Dog Communication

Dog Communication Based at Priory Farm. Redhill, Surrey, UK. Dog Communication use kind, effective methods and specialise in dogs that have aggression & anxiety issues.

Laura is a Full member of the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors & an ABTC registered Clinical Animal Behaviourist. Penel is a member of the Professional Association of Canine Trainers & an ABTC Registered Animal Training Instructor & a member of the Pet Professional Guild. Dog Comm is based at Priory Farm in Redhill. Please see our website for further details.

NO FACES NEAR FACES.. I say this lots as I work with families that need help getting their dog used to children in the h...
30/05/2026

NO FACES NEAR FACES..
I say this lots as I work with families that need help getting their dog used to children in the household. I give this advice as it can prevent bite incidents.

Dogs often don’t like faces right near theirs as it’s not how they communicate and they can find it confrontational and quite intimidating. Also, if we are going to have an incident and a dog snaps, the last thing we want is a bite to the face 😢

To avoid bite incidents children’s faces should NEVER be near a dogs face- no lying down on the sofa with heads together, no leaning over the dog to kiss them, no toddlers popping up to face height of a dog on a sofa, no toddlers crawling towards dogs on dog beds etc.

If a dog gets worried and tries to use distance increasing behavior- a growl, or even an air snap to ask the child to move away, it’s a huge worry of faces are anywhere near the dogs face. It’s a totally avoidable source of risk.

It’s also good advice for adults too! This photo is just a tiny amount of the blood that came out of my head two years ago as I had an accidental injury from my northern inuit.

I feel asleep with my head on her chest (as I often do, completely ignoring my own advice 😳), as she’s really cuddly and likes it. She woke up and did a huge open mouthed sneeze (she’s quite a dramatic sneezer)… and a canine tooth went into the top of my head. She has humongous canines and it caused a wound in my scalp that poured and poured with blood. My house looked like a crime scene.

Totally accidental, it was just a sneeze, but it could have been even worse. Hurt my head (lots) and also hurt her tooth but it could have been my face. It’s made me really remind my kids not to put their faces right next to the dogs (and my dogs LOVE my kids).

We also model for our kids with our own behaviour and it’s no good us telling out kids not to put their head on the dog if we are doing it ourselves!

So really- NO faces near faces and NO faces exceptions (even for me and I’m trying hard to stick to it!)

I also still startle every time Sylvi sneezes and that’s two years later!

Laura McAuliffe 2026 Dog Communication

STICKY LICK MAT saves the day (again!)Sylvi ripped a few claw off and it was absolutely pouring with blood. On my own, c...
29/05/2026

STICKY LICK MAT saves the day (again!)

Sylvi ripped a few claw off and it was absolutely pouring with blood. On my own, cleaning it and getting a dressing on would not be easy as it’s sore and she’s just rather not thank you. She’d also just be wandering around dripping blood everywhere 😁

With a lick mat with suckers stuck to the cupboards it’s actually pretty easy. All clean, dressing on and a sock taped over the top too with no stress- for either of us!

Sylvi has lost a lot of claws over the years and I always use a sock over the top with Sylvi as she then seems to forget it’s there and leaves it alone, otherwise that dressing would be off in two minutes! That fab tip came from a lovely vet professional who shadowed me and it’s been so helpful!

Sticky lick mat is also really helpful if I need to get ticks off of for grooming etc too

Absolutely gorgeous dog I saw yesterday for a consult super early when the sun was barely up! Like all dog professionals...
29/05/2026

Absolutely gorgeous dog I saw yesterday for a consult super early when the sun was barely up! Like all dog professionals, I’m trying to rearrange over a weeks worth of work that I’ve had to postpone due to the heat. It’s looking much cooler next week though.

How are you all coping in the heat? It was 34.8 where I live yesterday! I’ve been going to my friends private woods real...
26/05/2026

How are you all coping in the heat? It was 34.8 where I live yesterday!

I’ve been going to my friends private woods really early (all in the shade) and then keeping the dogs in with cool mats and lots of frozen kongs etc. Fortunately my house stays pretty cool. We’ve then been venturing back in the garden late in the evening but doing very little all day.

I have a northern Inuit with a double coat who you would think would really struggle in the heat but she’s much better than my yorkie as Twig has such a short nose and is particularly brachycephalic. This is the first time I’ve felt my dogs haven’t actually managed to cool off properly overnight so I’m being even more careful than usual (and I’m always careful!)

I am shocked to see people still walking dogs when it’s over 30C.

I hope you are staying cool where you are

My lovely twins (that’s the dogs, not the kids!). I had these two lovely Lurcher siblings when my children were little. ...
21/05/2026

My lovely twins (that’s the dogs, not the kids!). I had these two lovely Lurcher siblings when my children were little. They were the most fabulous family dogs but we had to work through some really significant issues with Luka (red dog on the left) around my children when they were younger toddlers. We worked really hard and used protected contact to keep everyone safe and he absolutely loved them in the end. He had a long and happy life and was adored by us all.

I have a great deal of empathy for parents working through issues with dogs with children because of this and as a clinical behaviourist I see lots of clients who need help with this. Please get in touch if you need help with loving harmoniously with dogs and kids ❤️

Laura McAuliffe, Dog Communication

I don’t just see clients at my venue in Redhill, I do lots of homevisits and I also see some clients on walks so we can ...
19/05/2026

I don’t just see clients at my venue in Redhill, I do lots of homevisits and I also see some clients on walks so we can check in on progress with them. Last week was really busy and in additional to several new client consults at my venue and homevisits, I did 3 accompanied walks with existing clients. I love catching up with them all ❤️

Twig getting a fix. She has a 🎾 addiction and it’s not of my doing! Well it clearly is something to do with me as I’ve h...
18/05/2026

Twig getting a fix. She has a 🎾 addiction and it’s not of my doing! Well it clearly is something to do with me as I’ve had her since she was 6 days old…She can’t chase balls as she was born with issues with her legs but she absolutely loves balls so we do scent work for them and hide them for her to find, I also sometimes let her hold one to reinforce behaviours. Balls are much higher value to her than food so I haven’t completely removed them from her life but they are used in ways that won’t make her legs even worse. Do you have a dog that loves balls and can’t chase them?

Laura McAuliffe, Dog Communication 2026

This may look like just a little dog standing on a step but this is HUGE for Billy ❤️ when I first met Billy, he couldn’...
17/05/2026

This may look like just a little dog standing on a step but this is HUGE for Billy ❤️ when I first met Billy, he couldn’t cope with me in the field with him at all, he couldn’t eat treats and he couldn’t go near any novel objects, he absolutely wouldn’t touch them. He was just so scared after a really traumatic early life. He has been coming to our classes for anxious dogs for a while and now he joins in with everything- he gets in the ball pool, he climbs on everything, he rolls around and has fun. It’s an absolute delight to see him so happy. He is so lucky to have such an amazing family ❤️

Laura McAuliffe, Dog Communication 2026

PHYSICAL CONTACT AND FEELING SAFESix years ago I fostered a Lurcher puppy who had come from truly awful circumstances. W...
15/05/2026

PHYSICAL CONTACT AND FEELING SAFE
Six years ago I fostered a Lurcher puppy who had come from truly awful circumstances. When he came into rescue his fundamental need above all else was to feel safe and for the first few weeks this meant he needed to be in close physical contact with someone.

He wanted to be touching either me, my children but his top choice was my inuit, Sylvi. Sylvi isn’t a huge cuddler of other dogs normally and she gets so hot she never ever sleeps touching anyone and she sleeps on the hard floor not a bed. But, for the first few nights after he arrived she let him sleep, glued to her- despite how hot she got! After that she decided he could sleep in the bed with me 😂🙄.

I think it’s easy to overlook a dogs fundamental need to feel safe and how close physical contact can be an important part of this is stressed and traumatised dogs. I have clients who say that their dog will only sleep in the day if they sit down right next to them, but then that’s what they probably need you to do for now if that’s the only way they can settle. If they can only sleep at night if they are next to you, then that’s what they need right now.

My Lurcher puppy went on to a fabulous home by the way where he is living his best life ❤️

14/05/2026

Appropriate big dog/tiny dog play

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