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I NEVER KNEW THAT

Almost two- thirds of UK motorists are unaware driving with an unrestrained dog risks fines of up to £2,500. It can also invalidate insurance so could end up costing a lot more in the event of an accident.

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Research from confused.com reveals a third of dog owning motorists don’t buckle up their four- legged travel companions when on the road.

They risk fines of up to £1,000 for driving without proper control of the car or could get slapped with up to £2,500 for driving without due care and attention. Penalties don’t stop there because drivers convicted receive up to nine points on their driving licence and could potentially suffer a driving ban.

The highway code states that motorists must suitably restrain all animals while driving. The law says You should use a specialist seatbelt, secure cage or carrier, or fit a boot guard to separate animals from other passengers. Doing this improves the safety of animals, the driver, passengers and other road users.

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PLEASE GIVE ME SOME SPACE

If you see a dog with a yellow ribbon or something yellow on the lead, this is a dog who needs some space. Please do not approach this dog with your dog. Please maintain distance or give the dog and his/ her owner time to move out of the way. This dog probably has socialization problems and could be in training. Thank you (the yellow dog project. com)

 

The importance of early socialisation with puppies

The most common question we are asked at DOG is – at what age should I start my puppies training programs? Before you can start your puppies training at any dog club, your puppy must have its final vaccination. Your vet will then tell you when its ok to start puppy classes. We personally like to start puppies training with us at thirteen to fourteen weeks old. Puppy socialization will have a huge impact on your puppies’ behaviour and personality, meeting up with other puppies and humans, learning how to play and starting their basic training at this age will be of great benefit to them now and for when they get older. It is also a good idea to get them out and about so they get used to sights, sounds and smells around them, gradually introducing them to loud noises, car travel, horses, fire engines, children- pretty much everything and anything. Please note: you can start your puppies training long before puppy classes, at home. For suggestions or tips on pre-puppy training classes- give us a call.

 

SERVICE DOGS UK

We had great fun raising money for last years charity “SERVICE DOGS UK” we received a thank you letter from them that read.

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"Dear Ruth and Nick and all at DOG.

Thank you for your amazing fundraising for our charity. Your £500,00 cheque is very gratefully received and will go a long way in helping our veterans of the armed forces and emergency services with post-traumatic stress. We were given a talk by one of the founder members of SERVICE DOGS UK Mr Nigel Roussell, on how the dog is trained to bring medications to their owner, even if they are ill in bed. The dog will insist that the owner takes the medication by means of nudging the owner until they take it. One of the remarkable things these dogs are trained to do is to make sure the owner takes the medication at the time of day it is due. The PTSD assistance dogs are trained specifically to calm their owners when they are called upon. The key symptoms the dogs pick up on are.

• Nightmares

• Flash backs

• Anxiety

When one of these attacks happens, the dog will stay close to their owner. The object of this is, the dog brings the owner out of the nightmare or panic attack. 

PTSD trained dogs have been proven to

• Improve sleep

• Decrease depression

• Increase positive sense of purpose

• Decrease startled responses

• Reduce anxiety & lower blood pressure

• A decrease in pain medication

• Increase sense of belonging & acceptance

• Lower stress levels & increase a sense of calm

PTSD dogs are trained by using fun and reward. One of the games they play is finding a ball, and when they give it to the trainer he/she will reward with a titbit. Later in the training program the ball is replaced by medication. All the training takes time and patience. But the most fantastic part of all is “they are non-paid volunteers” "