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Bringing Home A New Puppy -Care and Training Tips

Sun, 17 Sep 2023 13:25:31 GMT

When you decide to bring a new puppy into your home you need to know what you are doing and what is the best for you and your new puppy.

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Training your dog to settle and chill has so many benefits including preventing separation anxiety issues.

Thu, 20 Apr 2023 12:11:35 GMT

Training your dog to settle and have an off switch has so many benefits, and can prevent issues such as separation anxiety, getting over-excited when visitors are arriving, jumping up on visitors, and taking them to a dog-friendly pub or restaurant.

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Does Castrating Dogs Make Behavioural Problems Worse?

Fri, 17 Mar 2023 14:41:26 GMT

Castrating Dogs And Behavivour

The decision to castrate a dog is a difficult one for many pet owners. It is important to understand the potential risks and benefits associated with this procedure before making a decision. In this blog post, we will explore the question of whether castrating dogs can make behavioural problems worse.

Castrating young dogs

Owners are being told by some Veterinary Surgeons, that they should be castrating their puppy at 6 months of age. The other problem is owners are told they can’t bring their dogs to doggie daycare or other similar facilities because they require the dog to be castrated after 6 months of age. Owners are then forced into a situation where they feel they do not have a choice. Every dog is an individual and some may have behavioural issues so castration isn’t always the best option for your dog.

I always tell my clients to wait until 18 months of age for small and medium dogs and up to 2 years for the larger breeds. If your dog is healthy and everything is going along nicely why even get them castrated? Do not try to fix what isn’t broken. (unless there is a health reason) Unfortunately, the other mistake some owners can make is getting their dog castrated when their dog already has behavioural issues, such as nervous reactive behaviour, humping, hyperactivity, not coming back in the park etc. only to find out later down the line their dog’s behaviour has worsened since being castration.

Dogs go into adolescence around 6 months of age, (teenage years) and their hormones are changing. This is normally the age some owners want to give up on their dog and re-home them to rescues or worse in some cases dogs can end up on the selling page’s getting passed around, or getting into the wrong hands unfortunately.

So why do dogs seem like they are doing ok in their training until they get to teenage adolescence? This is because their hormones play a big role, the increase in hormones plays a crucial role in brain development. This is why you should never rush into castrating your dog when they are coming into adolescence as this may disturb the brain development and affect behavioural and social maturity which can take up to 36 months for dogs to reach. I would recommend letting your dog mature, being patient and consistent with your training, and getting help from a dog trainer if you’re struggling with behavioural issues because rushing into castration isn’t going to fix the problem. I promise you will come out the other side if you give your dog a chance and try and understand they are going through a difficult hormonal imbalance, just like teenagers but you don’t get rid of them or put them up for adoption! Dogs also should be part of the family and are a big commitment for the rest of your life.

When your dog enters adolescence please try and stay patient with your dog and do not try and rush everything. Some dogs can become nervous or more sensitive entering adolescence or start to disengage with you and get easily distracted by other things in the environment such as the smells of other dogs. This is why I recommend using a long training line to practice your engagement training and build a bond with your dog. Letting your young dog have too much freedom and access to other dogs and people too soon can be very damaging to your dog’s training. If you do see an increase in your dog’s sensitivity, then you need to potentially quiet things down for your dog and lower the criteria. If you find your dog disengaging with you go back to some basic training exercises. Research has shown that adolescent dogs can become less responsive to their owners when in their adolescence period. This is perfectly normal so try to stay calm and chill, getting frustrated and shouting at your dog definitely isn’t going to help and your relationship can break down.

I often get calls from clients, telling me their dog has become aggressive or more fearful and reactive recently. I will always ask the question has your dog been castrated and at what age? They usually answer yes normally and they say I had him castrated about 6 months of age because we thought this would help his behaviour but his behaviour has increased and become a lot worse making him more difficult to train. Dogs with any behaviours such as fear, aggression, reactivity, or nervous behaviours should not be castrated. Testosterone is the male sex hormone produced by the testes in large amounts and by the adrenal glands in considerably lesser amounts. It helps to maintain mental strength and cognitive function so removing testosterone in an already nervous or aggressive dog may decrease their ability to cope with their behavioural problems. Castration at an early age has been linked to increased anxiety in male dogs, thus it can make some behavioural problems worse.

Conclusion

Every dog is an individual, so your dog should be assessed by a trained behaviourist to see what’s the best way to move forward with your dog. It’s sorting out the behaviour first, before rushing into castration. Far to many owners get their dog’s castrated around 6 months of age thinking this is going to solve the issues. Only to find out some behaviours have got worse. Also, it is important to rule out any medical conditions with your Vet. The other option if you are really set on castrating your dog is chemical castration because it’s only temporary and lasts between 6 and 12 months meaning that it’s completely reversible. The treatment comes in form of an implant that is injected under the skin.

Justine Shone

JP Holistic Nutrition

www.jpholisticnutrition.com

What Does Engagement Mean in Dog Training?

Mon, 06 Mar 2023 16:11:55 GMT

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Engagement is a critical component of successful dog training. It involves creating an environment where your dog is actively involved in the learning process, and it can be a powerful tool for building a strong bond between you and your dog. In this blog post, we’ll explore what engagement means in dog training, why it’s important, and how to use it to create a positive relationship with your dog.

What Is Engagement?

Engagement is the process of creating an environment where your dog is actively involved in the learning process. This means that they are paying attention to you and responding to cues or commands that you give them. Engagement can be achieved through positive reinforcement techniques such as treats, praise, or playtime. It also involves teaching your dog to focus on you and respond quickly to cues or commands. When your dog is engaged in the learning process, they are more likely to learn quickly and retain information better than if they were not engaged.

Why Is Engagement Important?

Engagement is important for several reasons. First, it helps create a strong bond between you and your dog by showing them that you are invested in their learning process. This bond will make training easier because your dog will be more likely to listen when they know that you care about them and their progress. Additionally, engagement helps ensure that your dog understands what you are asking of them so that they can learn more effectively. Engagement helps to keep training sessions fun for both of you so that both of you enjoy the experience!

What Engagement is Not

To understand engagement, it helps to understand what it is not. Engagement is not a dog who is fixated or obsessed with rewards, such as toys or food or even barking constantly to get your attention. An engaged dog wants to focus and work with you, paying attention to you no matter what you are doing or where you are together.

How Can You Get Started on Engagement Training

First, I would start in your home environment with no distractions. So, I would ditch the dog bowl for at least 2 weeks (You can always go back to bowl feeding). Measure out your dog’s daily allowance of kibble, and put it in a dog training pouch. Hand feeding is teaching your dog to focus on you, (engagement) it sounds basic but it works, especially if you have a dog who comes to get their reward and then immediately checks out. You can extend the amount of time they pay attention to you by giving rapid rewards and hand feeding. Make sure that every time your dog makes eye contact or checks in with you put money in the bank and reward them. Hand feeding can be a game changer, I know it’s not as convenient to hand feed as it is to bowl feed but this can help your dog and your relationship immensely if you have no engagement. What if you feed raw? You can get around this by feeding from an empty tomato sauce bottle with a little added water. This obviously doesn’t suit all dogs, for example, a dog that’s come from a rescue and has been starved. This can be good for dogs that are fussy eaters because they often eat better when they achieve food via alternative ways to a bowl. If you have a breed like the Labrador you will probably get away with not hand-feeding as they eat everything. Also, some dogs like to work for their food. Contra freeloading is a term used when dogs prefer food that requires effort to obtain. This means that given the choice, they would rather earn their food than be given it for free and this leaves them happy mentally fulfilled, and much more likely to behave in a positive way.

You Can Start Engagement on Your Walks

When you are out on your walk together, start rewarding your dog every time he looks up at you. Reward them right away making sure your timing is immediate so your dog understands the relationship between action and reward. If you are used to clicker training you can use a clicker and reward, or you can use a marker word such as “Yes” as your dog looks up at you, and then you can reward your dog with a tasty treat. You can also practice when walking along and then stopping, don’t say anything to your dog, wait for your dog to look back at you, and then say “Yes” and reward with a treat. Remember when you are outside you may need something of more high value than kibble, like a tasty treat, but if your dog is very greedy your kibble should work fine, especially if your hand feeding and still not bowl feeding for 2 weeks.

The Next Stage is to Use The Cue Word “Watch”

The next step is to teach your dog a cue word such as “Watch”. Once this is a learned behaviour and your dog begins to offer it, (looking at you) reward your dog for naturally looking at you and engaging with eye contact when you aren’t specifically asking for it. This can lead to an offered behaviour the more you teach and reward, this is leading to your dog watching you and offering engagement with you. Once your dog is consistently offering you eye contact you can introduce the verbal cue “watch me”. Another little exercise is say watch me and then hold the treat out to the side, as soon as your dog makes eye contact with you, reward them with a treat and say Yes.

Trick Training Games

Trick training shows your dog how much fun training can be. Training together helps your dog to understand your communication and the rewards that come with training, this also is keeping your dog focused on you. Does your dog know any tricks like spin, middle, through, or around? You can use them on your walks, tricks aren’t just for fun because they can help your dog use their brain and feel more confident and engaged with you as a handler. This training strengthens your bond and grows their drive to engage with you.

Don’t Forget Playtime

When I see a toy box in clients’ houses, and dogs playing on their own. (Not saying don’t have a toy box) I see this as another wasted opportunity to bond with your dog. Playing with your dog is also important, every dog deserves playtime. When you take the time to play with your dog, you build a strong bond. Also, remember to let him win some games every now and then to keep your dog interested and it fun.

Recall is Also Engagement.

No dog should be off the lead without a strong proofed recall, the more freedom you give your dog too soon to run around playing with other dogs, the weaker your recall will become. Always start your recall exercises on a long recall training line, I use a whistle for recall and high reward treats. The reason for using a whistle is it has no emotion (owners can panic if their dog is not coming back). Whistle travels further than your voice in bad weather conditions, and it’s transferable between family members. Dogs can react well to tones and sounds which they learn to link with an action that will deliver a reward. We all talk to our dogs, but some owners never stop and talk at the wrong times, it then becomes white noise to the dog. A gun trainer once told me the best piece of training equipment I could have in my bag is duct tape. When I asked why he said to put it over the owner’s mouth. �� This is why frequencies such as clickers or whistles can work very well for your training.

Conclusion.

By having engagement with your dog you will soon have a dog who has a strong bond with you, enjoys training, and is less stressed in new situations and environments. Engagement training is the key from day one of getting your puppy or dog. By using positive reinforcement techniques such as treats games, making sure there are plenty of playtimes involved, starting with short sessions, and being patient throughout the process you can use engagement effectively in order to create a positive relationship with your dog.

Justine Shone

JP Holistic Nutrition

www.jpholisticnutrition.com

What Do I Do With My Dog When My Baby Arrives?

Wed, 08 Feb 2023 16:55:49 GMT

Train Your Dog For Your New Arrival

The Having a baby is an exciting and life changing event, but it can also a source of stress and worry for pet owners. One of the biggest concerns is how to handle the transition when bringing a new baby into the home. After all, your dog has been your faithful companion for years and you don’t want to neglect them or make them feel they’re being replaced. Here are some tips on how to make sure your dog is comfortable and happy when the little one arrives.

Prepare your dog ahead of time

One of the best things you can do to prepare your dog for the arrival of new baby is to start getting them used to changes in routine ahead of time. Changes in the home can include, people coming to decorate rooms, moving things in rooms, new furniture arriving, baby's new stuff arriving, prams etc.
Prepare your dog in advance for the new arrival, for example, if you’re going to be using baby gates around the house when the baby arrives, then don’t wait until the last minute, prepare your dog gradually for the changes.

Baby gates can also be useful to put up around your home as a safety feature for when your baby arrives. I recommend you put them up in areas where your dog would usually have access to such as across the stairs, and kitchen, so you can separate your dog when you can’t supervise them. Being behind a baby gate is also a great way to get your dog used to being around you but not with you. This may be useful if you have health visitors, or visitors who are uncomfortable around dogs.

Crate training is also very useful to teach your dog, for so many reasons, again when you can’t supervise your dog around the baby or if you have lots of visitors. Do not forget it’s also nice for your dog to have their own chilled place where they can go to relax and sleep. (Don’t just put your dog in a crate without training them first) The crate should be a positive place for your dog to feel safe and chilled.

Routines can change, and as routine changes, it’s inevitable that your dogs will too. This can happen from early on in the pregnancy, such as the time you walk your dog due to your tiredness and sickness. To help your dog adjust to these changes you could try asking someone in the family to regularly walk your dog, from early on in your pregnancy so they can bond with your dog. Look into getting a dog walker with a good reputation and someone you trust with your dog. This can give your dog a routine when other changes start to happen around them.

Find some time in your daily routine to spend with your dog 121 doing something they enjoy, this could be playing with them, throwing a toy in the garden, or playing a game of tug. Keep up this new routine when the baby arrives, it only needs to last 10 minutes each day. This short activity will give your dog something to predict and help reduce any stress and anxiety.

Dog enrichment

Whilst your attention is focused on your new baby, it’s important to give your dog something to do to prevent undesirable behaviours such as barking, chewing, etc.
Giving your dog toys and enrichment to focus on will keep their brain active. This includes a food stuffed Kong, chews, snuffle mats, and lick mats. These types of activities can help relieve some energy levels as well as create positive associations when your dog is separated from you. I would start to practice this before you’re baby arrives, such as putting your dog behind the baby gate and giving them enrichment, or if your dog’s crate trained, putting them in the crate with a food-stuffed Kong.

Teaching your dog new training skills before the event

Useful behaviours you can teach your dog if they don’t already know them could be the following.
Loose lead walking next to the pram.
Door training, when visitors arrive, associate the doorbell with going to the crate, this can be done with a clicker and reward. It is a useful behaviour to teach your dog to go to their bed when you have your hands full.
Sit and be calm when visitors arrive, to avoid your dog jumping up on visitors.
There will be many noises and changes in your dog’s environment, including baby noises, crying, as well as loud toys. It’s important to introduce these types of noises early to stop your dog from being scared of them. You can start by playing baby noises, such as crying at a very low level (so that you can barely hear it yourself) for one to two minutes at a time whilst you are getting on with normal day-to-day activities. You can find noises such as these on many phone apps and CDs.
Be aware of any changes in behaviour or body language whilst playing them. This could be anything that is not normal behaviour for your dog such as hiding from noise, panting when it’s not hot, licking lips, or yawning.
Gradually increase the level of noise over time. You can also create a positive association with noises by giving a stuffed Kong or the occasional chew. Ideally, you won’t do this every time the sound plays as your dog may then expect food on cue whenever your baby cries, which is probably likely to be a lot!

First introductions

When you first come home from the hospital with your new baby, your dog will probably be very excited. The best way to carry out this first introduction is when your dog is tired after a long walk and play session. First, say hello to your dog without the baby in case they get excited and jump up at you. Later, the baby should be introduced in a quiet room where the dog has few associations, not a place where they usually sleep or eat. You could start by having someone else hold your baby while you spend time with your dog in another room. This will help them get used to hearing the sounds of a crying infant without feeling overwhelmed by the presence. Once they seem comfortable with that, you can start introducing them gradually by having someone else hold both, the baby and the dog while you give treats and praise for good calm behaviour (obviously don’t sit the dog next to the baby giving treats)

Supervision set boundaries.

Finally, your baby should never be left with your dog unsupervised not even for a second. It does not matter how well you know your dog, this includes all dogs, even those with an excellent temperament. This is where baby gates and crate training come in handy. If you have implicated this training before the baby arrives this won’t be stressful for your dog. Your baby will soon start crawling and toddling and it’s important for you to remain vigilant once they start to move about on their own. It is important to provide your dog with a safe place to rest and relax which is inaccessible to your baby.

By following these tips, you can ensure that both your dog and your new addition feel safe and secure in their home environment allowing everyone in the family to enjoy this exciting time together. If you are ever having difficulties get in contact with a dog behaviourist.

Justine Shone
JP Holistic Nutrition
www.jpholisticnutrition.com

What can make our dog walks less stressful, and what may have caused my dog to become reactive and stressed on their lead walks suddenly?

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 15:04:58 GMT

Walking our reactive dog.

The body For some owners walking their dog can be so stressful.

Not all dogs are the same, so what suits one dog doesn’t suit all dogs. Yes, dogs need exercise of some sort every day, whether that be scent work or mental stimulation in a quiet environment. This doesn’t mean we have to take our dogs to the local park every day to mix with other dogs, not all dogs are suited to the park environment, especially those with reactive or anxiety issues. We also can’t control what other owners are doing with their dogs. It just seems some owners are lacking in respecting other dog owners and all common sense is going out the window when people are out walking their dogs. So, this is for some dog owners walking their dogs. If you see a dog approaching on the lead please recall your dog back to you. ( If you don’t have 100% recall don’t let your dog off the lead). Don’t shout he’s friendly, he only wants to play as your dog races towards the other dog on a lead because you have no idea of the emotional state of the other dog. Please don’t approach dog owners asking to stroke their dogs on a lead, you have no right to invade a dog’s space. if you see someone training their dog, don’t make a beeline to them with your ball throwers but keep your distance. Please, owners, you must have your dog back, especially if they are nervous, many times I have to tell people don’t touch my dog when I’m out training. I’m going to think about my own dog’s needs before that person who wants to stroke my dog. We just think as owners that our dogs should accept and like every other dog and every person that comes our way. This can be very damaging to your dog’s behaviour and puts them in the same situation over and over again. I wouldn’t like a stranger walking towards me and trying to stroke my head.

What could be some of the causes of why your dog has suddenly started being reactive/nervous on the lead?

This is something I get asked a lot from owners.

Again going back to reading the information above I have given you so far it won’t help your reactive dog by putting them in the same situations constantly. Many dog owners are struggling on walks with their dog’s reactive fearful behaviour. So, let us look at some scenarios that could be contributing to your dog’s reactive behaviour on the lead. Again this is not pointed toward all dogs, remember every dog is different and some have different needs, and your dog may be well-balanced and has no issues with parks or dog daycare. One of the problems is you letting your dog off the lead every day in the local park to run wild like adrenaline junkies and play with dogs they don’t even know. Can you as a dog owner read your dog’s body language and is their play mirrored happy? Do you have 100 % recall? When your dog is playing with other dogs are they spending more time on their back or getting bullied by other dogs, or trying to avoid other dogs? Are you taking your dog to doggy daycare? Again not all dogs are suited to this environment and this could be making your nervous and reactive dog worse because they can become overwhelmed very quickly. Owners will say he’s tired when he comes home from doggy daycare but in some cases, this can be due to them being stressed out all day and not getting any chill time away from other dogs. If you need a doggy daycare, find one that offers individual care and an environment that is tailored to your dog’s needs for your nervous reactive dog. They should have trained staff that understands dog’s body language, the last thing you want is your dog getting bullied all day by other dogs.

Another common question.

My dog goes to dog daycare and socialises with dogs all day, but when I go for walks with him on the lead, he’s started being reactive towards other dogs but he’s ok off the lead. Another common problem if we think about it logically is that your dog has been so used to running free in the local park with other dogs or in doggie daycare hanging out with dogs all day, with no boundaries just doing what dogs do like playing or possibly getting bullied constantly.

So, you as an owner then put the lead on your dog to go for that relaxing walk, but your dog has been used to freedom and running up to whatever dog whether that be in the park or doggie daycare.

For example, you’re out walking your dog on the lead and see a dog approaching you, your dog starts getting overwhelmed because he can’t get to that dog because he’s on his lead, and your dog’s been used to going over to dogs when he wants to. So, this is where your dog’s reactive behaviour can start to kick in, he’s hit the end of the lead feeling pressure, and he’s gone to the next level barking and lunging at the other dog through frustration. So, it’s not always aggressive behaviour, it’s more likely frustration. In some cases, you may have a very nervous dog on the lead, and when it hits the end of the lead they want to take flight because remember when dogs are free in doggy daycare or the park environment they can remove themselves without the restriction of the lead. Owners have said to me yes he has got worse on the lead since going to doggy daycare but I didn’t connect it to his behaviour.

The other problem that can occur is in doggy daycare they will insist after six months your dog is castrated, I totally understand why they ask you to do this, but for some dogs castration isn’t a good idea for your already unbalanced nervous dog that has behavioural issues. Unfortunately, fear-based aggression is often made worse after castration due to a fairly rapid drop in blood testosterone, the very hormone that was keeping them self-confident and relaxed in the presence of potentially threatening situations. So, putting some dogs in this environment daily will certainly make your nervous or reactive dog worse.

How to teach your reactive dog to be calm and walk nicely on the lead, you need to practice in a quiet environment. Dogs cannot learn new skills when they are overstimulated and distracted. I would start in your home environment and work on your engagement with your dog as this is especially important. Engagement is everything, this means your dog should be focused on you and not on other dogs and people in the environment. You can use treats or your dog’s favourite toy to work with.

Try to vary your dog’s daily routes to the park. If your dog drags you to the park, he is learning how to access these things and it is self-rewarding for him but this is not helping your engagement training or your lead walking.

For example, you can start lead walks in your home environment. If your dog pulls the second you walk out the door, then bring him back in again and practice in the house. Then when you think your dog is improving, try again with the front door open and practice in and out. The next step is down the path to your gate, this is a mental exercise and it is just as tiring as physical exercise. Also, don’t let the lead be a trigger for excitable behaviour, dogs should learn to be calm when the lead comes out for a walk. Randomly through the day pop the lead on your dog and take it off again, the lead shouldn’t always mean going for a walk and excitable behaviour, this is not a good start for your walk.

Exercising your nervous reactive dog.

You can provide physical exercise in other ways. Put your dog in a car and drive them somewhere quiet, so they can do some sniffing and exploring because this is so relaxing and calming for reactive dogs. You could hire a field that is safe and enclosed. Provide your dog with plenty of enrichment games or puzzles. Even just finding a quiet spot when you’re walking and sitting down with your dog so they can watch the world go by at a safe distance. I love doing this with my dogs. If you find waking your dogs is not helping improve their behaviour or mindset, a couple of decompression days isn’t going to hurt, while you focus on implementing a clear training routine that you can enjoy with your dog. Please get help from a dog trainer if you are struggling.

All dogs can go through periods of high stress, this is normal and sometimes unavoidable because it’s part of life, but we as owners can try help not to keep putting our dogs constantly in the same situations over and over again. Remember when cortisol enters the body due to constant stressful events, it can take up to 72 hours for levels to return to normal. So, please take this into account with your dog’s training. Walking our dogs doesn’t have to be stressful if we pick the right environments and training methods for our dogs.

Justine Shone

JP Holistic Nutrition

www.jpholisticnutrition.com

The flirt pole exercise for dogs helps you bond to your dog

Sun, 21 Aug 2022 16:37:46 GMT

Exercise to help you bond with your dog

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Nervous and reactive dogs on walks

Sat, 09 Jul 2022 12:29:12 GMT

How to help a dog that is nervous or reactive on a walk

Helping nervous reactive dogs on walks.

The first thing to remember is that your dog is not giving you hard time, he’s having a hard time coping. Dogs can be reactive to many things such as dogs, people, cars, cyclists, and joggers.

This behaviour can be so stressful for owners, they can get to the point of not wanting to go out for a walk because they feel embarrassed. Some owners with reactive dogs will end up resorting to extremes, such as walking at one or two o’clock in the morning to avoid whatever it is that triggers their dog. Although this may be ok short-term, it is not much of a life for either you or your dog.

Will my dog grow out of this behaviour?

This is very unlikely, what may happen is they will get progressively worse, and another dog or person could get hurt as a result. If you are struggling, I recommend you find a dog behaviourist to help you. Remember every dog is different and you will need to set out a training program with your behaviourist to follow. 121 training is the best way to start, training classes are not the place to try to sort things out. Ask a vet to give your dog a physical check-up, as pain and hypothyroidism are frequent factors in reactive behaviour. Low grade discomfort can cause even the nicest natured dog to become short tempered and intolerant.

If you are feeling really nervous about taking your dog out on your own, ask a family member to walk with you. The presence of another person can have a calming effect on you and your dog. Please choose someone who is calm. If you have a large dog the other person can attach the lead to a side ring on the harness to help keep him in the middle, only one person should guide the dog though otherwise, it gets confusing for the dog. This can also help with very nervous dogs.

De-stress before going for a walk, this is really important adopting the right frame of mind. Your dog may be the one with the problem, but you can easily accentuate it if you are not careful. By feeling tense and anxious and expecting the worst, your dog will quickly pick up on your nervous energy and will start actively looking around for the cause of your concern. When your dog starts to react to a trigger, some owners behave reactively themselves shouting at him and pulling on the lead, but this only reinforces the behaviour. It is really hard to remain calm sometimes, but it’s essential. Try before your walk to do some deep breathing techniques. Breathing is really important as when you’re feeling anxious you are likely to take shorter more rapid breaths, which your dog will notice, and this creates tension in your posture. Doing some breathing exercises can be very calming. Listening to calming music, meditation, leave drinking the bottle of wine till you get back home ��just kidding.

De-stressing your dog before you go out for a walk.

Play a game with your dog such as a flirt pole to burn off some energy but remember after flirt pole to bring your dog back down again with some relaxing enrichment like a snuffle mat, or stuffed food Kong for half an hour. Do not let your dog sit in the window barking at passing dogs and people because this won’t help your dog on his walk to stay calm.

Avoid confrontation.

Although training your dog how to cope with things he’s scared of is likely to form an important part of remedial work, it needs to be done gradually, introducing the triggers very carefully in controlled environments with the help of a dog behaviourist. Choose quiet environments to walk in so it is not overstimulating, keep your distance from things likely to promote reactive behaviour or extreme nervousness. It is important your dog still gets exercise as a lack of it can increase undesirable behaviours and increase frustration. Do not be letting your dog off the lead while you are working with this behaviour and have no recall on your dog. If you want to let your dog free run, look at hiring a safely enclosed paddock.

Keep everyone safe.

If your dog is known to bite other dogs or people be responsible by using a muzzle to ensure the safety of your dog and other dogs around. If your dog nips or bites someone it does not matter that he was scared, they could be taken away and destroyed. So never allow your dog off the lead if you cannot guarantee manners around other dogs.

Owners will feel mean using a muzzle but knowing that they cannot bite can take some pressure off and help you feel more confident, as a result, you will be calmer and more relaxed when walking, this then has a positive influence on your dog’s behaviour. Choose a very bright coloured muzzle that makes it more visible to owners from a distance, they are more likely to give you a wide berth avoiding any unwanted confrontations. You must introduce the muzzle properly and slowly using reward-based training.

Equipment.

Use a front clipped harness, the ring is on the chest and the other ring is on the top, with double-end clip training lead. Using two points of attachment on the harness makes it easier for you to contain your dog and control his body lunging forward. With some dogs just using a collar can increase the state of arousal as well as increasing the risk of injury to the neck.

Try to avoid being in places where loose dogs can run up to yours, but if it does happen, training your dog the stand behind you exercise can be helpful. You must take control if your dog has not learned to the stand behind you exercise, use your body as a buffer between him and the other dog.

Engagement training.

Train your dog to look at you instead of what is making them nervous. Start in your home environment with no distractions so your dog is calm and can learn, try a couple of mini sessions each day to keep it up to scratch. To start have a treat pot behind you, do not have your hand in the treat pot because you do not want your dog just focused on the treat pot. You can use a clicker or make a click sound with your mouth, make the click sound when your dog looks at you, reach into your treat pot and reward your dog. You will need to do about fifteen repetitions, so your dog is realising this sound means to look at you and a reward is coming his way. This is a good exercise to train your dog to check in with you when you are out on your walk. When you are approaching any triggers that make your dog react, this helps them to focus on you. Make the click sound, when your dog looks back at you and reward him, you can even do a shower of treats on the floor to keep your dog’s attention longer. It is a wonderful way for your dog to learn that he can make good things happen by looking at you, also wonderful things happen when he sees scary triggers. Some dogs like toys such as a tug rope, so you can even train your dog to invest in this toy as a distraction.

Slacken the lead.

Being on the lead limits your dog’s options, he cannot flee, so he is forced into a defensive position if he sees or meets anything he views as scary or threatening. Keeping up constant tension on it will make him feel more restricted and will increase the likelihood of him being reactive. So how you manage your lead is important. Hold it in a relaxed manner, this really helps if you have already trained your dog to walk nicely on the lead. Spend some time training your dog. Do not have your dog on an extendable lead.

Be calm and positive.

Do not tell your dog off if he growls, stopping the behaviour will not stop him from being reactive, but it will mean that you get a warning beforehand that he’s unhappy about something. Avoid shouting, shaking, smacking or any physical punishment, as this can trigger a more violent response. Clicker training can be helpful as it allows you to reward your dog for calm non-reactive behaviour.

Weather.

Reactive dogs can be even more sensitive to different climate changes, such as sudden gusts of wind which have been known to agitate some dogs. High winds can also send unfamiliar smells to dogs which can make them stressed, and rain is much louder for dogs who can hear things with more amplified volume than humans. Rain can increase stress, fear, and anxiety. So please remember to take this into account. These would not be the best times to train your reactive/nervous dog.

Enrichment on walks.

This activity is natural for dogs, and it also tires them out. However, humans forget the importance of this activity since humans experience the world so much through sight and little through smell. Sniffing is one of the great benefits dogs enjoy so remember to stop sometimes let your dog do some stimulating sniffing because it can be very calming for them. Provide mental stimulation when you get home from your walk, there is a great number of enrichment puzzles toys for dogs.

Teaching your dog hand touch target training.

Choose a room in your home with no distractions and have treats available. Open your hand and hold it with your palm open, start off with your hand in front of your dog with your fingers pointing down. When your dog sniffs your hand wait for your dog’s nose to make contact with your palm. As soon as your dog does touch your hand with their nose mark this behaviour with a word like “Yes” and immediately reward him. Keep repeating the exercise until your dog is consistently and purposefully touching its nose to your open palm. Once your dog is understanding this exercise you can add your verbal cue “Touch” and reward him for doing so. If your dog is not responding remove your hand and then present your hand again. Practice this exercise for several weeks until your dog has strong reliable “Touch” in many locations. Practice for 5 minutes twice daily every day and be consistent. When your dog is understanding you can start to practice the “Touch” on your dog walk. Target touch can help your reactive dogs on a walk by giving them something else to focus on.

Some dogs may need extra help alongside the training, we at JP Holistic Nutrition have some calming supplements that are natural.

https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com/collections/calming

Justine Shone

VIP Dogs

https://liverpooldogtrainingvip.com

JP Holistic Nutrition

https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com

Nervous and reactive dogs when visitors arrive at your home

Mon, 27 Jun 2022 14:14:31 GMT

How to treat nervous dogs when the doorbell goes.

The door is the epicentre of some common nuisance behaviours in some dogs, when they have not been trained correctly, resulting in unwanted barking, jumping up on visitors, and reactive-nervous. With positive training and a little patience, these behaviours can be improved and potentially eliminated.

Some dogs can be nervous when visitors arrive at your door. If your dog is nervous about visitors, then it is almost understandable, it is their home and they didn’t invite a complete stranger to come into their home. Having people come over can be overwhelming for your dog and scary depending on your dog’s temperament, so it is the owners’ responsibility to do the training, so your dog has more confidence. In some cases, it is not always a simple fix, especially if your dog has reacted in a certain way for a long time. If you are struggling, then I would recommend getting help from a dog behaviourist to put a plan in place to ensure you are reacting and rewarding in the correct way.

If your dog is extremely nervous and reactive in the short term, I would use a baby gate or a barrier to separate the dog from the front door, this will not replace your training, but it helps while you are working on this behaviour. Always leave a pot of treats by your front door to hand to your visitors when they arrive, ask them to toss the treats towards your dog, and never hand feeding because this only puts more pressure on your dog. Your dog will soon learn that when visitors arrive at your home this is extremely rewarding as they receive tasty rewards, and it helps to build their confidence. If your dog stops barking and starts to relax, then tell your visitors to throw more treats toward your dog to reinforce the calm behaviour.

Ask your guests to ignore your dog completely, this includes not talking to your dog or trying to pet your dog. Your dog can become fearful if the visitors come straight in at them. Ask your visitors to only interact with your dog when your dog has walked over to them calmly, this normally happens when everyone is sitting down, and everything is a bit calmer. Do not allow your visitors to follow or force themselves on your dog to come over to them. Never force your nervous dog to stay too close to the source of fear, and do not punish your dog for barking as this will only make your dog more anxious.

Go slowly when exposing your dog to your visitors. The first step to your visitor’s arrival is to keep your dog at a good distance (behind a baby gate if your dog is extremely nervous), remember to only reward when your dog remains calm, and do not force your dog to continue if they are unhappy. Keep continuing with rewards when they remain calm.

Your aim with the training is to have your dog in a relaxed position when visitors arrive such as the settling exercise because this is teaching them to be calm and happy. By teaching them how to settle this becomes their safe haven as a comfortable place that your dog associates with wonderful things happening, and you can use this as a training tool. (Here is my link for setting exercise ).

Provide other distractions that are more interesting such as puzzle toys, stuffed or frozen Kongs filled with treats, or even your dog’s dinner in a Kong. Begin to rehearse this training before the actual event of your visitors arriving, ask a friend or a neighbour to help you with door training. Ask your helper to always ignore your dog unless your dog walks over to them calmly and seeks attention. Then have your helper go outside and repeat the exercise. If you are practicing the door training with a nervous dog start off with a light training line on for safety.

Tips.

If you have visitors that do not listen to your instructions and carry on trying to fuss your dog, and you can see that your dog is getting more nervous, barking, and reluctant towards your visitors then I recommend putting your dog away, behind the baby gate, or in another room, away from the noise and confusion, Give them something to chew on or a stuffed Kong, and give them time to calm down. This is not time out or punishment because he has done nothing wrong, it is just your visitors are not listening, and you are going to undo all the good training time and effort you have put into your dog.

Some of the body language indicators of fear and stress to look out for. Barking, reluctance to investigate when approached by visitors, freezing in place and slow, cautious, and calculated movements indicate unease. Your dog might be on high alert and easily startled. Some dogs might progress to aggression to defend themselves in the face of a perceived threat. Hackles are raised hairs standing along the top of your dog’s back. Ears pinned backward could mean submissiveness or fear. A low or tucked tail between the legs usually shows a fearful or submissive dog. The tail may be wagging or moving, this is just a signal that the dog is excited and anxious. Whale eye, this happens when the dog is afraid to look at you, so he will actually turn his head the other way, at the same time he is not sure he should take his eyes off you, so with his head pointing away from you, he will try to look at you! It is called whale eye because you can see the white of their eyes, dogs that have this are afraid and feel threatened.

Justine Shone

JP Holistic Nutrition

https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com

Reactive dogs, causes and treatment

Fri, 10 Jun 2022 10:36:04 GMT

Treating your reactive dog

A reactive dog is one who behaves inappropriately (in our eyes) to a particular situation or a stimulus. If your dog is aggressive to other dogs, hates strangers or copes badly with certain situations, dog trainers would potentially describe them as a reactive dog.

Reactivity in dogs comes in many different shapes and forms. At the top end of the scale, it manifests itself as barking, lunging and even biting. But there is also whining, hiding, shaking, panting, pacing, hyperexcitability and worse, shutting down completely. Some dogs are extremely specific in what triggers reactivity – men with beards, large dogs (but not little dogs), bicycles (but not skateboards). Others are just generally fearful, anxious, or frustrated, but there can be many reasons why they are reactive.

Why are dogs reactive?

To attempt to help a reactive dog, you need to understand what drives their behaviour. The reasons for canine reactivity vary enormously, but the physiology and psychology are similar. And funnily enough, the brain activity in reactive dogs is similar to that in anxious people.

Dogs, like us, have brains and bodies that are programmed for survival. They learn through experience and by association. This is why reward-based dog training works so well – the dog’s brain learns to associate certain behaviours with the feel good factor. Once that behaviour is embedded in the brain, it becomes automatic. The dog will do it without even thinking about it.

We call that creating a neural pathway. It is like an information superhighway in the dog’s brain so that as soon as a trigger or a cue is detected, the brain sends messages to the body to initiate a behaviour.

How to reward-based dog training work.

That association works the other way too – if a dog’s brain associates an external stimulus with danger, fear, or excitement, it will automatically trigger a response in the brain. That response will be either determined by your dog’s experiences and may result in a fight or flight reaction, depending on the dog’s temperament and on past experience. When your dog reacts to a trigger, he/she is not always making a conscious decision, all this activity happens in a part of the brain to aid survival. Once a neural pathway is in place the reactive behaviour is often practised which makes it stronger and stronger over time and that’s when owners describe an explosive behaviour occurring.

What can cause a dog to become reactive?

There are too many possibilities to cover in one blog, but here are a few of the most common reasons for reactivity.

Poor breeding: The stress hormone cortisol can pass through the placenta from mum to the pup before the puppy is even born. Puppies from puppy farms often have very distressed mothers. The poor things are born with the potential to be more stressed or reactive later in life.

Lack of socialisation: I cannot stress enough the importance of introducing young puppies to a multitude of items, places, people, animals, and situations. This must be done sensitively, without making the pup anxious and it must be started before the puppy is 4 months old because that is when the brain is most receptive to new experiences. However, most of the work should be carried out by the breeder before the puppy comes to your home. The importance of finding reputable breeders with comprehensive puppy rearing plans is especially important.

Pain: Training your reactive dog always starts with a thorough vet check. If a dog is in pain, of course, it will be more reactive. Aren’t you more sensitive when you feel unwell? If it is an accident that caused your dog pain in the first place, he or she may become reactive to an object, an animal or a place associated with the accident. For example, being bitten by a big dog may make your pet reactive to all big dogs – not just the culprit. Being squeezed too hard by a well-meaning stranger can induce a weariness in new people.

Fear of the unknown: This is a side shoot of socialisation. A dog that is suddenly thrust into a different environment, confronted with a new species of animal, or surprised by a loud noise will learn to associate unknown things with fear if this is not carried out sensitively and with support to your puppy or dog. Training your dog to be obedient and resilient is especially important.

Unkind treatment: A dog who has been beaten or berated in the past will come to associate people with pain. Old fashioned training methods were incredibly unkind to dogs and are potentially responsible for many behavioural problems. Even something as seemingly simple as shouting at a sensitive pup who has urinated on the floor can cause significant stress and distrust in their caregiver making them feel vulnerable at a time, they need the most support.

How to help reactive dogs.

My job as a dog trainer is to help reactive dogs. Working with their human family, I use training methods to slowly retrain their brains. The aim of the training is to, first, identify the triggers (there are often more than one). And then teach their brain that it does not need to fire up the body’s fight or flight mechanisms every time that trigger appears on the horizon.

In other words, I am learning about the neural superhighways in your dog’s brain and re-training the little grey cells to create an alternative route. The aim of the training is one of two things. What we want to happen is either:

The subconscious brain notices and then ignores the trigger that would normally cause a reaction, or the subconscious brain gives that trigger a different meaning, such as that item X is over there but it’s not a danger to me.

Please be aware though that just like creating a diversion in our road systems, the original superhighway will never be deleted. Your dog’s experiences will always need to be carefully managed otherwise he or she could quickly revert to reactivity.

The first way to help a reactive dog, once the vet has confirmed there is no physical reason for the behaviour, is to reset their internal stress management system. I usually recommend a complete break away from all triggers. That might mean restricted walks for a few weeks, or even no walks at all. I call this a cortisol holiday.

Replace the walks with lots of mental stimulation at home.

Then very carefully and with the help of a qualified dog behaviourist who will help you with a tailored plan to associate more positive emotional responses with the things that were once a problem to them. For example, if your pooch is dog reactive, they are probably never going to want to be surrounded by other unknown dogs day in and day out, but we can teach them that there’s no need to go on the attack.

Training for reactive dogs.

Training a reactive dog requires patience, time and very careful management. I cannot emphasise enough that dog training classes are not the right place for a reactive dog. There is just too much for them to cope with all at once. They won’ “get used to it,” and the problem will just get worse. Bringing a reactive dog to training the classes is the equivalent of emptying a box of spiders into the lap of an arachnophobe!

Training for reactive dogs should always be done in a calm and controlled environment. It is very much tailored to the individual. Some reactive dogs might be able to progress to join something like a scent work class. This is a long-term goal however and not a starting point.

Your dog’s diet is especially important, and I recommend raw feeding, not commercial dog food.

Training your dog on how to settle and switch off can be hard for reactive dogs.

Justine Shone

JP Holistic Nutrition

https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com

Dog allergies and their therapy

Thu, 09 Jun 2022 13:43:33 GMT

Many dogs suffer from allergies.

Do you have a dog with allergies?

There are more and more dogs suffering from allergies. Some causes include environmental substances, grass pollen, mould, dust mites, chemicals, cigarette smoke, medicines and more. Food can be another allergen and accounts for 10% of all canine allergic reactions. Specific proteins, grains, additives, and other ingredients account for even more allergy issues.

These allergens are real troublemakers. A perfectly content pooch can become itchy, inflamed, have an upset stomach, irregular bowel movements or a host of other issues in no time when an allergen is encountered. Unfortunately, just like humans, a good percentage of dogs develop some sort of allergy, this can become a mind field trying to find the underlying cause of what your dogs are allergic to and very costly visits to the vets. Many experts believe up to 20% of all dogs will develop allergies over their lifetime and the typical time of onset is between 1 and 2 years. Itching, licking, biting, rubbing, chewing, and gnawing normally cause secondary infection if they keep scratching and biting the same area.

One drug for itchy dogs that have normally been dispensed increasingly frequently in the last few years, on the basis that it was thought to be a safer alternative to steroids is Apoquel. The problem as we see it is that any medication designed to suppress the body’s natural, inflammatory pathways must also limit the immune system’s ability to fight off pathogenic organisms and protect against cancer to a greater or lesser degree. And so, we have always advised caution with regards to using any of these drugs preferring instead to help pet owners find natural solutions for easing skin problems and supporting the development of a more balanced, less reactive immune system over time.

Key points to note.

Labelling now states that Apoquel modulates the immune system. New neoplastic (cancerous) conditions have been observed, these include skin masses including warts and histiocytomas, lymphoma, and other tumours.

Apoquel may increase the risk of infections.

Side effects which have been previously reported include vomiting, lethargy, anorexia, diarrhoea, elevated liver, enzymes, dermatitis, seizures, polydipsia and demodicosis

So, what if I told you JP Holistic Nutrition could test your dog with Bioresonance allergy testing using a small hair sample that you post to our laboratory. It is a non-invasive therapy that uses a device that captures and identifies electromagnetic signals coming from the body. It was developed in the 1970s by a team of medical doctors and biophysicists and these devices are in regular use throughout Europe and the world. Bioresonance therapy we can get to the root of the problem and test your pet and see what your pet is allergic to.

For more info on JP Holistic Nutrition Bioresonance therapy.

Email Dr Paul Boland at sbtvet@aol.com

Contact number 07961790249

Let sleeping dogs lie

Thu, 09 Jun 2022 13:30:24 GMT

Puppies and dogs need their sleep.

Puppies and dogs need a place in the home to sleep and learn how to chill and switch off. I often get calls from clients about puppies being over excited, mouthing and biting their owners. Their owners do not know what to do in this situation. In some cases, I arrive at the client’s house and do not see anything set up for the puppy, such as a playpen, a crate or its own bed. They can have over-excited young children running around and thus sending the puppy over its threshold. Lack of sleep in puppies and adult dogs can lead to behavioural problems, such as hyperactivity, them being unbalanced or unfocused and it can also lead to health problems. This is why I like to teach puppies and adult dogs the settle exercise and invest in enrichment for relaxation. It is important to remember that if you are sending your puppy or dog to a day care centre, make sure that there are rest periods and your puppy or dog are not kept 10 hours in action, whether they want to or not because this can be very damaging.

Puppies are little bundles of energy; they usually sleep 18-20 hours a day. Sleep is essential to healthy growth, contributing to the necessary development of the central nervous system, brain, immune system, and muscles. All that sleep also helps your pup rest up during growth spurts.

Tips for helping your puppy get daytime sleep.

Leave your puppy undisturbed if sleeping for extended periods of time. It is hard to resist cuddling them and letting them fall asleep on your lap, but you do not want them to be dependent on you to fall asleep. You want to set them up to be a confident puppy for later on in life. Household members, including children, should learn to leave your puppy alone while they are sleeping, but be sure to keep an eye on them because when they wake up, they will need to be taken outside for toilets.

Show your puppy where to sleep.

If your puppy seems drowsy, encourage them to nap in their safe place such as a puppy pen/crate or their dog bed, just somewhere that they can nap undisturbed. It may take time for them to get the idea, but eventually, they will recognise that spot as their place to sleep.

Follow a schedule plan during the day so that active time is followed by a quiet time for sleep. They will most likely be ready for a nap after playtime or a walk. Your puppy may nap every hour or so, sleeping from 30 minutes to as long as two hours is perfectly normal.

Recognise overtired behaviour.

No matter how much fun you are having, do not let them get overtired. Too much stimulation and exhaustion can lead to unfortunate behaviour. Guide them to their crate or sleeping place and encourage them to wind down.

Justine Shone

JP Holistic Nutrition

https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com

Feeding and Enrichment for Dogs

Thu, 09 Jun 2022 09:59:16 GMT

Ditching the feeding bowl.

What does ditching the dog bowl mean?

Instead of feeding your dog in a bowl, use the food in other ways to help you with your training and enrichment. You can ditch the bowl with all ages and breeds, including puppies.

Why bother to ditch the bowl?

Food has an immense value to most dogs, and you can use this value to improve your dog’s life. By gaining food by different methods other than from a bowl, they can learn faster, be mentally stimulated and have a more enriched life.

Contra freeloading is a term used when dogs prefer food that requires effort to obtain. This means that given the choice, they would rather earn their food than be given it for free and this leaves them happy, mentally stimulated, and much more likely to behave in a positive way. Contra freeloading is real, it happens with many animals, not just dogs and it is a desirable behaviour to mature.

Fussy eaters often eat better when they achieve food via alternative ways to a bowl. They gain more interest in the food and consequently, they can also become easier to train. Dogs on limited exercise such as following injury or surgery massively benefit from receiving their food via methods other than from their bowl. This is due to being kept occupied for longer periods, plus the contra freeloading effect helps them to use their brains.

How often should I ditch the bowl?

The answer to this is whatever works for you! Some people never use the bowl but instead use all the daily food allowance for training and enrichment activities and some ditch the bowl a couple of times a week. There are no exact requirements, so you can fit it into your individual circumstances and even change it week to week.

In general, though, the more that you can do it the greater your training results will be and you should see more of many other benefits too. Dogs that earn their food are often calmer, more content and less likely to display unwanted behaviours.

What if I feed Raw?

You can still ditch the bowl! Whether you use kibble or raw, all dogs benefit from this approach. Kibble can be easier for training but there are ways around this for raw fed dogs. You can use dried meat, fruit and vegetables, squeeze tubes (empty tomato sauce bottle to put the raw meat in with a bit of water), feed from a spoon or use a washable pouch and wear gloves.

Enrichment feeding your dogs.

You can use a snuffle mat indoors or just literally scatter food on the floor. Outside you can scatter food on the short grass, to begin with, then once you have a pro sniffer dog, try it in longer grass too.

Vary the difficulty and always make sure some of the food is easy to find. Observer your dog to make sure that they are finding all their food but leave them to search for it for themselves. Scatter feeding can be used on walks and when out on a day trip, you can reinforce calm behaviour in new environments including the pub.��

Interactive toys.

There are lots of toys that dispense food slowly and require your dog to make an effort to receive it. Kong wobbler can be used for training or play.

Justine Shone

JP Holistic Nutrition

https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com

Festive Christmas with family and dogs, a few tips!

Mon, 06 Jun 2022 14:15:09 GMT

Christmas and Dogs.

The Festive period is upon us again and what an amazing time of year to be with your family and your dog who is obviously part of your family. Just like bonfire night it is a good idea to start planning now for your dog, for example your dog may be nervous when visitors arrive and go over their threshold. So, what can we do as guardians to help our dogs to be calm in situations that could be overwhelming? We all know that when we have friends or family coming over, someone in the family will get your dog over excited and they will say things like “we don’t mind” as your dog is bouncing off the walls. So, if you have been practising dog training with your dog to be calm when visitors arrive this will not be in your dog’s best interest. It is time for you to intervene and remove your dog from this situation so that your dog can calm down. I would have some enrichment food puzzles ready for your dog in these situations, such as a stuffed Kong or a snuffle scent mat. Prepare your freezer with frozen enrichment food puzzles so, that it lasts longer for your dog. Start getting your dog used to spending some time on their own, whether that be on their own bed, in their crate if they are used to going in a crate and happy to settle and chill. Practice calming exercises leading up to Christmas, (I have a blog on our website called settling exercise) for example if your dog takes themselves off to their bed drop a few treats into their bed, every time your dog practices this behaviour reinforce it with a treat, your dog soon learns that this is a good place to be

.

We all know at this time of year, some dogs can end up in the vets because they have had food that is toxic to them, or they had too much left over Christmas dinner or dog stocking treats. Your dog may have counter surfed all the foods your dog would not normally get, and this can lead to your dog becoming sick. Make sure that your food is not in reach so that your dog cannot have access to it. Try and stick to your dog’s normal diet over the Christmas period and if you are going to give them treats give them natural ingredient treats only, let us not spend time at the vets. It is a clever idea to have in supplements for diarrhoea. Use a probiotic that contains prebiotics that probiotics (the beneficial bacteria in the gut) use for energy and bentonite clay. Bentonite clay mops up intestinal toxins so it is good for poisoning, and it absorbs water, so it is also good for diarrhoea. We have these products on our website, here is the link https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com/collections/digestion

Some dogs may benefit from a calming supplement when you have lots of people visiting. If you know that your dog can be nervous do not wait for Christmas Day to use the calming supplement, start using it at least a week before Christmas. We at JP Holistic Nutrition have natural calming supplements for dogs and cats, here is the link https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com/collections/calming You may want to try the Adaptil calming diffuser that uses pheromones for calming.

Exercising your dog.
And finally, if you have a nervous reactive dog when they are out walking, that you have been working on to get that engagement with your dog and building up their confidence out on your walk. Then I do not recommend having that Christmas walk with all the family and children because your dog has already had a busy Christmas Day with the family and has probably been overwhelmed and excited. So, stick to your normal training routine, otherwise you could set all your hard work dog training back to square one.

JP Holistic Nutrition would like to wish you and your pets a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Justine Shone
JP Holistic Nutrition
https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com/

Littermate syndrome in Dogs.

Mon, 06 Jun 2022 14:12:28 GMT

Buying two pups from the same litter.

Littermate syndrome in dogs occurs when two puppies from the same litter living together develop such a strong attachment to each other that it interferes with their ability to interact in a normal manner with people, other dogs, or any situation where they are not together. It is important people know about this information and are informed before you decide to get two puppies from the same litter. I know in some cases this can work out perfectly fine. The idea of adopting littermate puppies can seem an adorable and fun idea. They will play with each other; keep each other company and they are guaranteed to get along and make your life easier. Unfortunately, this is not always the case, you should think twice about adopting littermate puppies. Littermate syndrome can affect dogs of any breed and it may also affect unrelated puppies who are adopted at the same time and raised together. Training and socialising and caring for two young puppies can be more difficult than you can imagine.

Littermate puppies can quickly become attached and unable to cope without the presence of the other puppy. Often one pup suffers from this more than the other puppy. If this happens, you will see frantic, panicked, fearful, or even aggressive behaviour when the pups are separated. Littermate syndrome may even cause inter-dog aggression, especially among the same sex siblings. Fighting can become severe and even dangerous as they reach maturity. Because many sibling pups are only socialised with each other, they may also develop aggression or fear towards other dogs.

What are the signs of littermate syndrome?

This can include excessive crying, whining, and destructive behaviour when siblings are separated from each other, as well as a lack of interest in playing or interacting with other people or pets in the household, fear of unfamiliar people, places, or noises. Puppies may avoid interactions with new people, become very still and quiet when people approach them, bark growl, and snap when presented with new situations. They may have high anxiety when separated from the other puppy, the siblings may whine, bark, pace, pant, or exhibit destructive behaviour when they are separated from their littermate. They may have the unwillingness to eat alone. Puppies experiencing littermate syndrome may only want to eat if their siblings are present. You may find it difficult with your basic training with two puppies from the same litter and this could take longer than expected because puppies are so distracted by one another.

Most commonly puppies can develop separation anxiety due to hyper attachment because puppies with littermate syndrome dominate each other’s attention. Your puppies may fail to learn how to communicate, play and socialise with other dogs. Over time this can result in fear and aggression when exposed to other dogs.

Gradually separate your pups, use separate crates, slowly spaced farther apart until they are no longer in site, feed them in separate rooms, take them outside at different times and practice your training separately.

Socialise them each with other dogs, also take them for separate play sessions with other pups, as your puppies adjust to their new normal, use treats and praise for staying calm when they are apart from each other.

It is also important for your littermate puppies to spend some supervised time together. Although you should maintain separate training, play sessions, and walks with your puppies. You will also want to take some time for them to play together to help your puppies to bond nicely for their future well-being.

If you are considering adopting two puppies at the same time it is important to consider the challenges that may come along with this decision, so that you can devote the time and energy to positive reinforcement training. Remember that both puppies are individuals, they have unique personalities, they may be motivated differently, and may have different energy levels and characters. Bond with your puppies individually so they can focus on you and you solely without your puppies just relying on each other. The easiest way to prevent littermate syndrome in puppies is not to adopt two puppies at the same time.

Justine Shone

JP Holistic Nutrition

https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com

Teaching your puppy or dog to respond to the whistle

Mon, 06 Jun 2022 14:09:55 GMT

Canine whistle training.

Whistle recall training.

Teaching your puppy or dog to respond to the whistle.

For the safety of your dog, other dogs, and people, recall is one of the most important exercises that you can teach your puppy or dog. At no point should you let your Westie off the lead until you have mastered this exercise. Teaching your dog to respond to the whistle has several advantages. A whistle lacks emotion, and it is consistent, unlike a person’s voice. Some owners will panic or get angry when they are attempting to recall their dog. Your Westie will pick up on your emotions and will most likely not want to return to you. The sound of the whistle carries further than your voice, especially when it is raining or windy. A whistle is transferable between handlers ensuring that your dog returns to whoever is walking them. Dogs relate to the sound of the whistle when trained properly. The sound of the whistle can be exciting as they know that something good is coming. The earlier the whistle recall is implemented the better, although this can be introduced at any age. Dogs hear higher frequency pitches far better than the voice of a human, so they are more likely to respond to the whistle when out walking. It is essential to be fully equipped when undertaking any recall exercise. You will require a whistle, and a training pouch with high value treats such as chicken, liver, or sausages. I would not recommend using a silent whistle because if your dog ignores you, you won’t know if they have heard you or not. With a whistle you can determine how loud you blow it and if it was loud enough. The Acme 2.10 & 1/2 whistles are ideal. How to get started with whistle training You should not expect your Westie to understand what the whistle means when you use it for the first time. They need to learn that the whistle is associated with a tasty treat. Begin in your home environment with no distractions, have the whistle around your neck and your treat pouch containing tasty rewards clipped onto your trousers for easy access to reward your dog. Do not feed your dog before starting recall exercises because you want them slightly hungry for their tasty treat rewards. With your dog facing you, blow the whistle and then reward your dog with a tasty treat, so that they associate the whistle with a reward. Place the treat between your feet on the ground so that you are teaching your dog to come in close to you. Practise this exercise for at least 10 repetitions as the aim is for your dog is to learn that the whistle means that a reward is coming. Start to walk around an area of your house e.g., the kitchen, blow the whistle when your dog starts to come to you and place the treat between your feet. When your dog is eating their treat walk to the other side of the room and repeat this exercise again. Your dog will begin to associate this as fun or a game. Repeat the exercise at least five times. Once your dog has learnt this first step blow the whistle when your dog is in a different room, if your dog returns to you reward them with a tasty treat. This step shows that your dog is beginning to understand what the whistle means and that good things occur with this exercise. You can also blow the whistle when it is feeding time. The next step is to take your training outside into your garden. Have your dog at the opposite end of your garden, blow your whistle, and when your dog returns to you reward them with a tasty treat placed between your feet. If your dog is following you around your garden have another person hold them at the opposite end of your garden. When you blow the whistle, they can release your dog. You can begin to use an open-handed signal, but there is no need to say anything to your dog such as, “Charlie come.” The aim is to teach your dog to return to you solely by way of the whistle. If your dog is stimulated more by toys than food, you can use a toy as a reward and play a game with your dog when they return to you. If your dog or pup doesn’t come to you straight away, just try running backwards away from your dog or puppy because this should encourage them to come to you. Never tell your dog or puppy off for not coming back because this will only make them not want to return to you and can be very damaging for your bonding. Just stay calm and try your recall exercise again. When your dog is consistently responding to the whistle exercise in the garden it is time to begin whistle training when you are out on a walk. Start in a place with few distractions such as a quiet area in the park. Have a long training line on your dog attached to your harness, rather than a collar so that you do not jerk their neck. Wait until your dog is relaxed and has been to the toilet before starting the recall training. Wait for your dog to walk a short distance away from you, then blow your whistle, and when they come back to you reward them. If your dog does not return to you immediately, try running backwards away from them because this should encourage them to come towards you. If your dog does not come back to you for any reason, stop whistling. You should not stand there whistling when your dog is ignoring you. Stay calm and retry the recall exercise later in a quieter area of the park. Never reprimand your dog for not returning to you as this could damage the bond and trust that you have already created. Gradually build up the distance between you and your dog when you are carrying out the recall exercise and remember to always reward your dog.

Clients often ask me how long it will take before they will be able to use the whistle without the reward. I tell them that your recall will begin to fail if you keep whistling without offering a reward. Over time practice recall training in places where there are more distractions. Keep your long training line attached to your dog to reinforce the recall training. If you allow your dog off the training line prematurely and if they continue to play with other dogs in the park, this is self-rewarding to your dog and your recall will deteriorate.

TIPS

Do not rush your recall training.

Do not do too much too soon with your dog.

Break your training exercises down to a few minutes at a time.

Always stop when your dog is excelling because you do not want them to become bored.

Do not feed your dog before you begin recall training because you want them to be slightly hungry so that they will want their tasty treats.

Only take the training line off your dog when you are confident that they are returning to you.

Justine Shone is the owner of VIP Dog Training. For more information call 07928 227187 or visit https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com

Could Hypothyroidism be causing behavioural problems in dogs?

Mon, 06 Jun 2022 14:04:55 GMT

Canine Hypothyroidism.

Hypothyroidism is when the thyroid gland does not produce enough of the thyroid hormones triiodothyronine, known as T3 and thyroxine, known as T4 and it is quite common in dogs. Cats, on the other hand suffer from an overactive thyroid gland and this is called Hyperthyroidism. I have had cases of Hypothyroidism diagnosed when I have sent my clients to their Vets to get a full thyroid blood test panel done. Sometimes, my clients have called me saying that the Vet will not perform the blood test because their dog is not showing the typical clinical signs of Hypothyroidism. I feel quite sad that some dogs may have had behavioural problems because of Hypothyroidism and ended up being euthanised or put in dog rescues.

You started out with this loving cute pup, and now it is anxious, whines constantly, does not behave properly, can be reactive, nervous, has become intolerant of other dogs and people despite your best efforts with socialisation. Some Vets might just tell you that your dog needs training or that your dog is in canine puberty, and it will not last, but despite all your best efforts, your formerly compliment puppy is out of control. Please before you decide to find your dog another home, thinking the behaviour is your fault or just the breed, have your Vet check for thyroid problems.
Hypothyroidism is often missed in dogs because some dogs do not display the traditional signs of hypothyroidism and only present with behavioural problems, making it easy to miss. A study was conducted on 1,500 dogs with behavioural problems, and it was found that out of those 1,500, 60% of them had a thyroid problem. Fortunately, like people dogs can be treated with thyroid hormones and achieve marked changes in their behaviour.

Traditionally, dogs have only been blood tested for Hypothyroidism when they present with lethargy or other classic thyroid clinical signs such as dry brittle coat, allergies, or flaky skin but aggressive behaviour was not recognised as a clinical sign. Because the clinical signs of Hypothyroidism are so varied and widespread across multiple clinical signs, a single system is often not connected to the thyroid but seen as an isolated problem. Also, because thyroid problems can start in young dogs from 6 months to 1.5 years the clinical signs are often not connected to a potential medical problem but are thought to be due to the temperament of the individual dog.

Many experts now believe that when a dog has changes in behaviour they should be assessed, and blood tested for thyroid problems. While it would make sense that your Vet would test for thyroid problems if there were other symptoms involved, according to at least one study not all dogs with Hypothyroidism and behavioural problems had other symptoms.

One of the primary disruptions that occurs with Hypothyroidism is with norepinephrine and serotonin, which both affect behaviour. For those dogs that have subclinical or a moderate decrease in their thyroid function, behavioural changes are likely to be the first and possibly only symptoms that you will see. For this reason and given the high rate of thyroid problems in dogs with behavioural problems, it may be up to you to advocate for your dog and insist that your Vet does a thyroid panel blood test. Make sure that your Vet does a full thyroid blood panel and not just T3 and T4 because they may miss cases of Hypothyroidism.
Your Vet will also look for the following symptoms as they assess your dog for Hypothyroidism.
Allergies
Dry itchy skin
Hair grows back slowly after being shaved
Dull coat
Constant shedding
Seizures
Sad worried facial expressions
Anxiety or hyperactivity

Thankfully, Hypothyroidism can be treated with hormone replacement therapy that can help your dog return to normal behaviour. Dosages may be adjusted as required, as changes in behaviour improve, or regular testing can be done to keep an eye on the thyroid levels. You may need to do your homework to find a Vet that will help you access the cause of your dog’s behavioural symptoms.

Justine Shone

JP Holistic Nutrition

https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com

Bonfire Night problems in Dogs

Mon, 06 Jun 2022 13:59:58 GMT

Bonfire Night.

Bonfire night.

It is coming to that time of year again and it will soon be Bonfire night. I am already hearing owners talking about it and stressing. It is important for the owners to stay calm, otherwise, your dog is going to pick up on your anxious energy. I want to try to set our dogs up for success during the firework season, so we need to start putting the work in now to try to desensitise them to the sounds and prepare our house as a safe place for our dogs.

Did you know that you can buy CDs with fireworks sounds? To try to desensitise your dog to firework noises, start playing these sounds daily. Start with an extremely low volume, if your dog reacts then ignore your dog’s reaction until they are settled. Then your dog can be given a treat once they have settled. Then try again with a much lower volume of the stimulus, it is useful to have a training line on your dog to ensure that their focus is on you, and they are not running around. It is important that you don’t rush these exercises and overdo the training. After every few sounds, give your dog a high-value treat (0r shower of treats) when they are calm, remember to keep the volume low. Play with your dog or initiate some pleasurable activity. Make this at the end of your session because it is important you always end on a high note with a good response, even if that means turning the volume right down.

When do you start the next session?

This depends very much on the individual dog. It can be as brief as an hour or as long as the next day. But the dog must be calm and settled before another session begins. I recommend practising the settle exercise with your dog it is really important to teach your dog calming exercises.

Your new session.

The new session is started with the same level of noise, but this is soon increased slightly, bearing in mind that it is important not to go beyond the point when your dog may notice the sound and react. If this happens you will need to go back several steps and start with a low noise at a much lower volume. If you are not making any progress and your dog seems to be having more problems, consult your veterinary surgeon for some advice. Sometimes sound sensitivity may be associated with medical and more general psychological problems. You do not want to just carry on putting more stress and anxiety on your dog.

Bonfire night.

Bonfire night can be incredibly stressful for owners and their dogs. If your dog is still terrified of fireworks, then you will need to help them cope when the fireworks have started. Keeping your dog safe and protecting their stress levels is important to their health and wellbeing.

Keeping calm.

During the day, you want to keep your dog as calm as possible. If they are highly aroused around the time leading up to the event, this may add to their stress on the night. This is because the cortisol (stress hormone) that is released when the body is put under stress, whether it’s chasing a ball for a long time or being reactive to other dogs, remains in a dogs system on average for 3 days. A higher level of cortisol means that it will take less for them to have a reaction. Calming activities such as kongs, snuffle mats and calming games can help to keep your dog’s arousal level low during this time. This means that when the time comes, they are less likely to go over their threshold and react to loud noises and lights. Do not have a high energy walk! Brain games, calming games, training, and calm walks in the daytime,(still on a lead) before fireworks start are more beneficial.

Keep your dog (and cats) indoors and ensure that they have identification such as a registered microchip and an address disc on their collar just in case they escape through fear. Check that all the fencing in your garden is safe and secure so that your dog cannot escape. If you are taking your dog outside for the toilet in your garden have them on a lead for safety.

Provide a safe place in the house for your dog. If your dog has their own coping mechanism during stressful times, such as going in a crate or finding a safe place to hide, make sure that they are comfortable and leave them to cope. Whatever they are doing at that moment is helping their stress levels, try not to take them out of their safe place. We all know that hugging our pets makes us feel better but nine times out of ten this will not be helpful to them at this moment, especially if you have removed them out of their safe place to give them a reassuring hug. Although if your dog wants to be close to you then let them be close to you.

Act calmly and normally because providing too much fuss can reinforce the idea that there is something to be afraid of. Draw the curtains or blinds, and if necessary, drape over additional fabric to muffle noise and flashes. Have your TV or radio on loud to drown out the sound of fireworks outside. Do not leave your dog alone if they are fearful of fireworks because this will increase your dog’s anxiety. Do not think by taking your dog out during the fireworks to face their fears will help them! Please do not do this, your dog should not be taken for a walk during firework night. Do not lock your dog in a crate, when they have had no crate training, and are not used to crates.

Products & Enrichment that may be useful.

These include Thunder shirts or anxiety rap, which intend to reduce anxiety via applying pressure to the dog’s body. Organic k9 lavender spray, CD classical music, lick mats, stuffed kongs, and snuffle scent matts to release endorphins. Remember to get the advice of your vet if your dog is really struggling.

Products & Enrichment that may help.

Foods tips that can help inside your dog's stuffed Kong for anxiety and stress.
*Blueberries. A powerhouse of vitamins minerals and antioxidants, protect from stress.
*Sweet potatoes, packed with antioxidants and vitamin E.
*Beef grass fed raw, The B vitamins it contains can regulate stress levels.
* Omega 3 oil fatty acids can help suppress the production of adrenaline that leads people and dogs to fight or flight. Too much adrenaline can cause anxiety.
*Almonds organic Almond butter, try instead of peanut butter. Vitamins E and B, magnesium and zinc, magnesium supports a healthy nervous system, giving the happy chemicals for the brain.
* pumpkin seeds, contain L-tryptophan as well as glutamate.
* JP Holistic Nutrition Calm products contain L-Tryptophan for serotonin, Valerian root that can soothe anxiety. Calcium and Magnesium that support the nervous system and B Vitamins that regulate mood function.

VIP Dog Training

Justine Shone, dog behaviourist.

JP Holistic Nutrition

https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com

Separation Anxiety in Dogs

Mon, 06 Jun 2022 13:55:16 GMT

Dogs with separation anxiety.

Learning to be left alone is an important part of your dog’s training and will help prevent your dog from ever becoming anxious when they are by themselves. So, if you have recently welcomed a puppy into your family it’s really important to teach them that being left alone is fun. I would recommend setting up a playpen or a crate for your puppy, so you can start teaching them at an early age how to relax and chill. You do not want your puppy with you constantly. Teaching them to be relaxed and confident when they are on their own is so important for their future well-being. Then you will have a happier balanced dog.

Is it separation anxiety or isolation distress?

Separation anxiety is a serious emotional problem where the dog becomes panicked when their owner leaves the house. Dogs with full blown separation anxiety act as though they are in terror about you leaving the house, and about being alone in the house while you’re gone.

Isolation distress means that the dog doesn’t want to be left alone and any human will do for company.

Cases and possible contributing factors:

The dog’s personality- there may be a genetic predisposition.
Re-homing, such as a dog who has had to rehomed multiple times or even just once.
A dog who has never been left alone before.
A dog who has been through a traumatic separation such as the loss of a family member (human or animal).
The dog or owner has an extended hospital stay, separating the dog from their owner.
A dog who has experienced some sort of trauma while left alone.
Noise phobia.
Old age.
The arrival of a new family member.
Leaving the litter at too young of age.
The family moving to a new home.

Diagnosis.

Just because your dog has an accident in the house while you are out does not necessarily mean that your dog has separation anxiety. It could be a house training issue or a medical problem. Your dog barking when someone such as the postman comes to the door also does not indicate that your dog has separation anxiety. If your dog chews a pillow when your gone, it may not be separation anxiety but more likely that they were bored or under exercised.

On the other hand, if you arrive home and your front door has been shredded, your couch has been eaten, your dog is panting, salivating, barking, hiding behind the settee or there are puddles of urine or piles of excrement throughout the house then you should consider calling a dog behaviourist.

The diagnosis is commonly done by getting a complete and thorough history of the dogs behaviour, training, medical issues and what the daily routine in the household is like. I would recommend setting up a camera in your absence because this will help with the diagnosis and assist with a treatment plan.

Treatment.

Separation anxiety and isolation distress are some of the most debilitating conditions to deal with for both you and your dog. The good news is that there are treatment options for both these conditions, and in cases they can be successful. The bad news is that it takes time and sometimes months. My own rescue dog had separation anxiety when I rescued him and it probably took me about 7 months with a lot of patience, training and consistency but we got through it.

Mild separation anxiety cases.

You can often help to manage your dog’s anxiety levels by doing the following:

Exercise your dog before you leave the house.
Do some scent enrichment games in the garden.
Give your dog a 15 -20 minutes of calm down after exercising such as the settle exercise.
Make your arrivals and departures low key and don’t be dramatic.
Give your dog a sustained release of food such as a stuffed Kong enrichment toy.

I personally didn’t just put enrichment out for my dog Chico when I left my house because I didn’t want it to be a trigger, oh enrichment is coming out you must be leaving me. I would bring out the enrichment throughout the day. He would get his Kong when I was in the house with him randomly. In severe cases of separation anxiety dogs won’t normally eat when you are not present.

Never scold your dog for having an accident in the house because this will only increase their anxiety.

For moderate to severe cases of separation anxiety or isolation distress you may want to seek the advice of a veterinary surgeon who may prescribe medications while you are working with a dog behaviourist who understands desensitisation and counter- conditioning.

While your dogs on a treatment plan for severe separation anxiety you should never leave them alone if you are doing a desensitisation or counter-conditioning program with a dog behaviourist. Take your dog to work with you if you can, send it to your dog day-care, have a pet sitter come in when you are away from the house or ask a family member to help you. Make sure that your dog is left somewhere they feel comfortable. Many separation anxiety dogs can also suffer from crate phobia, so crating them can make things worse.

Leave some classical music on when you are out. Don’t put the music on only when you are leaving the house but play it when you are in the house with your dog. You can also leave the TV on so that your dog can hear voices when you have left the house.

In all cases of separation anxiety encourage your dog to spend time alone when you are home. Get some puzzle toys or a nice meaty bone for them to gnaw on in their own bed, while you are in the kitchen making dinner. Get professional help if you and your dog are struggling.

Justine Shone, dog behaviourist.

JP Holistic Nutrition

https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com

Treating our dogs like human babies

Mon, 06 Jun 2022 13:48:56 GMT

Are dogs to be treated like babies?

As a dog trainer, I see this all the time, with owners and their dogs and this is why dog trainers end up being called out to help with many behavioural problems. It is normal to love your dog so much that you treat them as a member of the family, as another sibling or child who deserves all the affection you have to give. But could showering your dog with constant love and affection actually be smothering them? Owners forget that dogs are animals and while the dogs themselves become a family member because we love them so much, they’re still animals who can’t say when they’re afraid or angry unless you are good at reading dogs body language. If you’re unsure whether or not your dog is appreciating all of those ways you show them love, check their body language. Body language that indicates that your dog is unhappy include whale eyes where you can see the whites of their eyes, still tense muscles, growling, or snapping, licking their lips, avoidance like turning their head away. If you do not take note of your dog's body language the next step could be a bite.
One of the main problems is when owners get a new puppy, they get so overwhelmed with the cuteness, and training goes straight out the window. This is when it can seriously backfire further on down the line. Owners must try to remember that when they get a puppy or a dog, you must try not to humanise or treat them like babies. So, here are some examples of what some owners do when they bring their new puppy or dog home, giving your puppy or dog to much freedom too soon without any boundaries and training, sleeping on the bed or settee, overindulging, and rewarding them at the wrong times, not crate training their puppy because they think it’s cruel, just letting the puppy have free run of the house without training or boundaries in place, this is a recipe for a disaster for the future wellbeing of your puppy. Lack of training and boundaries is a direct cause of some dogs suffering from behavioural disorders, some dogs end up in rescue centres or euthanised because some owners have failed them at the beginning.
As a dog trainer, I am not saying we can’t have our dogs on our beds or settees, but owners need to build on the foundations training wise and have the boundaries in place, so that our dogs are more mentally balanced, and they will have earned these luxuries in your home. Your dog will be much happier, and so will you because there is nothing better than having a well-trained dog that you can take anywhere.
So, let’s have a look at some examples of what some owners will do with food.
Diet is another way some owners will humanise their dogs, it may seem cute to order your dog human food in a cafeteria or a treat at the coffee shop, but you might be killing your dog with kindness, also letting your dog devour scraps from the dinner table, then complaining they’re always around the table when you're eating your dinner. Human foods add calories preservatives, fat, starch, which can lead to obesity and nutritional problems, milk-based products like puppuccino cups from dog-friendly cafeterias can cause upset stomach upset, diarrhoea, food allergies, and even behavioural problems. Fat from meat can cause pancreatitis, and sugar can lead to dental issues and diabetes. You may think that giving your dog treats all the time for simply looking cute shows that you love them, but it is important to remember that one of the ways we love our dogs is to give them what they need and not what they want.
So, while they may want those dog treats give your dog what they need by stimulating their brain and making them work a little for it, reward-based training, whether through agility, nose work, enrichment puzzles, all builds a fantastic bond with your dog.
It is easy for dog owners to ignore, or even fail to recognise problematic behaviour from their dog because they are looking at the behaviour as if the dog was a person. A common example is allowing your dog to growl when a spouse is trying to get in the bed or trying to sit on the settee next to their partner or someone in the family. Because the dog is viewed as a little fur baby it is normally laughed off as cute or just being protective because they love you so much, rather than regarding the behaviour as a genuine dangerous issue. The dog is giving clear signals that it is uncomfortable. This is common in lap dogs that are treated like fur babies because owners do not understand or respect what their dog is saying in body language.
Some owners have a habit of wanting to take their puppy or dog everywhere or pushing their puppies or dogs beyond their comfort limits for the sake of human social events, completely ignoring how the dog is responding to what’s happening, letting strangers pet your dog when your dog is uncomfortable with this because you don’t want to be rude to someone, this can lead to your dog or puppy being more nervous and not feel safe with you as an owner because you keep letting it happen when your dog is giving you clear signals they are not comfortable. Pushing your puppy or dog to interact with others at the park because you think your dog or puppy should get on with every dog and socialise. Owners don’t realise forcing social situations on a puppy or dog can cause the puppy or dog to become reactive when forced into an uncomfortable situation, your dog may stand up for himself with behaviour that you don’t like.
You may love your dog and want to take them everywhere, dogs are very loyal companions but remember some dogs might not always want to be by your side, some dogs may prefer to have a little alone time in a place to chill, try to remember that on average dogs also sleep 12- 14 hours a day to reset and it is perfectly normal and shouldn’t be disturbed.
As a dog owner of two beautiful Shih tzu’s called Charlie and Chico I understand how their eyes can melt your heart. My two also have luxuries and I love them dearly, but they are trained and have boundaries as it’s on going to keep them balanced and happy. There is absolutely nothing wrong with loving your dog, but if you think you may be overdoing it. Remember to show your dog the kind of love that increases the bond between you both instead of overwhelming them with constant attention and affection.

Justine Shone

JP Holistic Nutrition

https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com

Buying a puppy

Mon, 06 Jun 2022 13:46:21 GMT

Things to do when buying a puppy.

When deciding to buy a puppy, think about your lifestyle. What breed of dog are you looking for that suits your lifestyle e.g., your home environment, space, and work commitments? Do you like lots of holidays throughout the year? Are you a lazy person? If you are a lazy person, then for example a Malinois dog will not suit you! You need to know how much time you will have to train and exercise your dog; can you afford a dog walker if you work long hours? Bringing a puppy into your family is a big decision in your life whatever the breed that you buy. This is a lifetime commitment because they are part of your family. Make sure everyone in the family is on board in wanting to get a puppy.

Research is important.

Research where are you going to buy your puppy from. Pedigree pups should be Kennel Club registered and the breeder should be on Kennel Club assured breeders list. Crossbreeds also have their own clubs, so you can look on their websites for approved breeders. Do not buy puppies online, from pet shops or from puppy farms.

Puppies should not leave the bitch until they are 8 weeks old, but some breeders will wait till they are 12 weeks old before selling them. Always ask to see the Dam and make sure that she is nice and friendly and not nervous because temperament can be inherited.

Veterinary matters.

Your pup will need to go to the veterinary centre for their vaccinations, worming, flea treatment and microchipping. Microchipping is a legal requirement. Pups can have antibodies from their mother until they are 12 weeks old. This natural immunity can prevent the puppy vaccines from working. Therefore, a lot of Vets still recommend vaccinating at 8 and 12 weeks of age. Some Vets do not like the L4 vaccine for Leptospirosis because of reported vaccine reactions and they still use L2. Have a chat with your Vet about pet insurance.

Environment.

You will need a puppy proof home to keep your puppy safe, so it is a good idea to have this ready for when your puppy arrives home. Therefore, I like playpens or crates if used correctly and not abused because they are a great training tool to have. Make the crate or playpen a positive place for your puppy by putting their bed inside and their enrichment toys, such as a food stuffed Kong or a snuffle scent mat with treats because this can be very calming and a brain stimulus for your puppy. Place your puppy’s crate in the quietest corner of the most used room in the house, such as a family room so that your puppy does not associate crating with feeling isolated. The crate or play pen should never be used as a punishment for your puppy, only positive training should happen with the crate.

Introduce your puppy to the crate gradually and never force your puppy inside it. At first get them comfortable going in and out on their own by tossing a few treats inside without closing your puppy in. Do not forget that your puppy has come into a new environment, so everything is going to be very overwhelming and stressful to begin with, so take baby steps. If you find your puppy is not settling at night in their crate, set a crate up in your bedroom, this way you can gradually get them used to crate training and not feeling isolated. Then you can start moving the crate towards your bedroom door, then eventually on the landing when your puppy is more confident about being in their crate.

Puppy socialisation.

Your puppy will need life skills socialisation, this does not mean taking your puppy to the local park and letting them mix with people and dogs that you do not know. This can be very damaging to your puppy’s training and their future behaviour if your puppy is not getting the correct socialisation.

When socialising your puppy make sure to take it slow and be aware of your puppy’s limits. Make the interactions positive and give plenty of treats and praise. Everything is new to your puppy, so every encounter is an opportunity to make a positive association. The idea behind socialisation is that you want to help your puppy become used to all types of sights, sounds, and smells in a positive manner. Proper socialisation can prevent a dog from being fearful of children, or of riding in the car, and it will help them develop into a well-mannered happy companion. Improper socialisation can lead to behavioural problems later in life.

Physical development.

An 8- to 12-week-old puppy will be quiet and small even if it is a puppy of a large breed. Puppies are physically vulnerable and a bit clumsy. They need plenty of supervision, therefore the crate or puppy pen is clever idea when they cannot be supervised. Expect your young puppy to sleep a lot during this stage. Most puppies will sleep about 18 to 20 hours a day to support their fast-growing brains and bodies. I cannot stress how important that is to let your puppies sleep and have some chill time. So, for example if you have a young child and your child is over excited playing with your puppy, your puppy could get over excited and may start mouthing and go over the threshold because they are overtired. This is where your dog's behavioural problems can start to develop if you do not intervene. This is when your crate training will be very useful, you can place your puppy inside their crate with some calming enrichment puzzles, for some relaxation and sleep time.

An overtired puppy.

What does an overtired puppy look like? You might be thinking that it will be easy to spot an overtired puppy, but some of the symptoms can be very confusing. Your puppy might show only a couple of signs or all of them within a few minutes. A tired child can be a nightmare and tired puppies are no different! A tired puppy can nip and bite, and if they do out of nowhere, it could be because they are getting tired and do not have any other way of expressing themselves. Hyperactivity though it might seem counterproductive, some puppies become more active when they get overtired. When your puppy is eventually sleeping or resting whatever you do not disturb them let them sleep.

Puppy training.

Do not leave your puppy for hours inside the crate (or any dog for that matter) because puppies still need house training, and they need frequent breaks. It is important that you do not leave your puppy during the day for extended periods in the crate because this can cause a lot of stress to your puppy and even lead to separation anxiety or isolation stress. They could also start having accidents in the crate.

When your puppy is out of the crate do not give them the run of the house until they are fully house trained. Baby gates are a clever idea so you can manage the situation, the more freedom the harder it will be for you to house train your puppy. When you start your puppy toilet training, take them out, if possible, every hour into the garden, always go outside with them, so you can reward them with a treat when they have been to the toilet. Times to take them out also include after sleeping, eating, drinking or playtime because this is normally when they will need to go outside to the toilet.

Look out for signs that your pup may need the toilet. The signs include sniffing the ground, turning in circles, and starting to squat. If you see these signs, then gently interrupt your pup, and take them outside to see if they will go the toilet. If they go to the toilet then reward them, if not just quietly return them indoors. But make sure that you give them enough time to do their business before returning them inside, patience is key.

Never punish your puppy for toileting in the house because this will make your puppy more anxious, and this will not help your puppies toilet training to improve because they are still learning what to do. Puppies have smaller bladders than older dogs, so they need to urinate more often than adult dogs. Many puppies will not gain full bladder control until 4 to 6 months old. If your puppy goes the toilet in the house, simply disinfect the spot with a non-ammonia based product and remove the smell with a pet odour neutraliser.

If you have children.

Just as puppies need training, so do children. At the earliest age, you can begin to teach the fundamentals of respecting animals and their boundaries. The first thing to teach your child is that the puppy is not a toy! They are living and feeling being that needs love and gentle treatment to grow up happy and into a well-mannered adult dog. Children could be inclined to include the puppy in their play activities, but young puppies need time to adjust to their new home. Puppies are not toys, but they do enjoy and need playtime to learn good manners and grow their bond with their family! Teach your children that certain games, like fetch for example is an appropriate activity to engage with the puppy. Encourage your kids to always try and be gentle with the puppy, even during playtime! Remind your kids that activities like pulling on the puppy’s tail, or ears or pocking them, for example are hurtful and may make the puppy fearful and cause them to snap or nip especially as the puppy grows. It is best that when kids are playing with the new puppy that you are present and ready to show them the correct way to play together.

Getting ready to walk your puppy.

First, you will need to get your puppy to wear a collar/ harness and leash inside your house before going outdoors so they can get used to wearing the harness. This slow and steady approach with treats and praise for encouragement, helps your puppy make positive associations with the harness.
Then, before attempting a walk outdoors practice going for a walk inside your home with fewer distractions. Puppies can begin basic training and loose lead walking in your home or garden as young as eight weeks old. I recommend using a harness for your puppy to start walking as opposed to a collar, this will protect a puppy’s neck and back from potential injury caused by lead pulling on a collar.

It is important if you are struggling with puppy training invest in some help with a dog trainer/behaviourist.

Justine Shone

JP Holistic Nutrition

https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com

VIP Dogs

Gut Brain Connection In Dogs

Mon, 06 Jun 2022 13:43:08 GMT

How the Gut and Brain interaction.

Everyone has heard the saying “go with your gut instinct.” This could not be a truer saying! This is because everything starts in the gut, and it is the same for dogs just like humans. Have you ever had a gut feeling or butterflies in your stomach? These sensations emanating from your belly suggest that your brain and gut are connected. What’s more, recent studies show that your brain affects your gut health, and your gut may even affect your brain health. The communication system between your gut and brain is called the gut-brain axis. The gut is known as the second brain because so many of the neurotransmitters used by the brain and nervous system are created in the gut, it is estimated that up to 90% of the body’s serotonin is produced in the gut.

Dog behavioural problems like anxiety and aggression can have many causes and an out of balance gut microbiome may be one of them. There have been plenty of studies done on how the food we feed children affects their behaviour, this includes sugars and refined carbs that creates over-aroused cranky children. Yet when it comes to dogs the commercially processed food we feed them and the role it plays in the gut is one of the most overlooked topics related to behaviour problems in dogs. The gut microbiome has links to areas of the brain that affect mood behaviour, this also could potentially include responses to fear, anxiety, aggression, hyperactivity, obsessive-compulsive disorder, self-mutation, separation anxiety.

So why should this happen if we feed processed foods to our dogs? These high sugar processed foods lead to the release of bacterial toxins called lipopolysaccharides that normally hang out safely in your dog’s gut, but when they enter the blood because of the high fat processed foods they become toxic.
The lipopolysaccharides destroy the brain cells that make the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine, these are the so-called happiness hormones, and lack of these hormones can have a significant impact on your dog's behaviour. So, improving your dog’s gut health can ensure the production of neurotransmitters.
So, let us look at some of the ways you can support your dog’s gut to improve their health, behaviour problems, and skin allergies. Let us consider the number of chemicals that you are putting into your dog's body. Kibble dog biscuits tend to be high in carbs, low in protein and can be packed full of harmful chemicals. Dogs should be fed a biologically appropriate food diet. It is only in the last 100 years that we have started feeding kibble but what has not been taken into account is the fact their digestive system is still the same as it was thousands of years ago, dog’s stomachs are not designed to digest grain. Raw food diets are now becoming increasingly popular with dog owners and there are many health benefits that come from feeding dogs raw food including, superior joints bone health, strengthening the immune system, improved skin and softer shinier coat, superior dental health, reduced stool volume and odour, enhanced reproductive health, reduced body odour, reduced allergies, in some cases reduced hyperactivity.

Another way to help your dog’s gut microbiome is to do titre testing instead of over-vaccinating, which upsets the delicate balance of bacteria in the gut. Please note I am not saying do not vaccinate, I am saying you should get a titre test to check for immunity, if your dog has immunity then it does not need vaccinating. In dogs, you can titre test for parvo, distemper, and hepatitis.
Provide filtered water instead of chlorinated if you want to avoid toxicity in the gut, give your dog fresh, filtered or spring water, it will not have the added dangers of chlorine or fluoride in tap water. Omega 3 fatty acids are important to your dog's health in ways you never expect. Higher levels of omega 3 fatty acids Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) play an important role in the healthy functioning of the brain, heart, joints, skin, eyes, immune system and DHA can also help with reducing anxiety in dogs. We have formulated our Holistic Doggie Omega . Probiotics play a key role in your dog’s gut microbiome because they are beneficial bacteria that colonize your dog’s gut. They help restore and maintain a healthy microbiome. Prebiotics are indigestible fibres that feed the probiotics to make them more effective, anything you can do to support the gut and its beneficial bacteria will support the immune system. Try to ease your dog's stress because chronic stress can affect your dog’s gut, it disrupts nutrient absorption and makes the gut lining more permeable which can cause a leaky gut. We have formulated our Holistic Doggie Fibre . Many ways to help your dog relax include teaching them settling exercises because it is important your dog learns how to switch off and relax, sleep is very important, calming music, plugin pheromones, calming herbs such as valerian root and L- Tryptophan, Thunder shirt or wrap, desensitization techniques, counterconditioning, massage, Tellington T- Touch, and enrichments puzzles.
If you do have a dog with behavioural issues, then addressing gut health is also important for your dog's wellbeing.

Justine Shone
JP Holistic Nutrition

https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com

Crate training dogs, pros and cons.

Mon, 06 Jun 2022 13:30:47 GMT

The benefits of crate training dogs.

Crate training dogs can be a good training tool if used correctly and not abused. As a dog trainer if I go to a puppy consultation and mention a crate, some owners look horrified, some owners love crate training and swear by it, others simply cannot imagine putting their puppy in a crate. This is a very controversial topic. What do we do with a baby at night to keep them safe? We put them in a cot that looks remarkably like a crate. I brought my own dog, Charlie up in a crate when he was a puppy, but this is just my own personal choice. I also had a playpen around the crate, with the crate door left open and this worked very well for my dog Charlie because he got used to the crate with the playpen around it. Crate training a puppy, or a dog includes teaching them to associate their crate with safety and security. The hope is that the crate becomes the place to go when your pup feels overwhelmed or sleepy. It is especially important puppies get undisturbed rest and sleep time because this is crucial for their wellbeing in their training. Regardless of everything you have read or heard, you really must consider the pros and cons of crate training and whether it is something that you believe is right for you and your puppy.

Pros of crate training.

One of the ways to effectively toilet train your puppy is to use a crate, puppies have weak bladders up till about 16 weeks old (3 months old). They must pee several times a day and they have to learn to do their business outside and not indoors. The crate is a terrific way forward for teaching them toilet training, when your puppy wakes up from sleeping you can take them outside for toilets. When your crate training your pup, have your puppy spend about 10- 30 minutes in the crate and try again immediately taking them outside for toilets, this helps to set your pup up for success. (If your pup is sleeping leave them until they wake up). Puppies or dogs will consider their crate as a den and will tend not to urinate or defecate in their crate, this does not mean you can leave your puppy or dog for hours on end in a crate. Ensure your puppy or dog has multiple opportunities to go to the toilet, such as after playing, sleeping, and eating. Adult dogs should not be left any longer than four hours in a crate in the daytime, any longer than this is not looking after your dog’s wellbeing.

Puppy space.

Everyone in a family has his or her own personal space, and it is only fair your puppy has a space to be calm on their own, a crate can do just that. They will have a safe, quiet place to lie down and to relax away from the noise of a typical day.

Helps prevent destructive behaviour.

Dogs and puppies often produce different strange and destructive behaviours such as inappropriate chewing (especially when puppies are teething) and this is a quite frequent problem with puppies. The crate helps to keep them safe from danger if they cannot be supervised by you when you are busy.

Separation anxiety.

If your puppy is brought up correctly and associates the crate with good stuff that happens when they are in the crate, such as treats and toys, separation anxiety shouldn’t be a problem in the future for your puppy, because you would have built your puppies confidence up slowly to having some time alone away from you in their crate. It is important to note that if your dog is already suffering from separation anxiety you should never confine them in a crate, as this would make the situation worse. In this case, the best thing you can do is contact a dog behaviourist who can give you the correct guidance to follow to solve the problem.

Dogs that need cage rest after surgery.

Another good reason to get your dog used to crate training is you never know in the future if your dog could get injured, they may have to spend a few days in a veterinary clinic and they would have to be inside a crate or cage for their own safety. Your dog will not be as stressed, and you may have to continue crate rest when they return home.

Safety transporting, and family adventures.

A dog that is familiar with its crate will travel comfortably and safely by car and feel relaxed. The reason many places restrict dog access is that free-roaming untrained dogs create liability issues. When you show that your dog is well trained then most facilities will let you bring your dog along for the adventure. It makes it much easier to bring your dog along for a family outing, or trip, or even longer holidays when they are used to travelling in a crate, or you may even have to crate them in your hotel room if you go for dinner. This is much better than leaving your dog behind at home if they are content being in a crate for a brief time.

Natural instincts.

Dogs have a particular affection for confined spaces, they like going under beds, under coffee tables, behind settees. Giving them a safe place can come in handy, especially around bonfire night, if your dog feels anxious or frightened.

Socialisation.

A crate is useful for socialisation exercises if you have a dog that is not keen on being around people it does not know. When there are lots of children running around your home, or you may have guests having a meal, you can prevent triggering over excitement by bringing your pup back to their crate. You can even use this tool to prevent unwanted behaviours, such as begging at the table when you are eating, the crate comes in handy until you have your training skills under control.

Cons crate training.

Some owners do not use the crate correctly, they use the crate as a punishment if the puppy has done something wrong, thinking they will learn by putting them in the crate. This can be very damaging for your puppy or dog. The crate should never be used as a punishment.

Away from home working.

Your dog or puppy should never be left for extended periods each day in a crate. Consider getting the services of a dog walker or pet sitter to break up the monotony of your dog’s day to provide them with socialisation and exercise. A crate should have enough room to turn around, stand up, and lie down comfortably.

Safety.

Your first goal should be to ensure the crate is put together properly. A crate constructed improperly could result in it collapsing on your puppy or dog causing injury. Always remove your puppy’s or dog’s collar to prevent accidental choking. Your dog or puppy’s collar could get stuck on the door which could result in strangulation. Make sure the crate is not left in direct sunlight such as by a window. Make sure your dog has access to water.

The crate can leave your dog traumatised.

If your dog keeps having bad experiences with its crate, this could leave your dog to be traumatised and anxious and unable to trust you. This can be one of the major disadvantages of crate training if you keep getting it wrong.

Finally.

Remember to slowly build your puppy or dog’s confidence up in their crate. Put the crate in an area where the family spends the most time, such as the family room. Make the crate comfortable with their bed inside. Make sure the crate door is securely fastened open, so it won’t hit your puppy or dog and frighten them. When they are coming and going out of the crate, encourage your pup or dog to enter the crate by tossing some treats inside the crate. If they refuse to go all the way inside the crate at first that’s ok, don’t ever force them to enter. Just continue tossing treats into the crate until they walk in calmly. You can even use a toy, just make everything positive about the crate. This step may take time or as long as several days. Have some enrichments ready for your crate training such as a food stuffed Kong, so if they do go in the crate, you can give them the Kong, but leave the door open until your puppy or dog is happy and confident being inside their crate. I have clients today who have crate trained their dog from a puppy and they leave the crate door open and their dogs are still happy to go in the crate.

Justine Shone.

JP Holistic Nutrition

https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com

How to stop dogs continually barking.

Sun, 05 Jun 2022 18:03:55 GMT

Barking dogs.

Please get help from a dog trainer/behaviourist if you are struggling with your dog’s barking issues.

Justine Shone

JP Holistic Nutrition

https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com

Dog parks, are they the best environment for some dogs, especially with reactive and anxiety issues and with no training in place?

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 17:44:59 GMT

Dogs in parks.

Dog parks, are they the best environment for some dogs, especially with reactive and anxiety issues and with no training in place?

Dog parks or similar environments could be causing reactive or nervous dogs to become worse by putting them in the same situation over again. Some owners just cannot wait to take their new puppy or dog to the park to mix with other dogs that they do not even know but is this always the best environment for some dogs? I wanted to write about this due to the number of dogs being attacked in parks recently, there does not seem to be a day when I am not reading or hearing about another dog being attacked or killed by another dog in a park, it is heart-breaking. Letting your dog run freely around the same park every day with zero training can result in dog reactivity, anxiety bad behaviour, and poor recall, causing your dog to become over adrenalized.

I personally stay away from parks with my own two dogs, because of irresponsible owners in the past, where my dogs have been attacked by other dogs when my dogs were on a lead minding their own business. Unfortunately, some dog owners just do not have control over their dogs. I got totally fed up with hearing the owner in the distance shouting it is ok he is friendly while their dog was running towards my dogs. What they really should be shouting is I am too lazy to train my dog and I have no control over it.

Owners often view the park as a place where they can socialise with their dogs. For dogs that have already practiced socialisation and are well balanced and trained a park can be a wonderful place for you and your dog. This is especially true if you get to know what dogs go there regularly and they have responsible owners, and you understand your dog’s body language and can read other dogs’ body language because this is really important. But for the dogs that need socialisation, the park is not the place to start off and practice, especially with nervous or reactive dogs. For this type of dog with issues with other dogs, they need a calm, quiet and controlled environment to meet and learn proper interactions with other dogs. The park is not the best environment when there is a lot of stimulus making your dog more anxious. In fact, the owner is making their dog more reactive or anxious behaviour far worse by putting their dog in this situation and environment. It is not safe for your dog, and it’s not safe for other dogs that come into contact with your dog.

Fearful dogs can be afraid of too much noise, other dogs approaching them, sudden movements, and other humans. If you have a dog that tends to be easily scared or nervous the dog park can be a nightmare. Unfortunately, some owners think by pushing their dogs into these situations they will just adapt and become more confident. This could lead your dog to become more nervous and reactive toward other dogs trying to protect themselves from what is making them scared. I recommend if you are struggling with your fearful dog get help from a dog trainer and avoid the park until your dog has gotten over his fears and you feel ready for the park environment.

Trigger stacking, so what can happen when we are putting our anxious dogs in the same stressful situations and environments daily? Trigger stacking is when too many stimuli that a dog is sensitive to occur in a brief period. This is where a dog’s basic survival instincts are switched on and become reactive. Behaviours that may be observed can include lunging and barking on a lead and growling.

So, if you can imagine if you have a nervous or reactive dog putting them in this situation daily is going to make matters worse. When dogs are stressed, they release cortisol and it can take around 60 minutes to drop their level of concentration by half but when a dog is faced with lots of stimuli that he is sensitive to the negative feedback loop breaks down, cortisol continues to be released and up to four times as much cortisol as normal can be present. This can take several days to dissipate, so this means we now have a dog with a volcano effect happening inside your dog’s body and mind. So, if your dog encounters an event in the park that he finds stressful in that same week as the other stressors his behaviour is likely to escalate.

How can we stimulate our dogs and exercise them while you are training them and not going to the park? Exercise is important for dogs but they also need brain stimulation training. So you can practice all your basic foundation training such as recall (teaching your dog to come back). This exercise is so important for the safety of your dog and other dogs, in fact, your dog shouldn’t be off his training line until this is 100% proofed. Engagement exercises such as getting your dog to focus on you, lying down command teaching your dog how to be calm and to switch off, can be really challenging especially for nervous hyper dogs. The leave it and drop exercise and other essential exercises are so important for your dog’s wellbeing and safety. Flirt poles are a good way to burn off some energy and to teach your dog impulse control. Remember to reward your dog with treats for the behaviours that you like because this will help reinforce your dog to make more good choices. Build their confidence and get them happy listening to you, or you could mix it up by using a toy that he likes for his training sessions.

Practice some lead walking in a quiet environment, mixing up the routes and the lengths you are going because this will also strengthen your bond with your dog. When you are out walking your dog make the time to let them sniff their surroundings, by giving your dog the opportunity to use their powerful sense of smell, they will enjoy the walk more, they will be more stimulated and more tired and relaxed. Some dogs can become overstimulated when they do high energy level activities, so harnessing your dog’s natural sniffing behaviour is a calm and relaxing option.

When your dogs are at home invest in enrichment puzzles to stimulate your dog’s brain and keep them calm with a snuffle mat which is another wonderful way to provide your dogs with natural foraging instinct and relieve boredom. Feed your dog from a Kong occasionally to make them work for their food instead of the dog bowl, I recommend getting the next size up Kong to your dog because they don’t hold as much food as you think and you don’t want your dog getting frustrated trying to get their food out. Puzzle toys are a great way to provide mental challenges for your dog.

Please look out for your dog’s safety in park environments, every dog is different and what suits one does not suit all.

Justine Shone

JP Holistic Nutrition

https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com/

The Pet food industry and behaviour in dogs.

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 17:39:34 GMT

How Pet food affects behaviour in dogs.

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NewDogs and cats are carnivores; they have evolved over millennia to eat meat, fat and bone. Their digestive system is optimised for this sort of food. However high-quality raw meat and bone can be expensive. Carbohydrates are cheap calories to feed, much cheaper than meat.

The pet food industry is a huge business worth billions of dollars, and profit is the only thing that’s important, not your pet’s health. Many of the nutrients in kibble are lost during the high heat process so flavour enhances, and synthetic nutrients are added to replace what has been lost. Diverse types of acrylamide and other carcinogens are created in this process, which could be detrimental to your dog’s long-term health. This leads to all sorts of health problems over time and sometimes even behavioural problems.

Commercial pet foods are designed to be addictive. They are made highly palatable by adding salt, which is bad for the kidneys and dehydrates the body. These additives mask the fact that the food itself is awful. Most dogs would not touch it without these addictive and harmful additives.

Behavioural issues.

What you put into your dog’s body and the food they eat has an enormous impact on how they feel and behave overall. An unbalanced diet and food that is highly processed and high in carbs and fillers leave your dog feeling uncomfortable and lethargic or they may go the other way and become hyperactive and destructive from too many sugars. Many commercial dog foods rely on carbohydrates and sugars as their primary ingredients.

How can commercial dog food be contributing to behavioural issues? A starchy high carb diet creates blood sugar spikes and energy crashes. Most commercial dog foods and kibble are made with starches and sugar as their primary ingredients using corn, and grains. These ingredients cause blood sugar spikes where you will see glucose peaks and energy surges followed by glucose troughs and energy crashes. By switching your dog off kibble and onto a high protein diet you promote stable blood sugar levels and fewer energy spikes.

An unbalanced diet may leave your dog irritated and behaviours can come out in other ways such as your dog being reactive or aggressive. Just like humans when a dog is eating an unbalanced diet it leaves them feeling uncomfortable. Too little protein can lead to depression and low mood, your dog needs protein above any other macronutrient to survive. When your dog is eating a diet too low in protein as many commercial kibbles are, they may end up with a tryptophan deficiency. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid that assists in the creation of serotonin, the chemical neurotransmitter known for creating feelings of happiness. On a low protein diet, you end up with unstable moods and with low levels of tryptophan your dog has difficulty producing serotonin.

Low quality protein may cause overexcitable dogs. Many of the meats used in commercial pet food are either meat by-products or are so refined and broken down that those complicated chains of amino acids become single amino acids. You go from complex and protein rich foods to highly processed single amino acids. Glutamate becomes the most readily available amino acid to digest, and Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter. When a complex protein gets broken down so that all that is left is Glutamate, you see over-excitable behaviour in your dog.

How can you change your dog’s diet? Choose an unprocessed whole foods diet that is high in protein like raw dog food. Major benefits when it comes to behaviour include the fact that it is high in protein, which helps in serotonin creation. It keeps the protein in its original complex state with chains of amino acids that reduce excitability, and the raw food diet is low in carbs which means less discomfort, bloating and aggression.

Probiotics for your dog’s gut are so important, clinical studies are finding that gut

bacteria send important chemical messages to the brain and these chemical messages can have a significant impact on your dog’s mood. The brain and gut are connected, and it is referred to as the gut-brain axis, so making sure your dog is on a good probiotic with their diet is essential for your dog’s wellbeing and health. Look at https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com for our probiotic fibre supplement and our omega 3.

Justine Shone

JP Holistic Nutrition

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10 signs your dog or cat needs probiotics for their gut

Wed, 25 May 2022 20:09:23 GMT

What are probiotics and why does your dog or cat need them?

When exactly does a dog or cat need probiotics ? In the long-term keeping, your dog’s gut healthy will save you money at the vet. Do they work for gas? Constipation?

Let us look at the 10 most common signs that our four-legged friends need probiotics for a healthy gut microbiome.

��Diarrhoea
��Gurgle Guts
��Bad gas
��An inconsistent poop ��
��They cannot keep weight on
��Your pet eats kibble (commercial dog food)
��You have a yeasty dog
��Your pet has anxiety
��Your pet needs immune support
�� Your pet has itchy skin

Diarrhoea �� There is a sliding scale for stool ranging from entirely liquid to extremely hard and dry. You want your pet to stay away from either end like diarrhoea. There are plenty of contributions to diarrhoea, but you can help keep future bouts in check by prioritising gut health.

Gurgle Guts -That is coming from your pet’s gut, more specifically, gas moving around in the intestines. While it is not the norm for this to happen occasionally, if you hear it consistently, they need gut support.

Bad Gas -This is an apparent sign that something has gone a bit sideways with a pet’s digestion. It is also one of the more compelling arguments for finding a solution like probiotics.

Your pet eats kibble- commercial dry dog food, and your dog needs probiotics and digestive enzymes. Kibble based diets have excessive amounts of carbohydrates or sugars. As carnivores’ dogs and cats are not designed for diets with this many carbohydrates. Dogs have little salivary amylase an enzyme in saliva that breaks down carbohydrates, and cats have none. So those carbohydrates are not being broken down as they would in an omnivore or herbivore. Adding extra species-specific digestive enzymes like amylase which is an enzyme that breaks down carbohydrates and cellulose (an enzyme to break down plants) will help them digest and use that food. And a daily probiotic again beneficial bacteria help balance your pet’s gut microbiome for better digestion.

Your cat or dog has anxiety. When the microbiome is healthy and balanced so is your four-legged friend because the microbiome can affect mood positivity or negativity. It is true A recent study found that an out of balanced microbiome may be one of the behaviour issues in dogs.

Your pet needs immune support- upwards of 85% of the immune system resides in the gut. So, when the gut microbiome is healthy you have a healthy pet. Therefore, adding healthy bacteria does so much for gut health and for the body as a whole. You’re pets immune system will not spend so much energy keeping bad bacteria at bay, which allows their immune system to focus on other important tasks

You have a yeasty Dog -
We all have some yeast in our gut, it is completely normal because they are members of the gut microbiome community. But a healthy microbiome is diverse and balanced so if there is an overgrowth of yeast, it becomes problematic and can cause all sorts of gut upsets. If your dog is experiencing yeast infections in the skin or ears, that could also have come from the gut, meaning it started in the gut and invaded the rest of the body.
Flooding the gut with beneficial bacteria can inhibit yeast growth and restore the balance in the microbiome which eases the gut upsets too.

The stomach is an acid pit, so if you do not provide enough probiotics, they will not make it to the lower gastrointestinal tract where it really matters. It is not only where bad gas develops but how you truly support your dog’s immune system and wellbeing.

Probiotics require prebiotics to feed on.

Look at our probiotic, and prebiotic gut supplements.

Justine Shone

JP Holistic Nutrition

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Canine settling exercise

Wed, 25 May 2022 19:53:22 GMT

This exercise for your dog is very important

Canine settling exercise.

The settling exercise is one of the most important life skills that you can train your dog or puppy. When you get your puppy, this training should start early because teaching them how to chill and switch off is so important. I like to use a crate or a puppy pen for training puppies because if used correctly and not abused this can be a beneficial training tool for teaching your puppy how to relax and chill. You can visit my website Liverpool Dog Training VIP to book an appointment with me.

Many behavioural problems have a component of fear, anxiety, or excessive arousal so, that retraining cannot begin until they are in a calm and relaxed state, so that benefits can be achieved on cue. Training should focus on both the behavioural responses (sit, down and walk stay on your mat) as well as the emotional state (calm and relaxed). In fact, until you can get your dog to focus and relax on cue in the absence of the stimuli that evoke anxiety or arousal, it is not practical to attempt to get your dog to relax in the presence of these stimuli.

Once your dog has learned to settle on cue, it should be possible to begin exposing them gradually to more intense stimuli. The settle command could be used to achieve a focused response when your dog is overly excited or anxious, such as when greeting family members, strangers, or other animals. It can be used when dogs become anxious as their owners prepare to depart, become overly excited when company arrives or when preparing for a walk.

Start the settle exercise indoors in your home environment with no distractions to begin with. I like to use a mat or a towel to train my dogs to settle on. If you have hardwood floors a slip free mat is good, otherwise you are constantly adjusting the mat. A towel is good because you can roll it up and take it to different environments, such as a dog friendly restaurant, or the vets. When the training mat is on the ground your dog knows that they are expected to perform a certain behaviour to chill on it and relax.

Training your dog or puppy to go on the mat or towel.

First, of all we need to train your dog to go on the mat itself. Make sure that you have everything ready to go before you put the mat on the ground. This means treats and a ready clicker in hand (if you are using one).

Starting with your puppy with the settle exercise.

Put the mat on the floor and lure your pup into the mat with a treat, your pup may choose to go onto the mat without a lure and that is fine and even better. Once they have all four paws on the mat, click your clicker and reward them with a treat or you can mark the behaviour with a Yes cue and give a treat. The clicker or marker is used at the exact time that they place all four paws onto the mat or towel. This let us your dog or puppy know that their reward is coming. At this point all that matters is that they have all four paws on the mat, it does not matter if your dog or puppy is standing, sitting or lying down. The behaviour is to go on the mat. As you begin to make them wait for longer and longer periods of time, you will find that your dog chooses to lay down on their own.

The main thing that you want your puppy or dog to learn right now is that placing their paws on the mat equals treats! You will soon find that your dog or puppy will readily hop on the mat all on their own to earn that treat. Make sure at any time your pup or dog goes on the mat without instruction you reinforce their behaviour with a treat. The more that you reward their calm behaviour, your dog soon learns that good things happen when they are calm.

Adding the release cue.

This signals that your puppy or dog is free to leave the mat and it will become useful when you begin to lengthen the time that your dog is required to remain on the mat. To add a release cue, we have to change our procedure a little bit. Now once your dog has all four paws on the mat, mark the behaviour as per usual, but do not give the treat yet. Instead, toss the treat away from the mat so that your dog or puppy must get off the mat to retrieve it. As you toss the treat, give the release word, such as all done or free!

Wait for your dog to return to the mat and then repeat the process. Mark the behaviour once your dog has all four paws on the mat, and then toss the treat a few feet away while using your release word. Tossing the treat also allows you to practice rewarding them for walking back into the mat several times in a row. This will help to train your dog what they are expected to do which is too to their mat.

Incorporate the cue word.

Now it is time to start pairing the cue word with the behaviour of going on the mat. As your dog or puppy walks onto the mat, say settle or place but keep to the same cue word that you choose. Once your dog or puppy is fully on the mat, mark the behaviour and reward your dog or puppy. You are simply trying to get your pup or dog to associate the cue word settle or place with the behaviour of placing themselves on the mat. The settle cue word should come as they are walking onto the mat so that they learn to pair what they are doing with the cue word.

Mat training can prevent undesirable behaviours.

These situations might include.

Your dog jumping up on guests.

Your dog dashes for the door when it opens.

Your dog counter surfing for snacks.

Your dog is begging while you are eating.

Your dog is over excited when the doorbell rings.

For example, if your dog is anxious about strangers entering the home, have them go to the mat every time someone comes to the door. Your dog will be less worried and stressed about the interaction, since the mat gives your dog a predictable coping strategy as well as a safe zone. Your dog stays calm on the mat, earns delicious treats, and once everyone is settled, your dog can have the option to say hello if they want.

Justine Shone

JP Holistic Nutrition

https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com

Stress and Anxiety in Dogs

Wed, 25 May 2022 19:37:50 GMT

What Causes Stress and Anxiety in Dogs?

Sometimes it might seem like this negative behaviour comes out of nowhere, but it is usually brought on by some change in routine, environment, or activity. More owners are noticing anxiety in their dogs. Separation anxiety is one of the most common forms of anxiety in dogs, and this can affect dogs that have gone through trauma or have been abandoned in the past. This is common with many rescue dogs, also dogs that haven’t had the correct training at the beginning of their life, and the role of genetics also plays a part in dogs’ behaviour.

As an owner, it is important to be able to identify when your dogs are stressed and to know how to help them. Your dog can feel stressed for a number of reasons and just some of the causes of anxiety in dogs, include confusion and memory loss associated with ageing, fear of loud noises such as fireworks, dogs have a super-sensitive hearing that is only amplified to them, new environments such as moving house, large or strange objects, big groups of people, separation anxiety, introducing your dog to new people because not every dog likes getting introduced to every human.

We must also remember that as owners your own emotional health and stress levels can impact your dog’s stress levels, dogs to a great extent mirror the stress levels of their owners. Research has been done on cortisol spikes during stressful or scary situations, and the chemicals long term effect is seen in slow-growing hair and fur. A team of researchers measured a whole range of variables, such as seasonal differences in activity levels and lifestyle, but the only one that corresponded to the dogs' anxiety levels was their owners' anxiety level. In other words, an owner with excessive amounts of cortisol in their hair also had a dog with a high amount of cortisol.

Signs of Stress & Anxiety in Dogs

There are a number of ways that your dog may display stress, such as destroying objects in your home, toileting despite being house trained (if your dog just starts having accidents it could be a medical problem so have your dog checked by your Vet), showing reactive or aggressive behaviour (again if your dog suddenly develops aggressive behaviour have them checked by your Vet. Hypothyroidism could be the cause), repetitive behaviours, pacing or restlessness, and panting behaviours.

How to Help Dogs Relax

It is important to feed your dog a healthy diet such as a species-specific raw food diet because some behavioural problems in dogs can be linked to artificial additives in processed commercial dog foods. Omega 3 fatty acids, which is abundant in krill and small fish such as sardines, anchovies and pollock has been shown to maintain mood levels and a sense of well-being. Feeding high protein kibble commercial dog food can often exacerbate existing nervousness, fear, and hyperactivity. A raw food diet can have a great effect on our dogs. Everything starts in the gut which plays a host to the many beneficial bacteria and chemicals which influence self-control, mood balance and feelings of happiness and contentment. 90% of serotonin is produced in the gut, and the gut brain axis is influenced by gut health and raw meat improves the health and balance of the gut.

Making sure that our dogs get plenty of exercise is critical for your dog’s mental health. Training is especially important because it creates a platform for communication between you and your dog. Interactive playtime also helps your dog’s behaviour such as playing with the flirt pole. Exercise is important for your dog, but mental stimulation also helps your dog with anxiety or hyperactivity. You can invest in lots of different enrichment toys for dogs, e.g. snuffle mats for scent work, food stuffed kongs to feed your dog, and enrichment puzzles that come in various levels. Most importantly it is crucial to train your dog’s how to switch off and chill, so l like to teach my dogs the settling exercise.

Avoid bringing your dog into stressful situations, for some dogs certain situations will always be too overwhelming for them to manage. If you know that your dog responds poorly to loud noises for example, do not bring them anywhere where loud music is playing and keep your music to a comfortable volume at home.

Dogs can get stressed, but there is a lot we can do to support them. By paying attention to their behaviour, you can identify the signs and causes of their stress and therefore, help your dog. If you are struggling, I recommend you get help with a dog behaviourist, and in some cases rule out any medical causes with your Vet.

Products and Enrichment Toys That May Be Useful

These include thunder shirts or an anxiety rap, which intend to reduce anxiety via applying pressure to points on the dog's body, organic lavender spray, CD classical music, enrichments puzzles, and lick mats scent work to release good endorphins. Our all-natural calming dog supplements are also available to help with both dog and cat anxiety.

Justine Shone

JP Holistic Nutrition

https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com

UK Natural Pet Supplements | Holistic Natural Supplements For Dogs/Cats Launched

Wed, 11 May 2022 16:09:17 GMT

UK Natural Pet Supplements For Dogs and Cats

According to the Pet Food Manufacturer’s Association, nearly 62% of all households in the UK have a pet. With JP Holistic Nutrition's newly released selection of natural pet supplements, owners of dogs and cats can have peace of mind they give their four-legged friends all the vitamins and nutrients they need to stay healthy and thrive.

More details can be found at https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com

The recently launched range of supplements combines decades of knowledge and experience in pet nutrition. JP Holistic Nutrition offers Vet approved natural pet supplements created by two experts dedicated to creating a range of unique nutraceutical products for dogs and cats that contain no artificial ingredients, added chemicals, or preservatives.

The dynamic duo behind the company are Veterinary Surgeon, Dr Paul Boland, and dog trainer and behaviourist Justine Shone. Together, Paul and Justine have formulated a unique collection so that pet owners can feed their pets with confidence. Further details can be found at https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com/collections/dogs

One of its most popular products is the calming supplement for cats and dogs. It uses only 100% naturally sourced and ethically grown ingredients to ensure the highest quality of nutrition for a pet. The supplement can be bought either as a liquid or in capsule form.

Most of the products at JP Holistic Nutrition address a behavioural problem often found in dogs and cats. This includes anxiety, stress, and even over-grooming. Often, pet owners forget that a major contributor to a behavioural concern is the nutrition being given to their furry friends. A healthy diet leads to healthy wellbeing, says the pair.

The online store only ships within the UK, with free delivery available for orders of more than £50. Other products for more exotic animals such as rabbits, birds, and reptiles are also available. Clients are encouraged to visit the company's website to learn more.

A spokesperson for the company said, "We believe that nature has the answers to the health and wellbeing problems that we and our pets face. That’s why you won’t find any artificial products, added chemicals, or preservatives in any of our natural pet supplements."

Interested parties can find more information by visiting https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com/collections/cats

Dr Paul Boland BVSc MRCVS

JP Holistic Nutrition

Canine socialisation and training

Wed, 11 May 2022 12:09:51 GMT

How to socialise and train your dog

Canine socialisation and training.

Some dog owners believe that letting their puppy play with as many dogs as possible at a youthful age will make their puppy more sociable and friendly to people and other dogs. Letting them play with dogs you do not know in the park can be so damaging long term, especially if owners cannot read their own dogs body language. Your puppy can end up being bullied and chased by other dogs and this can end up having a negative effect on your puppy in the future. Your puppy could end up becoming reactive which means dogs can overreact to a certain stimulus or situation. It is important to be watching your dog and the other dogs body language when they are playing together, they should be nicely mirroring each other when they are playing.

The biggest mistake dog owners normally make is just letting their dogs get thrown and pinned on the ground constantly by other dogs in the park, thinking that they are playing and having fun, and they will just sort it out between themselves. I had a client last year who had a French Bulldog, she would meet up with other dog owners, so all the dogs could play, and the owners could chat and socialise, obviously not watching their dogs body language while they were playing. He was only about 4months old, and he was very friendly good with other dogs. Then his behaviour started to change. His owner called me and asked me for some help because he had started being reactive to other dogs in the park, and on the lead. I found the underlying cause of the problem after asking some questions in a consultation. It was because a dog in the pack would always bully and chase her dog, but she thought that they would sort themselves out. Owners need to be watching what is going on and remove your dog from this these situations.

Training your puppy.

As a dog owner you need to have your foundations in place with your puppy, teaching them to ignore other dogs and to focus on you, with engagement training. Teach them that you are more fun than other dogs. This could be through reward training with treats, or to play a game with your dog. Therefore, I do not recommend letting your puppy or dog off the lead until you have them trained and engaging with you. It is important for your dog’s safety and others. The most important part of socialisation and training your dog is teaching them to be calm and well-mannered around other dogs and people and how to cope in different environments.

Socialisation does not mean that a puppy or dog is uncontrollably excited to see people and dogs, this just means that they have no impulse control and have not had the correct training. Socialisation means that there is a learning process a puppy must go through to learn key life skills, this ensures that your puppy is happy and confident in all environments and that it has skills to be able to communicate within a social group. Puppies are not born with social skills, they need to learn them so, getting this right in the initial stages is so important.

Socialisation does not just stop at puppies, these good well-mannered experiences must continue through adolescence, to have a well-balanced trained dog. The most important training exercise to train your dog is impulse control for social situations. This must be one of the most important training skills to train your dog. Impulse control means they can stay calm in exciting or stimulating situations and that they will have the patience even when presented with something they strongly desire.

An over socialised dog with no training can result in a dog that does not pay attention to other dogs’ signals. They will go rushing over to other dogs with no manners, playing with all the dogs or wanting attention from people. These are the dogs that cause more arguments and bite incidents than an aggressive dog, because they are normally running over to a dog who is on a lead, but that dog could be nervous or reactive. An over socialised dog unfortunately has never learnt impulse control, the dog learns that all fun comes from dogs and people. This is when you will normally hear a voice in the distance from their owner as their dog is rushing over to your dog saying that its ok because he is friendly and that he loves everyone. An over socialised untrained dog can bounce, pull, and lunge on the lead to get to the other dogs, despite the other dogs giving clear signals that it does not want to participate. These are the situations that can lead to an argument between owners. So, the key is that training and socialisation must be done correctly.

A well socialised dog will be balanced and calm when they are playing with other dogs. They are not the constant chaser always pinning other dogs to the floor, they can play fairly, they can chase but also take turns to be chased. The play between two well socialised dogs is equal and a pleasure to watch. A well socialised dog has impulse control within its skillset. This means that the dog never becomes so over aroused by things in the environment that it loses the ability to communicate effectively. This is achieved by correct socialisation and training, and by applying reward based training methods and teaching them impulse control.

A under socialised puppy can be timid or scared. This could be from the lack of suitable experiences starting as early as 3 weeks of age and therefore if you are buying a puppy from a breeder, it is important, that they are a reputable breeder. Shy puppies have different sensitivities, and some are more difficult to socialise so changing this as soon as possible is vital. The biggest mistake people make with a shy puppy is forcing them to continually face their fears in the hope that they will get over their fears. Shy puppies should not be put in situations where they become overwhelmed. This will only leave the puppy with a negative feeling, and it feels relieved that the threat has gone away but this only further reinforces the fear. Allow a shy puppy the freedom and time to make friends at their own pace. Do not allow your puppy to be bullied by other puppies or stroked and handled by people if they are the cause of worry. If someone approaches your puppy and your puppy backs off, ask the stranger to stop, drop a treat on the floor and give the puppy space. Giving your dog experiences that they can cope with and the feeling that they have not been pushed over their fear threshold will get you the best results. Constantly pushing a nervous dog over their nervous threshold often leads to fear biting and this is not how you want your puppy to respond when they are scared.

Having your puppy socialised correctly.

Finding a good reward-based trainer will be the most effective way to help you get the correct socialisation for your puppy. If you decide you want to go to puppy classes, then make sure they are solely with puppies. Puppies can learn impulse control and life skills in a class if it is run correctly by a professional dog trainer. If they do play with other puppies, it is important that they are well matched where puppies are similar in temperament and play styles, so they leave every session feeling happy and confident. If you are struggling with your dog, get help from a dog behaviourist who can give you help, improving and modifying your dog’s behaviour using force free methods. This means positive reinforcement focused on providing your puppy with something that is reinforcing or desirable like a treat, toy, or praise.

Remember quality training is far more important than quantity when it comes to socialising with dogs.

Justine Shone

JP Holistic Nutrition

https://www.jpholisticnutrition.com