We all dream of having a dog who loves being in the car. When our dogs are relaxed when being transported, we’re relaxed too. When our dogs are happy to be in the car, it makes vet trips and other healthcare visits much easier. But travelling with our dogs in the car can be very…
Read more
The problem We all dream of being able to take our dog in the car without any drama. Trips to the beach, hiking in the mountains, playdates and vet care all become accessible when our dog is a good traveller. But what happens when they’re restless or unsettled? Many dogs struggle with travel. Whether it’s…
Read more
When a lovely new follower asked me for a webinar on frustration, it made me realise that I’d already done so much on frustration that I wasn’t sure there actually was anything else to say on the topic. It also made me realise that I hadn’t got a catalogue of all the Lighten Up materials…
Read more
Despite how important we know sleep is, we still don’t know very much about it in dogs. One of the reasons for this is that sleep can be very hard and expensive to study properly. If only it was as simple watching your dog chasing rabbits in their sleep! There are many challenges of studying…
Read more
There are many foundational pillars that contribute to behaviour. Diet is one factor that many of us have picked up on. These days, we are much more conscious about what we feed our dogs (and ourselves). We are very conscious of the fact that what our dogs eat affects their health and their behaviour. In…
Read more
The risks of sensitisation are important ones to consider with our dogs. Although sensitisation is a temporary process, it can create a cascade that follows. When we think of sensitisation, it’s often easier to think of its opposite process: habituation. Habituation simply means getting used to things in the world that were previously noteworthy. For…
Read more
In the last ten years, it’s become more important to view anxiety and fear as different phenomena. In the past, they were seen as ‘shades’ of each other. They meant almost the same thing. In fact, we could think of them as synonyms for each other. Anxiety might have simply been a less dramatic version…
Read more
Sensitisation can be a risk for many dogs. This is particularly true when our dogs are aroused or when they are in heightened states of emotion. It is also more likely when triggers are particularly intense. It’s also true when the triggers are of significance to the dog. It’s much easier for our dogs to…
Read more
This week, I had three conversations with people whose dogs are sensitive towards flying insects. This is not so unexpected, even though it is rare. My dog Lidy is sensitive to wasps, having been stung by a wasp some years ago. Unlike wasps, flies don’t do much harm if you eat them. It’s only the…
Read more
Life would be a whole lot easier for our sensitive and responsive dogs if they could just get used to the world around them. If they could pay less mind to the other dogs in the world… Or if they could simply adjust to the people they see on walks… If the tiniest little noise…
Read more