Wagging Adventures JHB

15/10/2026

Play time in Puppy class🤗

15/10/2026

Puppy class fun with Dimitri and Leo
🐶🐶😊

13/10/2026

11/10/2026

We can add this to the myth pile.

Scatter feeding isn't always calming.
And it isn't always enriching either.
But it's a "go to" recommendation for dogs struggling with behavioural issues.

Scatter some food.
Let them sniff.
Help them settle.
Voila!

And for some dogs, it works absolutely beautifully.

For others?
Everything we don't want to increase bubbles up.
Frustration, arousal and anxiety.

We've slapped a label on scatter feeding.
It's enrichment.
But we forgot the individuality we have right in front of us.
They will decide if it's enriching, calming, frustrating, amps up energy or winds it down.

Are we unintentionally winding them up when we're intentionally trying to "wind them down?"

Does it work the way you "intended"?
Or have an effect you never anticipated ?

08/10/2026

We have a weird standard of "good" for dogs.
And I don't think we notice it much.

We talk a lot about what dogs should tolerate.
What they should just accept.
And what they should allow us to do.

They should just "behave" when we do it.

But we've created a standard for them we just wouldn't accept for ourselves.

The better behaved they are, the more we seem to expect them to just put up with.
The more they put up with, the more we see them as "good".

Somewhere along the way, a dog's ability to tolerate us became a measure of their behaviour rather than ours.

If our definition of a “good dog” is one who is expected to just absorb everything people ask of them, maybe it isn't the dog whose behaviour needs looking at.

Maybe we've confused tolerance with permission.

05/10/2026

DISTRACTED DOG WALKERS

The distracted dog walker is commonly seen chatting on the cell phone, wearing headphones or socializing, while oblivious to what their dog is doing, how their dog is feeling or what is going on in the environment.

This may not sound like a problem, but it is something that many of us have a problem with, even more so if we have a reactive, sensitive dog.

I always compare walking a dog to driving a car. It’s not so much about our driving skills, but having to constantly be aware of the driving skills of others – trying to predict what they will do, which rules of the road they will ignore and how distracted they are. This is especially true in the country I live in, where driving can be a really stressful experience.

I understand that we often need to multi task – there simply doesn’t seem to be enough time in our day to accomplish everything we need to, but walking our dogs should not be one of these times.

“But my dog is really friendly, well socialized, gets on well with everyone, is well trained, knows this environment well etc. and I hear that. But another dog might not be – maybe they need space, are reactive, sensitive, selectively social, have health issues, might be terrified of another dog racing straight towards them chasing a ball thrown from a ball launcher etc.

If distracted dog walkers have no regard for other dogs or other people, they should at least have regard for their own dogs.

Walking your dog should be a time of bonding, of connecting, of seeing the world through their eyes, of reinforcing and rewarding wanted behaviours, of keeping them safe and protected, of being truly present in the moments.

04/10/2026

Bit of fun in Puppy class 😊