Calm the Pup Down Dog Training

25/08/2026

Shooketh

25/08/2026

Boundaries are as important as agency in my house, especially if having agency ends you up in a dangerous situation.

That said, there’s absolutely no reason or need to teach boundaries in an aggressive or coercive way.

Know what boundary you want to set, teach it through repetition of rewards, keep it clean and consistent and it’ll eventually become just how you do things.

There’s also no need for boundaries that don’t align with your lifestyle.

Don’t mind your dog begging? Don’t do anything about it, share that chip

Love having your dog in bed with you? Go off, enjoy the back pain 😅😂

No issues with your dog accompanying you to every single room in the house? That’s fine, you watch them poo why not the other way round!

Boundaries make a lot of things more simple for your dog as they don’t have to guess or bring out their repertoire of party tricks to get what they want.

They can keep them safer too, nobody stands on their dog intentionally but if they’re constantly underfoot the chances are high that it’s going to happen.

Boundaries in my book are less about CoNtRoL and more about cohabiting in a way that allows for a clearer conversation.

24/08/2026

Rewarding small dogs can give you back ache.

With a bit of practice from both ends of the lead you can keep reward them without bending down too much.

Poppydog is excellent at catching treats and I am mid at chucking them, but together our skills combine to her getting the good stuff for being in the right place. So she stays in that place.

If you want to use positive reinforcement with your small dog and have three disk bulges (like me), you just have to get a little better at sausage tossing.

02/08/2026

Old-dog life is a mixture of fierce love, anticipatory grief, medications, bodily fluids and trying to convince everyone that the local field is an exciting day out.

You feel immensely lucky that they’re still here with you, loving life and keeping you on your toes, but completely flattened by what caring for them now asks of you.

Love, frustration, gratitude, resentment and exhaustion all live in the same house. Sometimes in the same ten minutes.

This is for everyone currently cancelling plans, analysing every tiny gait change, buying XL 7 day pill organisers cause their dog’s medications outgrew the normal one and quietly grieving each small thing their dog can no longer do.

It is a privilege.

It is also fu***ng hard.

14/07/2026

How to start a fight in an empty room: talk about what to feed dogs.

I’m going to tell you what I feed mine, don’t fite me tho.

I sometimes get approached by brands to share their products, but I’ll only do it if I already use them. I’ve fed Barb for a couple of years now, and have been really pleased with how well she’s doing on it.

As she was nearly -officially- geriatric, her dietician and I started looking at alternatives to her raw diet, something cooked so it was easier to digest.

I tried home cooking, which turned into an expensive, turmeric-stained disaster that was far too much faff to keep up with, so on her recommendation I gave Different Dog a go.

It’s made fresh in small batches, nutritionally complete, and considerably better balanced than anything my slow cooker and I could have managed. I also really like their approach to sustainability, traceable ingredients and recyclable packaging.

If you fancy giving it a try, they’ve given me the code TRY35.

12/07/2026

You can have it done fast, or well.
One of them will stick better.

Positive reinforcement often “doesn’t work” because it is being used when a dog is too dysregulated by a scenario, and that has to be tackled first if we want to effect lasting change.
Helping a dog to learn to regulate their reactive, explosive feelings, whatever the root, is a huge part of changing behaviour effectively.
If they can’t think, they ain’t going to be making any decisions worth rewarding.

Cats on the street were Barbie’s final boss, we’ve had so many reactions like the one from the start of this reel. It was a well rehearsed behaviour, ultimately rooted in the desire to chase and frustration of not being able to do that thing.

It has taken a while, but, completed it m8.

03/07/2026

If you are working with me and I recommend a gait analysis or pain clinic referral, this is the lovely Esme who provides those things.
Barbie is a big fan and has acupuncture with her, she’s knowledgeable and cares deeply about supporting getting your dog onto the right care pathway.
An absolute godsend for our hounds.

After a lot of thought, I’m excited to announce my rebranding.
Still Whiskers & Wellness but hopefully my new logo represents what I offer as a Vet and in the business in general.

🐾Holistic care of your pets
🐾Pain clinics to investigate behaviour
🐾Treatments for chronic musculoskeletal and other conditions; including acupuncture, electroacupuncture, laser, massage, PEMF and physio plans.
🐾Rehabilitation from acute injury with the aforementioned treatments.
🐾Referral to my network of colleagues for other treatment modalities, including training, physio, hydro, nutrition, nursing care and orthopedic assessment.

And just importantly- 🐾care-giver support, I will advocate for you, listen to you and support you through the challenges of having a pet who is in pain or anxious or distressed.

Hope you all like the new logo and branding 🥰

02/07/2026

Is this really the best dog harness for lead pulling?
Short answer: no.

No-pull dog harnesses are marketed as an easy fix for dogs that pull on the lead. There are loads of different designs. Head collars, harnesses that tighten around the body, front-clip harnesses that turn the dog around.
But this one was a new one on me.
Instead of distributing lead pressure across the chest, it redirects it into the dog’s hind legs, interfering with the very limbs responsible for generating forward movement.

None of these products teach your dog to walk nicely on lead. They change the way your dog moves in an attempt to reduce pulling, which can place unnecessary stress on muscles, tendons and joints.

The thing is, pulling on the lead isn’t actually the problem, it’s a symptom.

Your dog might be overexcited, frustrated, worried, lacking the skills for the situation, or maybe just have never have been taught how to walk on a loose lead.
Equipment can never teach those things.
If you want better loose lead walking, start with equipment that allows full, natural movement, then teach the skills your dog actually needs.

Have you ever seen one of these harnesses before?

What’s the daftest “no-pull” gadget you’ve come across?

26/06/2026

If you’ve got an older dog, this heatwave isn’t just making them feel a bit uncomfortable.

Senior and geriatric dogs have a much harder time regulating their body temperature than the yoofs. Throw in age related health issues like arthritis, kidney disease, heart disease or other long-term conditions into the mix, and hot weather becomes much more than an inconvenience.

This post was inspired by my dog peeing her knickers overnight.
I wanted to talk about why older dogs overheat more easily, their existing health conditions can become more noticeable during extreme heat, and how to keep them comfortable at home when it’s simply too hot to be out and about.

Whether you’re living with a senior Labrador, an elderly Chihuahua or a geriatric dobermann, who’s convinced they can still make terrible life choices, I hope it helps.

Have you noticed your older dog coping differently in this heat?

31/05/2026

Equipment cues are handy.