Alba Dogs Official

10/09/2026

What if your dog is telling you something long before their behaviour changes? 🐾

Murphy has been teaching me a lot about this.

He’s an older boy, and since his family moved house, had a baby and then had renovations going on, he’s become more sensitive to noise and changes around him.

It would be very easy to look only at the obvious things:

“He’s more nervous.”

“He doesn’t like that noise.”

“He’s slowing down.”

But I’m interested in the little things underneath those bigger observations.

How is he standing?

How is he carrying his weight?

What is happening with his hind legs?

Does his body look soft or braced?

What happens to his breathing?

Does he pause, turn away, shake off or suddenly become very still?

These tiny pieces of information can give us a much richer picture of how our dog is feeling.

And sometimes, the most helpful thing we can do isn’t to change the behaviour.

It’s to notice what our dog is telling us and give them the space to process it.

That’s something I keep coming back to in my work with ACE Free Work and TTouch:

Regulation before education.

Before we ask a dog to do something differently, can we first help them feel a little safer, softer and more comfortable?

This is one of the ideas behind my upcoming Small Things, Big Difference workshop.

It’s about practical things we can notice and simple tools we can use at home — because sometimes the smallest changes can make a surprisingly big difference to our dogs.

And there’s quite a lot packed into that workbook I showed you yesterday… 👀

What is one tiny change you notice in your dog that tells you they might be feeling differently? 🐶💭

09/09/2026

Amber’s dinner tonight looked good enough to eat! 😂🐾

Turkey mince, white fish, liver, sweet potato, butternut squash, turnip, green beans, broccoli, asparagus, kale, strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, h**p seed, seaweed calcium, choline, zinc, kelp and wheatgerm oil.

Meanwhile, Doug and I had chicken goujons, coleslaw and garlic bread. 😂🙈

So… who’s better off tonight? 🤔😂

I’m thinking Amber might have the better deal! 🐶👑

09/09/2026

🐾 One of those walks that makes you feel really proud. 💙

Amber, Arthur & Shammy enjoying their morning walk around Teca. 🌿🐕

They met a few dogs and their people, passed other dogs respectfully when they were struggling and barking/lunging, and even stood beautifully to the side while the maintenance guys drove past in their buggy. 👏

No drama. No need to be perfect. Just three dogs noticing what was happening around them and making good choices.

Clever dogs? I’d say so. 🥰

And dogs I’m incredibly proud to walk. 💙🐾

Sometimes the best walks aren’t about how far you go — they’re about how well your dog navigates the world around them.

09/09/2026

09/09/2026

I’ve been working on something behind the scenes… 🐾

This is the workbook I’ve created for my Small Things, Big Difference workshop.

And it’s more than something to take notes in.

I wanted people to leave the workshop with something they could take home, look back at and actually use with their own dog.

Inside, we’ll explore simple ways to help our dogs:

🐾 feel safer in their environment
🐾 regulate when life feels overwhelming
🐾 build connection with us
🐾 use their senses in helpful ways
🐾 move and explore with more confidence
🐾 understand that sometimes less really is more

There’ll be practical ideas, space to reflect, and things you can try at home — because the real difference happens after the workshop, when you start noticing your dog differently.

I’ve put a lot of thought into this because I don’t want you leaving with another list of things you should be doing.

I want you leaving thinking:

“I understand my dog a little better now.” ❤️

The workshop is coming to Alba Dogs at the end of September.

If you’re living with a dog who is sensitive, easily overwhelmed, reactive, anxious or simply struggles to switch off, this workshop could give you a whole new way of looking at them.

💬 What would you most like to learn about your dog at a workshop like this?

Tell me in the comments. 👇

08/09/2026

What if the moment your dog “stops listening” isn’t the moment they need more training… but the moment they need less from you? 👀🐾

Sometimes our dogs seem to “forget” everything they know.

They pull.
They bark.
They can’t settle.
They become busy, jumpy or overexcited.

And our first thought can be:

“They need more training.”

But what if it isn’t a training problem?

Sometimes your dog is simply taking in more information than they can comfortably process.

The sights.
The sounds.
The smells.
The people.
The dogs.
The changes in routine.

When their brain is already busy, asking for more can make things harder.

So when I say “less”, I don’t mean less care, less enrichment or less time with your dog.

I mean less pressure.

🐾 Fewer demands
🐾 Fewer instructions
🐾 Less rushing
🐾 Less expectation to “perform”
🐾 More time to sniff, pause, observe and process

It might look simple.

But simple doesn’t mean insignificant.

Sometimes our dogs don’t need another command.

They need time, space and the opportunity to process. 💜

And that’s something I’ll be exploring in much more depth at my upcoming Small Things, Big Difference Workshop.

Because sometimes…

Doing less can give your dog more. 🐶

💬 Have you ever noticed your dog becoming more overwhelmed when you ask them to do more, when what they actually seemed to need was a pause?

Tell me what you’ve noticed with your dog. 👇

08/09/2026

Your dog doesn’t always need more training.
Sometimes, they need less pressure. 🐾

If your dog is easily overwhelmed, over-excited, nervous, or simply seems to struggle to switch off, an Alba Dogs Sensory Session could be just what they need.

✨ 45 minutes
✨ Calm, sensory exploration
✨ No pressure to perform
✨ Time to sniff, investigate, move and make choices
✨ Helping your dog’s nervous system slow down

It’s not about teaching your dog what to do.

It’s about giving them the space to feel safe enough to just be. 💚

Sensory Sessions — £22

📍 Aberdeen
🗓️ Evening, afternoon & weekend appointments available

Want to see if your dog would benefit?

Send me a message and let’s chat. 🐾

Alba Dogs — Less Really Is More.

08/09/2026

🚨 When your dog tries to drag you back to the place they had the BEST time… 😂🐾

Ruby’s guardian sent me this video from their Sunday morning walk — and honestly, it made my day! 🥰

After their walk around Gordon Road, Broadford Road and the Parkway, Ruby suddenly decided:

“Right… Alba Dogs. NOW!” 😂

She dragged her guardian all the way to my door!

When she was told I wasn’t there and the GPS shop was closed, Ruby simply sat down. 🤣

Eventually, the promise of Granny & Grandad’s and a beefy stick persuaded her to move on!

Ruby had joined us for Canine Enrichment Day, where she explored snuffle mats, searched for her favourite cubes of cheese, investigated cardboard boxes and discovered that the puzzle was definitely her favourite.

She made choices.
She explored.
She had fun.

And now she apparently wants to come back! 💜

We can’t know exactly what Ruby was thinking, but I’m choosing to believe:

“I had fun here. Take me back!” 🐾😂

Sometimes, when we give our dogs the freedom to choose, they tell us exactly what they enjoy.

And Ruby certainly made her choice very clear! ❤️

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