Wagging Tails

There is nothing more important than your dog’s welfare.

I am often asked by puppy owners, when does the biting and chewing stop? The answer is it’s ongoing. Biting, chewing, digging, sniffing and licking are all natural dog behaviours. When our dogs are puppies, the biting is more prevalent because they are teething.

PUPPY TIPS:-
** Buy long toys (rather than small toys) so that when you play tug with puppy, your hands and arms are not in close proximity to puppy’s SHARP teeth. Save your hands and arms from nasty bites.
** Give puppy several items that they can legally chew on so they can fulfil their need to bite, chew, lick, sniff, etc. eg a frozen Kong, lickimats, other toys.
** The key is variety. Your puppy might not be interested in one chew toy one week but by next week they might choose it to fulfil that need.
** Management- save your voice and your new couch and put up barriers and gates to protect valuable furniture.
** There are endless tips, contact me to if you need more info/a home visit to set your puppy up for success.

SCIENCE:-
Licking, biting, chewing, sniffing and digging activate the dog’s “rest and digest” system. Essentially, when dogs fulfil these natural predatory behaviours, their body releases dopamine. They feel an intrinsic natural high (similar to how us humans feel after a big run or eating chocolate). Humans and dogs want to feel that natural high, it activates our parasympathetic nervous system. We feel happy and calm.

SUMMARY:-
Providing a variety of outlets for your puppy/dog to chew/bite = a calm and happy dog!

My boy Ted’s first walk with Taffy (after his 8 weeks of rehab at home) following his ACL (knee) operation. There is so much emotion as you hold that dog lead and your dog is taking a walk again like a “normal” dog would. There is so joy in seeing your dog walking again and able to engage all their senses, in the outside world. I have so much gratitude to everyone that helped to make this happen for Ted and I, I was very lucky. You know who you are.

Ted’s story got me THINKING. Navigating walks with your dog, post surgery, is NOT easy. The nerves we feel as we hold the lead, can be transferred to our dogs. We can’t have eyes everywhere to spot all incoming dogs and people. We can’t reassure our dogs, keep them safe and walk over to ask someone for space all at the same time. We are also checking in on our dog’s body language and pain levels during the walk. Pain and behaviour are so closely linked as we know.

You have permission to ask for help. Don’t hesitate to contact me for 1:1 dog training or ‘walk and trains’ or social walks. We want our dogs to feel supported, as they navigate walks back at the park with other dogs and people again, so they can back to their “normal” happy selves again.