Why you should escape to the country

No, I can’t come out to the pub/go for dinner/visit you at home for the next two weeks if it's in the evening...

That’s what life is like when you have a noise sensitive dog around the 5th of November.

I’m lucky, even though Freya is worried by some loud noises, she’s dramatically better than a couple of years ago thanks to a combination of training and supportive medication.

And she’s never been as bad as my first collie Finn was.

When we have had the usual random fireworks in the area, I’ve gone for the “silly happy voice + treat shower” as usual.

I also tend to pop a Thundershirt on Freya as she finds the pressure helpful (your mileage may vary – so always be guided by your dog).

But I still opted to escape to the country (Wensleydale in fact) this weekend because it made life easier for everyone.

Plus it reduces the chance of Freya getting more worried, or passing on her fears to anyone else in the family.

I really hope your dogs have survived the worst few days without too much trauma, and don’t forget to be careful in the evenings for the next weeks as the left overs are let off.

What to do if your dog found it really hard this year

1. Starting planning to go away over the worst few days next year now – seriously, this can make such a difference 
2. Make an appointment with your vet to discuss the problem - you will need a survival strategy for New Years Eve 
3. AND get a referral to a clinical animal behaviourist – we can help your dog feel less terrified but it takes time, lets start making things better for 2019!

If you want to find out more about your options, and what a behaviour modification programme includes, you can still access the recording of our practical seminar from March

https://wellconnectedcanine.teachable.com/p/noise-fears-and-phobias-a-practical-seminar

Meanwhile, what’s going on in WCC land?

Sunday 11th Nov at 2pm Sunday Sports & Social

A relaxed informal get together where you can train your dog among friendly people, and eat lots of cake! Tell us you’re coming by clicking HERE!

Saturday 24th November 

Two half day clicker training workshops to brush up on your skills before the winter really sets in.

• Train Your Dog Like a Dolphin for people new to clicker training
• The Art & Science of Clicker for the pro trainers! 

Click HERE for more information

Fingers and paws crossed for a peaceful week for everyone,

Morag and the Beasties

Jets, sheep and grouse - oh my!

or What happened on my holidays, and why I love resilience

Hello!

Well that was an exciting holiday week to say the least.  Wales was beautiful of course, and the hills were satisfyingly high.

I hadn’t bargained on the level of distractions at the “idyllic” cottage though.

• Grouse breeding pen in the garden
• No secure boundary (three exits, two leading onto roads)
• Randomly increasing numbers of ewes and lambs appearing in the garden (7 on the last day)
• Mach loop flight path (half hourly low-level flyovers from 9am into the night)

And for context, we already knew it might be a challenging week since it was the first time everyone in our group had been on holiday since all the additions. Our party had a total of 8 adults, one baby and five dogs (baby and two of the dogs are new). 

What did I learn from my holiday?

That my dogs are bloody amazing. And I probably don’t give them enough credit. 

Yes I was sensible, and they were largely on leash in the garden but certainly not all of the time. 

My beasts coped beautifully with Ellie the baby (Laird and Ellie are rather smitten with each other), no one chased anything, and Freya barely flinched at the jets!

We did have a bit more bad luck on the narrow roads requiring an emergency stop (blind bend with road works and a red light but no prior warning). Freya was understandably upset, but she recovered after a day or so – which is amazing given what she’s had to deal with in the last year.

The secret to our success?

Resilience.

The ability to bounce back and cope even in difficult situations.

Freya’s resilience is hard won – we’ve had to work damn hard with training, confidence building and drugs to support her.

Laird on the other hand seems to have the benefit of a super solid temperament from both his genetics and early life. He really is one of the easiest dogs I’ve ever lived with despite the black eyes and adventurous eating habits…

And that made me think of the lovely people who have just booked a phone session with Clare. They want to find the right puppy for their family, and they’ve asked us to help them!

If you’re thinking about adding a puppy or a rescue dog to your family, or you have a family member who might - why not talk to us before you fall in love. Get expert advice on what to look for, and the red flags to run away from.

It’s okay to have a wish list for your next dog, so long as it’s realistic. The perfect dog (or human!) simply doesn’t exist. But you can stack the odds in your favour if we help you to sift through the pages of possible second chance dogs, and resist the new puppy smell when you meet a whole litter of adorable puddings.

I met several potential dogs before I brought Laird home. I’m not just lucky that he is amazing, I had a clear idea of the essential characteristics needed to enjoy living with me. 

Book your “new family member” chat with Clare and start off in harmony: booking link

What’s going on in WCC Land?

Quite honestly what’s not – we’re back from our holidays and super motivated to spread the word about positive training and awesome relationships.

Workshops for your dogs

• Canine Activity Foundations  (Sun 9th Sept) – a one day taster workshop to find out your dog’s secret super power

• Helpful Hounds (Sun 21st Oct) – a foundation workshop to teach your pooch the skills of an assistance dog

Workshops for you

• Dog Training Fundamentals  - 29th & 30th September - a practical weekend for anyone interested in learning more about effective teaching methods for people AND dogs.

• Teaching with Confidence - 17th & 18th November - understand how to create successful learning experiences for both humans and dogs in a class environment. Plenty of practical teaching and videoed feedback sessions

Webinar programmes

• Deaf dogs – from getting started with recall to dealing with aggression and shadow chasing (starting 31st July)

• Professional dog trainers and behaviourists – learning to love your business (starting 2nd August)

PS The winner of our impromptu competition from the last email/blog was Alex with Super Cooper. They were the first to reply with Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” and have won a tennis ball bungee tug toy!

Hey kids, let’s talk about drugs

Today’s blog is all about drugs!

I’m thinking about them because I noticed at the weekend how well Freya was coping. Not just with having a new brother (the big yin), and travelling in the van, but also with my neighbours building a fence with a nail gun!

Just a few months ago Freya was really struggling with noise fears, and we could only just peek out the front door at the van. And adding in a new dog was out of the question.

I have used drugs to help her, but most of the change has come about from Freya being super awesome and working through her training plans with me. Once I’m happy she is showing stable progress, my vet will help me to gradually reduce the dosage.

*please don’t email to ask what drugs we’re using or the dosage – anything like that needs to be discussed with your behaviourist AND your vet*

In case you didn’t know, my original background and training was jointly in Psychology, and Complementary/Alternative Medicine (specifically bodywork and remedial massage therapy). I studied at Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities, plus several private colleges in the UK and the USA. 

So how did I go from being the passionate student who fiercely believed in taking a “natural” approach to health, and fell in love with Lucy Johnstone who wrote “Users & Abusers of Psychiatry”  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Users-Abusers-Psychiatry-Critical-Psychiatric/dp/0415211565 , to being a Clinical Animal Behavourist who sometimes works with vets to use psychoactive medication (drugs) with my clients.

• Because sometimes we (people and animals) need a bit more help or support before we can change our habits and behaviour.
• Because sometimes will power isn’t enough.
• Because sometimes the real world gets in the way of your careful training plans.
• Because sometimes daily living becomes unbearable.

I don’t think drugs or medication are the answer to any or even most problems, especially not on their own.

I do think that we need to really understand the situation, and offer the support that the person or animal will most benefit from right at that moment. That might include bodywork, change of routine, confidence building games, behavioural therapy, herbal supplements or even medications.

Mental health is a hugely controversial area and I don’t have the time or space to really get into the details here. 

But we have to make choices for our animals that they can’t make on their own. We ask them to live in a busy, challenging human world. And we sometimes end up living with individuals who find those things really hard.

What supportive medication CAN do, is help a human or animal to gain a degree of calm and space in their own brain. Then the talking therapies, or cognitive behaviour therapy, or behaviour modification can really start to take effect.

The middle of a panic attack is not the time to start a training plan.

When your animal is showing significant signs of distress on a daily basis, we need to reduce that first.

I have used these kinds of medications (both “natural” and “conventional”) with myself, and some of my own animals. I have opted to make informed choices that bring us all a better quality of life. 

Saying we just don’t want to use drugs can be a bit like saying I don’t want to put a plaster cast on my broken leg….

Yours in thoughtfulness

Morag, the partially medicated collies and the Big Yin

PS Does your dog get worried by sudden or loud noises?

If you missed our evening seminar on how you can assess and start to improve these before the dreaded Bonfire Month of November, you can still buy the recording to watch at home for only £10

Just book below and you’ll automatically be sent the seminar details (don't worry about the time or date - you can watch it whenever you want!) 

PPS For anyone who wants to read an emotional, ferocious blog rebutting the original picture meme, go here: http://missbanshee.com/2016/06/04/this-is-an-antidepressant-a-rebuttal/

*WARNING there is some bad language and strong feeling here*

Is it *ever* going to stop raining?

York has turned into a swamp (the joys of living on a floodplain) and I don’t think I’ll ever get rid of the mud on my floor, boots, dogs, towels...

I’ve been off in the Yorkshire Dales and Moors for the last two weekends, and it wasn’t much better there. Every path seems to be multi-tasking as a stream. As for the mud slides, well just look at the pictures!

Time out from classes has meant the chance to catch everyone up for some team CPD, and last Monday evening saw the first of our evening seminar series on Noise Fears and Phobias. 

Technology was on our side and we do have a recording available for anyone that missed the live session, just drop me an email to arrange payment.

Despite the weather we’re staying positive for our big move this week! On Friday we move into our new venue (Monday and Wednesday evenings) and everything kicks off on Monday 9^th April. There are just a couple of last minute places left so let us know ASAP if you want in on the fun:

• Level 1 Parkour Foundations 1 space
  
• Level 2 Parkour Progressions 2 spaces
• Agility Progressions 1 space

 Hope you’ve had a lovely long weekend, and managed to keep your dog away from all the chocolate by eating it super fast.

Morag and the Collie Girls

PS if you're a canicross addict don't forget we have a full day of paced running, warm-up and cool down routines plus safe stretching practices on Saturday 7th April

Click here to book!