Understanding Pets

22/12/2021

To all my lovely Clients and Students, we wish you a very Merry Christmas!

01/07/2021

Positive developments in the horse world.

FEI ban trimming the whiskers of competition horses

From July this year, horses who have had their sensory hairs removed (unless for veterinary reasons) will be disqualified from FEI competitions, with other governing bodies following suit.

Why are whiskers important?
A horse’s whiskers (also known as vibrissae) are sensory hairs that provide valuable information to the horse. They have their own nerve and blood supply. The long and thick hairs are tactical receptors, which act as a ‘third eye’, and help them gain a sense of their surroundings. The whiskers enable the horse to sense the environment in their blind spot and identify objects. Therefore, whiskers ought to be left as nature intended!

13/05/2021

Exciting News! Many of you are aware that I took on an incredibly fearful lurcher called Maia through Forever Hounds Trust, a charity who specialise in homing sighthounds. Her numerous and deep-rooted fear issues made her very difficult to rehome and she had been in their care for 18 months before we found each other. As soon as I saw Maia, trembling at the back of her kennel, I was determined to help her through her challenges and give her the life she deserved. I took her home and began her rehabilitation.

'Fears, Tears and Cheers! – The roller coaster rehab of a fearful rescue dog' is a humorous, uplifting account that follows Maia through the first 12 months of her rehab. Packed full with explanations about what I did and why, it includes the strategies used to help her settle into her new home, learn to trust and overcome her numerous fears.
Maia wasn't alone on her journey as she had Tam, my golden retriever, at her side every step of the way - but all was not plain sailing. We follow the rather interesting dynamic of what happens when you mix a super kind, but slightly thuggish, wrecking ball of a golden retriever with a rather nervy lurcher with an incredibly high sense of self-preservation! Could they ever be friends?
Fears, Cheers and Tears! is relevant to anyone who has, or are considering taking on a rescue dog, for those interested in finding out what it takes to help troubled dogs through their issues, or for anyone who simply lives dogs and believes in giving them their best life.
Join us on Maia's journey through the highs, the lows and the OH NO's! as she adjusts to her new life and learns to embrace her future.
Fears, Tears and Cheers! retails at £8.99 plus postage and includes a donation to Forever Hounds Trust for every copy sold as grateful thanks for all their time and commitment to Maia whilst she was in their care.
It can be purchased directly from me via messenger, via my new page 'Tam and Maia's ongoing escapades' or by email at: [email protected]

25/12/2020

Wishing all my wonderful clients a really lovely Christmas 🐾🐾

22/12/2019

Wishing my wonderful 2-legged and 4- legged Clients and Students a really Happy Christmas and all the very best for 2020! It’s been an absolute pleasure working with you all 🐾🐾

08/11/2019

Our understanding of animal behaviour is constantly developing in light of all the new research being released, so it is really important to keep my own animal behaviour knowledge up to date.
Yesterday I attended an absolutely fascinating seminar with fabulous equine ethologist, Lucy Rees. Her work and insight into equine behaviour is truly mind blowing and if you ever have to opportunity to attend one of her seminars, I highly recommend it.
In the evening, I had the pleasure of presenting a talk on animal behaviour to a really wonderful local group. It is such a joy sharing the knowledge with lovely pet owners who are so motivated to better understand and help their pets.

24/09/2019

Great visual reminder about how long it takes the equine skeleton to mature. It’s so easy to do too much too soon.

I love this image...

It shows just how vulnerable the young horses’ skeleton is.

Look how long it takes for the lower jaw & poll to mature.

We put bits in young mouths & in some cases force their bodies into an outline way before their skeletons have matured.