Since it’s Valentine’s Day… a story about how just loving them is not enough for spaniels. One of the biggest lightbulb moments I’ve ever had was the day realised how important it is for spaniels to WORK with their human. I will never forget that moment at our first hoopers class in the summer ofContinue reading “Loving a spaniel means working with them”
Category Archives: Mental enrichment
DIY enrichment with boxes
A new shoe box with fresh wrapping paper – can’t leave that opportunity slip by 😂 Deer treatos in bits of paper and layer in… voilà ! Also doubles as a bit of patience training when you’re “forced” to observe the process – some huffing emerged when the human was just taking a ridiculous amount ofContinue reading “DIY enrichment with boxes”
Toy review: Lickimat UFO
The priceless gift of resilience
Yesterday we had a car problem on the motorway between Den Haag and Amsterdam and had to call the recovery services to check it out. You can’t sit in the car, so we had to entertain ourselves on the grassy area by the road. It was an odd situation so I did some bits ofContinue reading “The priceless gift of resilience”
TV for dogs
Every once in a while I put on animal videos from YouTube – it’s always interesting to see how Grace reacts to them and which ones she pays attention to. We’ve previously watched a lot of videos of cats, mice, birds and even underwater life which was utterly fascinating. Before this I already showed someContinue reading “TV for dogs”
DIY Rabbit Ball
I made a toy from a rabbit skin I bought at a dog show in Poland and a Kong squeaker ball and apparently it is The Best! The skin has received no love at all since we got home so I thought perhaps it needs to come alive a bit… Kong Squeaker ball found atContinue reading “DIY Rabbit Ball”
For the love of rabbit balls
“Find someone who looks at you like Grace looks at a rabbit ball.” I wish I’d discovered the joys of game dummies and balls years ago – they are one of the best things I’ve ever bought for my dogs. The idea might seem a bit disgusting but… the look on the dog’s face makesContinue reading “For the love of rabbit balls”
Talking with dogs
Lots of people are currently excited about the buzzers that allow dogs to “speak”. I tried them a year ago but couldn’t persuade my dogs to use them because they already had effective ways to communicate about their most typical needs or desires. Also, the buzzers are great but you have to take them everywhereContinue reading “Talking with dogs”
Toy review: Trixie Cat Activity Board – for dogs!
I got one of these cat activity boards to try something new – I’m running out of dog brain games to try 😅 I’m not a fan of the one-trick pony games which are solved a few times and then too easy, and many of them rely on dogs lifting or pulling pieces with theirContinue reading “Toy review: Trixie Cat Activity Board – for dogs!”
Why you should start walks with a sniffing game
Lots of new owners struggle with recall and this morning I realised I do a lot of things automatically now that might be helpful insights and ideas for others. So, here’s a short film about how sniff games can really help with both recall and your dog paying attention to you outdoors – none ofContinue reading “Why you should start walks with a sniffing game”
BusyDoggie 