It's in the bag! Show offers from Crufts

One of the great things about Crufts is the 'show offer.'  Many brands and stands offer visitors 'exclusive' Crufts deals to entice them to try products they may never have tried before, or to stock up on old favourites.  But what's actually in those bags that you see being carried around the show?

Well, with the final day of Crufts approaching (tomorrow's Hound & Terrier day plus Best in Show), meaning only one more shopping day left, I decided to take advantage of some of this year's offers.  I've a mix of freebie and paid for bags, and here are their contents....

'In the pink' - the Crufts' Show Guide

The bright, you can't miss it, pink bags are what contains this year's Show Guide. 

They're available to buy in the atrium and at stands throughout the halls.  If you want to know what's happening when, the show guide is a 'must'.  

It will set you back £8 but, hey, you get your first bag to put some of your first purchases in!

Doggy & Kitty bags from Lily's Kitchen

I'm a huge fan of Lily's Kitchen food and treats, for both my hounds and cat.  They produce an organic and 'natural' range of wet and dried dog and cat food, with a number of tempting recipes such as Hungry Hunter's Hot Pot (cat), Chicken Dinner (cat), Chicken supper (dog), Fishy Fish Pie with peas (dog) and Wild Campfire Stew (dog), to name just a small selection of them.

£5 bags:

These paper bags are packed full with goodies and great value for money.  My Doggy Bag contained:

• A 200g can of Beef, Potato & Vegetable Dinner
• A 150g Natural Range Herby Chicken tray
• A 60g sample of Lovely Lamb with peas & parsley dry food 
• An Eat Your Greens snack bar
• A 50g sample of Calming biscuits
• 25 compostable poop sacks
• Note pad

The Kitty Bag didn't disappoint, either, and contained:

• 6 x 100g trays of the Natural Range cat dinners
• A 40g sample of the Delicious Chicken Crunch Nibbles (dry cat food)
• Cute cat toy/ball
• Note pad

£10 bag:

If you've slightly more 'cash to splash' the £10 bag proves to be fantastic value.  Everything comes in a lovely linen bag, which contains:

• Your choice of 1Kg dried dog food (I chose the puppy food for Sherlock's sensitive tum)
• 2 x 400g cans of dog food (I chose Venison & Wild Boar Terrine and Recovery Recipe)
• Sample of Delicious Baked Biscuits (I chose the Calming biscuits)

£10 bag

 



You can find Lily's Kitchen stand in Hall 1 - stand 116

Companion Dog World magazine

Companion Dog World is the sister magazine to the weekly Dog World newspaper.  I have to admit that I'm a tad biased (as I am their resident 'Ask the Expert' for behaviour and training and questions) but it's a great magazine that is available both in print and online.

The Companion Dog World goody bag is a free bag and my bag contained:

• Latest copy of Companion Dog World
• A 150g tray of Butcher's Choice Simply Gentle food
• A sample of Eden Holistic Pet Foods, Country Cuisine - dry food
• A trial size sample of Fish 4 Dogs, Sea Jerky Tiddlers

All in all, not a bad 'haul!' A great read (I'm on pages 40-41, in case you're interested) and the dried food and sea jerky can be used as training treats.  You'll find Companion Dog World in Hall 4 - stand 78

Companion Dog World

Your Dog magazine

I subscribe to the monthly Your Dog magazine and as I remembered to bring along my 'voucher' (which was included with the latest issue), I received a free goody bag, which contained:

• A packet of Adventuros Nuggets in Boar flavour
• 7 x Simply Dental, Joint Care sticks
• 100g sample of Vitalin Adult, Chicken & Potato dry food
• 50 g sample of Platinum Adult, Iberico & Greens, dry food
• 1 mini Webbox Dream Bone
• 180g packet of Hi Life Treat Me! training treats

If you don't subscribe, never fear, you can subscribe for 4 magazines (I think) for £10 + get a goody bag.  You'll find Your Dog in Hall 4 - stand 34

What's in your bag?

We'd love to know what's in your bag. So if you make it to Crufts for the final day, do let us know!

Last 'Tongue out Tuesday' of February

Celebrating 'Tongue out Tuesday'

Plus another chance to win tickets for Crufts 2016

In honour of today being the last 'tongue out Tuesday' of February, here are 3 pics of my happy hounds - all with their tongues out!

Happy Ava

Derping Jasper

Smiley Sherlock

In case you don't know what #tongueoutuesday is - it all started over on Twitter, with people sharing photos of their hounds with their tongues out!  It's a bit of fun and in the case of Jasper, who only has one tooth, it's very difficult to keep his tongue in his mouth!

Win a pair of tickets to the 125th Crufts

Don't forget, to be in with a chance of winning tickets to the 2016 Crufts, simply comment on this, or any of our blog posts that are published during February 2016.

*The giveaway ends at 12:00GMT on Tuesday 1 March 2016 and Terms & Conditions apply.

PS. If you'd like to follow me on Twitter, you can find me @sukesu

Win a Pair of Tickets to Crufts 2016

The countdown to Crufts 2016 & our giveaway has begun

This year, Crufts celebrates its 125th anniversary.  To help celebrate this, the lovely folks at Crufts have provided me with a pair of tickets* (day passes) to giveaway on my blog.


It's fair to say that over its 125 year history, Crufts has experienced its fair share of ups and downs.  However, love it loathe it, Crufts is here to stay and it is now much more than a best of breed show (although that does remain at its core).  I'm not a huge fan of the showing element of Crufts, but I do love watching the various demonstrations of dogs competing in sports such as agility, heelwork to music and competitive obedience.

The 'must-sees' at Crufts

One of my favourite areas of Crufts is the Discover Dogs section.  In this section,  you get a chance to meet over 200 breeds of dogs and find out what living with a particular breed is really like. If you're thinking of getting a pure-bred dog, this is the first place I'd check out.

Me, meeting a beautiful Borzoi at Discover Dogs

There is also the chance to meet some great breed rescues, many of whom have stands at the show as well as canine ambassadors.  The Retired Greyhound Trust is a regular at the show, and a charity that is close to my heart - this year, you'll find them in Hall 1, stand 10.

The 'marketplace' is where you need deep purses, and even deeper pockets or bags to take all your purchases home! The shopping is fabulous and many companies show-case new products at Crufts and provide 'show specials.'  So, no matter what you're looking for, you're likely to find several dog-inspired purchases to tempt your purse strings.

A 125 years in just under 5 minutes..

Did you know that it was a greyhound that won the first ever Best in Show and that Crufts was originally started by a dog biscuit salesman, Charles Cruft?  To find out more about Crufts, watch the video below, or see the facts and figures page on the Crufts website.

Win a pair of tickets to the 125th Crufts

To be in with a chance of winning tickets to the 2016 Crufts, simply comment on any of our blog posts that are published during February 2016.

*The giveaway ends at 12:00GMT on Tuesday 1 March 2016 and Terms & Conditions apply.

Dog Training, A Year in Review & Unexpected Learning

So, today, in a damp and drizzly field in the wilds of Lincolnshire, it became all too apparent that Sherlock Saluki puppy’s adolescence was kicking in!  I haven’t blogged since Sherlock joined us (in fact, I hardly blogged at all during 2015), so let’s get the introductions and updates out of the way…

Events of 2015:

In a nutshell, 2015 had its fair share of ups and downs.  Here are some of them:

March:

Ava discovers TDS

TDS Scentwork - I was lucky enough to host Pam Mackinnon of Talking Dogs Scentwork (TDS), for a scent 1 workshop. Where Ava was introduced to the joy of scentwork.

Rescue Me - I took part in the first ‘Puppy School – Rescue Me’ course, where I got to spend a week at Cheltenham Animal Shelter and work with a dog to help them achieve their Kennel Club GCDS bronze award.  I got to work with the lovely Cookie – a Saluki cross – and we managed to achieve both bronze and silver.  And the icing on the cake was that he was adopted!

RIP Tula

RIP Tula – After coming back from the Puppy School course, I was brought down to earth with a bump.  My beloved Tula (the cat who was named thanks to Twitter), died very suddenly.  She developed saddle thrombus – a fatal blood clot – and passed away in minutes.  My heart was broken.







Speaking & Scentwork

Scentwork demo with Roo

On 29 March, I spoke at the GRWE annual conference and provided a demonstration of scentwork – it was lovely to be with so many like-minded people and to see the interest that my scentwork demo generated in TDS.

May

Dissertation Deadline! I finished my dissertation “Impulsivity in retired racing greyhounds (Canis familiaris): Is racing status a predictor or increased levels of impulsivity?”  and handed it in, just before going on a well-earned break to Europe.

June:

Morris Minor -  On June 15, we gave a home to Morris – a beautiful tabby and white kitten.  Little did we know it, but Morris’ time with us was very short.  I had to make the heart-breaking decision to say goodbye to him on 23 June.  He spent the last few days of his life at the vets, extremely poorly, but was certainly well-loved in the short time he was with us.

Trying something new with Ava-  I went on the APDT,UK activity weekend with Ava. We both learned loads.

July

Introducing Dennis – On 4 July we welcomed Dennis, a stunning tabby kitty, into our lives (our home isn’t complete without a cat).  Dennis soon earned the nickname of Ninja Kitty.

Learning about Life Skills - I attended the week-long Life Skills for Puppies, train the trainers, course at the University of Lincoln.  Great week, great course, where I added more skills to my repertoire and got to work with and train some red-footed tortoises.

August

Saluki Sherlock joins the family - Yep, after years of admiring Salukis from afar, a 13 week old Saluki puppy joined us.  Born with the rather posh name of Fernlark Birra Moretti (named after an Italian beer), this (then) little bundle of coffee and cream coloured puppy joined us (and threw up in the car journey home).  And, wow! What a learning curve I’ve been on since then.  More of which, later…

September

University Degree -I finally received the final notification of my university degree marks.  It was official, I was a Bachelor of Science, with Honours, in Canine Behaviour and Training – woohoo!

November

Graduation – In the historic surrounds of Beverley Minister I was very proud to receive my degree and had the privilege of giving the students’ vote of thanks speech (in which I acknowledged the role that Mina had played in my education and journey).  I was also very honoured and proud to receive the BSc Best Student Award – rounding off a hard 5 years of part-time university study.

2016 and the point of today’s post!

December whizzed by, and before I knew it we were in 2016 and more precisely, on 2 January, Sherlock provided the inspiration for me to break my blogging hiatus.

Today I found myself uttering the words that many dog owners hate to hear, especially if their dog is on a lead.  What are these words, I hear you cry?  I hate to say it but I uttered the infamous phrase:

 “It’s ok my dog is friendly!”

Now, before I’m shot down in flames about being an irresponsible dog owner, do let me explain…

Off-lead training and management

I exercise the hounds in a local playing field.  It’s ideal for the hounds as it is flat, enclosed, fenced in and I can see other dog walkers coming, so have time to pop the hounds back on the lead.  It’s where most of my off-lead videos are filmed and in our village, there’s a tacit (yet unstated) agreement between most dog walkers, not to come into the field if there are dogs off lead.  Hmmmm

So, today, it’s damp, it’s drizzly and I’m up the top end of the field with my hood up (obscuring my view).  Ava and Sherlock have been happily playing fetch and Jasper’s been ambling along in his inimitable style.  Suddenly, all three hounds stop and in a split second, Sherlock shoots off at 30mph across the field. I turn and my heart sinks…Across the field is a farmer with his on-lead, German Shepherd Dog (GSD).

Oh b*gger! I think. I hurriedly put Jasper back on his lead and call Ava back to me, as she’s started to follow Sherlock.  Ava’s recall is great, so she’s back in a flash and back on her lead.  Then I find myself haring across the field, 2 greyhounds in tow, calling Sherlock back and uttering the dreaded words “It’s ok, he’s friendly” to the farmer.

The uncrowned Queen of Reinforcers

Now, Sherlock is a true training challenge. We’ve been to several puppy training courses and follow-on classes, and I continue training at home and around and about.  However, Sherlock is not food motivated in the slightest and by not food motivated, I mean you could wave Wagyu steak under his nose and he wouldn’t be interested.  He loves to play and I’ve certainly been using a lot of toys in our training but in the ‘real world’ not many toys ‘cut it’ either.

It's fair to say, that the best reinforcers for Sherlock are those with a heartbeat (he certainly doesn't live up to the Saluki breed standard of being 'aloof').  I have to be creative in my reinforcers and often find myself using Premack/Life Rewards in everyday situations.

A small selection of reinforcers

I have become the uncrowned Queen of Reinforcers in my quest to find the one reinforcer that Sherlock would ‘sell his soul for’ (and I’m still looking)!  Fresh meat, dried meat, liver cake, dried liver, special dried treats, dried fish, leanlix, cheese, hotdogs, cocktail sausage, tubi dog pastes are just the tip of the reinforcer iceberg that I have tried.  Rabbit skin toys are generally the ones that work but on this occasion, all the rabbit toys in the kingdom could not match the allure of the young GSD.

Sherlock just wanted to play.  He ran rings around the GSD and farmer, and me and the hounds. Trying to catch a flying Saluki who thinks this is the best game in the world and to which no reinforcer can match the thrill of chasing, play-bowing, jumping and barking at the GSD, is a challenge to say the least.

I used all the tools in my training toolkit to encourage Sherlock back and eventually, after what seemed like hours – but in reality was only a few minutes (if that), Sherlock came back and I was able to pop his lead back on.

Training & Honesty (aka Sh*t happens!)

So what have I learned from this?  Does it make me a cr*p trainer? Am I an irresponsible owner?  The short answer is no!

It makes me honest.  Life happens and no matter how hard you try to manage your training environment, there will be occasions where the training goes awry.  Rather than beat myself up about it. I’ve chalked it up to experience and made a mental note to work even harder on Sherlock’s recall, and plan in more one on one training sessions.

All too often we focus on both our and our dogs' failures and forget about the successes.  I may not be interested in competing in or training for any dog sports, and I have and love breeds that many people (some trainers included) like to think of as un-trainable and 'stubborn.'  Some things may take longer to train but I focus on the successes.

I train my dogs for the life I lead, and for what I feel is important, as well as ensuring that they have an enriching environment to live in and the tools to cope with life as a dog in the 21st century.

Training Challenges

And, as for Sherlock? Did he have an inkling that he had done anything wrong? Was he told off or corrected? No! He had a whale of a time!  Nothing bad happened, the number of deposits going into his training bank account rocketed (off lead running and play are huge reinforcers), it was ‘just another day in the park’ as far as Sherlock was concerned. Playtime was over and his lead went on.

On the flip side to this, I should also add that the GSD was not fearful or aggressive, his body language suggested he wanted to play too – although I suspect that there was some frustration as the lead was restricting him - but he managed his frustration. The farmer was also very understanding and calm throughout the process.

Sherlock is a challenge and not all puppies are blank slates.  However, I promise that (when time permits), I’ll share the details of our training challenges – warts and all – and end with one of my favourite sayings:

"Remember, there’s no such thing as a mistake/failure.  It’s all unexpected learning”

Here's to all the unexpected learning that 2016 will bring and the adventures we'll have on the way.

Here's to Sherlock & training challenges.

What’s in the box? Product review of barkbeats*

Subscription boxes...

The novelty of receiving a monthly delivery of curated goods seems to have taken off in a big way, particularly during the last year or so. From coffee to cats, there’s a subscription box service for everyone. (Talking of coffee, I can’t recommend Pact coffee enough – a truly great subscription service for those of us who are ‘coffee snobs’).

I’ve reviewed subscription boxes in the past (see here and here), and have received subscription boxes that I’ve chosen not to review.  However, one of the newest ‘kids on the block’ (or should that be ‘puppies in the park’) is barkbeats.  They kindly sent me a box to review for Christmas, but university and work pressures got in the way.  Then, on Wednesday this week, I received another package – it wasn’t an April Fool’s joke (phew!) – but an early Easter present - a barkbeats box.

First impressions:

Having worked in marketing for most of my adult life, I can’t help but look at the packaging – after all, first impressions count (whether we like to think so, or not).  I like the barkbeats packaging – a sturdy cardboard box, with clean branding a ‘bb’ on the lid and ‘barkbeats’ on the side, indicating that an array of doggie delights await the recipient.  It is understated, yet made me want to rip open the box to find out what it contained.

On opening the box, you’re greeted by the cheerful red and white barkbeats packaging, fastened by the bb seal.  Peel off the seal and you find a little treasure trove of carefully wrapped and hand-picked items.

So, what’s in the box?

Boxes typically contain between 5-6 items (toys, treats and grooming products) and are tailored to the size/age of your dog.  Our Easter surprise box had a lovely range of goodies, including:

Barks & Sparks – Brownie

A shrink-wrapped liver ‘chocolate’ brownie (don’t worry – there’s no chocolate in it, just carob).

The ingredients were clearly marked (chicken liver, carob, olive oil, wheat flour, yogurt and natural food colour), and judging by the sniffs from Ava and Jasper, the contents will be ‘pawsome’ (I’m saving it for an Easter Sunday treat for them).

Dog Bakery HOV-HOV

The next gourmet treat was some beef dog cookies from Dog Bakery HOV-HOV.  The cookies are bone and dog-shaped crunchy treats, and definitely received the Ava ‘seal of approval’ (see photos).

Ingredients were clearly listed – whole wheat flour, beef, cheese, eggs, garlic, olive oil and carrots – and the packaging meant you could easily see the cookies.

Ava manages a 'leave it' for a few seconds....

Trixie Roller Pop – Trainer Snack

I tend to stick with using small pieces of chopped meat/chicken/cheese/sausage and liver cake (see here for my great liver cake recipe) when I’m training with Ava and Jasper, however there are times when having a stinky cheese/meat hand is a less than appealing prospect!  There are a few products on the market that aim to reduce the need for having sticky/stinky hands and the roller pop is one of them.

The flavour in the box was salmon – and it certainly seemed to be a hit with Ava (see photo).

I did wonder what the ingredients were and the composition is listed as: salmon (12.2%), glucose, chicken (hydrolysed poultry protein), isomalt, maltodextrin, brewer’s yeast powder.

I’m always keen to know what I’m feeding my hounds and as I’d not heard of Isomalt, I looked up what it is, and discovered that it is a sugar substitute made from beets and that is approved for human consumption in most countries. It has also been shown to extend the shelf-life of certain products, which has led to its widespread use as a preservative and has only a very minor impact on blood sugar levels (source: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-isomalt.htm).  Maltodextrin is a polysaccharide that is used as a food additive often used in processed foods as a thickener or a filler since it's fairly inexpensive.

So, whilst the ingredients don’t overly worry me, it’s not something that I would use on a regular basis – but it is definitely something that I would keep in my ‘training tool-kit’ for both my and clients’ dogs.

Busy Buddy Waggle

I love using food puzzle games with my dogs – most of Ava’s meals are dispensed through a variety of food puzzles and food dispensing games.  The Busy Buddy range of toys is well known, with probably the Waggle and Tug a Jug the best known, and they are useful toys for keeping paws and jaws active in the right way, but (and it’s a big but) they’re made by PetSafe.

What’s wrong with that you might say?  In my case, it’s all to do with ethics – Petsafe do make some great products but they also make and promote the use of electric shock collars, electric containment fences and anti-bark (spray, pulse, shock) collars (see: http://intl.petsafe.net/en-gb) .  I try not to buy Petsafe products due to this – but that is my personal choice.

ArquiFresh wipes

The final part of the package was the Arquifresh wipes – a travel sized pack of hygienic wipes for cleaning ears, around eyes/face etc.  The wipes are PH neutral and were nice and moist, but they do have a strong scent that even a human nose can detect.

Overall verdict of a barkbeats box?

A Pawsome 4½ paws out of 5!

I’d certainly give the barkbeats box 4½ paws!  Ava and Jasper loved the contents – the box would have received a full 5 paws but due to Petsafe, I couldn’t give it a full 5 paws.

The box provides great value for money and on the plus side, the squeaky Kyjen reindeer (from the Christmas box) is still in on piece!  A small miracle given Ava’s squeaker seeker & destroyer ways.
I’d certainly consider a barkbeats box as a gift or as a regular treat for the hounds.

Want to try a barkbeats box for your dog? Get £5 off your first order...

Thanks to the guys and gals at barkbeats you can enjoy your first box for the reduced price of £9.90* (*instead of £14.90).

Simply enter the special code:  DIARYCC5 when you place your first order to get £5 off.

Visit: www.barkbeats.co.uk to find out more.

*Disclosure: I was provided with two free promotional barkbeat boxes to review .  I have not been paid for my views and all views expressed are my own.

10 tips for being a good dog parent

In memory of Stevie (2 July 2002 - 24 July 2014)

This year I have been acutely aware of both the joy and sorrow that being a 'dog parent' can bring.  In February, we lost Mina - the hound that started my love affair with dogs and the hound responsible for my change in career.  In June, and completely unexpectedly, we welcomed a young greyhound puppy - Ava - into our home. 6½ weeks later, we said our final goodbyes to Stevie - our beautiful blue greyhound.

Losing two hounds within 6 months of each other has been hard.  It was particularly bittersweet to see Ava bloom whilst Stevie seemed to deteriorate before our eyes - a stark reminder of the relative brevity of our dogs' time with us.

This got me thinking - what if our dogs could tell us how to be a good 'dog parent'? Wouldn't life be simpler then?



So, as a tribute to Stevie this is what I think he would have said about what it takes to be a good dog parent...

Stevie's top 10 tips on being a good 'dog parent'

1.  Allow me to be a dog
I like to stop and sniff the 'pee mail', I might like to dig or chase things, I might like cuddles (or I might not) - provide me with a suitable outlet to do the things that dogs do and don't make me do things I don't like (not all dogs like cuddles).

Remember, I am not trying to dominate you or become a 'pack leader' - I'm just a dog (for heaven's sake, I sniff butts to say 'hello' - definitely not a sign that I want to dominate you and take over the world)!

2.  Remember, you're my 'dog parent'
I form strong social bonds with my 'parents' and will look to you for guidance.  I expect you to keep me safe and away from harm, provide me with a comfortable bed, nice food and physical and mental stimulation and look after me if I'm ill.  In return, you'll receive my love and the chance to see me develop into a well-mannered family pet.

3.  Don't punish me
If I do something 'wrong' - don't punish me.  I may not know your rules and I certainly don't know what's right & what's wrong.  Rather than punish me, think about what you'd like me to do instead and teach me how to do it.  If I jump up at visitors, teach me that sitting every time someone comes to the house, is more rewarding than jumping up. If  I shred the post, install an external mailbox (I used to love to shred post and then my humans installed an external mail box...spoilsports!) and give me other stuff to shred or things to occupy me like a stuffed Kong.

If you punish me, you'll only make me afraid of you and less likely to want to do things with you as you will become scary and unpredictable in my eyes.

4.  A dog's life is short
Our time with you humans is short. Don't hang onto or dwell upon past regrets, live in the now and fill life with positives. Stop to smell the flowers/coffee, read the newspaper (I'm told this is the human equivalent of checking pee-mail). Appreciate life as it happens and treasure your moments with your four-legged companion.


5.  When I'm young

Be patient and kind.  I will have boundless energy and I'll be exploring the world I've arrived in.

Guide me, teach me and show me how you want me to live with you.  Don't keep saying 'no!'  I don't really know what it means (I know some dogs who think their name is no) and just think you like giving me attention.

Find a good puppy class to take me to. Make sure you socialise and habituate me to all the things I'm likely to encounter in life - pair them all with the good stuff (food) and I'll learn that all these new things I encounter, aren't scary at all.

Provide me with safe outlets for my puppy exuberance... I will grow out of it, with your guidance.

6.  Do things with me.
Find out what my breed (or mix of breeds) was originally bred for. Us sighthounds love to chase fast moving objects - you can make things fun for both of us by playing with furry toys.  Play scent games - did I tell you that my nose is amazing and can sniff out things you couldn't imagine? 

Find a good trainer (like my humum) who only uses reward based, force-free training methods.  Join their class - you and me will learn new things together.  Oh, and don't be stingy with the food reinforcers - think of them as my pay for a 'job well done.'

 

Don't think I'm untrainable or stubborn: I can't read and I don't know those words - they simply don't exist in my vocabulary. All dogs are trainable - after all, I learned to live with several cats and I spent most of my early life chasing furry things around a race-track!  I also learned how to sit, would recall and loved scentwork - all things that (books say) greyhounds can't do!

7.  If I'm afraid
Don't let me suffer alone.  My fears may not seem rational to you but contrary to popular belief, reassuring me won't make me more fearful. I hated fireworks and loud noises but they became more bearable when my humum was there.  She provided me with a nice den, calming music and more - she helped make it less scary.

8.  Be patient
It's true, patience is a virtue. If I don't 'get something' first time, I'm not being obstinate  - take the time to teach me.  Just like humans, not all dogs learn at the same rate and we can have 'off' days too.

9.  When I'm old
I'll need more of your patience, love and care.  I may bump into things, toilet in the house, start barking at things that aren't there, stop and stare into space or simply want to sleep more - I'm not being difficult and I may not know that I'm doing all these things.  

Keep a watchful eye on my health and behaviour - if you're worried, take me to the vet.  There are lots of things that can help elderly dogs from nutrition supplements through to exercise like hydrotherapy.

10.  Know when it's time to say goodbye

Let me go with dignity and love.

If you can, be with me at the end and hold my paw or cradle me until I have breathed my last.  Know that I loved you, as you loved me and that, despite your breaking heart, you are doing the ultimate act of love.

And finally...

If your heart can stand it, open it again and allow another dog into your life.  A heart like yours deserves to be filled with the love of many dogs.  Provide them with the love and care you have shown me and when the time comes, we'll all meet again one day over rainbow bridge.

Introducing Our Greyhound Puppy

Puppy Love

So, in case you've missed it, our greyhound gang has a new member... Ava.

Ava's first day

Ava is a pure-bred greyhound puppy who was the result of an accidental mating in racing kennels.  I found out about her, purely by chance, through facebook and my friend, Jenny, who runs the South Lakes branch of the Retired Greyhound Trust.  Jenny posted about some greyhound pups looking for a home and within minutes of her posting, I was on the phone enquiring about the puppies.  This all happened on Thursday 5 June and before I knew it, my name was down as a potential owner...

...however, firstly I needed to convince hubby and secondly, I wanted to make sure that the puppy (she wasn't named at that point) wasn't a nervous wreck and petrified of life in general. On the Friday, I casually mentioned about the availability of a greyhound puppy and I fully expected hubby to say a firm 'no, we're not ready.'  Sometimes, however, fate can play a funny old role and instead of 'no', the answer was 'yes, let's go and see her'  and so the scene was set.

Ava's first car journey

After several phone calls to Jenny and the then nameless pup's racing owner, we arranged to go and see her on Sunday 8th June. Stevie and Jasper joined us, as we made our way across the Pennines to meet the potential new member of our gang.

 One of the reasons I was so keen to meet her was because she was already 13 weeks old.  Most puppies (especially those destined to be pets) leave their dam at around 8 weeks old and it's generally accepted that the critical period for socialisation and habituation is between 8-12 weeks of age.  After this period, the window starts to shut...

Thankfully, the little black bundle of greyhound legginess we encountered wasn't fazed by me, hubby or Steve & Jasper.  She took food from me, tried to solicit play (albeit unsuccessfully) from Jasper & Stevie and seemed pretty responsive.  Her fate was sealed.  She was coming home with us, then and there. Paper work was signed and we left with a slightly wriggly, extremely cute puppy.

The journey home resulted in me and hubby agreeing on her name - Ava - and talking about how we were going to manage things back at home.  All the time this was going on Ava slept - remaining completely unaware of the new life she was about to embark on.


 

Stevie hums it & Ava sings it!

Puppy power - growing fast & gaining fans

Fast forward 5 weeks and our puppy isn't looking quite so puppy-ish.  Ava's growing at an amazing rate of knots and seems to steal the hearts of everyone she meets.  

In the UK, you don't tend to see many greyhound puppies (most are born and remain within the racing industry until they retire), so she certainly gets her fair share of attention.

Getting it right - an education all-round

Perhaps, more importantly, these past 5 weeks have highlighted to me just what hard work having a puppy is - especially if you want to get things right. 

It can be so easy to mess things up (albeit unwittingly) and, in doing so, create problems for the future.  I want to make sure that this doesn't happen for Ava and that she gets the best shot at having a happy, healthy and balanced life where nothing really fazes her. 

My memories of Mina are still very clear - she came to me with established problem behaviours, many of which could have probably been avoided had she had the 'right start' in life.  

I do not want Ava to experience the fears that drove Mina to react to other dogs.  I do not want her to have the fears that Jasper has - making him freeze in his tracks when he's afraid and I don't want her to feel like Stevie, who shakes, salivates and runs to hide when he hears loud noises, crashes and bangs and fireworks. 

Jasper & Ava cosy up

Like many trainers and behaviourists, I spend a lot of my time working with dogs that have behaviour problems - often borne out of a lack of early socialisation and the use of inappropriate and/or harsh training techniques.  Most can be avoided if we give our puppies the right start in life. We need to educate our puppies how to live in our world and educate ourselves on how to achieve this.


Ava is being educated and guided by me all the time. I manage her environment so she can't learn unwanted behaviours (I'll share details of this in another blog post), I make sure that her learning is positive and if she's worried or scared, I give her the space, distance and reduction in intensity that she needs - along with comfort and food reinforcers.  I tell her 'yes' not 'no.'  If she is behaving in a way I don't want her to, I'll interrupt the behaviour and divert her to another behaviour that I want to see.

Say 'goodbye' to a tidy house - puppy toys rule!

I provide her with outlets for her needs (our house looks like a bomb has hit it) - plenty of toys, chews, appropriate exercise - and I provide her with love and security.

I'll be sharing our adventures and the lessons we learn over the coming weeks and months and hope you'll join us...

Can You Be Happy For 100 Days?

My #100happydays Challenge

Are you a glass half-full person?

All too often in life, it's easier to focus on the negative rather than the positive.  Generally, I like to think of myself as a 'glass half-full' person but events of the last few months have taken their toll and my outlook has been somewhat clouded by a general shroud of emotional fog.  Finding things that made me happy has been somewhat of a challenge.

However, the introduction of a new exercise to my Happy Hounds dog training classes got me thinking and also happened to coincide with me seeing a facebook post about happiness...

Focusing on the positive

In my training classes it struck me that the human tendency seems to be to focus on the negative, mistakes or 'training disasters'.  If I asked a question like: "How has your week been with Fido?" I'd receive a range of answers, normally along the lines of: "Oh, Fido's been really naughty this week,"  "Fido won't stop chewing" or "Fido just ignores me when I ask him to do something." Somehow, the positive experiences weren't making it through into people's psyches. 

So, rather than starting my classes with a generic question about how the week has gone, all class members are encouraged to share a positive experience from their week.  It can be any thing that their dog has done to make them proud or happy, something they find cute about their dog, any improvements in training (no matter how small or incremental) or any training successes.  And, even if I do say so myself, this change in focus has had quite an impact - both on me and my classes.

Parka focuses on the positive

Classes start with even more of a positive vibe. Concentrating on and pinpointing the things that make us happy is good - not just for us, but for our dogs too.  It's amazing what a difference this subtle change in question has achieved.

All too often, we concentrate on 'what could have been', 'missed opportunities', 'life's annoyances' and before we know it, we're looking at life as a 'glass half empty.'  Quite frankly, this is exhausting - it saps the energy out of us, makes us concentrate on minutiae and ignore the bigger picture of the life that is happening to us now. Have we forgotten what it's like to be happy?

The challenge to be happy...

In my opinion, happiness is a transient state - fleeting moments in time.  But, what if all those fleeting moments could be captured?  Would they add up to make a solid state of happiness?

Well, that's where the "100 Happy Days" challenge comes in. If you use social media at all, you will have probably seen some photos using the hashtag: #100happydays  The aim is to share a photo, every day, of something that makes you happy and to do this for 100 consecutive days.  The organisers hope/believe that by participating in, and completing, the challenge that happiness levels will increase.

I'm all for increasing happiness and getting my 'glass half-full' mojo back, so decided to start my challenge a week ago on 11 April.  I'm a bit of a shutter monkey and love taking photos with my iPhone, and I figured that I'd give the challenge a go.

Share the happiness

My first eight #100happydays

At the time of writing, I'm a week into the challenge and I can honestly say that, yes, I am feeling a tad happier. It may be early days, but I feel that this challenge will make a difference to how I feel.

I'm sharing my photos via Instagram and if you'd like to see what makes me happy on a daily basis, you can follow me on Instagram or Twitter.

And, if you decide to take the #100happydays challenge do let me know - the world could certainly do with more happiness to spread around.

Doggy Pay Scales

The use of food in dog training

I was chopping up food for my Puppy School and Happy Hounds training classes and the types of food I was preparing got me thinking (and playing about with the halftone photo app)...

Personally, I don't like using the word 'treat' in dog training.  In my opinion we're not 'treating' our dogs; we're paying them for a job and different jobs require different pay scales.

These thoughts resulted in the following photo and a post on my Happy Hounds Facebook page.  The post has proven to be so popular (and as Facebook doesn't share information with Google) I thought I'd share it via my blog!

Paying our dogs a decent wage:

At my training classes and consultations, I sometimes come across people who are reluctant to use food when training their dogs; they feel that their dogs 'should just do what they are asked' or that they are 'spoiling' their dog by giving them food treats. I don't like to think of the food as a 'treat' - to me, the word 'treat' is synonymous with being spoiled or indulgent (thanks, mainly, to chocolate and luxury goods adverts) - whereas, in reality, food is a dog's pay for doing a job we ask them to do.

I always try to avoid using the word 'treat' in my Happy Hounds Dog Training classes and explain how the food we use in training should be thought of as the dog's pay and I use the concept of 'doggy pay scales' to explain it.

Basic Salary:

Routine jobs may only merit a basic salary - represented by kibble in the photo. A routine 'job' can be a behaviour the dog knows well, or is still learning, but knows well in a certain context - such as practising loose lead walking in your garden, where there are minimum distractions; or waiting politely for you to put the food bowl down before eating.

Enhanced Salary:

When we start increasing the difficulty of the 'job in hand', we need to start paying an 'enhanced salary' (represented by meat and cheese in the photo) - especially if we want to guarantee that our dog learns how to do the job well.

Once you start adding in distractions, distance or duration to a 'job' - you need to increase your dog's salary. Just as different jobs in the human world require different salaries and attract different candidates, the same is true for our canine companions. You need to find the right salary level that works for your dog - to help them succeed. (For some dogs, a tennis ball, or special toy/game may trump cheese/meat - you need to find the right salary for your dog!)

Bonus Pay:

Once your dog knows their 'job' and can reliably perform it on a regular basis, you can then switch to 'bonus pay' (represented by liver cake in the photo). The idea of the bonus pay is that it keeps your dog motivated and ready to perform their 'job' - they may not know when the bonus is coming but it certainly gives a reason to continue doing a job.  (I've a great recipe for liver cake on the blog - here)

Bribes versus Pay:

As for food being a bribe... well, it 'could' be viewed as a bribe when used in luring behaviours  where the food is used as an inducement (the lure) for the dog to perform the cued/desired behaviour.  However, in most cases, the food is delivered after a behaviour/job is completed successfully.  For this, the delivery of the food is contingent on the dog performing the cued/desired behaviour and, to me, this is the equivalent of pay - pure & simple.

I don't think many humans would view their daily/weekly/monthly pay packet as a bribe - do you?!?

How a Greyhound changed my life

'Meeting Mina...'

Nine years ago today, my life changed forever.  On 11 March 2005 our then family – me, hubby and two cats – were joined by Mina, greyhound.  Fast forward nine years and, wow, what a difference a dog makes.

It seems particularly apt to write about it now, nine years later, on what would have been Mina’s 9^th ‘Gotcha Day’ and reflect on how ‘meeting Mina’ has changed my life.

Mina, heart hound & Scruffts 'Golden Oldie' 2012 winner

On 1 February 2014, Mina – my heart dog - passed away.  Although her passing was planned and peaceful - she died at home, in my arms - it doesn’t make her death any easier to bear.

I’ve spent the last month in an emotional fog, alternating between floods of tears and numbness.  Mina was my first dog; she is the reason for this blog, the change in my career and for helping me find my true vocation.  It’s fair to say her effect on my life has been profound and not something I could have ever envisaged just nine years ago.

Everything is still very raw and, to be honest, it’s only now that I can start to put down in words what she meant to me and I want to share some of her story on my blog.

LBD – (life before ‘dog’)

If you’d asked me 10 years ago whether I’d have a dog, I would have laughed in your face.  ‘A dog? Me? With my two cats? I don’t think so!’  However, fate has a funny way of entering your life and making you eat your words. And fate intervened in my life in March 2005.

It was the beginning of March, 2005, and me and hubby were off to Barcelona to celebrate my birthday.  I dropped the cats (Chivers & Tazzie – sadly now deceased through old age) off at the cattery and while I was waiting in reception, saw a sign which said: “Female greyhound looking for loving home.  Good with cats and children”…

Something about the sign got me thinking.  A few months earlier we’d been talking about dogs and somehow discovered that we both liked the look of greyhounds.  Hubby had grown up with a dog (and a cat), whilst I’d grown up with rabbits and goldfish.  I’d also been bitten in the stomach by a German Shepherd Dog in the 70s, but thanks to the Teflon like fibres of 70s synthetics, I was saved from serious injury.  All in all, it was fair to say that I wasn’t a huge dog fan… but then again, there was just ‘something’ about that notice and was it fate that we’d been speaking about a greyhound and that a cat-friendly one was looking for a home?

A young Mina & the red duvet

We decided that we’d contact Mina’s owner and see where it took us when we got back to the UK.  I still remember that first meeting at her previous owner’s house… A beautiful brindle greyhound, lying on her red duvet, looking at us with soulful eyes: it’s fair to say we were smitten and subject to introducing her to my cats – Chivers & Tazzie – our hearts had already been won over.

The initial meeting between Mina and the cats went well and that was it – both Mina’s and my fate were sealed.  I was to become a dog owner.

'Misdemeanours' & Behaviour Problems

Mina didn’t come without a few issues though and it was these that first ignited that spark of interest in dog behaviour and training.  Mina displayed an array of behaviour problems, she clearly suffered from separation distress, resulting in door frames being eaten/clawed at, not eating food until we came back home and as for her reaction to other dogs…

'Billy Goat Gruff'

Mina was like a little billy goat on our walks, she would be up and down the escarpment in our local country park.  Her off lead recall was great but her reactions to other dogs left something to be desired.  Everything came to a head one week while I was away with work in London for a few days.  I received a panicked phone call from hubby to say that Mina had attacked a standard poodle (both were off lead).  I was devastated.  My first thoughts were that we’d have to have her put to sleep.  Then after a little more thought, I decided to take her to the vet to get her checked out and to see if there was an underlying cause – it was so out of character.  (I must have had an inkling then, about what I do now – as medical conditions can sometimes impact on behaviour).

Early games with Mina in 2005

The vet gave Mina a thorough examination and x-rayed her too.  We discovered that she had poor bone density and that some of the discs had disappeared between her vertebrae, but apart from that she was healthy. We consulted a dog psychiatrist, and knowing what I know now, some of the advice wasn’t particularly helpful.  I was that person who walked their dog at unsociable hours, afraid of meeting other dogs either on or off lead.

Completing my Canine Conversion

In 2007 we moved to Lincolnshire and it was by chance that I discovered a local greyhound charity – Lincolnshire Greyhound Trust.  In early 2008, we went on a greyhound walk and found that Mina could get along with other dogs (mostly if they were greyhound shaped and weren’t rude in their greetings)!

That’s when Stevie entered our lives and my greyhound obsession grew.  I still remember introducing Mina to potential greyhound house-mates (oh, how I would do things differently now).  There was Figo, who was sooo excitable that he rushed right over to say hello, only to be resolutely told off by Mina, and then there was Stevie.  Stevie was a handsome blue and white boy, cat trainable, amazing recall, a tad greedy, but more importantly Mina-compatible.  Our greyhound gang now had 2 greyhounds.

Mina and Stevie's first walk together in 2008

The 'Canine Catastrophe'

Modelling the 'cone of shame' due to one of her catastrophes

As well as some behaviour issues, we soon discovered that poor Mina had some medical issues too, which earned her the moniker of the ‘canine catastrophe’.  I used to joke that Mina was the reason that pet insurance was invented (and you can read about my thoughts on why pet insurance is so vital here).

Mina & her lampshade impression

Over her lifetime, Mina had many medical issues that required veterinary attention.  Some were injuries due to living life to the full and others were more serious, due to genetics/illness.

A conservative estimate of Mina’s total vet bills puts them around £20,000!  She had two major eye operations, a toe amputation, torn muscles, split webbing, teeth extractions, regular eye check-ups with the specialist vet, leg and toe injuries; she also managed to cut her leg to expose the Achilles tendon and also cut her tail (half-way up), exposing another tendon.  But do you know what?  These conditions didn’t slow her down or dampen her joie de vivre.

And Jasper makes three

Whilst Mina was having one of her first ‘canine catastrophe’ moments, I fell in love with another greyhound.  I was smitten.  Jasper (or Magic, as he was known then) was a beautiful black hound, calm and serene – I likened him to being ‘my poochie prozac’.  And, once Mina had recovered, he was introduced to her and completed our gang of three greyhounds.

And Jasper makes three

Degrees, dog training and discovery

It’s fair to say that thanks to Mina, I discovered my true vocation.  I never knew it, but I loved working with dogs and humans and as my appetite had been whet, I wanted to learn more about what made my hounds tick and how could I help them to adjust to life as a companion animal.

Since meeting Mina, I’ve enrolled at university and completed my foundation degree in canine behaviour and training.  I’m also continuing my university studies so that I can gain a BSc.

Receiving my FdSc

I became a Puppy School tutor – running puppy school classes under the UK Puppy School network.  I firmly believe that many behaviour problems are preventable by good puppy classes and often wonder what Mina would have been like if she’d had that start in life.

I also established Happy Hounds Dog Training, and run dog training classes plus specialist greyhound only classes, with an emphasis on helping our dogs adjust to life as a companion animal in the 21^st century.  I’m also proud to say that I have worked with the Retired Greyhound Trust and have revised and rewritten their training leaflets

Mina - the calendar girl

I used to joke that Mina hadn’t read the books that said greyhounds couldn’t do ‘x, y, or z’ - the word, ‘couldn’t’, didn’t seem to be in her vocabulary.  She took to trick training, agility and absolutely loved scentwork and loved to bust the myths surrounding greyhounds.

One of Mina's biggest loves was scentwork, particularly Talking Dogs Scentwork.  She took to it like a natural, sniffing out cheese wherever it was hidden.  It's really thanks to scentwork that Mina and I became the team we were, as scentwork teaches you to 'trust in dog.' It was a great privilege and especially fitting that Mina was chosen as the calendar girl for February 2014.

Mina’s legacy

I still can’t believe that she’s gone. She has been my constant companion through the ups and downs of the last nine years.  Don’t get me wrong, I love both Stevie and Jasper, but the bond I had with Mina can never be replaced.  Grief is complex, and those who think ‘it’s just a dog’ have obviously never experienced the joy, love and companionship that living with a dog can bring to life.

There’s not a day that goes past, without stirring a memory of Mina.  I’m not sure whether time is a healer, but I hope, in time, that the pain of her loss lessens and that I can look at photos and videos without crying.  I never expected to become a canine convert and could never have predicted the effect that one greyhound would have on my life.

Thanks to Mina I have met some truly amazing people, who I’m proud to call friends; I’ve learned that patience and empathy go a long way (both with humans and hounds); I’ve launched a new career which, I hope, will see me through to my twilight years.  She was the inspiration behind Happy Hounds Dog Training and all the humans and hounds I continue to work with will be her lasting legacy. 

Mina, 2002 - 1 February 2014