One of the most common questions we are asked - why is my dog ignoring me? We need to flip this around - Why should they listen to us? The answer is a simple one - dog's are NOT born hard wired to "please us", "work for us" or do as we ask. Dogs are animals and whilst they are a social species thriving on company and strong bonds, we cannot expect them to innately want to do anything we ask of them. This can be hard to understand if you have a dog who seemingly does anything you ask of them, or go out of their way to do things that make you happy. Whilst I would love to confirm to you that you ..read more

NOTE: THIS COMPRISES RESEARCH UP TO 2020 In the UK, canine castration is one of the most common surgical procedures (Bushby & White, 2019). The majority of these are elective meaning the owner has chosen to have this procedure done. In other countries in Europe, this is less common with countries such as Norway, the procedure is actually illegal unless it is deemed medically necessary. As a result, 93% of females & 99% of males remain intact in Scandinavian countries. Here in the UK, we have a choice and the time of writing, more than half of owners are choosing to castrate their pet ..read more

*This post is still being tweaked in regards to references in grammatical modification* NOTE: Numbers in brackets denotes the reference which can be found in the reference section at the end of the article. Neutering is a great topic of debate in our current society. For some, neutering is a no-brainer provided that you are not looking to breed from your dog; for others, it is an unnecessary procedure, which should not be done without reason. By just doing a quick google you will find a wide variety of opinions and reasonings. Traditional thinking that neutering prevents aggression in adult do ..read more

A common question among dog owners is what to do when their dog growls. First, let’s address what growling is and why it occurs. Growling is a form of canine communication and can be seen in many different situations. This article will primarily focus on Growling when a dog is unhappy as this is the most common time for owners to seek a solution. However, we will briefly highlight another extremely common occurrence of growling below: Play Growling - Growling can be a normal play behaviour. Just like barking, mouthing, jumping, humping, wrestling & chasing, growling can just be another per ..read more

I currently have two in-depth and detailed blogs focussing on spaying and castrating of dogs. I am however aware that these are long, technical and filled with research. Whilst I strongly encourage all owners to read through these blogs, I have compiled a summary of the findings. I would like to mention that in the full blog, I have explained why some of the findings may not be as cut and dry as they may appear based on numbers. There is a lot to consider with research which includes methodology and other external factors which may have affected the results. There is also a huge concern of cau ..read more

You may have had dogs all your life and consider yourself an experienced dog/puppy owner, but are you SURE you are ready for another puppy? I see a lot of puppies in my job and with that, a lot of owners at the end of their tether with their puppies (normal) behaviour. The problem is that puppyhood is like childbirth – you go through it, vow you will never do so again and then forget all the bad stuff & repeat! I can’t tell you the amount of times I have heard a puppy owner say “my other dogs have never done this!” or “my previous puppy wasn’t this bad!” - I have even said this with my own ..read more

This guide will help you in what to look out for when looking for a new puppy to join your family. This guide assumes you have an idea what breed you would like. I will be making a seperate blog soon on choosing the right breed for you. Health One of the most important considerations when you are looking for a new puppy should be heath. You do not want to get your puppy home to find them sick or to suffer with genetic problems down the road. Each breed has their own list of health issues that the breed is more prone to. This means that it is important to read up on your breed and understand wh ..read more

You will hear this all the time. You need to show your dog who is the "Boss". Who is "Pack Leader". You need to be the "Alpha". You need to be "Dominant"/"Top Dog" etc. The list goes on. If this is something you have always thought was true, you may be surprised to hear that this was actually disproven decades ago! Sadly this is something that is still widely spread by Social media, Forums, Facebook groups, well meaning owners and even some "trainers". So Where does it come from? The idea that dogs need an Alpha/Pack leader etc. comes from the study of captive wolves. In a group of unrelated c ..read more

So, you may have heard the myth that “Harnesses Encourage Pulling”. Whilst this understandably stems from the use of harnesses for sledding, it is an incorrect statement. To understand this, we need to pick this apart. To encourage any behaviour, it must be rewarding for a dog. There is no reason why the harness itself should be any more rewarding for the dog when the dog is pulling compared to when it is not. This means that the harness itself is not encouraging the dog to pull. So why does my dog pull more on a harness? Some individuals state that their dog appears to pull more on a traditio ..read more