Happy Halloween!

Woof!

Hello everyone! May I wish you all a happy Halloween and hope you all had fun scaring each other and having yummy treats! I celebrated in many ways, I went on a spooky trail through some woods, went to a party and also took part in a Samhain ceremony. I did even have my own witch outfit to wear, but I found it much more interesting to chew and play with it, so Igaboo gave up on me wearing it, she also dressed as a witch for our party, I didn't like the face paint she was wearing because it wasn't nice to give her any puppy kisses! I did manage to behead a werewolf though at the party, very strange, found a human inside it...

Halloween is very fun, and I liked all the dressing up and things to play with, it's true meaning is deep in the pagan belief system which I enjoyed celebrating too, fundamentally though, in today's times it's all about being scared. So I am using it as a basis to look at puppy frights and how to help your pup to be a brave lil soldier.

A few things scare me, lots of things use to scare me, it's all about understanding what it is and to tackle it so I'm not scared any more. A big one that use to scare me was the sound of motorbikes, I would tremble every time one went past, so Igaboo and I spent time just walking up and down busy roads to get me use to the sound, I don't even notice them going past now. She says the trick is to not reward my fear, so whenever she notices I am scared by something she reassures me with a friendly voice, but no physical contact, this is because by petting me you will affirm that I should be scared and then I'll never get over my worries. When I was first brought home I was too small to climb the stairs properly, I remember I got stuck half way up one day and I found that scary, but all Igaboo did was sit at the bottom and encouraged me down, by making me stand up to things I am scared of will build my confidence and make me more independent. It all depends on your pooch's particular fears, but these are the best two methods of helping them overcome it, either expose your pup to what they fear until it becomes a background appearance or make them tackle fears head on to build up courage, which ever you choose make sure it is the safest option for the specific situation.

At the moment I'm a little scared by fireworks, I've never heard them before and my owner tells me it's common to hear them in abundance now. When I'm at home my owner always makes sure I have background noise in way of a television or some music, this is good to have as it drowns out the sound of any bangs outside. The real problem is when I'm out walking, whenever I hear one I go a bit skittish on my lead, I jump around, try and get Igaboo's attention, stop walking, and can pull off sharply. None of this is good because it could mean I could hurt myself whilst out, what my owner has taken to doing is to sing to me when they are going off and she slows down the pace of walking, having the verbal reassurance which is toned to be friendly and fun, and by slowing down I relax because it's all behaviour that means there's nothing to be afraid of. Igaboo does feel silly singing quietly to a dog, but then I've noticed her talking to herself all the time, but hearing your owners voice is always comforting.

A truly happy pup should only be scared of things that could cause harm to them, irrational fears and phobias will only hinder a pooch and their dog days. Some will take time to eradicate, some will go without trying, just always look out for triggers and nip them in the bud as soon as you see anything, and as for Halloween frights, well, we all like a good scare every now and again, just remember your pets, but then we do have to deal with you everyday first thing in the morning....

Puppy Kisses and Love

Dexy Dexy Doooooooooo

(Will do anything for a Dexy Snax)

x boo x boo x