Braw Puppy

09/06/2024

This is my eulogy for Lucy who left us on 30th of May. Those of us that have had many dogs through the years know that each one is special, but some do stand out and Lucy was one of those dogs. Mostly a deerhound she was a tall beauty who we called our supermodel because she was elegant with long legs and a beautiful face. We got her from Border Pet Rescue at 12 weeks of age and the first time I met her she jumped on my lap and bit me hard enough on the nose to draw blood. I just thought, OK, got the measure of you! Despite this, for both Dave and I it was love at first sight. An absolute nut as a puppy she was funny, playful and huge! Sometimes when walking her she would start leaping about and at 6 months she was the size of a full-grown dog, so it was quite a sight. Though Dave never experienced this, I had several men tell me that they would sort out my badly behaved dog or that she was the wrong dog for a woman because I didn’t have a firm hand. Aside from telling them they were too stupid to recognise she was a puppy, I also said a few other things not suitable for posting here! Despite being a handful at times she was never aggressive and actually very biddable. In the middle of her 3rd year she suddenly became a very calm and sensible dog. Not surprising because she definitely had a deerhound personality, and this is pretty typical of the breed. Lucy was really good at avoiding confrontation and I even sometimes used her for parallel walking to help with nervous dogs because she was so calm and very laid back with other dogs. We also use to help raise money for Border Pet Rescue. She was brilliant seeming to know just what she was supposed to do. Seeing this beautiful gentle giant really attracted people and their money went in the bucket. She also had the ability to guide other dogs to good behaviour. If play got too intense, she would step between dogs to calm them down and they would stop. When we got our Brodie, who had a traumatic start in life, Lucy was instrumental in helping her to heal. Though she didn’t like hanging out with puppies, she was the big sister that set an example for our wild whippet Trinket teaching her good manners. In her later years Lucy spent her time just enjoying life with walks and lounging around the garden until she decided she didn’t want to go on walks anymore. A few days ago she lost the strength in her back legs, and we knew it was time to go. Ian McKelvie the Mobile Vet was just wonderful with her and gave us great guidance on coping with our geriatric dog. When the time came Ian was so kind and gentle with her and us as well. In the end she calmly slipped away and Dave buried her in the garden next to Zara. Even to the end she was such a wonderful and still beautiful girl. She was 13 years and 7 months. We are heartbroken and will always miss her but thank goodness have our wonderful Trinket and Brodie to keep us going…

25/12/2023

I'm not going to wish people to have a Merry Christmas. Instead I'm going to wish them a joyous celebration because most cultures have a winter celebration but not all are Christian and even some denominations don't celebrate the birth of Christ on the 25th December. Instead I'm going to send love and good wishes to everyone, everywhere and ask that we all try to be a little (or maybe a lot) kinder to everyone.

11/09/2020

Just a wee update on this post. Someone has advised me that these rules may not apply to dog training outside so things might continue as the new normal we are currently working with. You can contact me to discuss and I'll keep you updated.
Important update on Covid-19 rules in Scotland which impacts on the work I can do. From Monday 14th September, 2020 the position on meeting with people not part of your household is as follows:
The number of people who can gather together, indoors or outdoors, will be set at maximum of six from two households. Children under 12 from within the two households will not be counted in the new limit of six people. This will be reviewed Monday 5 October.
I will be counted as one household so this means 1-2-1s only until the rules change. Please still contact me if you are interested in socialisation walks for your puppy so we can meet if the rules are relaxed.

19/09/2019

Each dog is different and has different desires. The mos important message here is that engaging with you is always going to be better than any toy....

My dog doesn’t play with toys...

Throughout the years of home consults I’ve done I’ve seen many cases of full baskets of untouched dog toys. A variety of toys that are mostly still as new as the day they were bought. Owners often comment that their dog is not play inclined or interested in toys.

Toys can often be bought not only as play items for our dogs but also as items to keep them contented. It’s not uncommon fur baskets to stay full and unrummaged, (if that’s not a word I think you know what I mean) particularly in the case of single home dogs.

In this case it’s not that your dog is not play inclined, but that your dog is wired towards a different type of enrichment, the type of stimulation that includes you. This can be so in and out of the home. My own finding with dogs like this are that they love good old fashioned interactive teamwork. Although teamwork tasks have varying levels of skill, for example tracking or teaching different types of retrieve, you don’t have to be a total expert in doing it to engage your dog’s interest and raise the bar of enthusiasm. You just need to get started in a different way.

Togetherness is ‘in dogs’ at a deep level in all that you do, even right down to taking a drive if it doesn’t include a walk. Being with you is a richly rewarding experience for most dogs, period!

Thus, experimenting with different types of play ideas, training games and using a variety of environments is going to demand....some creativity and imagination from you. Even those toys in that full basket can be made very interesting and put to good effect with something a little different that peaks your dog’s interest and natural talent.

Study your dog when you’re out there, watch and think about how your dog uses its senses and lives its daily life as a dog. You may be surprised with some of the great ideas you come up with, very useful ideas that can make any training you do a lot more effective.

Teamwork in my opinion is also the number 1 activity for building self-confidence in a dog and it’s owners.

You may find something of interest in that stuffed basket you have after all...

If you are stuck for ideas like and share this post, comment shared in the comment section then drop me an email and I’ll send something out to you. Alternatively if you think this can be of benefit to anyone else please share the post. There are dogs out there in need of a little more challenge and confidence building.
email: [email protected]

23/08/2019

Did you know that fraudsters have introduced fake Seresto Flea and Tick Control collars with potentially unsafe ingredients into the UK market? In this video...

13/07/2019

Max makes good points!

A dog’s rate of development can be very rapid and sometimes so quick, that if we’re not prepared it can catch us unawares. Many of us still consider our dogs...

09/05/2019

Great to know zoomies are a sign of a happy dog but can look quite crazy. Some good suggestions in this article to address pent up energy but remember to be careful not to over exercise puppies. Also if your dog is generally quite hyper active look for quiet activities that use brain power because over exercising or stimulating an excitable dog won't settle them and can make things much worse. Instead try hunting for treats or other types of puzzle activities. Remember having to use the brain is tiring but in a calm way.

Dogs can experience a phenomenon described as 'the zoomies,' when a dog suddenly dashes back and forth or around in circles with no perceptible destination.

09/05/2019

Positive stress challenges dogs and breaks up the monotonous same old same old.

31/03/2019

A chance to participate in some citizen science!

27/03/2019

Totally agree...

'Am I safe?'
That is the primary question for all young pups, and for a dog of any age for that matter. Personal safety and security are what builds a dog's social confidence. In my opinion there are many cases where dogs are over-socialized, over-exposed, and over-whelmed. At very young ages it is not always so easy to see or observe as reactions and responses can be quite passive.

As owners our dogs need to feel safe with us. When they are overwhelmed it can be extremely difficult to take any guidance and direction if the emotions of fear and anxiousness are very strong. A fearful dog does not necessarily remain a fearful dog throughout its life. They can develop bold, reactive and often highly charged behaviours. Often we search for the answer with how to handle or what methods we should use when dealing with extremely expressive behaviours but the answer may just lie in the amount of time we take to show them that the world is a safe place when they are young and allow them the time to develop mentally and physically during those vital early days. What I am saying in essence is that they need time to grow up at a rate determined by each individual dog.

They are babies and the developmental rate emotionally varies from pup to pup. Feeling safe with the owner and family is the first priority and I prefer to have that in place before exposing them too much to the big wide world. I have also found after 18 years in rescue work that many dogs with troubled pasts find a great deal of security when they find themselves in the care of a person who takes the time to bond and live together. Through that bond and security they are able to take guidance and direction from those they feel safe with and trust.

Consider the important aspects of safety to wild canines. It is the first things they learn when growing up and venture away from the safety of the den area. They are very proficient at making the right decisions of avoiding danger to maintain safety and engage in as low risk ventures as possible. Our dogs are only domestic because we take the time to habituate and socialize them to our world.

Growing up, not too soon, and not too quickly can be the key for many dogs to the socially balanced individual we desire in all our pets.