I recently started re-reading a book I bought a while ago called “How to Build a Puppy” and stumbled on some interesting stuff, so I posted about it on our kennel’s Instagram account and thought it would be useful to share on the blog too. Since I only thought of sharing it here afterwards, here’sContinueContinue reading “Thoughts and tips on puppy exercise + book recommendation”
Category Archives: Busy Puppy Diary
Puppy training 101: disengaging from humans
For one reason or another, Astra has found humans mesmerising for a long time – not just hypergreeting in close proximity like Nell, but intentionally seeking them out, as you can see here. I’ve been working on this consistently on every walk, and to be honest, it’s quite frustrating for me after living with Grace,ContinueContinue reading “Puppy training 101: disengaging from humans”
Building curiosity and confidence in search
I’m quite opportunistic when it comes to training. What I mean is that I try to look at the environment on walks through the dog’s eyes and take training opportunities as and when I see them. In this case, our local forest is full of branches fallen after the big storm a few weeks ago,ContinueContinue reading “Building curiosity and confidence in search”
Letting puppies loose
Most pictures of Grace in the first year were like this – I considered it success if she was actually IN the picture, including head, and not a blur 😂 She was off leash from the third day after she came to live with us aged 16 weeks and she has been that way forContinueContinue reading “Letting puppies loose”
Every little helps
Finally sitting down for more than a second! I have to admit I’ve been lazy and let my dogs become a little wild when it comes to balls, so today we practiced some patience. Grace’s views about this INSANE request to sit quietly before I throw a ball are pretty clear from her face 😂ContinueContinue reading “Every little helps”
Dealing with sibling jealousy by training emotional regulation
The biggest challenge we faced when getting a puppy was to ensure the dogs build a positive relationship. This was especially important because they are both females, and I was informed by our behaviourist that fights between two girls can be much worse than one with opposite sexes so you can imagine we were prettyContinueContinue reading “Dealing with sibling jealousy by training emotional regulation”
Reset with sleep and slow games
Today is a low-key home day with lots of sleep to “reset” the dogs after a busy weekend. Our weekends are often filled with beach visits, trips to the garden centre and generally lots of activity for the dogs – in short, a ton of stressors because even a highly exciting trip to the beachContinueContinue reading “Reset with sleep and slow games”
The things we do for our dogs
Last night, we made a sandbox. Both dogs, especially Nell, have a deep love of digging – pun intended, because the first thing she did when we moved here in November was to dig huge craters in the garden. So, in the interests of keeping our new garden (once it is ready) safe from theContinueContinue reading “The things we do for our dogs”
1 dog +1 puppy = more than 2 dogs!
I knew raising a puppy would be hard. I knew we would need to work hard to nurture the relationship between the two dogs. And I knew all of this would be doubly hard because of the breeds we’ve chosen. Yet, I hadn’t quite realised just how much work the combination of all those thingsContinueContinue reading “1 dog +1 puppy = more than 2 dogs!”
Puppy meets the Lady of the House
My biggest fear about getting a puppy, or second dog in general, was that they would not get along with Nell who is mostly the sweetest dog you’ll meet – except when it comes to whatever she considers her possessions. And even more unfortunately, Nell’s definition of “her” possessions is the widest possible you couldContinueContinue reading “Puppy meets the Lady of the House”
BusyDoggie 