Dogs, if my terrier is anything to go by, sometimes bask in the sun. No matter how hot I feel, my dog lies out there, belly exposed, panting away. Not for him the choice of shady corners offered by our lush greenery (where I forgot to do the pruning). Skin protection might be a good idea for him, but what about those dogs that really hate the heat?

5 ideas to cool down a hot dog

Doggy Paddling Pool.

Making sure it is not overfilled, easy to get in and out of, this gives the dogs a choice. Never force your dog to go in! Why frighten them? If they want to bathe, they will. A hard plastic ’sandpit’ pool works best of all. Often you can find these at car boot sales! If you have limited budget or just want something more temporary, get a ‘folding sides’ type, and lay old carpet tiles or weighted down old towels in the base to prevent punctures from dog claws. Choose floating toys for your dog to collect, splat and generally bob about. In fact, get your bathing cossie on and join in!

The Sprinkler.

(If you don’t have a hosepipe ban), this again allows the dog to enter the water if they choose. Try tossing toys through the spray for your dog to chase. Or, they may be like my old collie and try to catch the water in their mouths!

The doggy ‘Ice Lolly’

I was sent some great ideas for dog ‘ice lollies’ that you can make and freeze. From tuna ice cubes to lollies made from frozen peanut butter and even yoghurt mixed with meat… ‘the google’ is your oyster for more ideas and recipes. Add your favourites in the comments below. Be aware of giving your dog too rich or too salty food as frozen treats, so go steady. A standard ice cube for your dog to chase around works great as a toy. In the past I have frozen a carrot and let my dogs chew on that. Not a good idea to give things straight out of the freezer as this may cause ice burns to your dog’s mouth. Don’t get confused and add them to your lemonade though – unless you get desperate and need a protein fix…

Walks at dusk or dawn

Just because it suits you to take the dog out at lunchtime, ever thought this might not suit your dog? Consider a mental exercise break for your dog in the middle of the day, and save your walks for later when it’s not so warm. Hide a toy and get your dog to find it, or get them to search for you around the house. Teach them a new trick or training exercise instead. Have an early evening stroll later on. Better still, get up a bit earlier and go walkies while the dew is still lush on the grass.

Don’t sweat the small stuff

Well all right, I cheated a little. This one is for us owners. If your dog has found a cool place to go, doesn’t want to swim or paddle, won’t eat the ice cubes you lovingly prepared the night before… don’t fret. As my good friend Debbie says ‘For people, I say plenty of iced tea and no deep thinking when the temperatures are high’

Enjoy the sun while it lasts!

Thanks to @fearfuldogs Debbie, @boredombusters Linda, @TottieLimeJuice Lesley, @HRDogTraining Hayley, @Cadrieu Steve, @LynneJStone , @Wallprice Kaye , @Waggytails2, @thisbear Teddy,  and everyone else for their ideas!

‘Can an old dog learn new tricks?’

It was nearly seventeen years ago that I spotted a little grey bundle in a rescue kennels. He was an odd looking thing, with a grizzled coat that stuck out all over the place, and a Jack Russell head with eyes that didn’t look terribly interested in me peering at him. He was only 2, but he looked ancient!

At the time I simply wanted a dog. Any dog. A dog of my own. I wanted a rescue dog. I took him for a walk and not much happened. That weekend I took him home. He was a very withdrawn little mutt, until he spotted another dog. At that point he transformed into a banshee.

As it turned out, he became the start of my career. After many struggles and a lot of work but a lot more fun, he became Pepper, ‘The Flying Flea’ or his official working register Kennel Club name ‘Red Hot Chilli Pepper’. He did Agility, Obedience, Working Trials training and was the ‘small dog’ in the ‘Superdogs’ Display team.

Can every rescue dog be given a new lease of life? It’s not always easy, it’s not always cheap, but nothing worth having in life is a simple walk in the park. And walking a barking, half-crazed terrier in the park isn’t easy. I learned so much from him, and he was my little mate. I still miss him.

Often I get calls from owners asking if an older dog can be trained. The answer is, yes. Pepper learned to “wave” when he was 15 years old, and in the year before he died, he learned to bark to call me when he couldn’t manage to reach something.

Sometimes, a rescue dog has not had the chance to learn about life and ‘normality’. It can take them a long time to adjust to what you take for granted as familiar. These dogs need careful, long-term social experience. They need to go at their own pace. You need to help them.

Getting a new puppy isn’t straightforward either, so it’s not always the better choice! In my work, get more calls for puppy and adolescent behaviour problems than rescue dogs.

I have seen several cases where the families called me the day they brought their rescue dog home. Perfect! This meant that any worries they had, they could ask me to assess what to do next. As months pass, they moulded these dogs into good citizens.

Sometimes, the dogs are just relieved to be somewhere where they can adapt and learn without fear.

Get yourself a good trainer – someone qualified, with proper credentials, with a code of practice, and no harsh methods or talk of old-fashioned dominance theory. Give your new dog the best chance you can. Keep notes of the early days so you can look back at how far you have come. You will be amazed!

With Pepper I learned a huge amount about training a terrier. About their determination, and about my own patience. About the benefit of silence and observation.

And the love, oh the fun and the feeling that I gave him a chance. I will never forget the day a lady came over after a dog display we had just completed, pulled a roast beef joint from her bicycle basket, and stuffed a wodge of it into Pepper’s mouth. He was extremely happy about that part of his career!

So folks, if you want to blame anyone for my presence on this site then the fault lies with rescue dogs!

This month we are supporting the Oldies Club: Please consider a donation to the fabulous “Oldies Club’ who care for and rehome older dogs. You can donate here

Easter usually means goodies but as we all know, dogs cannot have chocolate. So, the little Intellidogs Easter bunny has been hopping about looking for the best treats for your dog.

The rather clever little bunny has hidden an Easter egg in one of the blogs on the Intellidogs website!

So – what do you win? Well, take a look at THIS little delicious and calorie free dog toy gateau… the FAB prize donated to us by Katie from www.mypetaccessories.co.uk

To enter

All you have to do is pop a little Easter egg Twibbon onto your Twitter id until Easter Monday.

Then, start hunting for the Easter Egg!

The main blog page is here and you will have to search the pages to find the egg!

Then tweet me the blog link on which the egg is hidden on either @WildPaw or @Intellidogs

If you are being super-secret and don’t want to share your hard effort, DM me the answer. I will follow you if I don’t already do that so that you can DM.

If you aren’t a Twitter fan, just email me the answer on info@karenwild.co.uk

All entries must be submitted before Tuesday 6th April

Easter. Fun for you, fun for your dog, and not a calorie in sight!

Happy Hunting for you and your dog!

Karen xx

My Pet Accessories are doing a special offer during the hunt that if you spend only £12 on the site you will get a free dog hoody! If you think it’s too plush for your pooch, it would make a great gift or even a charity donation for an underprivileged pup while you treat your own dog. Katie has just reduced her prices for Easter so there are more bargains to be found than you could shake a bunny at.

Intellidogs is sponsoring The Oldies Club, a charity specialising in homing, sheltering and fostering older dogs. Give those grey muzzles a chance. You can donate here and find out more. Thanks x

UPDATE: Winner! Congratulations to Faye Billington who was drawn from all of you that correctly identified the hidden egg in Dan’s blog!

They all have a doggy job to do. Companion, supporter, hot water bottle, friend, guide, collector of slippers, illness alerter, you name it – the dogs jobs are varied and important to us.

In the blog picture here, you might see a dog with a job that involves administering brandy to struggling humans. I see a different job. I see two dogs that have worked very hard to learn to behave calmly when kids are hugging and cuddling them. I want to hear from you about your pet dog’s job.

Celebrate your dog’s job in our photo competition!

Maybe we can’t imagine life without a doggy member of the family. Maybe we have our dog on purpose to help us with something. Maybe they do useful things that you never expected them to do! It’s a dogs job to do all these things.

In fact, our pet dogs all have a job.

It is time to celebrate how our ordinary dogs jobs benefit our lives.

Even TV star and recording mogul Simon Cowell talks about how his dog had the power to make his troubles go away. He says “I remember one particular day, I was having the worst (I thought) day of my life, I was coming home from work, everything had gone wrong, I was depressed, sad, and I went home, and there waiting up for my was my pet dog. And he jumped up, licked my face, and was happy to see me, and everything was happy again”. I am sure we can all agree, we know that feeling well.

Every dog has his down side…

but let’s bring into focus the jobs that our pet dogs do for us.

Taste tester, sofa keeper-warmer, extra blanket, doorstop, key-finder, conversation-starter, bringer of the remote control…

What is your dog’s job? – competition

Take your photos and send them to me with a brief description of the job your dog does, titled ‘My dog has a job’ to info@karenwild.co.uk

or tweet them to me as @WildPaw on twitter www.twitter.com/WildPaw adding #mydoghasajob.  All entries will be posted via this site.

The top 3 photos will each win a prize and one of my fab Pawprint ‘Top Team’ rosettes! Entries from worldwide are welcome. We’ll sort the postage!

I ask that if you enter and if you would like, please consider a donation to the fabulous “Oldies Club’ who care for and rehome older dogs. You can donate here

I may even ask YOU to vote for a winner, if I can work out how to do that – and if not, a panel of dog nutcases professionals will judge the best photo.

Closing date for entries is Mon 12th April which gives you plenty of time to start paparazzi-ing your pooch..!

My Pet Dog has a Job – let’s see yours

Karen x

Simon Cowell interviewed for WSPA: http://www.animalsmatter.org/

Its true. I have it on first authority that dogs are better off training their human. My good friend Border Terrier Marley returns to write for us again about how he maintains his human, keeps him happy and gets him to play the right sort of dog games.

Dog training – my view from by your leg – by Marley the Border Terrier

Ello for you. It is I, Marley.

I phink you did kno it was I, Marley. That is becos I ave been trainin you for recognisin me when I do be here. Trainin is important and that is why Karen has arsked me to tells you about it today cos some of you do be good at it but some of you duzz need some elp and I am the eggspert in the field.

Learning names

So let us go back to step 1, recognisin names. I say again for you “ello, it is I, Marley. Ow is you?” Knowin my name and knowin your own name is very important becos it can be helpful in avoidin danger. I give you example from real life. When my typist does approach the fridge in the evenin I say “Dad, you does not want that cold beer cos it will make you fats and lazy”. He recognise his name (Dad) and pick up ealfy fruit joos instead. This is good for him and save him from early middle age. He tell me that sumtimes he shout “Marley” to stop me goin in the road and getting urt when we is out walkin, but I say does he really phink I goin to step in front of a car? I is not stoopid you kno.

Repeat – and treat

Of course, the key for trainin is repetition. When dad is holdin ower dinner in the evenin he say “sit” every time before we can ave it. Lola and me always sit, cos if we dussn’t then I phink he forget what he is doin and serve up bird seed or leave ower bowls in the fridge. He is a bit slow and we ave to help him, like talkin to a baby.

We also say that rewardin wiv treats does elp with learnin. After he say “sit” for the 20^th time, Dad do say “paw” and I old up my paw and he give us a nom to eat. I think that he is rewarded in his heart by givin me noms and so I let im do it after each trick or task. “Paw”, he say. Up go the paw, in go the nom. It does be simple but effective technique for hoomans cos they is unusually obsessed wiv ow they feel bout themselves.

Also, we find that we help him out by not always doin the same thing to see if he is payin attenshun. He say “lie down” and I lie down. Then he say “roll over” and I just give him the dead eye. “Roll over” he say again, and this time I sit up and give him paw. “LIE DOOOOOWWWWWNNNNN MARLEY” he say, so I do it and allow him to give me nom for spottin that his command ad not been followed to the letter. This way he get elp wiv accuracy and also a boost for his self respect.

Keeps us dogs from getting bored

Trainin is very good for stopping animals of all types from getting bored. If Dad is teachin me ow to stand on my back legs or turn round in circles then he cannot be spendin the evenin sittin on the sofa and sayin rood phings while mum watches America’s Next Top Model. It keep his mind active (trainin, not the models, ahem) and also elp wiv harmony in the house cos he is not avin to fight with mum bout wot is on telly.

You ave to be careful not to overdo trainin of course cos it can lead to tiredness and loss of patience. Yesserday me an Lola was up the woods and Dad was yellin for us to come back cos we was lookin under a bush for a squirrel. This is important work so we did ignore im. “Lola” he yell, then “Marley”. He keep this up for 10 minnits and eventually he is shouty and red in the face and his blood pressure look like it bout to burst off the top of the chart. I trot over to im and give im the “calm down” look but he was restless for the rest of the walk and did ave to ave a lie down when we got in. I tell this to you, careful ow you go about trainin cos it can be bad for your ealf if you do too much. Recognise your limits.

However, if you duzz trainin properly then then it can be rewardin for both dog and hooman. You see how happy they are if you roll over on command in front of the neighbours. It is like their eldest has graduated wiv first from Cambridge and they is about to be invited to join the golf club. Also, it is nice for people what you meet. If I sit and offer my paw to ladies we meet on our walks then we are always bein offered noms and that makes their pockets lighter and elp with finishin their walks.

If your human just isn’t getting it right

If your hooman is avin trubble trainin themselves by usin you for elp then I suggest you arsk Karen to elp wiv dat. She arsk me to do sumfink simple like “Marley, show me how Twitter work and can be applied to help solve world problems” and wivvin 5 minnits I have done a small presentayshun on it becos Karen make it all so easy peasy. The hoomans what have come with me do see how simple it can be and they takes me ome for practises followed by noms and a lie down.

All in all, me an Lola phink trainin is really really good and makes for quiet and contented staff what can be allowed to take you out in public. Give it a try, but make sures your hooman has Karen’s phone number close by.

Marley…… (offishul Dog of London 2012)

Marley’s human (A.K.A. ‘Bringer of Noms’, although people also call him Matthew Joy) is running the London Marathon on 25/04/2010 in aid of The Dogs Trust! So today leave your comment of support and maybe even a little donation towards this fantastic cause. Donate to Matthew’s London Marathon for Dogs Trust here

So I confess to you all now. I accidentally have two of them. I adore all dogs of course. As a trainer I am image-bound to own a massive mutt. But I now think little dogs rock!

Size isn’t everything in a dog

As a dog trainer and behaviourist, my daily dog diet consists of big, beautiful, strong, out of control dogs. I have lost count of the times I’ve taught handling techniques for comfort and kindness to owner and dog teams. A friend described me recently as ‘The Dog Wrangler’ which made me laugh aloud (I am 5ft 2). I have persistent hip and knee ache from re-training lunging mighty mutts. I empathise. I have been that owner.

I have owned a great big galumphing gorgeous collie and regularly look after pretty sizeable dogs, with usually 4 or 5 in the house. If you own a collie you will see my eyes mist over in anticipation of my collie ‘fix’… but don’t yell at me when I tell you, one of my absolute pleasures in life is to look down and see my tiniest dog Bonnie sitting patiently wanting a lap to curl up in. She high fives with my finger. Her bark and play noises can only be heard by bats.

The tiny dog has seen a rise in popularity and celebrities are much criticised for using them as accessories, giving a false image of the responsibilities of dog ownership. To be fair, we all make choices based on attraction don’t we? The problem arises when we don’t look beyond this. The celebrity tiny dogs I look after are probably better socialised, more tolerant and better behaved than most.

Little dog, big heart?

A small dog can have temperament ‘spikes’ in the same way as a big dog. My adored terriers throughout my life always have the kind of steely edge that would make an Akita quake (I love that about them, by the way). Little dog, big boots, sometimes a bit too big for those boots…

The tiny dog, like all dogs, need to be well socialised. But the tiny dog also needs to get used to the fact that most other living organisms they will meet will tower above and loom down at them. The tiny dog will be suddenly hoisted aloft for a waiting snuggle, or be surrounded by cooing folk. The tiny dog may need to tolerate a breathtaking and ever changing array of costumes, coats and dog clogs.

Little dogs in history

It’s not a recent phenomenon. A recent genetic study has found that small domestic dogs probably originated in the Middle East more than 12,000 years ago. Melissa Gray and Robert Wayne, from the University of California, Los Angeles, led a team of researchers who surveyed a large sample of gray wolf populations. She said, “The mutation for small body size post-dates the domestication of dogs. However, because all small dogs possess this gene, it probably arose early in their history. Our results show that the version of the gene found in small dogs is closely related to that found in Middle Eastern wolves and is consistent with an ancient origin in this region of small domestic dogs.”

Visions of ancient bling collars are marching through my head at this point…

Little dogs and their loved ones

The tiny dog owner, on the other hand, has to steel themselves for an onslaught of non-attention with the dog striking up more conversations than they ever will. Every venture out in public takes three times as long with echoes of ‘Look! Sweeet!’ ringing in their ears. And the tiny dog owner-professional trainer/behaviourist (me) has to endure a never-ending stream of mickey-taking from her German Shepherd owning colleagues. Good job I am well socialised.

So, my point? If I take into account the training that still has to be done, the housetraining issues that seem to accompany the small dog household, the choosing of temperament, the social experiences that ALL dogs need… I still love going home to them. My little dogs rock.

Tell me about your experiences of tiny dogs. Do you love them? or are you not so keen? Leave your comments below (or I will send tiny Bonnie to creep down your internet connection and chew thru your cables…)

(Science article ref : http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100223191924.htm)

Free Dog Goodies!

Our lovely sponsor Katie from My Pet Accessories has offered a free hoodie for your dog worth £15 when you place a £25 order from www.mypetaccessories.co.uk ! My Pet Accessories is a lovely online doggy shop with plenty of goodies on offer including some gorgeous toys, collars, leads, harnesses and even doggy perfume all at really competitive prices. For big dogs too. Pop to the  shop!

I asked my friend Kirsty to tell us all about her work with potential Guide Dog for Blind puppy Dan. In this blog she explains the effort that goes into housetraining him.

You are not alone – guide dogs for the blind in the making need patience, too!

“This beautiful little bundle is Dan, a chocolate Lab cross Golden Retriever and one day he is hopefully going to have a very special job to do. He is a Guide Dog for the blind puppy – in training – and I am his puppy walker (also known as puppy socialiser).

Guide dog for Blind in training

For 12 months, I will be doing his basic training and taking him through the main socialisation period. In this blog I hope you’ll enjoy reading about his progress (and mine). Perhaps it will give you an insight into what’s involved in raising a puppy, as well as the extra expectations for assistance dogs. Although I am a student of canine behaviour & training, I’m not a professional trainer & I don’t have any special magic up my sleeve. Raising a puppy is enjoyable, but it’s hard work and it helps to have a good understanding of the stages of puppy development & realistic expectations of what your puppy can do. No magic, just lots of love, patience, consistency and hard work. (A strong stomach, impaired sense of smell and a good sense of humour can also come in handy!!!)

New puppy – help!

If you’d seen my calendar this month (December), you’d have been thinking ‘this person is a clearly hermit, with absolutely no friends!’ because virtually all plans were put on hold, to focus on the important business of toilet training and socialisation. I’m stocked up with a rainforest worth of kitchen roll and enough anti-bacterial spray to impress Kim & Aggie. All I can say is, thank goodness for wooden floors! I’ve kissed goodbye to completing any task that requires more than 20 minutes solid concentration. I’ve moved everything off the floor and above puppy nose height (because Dan has absolutely no concept yet of what is mine & what is his). All phone & TV cables are inaccessible and a puppy gate is installed. Accidents are to be expected, so I’ve prepared myself for some weeks of mopping up (I find newspaper or puppy-pad training just lengthens the whole process, so we wont be using these).

Introducing puppy to toilet training routine

For the next 4- 6 weeks Dan will be accompanied out to the garden, for the toilet;

• After meals
• After drinks
• Immediately after sleeps
• Every 20 mins while he is active/awake

By using this schedule we have already got outdoor toilet 60% vs indoor toilet 40%, which is 60% less cleaning for me – yippee. If I didn’t use this schedule, I think the outdoor success rate would be more like 2%. Ok, so I feel like a yoyo, but it gives me lots of opportunity to praise him for a ‘job’ well done & I’ve lost some weight. I keep a ‘spending sheet’ (pee & poop diary) to help spot any patterns and I’ve briefed my boyfriend & mum on the plan of action, so we have a consistent routine (oh don’t I sound like I swallowed the corporate-speech dictionary?!).

At this point I am guessing you might think I am a bit obsessive, but I look upon it as a wise investment of time. Trainers often say ‘a behaviour that is rewarded’ is likely to be repeated, or as I like to think of it ‘giving praise for a pee, in the place it’s supposed to be’ saves me cleaning the wee and improves Dan’s understanding that this is the toilet, not the living room floor. Practice makes perfect. Simples…

I’m so excited about the coming months with Dan, but also feel slightly bemused that my life plans will revolve around the pee & poop schedule of this little furball.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my first ‘Dan’ blog and thank you for reading. Dan LOVES questions & compliments, so feel free to leave them in your comments ☺ Once he learns to read & type, he might write in his own blog *wink*”

Guide dog puppies – Did you know?

• The pups learn to go to the toilet on a concrete area of the garden. Guide Dog owners can have a similar area installed at home (or at their workplace) to allow for easy cleaning.
• The toilet command word for a Guide Dog is ‘busy’. They are very polite ☺

Self control for dogs is really tough. It doesn’t really make survival sense for a dog to control its impulses; its desire to race after something to hunt it down, or to rush to grab the nearest food item. Dogs do this. Dogs steal food. Dogs chase. Dogs leap to defend themselves with a bite or snap, without asking questions. After all, if their ancestors had not acted in this way it is unlikely that dogs would be here at all. A dog’s natural urge is to ‘Do It Now!’

Dogs that steal and snatch aren’t fun

Transport this into a family environment and the results can be annoying at best, and dangerous at worst. A dog that darts out of the door after a cat may end up in the road. A dog that steals and eats everything in sight is at risk from poisoning and blockages. A dog that defends itself and asks questions later is likely to end up in a behaviour consultation, rescue centre or worst of all, euthanized. Alongside these risks we owners are also responsible for the dog, hence vet bills, and even a visit to court, can be an outcome. How to control a dog that does this? Sometimes we can be there to prevent the problem, but sometimes we cannot. This is why self control for dogs is not just desirable, but absolutely necessary.

Training for a calm, relaxed dog

Self control for dogs forms an essential part of teaching your family pet from day one. Indeed it could be viewed that all dog training contains an element of dog control development. Teaching your dog to “Leave‘, ‘Sit‘, ‘Come‘ are all asking the dog to ignore the object of its desire and do as you ask instead. It may be that you already know how to control a dog that cannot control itself.

Often dogs are absolutely rock-solid sure that a human saying ‘No!’ means that something bad is going to happen. Naturally, the dog decides that in that case, they will race to get or do whatever it is before the human can intervene. If they don’t succeed this time, their survival instincts will ensure that next time, they will get that cat… or bounce up at that toddler… or scare away those fireworks… or snatch that pie…

However, with a decent, alternative reward on offer dogs can quickly learn that they don’t need to go to all that effort. The human is sitting there with a better offer. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. All we are doing is replacing one ‘survival’ strategy with another. The dog learns to control one impulse (to snatch) and gets given something better for doing something easy (sit). Don’t wait until the behaviour becomes explosive through frustration. Teach small steps and keep it simple.

Of course, if you have a strongly embedded habit, you will need skilled help, so contact a qualified accredited trainer

If you have a puppy – get started now!