Blog

  • Building curiosity and confidence in search

    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, Read more

  • Disengaging from distractions

    Disengaging from distractions

    Disengaging from distractions is perhaps THE most important life skill for a puppy, and the sooner they learn, the better. Of course, their brains are not yet capable of a lot of things – impulse control being one of them, because the parts of the brain that control activation develop faster than the parts that Read more

  • Proprioception and balance training in the forest

    Proprioception and balance training in the forest

    This is so easy to do yet so beneficial for dogs (and especially puppies) because it slows them down and really gets them to pay attention to how they navigate obstacles. That develops their proprioception and balance – abilities they will very soon need when they become adolescents. Dogs mature physically much faster than mentally, Read more

  • What goes in the cost of a pedigree puppy?

    What goes in the cost of a pedigree puppy?

    For years I’ve read comments on dog owner Facebook groups that complain about how expensive pedigree dogs are and how it’s better to adopt not shop. I’ve written about this before, but when we started this puppy project I decided that I will track the costs so that I can both see for myself what Read more

  • The work of a breeder – part 2

    The work of a breeder – part 2

    In the previous post, I said that the male is the second most important choice in the process of breeding – the most important one is the mother.  The mother needs to meet the same kind of criteria as the father, and a bit more because they are a much bigger influence on the puppies. Read more

  • The work of a breeder – part 1

    The work of a breeder – part 1

    Recent conversations made me think it might be interesting to shed some light on the work that has gone into these puppies – all of our families are aware and appreciate it, but I’ll write for those who I’ve not had these conversations with.  Many people think the work starts the day the puppies are Read more