Belle - Day Two

Belle has had a quite settled day but this could be due to the excessive heat - 30 degrees.

She has now met both Bailey the Great Dane and Sticky the little dog through the dividing gate in the house without any fuss. In fact she is quite blasé about Bailey now which is very hopeful for her settling with other dogs! If the weather is more forgiving tomorrow we may try to introduce her to Bailey out on neutral territory, all safely and gently while on long leads.

She has eaten hungrily again today but as she's a little underweight we're giving her three smaller meals rather than two larger ones. She is showing absolutely no signs of resource guarding aggression but is a little anxious around her food - indicated by extreme excitement and gobbling it down - so we are giving her lots of time and space to relax and teach her that her food is not at risk. If we were to start messing about with her food now like giving her a piece at a time, taking her bowl away (even to refill it) etc this would all simply make her more suspicious of us around her food. For at least a week we will leave her in peace to enjoy her food and relax.

It is still simply too hot to exercise her any time before late evening and even then it's a little too warm but the little exercise she has been getting, she has been very good. She is infinitely more relaxed on a longer lead than a shorter one and is learning to recall short distances now. Her general fitness level isn't good but in a growing pup this is to be expected as they should be road walking for more than about 20 minutes at a time anyway to protect their developing joints.

She was left indoors alone for an hour while we went out briefly and she simply went to her bed and slept (we monitored her via Walkie Talkie!) but I've been spending a lot of time simply ignoring her while working in my office, like now, where she has learned that even when humans are around, unless they're asking for interaction, they're really quite boring a lot of the time and she may as well chill out and snooze, especially in this heat!

So many people make so much fuss of a new dog in the home but the exact opposite is crucial; starting off with as little interaction as possible and building it up slowly. It really does make for a much happier, relaxed dog.

Belle

Well we had a blissfully peaceful night with Belle. My bedroom is directly above the office where her bed is and from time to time I could actually hear her snoring beneath me!

She'd been taken out for a 20min walk at 11pm in the lovely cool night air through our village which is all but asleep and silent at that time of night and this undoubtedly helped.

She didn't want any breakfast at 8:30 but I realised why when she barfed up a sock (haven't got a clue where she got it from). She's not the first Mastino I've ever had to like eating socks! She had no accidents whatsoever in the night and went straight out into the yard to toilet.

Belle has met our Great Dane female, Bailey, through the dividing gate in the house and has been very excited with absolutely no signs of aggression whatsoever which was a huge step forward for us. She caught a quick glimpse of our small dog and was much keener however, so this indicates work to be done. Only meetings through the gate for today, tomorrow we may try taking them outside into neutral territory. I've a feeling Belle is going to a very jumpy, rough player...

Not so good was her barking at people through the gate, but this was initiated by the extremely territorially aggressive dogs next door so we will have to ensure that if they are out, she is kept in so that she doesn't learn from their inappropriate behaviour.

Still very early days but everything going well so far. Keeping her calm and settled has been the overriding objective and will continue to be over the next few days.

New Foster Dog - Belle

Belle is a 10mth unneutered Neapolitan Mastiff female puppy that I have taken in for assessment and behavioural modification.

She's been here now for 8.5 hrs and is doing well. She is already getting used to happily settling alone for upto 30 minutes at a time without any fuss.

She's just being allowed to chill out and 'de-stress' after so long in kennels and after such a long journey from Wales to Kent.

The next few days will be critical to help her to unlearn behaviour patterns from her kennel life and learn new, calmer ones such as how to relax when she's alone, how to be calm around new people, around food and other dogs etc.

Basic, bottom-line stuff we are working on in these next 48 hours:

1. Not getting stressed when alone.

2. Learning that she doesn't have to be anxious around food.

3. Learning that she gets attention when she toilets outside, when she sits instead of jumps up, when she lies down calmly etc. Basically marking any desirable behaviour we want to keep with a smile and a pat and ignoring any inappropriate stuff. This is not the time to start using rattle bottles, spray collars or rolled up newspapers!

I'll update regularly so that you can follow her progress and learn how I get new dogs settled in and deal with any problems that crop up!

Choke Chains... AGAIN!

Yes, I'm still on a mission to disgrace the dog owners that use choke chains (and rope slip leads being used in the same abusive way)! Why aren't people realising that there are kinder, MORE EFFECTIVE methods of controlling your dog than strangling them?

"In 30 years of practice (including 22 as a veterinary advisor to a police dog section) I have seen numerous severely sprained necks, cases of fainting, transient forleg paralysis and hind leg ataxia after robust use of the choke chain.

My ophthalmology colleagues have decided views on the relation between compression of
the neck, intraocular pressure distrubances and damage to the cervical sympathetic nerve chain resulting in Horner's syndrom. I personally have seen a case of swollen eyes with petechial scleral haemorrhage and a number of temporarily voiceless dogs"

Robin Walker BVetMed MRCVS

“In a retrospective study on spinal pain, injury or changes in dogs conducted in Sweden, Hallgreen (1992) found that 91% of dogs with cervical anomalies experienced harsh jerks on lead or had a long history of pulling on the lead. Uses of chokers was also over represented in this group. This strongly suggests that such corrections are potentially injurious”

Karen Overall MA, VMD, PhD, DACVB Clinical Behavioural Medicine for Small Animals.

Both taken from the APDT leaflet entitled "Let's Teach Them, Not Choke Them" available from: http://www.apdt.co.uk/pdfs/Choke_Chain_leaflet.pdf

Belle - Looking for a Home!

Baby Belle is looking for a home. She is a 10mth old Neapolitan Mastiff and is going through the 'teenage angst' stage which is probably why she was dumped in rescue! She will need owners experienced in rearing Neapolitan Mastiffs, Bullmastiffs, Cane Corsi, Great Danes etc and can only live with a calm, well-socialised and trained older large breed male in a rural location.

Go to neapolitanmastiffwelfare.com for more details on her.

Here is a terrific educational video on how to get your dog happy to wear a headcollar. This technique can be used for any type of headcollar, not just the one used in the video.

Little Lamb...

I went to visit this little lamb yesterday.. oops no it was Ruffles the Labradoodle! What a super puppy but is going to need LOTS of mental stimulation and hard work as she gets older!

Today's Puppy Consultation with Sasha!

Today's Puppy Consultation was with the lovely 5mth Sasha! She one of the calmest, most pleasant natured German Shepherd puppies I've ever had the pleasure of working with and now that her owners understand a lot more about her behaviour and her unique needs, I think she is going to grow up to be a smashing dog!

New Facebook Page!

Well, DogPsyche UK has joined the age of Social Networking and put up a Facebook page!

The link to it is on the top right of this blog page and also the official DogPsyche UK website.

The Facebook page will llikely be updated more frequently than any other web presence simply because it'seasier and quicker to put lnks and information on there!

Already there are interesting links to videos on puppy resource guarding, bad dog trainers, Milan getting bitten, the toxicity of most dog foods and so much more!

Please have a look and click on 'Become a Fan' to receive an update whenever something interesting is posted!

A very busy week it has been (said in true Yoda style!)!

The Walk Clubs are so popular I've had to start a new one on Saturday afternoons. It will enable people who work during the week to consider joining a club and socialising their dogs. The venue has a playground so families are more than welcome!

This week I've been very busy with rescue work; helping a Neapolitan Mastiff female who was due to be destroyed at a dog pound in Yorkshire, organising her emergency transport down to to a kennels in Cambridgeshire and then doing a visit to meet her and microchip her. It was touch and go as to whether she had a cancerous growth in her ear but thankfully this proved benign and she can now be found a good home.

The week has also been taken up with Puppy Consultations, follow up consultations, Walk Club Inductions and a consultation to help a very stressed but lovely rescued Golden Retriever. He will need lots of help for the foreseeable future but this boy is very lucky in that he has some very committed, dedicated owners who are going to see it through and I will be there to help them as much as they need.

Today...

Worked with a delightful little JRT today who had simply lost her way a little in the great scheme of doggy etiquette. Sticky & Bailey patiently helped her to relearn her social skills while having lots of fun too!

Enquiries are coming in thick and fast after a bit of a hiatus in April - I presume with people worrying about the credit crunch (myself included!). Walk Club places are filling fast and I've had to put on an extra club session on a Saturday lunchtime!

Sticky continues to amaze and impress me with his impeccable eloquence in doggy social skills and responsiveness to my commands to the extent that I'm wondering if he's not telepathic!

Rob Alleyne on Dog Food

Rob talks about the shocking way that pet food manufacturers mislead us...

Rob Alleyne on Puppy Socialisation & 'Celebrity' Dog Trainers!

Sticky Bunn has settled in so well that we feel he's been here forever! I am always telling people to be patient and take their time finding the right dog for them and their home and Sticky is proof that this works!

We have a very relaxed home and dogs are allowed anywhere they want to go as long as they are safe and they accept that must move if we need them to. Sticks if fine with this but to be honest he's so small he fits in anywhere!

His socialisation training is coming along fabulously; again he has just slotted into the work like he was born to do it. He's spent the first week being 'apprenticed' by Bailey (No, she didn't say 'You're Fired!) and today he took his first solo run with one of the Walk Clubs. I noticed to my delight that he stepped into Bailey's shoes as the confident policeman / group leader very successfully and also communicated with the other dogs very fluently.

Here's a pic of him at one of the clubs last week with new pals, Eric & Ridley



Check back soon for more updates!

Say Hello to... Sticky!

Sticky is the new addition to the DogPsyche UK Team! He is a rescued 18mth Labrador x Dachshund with a bit of collie somewhere in there too! He will be trained in the next few weeks / months to take on most of the behaviour assistance work so that Bailey can go into semi-retirement! Watch this space for updates on how he gets on.

New Assistant...

Exciting news! I have a new 'Assistant' joining me this weekend...

Bailey, my 8yr Great Dane, is getting a bit arthritic in her old age and needs to be semi-retired so I've been on a major search for a dog that can help take some of the workload from her of socialising other dogs (hard life... loads of walks a week, the best food money can buy, loads of play with friendly dogs... Tough eh?). The search has ended and I will be picking up my new 'Assistant' and member of our family this weekend...

Check back soon to meet him!

In Flanders Fields - by John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep,
though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

For the Fallen

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.

Little Gemma!

Couldnt resist taking this pic today of little Gemma, a 10wk Standard Schnauzer puppy. Meeting little cuties like this is one of the best parts of my work!