Dog of the Month - August

Slightly delayed as usual, here's Barney, August's Dog of the Month!

Barney stayed with me a few times over the summer, and really mucked in well with all the dogs. There was some competition over tennis balls and toys so we stopped taking them with us after a few days. In their absence, Barney sat in the dog pond waiting for me to throw something, and when I didn't, he dived to the bottom and rescued a few sunken toys!

The main reason he won the award is his quick learning! One of my own dogs is a bit of a bicycle chaser, so when on a long weekend walk at first sight of a bike we all gather round for a small treat so Scamp doesn't chase. After an hour of this, Barney was running straight to me without me saying anything at all as soon as he spotted a bike. I was very impressed - I've been doing this since June and Scamp still hasn't quite got it...

Here's some of my fav pics of Barney. He's also been walking with me a year, so got his Walkies award at the same time.

Grooming Difficult Dogs

I'm not a groomer, but the safe handling techniques, stress reduction techniques, body language tips, and calming and stress signals can help every person who works with or lives with dogs.

Training and Behaviour News

I passed Introduction Instructors Course with Mic Martin today. Got a lovely certificate too, which I wasn't expecting!

I will be assisting at Mic's Dog Training School from 31st January as part of my ongoing training. Closer to home, I did my first behavioural/training consultation this month too, which went well. Within the next few weeks or so I hope the clients will let me know how things are going and what the improvements are. Next month I hope to do the first of my 'recall training walks' where I take the client and their dog on a walk around the local country park (permission granted by the Rangers) to teach them how to get a good recall. Minor issues only to start with!

Also in the pipeline for me is some sort of 'responsible dog owners' event at Thorndon Country Park, with the Rangers, details still being worked out, but will at least be ready to publicise from February.

I have finally passed my 'Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Certificate'! I started studying with the Cambridge Institute of Pet Behaviour and Care back in September, when I started the business. I wanted to have 'paper proof' of my lifetime's experiences with pets of all kinds, but as work got busier I had less time for study. I kept on with it though, on quiet weekends and during my leave when the van was off the road.

The hard work paid off, and my certificate arrived this morning!

My next goal is to qualify as a Children's Educational Speaker for the Blue Cross, hopefully aided by Beauty. After that I have two practical courses lined up for August and October and I'd like to be able to switch to Compass and do some Canine Behaviour distance learning.

Great Achievement!

No, not mine! One of the pups I look after goes to training classes on a regular basis, and both his owners work very hard with him. Last Sunday all that hard work paid off as he came 1st in his puppy class Progress Test!

Well done Bingley!

First Aider

I have now been on my First Aid for Dogs course and graduated with the rest of the class.

We learnt how to deal with wounds, burns, bleeding and shock, poisoning, drowning and CPR among other things. I had a go at CPR on their dummy, and bandaged an ear, paw and tail on a stuffed Golden Retriever. Of course, these pretend animals don't wriggle about, so we were shown some ways to restrain dogs nicely, but firmly.

I've now got a certificate to go in my information pack, a full first aid kit for the van (which is now bigger than my 'human' first aid kit) and a smaller, basics only kit to carry on walks.

This is one part of my business I hope I never need, but it's good to feel prepared.