Wipe your feet Hamish!

After a good walk with Hamish up in the woods where he played nicely with the other dogs and only once looked to get over the top of another dog so that's progress, we arrived home and he went for a drink which he dribbled and then stood in! The dust in his paws turned to mud and he left dirty prints on the kitchen floor.

The point of this blog is that I decided to pick him up and put him in the study where dirty paw prints can be vacuumed away easily. As I tried to pick him up he got aggy and went to bite my hand. I put him down and corrected him and he immediately backed down so no dramas. The point here is all dogs should be used to being handled from an early age. You should be able to check every part of your dog and most certainly be able to pick them up in case of emergencies etc. Also how will your vet fare if you don't handle your dog and he / she has to what will happen!

So my advice, every day use treats to distract/reward your dog whilst you groom and touch all parts of your dog! Start off by looking as if you are cuddling your dog and build up to slightly moving them off the floor and quickly back down again. You will know how to progress it by naturally feeling your dogs energy and stress until you can pick he or she up and carry them round.

Carry them by putting your left arm around the chest of your dog as it faces to your left and your right arm behind the upper legs before gently squeezing so as to support the whole body!

Any problems give me a shout!

Cheers, Steve