Would you go to work in a swimsuit?

What clothes did you put on this morning?  Did you throw on an old t-shirt and jogging bottoms ready to get on with painting the bathroom?

Or did you choose a smart outfit ready for that big interview?

What if you work from home, do you wear “work” clothes or have you ever tried to work in your PJs? How did it feel?!

The clothes we wear help us to get into the right mindset for the task ahead. Think about dress down days at the office, often there’s a more relaxed atmosphere and a bit more laughter too.

And if you’re wondering what on earth this has to do with dog training, bear with me!

What we wear helps us to do our jobs or tasks better, and not just because it’s easier to run well in decent shoes and sports bra (for those of us that need one!).

I spent the weekend learning more about tracking from Allyson Tohme down in Cambridgeshire with Bronte (my collie). Bronte mostly does TD Scentwork and her preferred style includes lots of movement and air scenting.

Now I’m asking Bronte to follow a new smell, and in straight careful lines (at first).

Enter another new harness - and no I don’t have a harness problem, just a lot of sport interests! Bronte actually has the fewest harnesses of all my dogs…

I was concerned that if Bronte wore her normal Scentwork harness she might go back to that style of sniffing and searching when it got more difficult. With Bronte being deaf and part-blind, I needed to make things as distinct as possible – so we used a different style of harness and a new hand signal.

New sport = new clothes!

Bronte has a different harness for canicross (running and pulling in front), wimbling walks (allowed to move around but not drag me), TD Scentwork (only used when we’re doing serious sniffing), and now a tracking harness.

Putting each harness on helps Bronte understand what her “job” is going to be, and you can see her getting into a totally different frame of mind too.

If Bronte pulled a lot on walks, we’d use a front attachment harness. So the lead getting clipped to the front ring on her chest would = loose lead walking time.

How does your dog know what his job is when you get ready to go on a walk, saunter into town or prepare for a sport like tracking, TD Scentwork or Rally?

Happy walking and stay safe in the wind this week

Morag and the collie girls

PS If you need to try out harnesses. we stock and fit the Dog-Games fleece Perfect Fit range of harnesses, plus we have a range of canicross running equipment too. Just drop us an email to arrange a fitting info@wellconnectedcanine.co.uk

Recruiting for Scentworkers in Yorkshire – can you help?

Team Well Connected Canine were busy this weekend at The North East Dog Festival doing taster Talking Dogs Scentwork sessions. Between us (Clare, Sian and Morag, with Fi manning the stand) we ran an amazing 42 taster sessions.

That’s over 40 new teams who learned to love Scentwork with their dog plus everyone who took leaflets, came to my talks in the education tent or watched our amazing demos in the main ring!  All the money we raised will be donated to Jerry Green Dog Rescue (£84).

Terrifyingly, 2018 isn’t that far away and I’m trying to firm up our calendar of events. Scentwork is such a great way to have fun with your dog, and it’s an easy sport to try even at a busy show or event.

Our aim to get out and about more to local events around York and North Yorkshire. The Scentwork sessions are always popular and a great way to raise funds for local charities too.

I’d love to hear your suggestions for events that we can take our Scentwork demos and have-a-go sessions to next year – charity dog events, village shows, anything where there might be a bored dog just begging to be turned into a super sleuth! We only charge a small fee for each session, and it’s all donated back to charity.

Send me your ideas by commenting, or emailing me on morag@wellconnectedcanine.co.uk

Have a great week and try not to get blown away!

Morag and the collie girls

PS Clare and I can confidently report that my tent does fit 2 people and 5 dogs into it, in fact I think we could squeeze in another dog if we tried….

Would your dog still love the vet?

Three trips to the vet in two days.

Having three types of liquid dripped, squirted and squeezed onto an inflamed and swollen eyeball. 

On every visit.

Holding open the sore eye, and moving the third eyelid around.

Poking things that should never be poked, and probably shouldn’t look like a peeled tomato!

You could understand if that dog didn’t really enjoy their weekend, and wasn’t thrilled by the idea of yet another check-up visit in a couple of days.

And yet, Bronte has continued to be delighted to see the receptionist, vet nurses and the night vet every single time. On Sunday morning she even fell asleep while we waited for our appointment.

I’m thrilled that Bronte loves visiting our vets, and her tolerant nature shines through even when she is clearly in a lot of pain.

But it’s not just good luck that she loves the vet.

Bronte has a remarkably gentle, sociable temperament despite a dodgy start to life. Temperament and genetics play a big part in how your dog approaches the world.

And she’s always had regular social trips to sit in the waiting room, snuggle the nurses and beg for biscuits from the receptionists.

Plus when any of my other dogs needs a vet trip (Farah has had regular acupuncture and other treatments) Bronte or Freya come along too just for the ride.

So most of the time when my girls go to the vet, it’s a fun experience and a chance to practice our mat settles and earn treats.

Dogs don’t have to be scared of the vets. It’s a lot easier for the vet to examine and treat your dog when they are relaxed and calm.

And even if your dog is a bit worried now, you can definitely change how they feel.

Get that social visit to your vets planned now, and don’t forget to ask for help if your dog or puppy doesn’t love the vet.

Wishing for a less eventful week,

Morag and the collie girls

PS We still don’t know what Bronte managed to do to her eye. She definitely traumatised her non-seeing eye somehow and while things are improving it’s not back to normal yet. 

PPS I've saved you from seeing the really icky pictures!