Article for the Citizen newspaper, for 14^th May publication 2008

I’ve met a few owners recently who lack confidence when letting their dogs off the lead. They worry that their dog will be a nuisance to others by jumping up at someone, that the dog won’t come when called, or it will run off to see other dogs that may then put them at risk of being attacked.

Due to the reports of dog attacks we hear of almost every week, dogs are increasingly seen as a liability when they are out in public. Even in rural areas, some footpath signs request dogs are kept on lead, a rule that makes me really frustrated and annoyed. To me, it is part of the responsibility of owning a dog that you allow it to be able to extend its experiences in life. It is never going to be able to do that fully without it learning to make some decisions for itself, based on what it experiences on or off lead. Those decisions have to be guided by the owner of course, and this is where good training on both parts, is crucial. A dog off lead is harder to be in control of, but it is achievable to have a happy balance where we can let our dogs off and trust that they won’t be a nuisance. It is one of the best parts of my job to help an owner gain trust in letting their dog off lead for the first time, to see their dog running free, exploring and investigating – and coming back when they are called! It’s very rewarding.

With young dogs, the longer you leave it, the harder it will become. A young dog lacks social skills and is more likely to run into problems as they don’t know the right way of doing things. They get excited seeing another dog or person ahead, and are likely to charge up to them without any care of the consequences. They aren’t able to understand another dog’s body language and can put themselves at risk of being ‘seen off’.

If a young dog has been meeting other dogs, people and children regularly throughout its first year, the meetings should have been under supervision and been controlled. The dog in training should not be allowed to get silly and overexcited with too much rushing around. It has to learn to keep all its feet on the floor. Then, the bigger it gets and more mature, the more sensible it will be when meeting others.

A word of warning to those with very young puppies: don’t let them off lead near unknown other dogs until they are at least 6 months old, even if the other dog looks friendly! Keep in mind that very young puppies are at a greater risk of being attacked as older dogs don’t know how to handle them. For most mature dogs, the only experience they have of a puppy is when they were one themselves, and this isn’t enough to help them cope with a squirming bundle that jumps all over them and lacks any social skills whatsoever.     

It is quite a skill to get a young dog on a lead past another without there being some pulling, barking or leaping about so this is another area where training will pay off.

I regularly have lessons with owners that need help with basic issues such as heel work and recall, and these are the essential starting points in making sure your dog is controllable and trustworthy whilst on a walk. Without these basic tools, your dog can quickly make walks a misery.

Together I use the dog’s I’ve trained myself, with my own knowledge and training to help teach owners how to cope in different situations. I give them the confidence and knowledge to know how to teach their dog how to behave. I use the facilities at my home to provide safe areas to build up a young dog’s experiences. Not all owners know enough ‘good dogs’ to be able to meet up with on their own, or know the areas where they can safely teach them how to behave in all manner of situations. 

Article for the Citizen newspaper, for 24^th April publication 2008

You may be experiencing difficulties in finding the right food for your puppy, or have questioned what goes into a commercial bag of dog food. Most breeders will give advice on the feeding regime they had been following, but it may not work for you or your dog when you get him home. Some pups can be good eaters, able to tolerate everything you give, others are good at first, then turn finicky and start to pick and choose what they will eat. Changing from one type of food to another in an attempt to find something he likes, can lead to a very unhappy tummy.  

Dogs need good quality protein and whether you chose to set your own menu or use a commercial brand, young dogs need a well-balanced range of essential nutrients to help sustain steady growth. Feeding too much protein however, can lead to rapid growth, which is detrimental to the joints. Puppy food can be too rich for large breed dogs, so look for one specifically designed for a developing large breed.

Commercial dog foods are there to help us feed the right things to our dogs. Yes, they are made for our convenience, but find a good ‘holistic’ brand and you should be able to trust what is in the bag. What is written on the outside is also important; the information is there to help us choose the right food for our dog.

With dried foods, check that there has been no artificial colorants added. Those bits of kibble that are green or orange, to represent the vegetable portion, is made to look that way with food colouring. Dogs don’t need this and it can make them hyperactive, along with any artificial preservatives.

Avoid a food that is made up with a lot of cereals. The only cereal you want is rice, and not too much of it. Some dogs can be allergic to rice and need a suitable substitute.

The ‘holistic’ dried foods I mentioned earlier are designed to have good quality ingredients in them and no ‘fillers’. They can cost a bit more, but I want my dogs to live healthy long lives, and I would rather pay the difference. Also, I can’t bear picking up poo that makes me feel sick to look at it, never mind the smell. I don’t want to sound like the well known Scottish health food advisor on the tv, but a good dog poo should hardly smell, be firm and easy to pick up, and not be dealt more than twice a day! 

The down side to feeding dry foods is that it can be pretty dull for the dog to eat. They also rob the body of moisture when they enter the stomach, so I always add plenty of water. Sometimes I add canned meat for picky eaters, but be careful you don’t fall into the trap of adding the ‘nice’ stuff only after your dog has refused the dry! He will soon turn into a fussy eater.

I used to feed my dogs completely on a raw food diet, with raw meat, bones and vegetables, which was time consuming to prepare, but I knew exactly what went in it. Since then, improved commercial foods are now on the market. If you like the sound of a raw food diet for your dog, you need to research it thoroughly to make sure you are giving all the correct amounts of vitamins and minerals. This diet has to be introduced very slowly – suddenly expecting your dog’s digestion to cope with a raw bone usually ends up with diarrhoea.

Don’t feel you need to be giving your dog vast amounts of food. If he regularly leaves some of it, then you are feeding too much. Some dogs are not so good at self-regulating. If your dog has lost his waistline and you can’t feel his ribs, then you are definitely feeding too much.

Exercise levels are also crucial to consider: you may walk your dog a long way but does he actually run or gallop around or just trot along? I always feed my lot according to their activity how much exercise they have had. This is the only part of information I disregard on the feeding instructions of a commercial food. The information is meant as a guide only. Look at your dog and assess his needs from his leanness and fitness.

Finally, get into the habit of always feed your puppy after play or a walk, never before. Some breeds can be prone to the gut twisting. If it is full of food and gas, it’s more likely to happen with exercise. It can be a life threatening occurrence and needs immediate medical attention.

Article for Citizen newspaper, publication 2^nd April 2008

This is the fifth article published in the Citizen about puppy behaviour and advice. To complete the series, next time I will be writing about food - what to feed and when. It will be the last in this series, but if anyone would like me to answer specific questions they may have regarding their young dog, or any other behavioural problem, write to me by email. Give as much detail as possible regarding the background of the dog plus the age, breed, spade or castrated and the specifics of the problem. I will answer via my article printed in the Citizen.

The first night for a new puppy can be a difficult time for both the dog and new owners. A young pup may cry in distress when left alone for the first time. To make it easier on him, make sure he has somewhere safe and warm to cuddle up in, such as a box or suitable high-sided bed or crate. Try to leave him several times for short periods during the day from the start and continue this so he can quickly get used to being left. Getting him used to a large crate or a restricted area can help him feel safe. Leave a radio on low volume, and a lamp or night-light on. It does make it much easier on the dog if you don’t shut the door on him; instead use a stairgate so he doesn’t feel shut in. Separating a dog from its pack can cause great stress as fear can easily become associated with it, as they feel confused and ostracised.

It is important you make this process as swift and uncomplicated as possible; it is easy to worry and fuss, going to him several times in the night which can quickly become an habit hard to break. Work out what you are going to do before you start, and have a contingency plan ready if he does cry.

It is a lot to expect a pup or any dog to cope suddenly on his own – we can’t explain to them that we will be back very soon! My golden rules when leaving a dog are:

• Always make sure the dog has had some mental and physical stimulation (i.e. a walk) but not a game where he has got unduly excited and wound up.
• Feed him before you go so he is satisfied, or even better; leave him with a portion of his daily food ration in a Kong or ball that releases food. A Kong is a large rubber toy that you can fill with meat or biscuit – for dry food prepare early by adding warm water so the biscuit swells up and takes longer to empty. Put a plug of cheese in the top to get him interested.
• Each time you leave and he gets his Kong, he will start to associate you leaving with something pleasurable.
• It is very important you don’t spend all of your time at home with your dog. Add structure to the day and use after-walk times for some R&R and alone time. Teach him to sit and stay in his bed or use a stairgate to keep him in one area. Build up the time.
• Don’t let him watch you get ready – this can create stress before you’ve even gone.
• Don’t make a fuss of him when you leave or when you return - this only accentuates the fact that you’ve been away. Wait until he is calm and then say hello and stroke him slowly and calmly.
• Encourage him to sleep away from your bedroom at night, in his own bed area. This is essential time to help him get used to being on his own, while you are at home.

Article for Citizen newspaper, publication 19^th March 2008

Many owners struggle choosing the right time to let their dogs roam free off the lead, whilst on a walk. Some dogs never actually gain the experience of being let off lead, spending a lifetime attached to their owners. It is a tricky area of training to get right and to have the confidence to do, with the worry of your dog not returning when called.

The best advice I can give for puppy owners is to start early. The longer you leave it the harder it gets, with the dog developing stronger instincts, becoming bolder and wanting to explore further and further away from you.

You don’t have to take a great leap into the unknown; do it in stages and teach your dog to come when you call, in areas where there are few distractions. Start in the garden and all around the house. Make it into a game and you will have your young dog running straight to you, just for fun…and a tasty treat. I teach a dog to come to me simply for the pleasure of coming for food and lots of praise. Always choose to practise when the dog is hungry, and always have a treat to hand so you can reward when you call.

Stand some distance away from the dog, and make a big fuss of calling his name in a high-pitched, excitable tone. Simplify the command by using his name to get his attention, then the word for recall. You can use what word you like; I simply call ‘come’. The golden rule is to have a really tasty treat ready, before you call your dog. Hold the treat in your fingers so he can see it and hold it out to your dog, whilst calling. As soon as you have his attention and he starts coming to you, start praising and keep sounding pleased and excited all the time your dog comes to you. Make him feel like he is the best dog in the world, and he will want to do it again! As soon as the dog reaches you, give him the treat, and then send him away again. Don’t worry with asking for a sit before you give the treat; this can be added later. You want the reward to be given for the simple act of returning to you. You may have to experiment with various treats until you find the one he can’t resist.

If your dog doesn’t come the first time you call, then you must make yourself more interesting than the thing that is holding his attention. Start waving your arms, sounding excited and running backwards away from the dog. You may look like a fool, but you will have the quickest recall your dog has ever done. By making it into a game, your dog will want to join in. Remember, this initial practise should start in the garden and with you hiding in various areas of the house.

If your dog repeatedly ignores you, then you must go up to him and get his attention with the treat, then run backwards encouraging the dog to follow. Don’t keep calling whilst your dog is busy ignoring you. It will simply learn that he doesn’t have to come when you ask him to.

Once out on a walk, take plenty of treats with you. Use an extendable lead or a long line of rope and practise calling your dog for a treat, at least 10 times whilst you are out on the walk. If the dog refuses to come on your first call, you can give it a tug on the lead to remind him you can do something about making him listen to you.

If your dog is prone to putting on weight, take the treat portions out of his daily food intake. A hungry dog will be easier to work with.

Article for Citizen newspaper, publication 5^th March 2008

During this series of articles about puppy training and behaviour, I’ve covered subjects such as playtimes, meeting people, mouthing, toilet training, basic behaviour boundaries and training classes. Today’s article is about teaching your pup to walk to heel and meeting other dogs.

A puppy is always learning, so he is able to learn simple obedience commands right from the start of his time with you. You don’t have to wait for training classes.

He wont be able to go outside for walks until he has had both his inoculations, but you can get him used to the restraints of a lead in the home and garden. Having your pup wear a lead around the house is a great help for when you have visitors for example, so you can restrain him and teach him how to behave with distractions. Many people who meet your puppy will not be worried about him jumping up to say hello, which is no help in training him how to do it properly. If you have him on a lead you can control him. You can help him to stay with all four feet on the ground, and even give him a treat for sitting nicely, and then take one from the visitor.

Keep lead training short, whilst aiming to get your dog’s focus on you. A few times a day in the house and then garden for 5 minutes to start with. Use small titbits to reward anytime your dog looks at you or comes to you.

Teaching consistent heelwork can be one of the hardest areas of training, mainly because a young dog has little self-control and gets easily distracted. It is also because owners let too many bad habits creep in from the start. Never, ever allow your dog, whatever age, to pull you towards anything that takes its fancy. This may seem a bit unreasonable, but believe me, a dog that has been allowed to pull its owner where ever it wants to, is a very hard habit to stop. Dogs don’t have the ability to know when is an acceptable time and when it is not, so you must be consistent with this early training. Off-lead time is when they have the chance to investigate things, not when they are on a lead.

Watch what your dog is doing so you can react quickly, and well before he has pulled the lead and your arm to its fullest extent, pull back quickly and then immediately release the tension. If he continues to rush towards the distraction, give a series of short sharp tugs until he is back by your side again. With bigger dogs, changing directions each time the dog pulls may be more beneficial. When your puppy is next to you again, get a treat out quickly and use it so you can gain control over the distraction. This is the most basic element of lead training, and has to be taught right from the very start. Always watch so you can react quicker than your dog and always praise and reward when they are back where you want them to be.

When inoculations are done and you start walking your puppy outside, remember to start with a ten-minute slot, and build up. Aim to go out at quiet times when there are few distractions such as heavy traffic or other dogs.

Unfortunately I hear many stories about puppies being attacked by older dogs. It is not always done by dogs who attack others of their own age, but can be one off occurrences, just because you are out walking a puppy. Many older dogs see a puppy as a threat. This may seem mad to us as adult dogs are generally bigger than the pup and we know a puppy is harmless. Adult dogs don’t know this though, as once they leave their own litter and grow up, most never experience a puppy again. Young dogs act silly – they bounce around, jump on other dogs, their movement is quite unpredictable and older dogs don’t know how to cope with it.

So, word of caution – only let your puppy meet others in a controlled environment such as puppy training class. Of course it is essential for his social skills to meet other dogs, but he needs to do it where he wont be at risk. Whilst out on walks, teach your dog that when it sees another, it must sit still and focus on you for a really yummy treat. Once he has a few more life skills and grown up a bit, which won’t take long, he can move up the social ladder and sensibly meet others, without being at undue risk.

Article for Citizen newspaper, publication 20^th February 2008

In this, the second article on puppy behaviour, I will be giving tips on toilet training, and information about puppy socialisation classes.

Success at teaching your dog that outside is the place for relief will need lots of patience and diligent practise. I don’t advise the use of newspaper in the house as you are encouraging the dog to go indoors. You need to get a system going where you and your pup visit the garden every few hours, or hourly for a very young pup and slowly you can start to predict when he needs to go and get him outside in time. You need to teach him that outside is the place to go for relief; a distinction must be made between outside and in.

When you go out with your dog and he starts to sniff and find his spot, give lots of verbal praise once he is going. You can repeat a word that he will learn to associate with the action; this is the start of teaching a dog to go on command. Once he has been, bring him straight back in.

Don’t leave your dog outside alone in these early months, or you won’t get the chance to praise him when he does go. He may start to find more interesting things to do out there, then come back in the house and use the floor! Don’t leave the back door open all day, even if the weather is nice as you won’t know when he has been, be able to praise him, or teach him to be able to hold on for longer periods.

If you do find the odd accident don’t tell the dog off; he will not associate going in the house with being told off, when you find it later on. If you find you are left a mess regularly, you may need to be more vigilant about how often the dog or pup needs to go. Establish a routine of regular intervals and keep the dog in one room for easier monitoring. Your regular practise during the day should help him become dry during the night, but you can also help by making sure he has not drunk a lot of water or been fed before bedtime, and by getting up early in the morning! Using a smaller crate can also help, as dogs naturally don’t like going in their own bed area.

Owners often ask me why their dog doesn’t lift his leg, and male pups wont learn to do this until their hormone level rises enough to want to scent mark. Some dogs never have the urge, especially if they are castrated very young or have no dominant tendencies.

Once your puppy has had all of his initial inoculations, you can take him out on short walks and start socialising him. Some people may not been keen to allow meetings with other dogs they don’t know, and this is wise as not all adult dogs will tolerate puppies.

Getting to know about your local dog-training club can help you and your puppy meet other dogs in a more structured environment. We are lucky in this area to have several well-established clubs, and most are happy for you to go along and watch a few sessions. Puppy classes should be well structured, short but informative. Puppies have a short attention span and you want to keep him as calm and steady as possible in these early experiences. A puppy ‘free for all’ will not help your dog learn about manners and how to meet and greet calmly, and as I’ve said before, not many adult dogs will tolerate being jumped upon by a youngster.

Try to encourage your dog’s attention on you at regular intervals, even if it’s with the help of treats. It is important to encourage a good level of eye contact with your dog during this learning process; communication between the dog and you is essential if you are to make contact with your dog when there are more interesting things going on such as sounds and smells. My next article will be about lead training and your puppies first off lead experiences.

Over the next few issues, which are published fortnightly in the Citizen, I will be writing about owning a dog from the age of a puppy.

Presuming you have already given a lot of thought to getting a dog, the work involved, the size and breed, your lifestyle and how it will effect it, you should already be thinking about how it is going to become the most well mannered, best behaved animal you have ever known!

Apart from providing the essentials such as food, water, warmth, company and mental stimulation, it is the responsibility of every dog owner to work on the long-term behaviour for the whole of the dog’s life. It should be your aim to help the dog grow into a well-balanced animal, capable of behaving appropriately and also trusting your decisions and leadership. It takes some skill and knowledge to be confident that you are making the right decisions for you dog, so if you are a first time owner, contact a behaviourist for advice.

You must start as you mean to go on, making sure that all family members are working as a team and that they treat the dog in the same way.

A puppy needs to have plenty of quiet time where he can rest safely without interruption from children. Playtime must be for short periods only and stopped before it gets out of hand with lots of frenzied rushing around or mouthing. Don’t encourage rolling and tumbling around with excess body contact, instead encourage the puppy use his brain and set up simple training games with treats for reward. This will keep him steady and he will learn some self control and to watch and learn from you.

Every puppy needs to learn the house rules and boundaries such as where his own bed is and that he is not allowed onto human beds or chairs. Even very young puppies are able to work out your weaknesses and exploit them to their own benefit.

It is very important to have a plan in mind of how you are going to add structure and discipline into the daily routine and how to tackle issues such as socialization with people and other dogs. If you live in an area where you don’t come across many other dogs and people, then socialisation classes may be beneficial. Make sure that they are properly structured and that you get the chance to visit and watch a few to help you find the right start for you and your dog.

Don’t encourage all your friends and family over to visit the new addition in the first few days. Meeting strangers can be a bit daunting to some dogs, so you need to make sure that when puppy meets someone, he goes at his own pace and builds up confidence. Don’t let the puppy come to the front door with you; it’s your job to decide who comes into your territory, not the dog. Make sure your visitor doesn’t go over to the puppy and crowd him. Give the pup plenty of time and space so he can come forward in investigate when he is ready. Encourage and reward with treats will help build up positive association. If your pup is very forward, it is important you teach him how to meet someone with all four feet on the ground and you have to be consistent with every one he meets. He needs to be calm before he greets someone, so ask your visitors around when you have time to introduce the dog correctly. Use a barrier the dog can see through to watch the new person, and wait for him be calm before you let him through.

One last thing to mention this week is how important it is stop mouthing and nipping. Puppies have very sharp little teeth until their permanent teeth come through about 5-6 months old. It will hurt if he bites or mouths you and he must understand that it does hurt and that you are not going to tolerate it at all. Stop interaction with him immediately if he starts to use his teeth. It is essential your puppy learns that mouthing and biting is not a tool to enable him to get the better of you. If you watch puppies play, it is mainly about using the mouth as a tool against their sibling, so it is important he learns he can’t do it with you. I can’t stress enough how important it is that the puppy must learn to have bite inhibition. If it is not suppressed at this early age, the dog will have learnt it can bite humans when it feels it can and has to.