Walk the Dog Newsletter - Winter 2010

Dear friends,



‘Tis the season to be merry and for snuggling down with our pets as we look forward to some festive fun. We’ve got a bumper packed winter issue with advice on ensuring your four-legged friend stays safe over the festive period and we meet fitness guru Andi Vincent-Jones, who shares her top tips for avoiding injury from dog walking - advice we follow at Walk the Dog. Plus, we’re delighted to launch our very own cartoon series created exclusively for Walk the Dog by artist and illustrator Ellen Tozer. And, we have all our news and a great Christmas recipe for your furry friends. Thank you for your support this year, we’ve had a blast working with you and your pets. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year for 2011.

Click here to read the latest copy of our Walk the Dog newsletter for Winter '10.

The Lassie Effect

I help owners with problem dogs. Most owners understand their dog’s breed, yet understanding his behaviour can often be misinterpreted, leading to problems.

Although man and dog have been together for thousands of years, we tend to forget his ancestor is the wolf. The DNA of a wolf compared to domestic dog differs by just 1 per cent; the same difference separating one human race to another. So, while your dog looks harmless, he has the mindset of a wolf.

Art, literature and entertainment has greatly influenced our thinking leading to the anthropomorphism of dogs, I call this ‘The Lassie Effect’tm. Lassie was a Collie with the heart of a lion and the navigational skills of a pigeon. Lassie made the public believe he could think, plan, sympathise, know right from wrong, remember complicated facts and seek revenge. When Lassie appeared to be studying a situation, he was actually watching his trainer wave a rag. We humans find it easier to relate to a situation when we project our own emotions onto our dogs. If a dog chews his owner’s shoes when alone, the owner may shout at the dog when he returns home, the dog may lower his body and slink away. The owner thinks his dog learns from the telling off, some may believe the dog destroyed the shoes out of resentment or boredom for being left alone which is why he looks and acts ‘guilty’. However, the dog may be anxious and the chewing action releases endorphins that calm him down, this feeling of comfort is rewarding. When the owner comes home, the dog acts in a submissive manner to avoid punishment. Yet, the owner misinterprets the dog’s attempt at communicating “please don’t hurt me” to mean “I know I’ve done wrong”. So, the problem behaviour continues.

Find out more by visiting http://www.doglistener.tv/

Focus on puppies
How cool would it be if you could learn to successfully communicate with your dog so you can understand one another? Well now you can! Walk the Dog Puppies launches in February; these are puppy classes and young dog progress classes designed to help owners learn how to teach their dog the basics from recall, sit, stay, heeling, ‘leave’, as well as, learning how to avoid unwanted behaviours and deal with common problems in a calm, consistent and convincing way. So, we’ve got some top tips below to set you and your puppy on the road to successful dog training.

· Lower your expectations. Remember, your puppy is just a baby; he doesn’t know he should toilet outside, or know even his name. A human baby takes many months to learn to walk, talk, and toilet training can take years. It's the same principle when you're training your puppy – patience, understanding and consistency is the key to successful training.
· Adolescence. Around 4 months of age, the puppy moves into adolescence. They get bored easily and have no self-control, they like action and speed. Set some boundaries (e.g.) is the puppy allowed on the sofa by invitation only? Is the dog allowed upstairs?
· Avoid long training sessions. The puppy’s ability to concentrate over long periods is poor, and you need to help teach him self-control. Keep training short, fun and easy. Teach in steps, like the ‘sit-stay’ - build from one second to three seconds, five seconds and so on.
· Have fun with your puppy. Play with your dog! This teaches him to focus on you and builds the association that you’re fun to be with! Playing helps build a bond with your dog too. Focus more energy into playing than walking the puppy. Playing gives the dog mental exercise, as well as, physical exercise.
· Allow the puppy breaks and rest if he looses his concentration while training.
· Slowly introduce new experiences, environments, noises, machinery, clothing, animals and people to the puppy. Take it slowly! You mustn’t put pressure on your puppy or yourself. Your behaviour dictates the behaviour of your dog. If the puppy is scared by something move away in a calm manner, do not make a fuss of the dog (this will only re-enforce the dog’s scared behaviour). Show you are not bothered and there is no need for concern.
· Never hit, shout or punish the puppy. Aggression only begets aggression.
· Toilet training. Look for the key times the puppy will go, typically upon waking, playing and eating. Pups will sniff and circle. Encourage the puppy outside into the garden. As the puppy eliminates say a word like “be clean”, this builds the association of that word to that action, so in time you’ll be able to say the word and the dog will eliminate. Once the pup has finished, praise with food reward immediately and say “good dog”, this positively re-enforces this ‘wanted’ behaviour. Don’t go inside the house straight after the pup has been to the toilet, as the puppy may learn to hold on for longer, as they want more time to explore the outside. If the pup goes to the toilet inside the house and you haven’t caught him in the act, simply clean it up with no fuss (say nothing and no eye contact). If you catch the puppy about to go or mid-flow – pick him up gently and take outside (repeat as above).
· Start grooming early. Teach your puppy that grooming is a pleasant experience. Brush him when he’s sleepy, gently touch ears/teeth/paws to enable him to get used to being investigated in these areas. This will help when he goes to the vets, or when you need to clip his claws or brush his teeth.
· Learn to communicate with your dog. Learn the dog’s language and you’ll understand each other and have the relationship you deserve. Speak to Hanne about how you can achieve this.

For more information about our 5 week puppy courses call us on 01442 878628 or email us at: info@walk-the-dog.net

Puppies – the secret to having a happy and well behaved puppy

Wild dogs raise their offspring into perfect wild dogs. So, when humans raise puppies into dogs, they run into trouble. Why?

Well, we don’t allow our puppy to get the natural upbringing they’d receive being brought up by other dogs, and we expect the dog to respect our human rules. These are meaningless to the dog, and we fail to take into consideration the dog’s age, developmental stages and its capacity. So, as a result our dog fails to meet our too high demands. This month we’ve listed below some key rules to help you and your pup on the road to success.

• Lower your expectations. In the wild dogs are allowed to grow up naturally in a pack, they learn self-control gradually.


• Adolescence. Around 4 months of age, the puppy moves into adolescence. They get bored easily and have no self-control, they like action and speed. This is where patience and consistency with your puppy is key. Set some boundaries (e.g.) is the puppy allowed on the sofa by invitation only? Is the dog allowed upstairs?


• Avoid long training sessions. The puppy’s ability to concentrate over long periods is poor, and you need to help teach him self-control. Keep training short, fun and easy. Teach in steps, like the ‘sit-stay’ - build from one second to three seconds, five seconds and so on.


• Have fun with your puppy. Play with your dog! This teaches him to focus on you and builds the association that you’re fun to be with! Playing helps build a bond with your dog too. Focus more energy into playing than walking the puppy. Playing gives the dog mental exercise, as well as, physical exercise.


• Allow the puppy breaks and rest if he looses his concentration while training.


• Slowly introduce new experiences, environments, noises, machinery, clothing, animals and people to the puppy. Take it slowly! You must not put pressure on your puppy or yourself. Stay calm. Your behaviour dictates the behaviour of your dog. If the puppy is scared by something move away in a calm manner, do not make a fuss of the dog (this will only re-enforce the dog’s scared behaviour). Show you are not bothered and there is no need for concern.


• Never hit, shout or punish the puppy. Aggression only begets aggression.


• Toilet training. This is where ‘consistency’ is your friend! Look for the key times the puppy will go, typically upon walking, playing and eating. Pups will sniff and circle. Encourage the puppy outside into the garden. As the puppy goes to the toilet say a word like “be clean”, this build the association of that word to that action. In time you will be able to say the word and the dog will eliminate. Once the pup has finished, walk up to the puppy and treat with food reward immediately and give lots of praise. This increases the repetition of the ‘good’ behaviour. Don’t go inside the house straight after the pup has been to the toilet – if you do, the puppy may learn to hold on for longer, as they want more time to explore the outside. If the pup goes to the toilet inside the house and you haven’t caught him in the act, simply clean it up with no fuss (say nothing and no eye contact). If you catch the puppy about to go or mid-flow – pick it up gently and take outside (repeat as above).


• Start grooming early. Teach your puppy that grooming is a pleasant experience. Brush the puppy when he’s sleepy, gently touch his ears/teeth/paws to enable him to get used to being investigated in these areas. This will help when he has to go to the vets, or when you need to clip his claws or brush his teeth!


• Learn to communicate with your dog. Speak to Hanne Grice about puppy training and the Amichien Bonding method – we’re here to help you. Learn the dog’s language and you’ll understand each other and have the relationship you deserve!

For more information call us on 01442 878628 or email us at info@walk-the-dog.net You can find out more about Walk the Dog Puppies, our puppy classes by visiting our website; http://www.walk-the-dog.net/