K9 Trailblazers

12/02/2022

🎾⚽️🥏 BALL WANGERS!! 🥏⚽️🎾

The subject of throwing balls for our dogs has come up a few times in different classes recently.

And, quite a few people were quite shocked by my response of…

STOP WANGING BALLS FOR YOUR DOG!

Why?

There are a lot of reasons, but the key ones for me are…

- The physical effort of leaping, twisting and landing can put enormous stress and strain on their bodies and joints, which can lead to injury and arthritis.

- Chasing, catching, retrieving, chasing, catching, retrieving… creates lots of adrenalin! Lots of owners who stop throwing ball repetitively for their dogs report an immediate improvement in their dogs ability to be able to settle after a walk.

- Dogs can become ball obsessed leaving them unable to enjoy their walks, or focus, or just do ‘normal dog things’.

Should you ditch the ball completely?

You could!! Dogs don’t need to play with balls… have you ever seen a dog throw a ball for another dog?? No. It’s a human thing, not a dog thing.

If you want to play ball with your dog, then here’s some ways to do so that is more beneficial to your dogs’ mental and physical wellbeing.

- Limit ball play to a few times a week, for no more than 10 mins or so. Throw the ball by hand (not with a wanger!).

- Ask your dog to sit & wait, then throw a ball into an area of long grass, release your dog to go and sniff the ball out.

- Use the ball as a reward during training rather than food. It means that they are using their brains in other ways in between each ball throw. Keep the session short though - and no wangers!

- Play with your dog with a ball attached to a tuggy - something like the Tugg-e-Nuff PowerBall Bungee.

Have fun with your dog, engage with them, play with them, but do do in a way that replicates the way they’d play naturally 🐶🐾💕

For some great ideas of different ways to play with your dog check out the Training Tips section of the Tugg-E-Nuff website https://tug-e-nuff.co.uk/blogs/news?page=2. (Use the promo code LOVE if you see anything you like & would like a cheeky little discount!!)

If you’d like to read more around how ball throwing can impact on your dog this is an interesting article https://caninearthritis.org/article/on-throwing-balls/

09/02/2022

Great advice from Canineology again!

Did you know that your puppy’s socialisation period ends before they are fully vaccinated?

While some vets still recommend not taking your dog out until they are vaccinated, we now know that this lack of exposure to day-to-day life experiences can have a negative impact on a dog's behaviour later in life.

It's important to find ways to let your puppy experience the things you want them to be able to cope with throughout their life, and with a bit of creativity you can achieve this without risking their health.

29/01/2022

Dogs are extremely good at hiding if they are in pain, this is a prime example of them telling us in subtle ways.

2024 update -

This post was made two years ago and has recently been getting attention again. The sad thing is that actually nothing has changed. This program is still being made. There is ( as far as I know - and very happy to be corrected if I am wrong) no veterinary involvement with these dogs prior to filming.

How many more dogs are going to be labled as awkward, difficult, stubborn or just lazy when actually there is an underlying pain issue?

We have so many wonderful trainers and behaviourists that could fill this man’s shoes and provide far more valuable advice and training. Stop giving people like this man air time… pick someone who actually cares about the wellbeing of the dogs they work with instead of the cash going to line their pockets…

-

Some phrases used on this particular episode of ‘Dogs behaving (very) badly’ where 8 year old Ruby would only get off the sofa if the rug was over the laminate flooring, and would sit down and stop on walks…

‘being a madam’

‘Controlling the diva’

‘Indulging her with rugs’

‘Thinks she’s in charge’

OR

Is this actually a dog in pain, a dog scared of slipping and hurting, a dog trying to tell everyone that she’s uncomfortable?

It’s not indulging her with a rug, it’s making sure her own home is accessible and safe for her. She’s not ‘being a diva’ and refusing to walk, she’s telling you it hurts and she’s uncomfortable.

I’m very glad that the owners realise that this dogs weight is having a significant impact on her life but there are other things that need addressing here. I have no doubt they absolutely adore their girl, that is very clear to see, but I desperately wish they had the right kind of support for Ruby, not just let’s force her to walk and walk on a floor she’s is scared

Dogs Behaving Very Badly and The Dogfather (Graham Hall)… I’m afraid the blame falls to you on this occasion. You have a massive platform with thousands of dog owners watching every episode. How about talking about signs of pain? Indicators of discomfort? When behaviours actually tell us somethings wrong? Ways to adapt houses for older dogs and those that struggle with mobility? You could educate SO MANY owners but no, it doesn’t happen. Instead we just see an uncomfortable dog being forced to walk when she doesn’t want to, and live in an environment that she is scared of.

Dogs need us to advocate for them, to realise when we need to do more and to learn the ways that they tell us something isn’t right. Owner education is the key to this and this could have been a brilliant opportunity to do just that.

15/12/2021

Something I always do with my own dogs, knowing that one of them is very anxious and can react if a dog comes out from nowhere unexpected as she was attacked as a puppy.

It doesn’t mean walking in the middle of nowhere it just means keeping your distance from other people so your dog can enjoy their walk without feeling worried about other dogs.

Fae is a thrill-seeking-act-now-think-later terrier teenager and - for her own good - I'm carefully managing her interactions with other dogs. She'd probably love a dog park.... but it would be chaos and not serve her well for learning how to chill and that not every dog wants to be your mate.

Murray is a 5 year old pitbull mix. He's become more dog selective as he's grown up, and this along with his arthritis from an old injury, and being attacked by 4 off lead dogs several months ago, means I'm carefully managing his interactions with other dogs so he doesn't feel like he needs to defend himself.

So instead of Fae learning bad habits and causing mayhem and instead of Murray getting grouchy with random dogs we've ditched busy off lead places and opted to go for walks somewhere quieter while we train.

These guys still hang with other dogs, familair and unfamiliar, but either on private property or on walks where we've got enough space to see who's coming and can choose move away if we need to.

Set your dog and yourself up for success by managing the environment (within your means) while you train - sometimes this can look like being selective about where you walk.

11/12/2021

11/12/2021

The internet can be a fantastic resource, but it’s only useful for general behaviour and training questions. When it comes to your specific dog and why they do the things they do, the answer gets complicated quickly.

Think of behaviour as a puzzle. It’s made up of many different pieces that fit together, and if you don’t have enough pieces you may not be able to tell what the picture is.

Someone who understands behaviour will look at all the pieces and how they fit together to form a theory of “why”, and then use their knowledge of behaviour and training to come up with a solution.
These pieces include (but aren’t limited to) the dog’s:
• Life stage
• Behavioural history
• Genetics (breed)
• Health
• Recent life events (e.g., moving house, a new baby, a new pet)
• The context of when the behaviour happens
• What the consequence of that behaviour is

All these things are individual to your dog, and it’s so important consider these when tackling behaviour concerns.

Anyone who gives you behavioural advice without delving deeper and asking these kinds of questions…. should probably be taken with a pinch of salt 😉