GM News - February 2021

The Question (and Answer!) Issue

Our February issue has been somewhat delayed by the addition of adolescent foster dog, Pluto, Foxhound X, to our household. To describe him as challenging could be an understatement! He's friendly with dogs and people but he doesn't have much in the way of household skills.
Anyway . . . onto this issue of GM News. We hope you enjoy it.

Amanda, Rodna, David, Ruth

Looking for food 'toys' to positively occupy your dogs?

Pluto has (it seems!) boundless energy that, of course, is sometimes (often!) expressed in behaviours that Pluto's humans aren't always keen on.

I love the way food 'toys' use a dog's energy in positive pursuits - puzzling out where the food is hidden or simply taking a long time to consume food by licking.

LickiMat Soother Tuff Pro, LickiMat Buddy and LickMat Wobble

The products were a hit with Pluto. Check out our YouTube Channel video

LickiMat have given us a 20% discount code for you to use until the end of July. The code is GENTLEMODERNSCHOOL.

Chewing Driving You Nuts?

Whole Dog Journal has an e-book Destructive Chewing that examines why and how chewing is normal and what you can do to both stop and prevent the purely destructive variety!

The eBook considers five main reasons for chewing:

Stress: Physical activity relieves stress.
Teething: New teeth pushing through the gums causes discomfort relieved by chewing (adult teeth may not have fully emerged until 18-24 months).
Boredom: Idle canine mouths do the devil's work :-)
High jinks: Pups and adolescent dogs have high energy levels and that energy has to be used somehow!
Habit: Unmanaged destructive behaviour during formative months (the first one to two years) may form destructive behaviour habits.

"What makes you think I'm about to chew this stool?"

Wonder why your dog twitches as she sleeps?

Ellen Gutoskey addresses the topic in mentalfloss.com article 'The Reason Dogs Twitch in their Sleep'
Like us, dogs dream during the REM cycle of sleep, and twitching matches what's happening in the dream. The dream-time muscle movement most often affects younger and older dogs. For more detail, and the difference between normal dream twitching and a seizure, check out the article.

Struggling with Cleaning your Dog's Teeth?

You might be interested in the Healthy Smiles: At-Home Dental Care for Dogs and Cats eCourse

Heard of Target Training but not sure what it's all about?

Check out the following videos on using a target stick to teach different actions and responses:

Ruth and Red demonstrate using targeting (specifically a 'target stick') to teach Red to crawl.
Susan Garrett, Canadian Dog Trainer and Educator has a two-part video overview: Part One and Part Two

What's Tellington TTouch?

Tellington TTouch uses a whole range of techniques including touch, body wraps and exercises to promote calm, reduce tension and lower stress in animals. The Pet Professional Guild Australia is hosting a webinar presented by Rosalynd Taber, Thursday, February 18, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Cost is $20.00

How does your dog get along with your cat?

iCatCare’s Elizabeth Waring reviews a paper by Professor Daniel Mills from the University of Lincoln UK, and one of his students, Miriam Prior, investigating the efficacy of two commercially available pheromone products Feliway FriendsTM and AdaptilTM on promoting positive cat-dog relationships. Spotlight on Science: Pheromone use in multi-species homes 23rd December 2020