Follow My Lead K9 Academy

27/07/2025

🗣️ Booking is now open for our ever popular Scent Detection Foundation Course

🕵️‍♂️ watch your dog become an odour super sleuth
⭐️ mentally stimulating
⭐️ bond building
⭐️ low impact
⭐️ accessible to dogs of all ages
⭐️ natural outlet

📅 Sunday 24th August
⏰ 12:30pm
📍 Mursley MK17 0PJ

**limited spaces

🔗 https://bookwhen.com/followmyleadk9academy/e/ev-s2ab-20250824123000

27/07/2025

Fun Dog Show held at Stewkley Recreation Ground. Come on over for some fun. I will be judging and performing a demo around 3pm.

25/07/2025

Today’s scent detection progression class focused on: instilling recognition and dedication to the odour, sit indication training, followed by the dogs searching some chairs for target odour.

In scent detection the dog needs to; understand the target odour ID, be able to search for it and then give an indication to let the handler know they’ve found it. We teach all of these things separately and then blend them together to create success.

These two teams are making great progress. By concentrating on the foundations before moving on, both dog and handler will have a good understanding of the game.

Well done gents 👏🏼 (don’t forget the doughnuts next week 😉 🍩 )

13/07/2025

Tricks are a great way to work a dog’s brain, giving them mental stimulation whilst having fun 🤩 Particularly good during this hot weather as it can be practised inside in the cool.

🏖️ Here Summer and Jaxon are getting beach ready; working on rolling out their mat (well, I’ll be holding the ice creams obviously 🍦🫣🤭)
Not quite the finished product but nearly there.

What tricks can your dog do? 🤔

13/07/2025

❤️

I Know Where I’m Going

You might have seen us going up the road, back down again, stopping to sniff, sitting in one spot for a while.
But I know exactly where I’m going.

There was a time when going for a walk was the best thing but then it became scary. A loud bang, something I couldn’t predict, made me feel unsafe in the world.

Some dogs might thrive on new places, novel experiences and variety in their routines. For those dogs, change is enriching and brings joy. But we’re not all the same and we don’t need to be.

What helps one dog grow might overwhelm another. The most important thing is that we’re understood and supported for who we are.

Familiar and predictable surroundings help dogs like me feel safe, having control over our environment helps build confidence and emotional resilience, routine helps to reduce stress without adding pressure, force or fear from anyone telling us how we should feel.

To some, that might look boring or repetitive, no set goal, no training as such. But to me, it is comfort, reassurance and predictable.

When I know what to expect, I feel relaxed, I don’t feel on high alert, I can stop focusing on what might happen and start to explore with calm and confidence.

I began to enjoy my walks, asking to go out, walking a little further. I started sniffing more, noticing the world again, not with panic but with curiosity.

I still hear everything, I might just flick my ears, pause for a moment, turn in the direction of where I heard the sound, sometimes turning to my human, asking “Did you hear that?” when she stays calm and acknowledges, yes I hear that too, I know I’m not alone.

I get to choose how far we go. How long we’re out and when it’s time to turn back. Because of that freedom, I’ve grown, giving me a sense of agency, healing and learning that the world I felt so anxious about is safe and predictable again.

So next time you might see us going past you a few times, just know, Im not being difficult, I don’t feel stuck. To me, this is everything because I know where I’m going.

From Murphy xx

12/07/2025

Heatstroke doesn’t just apply to dogs, but any animal, especially those in cages/hutches where they cannot escape.

If it’s safe to do so, why not pop a fresh bowl of water out in the garden for the birds, hedgehogs and other wildlife to drink from 💦

🐕‍🦺🐀🐈‍⬛🐁🐝🐦‍⬛🦔🐿️🐇🐖🐄🫏🐎

Stay safe 🥵

➡️ Dogs DO NOT DIE from missing a walk. They might if you risk taking them out in hot temperatures.

➡️ According to research, 26.56% of the dogs with heatstroke died

➡️ Nearly half (48.7%) of the dogs with heatstroke were dog breeds with flat faces. Flat-faced dog breeds were four times more likely to develop heatstroke than normal-faced dogs.

☀️ Protect your animals from the heat ☀️

🌞Dogs can get heat stroke on hot walks

🌞Animals get heatstroke in hot hutches they cannot escape

🌞Animals can get heatstroke if left in rooms with no ventilation

🌞Animals can get heatstroke if they have no access to cool water

We are hopefully aware now of the national UK campaign 'Dogs Die in Hot Cars' - this advice remains!

However, work by VetCompass has shown that 10 times as many dogs present for veterinary care related to heat-related illness (HRI) following exercise as dogs that present following being entrapped in a vehicle.

The most commonly cited reasons for triggering heat-related illnesses were exercise (51.46% of cases), hot environment (31.02% of cases) and hot vehicles (12.41%).

➡️Remember there could be a number of risk factors including:

✅Brachycephalic breeds
✅Age - juvenile or geriatric
✅Thick Coated Dogs
✅General Health
✅ Other illnesses

❌Do not leave animals in hot cars
❌Don't take your dog to the pub all day in the heat
❌Do not walk your dogs in the heat - remember even when the sun is down they may still get too hot while exercising if the temperature is still hot
❌ Ensure they aren't locked in rooms with no ventilation
❌Do not lock rabbits and guinea pigs (and other animals) in hutches or enclosures with no escape from the heat

✅ Provide plentiful cool, fresh water
✅ Provide shade, ventilation and cool breeze ( consider using a fan)
✅Give them cool mats to lie on
✅ Engage in enrichment to boredom bust
✅ Provide rabbits and small furries with cool frozen bottles, shade, ventilation, escape from the heat and plentiful water

https://www.rvc.ac.uk/research/research-centres-and-facilities/veterinary-epidemiology-economics-and-public-health/news/new-research-from-the-rvc-suggests-human-heat-health-alerts-could-help-prevent-heatstroke-in-dogs

12/07/2025

I really hope everyone has a great time because it’s a great carnival BUT…

Please, please, please…LEAVE YOUR DOGS AT HOME!

It’s going to be an absolute scorcher today and pavements will be too hot for paws 🐾 to be on (especially if you’re stood watching/talking)

If you think it’s appropriate to take your dog…pop on your thickest coat and go out without shoes and socks on! let me know how it goes 😉

It's the West Bletchley Carnival today (Saturday 12 July)... held at Rickley Park, MK3 6HF, from 12pm to 5pm.

Want to see the parade? It starts at Melrose Avenue at 12pm, travelling up Whaddon Way before turning left onto Shenley Road and into Rickley Park.

The carnival is free and for West Bletchley residents. Don’t forget your hat, sun cream and water… it's forecast to be warm!

08/07/2025

Going to share this information again as I know someone will need it over the few days 😔

BE HEAT SAVVY!

Follow up-to-date info as our approach to heat related illness in dogs has changed…

We DO NOT COVER IN WET TOWELS

We DO USE COLD WATER

We DO USE ICY WATER FOR THE SEVERELY AFFECTED (collapsed, fitting, +/- bloody vomit/diarrhoea)

Cold water for the mild to moderately affected will not send them into shock. And for those severely affected, icy water will not shock them either as heatstroke is heat shock!

The old information is still doing the rounds, I have been updating any of my learning materials to ensure you are kept up dated ❤️

www.animallovepetfirstaid.co.uk
All courses written and taught by a practising vet