If you could choose your guardian angel (let's assume they exist), what kind of guardian angel would you choose? Would you like a mean angel who prods you, pushes you, pulls you, shouts at you, ignores you, chokes you, takes out their frustrations on you and doesn't even consider how you might feel? Or Would you … Continue reading WHAT TYPE OF GUARDIAN ANGEL ARE YOU?

It is often said that dogs need a one hour walk every day.  What I don't like about this piece of advice is that it couldn't possibly suit every dog and there is certainly no evidence to even suggest that it is true.  Somebody just made it up and it sounded right so it got … Continue reading Dogs need a one hour walk everyday, or do they?

Now, right from the get go, let's be clear.  Training can be awesome and some behaviours can be life savers, for example, emergency stop or recall.  I'm a bit of a training geek. At Uni I achieved a 100% grade in advanced dog training (I like to mention that) so I'm in no way, shape … Continue reading Be kind to your dog

It's always nice to get a freebie, well actually it's not and sometimes they go in the bin. But this freebie, sent to me by the designer and producer, Kate Mallatratt, was one of the nice ones.   It's a PickPocket enrichment feeder specifically designed for dogs.  I wasn't expecting to like it very much … Continue reading The PickPocket Fabric Food Forager and Why it’s so Good

For a while, there was a surge in the term 'Force Free'.  It was everywhere you looked.  Since then there has been quite an assault on the term with many jumping on the bandwagon of,  'there's no such thing as force free'.  I witnessed this mainly from aversive type trainers. (Aversive trainers are those who … Continue reading Is there such a thing as Force Free training?

There have been many different life stages identified regarding a dog's development and ageing process. Prenatal 0-63 days: From the moment of conception it takes just 63 days for the mother to give birth to a newborn puppy. Neonatal 0 - 2 weeks:  The Pup's eyes and ear canals are closed but he's able to … Continue reading A Dog’s Life (the stages)

There is no other animal so connected to mankind than the dog.  But where did they come from and who let them in? Shay & Mr B. The dogs' most closely related species is, of course, the wolf (Canis lupus).  Speciation most likely occurred around 15,000 - 20,000 years ago. Speciation is the splitting of … Continue reading Who let the dogs In?