We’re delighted to announce that our event ‘An evening of fashion from Green House, in aid of Every Chance Rescue’ has sold out.

Over 130 people will be at Berkhamsted’s fine dining restaurant The Gatsby, to enjoy the AW’10 collection from Danish designers Green House and American jewellery designers Silpada.  The event is being hosted by Gerry Walker, independent fashion consultant from Green House & Silpada, and Hanne Grice founder of Berkhamsted’s award winning pet care and behaviour company, Walk the Dog.

The guests will enjoy a glamorous evening in aid of the dog rehoming and rescue network Every Chance Rescue (ECR).  This non-profit organisation is run on a voluntary basis by Jan Fennell Dog Listeners and sits under the umbrella of Jan Fennell International Dog Listeners Ltd.  ECR has helped countless unwanted and mistreated dogs, providing veterinary and foster care and rehabilitates these dogs, providing their new owners with a free consultation and lifetime support from a certified Dog Listener.

There will be a Prize Draw with some fantastic prizes up for grabs, kindly donated by local businesses.

Menu

The menu for this fantastic night includes, a glass of bubbly on arrival and…

First Course

Salad of smoked duck, lambs lettuce, honey vinaigrette Or (vegetarian option) Stilton & red onion tartlet

Main Course

Escalope of Shetland salmon with sweetcorn & pea risotto, tomato coulis Or (vegetarian option) Polenta & grilled provencale vegetable

Dessert

Chocolate torte with chantilly cream

We look forward to seeing you all on Thursday 16th September, for a glamorous night to remember.

View a PDF file of the Tring Living article.

View a PDF file of the Berkhamsted Living article.

As autumn approaches, this can be a worrying time for an owner whose dog has a fear of noise, as celebrations such as Halloween and Bonfire Night bring along the sights and sounds of fireworks.

The temptation is to comfort our dog when he is afraid and shaking, however, this is the worst thing you can do.  This is because stroking your dog or making a fuss when he is frightened will unwittingly re-enforce and reward the dog’s fearful behaviour.   So, it is as good as telling him “yes be afraid and I’m afraid too.”  What your dog needs is reassurance, however, in a ‘canine way’.

So, here are some top tips to help your dog calm down.

Ensure you’re in the same room as your dog.  Shut the door so the dog cannot escape the room.  Put any cables or breakables out of the dog’s way, in case he panics and gets tangled up or knocks into any ornaments.

Sit on the floor and read a book, this distracts you from looking or reacting to the dog.

Concentrate on your breathing rate, so your pulse rate is steady.

Now, ignore your dog!  This means avoid eye contact and stay quiet no matter how hard your dog tries to get your attention.  By showing that you are not bothered by the loud noises, you will help your dog calm down as he will, over time, mimic your behaviour and settle.

However, if your dog tries to sit in your lap or lean on you, gently push him away without saying anything or making eye contact.  By avoiding any reaction to your dog’s behaviour, you avoid unwittingly re-enforce this unwanted fearful behaviour.  If your dog continues to fuss around you, continue to move him gently away from you , each and every time.  Your dog will eventually realise his behaviour is not going to get your attention and he will give up.

Once your dog has calmed down (e.g.) he has stopped pacing* and panting, he has sits down and you see his breathing rate steady, only then calmly call him over to you for an interaction.  Then gently praise him and give him food reward when he comes to you.  Your dog is now being rewarded for his quiet behaviour.  * See stress signals to look out for below.

If this interaction kicks off the unwanted behaviour once again, repeat the instructions above.

Herbal remedies

There are some great herbal remedies that work brilliantly on dogs.  Although there is no substitute for proper veterinary attention where health is concerned, from a behavioural point of view where health is not an issue, natural flower essences are an asset when dealing with fearful or phobic dogs.

Try ‘ Dr Bach Rescue Remedy’ ‘, ‘Bach Mimulus’ or ‘Bach Rock Rose’ solutions are good options and can be added to your pet’s drinking water or food.  Available from most good health shops.

Note: The time it takes for your dog to calm down depends on his temperament and learnt behaviour.  With consistency and putting into practice these top tips every time there is thunder, fireworks or any loud noises that stresses your dog, soon he will learn there is nothing to fear.

Early warning stress signals to look out for

• Lip lick and nose licking
• Panting
• Pacing
• Sweating through the paws
• Whining/Whimpering
• Standing crouched
• Tail tucked under
• Creeping away
• Stiffening
• Dilated pupils
• Barking

Avoid touching your dog when he is in a highly aroused state, as he may mouth or bite due.

To whom it may concern:

My profession is to help people make their businesses more successful. But before I became a coach, I was a veterinarian and for 17 years – first as a practice owner and later working in corporate for a pet food company – I worked with some of the best dog behaviourists in the world. My husband is a veterinarian as well, working full time with small animals.

In 2009 my mother-in-law sadly passed away and we took on her 3-year old Lakeland terrier, Molly. When we first got her, Molly would literally run on the walls, being so frantic everywhere we went with her that she was almost impossible to handle. A year later, we had a much calmer dog, but we had also realised that there were some deep seated anxieties and behavioural issues that we were not quite getting to grips with. The front door was still about running out, requests for play were extreme, cars were an obsession, walking on the lead would involve at least some severe pulling and Molly was just not as happy as we thought she could be.

In July 2010 we asked Hanne Grice from Walk the Dog to help us make Molly a happier and calmer dog. During our initial consultation, Hanne gave us an extremely comprehensive and thorough walk through all the aspects of dog behaviour, feeding back to us the instances where we inadvertently were reinforcing Molly’s frantic behaviour. She gave us a programme of exercises and play to work with, addressing directly the root cause of Molly’s problems – that she is a very insecure and frightened little dog that needs a structured and calm life. While we had already provided much of that, Hanne was able to absolutely drill down and get to all the little details that would make a difference to Molly.

Within a week we noticed that Molly was much calmer. Within two weeks my clients were commenting on how much she had improved and within three weeks almost every aspect of Molly’s behaviour that we were working with had turned around.

Now, almost a month later, Molly has changed into a much more calm and relaxed dog. She walks to heel like a champion – even when we go out the front door and have to pass the cars – , she looks to us for directions on what to do and she is much happier for strangers to stroke her and talk to her. We have already achieved far more than we thought was possible, and Hanne continues to support us with advice, practical exercises and positive feedback!

I have found Hanne Grice to be professional, knowledgeable and expert at what she does. She has impressed me with her keen insight and observations as well as with her ability to explain complex concepts in a straightforward manner. She has demonstrated a strong analytical bend, fitting together problems with solutions in a comprehensive and creative manner, and I can only give her my complete recommendation. She has been a delight to work with and the results have been even better than we had hoped for.

Thank you, Hanne – from Molly and the rest of us with all our hearts…

Best wishes,

A-M, August 2010

Dear friends,

Summer is always a very busy time for us at Walk the Dog with extra holiday work, and annual events.

In this issue, we introduce new WTD team members Lindsay McKenzie-Ross and Bryony Maddisson.

We interview Phil Naylor from the NARP, and tease our new book in the Great Reads section. There’s also details about our next event; the Green House fashion show in aid of Every Chance Rescue. And, for all the latest stories, news and more, do follow us on Twitter @walkthedoguk and Facebook

Happy reading!
Hanne & the WTD team xx

Read the Walk the Dog Newsletter Summer 2010 →

If you’ve got a story you’d like us to feature or have any feedback about our newsletters, then please do email us.

Today the media have been focusing on the issue of ‘how best to train your dog’ with traditionalists such as Cesar Milan advocating the use of hard line training methods to show your dog who’s boss compared to modernists such as Victoria Stillwell and Jan Fennell who focus on positive reward to teach a dog what is and isn’t wanted through calmness and consistency.

Last year I led a research study with 100 people (50 dog owners and 50 non dog owners) to see if there was a difference in the way owners and non dog owners interpreted dog behaviour and actions.  One question included the “You have to be in charge of your dog, or he’ll dominate you.” I asked respondents whether they considered this to be True or False.  Interestingly, 79 per cent of those polled answered ‘Yes’.  However, this isn’t the case.

The idea that all dogs are dominant and want to dominate us is simply untrue.  Studies show that often, when owners use dominant or aggressive behaviours towards their dogs to “show them whose boss” or to teach them that growling, mouthing, snapping is unacceptable; the owners are likely to cause escalation the dog’s behaviour.  Thankfully, more and more research is coming out proving that these forceful methods, in most cases, do not work.  A recent study led by Dr Rachel Casey from the University of Bristol, involved the study of dogs freely interacting at a Dogs Trust rehoming centre over a period of six months, and re-analysing data from studies of feral dogs.  Their research concluded that individual relationships between dogs are learnt through experience rather than motivated by a desire to assert “dominance”.  The study proved dogs aren’t motivated by maintaining their place in the pecking order of their pack.  As many of my behaviour clients know, what our dogs want is calmness, consistency and reassurance.

The idea of dominance has really become a popular over recent years, spurred on by the rise in dog behaviour ‘experts’ TV using and recommending confrontational methods.  Some of you may know that I wasn’t always a Dog Listener.  I spent nearly ten years working in television as a Producer while studying animal behaviour to qualify as a canine specialist.  So, I know how to make television programmes – what ‘looks’ good, how pull at the heartstrings of viewers and create dramatic scenes.  However, what may appear impressive on TV such as, pinning down a dog to show him ‘your in charge’ as favoured by Dog Whisperer Cesar Milan or rattling chains or shouting at the dog, as favoured by the trainers from Dog Borstal, often make unwanted behaviours worse.

Often when I’m called in to assist a client who’s dog is exhibiting unwanted behaviours, the client may have attempted to replicate what they have seen on TV in order to ‘teach’ the dog he’s done wrong.  While other owners have attended dog training classes, where owners are encouraged to shout at their dog or jerk them on the lead.  However, confrontational techniques like pinning the dog down, grabbing his jowls, blasting hooters or air sprays into his face, yelling at the dog, jerking him around or using choke collars as means of control, will make a dog anxious and stressed – often about their owner, and potentially lead to an escalation of aggression.  Dr Casey says, “The blanket assumption that every dog is motivated by some innate desire to control people and other dogs is frankly ridiculous.  It hugely underestimates the complex communicative and learning abilities of dogs.  It also leads to the use of coercive training techniques, which compromise welfare, and actually cause problem behaviours.”

So, how do you get a calm and responsive dog if not by dominating him?  Easy!  By understanding how dogs think, what motivates them, how they learn, how dogs communicate, owners can then begin to successfully train their dog and reduce down and even stop unwanted behaviours.  I use reward based training – praise, touch and food reward to get repetition of the good behaviour and teach ways of dealing with the unwanted stuff in a calm and consistent way.  Many owners ask me, “What’s the secret to successful dog training?”  My response, it’s understanding your dog, being consistent, managing your environment, and having a bucket load of patience!

If you’d like to know more about Hanne’s research, or find out more about dog behaviour and how to deal with problem behaviours, contact Hanne at hanne@doglistener.tv

Photo: Cesar Millan by Melissa

View this article on the Berkhamsted People website.

The latest edition of Area Life Magazine features an advert for our Fashion Show on 16th September in aid of Every Chance Rescue.

View a PDF of the Area Life Advert.

Go to Latest Area Life Magazine.

A new study has added weight to the growing evidence that dogs posses theory of mind, in other words, dogs are self aware and likely to perceive what we see and know.  This would allow dogs to take of advantage of us when the opportunity arises.  A classic example of this would be when we place that all important cheese sandwich down on the coffee table, turn our backs and the dog steals our lunch from under our noses!

Findings published in the latest issue of Applied Animal Behaviour Science presents evidence made by a group of researchers at Hood College in Maryland.   The researchers worked with 20 dogs to see if they gave the dogs the opportunity to take food from one of two containers (one container being rigged for sound), what would happen.

The containers were placed within proximity of a human ‘gatekeeper’ who was either looking straight ahead or not looking at the time of choice.  One container was silent when food was inserted or removed, while the other was noisy.  The vast majority of dogs approached the silent container that was being ‘ignored’ by the human.  Then the researchers adjusted the experiment to see how the dogs would react if the food container was noisy, but the human still ignored this, or if the dogs weren’t particularly quiet when grabbing the snack.

The scientists said “the dogs preferentially attempted to retrieve food silently only when silence was germane to obtaining food unobserved by the human gatekeeper.  Interestingly, dogs sourced from a local rescue centre evidenced similar outcomes.”  Shannon Kundey of Hood College said that this latter finding “conflicts with other recent data suggesting that shelter dogs perform more poorly than pet dogs in tasks involving human social cues.”

Such research suggests that food stealing skills are not necessarily learnt through repeated experience.  This sneakiness may have evolved in wolves, dog’s ancestor, and could have therefore have genetic components.

So, next time your dog nabs your dinner don’t be harsh on him – it’s no different from nicking that last French fries off your partner’s plate when he’s engrossed with the football on TV.