by Olivia Kennaway, Paws in Work blogger.
5 top tips
- Get in the kitchen and practice your culinary skills with our ‘Paws in Home’ pup treats videos. Your furry friends will love you even more and be on best behaviour. You could also use these treats for our next suggestions...
- Does your dog or puppy have a reliable recall and responds well to the basic obedience commands? If not, now is a perfect time to practice for 10 minutes a day on harnessing those crucial and sometimes life saving skills.
- Who doesn’t love a classic game of hide and seek?
- Unable to get to the groomers? Time for a pamper session. Here are some tips on grooming your pup at home.
- It’s never too late to teach an old dog new tricks! Check out this 40-second video on how to get your pup to crawl.
quick training tips- Positive reinforcement works best. It’s easier to teach your new puppy or dog what to do, rather than what not to do. Respond excitedly with a treat when they do what they’re supposed to, but don’t give a negative response if they don’t get it right.
- Timing matters. As soon as they perform the correct action respond by saying “yes.” This helps make it clear that they did the action you wanted even if you can’t get a treat to them that very second.
- Be patient. Training takes repetitions over multiple days. Just like any skill you’d learn it takes a while to get the hang of it and understand what is expected.
trying to socialise your pup in lockdown?
- Positive reinforcement works best. It’s easier to teach your new puppy or dog what to do, rather than what not to do. Respond excitedly with a treat when they do what they’re supposed to, but don’t give a negative response if they don’t get it right.
- Timing matters. As soon as they perform the correct action respond by saying “yes.” This helps make it clear that they did the action you wanted even if you can’t get a treat to them that very second.
- Be patient. Training takes repetitions over multiple days. Just like any skill you’d learn it takes a while to get the hang of it and understand what is expected.
trying to socialise your pup in lockdown?
It is vital that we keep our four legged friends stimulated and we socialise puppies as much as possible during these unprecedented times. In particular, puppies between the ages of three and 14 weeks need positive socialisation to ensure they do not become fearful or anxious as they experience the world in later life. Exposing them to new sights, sounds, smells and people can be very challenging in lockdown. The RSPCA has some great advice on how to approach this.
please remember...
If you are reading this and do not currently own a puppy but would love some self-isolation company, stop and think if it really is the right time to buy. A pup is not just for lockdown so should not be an impulsive decision. The Kennel Club reported that “searches via its “find a puppy” tool had risen by 53% between February and March, with the biggest increase coming in the week before Boris Johnson announced the lockdown. Searches between 16 and 23 March were up 84% on the same week last year.”
If you are looking for more socialisation advice, head over to this article which you may find useful.
How to survive Christmas
Christmas, for those in its grasp, can be a high-octane time, as many of us know. Surges of sugar, alcohol, probing questions from family, emotions: and all wrapped up in the often misleading ribbon of ‘a nice break.’
Peanut butter bones recipe
It's peanut butter and banana time! Every pup owner knows how much your pooch loves peanut butter. Now you can treat them to homemade deliciously baked biscuits from your kitchen!
Bedtime biscuits recipe
Feeling the post xmas slump and just want to snuggle up with a film and your pup? Then why don't you treat your furry companion(s) to a cosy chamomile biscuit and keep those winter cuddles going.