The Happy Dog Journal™️
The FREE weekly newsletter for you and your dog from Freya V. Locke.
Hi Gang
How are we all? It’s been a crazy week here as not only do I teach dogs, but I also now teach English to people who speak other languages. I accidentally left my calendar wide open, and between the two jobs have been working 14-hour days for a whole week!
So, Twyla has not been out to as many places as she would normally get to go. Apart from quick laps around the village, she has spent most of her days snoozing and waiting for the postman.
Luckily, I know a whole pile of enrichment games and techniques that helped keep her occupied. On Sunday we are going to take her somewhere nice. We are thinking about flashing our National Trust cards and heading out somewhere fancy.
Where do you like to take your dogs for a special day out?
The importance of having patience.
Do you remember last week when I told you about Rocky and how we had to adjust our expectations for his lesson? He was so excited once he was out of his home that he could not concentrate on what we wanted to teach him.
So we concentrated on playing and doing activities to help him pay more attention to his human instead, and by the end of the lesson, we had started to see some progress.
Well, this week, what a surprise I had. I rolled up in my trusty old deathwagon, and walking with a perfect loose lead up and down the road was Rocky and his human! So we began going further afield with him and started teaching him to be calmer from the house. He also started learning to disengage from triggers that would usually send him over the edge.
I explained the importance of taking it slowly and only exposing him to situations he could cope with while he was still learning, and his human agreed. I can’t wait to see what Rocky does next week.
When did you have to be patient before you saw the results?
Spotted and sharing.
This is a really important health consideration from Ethan D. Chorin:
My other posts - because I write about other stuff too!
Things have been slow this January, and the bills have been high. Most 121 dog behaviourists and trainers that I know are in the same boat.
Still, instead of closing, I’m turning it around by supporting myself and my writing by adding teaching to my repertoire of services and concentrating on getting my clinical animal behaviourist qualification (currently, I’m an accredited behaviourist.) When things pick up, I’ll be even more able to help. With all the added teaching practice I’m getting, I’m also learning to plan better lessons for dog clients! So it’s a win-win!
Handy links.
How has your week been? I hope it’s been a good one! Drop a comment and let me know!
Warm ‘n’ Fuzzies,
Freya xx
Coming up on 11 years old, Bella still needs to get out for long walks to keep her happy. We did a mini hike today and I love how those days have helped us build and maintain the closest bond I've ever had to another living creature.
Thank you for this wonderful update. Do you take dog question? I wonder how I can train my lab mix and Boston Terrier to hang out calmly indoors. I keep them separated because all they want to do is rough house. 😅❤️🐾