Canine Pawtonomy

22/01/2024

If you have a dog with any sort of issues it’s tempting to keep looking forward and waiting for the time when they are ‘perfect’- 6 months, 12 months down the line when they will be ‘better’. You might put things off, not properly enjoying things with your dog as you are waiting for that future moment. Waiting for them to be physically better, behaviorally ‘better’ or no longer anxious or reactive. Waiting for the day you can take them to the dog park and they will cope just fine with random dogs sniffing their bum for 5 minutes. Waiting for the day they will cope inside a busy pub or waiting for the day when they can walk for an hour instead of being on limited exercise etc.

The dog sitting next to you may be around for the next 10 years (or more if you are lucky) but they may be gone much sooner. Our time with our dogs is heartbreakingly short and too valuable to waste waiting for things to be perfect.

My first inuit, Elsa, was very anxious about noises, busy places and new people (but loved dogs). I had an imaginary timeline in my head of ‘in 3 months she will cope with us having a drink in the beer garden’, ‘next year she will be able to cope at the local agricultural show if I really work hard’. I worked SO hard to help her and she did really improve but I worked hard at the expense of some of the everyday fun.

My life changed when she died at 26 months old and, more than anything, I wish I’d prioritised play dates with her (hundreds of) friends. I wish I’d visited more freedom fields instead of constantly striving for her to cope on more and more walks. I wish I’d done more scent work with her and spent more time with her jumping on the trampoline with my kids and with them reading bedtime stories to her.

It’s so important that we enjoy the here and now with our dogs and appreciate all the things they CAN do without just focusing on the things they can’t. Of course we keep helping them and we keep striving to make their lives as happy and full as possible but we also need to really focus on the small everyday things that bring us joy together too. It has to be a balance and I’ve strived to get it right for my own dogs and to encourage my clients to do the same. You can lead a happy and fulfilled life with your dogs WHILE you help them. Elsa changed my outlook on how I live and work with dogs, for the better, and that’s the legacy she leaves.

Please don’t wait for things to be perfect before you decide to start enjoying your life together with your dog ❤️ Now is the perfect time to enjoy your life with them.

Laura McAuliffe 2024, Dog Communication

12/03/2022

All of the rest of the family (2 dogs and 4 humans) are in the sitting room but the puppy has chosen to go in the kitchen (two rooms away) all on her own to sleep on the Big Dog Bed. It shows how secure she feels to not need to be with us all. She feels safe as we’ve never excluded her- never put her in a crate in another room etc or left her alone to get upset at night. She sleeps with me on the bed at night, she has as much cuddles and company (from humans and Sylvi as she wants) all day and the end result is that she feels secure, she feels safe and confident as she’s formed a secure attachment. There’s no need to ‘start as you mean to go on’ with puppies and leave them to cry or exclude them. Just let them be fully part of your family and give them choices and the time to develop emotionally without stress. Really, all they want is to be fully integrated into your family and to feel secure. When they feel secure they can then cope with their own company, gradually and at their own pace. (Puppy is 8 weeks old and has been with me in foster and hand reared since she was 8 days old)

04/10/2021

Thinking about Bonfire Night yet?

Whether this is your first autumn with a canine companion or whether getting through firework season is something you already dread each year, help is at hand.

Join us on Wednesday evening at 6.30pm for a live webinar and learn about:

- how fear works and how to spot it
- how to use your training to help get pup ready for the big day
- how to take this knowledge further and use it to help with other stressful situations

Time: Wednesday 6 October 6.30-8pm
Cost: £15

Book here: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=18045058&appointmentType=17733379

21/05/2021

This could not be more true!

And another thing: please do not write off dogs you don’t know as “typical poorly-socialised untrained pandemic puppies” when they are just normal teenagers. Adolescence happens. People who have worked incredibly hard on training and socialisation find that their dog suddenly goes back to jumping up and mouthing and lunging at other dogs. Shaming them for their “pandemic puppy” is cruel and unhelpful.

22/03/2021

What would a hybrid puppy class look like! Like this??

Well, no. As the parents among you will know, “hybrid” refers to the class, not the dog (or your children). It means blended learning that is delivered part in-person and part online.

I’ve loved teaching puppy classes online. Without the stress of the journey or the worry about their puppy causing them embarrassment and other students judging them, my students relaxed and enjoyed themselves and everyone learned at an astounding rate. We were able to cover double the material.

But.

Good guided socialisation matters. High quality play matters. Obedience is lovely, but unless they can learn to make the most of their social side your dog won’t have as many opportunities for joy in their life, and that would be a shame.

So, we present: Canine Pawtonomy’s first HYBRID PUPPY CLASS!!

Booking is open, and the course begins on Monday 12 April at 6.30pm and runs for six weeks. The first four sessions will take place on Zoom, and the final two will be group field trips in SE London (exact location will by determined the access requirements of the class members).

Head over to https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=18045058&appointmentType=20469399 to book your spot.

17/03/2021

Another post to highlight the importance of considering sleep - thanks to a brand new paper just out for publication.

"During sleep, energy stores are replenished, memory is consolidated and integrated, waking-induced performance impairment is restored and potentially neurotoxic waste products accumulated in the brain during wakefulness are
cleared. Sleep deprivation impairs cognitive and physical
performance, decreases the immune response, enhances pain
sensation, and increases the risk of obesity and cardiovascular
disease......

Sleep is a fundamental process in mammals, including domestic
canines. Disturbances in sleep affect physiological functions and sleep deprivation increases the risk of diseases. Sleep can be affected by several disorders in dogs, including narcolepsy, REM sleep behavior disorder and obstructive breathing disorders.
Sleep disturbances can also be a symptom of other unrelated conditions and can contribute to the worsening of clinical signs associated with these.
In this review we have discussed the pathophysiology, diagnostic tools and available treatments for these disorders.
As these diseases are also present in humans, dogs provide us with an important research tool for better understanding these problems in both species; continued research will inevitably improve the lives of many patients and their caring
human partners."

Not getting enough sleep is therefore detrimental to the health, training, behaviour and welfare of our pets. Behavioural and medical issues themselves may of course reduce the ability of the individual to get enough, quality sleep.

Understanding what our pets need in the way of sleep, how they prefer to achieve it, and what diseases or environmental issues affect this, is so important to their health and behaviour.

Mondino, A., Delucchi, L., Moeser, A., Cerdá-González, S. and Vanini, G., 2021. Sleep disorders in dogs: A pathophysiological and clinical review. Topics in companion animal medicine, p.100516.

03/03/2021

What does it really mean to motivate someone? As Tiffany points out here in a personal training context, our culture has normalised a lot of very toxic blame-and-shame ways of talking to ourselves and others in the name of “motivation”.

This is relevant when we think about how we train with and talk to our dogs too. Are we genuinely encouraging them, helping them feel joyful and excited about the task we’re approaching together, or are we just teaching them to comply in order to avoid our displeasure? And how are we “motivating” ourselves to train? Are we thinking “If we can get really good at this it will open up our world and we can have more fun adventures together,” or “If my dog messes up in public she’s going to embarrass me and my neighbours will report me for not being properly in control and she’ll be taken away”?

We will get better results by working harder, but we won’t get better results by bullying ourselves and each other.

⚠️ATTN: Language Matters. 😲

Who's ever heard this type of talk in a fitness class?

"If you're not sweating, you're not working hard enough!!"
"Sweat is just your fat crying!"
"NO PAIN NO GAIN"
"Come on! You need to EARN that pizza!"
"You need to work off that cake you had at the weekend!"
"You won't get the bum/stomach/arms you want if you give up now!"

Sound familiar? This language isn't motivating, it's down right degrading. Even if it does get you to work hard in the moment because you feel ashamed or intimidated not to, think about how this messaging can have an affect on you overall. Language is a powerful thing - what we hear can be internalised as a belief - especially what we hear from those we look to for guidance.

Long before I created Elevate, I thought language like this was acceptable - even normal! In fact, I even learnt it as a legitimate 'type of motivation' in my Personal Training course. 🤮 Thinking of it now not only makes me cringe - it makes me angry.

So when I opened up my own studio with free reign to practice my own ethos I knew I wanted my ladies to feel safe, empowered and supported. I also knew that the language myself and the other Elevate instructors use had to be different than the norm.

In our classes and training sessions we motivate and encourage with positive language. We focus on function over appearance and on what we CAN do - not what we're not doing well enough. And you know what? Our clients leave feeling GOOD and uplifted. Not defeated and down on themselves and for that I am proud as hell.

*Mic drop*
Tiff, out. 😁

💭

10/02/2021

LOCKDOWN PUPPIES!!

We still have loads of space in our next Zoom puppy class starting Monday 15 February at 18.30!!

www.caninepawtonomy.com/services-rates/

It doesn’t look like lockdown is going anywhere for a while, but this needn’t stop you getting into your onesie, stuffing your pockets with treats and joining our Zoom puppy class to find out how to make the best of pandemic puppy life.

You will get:

- lifetime access to recordings of each class
- a dedicated WhatsApp group
- ongoing support from the trainer
- handouts and progress notes
- access to our Saturday Social field trips (as soon as it’s safe to resume!!)

We look forward to seeing you on Monday!

www.caninepawtonomy.com/services-rates/

30/01/2021

If your dog is showing aggression or signs of anxiety, I will ask you to request that your vet refer you to a clinical behaviourist as there could be a medical problem underlying the behaviours. Yes, even if your dog went for a check-up the previous week and was pronounced “fine”.

This is not to imply that your vet isn’t competent or has missed something obvious during a routine exam. Complex things can go wrong with living bodies, and of course there is not time in a check-up to rule out all of them! This is why specialists exist. Part of a clinical behaviourist’s job is having an extensive and detailed understanding of how physiological issues can show in an animal’s behaviour, and to know where the vet should look next. The connection between outbursts of frenzied biting and a liver complaint may not be apparent to us, but this is exactly why referrals are necessary.

I usually request that referrals go to Laura McAuliffe at Dog Communication who communicates very well with both clients and vets, as well as being a highly skilled practitioner.

"A single vet exam may not rule out all medical factors that contribute to (or cause) expression of an undesirable behaviour" - Dr Emma Hatton.

06/01/2021

It’s been my pleasure today to review practice videos from puppy class students Tito, Alfie, Nala and Biscuit! The humans are supporting and encouraging each other in the class WhatsApp forum and coming along beautifully - can’t wait for next Monday.

02/01/2021

If you have sorted out all your virtual dog training needs for 2021 and are now turning your attention to your own physical and mental well-being (as we all should!), I highly recommend checking out Elevate and their 21-day “Find Your Fire” programme to get you properly into the new year. It’s full of meditations, affirmations, belting dance workouts, recipes and playlists, delivered by a superb team led by none other than... my niece Tiffany!

Women’s only gym. Personal training, monthly memberships, group classes & nutrition coaching.