Chocolate contains Theobromine, which dogs are not well able to break down. Please keep chocolate away from your best friend. Theobromine stimulates the cardiovascular and central nervous systems. Signs usually occur within twelve hours of ingesting the chocolate and can include: vomiting and diarrhoea, trembling and muscle spasms, increased excitement, irritability or nervousness, elevated heart rate, excessive thirst and urination, seizures, coma and possibly death due to c

Like with most things, it is easier to address potential problems when a puppy is young in age. Doing so regularly prior to twelve weeks of age is perfect for bringing about a good conditioned emotional response. We can all understand that resource guarding is a perfectly natural behaviour for dogs in the wild. It facilitates survival of the fittest. In our home, however, we want dogs to trust that it is ok to remove their bone, food bowl or favourite toy without all hell bre

When I was first asked how to stop a puppy from biting I felt very inadequate, as I didn't really have the answers. Much of what I do with animals seems to be instinctive. I came to the conclusion that not being bitten by a puppy is a function of how you interact with a puppy. Not being bitten by a puppy can also be considered as teaching the puppy not to bite. But, how is it achieved? It's more about avoiding biting than stopping biting. Think about when your puppy bites. If

I just came across a fantastic quote by Dr Ed Bailey regarding behaviour problems in dogs, that matches my philosophy perfectly. "Behaviour problems avoided are problems that don't need to be fixed. In the case of dogs, most behaviour problems are created, or at least abetted initially by choice of parents and more often by mistakes made during the pup's first 12 weeks of life". There's two categories of dog behavioural problems that I'm not going to really address. The first

New puppy families, I've been thinking about some important things you might like to think about during the critical period; up to twelve weeks of age. There are four important aspects of puppy management that seem like common sense, but it is worth stopping and thinking about them. Although your puppy has had considerable exposure to friendly dogs of different sizes, colours, coat types etc, it is important to continue with this socialisation. Remember that the more differen

I've been dwelling a little lately on appropriate exercise for puppies of different age groups. Part of the reason for this is that I am considering constructing a puppy playground for our little ones. I'm attempting to design a stimulating but safe environment. This should help my gardens to survive the rigours of large litters!!! While free play has been the traditionally most common form of exercise, human directed play is becoming more prevalent. I'm a fan of mostly free