South Moor Vets

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What an amazing session today @ South Moor Vets . Laura, one of the nurses who's been involved in the puppy parties 'long time', has made fantastic prints out for the wall to introduce canine body language and stress signals to dog owners to support their learning of these important months of a puppy's life. We made a small change to the room this afternoon, which made a big change to the dogs. By pushing back the chairs we expanded the room where the puppies were occupying which gave them much more room to explore and as a result made for a calmer environment. Having enrichment and what we now call 'free work' foundations, coined by the incredible Sarah Fisher, gives dogs a safe place to explore and the safety to do so using their noses and bodies, while practicing appropriate behaviours around other dogs. For more information on Free work, please see Sarah's page called ACE CONNECTIONS. Animal Centered Education.

Photos from Learn To Speak Dog with Rachel Meadows's post

#100daysofenrichment Enrichment should be part of every dogs life. However, it's particularly important for elderly dogs, less mobile dogs, post operative care dogs and especially dogs that may have fear or reactivity when when outside the home. Enrichment, simply means, 'novel'. Experiences that are novel and pleasurable are enriching to our lives and the lives of our dogs. Many dogs thrive on routine, however routine doesn't have to be boring. Feeding your dog in variety of ways can enrich your dog's life to such an extent that it can help to change problematic behaviour. Celeb didn't eat the fruit and veg I added but its nice to give him the choice anyway. It was novel and it meant he had to lick around it to avoid it which gave him a puzzle to figure out in order to avoid what he didn't want. The fridge feeder was a great way to exercise his neck as he is very limited with movement after his op. For more information or sessions on Canine enrichment, contact me on 07454111480.

I went to see little Monty yesterday. He's new to this world, just 15 weeks old. He is doing amazingly and has had his uncle dog to stay who was the most patient lovely boy you could ever hope for, to help out with puppy parenting.

For those of you that don't know my little dog... He is a tricky character. It's hard to know when he is in pain or discomfort. Sometimes he seeks proximity but then will air snap and make alot of noise if you touch him. Sometimes if you don't pet him he will scratch you with his paws to request contact. The type of contact he receives is very important. He seems highly sensetive to touch that is too light or touch that is too vigorous. I often notice Caleb will place himself into tight spaces, in particular, his little head. He also digs quite deep holes, when ever possible always positioning himself in a semi upright position. He repeats this in his bed, ruffling his blankets to raise the front of his body upright. It seems he enjoys or perhaps gains some relief from pressure. I live with a sensory 'disorder', some might call it, and I often wonder, could our dogs suffer with the same or simular sensetivities as we do? Caleb was raised in a force free home, with gentle parenting techniques and for the most part, a diet fit for a dog king, but it doesn't change who he is and how his particular body and mind responds to life. I believe if he was brought up in the hands of a less experienced guardian, he might well not have made it this far. Its so important to remember that our dogs are individual sentient beings and no matter how well we train them, they can still have difficulties beyond training that challenge us to look further for answers, compassion and understanding.

Photos from Learn To Speak Dog with Rachel Meadows's post

It's really interesting to look back at photos of our dogs, or indeed other people's dogs. We can learn so much about them when we capture a moment in time, with full expression. This little puppy had been fast asleep for the first 20 minutes of the puppy party. When she finally got down on the floor she was very cautious of her surroundings. This photo captures the exact moment in where she spotted the kong for the first time. Her reaction was to flick her tounge and lower her head. The next thing she did was back away from kong. Her body language here tells us that she is feeling a little overwhelmed at the sight of the kong. This brings me to her sleeping. Was she sleeping because she was so chilled out? or perhaps she was really tired? But what if, she was sleeping, because she was shut down in response to her environment being too much for her little system to cope with. We can't know for sure. Only the puppy knows for sure. It's so important to keep an open mind and not make assumptions on what we think we know. We can benifit greatly from gaining a full understanding of the wonderful repertoire of behaviours dogs have to communicate and connect with, by watching every minute detail of their bodies. With a deeper understanding of their communication we can help them and support them when they need us too.

It's Thursday, which means it's my weekly puppy fix at South Moor Vets. What a fantastic bunch of beautiful puppies, attentive guardians and fantastically trained staff who manage these socialising oppertunities with great skill and enthusiasm. They've come such a long way in the many years I've worked along side them, growing in knowledge and always being so welcoming to have my presence and input in their sessions each week. To have a veterinary practice that welcomes your puppy into the world from start to finish is priceless. Working collaboratively with trainers and behaviour professionals makes a veterinary clinic a cut above the rest. I feel fantastically privileged to be part of many of these puppy's journeys from the beginning of their lives right through to the end and should something happen, down the line, that the family and dog need support with, I know that I have a veterinary clinic that will work with me to insure the client receives a holistic approach, exploring all avenues should the dog need that. Its a win win. ☺ Check out some of these lovely little souls I met today. For some of them, it was their first time. Can you guess which ones? Today we spoke about encouraging guardians to watch the nuances of their puppy's body language, with particular attention to their tiny micro expressions that happen so fast we miss it. When working with families of all age ranges of dogs, from puppies to oldies, we always start with 'learning to speak dog' . Without a skill set of canine body language comprehension, we have little chance of ever understanding the complex range of expressions our dogs share with us. It's simply magical watching a beautiful connection between owner and dog, when they both jump onto the same page for the first time. It's the very starting point and foundation to a relationship of infinite possibilities. Be part of something great. @ Learn to Speak Dog, it's so much more then training.

An afternoon appointment has become available tomorrow if anyone wants to skip the waiting list. Give me a call on 07454111480

Photos from Learn To Speak Dog with Rachel Meadows's post

Hand made enrichment toys ♥

APDT - Association of Pet Dog Trainers

For attention of all dog walkers or new guardians for young dogs.

Thinking Dogs company

Photos by the amazing Ruth Haynes. Thank you so much. ♥

Thinking Dogs company

This is what happened at my workshops... Be worried, be very worried... 😂 😂 😂 😂 Rebecca Hanlon you are awesome