Bringing a rescue dog home means learning about the individual dog in front of you. You may know quite a lot about their previous life. You may know almost nothing. That uncertainty becomes particularly important during fireworks season. A rescue dog who seems confident with traffic, household noises and everyday walks may never have experienced…
Fireworks have started, and your dog is frightened. Perhaps they are shaking, panting, hiding behind the sofa, following you everywhere or refusing to go into the garden. Or perhaps they have become very quiet and are simply lying somewhere looking tense. If you are reading this while fireworks are already going off, tonight is not…
Updated August 2026 Dogs do not always bark, growl or run away when they feel uncomfortable. Earlier signs can be much quieter. A dog may turn their head away, lick their lips, yawn, scratch or begin sniffing the ground. These actions can be easily missed or dismissed because they also occur as part of normal…
Updated August 2026 Confidence and resilience are closely connected, but they are not quite the same. Confidence is how secure or capable a dog feels in a particular situation. Resilience is their ability to cope with a challenge and recover afterwards. A resilient dog can still become frightened, startled or overwhelmed. The difference is that…
Updated August 2026 Dogs bite, grab and shake their leads for several reasons. A puppy may discover that the lead is a wonderfully wiggly toy. An adolescent dog may grab it when excited about leaving home. A nervous or reactive dog may bite the lead after a difficult encounter because they are frustrated, stressed or…
Updated August 2026 Dogs cannot control every part of their lives. We decide when they eat, where they walk, who enters their home and when they receive handling or veterinary care. However, we can offer dogs appropriate choices within those necessary boundaries. This might mean allowing your dog to choose whether they want to be…
A reactive dog may bark, lunge, freeze, spin, pull forwards or try desperately to escape. From the outside, the reaction can appear aggressive or unpredictable. However, the behaviour may be driven by fear, frustration, overexcitement, pain or an urgent need for more space. Reactivity is a description of what happens. It does not explain why…
Pet correctors are often sold as quick ways to stop barking, jumping, pulling, chasing or other behaviour that people find difficult. Some release compressed air. Others use sound, spray, pressure, pain or surprise. And they can appear to work. A dog barks. You use the corrector. The dog stops. The problem is that stopping a…
