We Love Pets News

It’s safe to say that separation anxiety is something all dog owners are familiar with. And recently, the frequency of anxious behaviours has become more notable in dogs - especially as many of us have been working from home this past year. While we begin to return to a “normal” way of life, our dogs may not be equipped to stay home on their own. It’s best for both you and your pup to kick negative reinforcement habits to the kerb, so you can introduce training for positive behaviours and responses.

As we enter the summer month of July (and finally get some warm weather!) we must remember and bring our attention to National Pet Hydration awareness month. As animal lovers, we care for the wellbeing and health of our pets and hydration is extremely important for your pets.

Anyone with a puppy knows that they are full of energy! And as fun as it is to engage them in play, it's important to define boundaries and avoid overexcitement. Practising good habits early on will help your pup mature into a well-behaved dog.

Happy Birthday to the Queen!

For over 260 years, the Queen’s official birthday has been celebrated in the second week of June, and tomorrow marks her official 95th birthday! Traditionally the date is observed with Trooping the Colour, a parade in which the Queen inspects soldiers from the Household Division, but this year will see a smaller scale version of the event.

However, just because official ceremonies may not be as grand doesn’t mean you can’t go all out! And we’re pretty sure the Queen would include her corgis in the celebrations, so our Creative Manager, Sophie has come up with a royal birthday pup-cake that’s easy to make and share with your own pooch:

Puppy proofin’

I’m sure you’ve heard of puppy proofing your home - and you probably start to think of things in your home that might be dangerous to your puppy, like wires lying on the floor or sharp table edges that need covering, for example. However, you might not know that environmental management goes much further than that! Managing your puppy’s environment requires small changes on a daily basis so they have the opportunity to practise appropriate behaviours and make great choices when interacting with their surroundings.

Chip Your Pet Month - what's a microchip?

The month of May is recognised as “Chip Your Pet Month,” to help bring awareness to the benefits of microchipping your pet. Microchips are tiny computer chips that are implanted underneath your pet’s skin, and each one has a unique number. These numbers are recorded and stored in a pet database, and when scanned the registered chips can be identified. Statistics show that pets with a microchip have a much higher chance of being reunited with their families if lost!

We all know how important it is to provide food, water, and shelter for our small furries, but just as important as all of those is to provide them with appropriate enrichment! In the same way that we get bored if we’ve got nothing to do, so do they, and it’s up to us as their owners to make sure that our Rabbits and Guinea Pigs are as happy as possible.

Rabbits and Guinea Pigs some of our most popular small pets in the UK, and are both extremely curious creatures who love nothing more than getting stuck into exploring their environment. They are most active at dawn and dusk, but can also be quite active during the daytime in between eating and snoozing. Whether your pets live outdoors or indoors, there are plenty of ways that we can help encourage them to display a wide range of natural behaviours such as digging, chewing, reaching, and foraging. Remember to change and swap things over in their environment on a regular basis so that they don’t become bored!

A happy dog and one that gets the right amount of exercise is far less likely to feel anxious and stressed. The vast majority of dogs also love to be around humans, unless of course they have been mistreated.

Dogs do however need support from their owners, and it is important for us to acknowledge that they don't come with an inbuilt rule book of how to behave acceptably in a human world. As owners we need to understand the tools that dogs need to be able to relax in the human environment because if they aren't relaxed they can't learn the correct responses that will be socially acceptable to humans. Failings in us to provide the adequate support leads to an emotionally aroused dog that will be experiencing anxiety, fear and frustration.

Canine aggression towards people is often due to an emotional conflict. In order to avoid this, dogs need consistency and predictability in their interactions with humans they come into contact with. Dogs have coping strategies to help them deal with the challenges of living in a fast paced 21st century human world. If the dog is unable to cope in a situation there will be a stress response which is a physiological response (not an emotion). Stress brings out the necessary reaction that will enable the dog to cope. It is part of a survival mechanism and stress happens in dogs as much as it does with humans.

Dogs will learn from bad experiences and will take on strategies to help them avoid similar experiences in the future. For example, ''it hurts when I get picked up by children.” This dog may run away to a 'safe' place if it sees a child approach it or growl knowing this causes the child to go away.

If a behaviour can prevent a negative experience from happening the behaviour will increase in frequency and the dog becomes confident in certain responses it shows.
E.g., “When I growl my owners leave my food bowl alone, when I snap the child goes away, when I bite people don't try to move me off the sofa, etc.”

Dogs need choices regarding their behavioural responses to stressors. We need to be able to recognise when a dog is becoming stressed so that we can provide strategies for them to cope i.e. provide safe places, provide mental stimulation, encourage natural behaviours, allow them access to resources to support them so they are able to relax. E.g., Anxious dogs will pace until a safe place is found. Dens/dog beds are safe so dogs need these areas where they can retreat. A sense of safety is important as a dog needs to know it can escape harm and be able to withdraw from situations. If stress cannot be reduced and coping strategies can't be offered then there is a welfare issue.

There are situations that might make a dog nervous if they feel they see someone or something as threatening and result in the dog biting. Dogs tend to give warning signs in the vast majority of cases rather than just biting out of the blue. There are five main reasons why your dog might bite a human. They are due to pain, protection, excitement and surprise. Let’s look at these in turn.

If you’re one of the 3.2 million households that has added a furry member to your family, you may be working on some training techniques! Our We Love Pets Reading West’s director, Amy Pearson, is an experienced dog trainer, and has several tips for getting your dog to take treats gently.