The Dog Days of Summer (July 2019)

It's too hot for walks, chasing games or even just lying in the sun.

Even if your dog is sleeping the warm days away there comes a point when they start getting restless.

There’s a hint of boredom in those melting brown eyes that promises wickedness unless you can provide some entertainment.

 Right now two of the WCC dogs are injured, and on very limited exercise. So their tolerance for boredom is pretty low!

Poor Scout has an infected nail and clumsy Laird is recovering from three layers of stitches in his shoulder after spearing himself on a branch….

So here are our warm day/low exercise boredom busting tips! 

 

1. Dump the food bowl and get creative about freezing your dogs meals into food toys* 

• If you usually feed dry kibble add a spoonful of wet food to help it stick together. 
• My dogs adore a tin of mashed up sardines in olive oil. 
• Seal the top or edges with peanut butter (no added sugar or sweeteners or squeezy cheese/low fat Philadelphia for dogs like Freya who turn their nose up at PB 
• You will want lots of toys to help spread out the chilled meal time 

*Lots of people create complicated frozen treats and Kongs for their dogs, but when you have a multi dog household sometimes its better to keep things simple!

2. Quiet on lead Scentwork using simple directed searches along your garden wall (shaded areas only!) for 2-3 mins at a time

3. Frozen chicken feet – the canine ice pop of choice in my house!

4. Work on simple trick training that doesn’t involve much movement. Right now that’s building a sustained nose target and the beginning of “play dead” for my dogs.

And of course if you're Bronte, digging a cooling hole in the ground is just the best idea ever......

Last chance for a weekend workshop until September - August is just too hot!!

• "That's Not A Sheep!" (for herding dogs) is full

BUT there's a couple of places left on

• Saturday 27th July GunDog Games

• Sunday26th July Parkour Progressions

 Morag and the beasties

 What else is coming up in WCC Land?

Get Tracking - a three week course introducing you and your dog to finding a trail and following it! Open to sociable dogs who have completed a Getting Started Session or other classes with WCC. Starts Monday 5th August, 7pm at Yorkshire Museum of Farming

Sniffing School: Layers and Containers

Complex searches to challenge the keenest nose introducing baggage, postal sacks and more!

Open to sociable dogs who have completed our Progressions workshop or Level 1 classes, or equivalent - not sure if you are ready, drop an email to Morag!

Sunday 22nd September (morning workshop)

Sniffing School: Operation Salvage

Ever wanted your dog to find (and retrieve!) lost items? Maybe your keys, or even your wallet?

Open to sociable dogs who have played basic scentwork games before, retrieving skills not essential!.

Sunday 20th October (morning workshop)

Canicross Survival Skills

WHAT: Two half day workshops to boost your skills and enjoyment

• 09:30 Warming up and cooling down for canicross (includes 2k run)
• 13:30 Tackling REAL hills (includes 3-5k run)

WHEN: Sunday 15th September

WHERE: Yorkshire Cycle Hub, Fryup Dale, North York Moors  YO21 2AP

• Each workshop is limited to a max 8 participants (up to 2 dogs per runner), includes refreshments and kit check.
• Open to any canicross runner, ideal if you have completed an intro session previously
• £50 per workshop OR book both for £90

Choose your workshops here! 

Your dog wants you to work from home in hot weather

Working from home means you can keep doors and windows open, replenish the ice in water bowls, re-soak cooling coats and swop out cool mats.Oh, and maybe do some work too!

I’ve decamped downstairs to my dining table as the upstairs office is stifling. We’ll be having ice lollies (for me) and frozen chicken feet (for the collie girls) this lunchtime.

Don’t forget that dogs are smart, but that doesn’t mean they won’t still try to chase a ball in the hot sun! Instead use frozen kongs for their meals (cooling and challenging) and try out TD Scentwork in the cooler mornings or shady spots of your garden.

And although it might feel like a million years away on a sunny afternoon, it’s only four months until Bonfire Night.

Four months until the quiet evenings turn into a barrage of bangs, shrieks and screams from fireworks...

If you dread November just as much as your dog, don’t panic.

You can do a lot in four months to help your scaredy dog cope better with those terrifying noises.  

Come along to our evening talk and create your own action plan to start helping your dog right now.

Wednesday 5^th July 7pm to 8.30pm (Wigginton)

Book your place now as we have limited spaces

Ring Vets4Pets York on 01904 658 201 to book and pay
Tickets cost £10 per family (max two people) includes refreshments + a goodie bag