Teddy Bears are often given to children in times of need, could the same practice work with your dog? Whether transitioning to sleeping alone at night, being separated from their parents or carers, or during times of discomfort or illness. Teddies and other stuffed animals have been known to soothe anxiety and offer comfort and safety to children. They are generally made of soft materials, which children love to cuddle and snuggle with, and these actions allow them to mirror

Should we be looking for ways to train our dogs NOT to do something? Or should we be seeking to understand our dogs and support them to FEEL better? We live in a 'Fix it' society. We want things to be fixed (and fast!) and we want problems to resolved or simply go away. We don't want to feel the discomfort or experience the inconvenience and irritation that challenges present for us. I think this is also true when it comes to our dog’s challenging or ‘problem’ behaviours?

What was the #1 reason you decided to bring a dog into your life? I posed this question to hundreds of fellow dog loves, colleagues, family and friends. Here are some of the responses I received, which I believe reflect the most common reasons we bring dogs into our lives, at least for most of us here: *Companionship & unconditional love. *Their sweet presence and unconditional acceptance. *I was looking for that unbreakable and unspoken bond that dogs offer and that rarely e

If you are anything like me, you likely consider your dogs as members of your family.. Although we get to choose our dogs, we don’t always know the exact personality of our dogs when we bring them home. As a puppy they take time ‘growing into’ their personality, and in the case of a rescued or rehomed dog we often only see their true personalities start to emerge after several weeks of settling into their new homes. When their personalities do fully emerge, they aren’t always

Just like hungry teenage kids need more fuel for their growing needs, so do our adolescent dogs. Feeding the Teenage Brain We often hear about all the negative effects of too much sugar and carbohydrates, however they also have important roles to play. They are the main source of energy for our body and they help fuel your brain, kidneys, heart muscles, and the central nervous system. Research shows that growth rates and brain development peak in humans around the ages of 11

Whilst I can think of at least 20 reasons why your dog won’t respond to your request, I am going to ask 5 questions here, which I believe you should be asking yourself instead of presuming that your dog is simply being disobedient. 1. Does your dog even know what ‘Sit’ means? Dogs are contextual learners. That means when they learn a new behaviour, like a sit on command, they take the entire situation as part of the learning context. That would include the dogs position (whi