Natural Dog's Life

11/01/2021

Next level training 😱

09/01/2021

Awesome raw feeding guide for your dog!

22/11/2020

The importance of lead training!

I've been currently looking into leads verses harnesses as there's been some interesting research between the pros and cons of them both with collars cause neck damage and some harnesses causing damage to legs.

But do you know what. It boils down to something more simple than that.

Lead training!

Teach your dog to walk with no pulling.

If your struggling with your dog pulling, simply walk in the opposite direction as soon as they pull.

More on lead training to come and how you can enjoy easy walks with no pulling with your dog.

14/11/2020

Feeding your dog rawhide?

This might get you to think again

https://www.facebook.com/doctor.karen.becker/videos/1723244711083737/

24/10/2020

16/10/2020

Keep their minds busy!

I recently bought Darcy a snuffle rug, it's amazing!!

For those of you that haven't been introduced to snufflerugs, they are rugs that you hide treats in.

One things with puppies and collies especially, is that they have to be kept busy and mentally stimulated. Otherwise they will find their own stimulation. Darcy's cheeky habit is stealing small logs from the log basket!!!

Snufflerugs are a win in our house!! Stand by for the video!

🐶 🐶

14/10/2020

The look of trouble!!

This is the look we get before all the zoomies! It's one of my favourite faces she pulls.

Once thing that I will mention is that the natural dog life is tough and I just want to shout out to all the natural dog owners out there because you are awesome.

13/10/2020

5.5months and growing like there is no tomorrow!!

Darcy is currently going through a pretty long teething process, so lots of frozen chicken fillets for her to chew on!! Frozen treats are great as they soothe their gums!

🐶 🐶

20/09/2020

Distractions!!!

It's so easy for your dog to get really excited about new things that they have discovered! So the game is "How can you be more interesting that the distraction they've found?"

Now this is not a place for you to assume that you can act like a sensible human being - that's a bit boring to dogs.

If your dog is looking around at something interesting on a walk, here's a few things you can do.

1) Do the most high pitched, excitable sound you can make. Imagine a squeaky toy! Keep doing it until your dog wonders what on earth you are doing and praise them when they come to investigate.

2) Run off in the opposite direction and call their name! This is Darcy's favourite. I have run up and down many muddy fields to get Darcy to chase me instead of being interested in bunny poo! Oh isn't the countryside fantastic!! Lol!!!

3) Go to the ground.....low as possible. If you can lay on the floor even better. It makes it even more interesting when they come and see what you are up too. Be prepared for a wet snout in your face!!

Important things to factor in

No lunging for your dog!! Smooth and fluid movements only! Otherwise you'll have problems with getting your dog on the lead.

If one of these doesn't work, it's okay to use all three!! I guarantee this will cause a scene to passersby which will give them a giggle for the day but I also say that your dog will be wanting to investigate too! Be prepared with lots of treats and praise when they come back!!!

18/09/2020

That age between 4 months and 6 months puppies find their bark!

So what is a good barking etiquette?

I allow Darcy to bark once if someone is approaching the property. I think it's important to use a dog's instinct and not to suppress it. When she barks, I acknowledge it, praise her and then follow with the command quiet!

Quiet is an easy command to train when you have some juicy, yummy treats to hand. Say the word quiet when your dog is barking and if they see the treats they will stop barking pretty sharpish! Praise and give them the treat.

Say the command again and count 2 seconds before giving the treat (only giving them the treat if they stay quiet for those 2 seconds) and slowly build it up to 5 seconds.

16/09/2020

Previously we spoke about crate training - here are some tips to follow that will make the experience fun and easy for your dog.

1) Keep the door open on the crate to begin with and allow your dog to explore it without the fear of the door being closed.

2) Praise your dog when they go into the crate and reward with food and treats. You can incorporate a command too to make it fun. The command we use for Darcy is "Bed"

3) When your dog has got use to the crate, allow them to go in and close the door and sit and praise them calmly and feed them treats. When I did this with Darcy for the first time, I sat with her with a book in silence and fed her chicken through the bars. You want your dog to know that it's a calm space for them and it's a good place for them.

4) Give them a treat that takes a while to eat (that's safe for them to eat alone) and put it in the crate with them so that they can happily eat it on their own and stay in the room with them whilst they eat it. Don't talk to them and keep things calm.

5) Repeat number 4 and put a blanket over the cage, you can play some music in the room or put on a tv for some background noise depending on how calm your dog is. If you feel it's ok to leave the room then leave the room.

When you go through this process it's important to keep things as calm and as positive as possible. Depending on how nervous or excitable your dog is will depend on how easy this is for you.

If it's difficult, I would say consistency is key!

If your dog becomes stressed, it's important not to react to their barking or whining. To begin with Darcy would be upset if she saw us leave the room, so by putting a blanket over the crate stopped her from getting upset.

It's okay if they have a whinge - allow it to play out for 10mins and see how they settle.

Only allow them to come out of the cage when they are quiet and allow them to exit the cage slowly.

When you allow them to come out of the cage don't overly praise them as this can contribute to separation anxiety. Have a routine where you take them out for a wee afterwards and then carry on as normal.

Let us know how you get on below

14/09/2020

We love crate training.

Darcy is a border collie cross, which means her breed is known to suffer from separation anxiety coupled with the fact that my partner and I work from home so she barely has times where she is left alone.

Crate training is fantastic for offering a dog a space that is theirs. It's their space to relax, sleep, have treats and to be safe.

One of the most important aspects of crate training is keeping it positive.

Once trained dogs and puppies should be happy to be left alone in the crate.

We have crate trained Darcy and she will usually have between 30-60mins per a day alone in her crate where she is happy, calm and relaxed.

Having a dog that is crate trained has the benefits of knowing that your dog is happy and calm when you leave your home and is not damaging your home.

If you have children or guests, your dog has a safe space to retreat too - if you have children I recommend that you have a rule that if your dog goes into their crate that they leave the dog alone.

It's also fantastic if your dog gets over excited or if the environment becomes too much that they have their space to go too.

Look out for our next post for tips on crate training.