The Canine & Co Classroom

16/06/2025

Some great advice regarding this weeks hot weather.
I will be rescheduling training, Scentwork and behaviour sessions so please keep an eye in emails.
Please be safe.

This week is due to be very warm, with temperatures increasing across the week.

As ever, your dog's welfare is our top priority, and we will be in touch with clients individually to rearrange sessions if we are due to be working outside in particular.

Please be careful exercising your dogs. Some dogs will not slow down despite the heat (looking at you Mr Monty!), and just walking in such weather is a risk.

🐾 Early morning is best for walks- evenings are often still too warm.
🐾 Shaded woodlands work best- how about Paddock in the Pines if you need a secure space.
🐾 Don't encourage running by throwing balls.
🐾 Carry water and stop regularly to offer it- even if it feels cool enough.
🐾 Sit and 'do nothing' together rather than march round.
🐾 Keep on lead if they are going to try and do alot of running, or break up the running with slower paced movement.
🐾 Some breeds are more at risk than others- bulldogs, pugs, french bulldogs, chow chows, and shih tzus (or anything else with short noses) are all more likely to suffer with heatstroke than dogs who have normal length noses.
🐾 Heavy coated dogs will get hotter than shorter coated dogs.
🐾 Puppies, adolescent dogs and older dogs are more at risk than adult dogs.
🐾 At home, offer cooling mats and access to cooler rooms of the house, particularly when you leave them at home.
🐾 Paddling pools/hose games: Be careful with playing with water too much- if your dog ingests 'too much' water, this can lead to water intoxication. Short supervised games are fun though (if your dog likes water, not all dogs will appreciate being 'encouraged' into a paddling pool so please know your dog's preferences and respect them).

Be sensible, if you're hot, your dog probably is too, and they have a coat they can't remove...

❗If you're concerned your dog is overheating (lethargy, trouble standing, excessive panting, drooling/foaming, vomiting, disorientation, unable to stand, uncoordinated, seizure etc etc), contact your vet as an emergency.❗

15/06/2025

HAPPY FATHERS DAY to our amazing dog dad 💙we love our adventures, sofa cuddles, and sharing mini cheddars. We love you-you embraced this life no matter what it threw at us and help us to all fulfil our dreams-you are so incredibly special ❤️

29/05/2025

We are now out of Woofice. We will be checking emails but may be late to respond. For information or to leave a message either drop us an email or check out our services at https://www.thecanineandcoclassroom.co.uk #

11/05/2025

Love this….🫶🏼

Ever wonder why having dogs walk in a straight line beside a relatively slow two-legger has inspired the creation of some of the most suppressive equipment for dogs?

Loose leash walking in this way is the antithesis to fun for most dogs. It’s so often a human want rather than a dog need.

It's a pretty tall order to ask dogs, who naturally move about their world in such a different way to human-style, to walk in the way that we do. So if we want that, because, let's be realistic, sometimes we need it for safety, then we have to make sure they get to do it their way a helluva a lot. So they get to do it do********le, if you will...

28/04/2025

Great advice from The Mutty Professor
keep those doggos safe 💦

☀️ ADVICE FOR THE INCOMING WARM WEATHER ☀️

Happy Monday All!
Here on the UK- we have a sunny week ahead! 🥳

Just a little reminder to go a bit steadier on walks middle of the day onwards, as the first heat of the year can be a bit of a shock to some dogs!

The groups that are at higher risk of heat stroke are:

✅ Senior dogs

✅ Overweight dogs

✅ Adolescent male dogs

✅ High energy dogs

✅ Dogs who have an existing health problem.
Some medications can make thermoregulation tricky! Check the script for listed side effects and observe your dog closely for changes.

✅ Dogs with shorter muzzles / flat faces

✅ Large, heavyset dogs / giant breeds

This is a good week to practise;

➡️ Leaving the chuck it / ball flinger at home

➡️ Slowing the pace of walks down

➡️ Hanging out together (in the shade) for a bit - rather than being on the go all the time!

➡️ Walking the shady side of the street.

⚠️ Don’t forget to carry water if there are no drinkable water sources on your route

⚠️ Make sure your dog has a good recall if you let them off lead, there will be more ball games, picnics and BBQs in green spaces.

⚠️ It is STILL lambing season as well as ground nesting bird season.

Dogs should be on lead /only on paths when walking on open access land.

Don’t let your dog range out of sight and avoid letting let them off lead in fields until you are 100% certain there are no sheep in that field 🐑

25/04/2025

A great post by Laura Dog Communication this explains really well that dog don’t do stuff to be annoying there’s always an underlying reason. 🐾🐾

ATTENTION SEEKING OR SEEKING SOMETHING ELSE?

I get lots of enquiries from people who want help with ‘attention seeking’ behaviours. Their dog may bark, paw them, bring them toys etc all evening and are generally quite annoying! People can really struggle with this when they’ve had a long day at work and just want to relax but their dog is not on the same page and is anything but relaxing!

It’s easy to just think that the dog is doing all this stuff to get attention but there are so many other reasons why and it’s important that we figure out the ‘why’

What is it that the dog is seeking? Dogs don’t do things just to be annoying or a pain in the bum, although it may feel like that sometimes!

😴 Many dogs become over tired or overstimulated and this can absolutely lead to attention seeking type behaviours. Especially in young dogs, they may seem like they need to be ‘worn out’ but actually they really need a good sleep. If your dog struggles to settle down it can help to sit down with them so that they actually rest. See if they are less annoying after a nap, as if they are, they were overtired.

📺 Some dogs can get overstimulated by busy surroundings and find it really hard to settle and they may need a quiet place to retreat to so that they can rest.

🩺 It’s also really worth remembering that both an inability to settle and annoying attention seeking type behaviours, (including barking and pawing at you) are really linked to pain. Dogs that don’t feel well often want you to keep touching them and they may paw you if you stop for a second. Some dogs in pain may want you keeping playing with them and chucking their toys as it takes their mind off how uncomfortable they are. Cognitive decline in older dogs can also lead to attention seeking type behaviours.

🐺 The most ‘annoying’ dog I ever had was Elsa, my first northern Inuit who at 18m old would take hours to settle in the evening and would be incessant in her need for ‘attention’ she would eventually crash when she was absolutely exhausted at 10pm. She’d open all the cupboards and empty everything out of them, bring me potatoes and random shoes ALL evening 😁 she would pick all the tomatoes off my plants and bring them in one by one 😂 she would pester my other dogs, she was incessant

Nothing helped her to settle and, I didn’t know if at the time, but it was as she was in pain. The only thing that would have helped her settle was feeling well. I never ever assume a young dog isn’t in pain now, she taught me that. Pain trials with the help of a clients vet, can be incredibly helpful in trying to work out if pain could be a factor. Your dog may not be seeking attention, they may be seeking relief.

🥰 We also see attention seeking when dogs are struggling emotionally and it’s actually connection they are seeking- they want to connect with us and interact in a meaningful way. If we ignore our dogs on walks and just scroll on our phones, if we don’t spend any time meeting their needs for interaction or if we leave them alone all day and then crate them all night away from us, their need for connection won’t be met. They are social creatures and desire social contact with us. If a dog’s need for connection isn’t met then they absolutely will be annoying as their fundamental need isn’t being met.

🌲 Some dogs are annoying as their physical or mental needs aren’t met. All dogs need physically exercise (suited to their needs) and being outside and a change of scene is also so important to provide stimulation. For some dogs, walks are easy and enjoyable but for others who struggle, they still need a change of scene, whether that’s a freedom field or a friend’s garden or an industrial estate outing. I have an incredibly active terrier who has physical limitations so goes through regular periods of greatly reduced exercise and during those phases I still get her out every single day as she needs to see the world, meet people and be stimulated or she would be hard work to live with otherwise.

🧠 Many of us have incredibly intelligent breeds with strong desires to do stuff and they need activities that help them scratch that itch otherwise, chances are, they will be annoying. Scent work helps so many dogs to find fulfillment and feel mentally satiated. If you have an annoying dog, scent work may the answer to your prayers 😂

This is Elsa my first inuit

Laura McAuliffe, 2025, Dog Communication

24/04/2025

A great post. Even my Frenchie has a teeny tiny prey drive-Squirrels beware!!

‼️TERRITORIAL, MATERNAL, AND PREDATORY AGGRESSION

🏡 Territorial aggression… we all know what this looks like… a lot of shouting, growling and posturing in defence of anything considered the home turf – e.g. the house, garden, even the car. This behaviour is reinforced every single time because the trigger passes by, or the delivery man leaves – dog barks, trigger leaves – maintaining the behaviour until we see that learned response/habit. We need to be mindful though that this behaviour could be based in fear - if the dog is fearful of people or strangers in general, you could see a combination of fearful/defensive and offensive behaviours.

🐶 Maternal aggression – the protective behaviour of a dam with her litter directed at any humans/animals who approach her with her pups. Bi***es experiencing a phantom pregnancy may also show maternal aggression over their bed/den/toys. The intensity of behaviour varies between individuals.

🐿️ 🐇 🦆 Predatory Aggression - This is low arousal (almost calm), non-emotional behaviour. It is distance-decreasing (as opposed to distance-increasing in defensive aggression) and is triggered either by prey (those pesky squirrels, rabbits, pheasants etc etc) or prey-like stimuli in the environment e.g., movement and/or noise - the pet bunny or cat, playing children, moving cars/cyclists, the squeals/yelps of smaller dogs. The dog expresses hardwired predatory behaviours – stalking, chasing, grab-biting, shaking, and killing – and they do it silently – after all, you don’t want to announce your presence to your putative lunch.😂 It is this silent efficiency which distinguishes it from other types of aggression. We will have a look at the Predatory Motor Patterns (PMP) of behaviour another time but suffice to say ANY dog can express their PMP if the environment supports it. My dog (yes, Alfie) stalked, chased, grabbed, killed and dissected (a clean decapitation, I’ll have you know) a poorly pigeon. I’d said in the past “Alfie would never do that” and there he was one day last summer, nevering like he’d never nevered before 😂 Lesson learnt: NEVER say never 🤣 This photo ⬇️ was just after ….

(Radosta, 2023; Phenix, 2023; Zulch, 2017; Lindsay, 2001).

👍 ♥️ ↪️ ⌨️ Like, Love, Share or Comment to keep me high in your FB feed so you don’t miss out 😊

19/04/2025

I have one place left on my next beginners Scentwork Course.
Please get in touch if you’d like more info or would like to join in.
Scentwork is a fun activity for dogs of all ages and life stages.
Dogs will be pre assessed to ensure they are happy to work in a secure outdoor environment alongside other dogs.

08/04/2025

Last year we started to see some changes in the way Ted was walking. He has done physio for years which has helped to support him in these latter years and always loved his walks, it’s all about the sniffs for him, so never really been a high energy lad. We decided to seek the expertise of the wonderful veterinary team where Ted was diagnosed through imaging with a mild spinal issue and some arthritis. These conditions are due to age and breed type. Ted’s condition will not get better BUT we can support him via a multi modal approach
-Medication 💊 making sure he is not in pain is paramount -Regular check up’s🩺 making sure we are observing any changes and report back to his team. -Physically fit 🤸🏽‍♂️keeping up with our physio and making sure walks are still enjoyable. -Weight management 🥗keeping a check on food intake as he is less active.
-Complementary Therapies 🧘🏽‍♂️ accupunture, massage, shockwave, laser and photizo to provide ongoing support.
Due to his condition we noticed we could hear Ted’s foot scuffing (this is known as Knuckling) the floor occasionally so we are at a stage where a cover for his foot is essential, this prevents his claws from wearing, if this happens they would be sore and could get infected. So we felt it would be best if Ted wears a protective boot and one that also supports his leg to prevent scuffing. We have had to work up to this. It has taken time and lots of positive reinforcement to help Ted be happy and have a positive response to wearing his new boot.
Ted had previously worn a thin rubber boot for a cut paw so we decided the best way forward was to try this again and work our way up to his new boot.
Here are a few images of how we started and I’ll post a little video in comments of where we are at we aren’t quite ready for walkies yet with the boot but we are getting there. 🥾.
If you need help with any desensitising to equipment, grooming, veterinary visits, muzzle training etc please get in touch.🐾🐾

01/04/2025

I am so happy to say I get to be a Full Member for another year. This is at CTI (Canine Training Instructor) & CBT (Canine Behaviour Technician) level. This means I have continued to learn about all things dog via CPD ( I think I did around 200 hours!!) PACT are a truly amazing organisation to be a part of. They have created a safe, welcoming, supportive inclusive space for Trainers & Behaviourists within this industry I am so proud to be a part of the PACT 💚