petsense, Author at Pet Sense

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So far petsense has created 38 blog entries.

Finding a responsible breeder

So you’ve decided it’s time to start thinking about a puppy to join your household – exciting times! Hopefully you have done lots of research regarding an appropriate breed choice and have narrowed down your options, but where do you start in terms of finding a responsible breeder? What do you even mean by ‘responsible breeder’? Well, someone who has the medical and behavioural health of the parents and puppies as a priority. Someone who recognises that their puppies are going to pet homes where they will hopefully thrive for the next 10-15+ years. Someone who breeds with the [...]

By petsense|2022-11-10T18:00:31+00:00November 10th, 2022|Dogs|Comments Off

Dog walkers and doggy daycare

The surge in dog ownership over the Covid pandemic has largely been due to an increase in people working from home. However, now that workplaces are re-opening, many owners are concerned about leaving their dog at home for long hours (particularly owners of puppies who were obtained during lockdown and have not experienced much time left at home alone). Consequently, many owners may be thinking about doggy day care services or walkers, and a lot of new companies are emerging due to the increased demand for dog care services. However, there’s a lot to consider in terms of whether [...]

By petsense|2021-05-03T14:53:47+01:00May 3rd, 2021|Dogs|Comments Off

Puppy Biting

You’ll often read it as “play biting” but this is a gross assumption in terms of diagnosis and what is actually motivating the puppy to grab, bite or mouth. For some owners, it is a real problem. Those needle teeth hurt, for a start. It can negatively affect the bond formed from the new owner towards their puppy and can result in owners using methods the puppy finds scary or unpleasant to try to stop the behaviour. This then has a detrimental effect on the relationship from the puppy's perspective too. There are different motivations underlying puppy biting, grabbing [...]

By petsense|2021-02-20T18:19:35+00:00February 20th, 2021|Dogs|Comments Off

Adolescence

By petsense|2021-02-20T15:46:33+00:00November 22nd, 2019|Dogs|0 Comments

Exercising your puppy

5 minutes of exercise per month of age: that’s the routine advice for growing puppies to prevent physical problems during development. So for an 8 week old puppy, that means 10 minutes of exercise per day. However, like most generic advice, I always think this is a bit prescriptive. Whilst it gives us a rough idea to keep in mind not to overdo it with our pups, there is a HUGE difference between relentless ball throwing for 10 minutes with an 8 week old puppy versus a 10 minute mooch most of which is stationary to watch the world go […]

By petsense|2020-05-01T12:13:04+01:00November 22nd, 2019|Dogs|0 Comments

Why you don’t need to discipline your puppy

Q: How do I stop my puppy stealing items and chewing things they shouldn’t? A: Fill your home with appropriate items for your puppy to pick up, chew on and play with that are far more satisfying than anything that doesn’t belong to them (and if it would be self-reinforcing to the puppy, keep it well out of access). Give the puppy loads of attention (and even drop some food in front of them) when they choose to pick up one of their own items. Ensure you introduce novel items regularly to prevent boredom. I have a mixture of toys, […]

By petsense|2020-05-01T12:14:09+01:00November 22nd, 2019|Dogs|0 Comments

Teaching puppies to cope with separation

It’s important that we gradually build up periods of separation in young puppies rather than just leave them and hope they cope (or actively ignore them if they are not coping). During the first day after bringing our puppy home, she was not left unsupervised at all. At night for the first week our puppy slept with us, gradually moving her bed away from our bed until it was on the landing. She then stayed sleeping on the landing for another week until I was sure that she was able to last all night without needing the toilet, at which […]

By petsense|2020-05-01T12:17:32+01:00November 22nd, 2019|Dogs|0 Comments

Puppy classes

Studies have shown that attending puppy classes may be important for social exposure with other puppies and people which could have a positive association with the dog’s long-term behaviour. However, the setup of the classes and the training methods used are likely to have an impact on these results. The priority for me when looking for an appropriate puppy class was that all the puppies have enough space so that the atmosphere is generally calm and relaxed. No barking or puppies pulling on their leads trying to get to each other. It doesn’t matter if the content is great if no […]

By petsense|2020-05-01T12:22:47+01:00November 22nd, 2019|Dogs|0 Comments

Kids and puppies

Getting a new puppy is an exciting time for children. Owning a dog helps teach children patience, responsibility, empathy, increases self-esteem, keeps them fit and has other health benefits. But it is the responsibility of adults to make sure that the relationship is appropriate and fair. Sadly, most dog bites happen to children under the age of 6 living in the home, and most parents claim it appeared to happen ‘out of the blue’. I have previously been asked by parents for help because their child won’t leave their puppy alone and it has started to growl. It’s a bit […]

By petsense|2020-05-01T12:26:01+01:00November 22nd, 2019|Dogs|0 Comments

First walks with your puppy

First “walks” are not much of a walk at all. They generally involve the puppy watching the world go by from a safe place. I tend to introduce a very lightweight 2+ meter line at home, alongside the puppy being rewarded for staying with me as I move. The line can be used on walks if necessary, dropped acting as a dragline or held when not safe to be loose and when I want to work on loose lead walking (i.e. rewarding the puppy for ‘being with you’). I try not to let the puppy know the lead can ever […]

By petsense|2020-05-01T12:27:09+01:00November 22nd, 2019|Dogs|0 Comments

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