Storms and Barney
It’s been quite a fortnight here at the training centre. We have had some tremendous weather conditions to cope with. Apart from seeing a couple of clients very first thing, we cancelled the group sessions because of the very hot sunshine. No need to put any dog at risk by exposing them to either working or travelling in that heat! So, we rescheduled but then had to put up with some crazy storms instead.
The fundraising barbecue raised over £355 for the RNLI and I want to thank everyone of you for the support shown. Whether it was providing raffle prizes, food, buying tickets or donating, every £ will help so thank you.
The storms hit and suddenly we had two crazy dogs at home. Skye really doesn’t like them at all and is only happy at the top of the house – which is slightly weird because I thought it would be noisier there, but she knows best 😊 and so Barney has then lost his steadying influence and wanders around and will not settle. With cases like this, you have to be proactive and show them what to do but when its 2am in the morning, that’s a definitely challenging.
With all of this going on, then you notice the dogs doing different things. Stuart found Barney “red-pawed” digging in the courtyard. Naturally, he was told off but then spent the next 24 hours avoiding Stuart. With a bit of help, he settled down and then we got another storm!! Next day – another hole in the courtyard – can you see a bit of a pattern happening here? How did we help him? By going back to the basics, giving structure and some mind games to keep him focused on things.
With Barney, it is using the 9 tennis balls that he finds in his secure field. I throw them all out into the field and send him to go and bring them back to me, one at a time. Using all the basics of sit, wait, fetch, drop and sit again, he feels safer with this structure. How does your dog feel safe? They will all be different, but it is up to us to find out and give them our protection. Need help, send me a message or check out some of my Lockdown tips on the website – I have kept them there for you to try with your dog. Have fun.
