Magic Mutts

07/02/2022

February is the month when many Badger cubs are born. So keeping small dogs on their leads near setts is vital as they can very easily access the underground nursery chamber. We can all do our part in keeping our wildlife safe. Don't leave it to someone else. BE THAT SOMEONE!

26/10/2021

You have heard of the dark side of raising two puppies together, right?
I hope so.
Be it siblings or different litters.

I am not going to rehash thousands of articles on Google, you can do that yourself. I am going to share my personal experience.

Apart from being a full time behaviourist I also run a small exclusive boarding facility in my home. I am the proud owner of a puppy which overlapped with a clients boarding puppy for two weeks. They were of a similar age.

I honestly don’t know how people manage two puppies together! It was a pain in the ass to put it mildly.

As the days went by, I found myself continuously reducing time together, until eventually walks, sleeping, visual exposure and play was cut out COMPLETELY.

Why did I do this? :
-Play was wild with no thought process going on. “After lots of laughing comes crying”. It was going to end badly!

-Babies are not the best teachers for babies.

-On walks, both pups did little to no exploring and were unable to experience the world at large as they only had eyes for each other. They were blinkered to anything else around them. Leashing up and rotating was not effective.
This is a critical learning period in puppies lives and they were missing out!

-The experienced senior dogs disengaged completely and for the most part, were not interested in getting involved with the delinquent puppy play. The pups were missing out on the valuable lessons adult dogs teach!

-There was no off switch. The puppies would have continued play until they literally fell down exhausted. This is not healthy and had me constantly playing helicopter Mom being the party pooper. Far too much work and irritating at the best of times.

-Splitting the pups with a barrier was not terribly effective either as they continued to play ‘bitey-face’ or chase games along a fence line. I was not going to allow this to happen on my watch. I was responsible for my puppy’s learning as well as that of the boarding puppy.

-Recalls plummeted. It took a lot more effort to engage the puppies and have them acknowledge anything else other than each other.

The main reason the ill-informed push two puppies together is that “they will keep each other company and entertain each other”.
No kidding!!
There is however a lifelong cost to this!
It is the over attachment to each other that inhibits individual learning. Instead of creating individual puppies who reach their full potential, one could argue that puppies growing up together become half of what they could be.

Over the years, I have taken care of sibling dogs for owners. I see the emotional fall out as clear as day. The behaviours may not be irritating or of concern to the owner therefore there is no need to address it. I do ask myself quietly how much better the individual dog may have coped in our world if they were not one of two pups growing up together.

There is often pride and endearment when owners say their pups love each other so much that they can’t be without one another. As life is no fairy tale, I find this very sad, as the extent of trauma, should the second dog need a vet visit or passes away, would be amplified for the dog that remains. This is easily preventable.

It is as simple as having some self-control, a little patience, putting the work into one puppy first so when the second pup arrives the now older dog can assist in raising the new pup.

My personal recommendation is a two-year gap between puppies in pet dog homes.

If you got away with worst case scenario of two puppies fighting when together and panicking when split, you are the lucky ones. Speak to those who didn’t and hear their heartache.

If you are in the market for a puppy and the breeder or welfare organisation push two puppies onto you, ….. run! Say no! Pushing two puppies at the same time is irresponsible – if you experienced this in the past, were you ever informed about the down side? Probably not.

If you are wanting two puppies because you have two children and they each need a puppy; sit down and hear me when I say the puppies will NEVER belong to your children. You as the adult are solely responsible for the puppies – they do not ‘belong’ to the children. Your children can get their own puppies when they move out and are paying rent.

If you are still not ready to hear this advise that is ok. There is no judgement, and I will do all I can to help you make the best of a current situation.

If you have not obtained the puppies yet, I would like to ask “What is the harm in waiting?”
Hindsight is a funny thing.
Is it really worth taking the risk for your emotional benefit?

07/10/2021

It really doesn’t matter if your dog is friendly or not.

What matters is that you don’t take the choice away from another owner (and their dog) as to who they interact with.

There can be so many reasons why a dog and their owner need space from you and your dog.

Please allow them that choice 💙

22/02/2021

A great illustration about reinforcement history. Focus on reinforcing the behaviours you like and you will see more of them. 😊

28/08/2020

It is so important to be aware of how our dogs are feeling, not just how we think they should be feeling and to do our best to ensure that they always feel safe.

If you asked me to name the single most important thing you can do for your dog, it would be this.

Keep your dog feeling safe.

This is not to be confused with your dog being safe, or whether or not you think your dog is safe. This is about keeping your dog *feeling* safe. Which means identifying what your dog finds stressful or scary by learning how to observe and read their body language to recognize when, where, and under what circumstances they feel uncomfortable, and doing whatever you can to avoid those situations.

This can mean that your dog never visits another dog park.

This can mean that even though it’s a beautiful Sunday and you’d love to have brunch on a patio of your favorite restaurant with your dog, your dog stays home.

This can mean that you politely (or not) decline requests to pet your dog.

This can mean that when children come over your house, your dog is in another room with a yummy Kong.

This can mean that you walk your dog during quiet times of the day.

This can mean that you drive your dog to walk them in a different area.

Whatever it means for you and your dog, keep your dog feeling safe.

You are your dog’s best and only advocate. You are what stands between them and the rest of the world, a world where dogs are set up to fail every day with often heartbreaking consequences. This doesn’t mean that we don’t also actively and *humanely* work to help our dogs feel more comfortable and confident in this world, but it does mean that until they do, WE HAVE TO KEEP THEM FEELING SAFE.

Our dogs are relying on us, it’s our job to have their backs.

17/08/2020

Polly 2005 - 2020 💔😥

We very sadly had to say goodbye to our special little Polly on Friday 7th August. She had been going downhill for a while, and after trying many different medications in an attempt to improve her condition, we had to make the hardest, but kindest decision to say goodbye.

We miss our Polly Puddle so much. Despite her little legs she always kept up with the bigger dogs, right into her old age. She knew exactly how to communicate and tell us what she wanted and made sure that we always followed her instructions! Her most favourite activity was swimming and if water wasn't deep enough for her to swim, she would quite happily just stand in it, hence her nickname! She was a great friend and role model to Magic and Rufus, who she outlived by many years.

I chose Polly from Dogs Trust, in 2006, for my wonderful Aunty Despo, who sadly passed away in 2016. Polly had already spent some time living with me while my aunty was poorly and stayed with me, before then spending her retirement years with my mum, which was perfect for both of them and she got to enjoy lots of sofa snuggles, lie-ins and extra treats! Polly still enjoyed coming out with me and all of her doggy friends, even in her special dog wagon, when it all got a bit much for her old legs.

Polly loved little Beto, my degu, and would always run in the kitchen in the morning and greet him with a big bounce. Polly loved her food and it always made us laugh when the vet asked us if she was still eating ok! After all, she was part Labrador, so food was definitely a priority and that served her well living with a Cypriot family!

Our family is not the same now, without our Polly, however there is a little bit of comfort in knowing that she had a good long, happy life and that she is now reunited with her mum, Despo, and her cousins, Magic and Rufus.

Sweet dreams gorgeous girl. You will forever be in our hearts.
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25/12/2018

12/02/2018

13/01/2018

It is very easy to be infected with this! Please read........

This is very serious... please be aware! 😂

16/10/2017

Internationally renowned dog expert Carolyn Menteith explains why the idea of an alpha dog or pack leader is a dangerous myth leading to poor welfare.