K9 Mind Body Soul

06/01/2025

Not Ready to Learn to Speak Dog? How About Learning to Speak Cat?

Cats have their own unique language, and understanding it can unlock a whole new appreciation for these fascinating creatures. Even better? What you learn from cats might just surprise you with insights into dog behaviour, too!

Join my fast, fun, and enlightening online course, “Learn To Talk Cat” and discover how the ways of the cat can teach you about communication, connection, and maybe even ignite a new love for our feline friends.

✨ Why Join?
👉 Learn fascinating lessons from cats that apply to canine behaviour
👉 Get a fresh, fun perspective on animal communication
👉 Perfect for anyone curious about cats—or already hooked!

💻 Instant Access for just £197: https://sarahwhitehead.thinkific.com/courses/learn-to-talk-cat

19/11/2024

🐶We are looking for some special people who are able to provide a permanent home to our dogs that weren't suited to our specific training programmes due to specific medical or behavioural needs. You would need to be able to ensure the dog receives the required care needed and would have full support of our dog training team.

🐾The welfare and comfort of our dogs is an absolute priority. Occasionally, a dog can be more suited to being a lovely pet rather than a working dog, and so we want to find them the best possible forever home to go to!

🤝If you are interested in adopting one of our amazing dogs who sadly cannot finish their training, then please get in touch to find out more

You can email [email protected] or call 0114 261 7800

28/05/2024

LANGUAGE OF THE LICK

Dogs usually lick their lips when food is about to be served, when a tasty treat is imminent, when those soulful eyes are begging you to share whatever you’re putting in your mouth, or when that last morsel of food stuck on their nose needs to be captured.

Maybe it’s just an itchy nose or a pesky bug that’s irritating them, but sometimes lip licking can be an important sign that there’s something else going on.

The amazing vocabulary that is dog body language is often spoken through subtle signs that are so easy to miss, but when noticed can provide us with important information as to how our dogs are feeling.

Lip licking is part of a group of calming signals that dogs use in an attempt to avoid conflict, calm themselves and others down and generally indicate that they’re feeling anxious or uncomfortable about something.

We also often use this type of body language without even being aware of it. Fiddling with our hair, nails or ears, biting the end of a pencil, tapping feet - may all happen when we’re feeling uncomfortable in a situation.

Sometimes lip licking can provide a warning that there’s an underlying medical condition like gastrointestinal issues, dental or mouth problems or pain somewhere in the body.

Take note of lip licking in different situations. It may be as simple as seeing a lip lick when you just can’t resist kissing that adorable face, but your dog is telling you that they really don’t feel comfortable with your way of expressing affection.

Take note, listen to their language and do what you can to improve their emotional state.

28/05/2024

Language of a Yawn

Yawning is one of the many signals that dogs use to calm themselves or others down when they’re feeling stressed or uncomfortable.

Neuroscience shows that yawning is also triggered during moments of transition from one behavioural or emotional state to another - waking up, falling asleep, moving from being relaxed to alert or from an anxious to a calm emotional state.

Although we may be unaware of it, we also use types of calming signals. Think about the kind of body language we might show when we’re in a situation that doesn’t allow us enough personal space, like getting into an elevator with a group of strangers.

We may instinctively not face anyone directly, look down at the floor, watch the indicator buttons, focus on our phone and avoid any eye contact - these are all “calming signals” that people use to prevent any potential conflict.

If you notice more yawning than usual, or yawning in a specific situation, look into what may be causing this.

A yawn caused by stress is usually longer, more intense, with the tongue curled up at the end.

Sometimes there is so much more to a yawn than we may think.

28/05/2024

JUST SHAKE IT OFF
Dogs constantly communicate through their body language.

A “shake off” is one of the many types of body language and is one of the easier ones to notice.

The shake off can provide us with important insights as to how our dogs are feeling.

Besides being a very effective way to get rid of dirt, pesky bugs and water - dogs can remove up to 70% of water in one single shake off - the shake off is often seen just after something that a dog needs a mental reset from.

It’s a way to flush out adrenaline and could be compared to us taking a deep breath to reset our nervous system and calm ourselves down.

Dogs instinctively know they feel better when they just shake it all off!

It’s their way of saying “Phew, I’m glad that’s over, now I can put it behind me and move on”.

Shaking off is a positive way to calm down, reset and cope with stress – be that negative or positive stress.

Sometimes a shake off could be due to an underlying medical reason like an ear infection, allergy, itching or pain.

If you notice a shake off, look at what has just happened beforehand. This will provide a good clue as to what it is that your dog needs to reset from.

28/05/2024

THE LOOK AWAY
Looking away is one of the calming signals in dog body language.

Just like a hard stare or prolonged eye contact may be a sign that a dog’s about to react, looking away is meant to calm a situation down.

The head position when looking away will vary – from side to side, holding in one position or subtle quick turns are all common variations, all while avoiding direct eye contact.

I have often watched in fascination when one of my dogs uses this form of communication with an insect! Her favourite thing to do is to hunt, catch and then play with a Parktown Prawn (King Cricket).

She means them no harm (I think) and just wants to engage in a game of how high can you jump before I can catch you.

She will carefully carry the cricket in her mouth without hurting it to the middle of the garden where there are no bushes where it may escape to.

After a quick play bow (from her, not the cricket!) the games begin. The game can go on for some time and when the cricket gets tired or plays dead, she will stop playing, sit quietly, avoid eye contact and keep looking away before starting the game again.

By this time, I usually feel really sorry for the cricket, will rescue it and put it out of reach, but I think this is a good example of how she uses the body language of looking away to try to calm the situation down, even if her intentions are completely selfish! I have no idea if the cricket understands what she is trying to communicate.

Body language can be subtle and fleeting, but with careful observation and knowing what to look for most of us can learn to recognize and interpret what our dogs are saying.

It’s always important to look at the context, the situation and especially what the rest of the body is doing when deciphering this amazing language.

Being able to understand a dog’s emotional state through their body language helps us to predict behaviour, prevent potential problems or allows us to just enjoy observing their language.

28/05/2024

BARRIERS TO LEARNING – WHY SOME DOGS STRUGGLE TO LEARN

“My dog is stubborn, doesn’t listen to me, a slow learner, not the smartest, tries to be in control, will only do it at home, will only behave sometimes, is uncontrollable……” – these are comments that are often heard.

Just like us, dogs need the right kind of conditions to either be able to learn something new or to bring about a change in behaviour.

Dogs are not robots that can be programmed by a set of specific inputs that guarantee consistent results. They are individual, sentient beings that need to be understood.

If we’re feeling stressed, anxious, tired, over excited, too distracted, not feeling well, have no motivation etc. we will find it really difficult, if not impossible to learn something new, change our behaviour or change a habit. The same applies to dogs.

A dog’s emotional state, the surrounding environment, motivation, age (pups, adolescents, seniors) or any health issues all have a significant impact on their ability to learn.

If your dog is having a hard time learning something, look at these factors and see if there is a reason that may be preventing progress.

Maybe your dog is just having an “off” day, just like we do.

Try again tomorrow or next week and set your dog up for success by having realistic expectations.

Learning or changing behaviour takes time, patience, consistency, understanding and the right conditions.

14/05/2024

04/03/2024

𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐟𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐲:

𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐨𝐲𝐬: 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭-𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐲𝐬, 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐊𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐮𝐳𝐳𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠'𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞.

𝐒𝐧𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐬: 𝐇𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠'𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐧𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐭, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐧𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲.

𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐰𝐥, 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐲𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐳𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬: 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐳𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠'𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝, 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞.