The Dog's Whiskers

18/07/2025

Last weekend I attended the Animal Behaviour Kent Conference 2025 to immerse myself in learning about “Raising Resilient Dogs”.

📚 Two days of jam packed learning from some of the most incredible voices in the ethical dog behaviour world.

❤️ Two days of meeting some wonderful people in person who all want to do their best for the animals they encounter.

🐶 Two days of time with my incredible friend Lucy who works at Battersea. She also assists as a “helper dog team” with some of my clients I support with dog-dog rehab (I am forever thankful for the team of collaborative professionals I have around me).

✒️ Two days of my hand hurting because I wrote so many notes!

🍃 A lifetime of applying what I’ve learnt and getting to weave it into the work I do with your amazing dogs (wow 🤩)

I’m not a great one for posting on social media (as you can probably tell from my social media accounts 😂).

I dedicate hours of my time each week to learning, reading, watching and taking further courses (that’s the solicitor brain in me 👩🏼‍⚖️). I also prioritise focusing on creating individual plans for the unique dogs I work with.

“Do the best you can, until you know better. Then when you know better, do better” 🌟(Maya Angelou).

17/07/2025

I couldn’t say it better than Roz does.

Have a read of her fabulous post 🌟🌾🐕

PAIN IN DOGS: Tweaks, strains and conformation issues.

What to look out for and how to reduce risk of injury.


After a REALLY long battle with sore muscles- Mohawk appears to finally be getting back on track! Here he is pictured conked out on the floor after his physio therapy session.

It all started about 3 months ago when him and Amigo collided side on while hurtling back to me when I recalled them! Mohawk was intermittently holding his hind leg up and we found (during physio exam) that his hips had been knocked out of line.

This started to improve until about a month ago. Jumping to catch a badly thrown treat went wrong- he twisted mid air and stumbled on uneven ground when landing.
A few days after I found the muscles on his underside literally spasming in response to the lightest touch. More recently this transferred from his core to his lats (sides).

We’ve been working hard on stretching and strengthening, significantly reducing explosive movement and he’s had about 6 physio /red light therapy sessions in two months!

I noticed the past two days that his coat was more smooth and his gait and posture was also much better!

Anna (his physio) confirmed my thoughts and, providing we continue with all of his rehab, get his core strong and remind him to think about his back legs more, he can start to have a bit more fun with toys again (explosive movement).


I don’t think enough people realise how easy it is for dogs to get injured and how minor tweaks and strains can easily escalate!

Too many dogs have conformation issues and many excessively load weight into their front limbs, resulting in a weakening of their core and hind legs.

We should be mindful of the following things that can increase risk muscle injuries in dogs;

❌ Excessive rough play or intense chase games with other dogs.

❌ Jumping up to catch treats and toys.

❌ Explosive movement, such as games with toys, chasing behaviour on walks, rushing into the garden, launching straight from the car into a sprint (same with being released off lead).

❌ Basically anything that looks like great fun!
The more your dog likes to live life in the fast lane, the more at risk they are!

❌ Pulling intensely on the lead!

The lowest risk of injury will come from wearing a well fitted harness BUT pulling in a harness is still unhealthy for your dog as it causes excessive loading into their front.

Pulling intensely on a collar or head halti undoubtedly poses a risk to the neck, but also tends to cause heavy loading into one shoulder (as the neck and head tends to be pulled to the side)

Non/anti pull harnesses shorten the extension of the shoulder which can cause tightness in the ‘trunk’ (middle/spine). I personally find the same often happens with dogs walked on a front clip harness too.


It’s not about NOT doing fun stuff. My dogs love to run and we love training with toys too!

But we need to help our dogs have a body strong enough to cope with these things, just as we are less likely to get injured doing sports if we look after ourselves beyond doing that sport.

What you can do to help your dog:

✔️ Check out canine strengthening and stretching exercises online, but I personally think a physio assessment is sensible before doing so.

I recommend ACPAT physio therapists, but there are other gait analysis and physical therapy services available - including Galen Myotherapists, Dynamic Dog Practitioners etc Just ensure they have adequate qualifications. Avoid letting anyone assess or 'treat' your dog who isn't suitably qualified.

✔️ Teach your dog to WALK on a loose lead. Walking is a really good gait for body conditioning.

✔️ Make sure your dog warms up and cools down before and after higher intensity activities. It’s not healthy to go from zero to breaking the sound barrier in a couple of seconds.

✔️ Regulate high intensity exercise, ensuring your dog is also able to mooch and sniff rather than constantly hoon around!

✔️ If you and your dog are physically able, do as much hill walking and walking on undulating terrain as possible. Walking in longer grass also has benefits.

Again, make sure you seek guidance from a suitably qualified professional if you have any concerns about your dog’s physical ability.

Despite doing the above, Mohawk STILL got injured. It happens so easily.


🪮 What I’ll also add is to make sure that your dog doesn’t have any matting in their coats!

The past week I found that Mohawk had some matting in hard to groom places. It’s entirely possible me cutting this away has helped- as dogs can adjust their movement to avoid the matting pulling on their skin!

Here’s some signs to look out for that MAY suggest your dog is experiencing pain;

✔️ Observe your dog’s coat daily for coat pattern and texture changes. These are often indicators of muscular skeletal issues and strains.

Rough hair around the neck and shoulders, a random patch of tufty hair on the hips, a darker patch of fur on the shoulder, a weird spikey tuft on their back..... Yup! They’re all potential indicators of muscle soreness that we are commonly pointing out to our clients. In many instances, these cases go on to have a diagnosis, such as hip dysplasia or spondylosis.

✔️ Observe your dog for sensitivity to touch on certain parts of their body. Moving their body away, whipping their head around, muscles spasming or flinching, reluctance to be towell dried or groomed, jumping up at you or growling, tensing up, snapping are all signs of something that you’re touching possibly hurting!

✔️ An isolated part of your dog being warm/hot to touch. For example, Mohawk's lats last week were clearly hotter to touch than any other part of his body.

✔️ Hesitancy jumping on or off the sofa or in and out the car.

✔️ Listen out for them making a ‘landing noise’ when they jump off something! Like an ‘oof’ or grunt.

✔️ Groaning as they lie down can be a sign of pain, rather than just being super tired.

✔️ Reluctance or refusal to walk.

✔️ Suddenly mouthing/jumping up at you on walks - potentially after a certain duration or activity.

✔️ Restless, struggling to settle down or frequently changing positions when resting can also be associated with pain (tricky to identify if you always crate your dog when they sleep!).

✔️ Gait abnormalities are so commonly overlooked, not only by dogs, but dog professionals. They are also often difficult for vets to identify within the consultation room. If you think your dog has an unusual or 'weird' gait, get them checked out (you can get gait analysis)


Note- if your dog struggles to be examined by a vet, it can make it very difficult for them to rule out pain. Taking videos of them moving can help with their assessment, but working on calm behaviour in clinic is crucial in ensuring our dogs get effective health checks.


Final note: pain is so commonly an initiating or contributing factor for behaviour problems, such as aggressive behaviour. It’s important that we do everything we can beyond treating acute injuries and overt health problems to ensure our dogs are as comfortable as possible!

14/05/2025

You need this controversial opinion on reactivity. It'll stop you feeling s**t.

Real talk now - your dog isn't 'reactive' if:

🔹They occasionally tell a dog to give them space.
🔹If they don't like other dogs taking their things.
🔹If they have had one or two little scraps.

Reactivity, to me, is when a dog has a pattern of behaviour that is 'unnecessary' to the situation they're in, with strong emotions attached to it.

A female dog telling a male dog to stop sniffing their privates? A valid reason to tell them to get stuffed.

A dog screaming at another across the road? Bit less valid.

A dog saying 'That's my bone' to another dog? Valid.

A dog launching himself to attack another dog when he's got a resource? Less valid.

Dogs aren't robots, and they all have grumpy times. Just today a dog growled at one of their friends in class because he got too near his bag. Do you know what happened? The other dog moved away, and all was well.

Doesn't mean that dog is reactive, and doesn't mean that dog was 'wrong' either.

If that was the case, we should label every person who has ever shouted during road rage, or had a heated argument, as violent.

See the absurdity?

Sometimes stuff happens. Dogs have a scrap, they are dicks with their resources, they decide to tell another dog to go away.

It's life. Don't stress about it. A repeated pattern of behaviour? Needs dealing with. A one off incident occasionally? Not end of the world.

25/04/2025

ATTENTION SEEKING OR SEEKING SOMETHING ELSE?

I get lots of enquiries from people who want help with ‘attention seeking’ behaviours. Their dog may bark, paw them, bring them toys etc all evening and are generally quite annoying! People can really struggle with this when they’ve had a long day at work and just want to relax but their dog is not on the same page and is anything but relaxing!

It’s easy to just think that the dog is doing all this stuff to get attention but there are so many other reasons why and it’s important that we figure out the ‘why’

What is it that the dog is seeking? Dogs don’t do things just to be annoying or a pain in the bum, although it may feel like that sometimes!

😴 Many dogs become over tired or overstimulated and this can absolutely lead to attention seeking type behaviours. Especially in young dogs, they may seem like they need to be ‘worn out’ but actually they really need a good sleep. If your dog struggles to settle down it can help to sit down with them so that they actually rest. See if they are less annoying after a nap, as if they are, they were overtired.

📺 Some dogs can get overstimulated by busy surroundings and find it really hard to settle and they may need a quiet place to retreat to so that they can rest.

🩺 It’s also really worth remembering that both an inability to settle and annoying attention seeking type behaviours, (including barking and pawing at you) are really linked to pain. Dogs that don’t feel well often want you to keep touching them and they may paw you if you stop for a second. Some dogs in pain may want you keeping playing with them and chucking their toys as it takes their mind off how uncomfortable they are. Cognitive decline in older dogs can also lead to attention seeking type behaviours.

🐺 The most ‘annoying’ dog I ever had was Elsa, my first northern Inuit who at 18m old would take hours to settle in the evening and would be incessant in her need for ‘attention’ she would eventually crash when she was absolutely exhausted at 10pm. She’d open all the cupboards and empty everything out of them, bring me potatoes and random shoes ALL evening 😁 she would pick all the tomatoes off my plants and bring them in one by one 😂 she would pester my other dogs, she was incessant

Nothing helped her to settle and, I didn’t know if at the time, but it was as she was in pain. The only thing that would have helped her settle was feeling well. I never ever assume a young dog isn’t in pain now, she taught me that. Pain trials with the help of a clients vet, can be incredibly helpful in trying to work out if pain could be a factor. Your dog may not be seeking attention, they may be seeking relief.

🥰 We also see attention seeking when dogs are struggling emotionally and it’s actually connection they are seeking- they want to connect with us and interact in a meaningful way. If we ignore our dogs on walks and just scroll on our phones, if we don’t spend any time meeting their needs for interaction or if we leave them alone all day and then crate them all night away from us, their need for connection won’t be met. They are social creatures and desire social contact with us. If a dog’s need for connection isn’t met then they absolutely will be annoying as their fundamental need isn’t being met.

🌲 Some dogs are annoying as their physical or mental needs aren’t met. All dogs need physically exercise (suited to their needs) and being outside and a change of scene is also so important to provide stimulation. For some dogs, walks are easy and enjoyable but for others who struggle, they still need a change of scene, whether that’s a freedom field or a friend’s garden or an industrial estate outing. I have an incredibly active terrier who has physical limitations so goes through regular periods of greatly reduced exercise and during those phases I still get her out every single day as she needs to see the world, meet people and be stimulated or she would be hard work to live with otherwise.

🧠 Many of us have incredibly intelligent breeds with strong desires to do stuff and they need activities that help them scratch that itch otherwise, chances are, they will be annoying. Scent work helps so many dogs to find fulfillment and feel mentally satiated. If you have an annoying dog, scent work may the answer to your prayers 😂

This is Elsa my first inuit

Laura McAuliffe, 2025, Dog Communication

29/09/2024

First day of Puppy School 🐶

Training is a real “team effort” and these gorgeous puppies and their humans did such a great job of working together this morning 😊

We can’t wait to see their progress over the next few weeks 🌟

!

14/08/2024

Puppy classes! 🌟🐶

Book your space now 📆

*FULLY BOOKED*

[please feel free to enquire, via the contact form on our website, about the next dates for classes]

15/11/2023

12/10/2023

🤯 Behaviour changes during adolescence 🤯

What behaviour changes are typically seen in adolescent dogs? 🤔

• A lack of focus, short attention span or seeming to lose interest quickly and wanting to explore more

• Becoming easily over-aroused, over-stimulated or stressed – excitement levels may be higher, but anxiety may also increase during this time

• Increased fear and frustration (Spear, 2000)

• Testing boundaries – increased independence may mean recall problems and the dog goes further away from owners than it once did

• Changes in sociability – some dogs will become increasingly interested in other dogs or people, while others may become less tolerant in social situations

• Due to hormonal changes, dogs may show more interest in other dogs (excessive sniffing), become obsessed with following scents, or mark in the house or excessively on walks. Dogs of both sexes may also get pestered by other entire males on walks, and female dogs may have changes associated with seasons

• Sleep–wake cycles may change, and individuals will require less sleep than before and have more energy to burn

• Increased risk-taking behaviour

• Reduced control – less inhibition of behaviour and emotions may occur. This means they may have more extreme reactions to things that did not previously worry them (Chaby et al., 2013)

🌟 Top tips for getting dogs through the teenage years 🌟

• Management strategies: implementing strict control and management strategies (such as keeping the dog on a long line attached to a harness if the dog stops reliably coming back when called) means you can prevent the behaviours from being rehearsed

• Patience and reassurance: there will be fab days and there will be tough days, it’s important to keep going – it’s really a short space of time, and things will get easier

• Consult a professional, qualified trainer/behaviour expert: depending on the problems experienced, get help from a qualified trainer (for control issues such as lead walking or recall) or behaviourist (for unwanted emotional responses) to help

• Back to basics: you may need to go back to basics with their training and heavily reinforce all desired behaviours

• Human–animal bond: focus on remaining bonded with your dog and stay connected throughout the transitional period into adulthood (Nagasaw et al., 2015)

• Prevention: reduce your expectations in terms of taking your adolescent dog to places they are unable to cope with. Avoid intense situations or implement more control measures in these situations

It is crucial to understand the physical and behavioural alterations that might influence how you treat and examine adolescent dogs

26/09/2023

Why we shouldn’t use “aversive” methods (things that hurt, scare or are unpleasant to our dogs).

The individual dog gets to decide what they find aversive.

This is one, of the many reasons, that we don’t use any aversive methods in our training 🌟

I’ve had several dogs come to me in the last two months 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. These dogs are traumatised by what’s happened to them, there is no other way of describing it.

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

17/07/2023

Free Summer Holiday Special "Introduction to Dog Classes" (for puppies up to 18 weeks old)!

🌟 Starting 27th July
🌟 Ringmer location
🌟 6pm start time
🌟 A maximum of 6 puppy spaces
🌟 3 week course

*note: as this is a "Free Introduction" course, the syllabus does not match the advertised Puppy Classes on the website. The puppy pack and exercise handouts are also not included

* although the classes are free, there will be collection pots at the classes for cash donations to either Raystede or the RSPCA Brighton and North Sussex branch

🌟📧 Email us to book your place and quote code "SUMMERSPECIAL" by using the "Contact Me" form on our website.

17/07/2023

Some facts about sleep and dogs 💤

🐕 Normal sleeping patterns vary in the dog between 7.7 to 16 hours per day (Bodizs et al 2020).

🐕 Dogs have a polyphasic sleep pattern which means they can sleep in “segments” rather than one long stretch like humans.

🐕Dogs are diurnal sleepers enabling them to sleep either in the day or night.

🐕 Dogs have developed a loose, adaptable sleeping rhythm to mirror humans.

🐕 Dogs have a circadian rhythm (just like humans), which can prompt a dog when to sleep or when to be active.

🐕 Dogs are crepuscular, so have activity peaks in the mid morning and early evening (London, KB. 2014).

🐕 Dogs need to be able to stretch out their body fully and lie flat to sleep if they want to

🐕 Some dogs feel safer sleeping in an elevated position

🐕 Did you know that dogs are social sleepers? They get their "best" sleep when in proximity to others

🐕 Puppies, older dogs and dogs with underlying medical conditions may sleep even more than 16 hours a day.

Is your dog getting enough sleep? Is it the "best quality" sleep? 🌟

17/07/2023

Where to start with socialisation?

Start by making a list all of the things that you want your dog to be "familiar with" during their life with you.

This includes environmental experiences (the rain and wind) as well as social ones.

Carefully introduce your puppy to these things during this period. Remember, it's important that these are "positive" encounters for your puppy (so always make sure they are not frightened or worried).

Some tips:

🐾 Go at your puppy's pace (they get to choose whether to interact or move towards the "thing" - not you)

🐾 Just sit and watch the world go by at a safe distance (not everything has to be close to them for them to learn)

🐾 Watch their body language carefully and, if they seem worried or slightly uncomfortable, listen to them and give them space or take them away from the situation

🐾 Take lots of tasty treats with you (chicken, cheese, steak!) and don't be afraid to be generous

🐾 Don't let lots of strangers touch your dog or other dogs get too close - a bit like us, if a complete (and huge!) stranger was touching you then you might get worried

🐾 Please don't let other dogs "tell off" your dog. One negative experience can impact your dog forever (leading to fear related aggressive behaviours in later life). Your dog relies on you to advocate for them and get them out of any tricky situations!

🐾 Give them plenty of choice, predictability and control.

🐾 There is no pressure for them to behave in any way - they can just watch and think about what they're seeing and experiencing

🐾 You can take them out before they're fully vaccinated but remember to be careful and responsible - only interact closely with dogs you *know are fully vaccinated, don't go to really busy places, carry your puppy or get a "puppy pram" if you need to lift them off the floor.

🐾 Have some "rest" time and don't completely overwhelm them (sometimes less is more)

🐾 Remember: it's quality over quantity

Enjoy the experience and, remember, this is your opportunity to start to see the world from your puppy's perspective... 💞