training guidetraining classes - pets2impress training can help you and your dog to cover all the...

Training guide

Where Paws come first Pets2Impress LTD, Unit 4 Nicholson Buildings, Mitre Place, South Shields, Tyne and

Wear, NE33 5BD | M: 07869502299 | T: (0191) 4541317 | E: [email protected]

www.pets2impress.com

http://www.pets2impress.com/

Pets2Impress © 2019 1

Contents

1. Contents

2. Our services

3. Petpawcel

4. Your responsibilities and your body language.

5. Nothing in life is free

6. Two second rule, Social lure / name positive, Sit and Down

7. Stand, Leave it, Spin, Roll and Bow

8. Stay and Jumping up

9. Recall

10. Recall continued and whistle training

11. Whistle training continued

12. Watch and place on command

13. Lead training and mouthing

14. Toilet training and barking

15. Ladder of aggression part one

16. Health check and toys (part one)

17. Toys part two

18. Toxic foods

19. Dog law

20. Dog law part two

21. Dog law part three and dog theft.


Pets2Impress

Established in 2008 by Tim Jackson, a Registered and Qualified Veterinary Nurse,

Pets2impress is a friendly, fully insured ethically-run pet care business. Providing exclusive,

professional and above all, loving pet care. Like most pet owners, you consider your pet(s) to be

part of the family and rest assured Pets2impress are here to help ease your stress. Our staff are

dedicated animal lovers to provide you and your pet with an honest and reliable service.

Services

What we offer at Pets2Impress:

● Daycare - Whether your pooch is big and bouncy, old and sleepy, or shy and just wants

cuddles, at our state of the art Daycare Centre we will ensure your beloved dog gets all

of the T.L.C. and attention they both desire and need. Pets2Impress has been awarded

the best Daycare by Lux Magazine for 2 years running. We open at 7.30am and close at

6pm, and offer the options of a full day or a half day sessions for your pooch!

● Training classes - Pets2Impress training can help you and your dog to cover all the

basics with our training classes. We offer two separate courses:

- Dog school for dogs over 6 months

- Puppy school for dogs under 6 months

● Stay and Play - A great way to socialise your dog under supervision of staff. No need to

book, just bring your dogs vaccination card if it's their first time! We run 4 different stay

and play classes on Monday 6-7, Thursday 6-7, Saturday big and bouncy 11-12 and

small and fluffy 12-1

● Fun Agility - A great way to tire your dog out, we run fun agility every Saturday 10-11.

Please book in advance.

● Grooming - Awarded with Tyne & Wear "Best Pet Grooming award 2019".

● 1-1 Training - Tim Jackson veterinary nurse and canine behaviourist offers 1-1

behaviour consultations / training. Call to arrange a free telephone consultation

● Pet sitting - home to home - Welcome your pet (s) into one of our pet sitters homes,

where they will be given tender loving care, allowed the run of the house and be treated

as a member of the family.

● Pet sitting - daily visits - Allow your pet to stay at home and enjoy the comfort of familiar

sights, sounds and smells. Our home visits are a perfect alternative to kennels.

● Dog walking - Pets2impress offer a friendly and reliable dog walking service covering

South Tyneside. Whether your dog needs just a one-off walk with one of our

Pets2impress dog walkers, a weekend, a couple of weeks or a regular walk, please

contact us.


Pet Pawcels A monthly pet subscription box for your dog filled with tasty treats, toys and training

advice all handpicked by our qualified canine behaviourist, dog trainer and Veterinary

Nurse Tim Jackson.

-Minimum of 5 products per box

-Huge savings on popular brands

-Prices from £24/month (including P & P)

-Boxes will be dispatched on or around the 15th of each month.

-Payment to be with us before the last working day of the month

-Free cancellation on monthly subscriptions

-Amend your plan at any time

Toys offer a lot of enrichment for your dog and treats are great for helping with your

dog’s training and for use in brain games. Your dog will love their Pet Pawcel…this we

can guarantee

Use code Pet15 for

15% off your first box


Your responsibilities

Training responsibility / shaping your dog

As a dog owner you are responsible for ensuring that the care you provide for your pet complies

with the ‘5 Welfare needs’. These are:

● Need for suitable environment

● Need for suitable diet

● Need to be able to exhibit normal behaviours

● Need to be housed with, or apart, from other animals

● Need to be protected from pain, suffering and injury

Training can help form your dog, it can help them and yourself in difficult situations and will

create an inseparable bond between you. A lot of people will expect dogs to instinctively pay

attention to them, but this is not possible without a form of training [such as watch or come

command].

You should have a day to day routine for your dog that include walks each day. Breeds vary in

their exercise requirements so it is important that you research your breed to find out how long

each walk should be. Walks are an important part of a dogs routine as they allow channelling of

many of their natural instincts, which will vary for each breed - but all dogs love sensory

stimulation. Training and mental stimulation are equally as tiring for your dog and help form a

bond between you both.

By following this training guide, you are on a route to shaping your dog into a well-behaved

pooch.

Owners tone of voice and body language.

As you have probably realised, your dog loves you as much as you love them. You as an owner

shape your dog into the way they are, they learn a lot from you and know you better than

anyone.

Dogs are able to read your body language and tone of voice. They will always gaze slightly to

the right side of your face - as, although you may not realise it but a human’s face reacts on the

right first before the left.

It is important that you keep a positive tone to your voice so that your dog doesn’t build up any

negative associations with you.

We do not encourage the use of negative based training because it encourages a dog to

respond through fear rather than want or desire.

If you are happy while training, your dog will be happy to train with you. If you are frustrated

during training, your dog will pick up on that and also become frustrated. Your behaviour /

feelings can reflect on your dog; therefore your dog is your image.


Nothing in life is free (NILIF)

Advantages of Nothing in life is free:

● It will help to improve your dog’s behaviour as well as teaching him/her to learn to trust

and accept the lead of his/her owners.

● Simple rules that anyone can follow

● It is a non-confrontational technique and should not put people or dogs at risk.

● It can help build a dog’s confidence by providing clear rules and enjoyable outcomes.

By your dog following NILIF commands in low stress surroundings such as their home, it

will allow them to subsequently focus when they are distracted.

● NILIF is a reward-based method of training.

You must make your dog ‘Work’ for everything that has a positive outcome.

This can be done by making them do a command that they know well such as “sit”. However,

you can make them do any trick that they know to ‘work’ for something good. If your dog doesn’t

know any tricks, then you must train them one before being able to follow NILIF rules. Example

of good things are anything that your dog wants or likes, such as going for a walk, getting

attention, getting treats, playing with their toys and getting cuddles.

Putting NILIF into action.

1 - Your dog must ‘work’ for something good.

If your dog follows your command, then it is rewarded.

2 - Bad behaviour is ignored.

Behaviour such as mouthing, jumping up, barking and whining should be ignored. During this

time you shouldn’t give your dog any attention, and the best thing to do is turn your back and

walk away without communicating with your dog.

*Don't look, don't speak or touch*

3 - Use the command once.

Use the command you want your dog to do only once, if they don’t do what you want - do not

reward them. Instead turn around and walk away - and after a minute give your dog another

chance to earn something.

4 - Everyone who interacts with your dog regularly should also follow these rules.

5 - Patience is key.

It will take time for your dog to realise that they have to work for what they want, and it may get

frustrating at times so patience while following NILIF rules is important.

Remember the golden rules!

Praise the good behaviour, ignore the bad.

When ignoring do not look, do not touch, do not speak.

Always remember: Treat to Repeat!


Two second rule

When training your dog, the timing of rewards has to be perfect. Ideally you should be

rewarding your dog within 2 seconds of performing an action. Dogs can only connect a positive

reinforcement to an action if it is done exactly the same time.

Social lure / Name positive

Social lure creates a positive association with your dog’s name so that your dog comes to you

when they hear it. This is fundamental to recall training.

How to:

● Hold the treat to your dog’s nose

● Slowly walk backwards encouraging your dog to follow the treat

● Say their name in a positive tone of voice every few steps.

● Stop! Give treat and continue the same steps

● Repeat this until your dog learns their name.

You can also use the look at me game:

● Show your puppy/dog that you have something they want (i.e. a treat or a toy)

● Say their name, hold the object under your chin and wait until they look up at you.

● Then give the treat or have a game with their favourite toy.

● Repeat over several sessions until your puppy/dog looks at you whenever you say their

name

These methods are all reward-based training which helps a dog understand that when they

follow a command, they get something good.

Sit

● Hold a high value treat to nose

● Raise your hand slowly up and back over their head. This will encourage them into the

sit position.

● The second they do the action, treat them and add the cue word ‘sit’.

Down

● Start in a sit position

● Hold the treat in your hand and show them that you have it.

● You should lure your dog’s head to the floor with the treat

● Wait until your down lies down fully before you add cue word “down” and treat.

Another way to do the down command is in the ‘command crawl’. To do this you have to sit on

the floor, raise your leg and using a treat encourage your dog slowly to crawl under your leg. As

soon as your dog is in the down position, treat and cue word ‘Down’.


Stand

● From a sit position - treat to nose

● Move the treat slowly horizontally away from the dog.

● Once your dog stands, treat and use the cue word ‘stand’

Leave it

● Start by using a low value item

● Hold the low value item out of your dog’s reach

● Wait till your dog looks at the item

● Wait till your dog turns away from the item and towards you

● At that moment cue the ‘leave it’ command and treat your dog.

Repeat these stages until your dog gets the hang of it and then increase the items value slowly

repeating the same steps.

Spin

● Treat to your dog’s nose

● Lead dog in a slow circle

● Half way round add the cue word and treat when a full spin is complete.

Roll

● Encourage your dog into a down position

● Treat to nose then lead the head round so that the dog’s nose is near its waist.

● From the dog’s waist lead the treat over your dog’s back, keeping dogs head in a back

position,

● If dog turns around keep repeating from the beginning.

Note - Observe your dog’s back legs before starting the roll over as this will determine which way

the dog would prefer to roll for example if one leg is slightly tucked under and one leg is slightly

sticking out always encourage the roll to the side of the tucked under leg.

Bow

● Encourage dog into a stand position

● Treat to nose

● Move hand down to the floor with treat

● Once your dog is sniffing the treat very slowly and gently push your hand forward between

your dog’s front legs.

● Once dog goes into bow position treat and add cue.

● If dog goes fully down, encourage dog back into stand and repeat.


Stay

This command can come in helpful in many situations, however it does take a while to teach a

reliable stay.

Step by step instruction:

1) Start in a low level distraction area. Tell your dog to “sit” ( which you reward them for)

and slowly lean back from them whilst showing them your hand in a flat upright position.

Whilst doing this cue command “stay”. If your dog comes towards you, do not reward.

Keep repeating this step several times till your dog stays every time. Always return to

your dog to give them a treat rather than asking them to come to you.

2) Once you can lean back from your dog and they can stay, take one step away from them

following the same rules as before. If your dog does this, reward them and keep

repeating this step until perfected. If they come to you while doing this step, repeat stage

one again.

3) Slowly build up how far away you go from your dog for the stay command, remembering

to always go back to them and reward them for staying. When your dog can’t do one

extra step, stick to what they know.

Jumping up

Jumping up is a learnt behaviour, as they are rewarded with your attention even if you are telling

them off. If you give your dog attention when he/she jumps up at you, they will continue to do

so. Follow the simple rule below and reward your dog when all four feet are touching the floor.

If your dog jumps up

Ignore

1. No Touch

2. No Look

3. No Vocal Reward when all 4 paws on floor.

Try to greet your dog at their level to prevent jumping up


Recall

Getting Attention

If your puppy/dog is to learn anything you are trying to teach, he must be paying attention to

you. These little steps will help you teach your puppy/dog to focus

TIP** In order to train your puppy/dog successfully, you need to ensure that you have

your their full attention

Tail wagging game

See how much you can make your dog’s tail wag. Who in the family can make the tail wag the

most? What do they do that can be copied by everyone? What makes your dog pay the most

attention? Be silly, have fun, offer treats, games and praise in high pitched voice. Rub him lightly

and fast along his sides, clap, move around and generally act the fool! The more excitement you

can generate, the more your dog’s tail will wag and the more attention you will have.

Step one - Look-at-me-game

Show your puppy/dog that you have something he wants, say his name, hold it under your chin

and wait until he looks up at you. Then give the treat or have a game with his favourite toy.

Repeat over several sessions until your puppy/dog looks at you whenever you say his name.

Once you are getting eye contact easily when you say his name, gradually increase the length

of time you hold his attention. Start slowly, counting to two before rewarding, then repeat

counting to three before rewarding and so on.

Step two – In the mood to learn

Remember when training to do it at a time of day when he is most alert, after he has been to the

toilet, approx 2 hours after feeding and ensure your puppy/dog is alert and is not tired

Golden rules for training

Aim to succeed every time

Practice each exercise several times a day

Finish each session on a positive

Step three – Introducing reward based training

Reward based training is much kinder and more effective for puppies and owners than the old-

dated technicues that relied on punishment. Rewards make training fun, and will not only help to

strengthen your relationship with your puppy, but will make your puppy want to behave well.


To train effectively, you need something that excites your puppy. While puppies are still young,

praise from owners can be exciting. However, since most puppies are used to getting affection

all the time from their owners, something extra is needed to encourage them to work hard

enough to learn the exercises. Find out what motivates your puppy by trying the exercises

shown in Getting Attention and use whatever he is most interested in. Once you have his full

attention, training will be easier.

Tips -

● Good timing is critical if your puppy is to learn easily.

● Some puppies work harder for a game with a toy rather than food. Soft toys that can be

bitten and tugged are best.

● Use the treats that work best for your dog, remembering to alternate the treats you offer.

● Do not try to train your dog soon after a meal. They need to be interested in working for

the treats you are offering.

● Do not try to train when they are really hungry, as this could affect his ability to

concentrate.

● Treats should be small so that you dog does not become full too quickly. Pieces about

the size of a pea are best.

Whistle training

How do I start whistle Training?

Using a dog whistle requires a bit of practice. Try generating rising and falling notes, long blasts

and short pips. Practice the 'spit' blow to produce short sharp notes. This requires you to put your

tongue over the end of the whistle and effectively do a spitting action!

COMING WHEN CALLED - You must have the ability to recall your dog, no matter what the

situation or other temptations. The best way to achieve this is by ensuring that returning to you is

a rewarding and highly pleasurable experience available to them. To do this it is essential that

you never punish your dog for returning to you regardless of what they were doing before (or how

angry it made you!).

Recalling a young puppy is often quite easy as they often lack the confidence to wander far away.

It is important to take advantage of this period in building the recall command and associating it

with very positive experiences. To get your dog's attention and make it return to you, be prepared

to step out of your comfort zone in terms of your own behaviour. Use high pitched voices, clap

your hands, and jump up and down. Make yourself seem as interesting as possible to your dog.

If you are really desperate, use a treat or run in the opposite direction to your dog. Their natural

chase instinct nearly always gets their attention and brings them running. When they get to you,

heap on the praise, hug them, play a short game or a tummy rub. Anything that makes them think

returning to you is just the real business.

Remember praise = success

ignore = fail.


How to Train your dog to the sound of the whistle:

Give yourself several training sessions throughout the day and spend approximately one week

teaching your dog that when they hear the sound of the whistle they are going to get a treat,

praise and rewards. The best way to do this is to start at home, blowing the whistle treating and

repeating over several times (spending no more than 15 minutes per session). Once they are

responding well to the sound of the whistle you can then start going to different rooms of the

house and recalling your dog with the whistle, remembering to give lots of praise and reward when

they do come to you.

You are now ready to take your dog outside and release from the lead, however it is best to

release in an enclosed area initially to prevent any accidents, or your dog running away. Tennis

courts or enclosed fields are the best option. Once your dog is coming back reliably every time

you can then begin to think about letting them off in open spaces (a long rope lead may be useful

at this stage)

Using a long line –

• Start in a quiet area without too many distractions

• Attach your long line to their regular flat collar or harness

• Allow them to wander away from you, recall them back using your whistle

• Back away from them, encouraging them towards you as you go

• If they are reluctant to come, gently use the long line to ‘reel’ them in.

• Once your dog has reached you, reward with a food treat or a game with a favourite toy

• Gradually extend the distances which you call them

• Praise in new areas, gradually increasing the level of distraction

• Once they are responding well, you can drop the line so it is trailing behind them.

• Blow your whistle and if they respond, reward him. If they ignore you calmly walk towards

them until you can pick up the line, repeat your whistle command and immediately reel them in

and reward

• Once your dog is reliably responding without you having to pick up the long line, you can

allow them off the lead.


Watch

The watch command is a great thing to train your dog, however it is something that can take a

while to build up and learn.

You should first start training your dog in an area with low level distractions.

1) Get your dog’s attention with a high valued treat

2) Once your dog is aware the treat is there, quickly hold it up to the corner of your eyes.

3) Cue command "Watch"

4) Slowly build up time maintaining eye contact

5) When your dog is naturally not looking at you issue the cue “watch” and maintain eye contact

before treating.

Keep repeating these stages until your dog gets the hang of doing the watch command. If your

dog turns away, repeat stage 2 and do not treat unless dog maintains eye contact.

Once your dog knows the watch command, start building up distractions slowly whilst using the

same steps. It would be best to build up distractions indoors, with things such as someone

walking past the house or someone squeaking one of their toys. When your dog can follow the

watch command with these distractions, try going outside and practicing the watch command

with them in the garden. Then you can progress onto practicing with them on walks.

Place on command

This is a trick which can be really helpful if your dog is not a fan of people passing by the house,

or when visitors come to visit. However, you should not train the dog to do this when their

offensive stimulus is not there.

Stage one -

Your dog must know the stay command to do the following steps.

1. Put your dog’s bed or mat in your chosen location but do not allow your dog to sit on it just yet

2. Tell your dog to 'Stay' where they are

3. Go to the bed/mat and put a treat on it.

4. Release your dog with the ‘ok’ command.

5. When the dog goes towards the treat, enter a cue word such as "bed" as appropriate

6. Follow your dog, ask the dog to ‘sit’ on the place and give a second treat.

7. Repeat; changing the starting distance.

Stage two -

When the dog is not watching, put a treat on the spot you want them to go to. Ask him/her to go

to the place you have taught, follow them and ask them to sit and give them another treat

Stage Three -

1. When your dog begins to bark at something such as a person passing or the postman -

get their attention to interrupt them barking and send them to their place and reward as

such.

2. Use the sit and stay command to keep the dog in that place.


3. Treat them to reward their quiet behaviour.

Lead training - Redirection method

Lead training is a very simple thing to teach but it does take time and patience. The rules to

success are very simple. Please follow the below guide

● When out walking as soon as you feel the dog’s lead go tight i.e. the dog is in front of

you STOP

● Turn and face the opposite direction and encourage the dog to follow you with a lure i.e.

a treat. DO NOT PULL them round they should come voluntarily.

● When they are facing the other direction praise with a treat

● Start walking in the direction you are facing and repeat the full procedure if the lead

starts to go tight again!

● You will be the most successful if you keep repeating and do not let the dog get away

with pulling.

● At the beginning stages you may not get very far but your dog will sharp realise what

he/she needs to do to get further to where he/she wants to be.

● After practice you can start to introduce a command word such as ‘close’ when the dog

is alongside you so they recognise the command with the action

● Never pull back on the lead or tell off. Remember to praise the good behaviours i.e.

when he/she is walking alongside you.

Mouthing

Mouthing is a natural behaviour for puppies, it is how they learn, develop and play. It is always

advisable to discourage puppy mouthing whether it be hands, feet or clothes etc and to encourage

an alternative behaviour i.e. playing with an appropriate toy.

When puppy is mouthing your hand, keep your hand completely still, stay silent, no eye contact

and with your other hand have a squeaky toy. Keep the squeaky toy as far as way as possible

from the hand your puppy is mouthing, squeak and shake toy thus encouraging puppy to engage

in squeaky toy rather than your hand. Once your puppy is playing with the squeaky toy, engage

with puppy.


Toilet training

The Basics

Toilet training can be a long and lengthy process, there is never a set amount of time to have a

puppy fully housed trained. If your puppy has a wee on the floor, never tell them off as this will

only add a negative experience. Rather than telling puppy off for relieving themselves in the

house, the best course of action is to praise and reward puppy when they relieve themselves

outside therefore creating a positive experience which puppy will them repeat.

● Take puppy out regularly. Stay with the puppy outside, wait with your puppy until they

relieve themselves. Always have high value treats ready and when puppy relieves

themselves treat and offer high praise. Key times to catch puppy relieving themselves will

be just after waking up, after meals and after play time. When puppy is relieving

themselves, you can add a cue word such as “wee wee” so puppy learns in the future to

wee on command. If puppy relieves themselves in the house, completely ignore and clean

up appropriately for example use tonic water or non-biological washing powder as these

have enzymes that kill the ammonia in the urine. Clean with household products first then

the tonic water etc.

Why do dogs bark?

Barking is a form of communication. There are many reasons why they bark such as for attention,

excitement, anxiety, boredom, frustration, alerting and fear. It is very important to determine the

reason why your dog is barking as there are different approaches for each cause.

The most common type of barking is for attention. When your dog barks at you - you must not

engage. No touch, no eye contact and no vocal. Only reward with attention or treat when your

dog is silent.


The ladder of aggression

Dogs are great at communicating with us but sadly, as humans we are not so great at listening!

99% of bites could be avoided if we knew how to read the signs that our dogs were trying to

portray. Dogs are faced with situations every day that can make them feel stressed or anxious.

Recognising the signs will help prevent dogs from escalating up the ‘ladder of aggression’ and

will help prevent dog bites. Visit the following link for further information on how to read dog’s

body language www.poochpalspetcare.com/dogs-body-language/

http://www.poochpalspetcare.com/dogs-body-language/


Health Check - Top to tail

Knowing the signs of illness / abnormality

It is important to check your dog over in case there are problems that your dog doesn't show.

Performing routine top to tail examinations on your dog also helps them used to be examined

incase they ever need to go to the vets.

What you need to be

checking for:

● Lumps

● Bumps

● Sores

● Cuts

● Discharge

● Fleas

● Ticks

Checking order:

1.Nose

2. Mouth

3.Eyes

4.Ears

5.Neck

6. Front legs

7.Front paws

8.Torso

9.Back legs

10. Back paws

11. Tail

12. Vulva, Anus,

Penis

13. Skin / fur

It is important to make sure health checks are kept positive and include commands (paw, down,

sit). It is important to make sure your dog is relaxed before doing a health check as if they are

too excited you may not be able to spot something you would if they were calm.

Toys

Social play: Tug toys are great for social play. They should be big enough to allow plenty of

room for your dog and your hand - so that you will never accidentally get bitten. You need to

have control over when the game stops so it is important to teach your dog the ‘leave it’

command.

Throwing toys: A lot of dogs enjoy playing fetch with balls and frisbee. During this time, it is

important to position the throw to minimise the pressure on your dog's joints when chasing. A

20-minute ball throw in the garden does not replace your dog’s need to go for a walk on a daily

basis.

Squeaky or soft furry toys: A lot of dogs love these types of toys, however their use should be

supervised as some dogs love to rip them up!

Balls: A lot of dogs are ball crazy! Big balls that dogs cannot pick up can provide a high level of

entertainment as they love pushing them around with their nose and/or paws.

Puzzle toys: This can involve owners hiding treats under cups or inside cardboard boxes. You

can buy puzzle toys in most pet shops and online (we have products available on our website

www.pets2impress.com) . They are a brilliant way to tire your dog out mentally when they are

unable to participate in physical exercise for example following surgery.

http://www.pets2impress.com/


Footballs: Football is a game that both family and dog can take place in, a lot of herding dogs

seem to enjoy chasing the football when being kicked about.

Toys for solitary play:

Food- dispensing toys: This is a great stimulation for dogs that like to eat their dinner fast,

you can get a lot of toys that your dogs can roll around and release food, which makes your

dog work for their food and it will help to slow fast eaters down so that they aren’t able to

regurgitate their food.

Food chews: Food chews can be good for dogs as a way of distracting them from chewing

furniture or begging at your plate. Although not all chews are good. We don’t recommend to

anyone to give your dog ‘rawhide’ due to the many sad cases of dogs losing their life to this

horrible treat! Don’t knock yourself down if you have given this treat to your dog before, but

remember this as a precaution for any family members who love to spoil your pooch on their

birthday and Christmas! Chews should be soft enough to avoid fracturing teeth, but hard

enough that the dog does not finish them quickly. You can encourage a puppy to chew on

chews by making them for appealing by rubbing pate over them.


Toxic food / Dangerous foods

Not all foods are dog safe. It is important to know if you would like to give your dog a human treat,

what is safe for your dog and what is not to save emergency trips to the vet.

● Onions, Garlic and Chive - All dry, raw and cooked are very toxic for dogs. They can cause

irritation in their stomach as well as damaging their red blood cells.

● Chocolate - Although this is a yummy treat for humans, it is toxic for dogs and can cause

kidney failure.

● Macadamia nuts - These can cause a toxin that affects your dog's muscle and nervous

system.

● Avocado - This can cause vomiting and diarrhoea in dogs.

● Xylitol - This can be found in some peanut butter treats; it is an artificial sweetener. If your dog digests one of these sweetened treats they can do into hypoglycaemia which can cause liver failure and blood clotting.

● Cooked bones - You are allowed to give your dog an uncooked bone, however cooked bones are dangerous for your dogs as they can splinter inside of your dog and harm them.

● Alcohol - Even in small doses, alcohol can have huge impacts on your dog leading to

sickness, diarrhoea and nervous system damage.

● Grapes and raisin - Both of these treats we find in a lot of human’s food can lead to liver

damage and kidney failure.

● Mushrooms - Poisonous to dogs.

● Corn on the cob - Sweetcorn is fine for your dog to eat, however if your dog was to eat

the actual cob it can cause blockage in their intestine.

Safe human food you can use as treats

● Chicken

● Liver (in small amounts)

● Cheese (in small amounts)

● Carrots (monitored as may choke, keep in small bits)

These can work well to gain a perfect recall from your dog!


Dog laws

When having a dog it is important to know about the following laws:

The Control of Dogs Order 1992 -

This law makes it a legal requirement for dogs to wear a tag with the following information:

● Owners name

● Address of the owner

● A phone number is optional but is advisable

If a dog is found without this identification, it can be classed as a stray dog. Owners who fail to

get a tag for their dog can be fined up to £5,000.

Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 : This dog law prohibits 4 breeds: Pitbull terrier, Japanese tosa, Fila

Brazilero and the Dogo Argentino. If your dog is identified as one of these breeds, it will be

seized. Unless you can prove that your dog does not pose a threat to the public and that they

are fit to take care of the type of dog it can be issued a Contingent Destruction Order which

allows the owner to keep the dog under the following rules:

● The dog is microchipped

● Has third party insurance for life.

● Wears a lead and muzzle in public.

● At the same address as the registered address with the exception of 30 days in a 12

month period.

This is law also that requires you to have full control over your dog. If you dog is dangerously

out of control, it is breaking the law. A dog deemed dangerously out of control if there is signs

that show there is a possibility of them injuring a person or an assistance dog. The owner

commits the offence as they are in control of their dog whether it is public or private land. If the

court is satisfied that your dog does not pose a threat to public, they can put a contingent

destruction order in place.

Animal Welfare Act 2006 : This act ensures that responsible people, give the animals in care

the needs they need. It is an offence to not provide the needs for the animal within care and

protects animals from suffering. It is a law that makes owners and keepers have to gain more

understand-ment for their responsibilities when owning an animal and it’s needs. It prevents the

suffering of animals before it begins to take place. It also puts a ban on people mutilation

animals unless it is for medical treatment and is approved by authorities – this does not include

the docking of dogs tails.

It is an offence for a person to remove any part of the dogs tail without the purpose of medical

treatment, the responsible person will commit an offence if they fail to prevent the circumstance

of a dog having its tail docked. The five needs:

1. Need for suitable environment

2. Need for suitable diet

3. Need to be able to exhibit normal behaviours

4. Need to be housed with, or apart, from other animals

5. Need to be protected from pain, suffering and injury


The Road Traffic Act 1998 : This act that requires for any dogs travelling within a vehicle to not

be a nuisance or a distraction to the driver in any way. It is important that dogs remain calm and

quiet during travel to ensure that the driver can focus on the roads. If in any case a dog becomes

injured within an accident, the person driving the vehicle must stop to inform the owner with their

details. The incident must be reported to the police within a 24-hour period if the injured dog

doesn’t have an owner/keeper. Dogs must be restrained in the following ways:

● In the car boot with a dog guard up.

● Wearing a harness with seat belt.

● In a dog car seat.

Dogs Dangerous to livestock :It is a criminal offence if your dog:

● Attacks livestock

● Chases them in a way that the livestock can injure themselves.

● Is not under control in a field where there are sheep.

Breeding of Dogs: If your dog has 5 litters in a 12 month period (even if they get kept

somewhere else) then your home will be deemed to a “boarding establishment” which is against

the law unless licenced.

Boarding of Dogs :It is illegal to have a boarding establishment for dogs unless you are

licenced by the local authority.

Dog Microchipping :As of April 2016 all dogs in England, Scotland and Wales must be

microchipped. This allows dogs to be identified if they go missing. It is important to keep your

dogs details up to date.

Public Space Protection Orders : This allows local authorities (your council) to designate areas

of the public to exclude dogs from, or put rules in place to have them on a lead. A lot of beaches

have this order placed in the summer.

Stray dogs : The local authorities are responsible over stray dogs, the officer assigned to this job

is required to give notice to the owner of the stray dog and if they fail to come forward within 7

days the local authority may rehome the dog or have to put it to sleep. This is why it is important

to get your dog microchipped as it helps to identify dogs as lost not stray.

Damage caused by dogs : If your dog harms a person, another dog or damages property it is

possible for someone to make a claim for compensation against you. It is strongly advised that all

dog owners take out a third party liability insurance as claims can be expensive.

Noise Nuisance :If a complaint is made about your dog being loud the local authority will

investigate it, ask whoever complains to keep a noise diary and sometimes recording equipment

will be installed to gather evidence. If enough evidence is gathered, they are able to serve a noise

abatement notice which breaching can lead to a fine.


Poo bags. It is extremely important that you pick up your dog’s poop while on walks, although it

might not be a nice job it is your responsibility and failure to do so will result in a fine from the

local authority. It is a legal requirement that you always carry at least 3 poo bags. Failure to comply

with the law will result in a potential fine!

Dog theft

Keeping your dog safe:

● Never leave your dog unattended in car.

● Never leave them tied up outside a shop.

● Never leave them unattended in a garden.

● When out always have their ID tag on.

● If walking next to a road, always walk your dog on the wall side.

● Be aware of your surroundings

10 dogs are stolen each day in the UK, make sure your dog is NOT one of them!

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