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!