Woof – the blog

We’ve all been there. Our dog is off the lead and he won’t come back. He’s rushed off into the woods and has disappeared. This is a picture I come across a lot. Usually, the dog owner is not risking letting their dog off the lead, because they a terrified it won’t come back.

At first glance… A recent case prompted me to write about diagnosing problems with our dogs. I ask my clients to fill in a 14-page questionnaire and, in addition, if they have any aggressive issues a further, much shorter, form. This gives me a lot of information and allows me to think about what might […]

Over the years I have heard many discussions relating to dominant dogs. Some of it well informed, some of it not. There are differences between a dominant dog and a dominantly aggressive dog.

Those of you who have read my missives will know that I encourage people to rescue dogs. However, many will still go to breeders for specific breeds. This is done for many reasons such as always having had a breed, liking the look of them or someone recommending them. Whatever the reason for choosing a particular breed of dog, it is important to understand what you are bringing into your home.

I have touched on the subject of seeking advice and distressed dogs on a number of occasions. A recent case prompted me to return to the topics.

One of the common fears of all dog people is that of losing their pup.  Sometimes, with the best will in the world, even the best-trained dog may get into a spot of bother occasionally.

Simply put, using a negative, and in my opinion, a cruel method such as spraying the dog will not change the dogs’ behaviour permanently.

What we should be doing is teaching our dogs alternative and appropriate behaviours that they may be rewarded for. For instance, with this GSD, teaching him to be calm and to sit when asked in the presence of other dogs is straightforward. It requires no aggression or dominance of the dog.

I am prompted to talk, a little, about how we deal with dogs who have experienced some traumatic event. There is an increasing trend to ‘help’ dogs who are maybe fearful or ‘reactive’ (a much-overused term in my opinion) to keep them away from situations that cause them problems. There are many people that only exercise their dogs in private fields, away from other dogs.

Watching the Olympics over the past few weeks got me thinking about dogs and how we approach training them, or trying to change their behaviour. Let me explain.

If we consider two Olympic disciplines – diving and gymnastics.  Competitors choose a level of difficulty for a vault or a dive for instance. Their resulting scores reflect their performance in relation the the degree of difficulty they faced. Of course, the judges take into consideration the level of difficulty and score accordingly. So, why is this relevant to our dogs?