Luna 13th December 2022

Another road trip for little Luna Bear. She continues to amaze me at how quickly she picks things up. 

Ready to roll

Luna is a young girl with a puppy brain - anything and everything was exciting and new. Novelty in the environment will often trigger dogs to pull, lunge, whine, bark or even become a meerkat! Luna was at imitating a meerkat especially when she saw another dog! When out on a walk she was constantly scanning the environment and watching moving cars.

We went for a walk down a fairly busy road today while heading to the park. 

Person and their dog ahead - it looks further away than it was!

We encountered workers having their lunch by a van, diggers, vehicles and motorcycles driving by, young people on their lunchbreak from School, people walking by and other dogs. 

Barriers such as fences are excellent for parallel walking. We walked parallel for a bit and then stopped so Luna could calmly observe

Much of the work we do with dogs is a process and it is important to do the foundation work. Each dog will vary in how long they take to move forward. Luna is like a sponge with her learning - absorbing every little bit. She now knows that even though something is happening nearby, she can engage with me in predictable fun repetitive games that are simple and calming but also rewarding. She can choose to quietly observe and then pick up the game again.

Hi-Viz person walking past and Luna chooses to play the up/down game

Please note - asking a dog to sit in the presence of something they are concerned about is not helpful. However, Luna chose to do this - it is a default behaviour she has learned from her earlier life. 

We have slowly worked up to this though. Taking a dog who is worried about various stimuli into a really busy environment expecting them to cope is not the way to help them. What we often see is what appears to be a calm, "obedient" dog but in reality they are just overwhelmed and shut down.

She does so much more sniffing now, with the occasional glance up and then back to sniffing. It is so wonderful to see dogs able to enjoy their walks in a relaxed manner.

Lovely to see her sniffing, having a quick look at various stimuli and then returning to sniff

She is an amazing travel companion who loves window watching and then lies down for a snooze on the way home. Whoever adopts this girl is going to be so very lucky!

When we get back to the kennels, we have a room set up a little like a lounge so that dogs can chill and relax, just as they would in a home. This is an excellent opportunity to give dogs a break from the kennels but also helps us assess how they will be in a home environment. Luna lies down calmly and settles beautifully (well apart from that tail which doesn't stop)!

Luna had a play with her favourite toy, a rummage in a snuffle mat, some cuddles and affection and then back to her kennel for a snooze to absorb all that learning.

♥ my work :)