We adopted Kygo from DOA almost two years ago and have been busy discovering Dutch destinations that welcome wags and woofs one paw at a time… “Can my dog come too?” Is a phrase I often ask. It’s no secret that well-behaved dogs have more freedom. Putting your training to the test in real life […]
”Fight like cat and dog” – it’s a tale of tails that’s as old as time. I’m a dog person, that’s a given. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never had anything against felines, I just found my calling with canines, yet here I am typing whilst sharing my seat with my purring prince… Our little […]
I wrote the following text a few weeks after Nero passed but for some reason could not bring myself to publish it on the blog. It’s now been almost one year to the day since Nero crossed that rainbow bridge and even though reading this still brings me to tears, I feel it is finally […]
Last Christmas, there was a different kind of Shepherd in our Christmas story. With a dog in your life, Christmas is guaranteed to be that much better. Our canine companions truly understand the spirit of the festive season. They motivate and inspire us to live for now, to truly forgive and to forget and to appreciate the moment. […]
You can see your breath the moment you step outside, exposed skin goes numb and the world is lightly frosted with natures icing. Yep, Winter waited for a little while to show itself but it certainly has arrived. It’s a given that dogs feel the ‘brrr’ of the cold too but did you know that as […]
It’s not black and white when there is grey in-between. Many of us share our homes and lives with one or more canine companions. As dog owners, we probably class ourselves as ‘dog lovers’ who will happily make acquaintance with a new furry face and welcome the wet nose that invades our personal space. In theory, […]
Do you remember that first time you let your dog off-leash? Were you nervous? Afraid they would run off and not come back? Perhaps you were worried about other fluffs reacting to your fur-baby in a negative way? There are all kinds of reasons dog owners decide to keep their four-pawed partners on a lead – from a previous […]
With literally hundreds of brands of dog food to choose from and each claiming to be the best food for your canine friend, picking your dogs diet can be a daunting task. There is so much variety available that we are spoilt for choice. We all want the best for our pooch, but knowing exactly what that […]
I love the looks of awe I get when Nero responds to my hand signals. True, he is a very intelligent breed but any dog is capable of this challenge! Using hand signals helps your dog learn focus, comes in extremely useful and is a pretty impressive party trick! To begin teaching hand signals, your dog should already be […]
When I told my family and friends that I was bringing a fifty kilo, (almost) six-year old, male German Shepherd with aggression issues home from the shelter, they thought I was barking mad. “What if he is too aggressive?” “What If you can’t train him?” “What if he attacks a dog or person?” These questions became all too […]
The first thing I had to understand was that dogs like to have direction. Being social is imprinted in their genetics. Our role as the human is to understand how to build a relationship of trust and communication by guiding the way. A dog needs to learn what behaviour is acceptable and what is not. Whilst in every household the rules will […]
When Nero came home, I was extremely wary about his food antics. I was told at the shelter that whilst Nero had no appetite issues, he assumed that if there was food around that he was entitled to it. The last thing I wanted was a great big dog begging or jumping up for food […]