Its very cold in the mornings and at night now, my favourite season is coming to and end.  I dont mind the winter for about 5 minutes but looking after dogs and training is made more difficult when the weather is poor, not to mention all those paws to clean when the dogs are running in and out in the rain and mud.  Hey ho, it keeps me busy I guess.

Just posted another workshop date so if anyone would like to learn about Tellington TTouch contact me for a booking for for October 8th.

Day care has been extremely busy throughout the summer and Sept and Oct are getting busier all the time.  The dogs do have an amazing time here - they play all day long in and out of the house and garden and then at night they are all chilling out by the log fire (yes weve had our first fire of the year last night) watching TV.  Not a bad life.

Just had a lovely week in Devon with Otis and my family - a fab house in Bideford which sleeps 14 and is easily affordable when divided by that many.  Otis enjoyed being the centre of attention as he needs a break too - he is so good with all the dogs who come and stay with us, sharing everything including our affection, he deserved a break and had a fab time running on the beech and being loved by everyone in the group.

Im writing a book about doggy day care (well trying to) Its not as easy as I thought and is taking me a long time so better get back to my drafting and re drafting.  Hoping I can get a chapter finished some time this millenium.

As if I dont have enough to do, on Friday last week I picked up a very sorry looking little cat who was staggering about with a deformed leg and eating crisps off the floor outside a shop near where I live.  I had only popped out for a minute to pick up a few bits from the shop and just had to pick her up too.  I couldnt leave her there and decided to foster her in the short term.  I checked her out at the vets the next day and have put posters around where I found her but todate no-one has claimed her.  So tomorrow Im taking her back to the vets for blood tests and if negative (I am concerned about FIV and Leukemia as I have non vaccinated cats and could not risk them picking anything up) I will have her vaccinated, spayed and of course keep her.

I did call all the rescue centres in Leicester to let them know I had her in case anyone was looking for her and was horrified to hear that all of them a running waiting lists before they can take any cats in as apparently this time of year people dump their cats in rescue rather than pay for catteries for their holidays!  Humans really do some terrible things to their so called best friends.  I cannot imagine every letting any of my animals go in any circumstances. 

I have decided to call my new 4 legged companion "Amy" after the Amy Winehouse - my mother's suggestion as she said "2 lost souls".  It seemed right as I found her the same week that Amy died.  My mum has offered to sponsor her which is fantastic as I suspect the medical costs of Amy may be significant.  She has a very odd shaped spine which again I suspect is a birth defect along with her leg which she uses simply as a prop but its fused into a very odd position and she shuffles along very awkwardly.  I will take care of her and give her the best life she could have for as long as she can have it. 

Our animals dont ask much of us, just to be loved and fed and given somewhere nice to sleep at night - the more I know about humans the more I love animals. 

Well, since being made redundant from my home based full time job as a paralegal, Ive not stopped really. 

Dogs in every day, more enquiries every day and following a dog show event at the weekend, Ive had several new training enquiries too.  I was terrified when my "guaranteed" income stopped but as my wise old brother reminded me the illusion of security working for someone else is just that, an illusion.  The only security we have comes from being in total control which I now am.  Im trying not to think too much about the long term as in this industry of boarding and training dogs the winter can be lean times, but instead focus on planting seeds now that I hope will come up later.

Ive made some very useful connections in my first week of being totally my own boss and now have the time to think and plan and market my own venture with full focus.  Fear is the only thing that holds us back from following our dreams and living in the moment is a great quality if we can try and do it - like our animal friends do so well.

My partner is rehearsing her one woman show in the dining room as I am working at my laptop in the doggy day care section of our home (surrounded of course by a number of regular doggies, presently asleep all around me!).

We do have a very full and exciting, if not sometimes terrifying, life and I do appreciate every minute of it as we must all do.  Life is short so it must be lived to the full and all dreams must be pursued to the end.

I may even get my book written at long last - started it months ago and managed a chapter - now I can factor in time to devote to it and flesh it out.  I dont know how I managed working 40 hours per week during the week days, calling new training and doggy clients back in the evening and training at weekends, together with running workshops when I could fit them in and attending dog events (rarely due to having to be here all the time).  I may have no guaranteed wages now but I can focus on what I enjoy doing and hope by doing so to be ever more successful at it.

I can even blogg more often!

Well, its been months since I blogged and I must really try to get into the habit of doing so.  Sometimes its hard to know what to say of interest to the world but I guess just sharing thoughts and views are worth doing.  I was made redundant from my full time paralegal job last week, I worked from home for a friend who is also a solicitor, which was a bit of a shock at the time.  My initial thoughts were "how am I gona pay the mortgage" etc etc.  Having got my head round it, I suspect it will be the best thing that could happen as I now have no options but to focus on my own business.  I have never had time to really market it and get my name out there, it just seems to have happened naturally which is lovely but I can now ensure I plan strategies to increase awareness of my services.

So, my thoughts for today are making the most of what we have and maximising whatever it is we enjoy doing.  This is the beginning of a new chapter for me which is a little scary but as Will Powers said in his song "Opportunity" for those of you old enough to remember the 80s "be thankful for your problem its a gift in disguise, its your chance to change ................."  wise words indeed.

Ive just read Victoria Stillwell's tweet on 10 things you should teach your dog.  If you click on my tweets to the left of this blog and follow the link to Victoria's webpage - this is a really good basic guide for everyone thinking of getting a puppy.  I meet a lot of people struggling with training and behaviour issues that could have been avoided if they put in the time at the outset to avoid later problems.  It is overwhelming at first when you get your puppy home, they are so cute and lovely you just want to play with them which is great.  However, it is vital to commence training IMMEDIATELY and introduce your pup to as many situations, dogs, other animals, people etc as possible as you have a 16 week window of opportunity.  The clock is ticking and the more you do the more content a dog you will have.  Follow this guide on Victoria's webpage.

What a gorgeous day it is.  I am so bad I have not blogged for ages - MUST BLOG MORE!  I have just set up a Twitter account which I have linked to my website blog page - still a virgin tweeter so watch this space.

Today I just have one dog boarding with me a lovely JR called Archie.  I have also just created a You Tube account and am regularly posting videos filmed here at Harvey's Doggy Day Care on my Day Care page - check out the link to view a selection of videos showing all my lovely regular dogs.  This way people can see the set up here a little better than pictures can show and really get a feel for the amazing facilities and setting we have here.  Its just gorgeous to be surrounded by nature the way we are here and dogs love watching from the patio all that goes on below on the river.  Its also nice for regular clients to see what their dogs are up to and with the wonder that is the Iphone I can film and post videos straight onto YouTube in minutes.  I love technology and have no idea how businesses ran before we had all of this stuff.  I know there are downsides (less easy to switch off and be unavailable) but the thought of having to walk 10 miles to a phone box or post a letter and await a reply 3 weeks later is alien to me now.  Im not of the age where I grew up with this technology but I am embrasing it and learning more every day.

This weekend I have 2 new meet and greet clients to show round Harvey's with a view to boarding / day care in the future.  I love the work I do both boarding and training and have worked very hard over many years to atain my dreams. 

My message for today is never give up on your dreams, you can do anything you want if you are determined and focussed. I used to be scared of dogs having been attacked when much younger, now I work with dogs, help their owners understand them and care for them every day. 

Again, today is a lovely spring like day - every time I blog this seems to be the case so I must do more blogging.

I worked with a very anxious dog at the weekend who had been rather spoiled by her owners (it is very easy to do so and I never apportion blame to owners if this is the case I simply advice on how to change their ways and why!).  Dogs need to know what they can and cannot do, like children.  We cannot assume that they automatically know the rules unless we teach them.  One issue that can significantly affect behaviour and is very common with many clients who come to me for help is over spoiling.  Its very easy to accidentally spoil our dogs as we love them so much but they are dogs and need clear rules and boundaries.  Allowing them to get away with manic and demanding behaviour only leads to unruly and quite stressed dogs as they can struggle to deal with separation from their owners or life situations generally, often lacking confidence as a result.  A confident, happy, well trained dog is much more able to cope with life and all it throws at them.

Otis is very well behaved but he has his moments and needs reminding that I take care of things he doesnt have to.  Ignoring a dog who jumps up constantly demanding attention teaches the dog that jumping up does not work - they soon stop doing so if we consistently ignore their impolite demands.  Equally, it is important to reward behaviour we do want to encourage good behaviour and manners.

I have a lot of work to do with my latest client but using a combination of Tellington TTouch body work, groundwork and tools coupled with general obedience (I like to use clicker training) training and some adjustments at home generally in terms of not rewarding the behaviour we dont want, I hope we can significantly change her for the better. 

Watch this space for updates. 

What a lovely spring like day it is. 

Yesterday I saw a very challenging black lab whom Ill refer to as D for now (I will give his full name with owners consent in future posts).

D was very very bouncy, 6 months old and had no training at all.  He is running the household and getting everyone very stressed as they cannot control his ott behaviour.  He is unable to settle and constantly pacing and panting. 

He exploded into my workshop and it took quite a while before I could settle him down sufficiently to start some basic training.  Obviously there was a lot of discussion to take full details of D's history and issues and I went through some basic advice in terms of ignoring D's demands for attention and trying to avoid feeding into to his manic behaviour by not rewarding it (albeit inadvertently) by pushing him off and shouting at him.  It is very difficult for owners to be calm when their dog is leaping all over them and mouthing them when any contact is made.

We have an awful lot of work to do as D has been "mis-behaviing" for a long time and got into very bad habits.

I was able to calm D sufficiently using a Tshirt and TTouch body work and I started to try some basic obedience, sit, leave, watch me etc just to start to get his focus and attention and after only a few attempts D was sitting nicely every time I called him to me.  This immediately empowered D's owners who could see that just by being really calm with him and not shouting or engaging with him save for rewarding good behaviour, he changed quite quickly and quite dramatically.

I also did a little work to reduce D's over mouthing and biting at hands.  He soon got the hang of backing off from a treat offered with a closed hand which was delivered as soon as he moved his head back away from the treat - hot dog sausages work every time!

The session lasted 2 hours (usually sessions are 1 hour) but I so wanted D's owners to see some progress and feel that they have the ability to help D become less anxious, more relaxed and happier.  He was exhausted after a session of TTouch and general training, he did really well and got on my doggy sofa in my training room and went to sleep.  He is a lovely dog and clearly very intelligent and combining sufficient exercise with mental stimulation - which can be a lot of fun using clicker training methods - will I hope help him become a calmer happier dog.

I think it is important to note that whilst we have lots and lots of work to do with D to address pulling on the lead, recall, sit, stay, down, leave it, etc etc, in my opinion it is important to take it very slowly and master one thing before progressing too quickly.  For D to receive information and take it in he has to be a little calmer and TTouch enables that. 

D's owners will practise TTouch on D (which I demonstrated and gave them a handout to guide them) and start to do a little obedience training.  He also needs to be able to let off steam and run off lead which we will work on next session, to use up some of his energy in sort sessions whilst he is still growing increasing with age.  Once he is fully grown his walks can increase in duration.  D's owners can only presently walk him on a lead as he will not come back when called - he has never been taught to so this is important to convey.  D is not being naughty or bad he simply doesnt know the rules and it is our job as guardians of our dogs to teach them in kind fair and effective ways.

Lots of work to do but significant progress made on our first session - well done D.

Jane Harvey