Dogmestix

17/10/2025

09/10/2025

Beautiful Bailey is looking for a great and understanding home.

Every case I work with teaches me something new, and Bailey is no exception. So many of the dogs I see have underlying chronic pain and thanks to a great vet team and a fabulous ACPAT Physio Rachel Quinn Veterinary Physiotherapy (who helps me so much with so many of my cases now), we found the right plan for Bailey to make progress.

He is a really lovely boy and will make a great dog for a patient owner, who is happy to work at his pace with handling, and not encourage his ball chasing obsession (because that can’t be good for his back pain)! He would be a great little scentwork dog for someone!

04/10/2025

When you first pictured life with your dog, what did you imagine?

A robotically obedient little puppet?

Or a companion who makes you laugh, comforts you, and feels safe with you?

We’ve been conditioned to think:

…that a “good dog” is an obedient dog.
…that compliance equals love.
…that control equals security.

But a dog who hides their needs to avoid consequences isn’t thriving. They’re walking on eggshells. Suppressing who they are.

What most people actually want isn’t robotic compliance.

It’s a relationship. Trust. Safety. Joy.

You picked your dog. You brought them into your life.

But the real measure isn’t that you chose them…

It’s whether they feel safe enough to choose you back.

Obedience isn’t the goal. A real relationship is 🫶

26/09/2025

HUMAN DIRECTED AGGRESSION AND THE USE OF AVERSIVES

I’ve had several dogs come to me in the last year who have aggression issues around people that either started or became much worse after they’d had aversive training. By aversives we mean the use of slip lead corrections, body jabs, rattle cans, prong and Ecollars etc. Some dogs went for general loose lead/recall/obedience training but became so scared after the use of aversives that they are now lunging at or even biting people who approach them or try to handle them. Some were already worried about people (growling or barking etc) and are now lunging or attempting to bite people. Some have bitten their owners since this training.

These dogs didn’t have these issues beforehand and they’ve become so scared of what people may do to them now that they are showing aggression. Some of them are now misinterpreting normal human interactions with them and see people as a threat to their safety and are using aggression to try and keep people away. By normal human interactions I mean people taking collars and leads off, reaching out to touch them, walking past then when they are resting etc. These dogs are traumatised by what’s happened to them, there is no other way of describing it.

I used to see dogs like this (who’ve shown aggression after aversive training) once or twice a year and now it’s something I see several times a month and it’s really concerning. There are some really unskilled trainers out there using aversives which is extremely worrying; if an unskilled trainer gets it wrong using reward the worse that happens is the dog gets fat, if you are an unskilled trainer using a shock collar there’s a huge risk of fallout.

Aversives are sold as a ‘quick fix’ they make dogs stop behaviours that people don’t like (running off/barking/stealing things) but there is always a huge risk of a fall out. It’s no surprise really that doing or using something that causes fear or pain may make an anxious dog worse.

None of this is the owners fault either, all have incredibly kind and loving families who weren’t aware these methods would be used or who didn’t realise the implications. They’ve done nothing wrong and are now left to try and repair the damage that’s been done. I feel so sad for the lovely families and their dogs as they’ve been really let down.

There’s no quick fixes to changing emotions, it takes time and patience and who often we are trying to rebuild confidence that’s been lost and help dogs recover from previous trauma (of all sorts). There’s a huge risk with quick fixes and it’s like playing roulette- you may have an incredibly robust dog and get ‘lucky’ and have no negative consequences from using aversives but it may break another dog and leave you with a terrible fall out. Just not worth the risk when we have alternatives

Laura McAuliffe, 2025, Dog Communication

13/08/2025

Hi everyone, I think I have told most people, but just in case I've missed anyone, I am moving home shortly (hopefully in the next couple of weeks) and will be taking some time off to move and to settle my own dogs into the new home. Therefore I may be slower to reply than normal. If anyone has anything important to discuss or wants to get follow-ups booked in, please get in touch with me before the end of next week if you can, so we are all sorted before I go off work! I will be working Monday and Thursday next week, but otherwise be deep in boxes and tip runs :-)

Thankyou :-)

24/07/2025

Just finished the first reactive dog group classes that I've done in years. Thanks to the best team of trainers ever, we had such a lovely time, and the dogs did so well. A good class should be enjoyable and safe for everyone, and not be about dogs barking and lunging. They should be working at their pace, and learning in a relaxed way, which we achieved so well tonight!

We had a great bunch of dogs and their incredibly dedicated owners, as well as one dog from a local rescue centre with us, and a stooge dog with a trainer to help with training.

Huge thanks to PACT trainers Buffy Harris-Jones Charlotte Jones and Charli Binns for being so great and such fun to work with, and to Nat Light for always being a huge support in everything I do, and letting me use her magical field full of enrichment.

23/07/2025

Happy Wednesday 🥰🥰🥰

18/07/2025

❗FOSTER HOMES NEEDED❗

We're looking for foster homes for some large breed puppies that have just come in!

We're searching for a foster home that:
✅ Has space for a big dog
✅ Can provide daily care, love and patience
✅ Preferably older children and to be the only pet
✅ Ideally homes with large breed experience

All food, supplies and vet care will be covered by us.

You provide the love and we'll handle the rest! 🥰

Please fill in a foster form here ⬇️ https://www.rspca-isleofwight.org.uk/foster-application-form/

29/06/2025

For any new enquiries, I am currently full for July and waitlisting for August as I am due to complete on a house sale and don't have dates confirmed yet. Please only complete the questionnaire if you are happy to be added to the waitlist, and I will contact everyone as soon as dates are confirmed. Otherwise, please go to ABTC.org.uk or https://www.ccab.uk/ccab-register/ for other qualified Clinical Animal Behaviourists. Thank you!

26/06/2025

For those studying for ABTC-ABT, ABTC-CAB or CCAB, myself and the lovely Nat Light will be sharing some of our cases studies for discussion in September at PACT HQ. Hope to see you all there!

Booking is here:
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/pactdogsltd/1659896?

17/06/2025

Morning all! Just to let you know dog reactivity group sessions will be starting on Thursday evenings in the next few weeks for current clients who are already working with the skills they will need in the sessions. Il get comms out to everyone soon, but if you can please engage with this post I’d appreciate it (because I’m useless on social media and it may not reach people as a result). If your dog may struggle to cope in that environment we can do a short session there without the group beforehand and with a stooge dog just to see if it’s something that we can make work for them. We are very lucky to be able to hire the PACT field in Curbridge, a beautiful place with an abundance of natural enrichment and lots of space to achieve adequate distance for those that need it! If you are interested please let me know so I get an idea of numbers.
Sessions will be 6 dogs maximum with me and at least one other qualified trainer. Everyone will need to attend a team’s meeting beforehand so I can explain how they are going to work so we get the best from them. I’m very lucky that I get to work with a lovely bunch of people who I have no doubt will be supportive of each other during the session, everyone is in a similar boat!
Pic is the reactive dog that changed my life and got me into dog behaviour, Penny, who is now over rainbow bridge sadly! 🥰