Canine Planet

08/10/2026

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We all have had that dog. 🤣

21/09/2026

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You’ve probably heard that garlic is toxic to pets, but science says otherwise. My latest article takes a closer look at the research, including the strong safety data on aged garlic extract in dogs and the science exploring its potential roles in:
❤️ Cardiovascular health
🦠 Immune and antimicrobial support
🛡️ Antioxidant and detoxification pathways
🦷 Oral health
🐜 Natural parasite and tick control
🐾 Inflammatory skin conditions
🧬 And even cancer prevention
A 12-week study in dogs found no adverse effects from aged garlic extract, even at doses substantially higher than typical supplemental amounts, and researchers observed increased activity of the Nrf2 antioxidant pathway.
Did you know that garlic is also a powerful parasite and tick repellent? Learn all about the safe use of garlic for pets in my latest article, link in comments 🧄.

20/09/2026

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Some of the best operational, competition and working dogs you’ll ever see don’t have particularly good “manners.”

They pull on the lead.

They bark in their handler’s face when the game stops.

They grab toys, demand interaction and become wildly overexcited when they realise it’s their turn to work.

And, their handlers don’t automatically tell them off or try to knock them down a peg or two.

Not because these dogs don’t have boundaries.

And not because they’re allowed to do whatever they want.

But, because experienced handlers recognise that the behaviour irritating them in that moment may come from the exact confidence, persistence and motivation that makes the dog exceptional at their job.

We don’t necessarily care that a search-and-rescue dog pulls towards the search area. When they begin working, we need them confident enough to move out in front, trust their nose and lead the way.

We don’t necessarily see a dog barking for their toy as disrespectful. That frustration might show us just how strongly they value the reward and therefore how much motivation we have available to work with.

Competition handlers may tolerate behaviours that the average pet owner considers “naughty” because they know that enthusiasm, animation and a willingness to keep trying are incredibly valuable qualities.

They don’t remove the personality.
They simply put structure around it.

Of course, this doesn’t mean we should live with dangerous or completely unmanageable behaviour. Dogs still need boundaries, safety and an off-switch.

But, there is a huge difference between teaching a dog when and where a behaviour is appropriate and repeatedly correcting them simply for being enthusiastic, expressive or inconvenient.

Your persistent dog may be incredibly motivated.

Your demanding dog may be a brilliant communicator.

Your excitable dog may have enormous enthusiasm for working with you.

Your “stubborn” dog may simply be confident enough to keep trying what they believe will work for them.

You can teach lead manners without removing the desire to move forward.

You can teach quiet without making a dog afraid to communicate.

You can teach self-control without crushing their enthusiasm.

You can put control around chaos.

But, rebuilding confidence, character and motivation once they’ve been repeatedly punished out of a dog is much harder.

Before correcting the “naughtiness,” ask yourself:

Is this a behaviour I genuinely need to stop or a quality I need to learn how to channel?

17/09/2026

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So after the scent work trials at West Eryton which was a rural school surrounded by large pine trees . I noticed when my dog brushed past some pine foliage a huge puff of tree pollen blew up . That got me thinking as a lot of very good teams where not succeeding in their searches. I was quite surprised by this and got me thinking !?!?!?!??!!
On the sat Ariel would not commit to source on the vehicles but got all the odours which is most unlike her . On the sun in an inside search she was her normal self .
So I concluded we were all searching in a big pollen laden environment ! So after some research !!!! Yes it is proven that

Heavy airborne pollen can temporarily interfere with a dog’s scenting performance in a few ways: it can irritate the nasal passages, increase sneezing or nasal secretions, and create a very “busy” odour environment. If you were literally seeing clouds of pine pollen when branches were disturbed, the dogs were working in a substantial load of airborne particulate matter.

That doesn’t mean the target odour disappears, but it may make scent acquisition less clean. You could see dogs taking longer to commit, appearing less decisive, repeatedly checking areas, working unusually high or low, breaking off odour, or simply seeming “not quite themselves.” Some dogs may be affected considerably more than others.

There’s also a second factor: pollen conditions often coincide with changing spring weather, temperature shifts, humidity and wind movement. Those can alter how the target odour plume moves through a wooded site. So you may have had both an environmental scent-dispersion problem and a physiological nasal-irritation problem happening together.

The thing that particularly interesting I observed is that multiple normally competent dogs seemed off at the same venue and time. When that happens, I’d be much more inclined to investigate the environment rather than immediately conclude it was a widespread training issue.

16/09/2026

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14/09/2026

🐾 Recall is more than “Come here!”

Recall is one of those skills that can look deceptively simple.

We call.
The dog comes.
Job done…right?

Not quite.

A reliable recall is built on engagement, communication and the ability to disengage from the environment and reconnect with the handler.

For Kyoshi, that means practising her recall in the real world — not just in a quiet training space.

And sometimes the environment has some pretty interesting things going on…like horses. 🐎

The goal isn't to make a dog oblivious to what's around them. We want them to be able to notice, process and then make a good choice.

That's what generalisation looks like.

A recall when nothing much is happening is one thing.

A recall when the world is interesting?

That's where the training starts to mean something.

🐾 Canine Planet — understanding dogs, building communication, creating partnerships.

14/09/2026

🐾 Little Wins That Mean a Lot

A few months ago, Buksie struggled to focus on Maritza.

Today, we have a whole collection of photos of him choosing to look at her. 👀🐕

And that might look like a small thing.

It isn't.

Focus and engagement are the building blocks of good communication. Once a dog learns that paying attention to their person is worthwhile, we can start taking that skill into different environments, with different distractions and in different situations.

That's where we are with Buksie now — generalising his focus and engagement so that it becomes something he can use beyond the original training setup.

Training isn't always about the big, dramatic breakthroughs.

Sometimes it's one look.
Then another.
And another.

Those little wins accumulate.

And eventually, you look back and realise just how far you've come. ❤️

Canine Planet — understanding dogs, building communication, creating partnerships.