September 2007

September has been a frantic month!



The first blow was when our indoor training venue was destroyed by fire early in the month. This was a really traumatic time for me because I take the responsibilities to my clients and their dogs really personally and I was frantically trying to find an alternative venue! I managed to find one, but as the wise know, the blackest cloud has the brightest lining sometimes and we couldn't get our normal club nights. This gave me the incentive to finally get a new project off the ground, the Supervised Walk Club!

The Puppy Club will still be indoors on a Wednesday evening, but the follow on clubs for medium and large sized breeds will take on a unique format now in the form of an outdoor, supervised walk. This is much more effective and realistic as it deals with the behaviour of puppies and dogs in 'the real world' rather than the confines of a hall.

'Travelling with your dog' is a favourite term of mine which describes the perfect activity that we can share with our dogs. 'Taking the dog for a walk' no longer exists for my clients! With our dogs we can travel together, sharing experiences together, learning to respect each other, learning to listen to each other - learning to understand each other...

I've been holding a Walk Club now for almost a couple of years and it has been amazing to watch a multi-species social group form slowly, with even dog/dog aggressive dogs learning to accept the other members of the group, both human and canine and enjoy travelling with us.

I hope to start Supervised Walk Clubs wherever and whenever I can to teach people how to travel with their dogs!

I have been fostering a beautiful Neapolitan Mastiff who came to us from the RSPCA who realised that a kennel environment was not ideal for this boy who had lived in a back yard for almost his entire life and needed critical habituation to new environments and socialisation to people, men in particular.

Barney was a legend - he had a wonderfully stable 'foundation personality' and with careful behavioural rehabilitation including sound desensitisation, socialisation to people of all ages, habituation to things such as skateboards, cars, bikes, planes, traffic, car travel etc (none of which he had ever really had to deal with before), he was able to go his new home last week!

Good Luck Barney!

People ask me all the time how I cope with fostering. It's not easy but the one thing that makes it bearable to say goodbye is to realise that they are going to a better home than the one I've got (in Barney's case, a massive house, 4 acres of his own land to wander about it, people at home all day...I wanted to live there!). If I ever felt that a dog had such behavioural problems that nobody else would be able to cope with them, or we could not find a home for a dog, then of course the dog would stay with me, but as long as great people offering great homes for dogs keep opening their hearts to them, I'll continue to foster.

I'd be lying if I didn't say that Barney didn't get to me - he was a one in a million. I'd love to have kept him because of how he recovered from a life he really shouldn't have recovered (behaviourally) from - but knowing he is happy and knowing that there is another dog out there right now that is on their way to me makes it worthwhile.

I was also involved in the very sad case of a dog having to be destroyed due to aggression towards a human. I am in no doubt whatsoever that the humans in this case were to blame due to a complete and unbelieveable lack of understanding of the basics in canine behaviour. Despite being given express instructions to follow, a detailed profile on the personality of the dog, how to handle them and not to treat them like a child etc (the ultimate sin as far as I am concerned...) within a couple of hours they had ignored every single piece of advice. The dog was subsequently aroused to fever pitch and redirected its aggression towards a human who waded into a situation a human should never get involved in. This dog had never shown aggression towards anybody, either human or canine before but has had to lose its life due to a few hours with inexperienced humans. Terribly, shockingly sad story that will haunt me forever...

Lastly I was in a little country pub at lunchtime today catching up on some reading and I was appalled to overhear a dog owner recommend a citronella (spray) collar to someone with a nervous dog! I actually called over the owner of the dog (not with them at the time) and strongly advised them to ignore this advice as using a spray collar with an already nervous dog could push it into aggression...

It is absolutely ludicrous for unqualified pet owners without extensive canine behavioural knowledge to recommend the use of ANY aversive... Anything which promotes a negative emotional response in a dog should ONLY be recommended and used by a competent and qualified professional.

As I listened, mouth agape in disbelief to this naive and totally misinformed dog owner prescribe the use of a very strong aversive to a total stranger whose dog wasn't even with them, it made me think that people like this are the type to offer you some of their prescribed heart medication if you have a chesty cough saying 'it works for my sore chest - give it a go'... Equally as irresponsible and something you just wouldn't accept, but it's supposed to be okay for your dog?

Please think twice before accepting any well-meaning advice from a pet owner - it could just make your dog's problem immeasurably worse and you will be letting them down as surely as if you let them off the lead in the middle of a motorway, i.e. you will be playing russian roulette with their wellbeing...

News!

As part of my duties for Neapolitan Mastiff Welfare I recently took a microchipping course and am pleased to pass on the news that I am now a qualified implanter. I will be offering this service to any dog that needs it for price of only £20.00, but the real joy about doing this is that EVERY PENNY of the proceeds will go towards Neapolitan Mastiff Welfare UK!

Your £20.00 will pay for the following:

• One of the best microchips available at the moment (Tracer)
• LIFE registration with Petlog, the UK's leading pet registration database
• A year's membership of The Missing Pets Bureau
• A nickel-plated metal engraved ID tag with space for owner contact details on the back
• And the most valued gift of all... A very special thank you from Neapolitan Mastiff Welfare UK because by microchipping your dog with us you have donated another microchip for a rescue dog!

If you are interested, please get in touch with me via the contact details on my website!

The consultancy is as busy as ever, with special congratulations to Peachy & Harvey, my two favourite Pomeranians who graduated from Youth Club last week - hopefully we'll be seeing them again at our exclusive monthly Walk Club for ex-Youth Club members!

I've consulted on a couple of cases of separation anxiety and a few on resource guarding amongst other more basic cases of handling and training.

Resource guarding is one of the most worrying behaviours a dog can display but one of the easiest to avoid. It always makes me so sad to see the breakdown of a relationship between a dog and its owners in this way when it really should be one of the most cherished relationships in our lives.

There is absolutely no need for conflict or confrontation between dog and owner if there is understanding and empathy and what I always hope to achieve by the end of my consultations is a breakthrough in both understanding and empathy, in both directions, between dog and owner.

The relationship, when balanced and functional, can be beautiful to be a part of - a true empathetic connection between a human and dog. It doesn't always include unconditional kindness and rarely involves sympathy, in fact these actions can be toxic to the relationship because animals do not understand them. It's all about emotional balance, confidence, predictability, stability and living minute to minute, side by side. That is what 'love' is for a dog...

Microchipping ALL Puppies and Kittens bred Petition

Microchipping ALL Puppies and Kittens bred Petition

Be one of the first to sign this petition to try and get ALL pups and kittens identifiable and traceable from 8wks of age.

Sad Times...

It's been a sad time for us in the Bunn house...

Our beautiful lady Greyhound, Buffy, died from osteosarcoma (bone cancer) last week. She had only been diagnosed 3 weeks earlier.

She was not just a member of my family but my friend and working partner too - she helped countless dogs to overcome their fears and anxieties with her gentle, quiet way.

As anybody that has loved and lost a dog will know, the pain is absolutely unbearable and it is no different this time. I still expect to see her everywhere, hear her tags chink on her collar, hear her shuffling about or calling for me. It's a horrible time and no matter how much you fill your life with 'stuff' to pad out the time, that feeling of emptiness and loss hangs around like a dark mist waiting to envelop you.

Buffy was the most beautiful dog I have ever known, elegant and delicate with the most perfect brindle markings I've ever seen on a dog. She was as graceful as a swan in repose and in flight and I will miss her always...

Goodbye Little Buffy... Wait for me...
http://www.freewebs.com/buffythegreyhound

Bobby

I just had to add a post about Bobby... I visited Bobby, a rescued 20wk male Labrador puppy today for a one-to-one Puppy Consultation.

He was your average (sadly undersocialised however) male Labrador; bouncy, enthusiastic, loving etc, but credit must go to his new owner (who is also new to the world of dog ownership) who handled him beautifully and so consistently that within 10mins of working with him, had him trotting along beautifully by her side while on a lead; no mean feat for even an experienced dog handler!

I have nothing but the utmost admiration for owners of new puppies that know how important those first few weeks are to get right and how difficult that is in the weeks before their vaccinations clear them for exercise and training in public areas.

Getting a behaviour consultant to come to the home and start your new life together off on the right foot is simply the best way to ensure that you give your puppy his or her best chance of being an emotionally balanced, well-trained, sociable member of the your family. The message is don't 'leave it for a couple of weeks' - start the right way with the proper guidance as early as possible!

Well done Bobby and especially well done to his new family!

I will try and update on how Bobby does in future weeks / months as I am hoping to join him up to the Youth Club.

Busy Times

Again, apologies for it being a few weeks since the last entry. I had a major problem with communications and didn't have broadband or phone for two weeks!

One of the major things that has happened lately is that I've taken on the role of central administrator for Neapolitan Mastiff Welfare. This is a time-gulping job but ultimately very rewarding! I've spent a lot of time in the past few weeks restructuring the organisation, the documentatione etc but hopefully now the foundation has been laid and I have some wonderful people helping up and down the country, things should be a little easier now and I should have more time to get on with my other commitments!

The Puppy & Youth Clubs continue to produce emotionally well-balanced, sociable and happy young dogs and owners, with the most recent dogs graduating from Puppy Club; Mischief & Alfie and dogs graduating from Youth Club; being Basil and Magic.

Basil came along to his first monthly meet up at the Dog Walk Club and he had a wonderful time! The Dog Walk Club is only open to those that have graduated from the Youth Club after attending from early puppyhood so that at least once a month we can all keep in touch and go for a sociable walk in the woods with other ex-members of the Youth Club followed by a coffee and a chat. There is no charge, no commitment, just turn up if you're free! All dogs remain the responsibility of their owners of course but I'll always give advice and help with any issues relating to the dogs.

I had the pleasure of working with a lovely yellow Labrador called Freddie who had 'forgotten' how to be calm around other dogs. He was immensely powerful and we used a Halti Harness to get back some control while we could do some socialisation work and training. Within 30 minutes him and his owner were working together beautifully, with the trust restored between them and Freddie actually ignoring dogs and looking at his owner with a loving gaze and wagging tail. It is always so wonderful to see the love and trust restored in the partnership between a dog and owner after such a short space of time. It's like being an interpreter for two people that don't speak the same language and suddenly getting them to understand each other. I wish Freddie and his owner the very best of luck and hope that now they're understanding each other's body language a lot better that the partnership goes from strength to strength.

The past few weeks...

Sorry I haven't posted for a while! I've had problems logging into my Blog and it's taken ages to sort out!

The consultancy has been exceptionally busy in the run up to Easter. We've had some puppies graduate with honours from the Youth Club at 12 months of age:

Big Congratulations to Travis the Rottweiler who has done his breed proud and to Magic the Labrador who is a different dog to the anxious, shy little lady she was 6 months ago. Many thanks to their owners for working so hard with them.

We have also had the addition of little Tippy to the small breed Puppy Club. She has had a very unfortunate start to life having had no socialisation or habituation and both of her forelegs broken! Luckily her path crossed that of a dedicated veterinary nurse who has fostered her and is lovingly nursing her back to health not just physically but behaviourally. Tippy is generally very anxious about the world in general but every week she attends the club sessions we are seeing a bright, happy little puppy emerge who is getting more confident and sociable all the time.

I'll update on her progress in the coming weeks!


Some of the consultations dealt with have been very interesting - a couple of the ones that I've been really happy with:

Tia the Rhodesian Ridgeback developed a problem with eliminating in the kitchen at night after a series of unfortunate traumatic events at the end of last year. Thanks to the amazing patience and dedication of her owners and a detailed programme she is showing good improvement and we hope to get her back to her normal 'rhythm'!

Sander the Flat Coated Retriever was showing aggression towards his owners in certain situations. After a lengthy consultation we determined that he was actually displaying very appropriate warnings over certain situations where he felt threatened or challenged and once his owners understood this they changed the way they interpreted these situations and either deal with them differently or actually have the foresight to prevent them from happening in the first place - eliminating the need for any confrontation at all! This has put the owners back in control without any trauma or stress to either them or Sander. We hope to also find 'a job' for him to do, perhaps Working Trials, which should keep his wonderfully active brain stimulated!

With the help of a well-designed anti-pull harness we also had good first signs of success in deterring him from pulling his owners down the road and again, putting them back in control with as little confrontation as possible.

They have been working with Sander while away on holiday and I look forward to an update when they get back!

Working Dogs as Pets

I see many dogs in the course of my work but by far the most common problem I see is when the expectations of owners are not compatible with the features of the dog that they own.

Many breeds that are popular as pets are from working stock such as Flat Coated Retrievers, Australian Shepherds, Weimaraners, Vizlas, Border Collies, Springer Spaniels, etc., the list goes on.

Not all examples of these breeds display problems with a lack of stimulation but many do. Where a dog that has historically been bred as a companion such as the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel has not been required to have strong drives that need fulfilling, dogs that have been bred to withstand hours of high levels of physical and mental stimulation in their field (no pun intended!) often display behavioural problems due to insufficient stimulation when kept as pets living the average family life.

The bottom line is that if you have a working breed and they are often 'uncontrollable', 'naughty', or even display inappropriate aggression, consider what they are capable of as a working dog and think about whether their 'inappropriate' behaviours could be due to a lack of stimulation.

Get some help and advice from a qualified trainer or behaviour specialist on how to get your dog's mind and body working at levels which they are designed for with exercises designed to fulfill their needs.

You might be surprised and extremely proud at the dog that emerges!

Dreaded Flu Strikes...

Well the dreaded flu finally caught up with me this week... To anybody else that's caught it this winter - you have my sympathies - get well soon!

Work had to carry on though and Puppy & Youth Clubs still went ahead even as I croaked my way through them! (Apologies to all members and puppies!).

One issue we've dealt with this week is predatory drift, where natural play sequences between dogs takes a 'hunting' slant and the predatory instincts start to kick in. This is quite a complex subject and can't easily be dealt with during club sessions as the clubs aren't meant to be rehabilitation classes. The best way to deal with it in these situations is close monitoring and putting a trailing line on any dog exhibiting predatory drift behaviour in order to adequately and gently interrupt play if necessary to stop the limbic system of the brain activating and ending the cognitive state of mind where we can teach the puppy to respond to the other dog's calming signals.

The owners of the pup in question felt that this was unfair and that their puppy was being punished because it was on a lead. My response to this is that this is actually the fairest option for all concerned. To allow their puppy to drift into predatory behaviour and intimidate a much smaller pup showing clear, consistent calming signals to calm the 'play' down would have been extremely irresponsible. Successful canine play requires regular role shifting and if one dog is not allowing this to take place then we must interrupt and encourage role shifting if we are not to allow a 'bully' to be created. This has been the downfall of other puppy socialisation classes in the past; too much unsupervised, uninterrupted, poorly run sessions allowing confident puppies to become bullies and less-confident puppies to become anxious in play.

One of my golden rules with puppy play is as follows:

If in doubt - interrupt the play. If the 'underdog' takes the opportunity to escape and take a break, you were right to interrupt. If the 'underdog' comes back for more you can let them resume.

You can never interrupt puppy play too much.

Other lovely pups that I held Handle & Train Consultations for included Pepper, a 5mth old Dalmation, and Henry, a 8.5mth Jack Russell Terrier, both in need of some basic training.

Much praise and positive reinforcement to the owners & families of both pups who responded beautifully to basic handling and training guidance, allowing their dogs to finally understand what was required of them and show just what wonderful companions they could be with a bit of consistency and training!

This week...

This week has been extremely busy, with some wonderful new additions to the Puppy and Youth Clubs! Welcome to Amber, Lola and Blu (who incidentally lost a puppy canine tooth at the club which we were lucky to find as we were cleaning up which we will return to his owner! A very rare and lucky occurrence, finding one of your puppy's teeth!).

I also saw Alfie, a rescued staffie for a follow-up Handle & Train consultation to review his behaviour towards other dogs and his owner's handling. I'm pleased to report that both owner and dog have come on leaps and bounds in the months since our first consultation and I am very proud of them both!

Award for most entertaining dog names of the week have to go to delightful JRT pair, Buddy & Holly! Buddy had a problem with barking excessively but with a short session teaching him that if he remained quiet and attentive to his owner, she would give him lots of positive attention and even treats! This was the way to Buddy's heart and made him forget all about barking! He's got a long way to go to recondition this previously well-learned behaviour but his owner is committed and determined to help him so hopefully this Buddy's voice won't be heard quite so much in the future!

I've also had some queries about diet and it's link to behaviour and I will reiterate here what I say to all of my clients regarding their choice of commercially prepared (dry) diets:

• Look for a food with a meat source (chicken, turkey, lamb, pork, venison, duck etc) and rice as the two top ingredients.
• The word 'derivatives' means the rubbish that the human food processing industry has to reject, i.e. scales, beaks, feet, gristle, fins etc. Reject ANY food that has the word ANYWHERE in its ingredient list.
• Maize, cereals and corn products can be poorly tolerated by dogs. Try to avoid any foods with these products in the ingredient list.
• Avoid any food with added sugar (possibly disguised as 'beet', 'sugar beet', or 'beet pulp', added salt, flavourings, preservatives or colourings.
• Avoid foods with protein in excess of 24% unless your dog is actively working.

In short, start looking at your pet food labels as carefully as you do your children's and make your own informed decision about your friend's diet.

My first entry in this blog!

I'm really happy to be able to start a blog so that I can make journal entries about things that I encounter in my professional life as a canine education professional in Kent.

Things are hectic at the moment with a record-breaking number of puppies being registered for Puppy & Youth Clubs and veterinary referrals for private consultations coming in as well as 'Handle & Train' sessions being booked for one-on-one training help for owners and their dogs.

I also hope to work out how to post videos of canine play and communication!