It's All About The Dog

28/04/2025

🌡️☀️ Did you know your dog could suffer heatstroke at just 16°C?

It’s not just extreme heat we need to be careful about — even a warm spring day can be risky for our dogs. 🐾

Here’s what the research shows:

🔹 Dogs can suffer heat-related illness (HRI) at temperatures as low as 16–21°C (60–70°F)
🔹 Above 20°C, the risk rises sharply — especially for flat-faced breeds, overweight dogs, older dogs, and those with health conditions
🔹 Flat-faced breeds (like Pugs, Bulldogs and Frenchies) are 2–3 times more likely to suffer heatstroke
🔹 Older dogs (12 years+) are twice as likely to develop heatstroke compared to younger dogs
🔹 Exercise is the most common trigger, not just being left in a hot car!
🔹 Dogs struggle to cool themselves — panting alone isn’t enough on warmer days
🔹 Walks, games, car trips, and even sitting in a warm house can all become dangerous faster than you might think
🔹 Dogs in hot countries? They're usually born into that climate and gradually acclimatised — even then, their guardians adapt routines carefully!
🔹 Acclimatisation takes weeks, not days — it can take up to 60 days for a dog’s body to adjust to hotter conditions (and even then, it's not guaranteed)
🔹 But my dog wants to go out! — Dogs love predictable routines and will often ask for their normal walk, even when it’s dangerously hot. They don't know it's too risky — that's our job to decide! 🧠❤️

💬 The safest choice? Walk early, walk late, and always choose cooler, shady spots. Some days, a sniffy garden session or a brain game indoors is the best "walk" of all!

📚 Want to read the full research?

Check out the Royal Veterinary College VetCompass study here:
👉 https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.105161

Stay safe, stay cool — and remember: your dog would rather miss a walk than miss YOU. ❤️🐾

28/04/2025

**HOT FORECAST DUE**

''In a recent study over 26% of dogs presented with heat stroke died, with flat faced breeds making up nearly half of heat stroke cases seen in the study''

Please take care with your dogs during this warm weather period

Hot Forecast Due 🌅

Is it true that if we use cold water on heat stroke pets they will go into shock?

One of the most common things we still hear is that we can only use tepid water on a pet with heat stroke, incase they get some complications like hypothermic overshoot, peripheral vasoconstriction hindering a cooling response, and cardiogenic shock...

We have heard not to use cold water in case it causes shock... this rarely happens!

But guess what? In a recent study over 26% of dogs presented with heat stroke died, with flat faced breeds making up nearly half of heat stroke cases seen in the study.

You should:

💧Get someone to call the local veterinary practice and tell them you're going to travel down with a heat stroke patient
💧Pour, hose or if possible immerse the pet in very cold water (this should obviously be done under constant supervision, ensuring the head is fully above water and immersion should not be attempted if the animal is too large, or you are unable to do so without hurting yourself)
💧NB: If using a hose pipe, make sure it has run through until cold, as they can often contain water that is extremely hot in the tubing initially
💧Do not drape in towels and leave them in situ. Keep the cold water flowing.
💧Move to a cool, shaded area
💧Prepare to transport to vets in a cold, air conditioned car

In studies they found that:

🌅International consensus from sports medicine organisations supports treating EHS with early rapid cooling by immersing the casualty in cold water.
🌅Ice-water immersion has been shown to be highly effective in exertional heat stroke, with a zero fatality rate in large case series of younger, fit patients.
🌅Hyperthermic individuals were cooled twice as fast by Cold Water Immersion as by passive recovery.
🌅No complications occurred during the treatment of three older patients with severe heat stroke were treated with cold‐water immersion.
🌅Cold water immersion (CWI) is the preferred cooling modality in EHS guidelines and the optimal method applicable to UK Service Personnel
🌅Studies suggest using either ice-water or cold-water immersion

The best intervention is PREVENTION, but if you find yourself with an animal with heat stroke, using cold water either by pouring, hosing or ideally (if safe) immersion then this may help reduce their temperature to safe levels while you transport to a veterinary practice.

Read more below:

https://www.vetvoices.co.uk/post/cool-icy-cold-or-tepid

13/04/2025

What if it was never really a training issue?

Over the last ten years, I’ve worked with countless dogs and their humans—many of whom came to me believing they had a “training problem.” And sometimes… I wasn’t so sure.

I’d gently suggest a vet check. Something just didn’t sit right.

The behaviour didn’t add up. The body language was off. It felt like something more.

And every single time, the dog came back with a clean bill of health.
No diagnosis. Nothing “wrong.” Just… behavioural.

I understood why.
Ten or fifteen minutes in a vet consult room with a vague concern like “he growls when touched” or “she doesn’t want to walk anymore”—where would a vet even start?

But it frustrated me.
Especially when those dogs were referred on to other trainers who I knew would jump straight into stopping the behaviour—by any means necessary.

There were nights I sat with my head in my hands, genuinely wondering if I should stop working with dogs altogether.

Instead, I stepped back.
I focused on fun classes and joyful training.
But behaviour doesn’t disappear when you stop asking about it—it just hides for a while.

And then I found the Dynamic Dog Practitioner course.

It was intense. Months of study. Assessments. Stress.

But it changed everything.

Now I can spot what I would’ve missed before.
Now I know how to ask better questions—of the dog, of their body, and of the professionals supporting them.
And I finally have that missing piece of the puzzle that made so many training plans plateau.

Since qualifying, I’ve supported dogs who were labelled:
🐾 “Stubborn” (spondylosis)
🐾 “Anxious” (cruciate disease)
🐾 “Touch-sensitive” (cruciate tear)
🐾 “Non-compliant” (hip dysplasia)
🐾 “Aggressive” (hip dysplasia)
🐾 “Reactive” (hip dysplasia)

The behaviour didn’t vanish overnight.
Old habits die hard. Healing takes time.

But those dogs?
They’re finally getting the support they needed.
Not to stop the behaviour—but to understand it.

And it’s left me wondering…

💭 What if we approached behaviour differently—right from the very beginning?

What if we paused, just for a moment, before jumping to cues and corrections?
What if we asked why a dog is behaving the way they are… instead of just trying to stop it?

Because behaviour is information.
It’s often the first sign that something isn’t quite right.
And when we start from a place of curiosity instead of control… everything changes.

🧡 Training still matters. But it works best when we’re working with the dog—not against their discomfort.

So maybe the real magic isn’t in more training…
Maybe it’s in finally seeing the dog that’s been trying to speak all along.

12/04/2025

“I feel like I’ve already asked for help… but it didn’t really help.”

If you’ve ever left a training session feeling more confused than when you arrived,
If you’ve ever been told to “just keep walking” or “get their focus back” while your dog is already over threshold,
If you’ve ever felt dismissed, blamed, or like you’re failing your dog…

You’re not asking for too much.
You just haven’t been properly supported—yet.

What you’re asking for is:

Support that’s tailored to your dog

Someone to walk beside you when it all feels overwhelming

Guidance that makes sense in your world—not just the trainer’s

That’s not too much.
That’s the minimum we all deserve when we’re trying to do our best.

💛 If you've ever second-guessed yourself or been made to feel like you're the problem—please hear this:

You’re not.
You’re doing the best you can with what you’ve been given.
And when what you're given finally fits... everything starts to change.

12/04/2025

Yes, Your Dog's Breed DOES Matter - Here's Why

I've noticed a concerning trend in dog training circles lately: "Breed doesn't matter. Talking about breed traits is just stereotyping. All dogs are individuals."

While this sounds enlightened and progressive, it's dangerously misleading.

Of course every dog is an individual with their own personality. But pretending that centuries of selective breeding hasn't created meaningful differences between dog breeds isn't progressive - it's ignoring reality.

No other species on earth has been so deliberately diversified by humans. We've spent many hundreds of years selectively breeding dogs for specific traits, behaviors, and abilities to perform vastly different jobs.

And those genetics matter.

Stand a Pug next to a Belgian Malinois. Look at their physical appearance, energy level, and behavior. They're so different it's hard to believe they're the same species. Acknowledging this isn't stereotyping - it's observation.

More than half the training issues I've seen in my career could have been prevented or significantly minimized if owners had carefully considered what kind of dog they were getting.

When someone living in a small city apartment brings home a Husky bred for running miles pulling sleds in cold climates, then wonders why the dog is struggling... that's not the dog's fault. That's a mismatch of genetics and lifestyle.

When a family wants a bombproof social dog for their busy household with many visitors, but chooses a breed selectively bred for guardian tendencies - that's setting everyone up for unnecessary challenges.

Acknowledging breed tendencies isn't limiting your dog. It's seeing them for who they are - and part of who they are is their genetics.

If you have a herding breed, you should expect to work more on motion sensitivity and chase behaviors - these traits are foundational to what makes them excel at herding.

If you have a terrier, you should anticipate certain natural tendencies toward prey drive and digging.

If you have a guardian breed, their natural wariness of strangers isn't a "training failure" - it's part of what made them excellent at their historical job.

Individual personality and environment will certainly influence how these traits express themselves, but the underlying genetic predispositions are real.

All dogs need social time, enrichment, and novelty. They need daily exercise and training. But how MUCH exercise, what TYPE of training, and which specific activities will fulfill them best is significantly influenced by breed.

Respecting breed tendencies isn't stereotyping - it's setting your dog up for success by understanding and honoring who they are.


Happy (Breed-Specific) Training!

11/04/2025

“No one showed me what to do in the moment.”

You've done the training.
You’ve practised the cues.
Maybe you even had some success in a class or quiet setting...

But then real life happened.

Another dog appeared.
Someone popped out of a driveway.
A child screamed past on a scooter.
Your dog reacted—and you froze.

And suddenly, all that training felt like it didn’t matter.
Not because you weren’t paying attention.
Not because you weren’t committed.

But because no one ever showed you what to do when it’s actually happening.

That’s not your fault.
Most training focuses on rehearsing ideal scenarios.
But reactive dogs don’t live in a vacuum.
They live in your world—with all its noise, chaos, and curveballs.

You don’t need perfection.
You need support that works where you walk.
You need someone in your corner when it feels overwhelming.
You need real-life coaching—not just theory.

💛 If you’ve ever walked home feeling defeated, thinking,
“I should know what to do by now…”
You’re not alone. And you haven’t missed the boat.
You just haven’t been given the kind of help that meets you there—yet.

10/04/2025

“I don’t know if I can go through it all again…”

Trying another training plan can feel exhausting—especially if you’ve done it before and it didn’t help.

It’s not just time and money you’re worried about—it’s the hope.
The energy it takes to believe this time might be different.

💛 So here’s something gentle to hold onto:

You’re not starting from scratch.
You’re starting from experience.
From everything you’ve already tried, everything you’ve learned, everything you now know doesn’t work for your dog.

That’s not failure. That’s wisdom.

✨ You don’t need to start again.
✨ You just need to start differently.

And when you have the right kind of support—support that makes space for real life, your capacity, and your dog’s unique needs—change doesn’t feel so heavy.

You're allowed to take small steps.
You're allowed to protect your hope.
And you're absolutely allowed to want better—for both of you.

If something in your gut has ever said, “This still doesn’t feel right for my dog…”
—even when a trainer said otherwise—
💬 You can trust that instinct.
It’s probably more accurate than you’ve been led to believe.

09/04/2025

“But I’ve tried that before… and it didn’t work.”

You’ve read the articles.
You’ve watched the videos.
You’ve even paid for training—maybe more than once.

And yet… the barking, the lunging, the reacting is still there.

So now what? Another plan? Another trainer?

It’s easy to feel like maybe it’s just you.
Maybe your dog is too much.
Maybe you’re doing something wrong.

💛 But what if it’s none of those things?

What if the approach just didn’t fit?

👉 Maybe no one looked at the whole picture—your dog’s stress, pain, breed needs, your day-to-day life.
👉 Maybe it focused on cues, but not on emotions.
👉 Maybe it left you feeling just as lost as your dog.

If you've ever walked away from a training plan thinking, "I still don’t know what to do out there…", you’re not alone.

Real life with a reactive dog is messy. It's unpredictable.
And you deserve support that reflects that.

Training can work—but not when it’s one-size-fits-all.

You haven’t failed. Your dog isn’t broken.
Maybe you’ve just been waiting for something that finally makes sense.

07/04/2025

Real Help for Real Walks 🐾

We had such a powerful conversation yesterday at Canine Conversations & Cake—one that’s been swirling around my brain ever since...

👉 “What should I actually do if an off-lead dog comes charging at us?”
It’s a question SO many dog guardians have, and the honest truth? Most feel completely unprepared in that moment.

Yes, many of us have learned the value of desensitisation and counter-conditioning. Games like ‘Look at That’ have their place. But here's the thing that really stuck with me:

If we’re always teaching our dogs to disengage from the world… when do they get to learn how to live in it?
How do they learn to read social cues from other dogs?
How to say “no thank you”, “I’d like to play”, or “please give me space”?

In trying to protect our dogs, are we over-managing them to the point they miss learning the social skills they actually need?

During our Puppy Confidence Social this weekend, a nervous adolescent joined us—small, unsure, and anxious around other dogs. We didn’t distract or micromanage him. We simply allowed him to watch, to approach, to retreat, and ultimately—to choose.
And by the end? He was skipping with joy, blending beautifully with the group. Not because we desensitised him… but because he was empowered to figure it out with sensitive support and guidance.

💡Dogs learn through experience, association, and consequence.
They can’t do that if we’re constantly pulling their focus away, or if they’re being rushed into overwhelming situations.
But they also can’t learn if we never let them try.

And one thing that makes a massive difference in these moments?
Lead handling.
Not just “don’t pull” basics—but real, responsive, thoughtful lead skills that allow your dog to move, observe, and communicate, without ever losing that sense of safety.

Whether you’re raising a puppy, wrangling a teen, navigating reactivity or just want a smoother walk—lead handling is an essential (and often overlooked) skill that we teach in all of our sessions.

If you’re ready to go beyond games and start feeling truly prepared for real-life walks—we’re here to coach you through it.

Because real dogs and real people deserve real-world support.
And our job as trainers is to help guardians live with their dogs—not just manage them.

06/04/2025

What a weekend! 🐾

Puppy confidence socials, ScentQuest adventures, Teen Terrors chaos, Canine Conversations with the most wonderful reactive dog guardians, private training sessions, catch-ups with past clients, a big dose of support from two incredible friends who joined me in-person- along with two other wonderful friends who are always willing participants of our many 'dog talk' messaging! I have the BEST circle of brilliant people around me!
My heart is full (and yes… my brain and my feet are tired 😅).

In true "me" fashion, I didn’t manage to take a single photo 📸🙈—I was far too busy talking dog (my favourite thing in the world!) and being in the moment with all of you amazing humans and your fabulous dogs.

I’m so grateful to each and every one of you who joined me this weekend. Whether it was your first time or you're one of my regular buddies, thank you for showing up, getting stuck in, and trusting me to help you and your dog along the way.

My passion for this work just grows stronger every week—because of all of YOU. 💛

Here’s to more sniffing, socialising, and shared dog nerd joy soon.
(Promise I’ll try for a photo next time... maybe. 😂)

03/04/2025

If you know me, or have trained with me, you'll know that I don't generally recommend TV dog training programmes...

But this one is different.

These guys actually know what they're doing!

Okay, the name isn't the best - but we'll forgive that...

Tune in tonight for episode one 💙🐾

03/04/2025

Just like us, all dogs are different - and they have different needs. 💙

“Did you know dogs need 72 hours to decompress after a stressful event?”

It’s a line you hear everywhere.
And it’s almost always delivered like a fact. A protocol. A rule.

But here’s the truth:

There’s no scientific definition of decompression in canine behavior.
There’s no peer-reviewed evidence supporting a fixed 72-hour decompression period.
And there’s no one-size-fits-all timeline for recovery from stress — not in people, and not in dogs.
The concept itself isn't problematic - dogs, like us, do need to recover from stressful events. But, as with us, there’s no rule as to how this recovery applies to the individual.

Rigid application and timeframes aren't scientifically validated.

So where did the 72 hour rule come from?
Rescue circles, and truly well-meaning trainers.
Plus a commendable, growing desire to be trauma-informed.

But it got twisted.
What began as “remove the dog from the stressor” somehow became “don’t walk your dog for three days.”

And say anything often enough, especially in dog land, and people start seeing it as a truth.

And that’s where things went wrong with “decompression”.

Because you can’t help a dog recover by guessing what helps with nervous system regulation.

Or by applying blanket rules.

You can only know by watching their behavior.

Some dogs need quiet and rest.
Others recover by:

-Sniffing
-Playing
-Training
-Exploring
-Chasing about and heck, maybe even playing fetch (IKR!!!)

And let’s be real:
Anyone who’s ever had to keep their dog home for medical rest, heat cycle, or -30° weather will tell you…

“It doesn’t matter how many games I offer… my dog still wants to get outside.”

Sure, if your dog is frightened of the world, or if you can’t step outside without your dog encountering a trigger on your doorstep, maybe staying inside is best.

But those dogs have a pathological fear that is not present in the vast majority of dogs.

Instead for many many dogs, being outside provides a kind of regulation that indoor activities just can’t match.

It’s a sensory experience. A movement-based experience. A world of satisfaction that builds calm through fulfillment and satisfaction - not withdrawal.

So yes, avoid the things that overwhelm.
But don’t shut down everything that supports recovery.

Decompression isn’t the goal. Recovery is.
And recovery isn’t passive. It’s active, dynamic, and dog-specific.

Let’s stop handing out blanket advice like:

-“No walks for 72 hours.”
-“Don’t take them anywhere.”
- “They need total stillness right now.”

And start giving dogs what they actually need:

Observation …what does this dog’s behavior tell us?
- Choice …what activities does this dog seek out and enjoy?
-Agency… how can we support recovery without removing control?

Because what helps one dog feel safe might frustrate another.

If someone you know has been told “your dog needs 72 hours to decompress,”
share this with them.

Let’s stop being led by scripts.
Let’s start being led by the dog in front of us.