Yay! A new year for our dogs and us!

Such fun! A whole new year is ahead of us - us and our dogs.

So … what are we going to do with it?

Maybe this will be the year you try competing - in Agility, Rally, Obedience, Working Trials …

Maybe this will be the year you learn a new skill with your dog - Search and Rescue, Scentwork of any kind, Assistance Dog work …

Maybe you’ll determine that this is the year you teach your dog some new fun activities - Tricks, Parkour, Waterwork …  

Or maybe you’ll carry on just as you always have.

And this could be absolutely fine!

You don’t have to do anything special with your dog if you don’t want to.

But to keep you both fully-functioning for as long as possible, you want to ensure there are lots of stimulating walks for you and your companion, new places to visit, new landscapes to explore.

I make a point of walking my dogs in all the different terrains that are available to me here.

🐾 So one day we’ll be on one of our lovely long-distance footpaths.

🐾  Another day we’ll be at the beach.

🐾  Or open fields and pasture, or commonland.

🐾 Woodland or forest another day.

🐾   We may mooch round the village or a nearby town.

🐾 A canal-side or riverside walk is full of new experiences.

🐾  And we love the solitude of the Marshes.

What do you do to keep your dog’s interest alive? Comment below and tell us!

Dog-Walk away your woes!

We are special people!

We have been given a tremendous gift!

We have a DOG!

It can be easy to let your life woes overcome the beauty of your relationship with your dog. So easy to worry about shopping lists, difficult partners, the weather, the world … possibly even worrying about your dog’s behaviour.

But the greatest thing you can do for yourself and for your dog, is to take a leaf out of his book, and live in the present!

Meeting trouble halfway

We have a tendency to worry ourselves into a spiral - a seriously downward one!

We either dwell in the past, worrying over what’s happened, or lurch into an uncertain future where everything seems to go wrong.

What’s past is over and done with, and can’t be changed - however much you worry over it.

And what’s to come is completely out of our control!

All we can do is deal with the present - as it happens. Just as your dog does.

Headaches

We also have a tendency to crave a quick fix.

Whether that’s a quick fix for our difficult dog or a quick fix for a real or a figurative headache.

As far as the dog is concerned, there are few quick fixes, except those promised by people who espouse methods I wouldn’t use on an earwig, never mind a sentient, affectionate, being, like a child or a dog or a partner!

Change in your dog’s behaviour is effected by slowly building the bond between you by removing blame and punishment from your existence. I’m not suggesting you beat your dog! You wouldn’t have got this far down this page if you did.

But just misunderstanding someone can be punishing - it suppresses the response you’d like. This is where those cries of “My dog is stubborn!” come from. A total misunderstanding of how to relate to a creature from another species without shouting, blaming, attempting to control him.

So, know that huge changes can be made in how your dog behaves - whether running off, or barking at other dogs - once you change yourself!

And as for that headache, grab the lead and take your dog for a quick 10 minutes round the block. (Dog too reactive to walk near you? Bundle him into the car and whiz off to somewhere quiet and empty.)

Enjoy a few moments with your dog. Enjoy his enjoyment. Relax and clear your head.

Don’t be worrying about what to say to your boss; how you can make the housekeeping last till the end of the week; how you can get your project finished …

Enjoy this oasis of calm with your ever-present dog. Follow his lead and explore the sights (while he explores the smells!) of your surroundings. Enjoy the soft rain on your face, the wind in your hair, the butterflies and the birds.

What’s quicker for resolving those headaches? This method or headache pills?

 

FOOTNOTE: If walks are difficult for you

Are you finding dogwalks uncomfortable because your dog wants to pull you hither and yon - possibly landing you on your face? This would certainly make it hard to enjoy your dog’s company when out!

So get Let's Go!: Enjoy Companionable Walks with your Brilliant Family Dog and change your dog walks for the better - fast!

If you like listening, you can get the audiobook direct from the author and listen while you walk and train!

5* review at Amazon

This is a great little guide to hassle-free walks with your dog. I have a lovely but enthusiastic cockapoo who was taking me for a walk rather than the other way around. She was constantly pulling on her lead and it had become a real worry. Thanks to the exercises and advice in this book, she is now walking by my side, rather than constantly trying to be in front of me and walks are a lot more enjoyable. I would definitely recommend this book.

Five Ways to teach your dog that coming to you is the best thing ever!

If you want your dog to come when you call, you need to get into his head that arriving with you is the best thing ever! 

Instead of asking your dog to leave an exciting something to come to boring you, change his mindset so that he sees your call as an opportunity to spin on a sixpence and race straight to you like a missile.

20-week-old Rocco races to his owner at high speed!

And here are some NEVERS and some ALWAYS’s to keep you on the straight and narrow

1. NEVER, EVER, reprimand your dog when he comes to you. If he runs to you and you tell him off, how likely is it that he’ll come next time you call? It doesn’t matter what he did when he was “out there” - coming back to you has to be the best thing he ever did. Be sure he knows that his prompt return always makes you very, very happy!

2. NEVER go on a walk without a stash of really good treats in your pocket. ”Really good” does not include his kibble, cat biscuits, or pocket fluff. Rather - cheese, sausage, hot dog, beefburger … If you did a good turn for someone and they gave you a dry biscuit as a reward, how likely would you be to put your hand up next time they’re looking for a favour? A whole chocolate cake? Now that’s a different matter!

3. NEVER call your dog, and - when he doesn’t respond - say “Ah well, I’ll call him a bit later.” This has been noted, documented, and logged by your dog, and filed under the heading “I only need to come when I’m called sometimes.” This is the absolute last thing we want him to learn! He needs to know that when he hears his name, he comes back - every time.

4. ALWAYS vary your rewards. Sometimes he gets a lump of beefburger when he arrives with you; sometimes he gets 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 tiny bits of cheese posted into his mouth one after the other; sometimes you hurl his toy behind you as he approaches, then race him to the toy; sometimes as he runs towards you you take off at high speed away from him - game on! - dogs all love to chase! What else could you do to excite your particular dog?

Puppy Cai loves this recall game with his young owner

5. NEVER call him unless you have a 90% chance of him coming. Choose your moment, call him and refer to no.3 above. He doesn’t come? Then if the mountain won’t come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain. Go up to him and call him from one yard away. Success! Big lump of sausage!

How soon should I start training my puppy to recall?

Immediately!

Straight away!

As soon as you get your new puppy or new dog, they should be learning that responding to their name is the best thing ever. Read this post to give you a start. 

Dogs love running fast. Make sure that running fast towards you is always more rewarding than running fast in the opposite direction.

It takes time and steady application to develop a super recall. But think how proud you’ll be when you can call your dog’s name (once!) and he stops dead, spins round, and hurtles back to you! And think how relieved you’ll be if he had been racing towards a road, or a sabre-toothed tiger (or whatever hazards you have in your neck of the woods).

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Our family’s always had dogs, why is this one so difficult?

“Archie just goes mad,” said Anne.

“He’s so full of energy he doesn’t know what to do with himself. He’s always stealing things, getting on the chairs, he knows just how to wind me up  …

And then, when we go out, he’s not at all friendly with other dogs. Some children were rushing past on their scooters the other day - I thought he was going to grab them!

We’ve always had dogs - but I’ve never had one like this before! 

What’s wrong with him?”

This is a shame. Anne was very pleasant, well-meaning, and obviously devoted to the naughty Archie. When I visited her I saw the life that Archie lived and found the root of the problem fairly quickly.

Anne was indeed experienced with dogs. For forty years there had always been a family dog. 

Now she had the dog … but no family!

Her previous dogs had been brought up in the rough and tumble of family life. From morning till night (and sometimes during the night) there had always been activity. The electric energy children bring to a home was ever-present.

There would be visiting children, bikes to chase after, tears and jam to be licked off cheeks, shrieking, dropped food to be cleaned up, toys, gadgets, running and racing, tree houses to climb up into, a sick child to cuddle up with …

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Housekeeping in a busy family was basic maintenance, not perfection.

And then there were the school runs, walks to the shops, family holidays on the beach.

Archie’s predecessors had had a very different upbringing!

And Archie had missed out on all of this.

What Archie had missed

• He hadn’t learned to cope with children (Anne never walked to the shops these days and there were as yet no visiting grandchildren.)

• He did not encounter many dogs in the rural area Anne had retired to 

• The house was painfully quiet - and spotless. Anne was very, very houseproud. 

• He’d never been to puppy class (“The other dogs had never needed it,” said Anne, “so I didn’t bother.”)

• He didn’t know how to use up his energy in the day 

• He had plenty of long country walks which made him stronger, but his mind was never tired

• This was all exacerbated by the fact that Archie was a high-energy dog, bred to work till he dropped

So while Anne thought she was rearing her young dog the same way as her previous family dogs, in fact she was missing a huge chunk of his essential upbringing!

"I'm bored! If something doesn't happen soon, I'll have to make it happen!"

In this case we started a program of belated socialisation and habituation, Archie came to class and was very quick to learn the games and tricks I teach there, and Anne learnt that mental stimulation is infinitely more tiring than physical exercise!

You cannot “socialise” an older dog. This is something that can only happen in the dog’s brain up to the age of 15-16 weeks. What you can do is get him out and about, having new experiences, and enjoying them! If he’s not enjoying - for instance another dog walking towards him - then about turn and withdraw to a safe distance where he can observe the dog passing while you pop treats into his mouth. The distance will vary, but could be at least 50 yards. 

Anne didn’t need to take Archie on ever longer walks, building his stamina so that his energy was boosted - just spend a few minutes here and there during the day when she could play some of the games and tricks he’d learnt in class, and mind games to satisfy his busy brain. Here's a great book to get you started.

As a working dog, Archie quickly took to the games which involved his amazing powers of scent. Hide and Seek, in the house and the garden, became very popular! We even taught Archie some useful tricks: fetching Anne’s indoor shoes when they arrived back from a walk was very popular all round. It gave Archie a job to do straight away, and Anne was able to dry his feet when he brought her shoes, before he’d started running all over the house. 

Family Dog but no family?

Children go so well with puppies!

So if you're like Anne - you want to get another family dog but don’t have the family at home any more, here are a few things to consider:

• Early socialisation to everything in our world is vital. This includes towns, shops, countryside, schools, fairs, horses, bikes, trains, dogs, children, etc. “Early” means from the day after your puppy arrives, at 8 weeks.

• A first-rate force-free Puppy Class will give you lots of tools and experience

• Mental stimulation is more tiring and satisfying than physical exercise alone. This was a big surprise to Anne!

• Playing with your dog is much more fun than telling him off

• Care less about the spotlessness of your home - you have a dog!

• Choose a breed that was not designed to run over moor and mountain for eight hours a day

• Worry less about what your dog is doing, and more about what you are doing

Most of all, enjoy your puppy!

Dog or Puppy problems? Get your free 8-lesson email course and solve them all painlessly!

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