Lucy’s Leads

08/08/2025

Hello August 🌸

30/07/2025

🐶🐶🐶

25/07/2025

The best girls 🫶🏻

24/07/2025

Happy Thursday 💚

21/07/2025

I’ll have one in each colour please

16/07/2025

A little change of location for our walk today as we had a very special guest 💙➡️

The spaniel obsession was STRONG today 🫶🏻

12/07/2025

This 👇🏻

Why Is "My Friendly Dog" barking and acting so aggressively on a lead towards other dogs?

Frustrated greeters—a super common and very misunderstood behavior, that unfortunately I am seeing more and more of, especially in young dogs. (Ive had 2 discovery calls about this just today)

These are the dogs who love other dogs, but when they see one on a walk, they bark, lunge, or pull like crazy. It looks like aggression, but it’s not.

All they want to do is to say hi—but the lead says “no.”
And that creates frustration.

This is especially common in dogs who:
- Didn’t get consistent socialization (hello, pandemic pups!)
- Are naturally excitable or social
- Have been incouraged to greet on lead in the past
- Have never taught impulse control

If your walks feel stressful because of this behavior, you’re not alone—and your dog isn’t “bad.” They’re just overwhelmed and need some help managing their big feelings.

Due to so many places now offering free for all puppy play parties, dogs are rehearsing explosive greetings — so charging into other dogs full speed has becomes the norm for them

Arousal levels stays high — there’s no decompression or downtime.

There are no regulation in learning — dogs don’t practice calming themselves or disengaging voluntarily.

Overarousal gets reinforced — intense behaviors (barking, body slamming, vocalizing) often lead to access or continued play

When they're regularly exposed to chaotic play where “see dog = GO GO GO!”, they learn that the only way to interact is to get hyped and push through. Then, when they’re not allowed to greet (e.g., on a lead walk), they melt down — barking, lunging, and vocalizing, because they haven’t learned how to regulate that excitement.

The good news though - It’s 100% trainable.

With positive reinforcement, we can teach your dog that calm behavior works, and excitement doesn’t have to explode into chaos. We use science-backed, force-free techniques to help them develop focus, patience, and confidence.

11/07/2025

It’s official, I have THE BEST clients 🫶🏻

10/07/2025

Hiding from the sun ☀️

08/07/2025

Beach selfie 🤳

07/07/2025

Happy World Chocolate Day, my favourite form of food and dog 🤎

Check out .spoilt.doggo for an extra surprise in your order today 🍫

04/07/2025

Smiles for Friday