Road trip with Luna Bear

It is half term here so the park was much busier than usual but Luna Bear managed so well. We saw a dog and she stood observing, desperate to play but no meerkat impersonation today :)

There were three different games of football going on and lots of children screeching and running around but she was able to observe without going over threshold. We kept it brief and moved further away as the games were coming closer and Luna would have become far too excited.

We visited a small fully enclosed area to see how she would be off lead. You can see she keeps an eye on where I am. 

We often think dogs need off-lead time to run and get more exercise but in fact, many dogs sniff more when they are off-lead.

Luna Bear was an absolute superstar, stopping to say hello in a lovely calm manner to a lady asking about her. Luna stood quietly while we chatted, observing the children in the play area.

Then back to the kennels for toy chomping and then a good snooze.

 Road trip for Luna Bear

Luna Bear and I headed out for a little road trip today to the garden centre. It was fairly quiet so we wandered around the big car park, letting her sniff and observe. 

No food is needed. We often rush to try to make all experiences feel wonderful by shovelling food down them but really, they just need to be able to observe and move on, getting used to sights, sounds and smells.

We sat down at a bench for a few minutes to let her watch all the goings on. You can see her watching someone getting into a car quite intently. No need to speak or reassure - she wasn't over aroused - just curious.

Then back to more sniffing. Even though we have only been here once before, she was far more interested in sniffing and exploring than scanning the environment. Perfect.

Time to practice a little loose lead walking while she explored the car park. No video but I did take a couple of photos.

There were a few loud bangs coming from the building next door to the car park. Luna Bear looked up and then carried on walking. She isn't worried about noises - just curious. Again, no need to shovel food down her throat or keep reassuring her as she took it all in her stride.

Then back to the car for a quick go with the snuffle mat and then back to the kennels. Once again, she was a superstar.

 A little update on Luna Bear and Murphy

Murphy has come a long way already and continues to enjoy new and novel experiences.

Another trip to the park today and you can see from the video below just how much sniffing he does. When we first started working with him, he was unable to relax enough to sniff and constantly scanned the environment. 

We saw a couple of dogs and stood for a while so that Murphy could watch before moving on and then back to the kennels for some enrichment.

Calmly observing

Someone was tired after his walk!

Luna Bear

During adolescence, the body experiences a lot of changes but it isn't just hormones. There is usually a growth spurt and much more awareness of smells and scents. Dogs can struggle to find their feet during this stage. The changes in the brain as well as their bodies can also make adolescents more easily aroused. Proprioception training can really help young dogs.

We are so lucky to have Laura of Move More Veterinary Physiotherapist on hand to help. Luna had her first experience on a wobble cushion which can help with balance and building core strength, helping dogs become more aware of where their feet are.

As always, Luna Bear was a superstar

 Luna Bear

Loose lead walking

As many of you will know Luna Bear is in kennels. She is only 1 year old and thinks the world is an incredibly exciting and sometimes worrying place. When we first started going out for walks we concentrated on getting her comfortable around passing cars.

Then we began going to quiet places like car parks and eventually to the park to practice a few skills. She has picked up the training so quickly and is a delight to go out with. Of course, she does pull a little on lead and gets quite excited and bouncy but she is now very connected with me and quite easy to manage. She will still pull quite hard to get to a smell!

If she was in a home we would start the loose lead training in the garden but she is in kennels and the walks are a real highlight for her so we need to find somewhere quiet to do short training sessions.

She loves getting out for walks and learning about the world but trying to get her to walk on a loose lead for these walks would end up being quite frustrating for her so we wait till we finish the walk and do a few minutes training in the car park area before she goes back to the kennels. Here is a little clip of what we have been up to.

As she comes alongside me and the lead is loose, I quietly say Good and place down a small treat and keep walking. This means she will come alongside me again, providing an opportunity to mark and reward again. I don't call her or try to get her to look towards me - I just wait quietly until she comes back to me and then mark and reward.  She is really starting to get the hang of it.

We do need to be really careful about holding treats in the hand - you can see what happens when she thinks I have a treat for her! Also, we place the treat on the ground rather than delivering to her mouth, simply because she would likely do a snatch and run! At this point I am not worried where she is as long as the lead is loose - after all, it is her walk, not mine and she needs to be able to be curious :)

 Mr. Murphy's spa day

Murphy has long fur and it is important to avoid matts and tangles for his health and wellbeing. During the winter months it can get very dirty and tangled so we took Mr. Murphy off for his very first spa day!

As with all things, it was important to find a force free groomer who understands dogs needs. Grooming, bathing and interactions should always be choice led. Force is just going to compound problems later on. 

We were so lucky to find TLC Grooming who really do understand dogs and make every consideration for them possible. They have custom built facilities that support those dogs who are either too large for a bath or need a helping hand due to a physical impairment or even have anxiety.

We headed off from the kennels on our short road trip. When we arrived, Murphy was able to wander off lead round the enclosed garden to sniff, pee and do any other important jobs!

Due to his long thick coat, Murphy needed quite a lot of brushing but when he needed a break he was able to move away. Of course, after short while he came back for some more.

Then time for his shower. The facilities allows dogs to walk in - no lifting and no restraining - dogs can just walk in to the shower area in their own time.

After his shower, shampoo and massage and rinse, time for a good shake off - Mr. Murphy does like to share! Plenty of treats and liver paste were available. He then enjoyed a nice towel dry.

Many dogs can be afraid of blast dryers and blowers so we took our time with him. Murphy watched me being blasted by the dryer and then I moved closer to him, eventually standing just in front so he got the benefit too. Before long, he was happy to have the dryer on him.

Next an ear clean, a trim of the long fur underneath to help keep him cleaner and time to remove a couple of matts behind his ears and another brush all over.

Murphy decided it was time for a snooze and roll around while having the blast dryer pointed towards him.

Then it was time for a little photo shoot to help him find his new home :)

 Happy New Year!

Today is a bank holiday so what better day for a road trip to a new environment! It wasn't too busy and Luna managed to take it in her stride.

She was a little more aroused today but for the most part was able to observe and sniff. We met a lovely Labrador quite close to us so we waited for them to pass. The Labrador was really interested in playing with Luna Bear and she became a little frustrated and barked once. However, she came down again so quickly and we moved on - no meerkat today which is what she used to do!

The new environment was the local High Street but as it was a bank holiday there were not too many people around. We only stayed for 15 minutes to avoid her getting too stressed. You can see from the short video clip that she pulled more on lead today simply due to the environment change.

We moved into a Church grounds to give her more distance to observe.

We saw another dog on the other side of the road. Luna looked and moved on, returning to sniffing.

Murphy

As with Luna, we decided to try a new environment and walked up the local High Street. A few people around and much narrower paths but he coped well.

Lots of nice sniffing but you can see he is much more alert than usual due to being in a new environment

We passed one dog on the other side of the narrow road and Murphy barked once and then quickly moved on - such great choices. Prior to his training he would have stayed and barked, getting himself quite worked up. 

On our way back to the park we passed two more dogs on the other side of the street which he glanced and and then went back to sniffing.

Not the best photo due to the sun but you can just about see another dog in front of the white house. We ended up walking parallel to this one and Murphy completely ignored the dog.

One of the things we talk about in the Walks Without Worry programme is the importance of going at a dogs pace and avoiding overwhelming them.

Both Murphy and Luna are working through the walks without worry type of training with me. Our new online blended programme starts on 15th January for 6 weeks. There are written materials to keep, videos to watch and 6 live online sessions with two behaviourists to guide you through the process, along with a private Facebook group where you can ask questions and post videos.

Ramsey and little Luna

Just a couple of photos of Ramsey and Little Luna having some enrichment time. We are slowly introducing touch to little Luna and holding the muzzle for Ramsey.

Little Luna

Little Luna comes into the enrichment room in a very bouncy and excited way. It looks like she is hyperactive but it is actually a little stress. After a few minutes she settles down and starts sniffing. She lets us know when she wants to go back to her kennel by sitting in front of the door - such great choices.

Ramsey