjoy this medium and video specific approach. My work is going deeper rather than wider these days, which benefits the dog and owner on the cases I take on. I'm not travelling like I was previously, and that also leaves more energy in the tank to address the cases and not to loose that energy in the car!

The playlist can be found here:

Welcome to 'Dog Behaviour Case Studies'. I'm Nick, and in this playlist, I dive into real-life dog behaviour challenges, looking at pet dogs in a home settin...

05/04/2026

A great walk on this Easter Sunday followed by coffee in the van, which pretty much makes my day. The sun is trying in between the showers. Little Ruby doesn’t care as long as she’s with me.

11/03/2026

Gorgeous Moxie the is doing well on my return visit today. A few adjustments to enable her to sleep alone at night which are proving successful so far. She’s more relaxed and can cope when left alone at nights, so we’re all a lot happier. Maintaining the basic plan will help make this the new normal. Well done! 💯