Good Luck from Grace ( Modelling the picture ! ) and Dinky Daisy ( who did not feel like modelling in the picture ! ) and Emily xxxx
Free Printable list of the beaches in Cornwall that you can take your dog on all year round in 2017, including in the summer. Make sure you are not disappointed when you go on your holiday in Cornwall and choose a dog friendly beach that you can all go on.
Before Easter, in Cornwall, you will find dogs being walked on all the beaches – once the Easter Holiday strikes a many of the beaches become off limits for your dog.
Here I list the beaches, in a free printable booklet, that are Dog Friendly all year round in Cornwall – 2017. So if you want your dog to enjoy your holiday as much as you make sure you choose the beach that all the family can enjoy.
Click here for free printable of Dog Friendly Beaches in Cornwall 2017
Would you like to Enter our Flower Power, VW Bus handmade Yogadogs Dog Bandanna Competition – click this link to find out how Click here to Enter
Learn how to train your dog to play the ‘give me a cuddle’ game and reinforce a good training habit that both you and your dog loves to do everyday !
How to train your dog to learn new skills and play games with you builds a stronger bond between owner and dog. It simulates your dog and reinforces positive engaging play and learning. The best way to train your dog is to keep the training sessions short, rewarding ( usually with treats) and done on a regular basis.
The most important thing to remember when training your dog is to never force a behaviour, feed into their natural instincts and read your dogs mood. You will always get the best results if you work with your dog and not against them.
So to the training…
I love when I get a cuddle from my two dogs and they do most of this game naturally so this game is a good one to start with
Before you start with this training why not check out the four most important training lessons you must teach your new dog or puppy – this will then lay the basics down – Four most important lessons to teach your dog
As I said this is a great training exercise to begin with and can really help bond you and your dog / puppy
Why not try training your dog to tidy up their toys training
Books to buy to help you train your puppy
Good luck and please let me know how your cuddle training goes ( photos are always great and I love a good dog cuddle human photo to cheer my day up!)
Emily xx
If you have a new dog or puppy, here are a few simple things that you can do to make sure that your dog becomes a well-balanced, happy canine.The one thing that you hear a lot about is the ‘S’ word. Socialisation is a very important thing in the dog world but repeatedly it goes wrong. Here Emma from eccaines who is a professional dog trainer and runs training classes and flyball classes, tells us her top four must puppy training areas that will help your puppy become calm, happy and on the road to being a well-behaved, well-rounded adult dog.
Emma says that she trains dogs by, “…using patience and the latest in dog knowledge we can train your dog the way dogs are meant to be trained. No more forceful techniques or gadgets, EC Canines will allow your dog to be itself while teaching it how to behave” So who better than Emma to give us puppy or new dog owners ( including people who may have an older rescue dog) some tips.
How to teach your puppy how to approach dogs :
Socialisation takes place every time dogs meet. Teaching your dog to approach and greet dogs calmly goes a long way to the meetings being successful. Small puppies go through a fear period anywhere between 6 to 12 weeks depending on breed. During this period, it is very important that any introductions are done very carefully. Teach the dog to walk past other dogs without fuss and ignoring them. This is important as not all dogs want to be approached. Remember, once your dog is an adult, it will come acr
oss young dogs. Your dog will then become the teacher,
Not all people love dogs as much as we do and dog hair is not a fashion accessory for them. Having your dog meet new people calmly, or even ignore them when asked, can be very important. Especially for small children or frail adults, who may easily be bowled over by even a small excitable dog.
Having a calm dog may seem to be impossible when you have a bouncy puppy or anxious rescue but it is an important part of training so start at home when your dog is lying quietly. Take time to sit with them and treat and stroke and cuddle them when they are calm. When they are being over the top and excitable, try to find out the reason. Walks, training and food all become a factor if a dog is constantly over excited and if you are unsure of the reasons a professional dog trainer will be able to help.
Out on a walk, your dog should also stay calm and walk on a loose lead. Training this from as early as possible is the best way with a puppy, though, with dedication can become possible for your older dog too.
Calmness can also be achieved by practicing impulse control. For higher energy, more excitable dogs, this can be the best way to teach them. By teaching the dog this you can also teach them when they are allowed to be excited e.g, during flyball, agility or even just out on a run, to burn off some of that energy. After all, we don’t always want our dogs to be laid back layabouts!!
To cope with the times your dogs can get truly excitable, good basic commands can help. Having a strong Sit, Down or Stand, Stay and Recall, can help control a dog that is boiling over with excitement or anxiety.
Everyone who owns a dog, especially obedient ones, consider themselves a dog trainer, and if you are out and about with your unruly mutt it can get truly overwhelming with the amount of information that is out there, and with everyone thinking they know best about how to train your dog.
When looking for a dog trainer, keep an eye out for words like Positive reinforcement, gentle handling, and treating your dog as an individual.
Try to steer clear of those claiming to b a ‘pack leader’ and needing to punish or reprimand your dog.
e no quick fixes: With true dog trainers and behaviourists there are no quick fixes. All punishing a behaviour does is to repress the behaviour, instead of trying to find the reason behind it.
Today, Dog trainers are more like psychologists and should be willing to work with you and your dog to help your dog overcome anything that may have become a problem, working on long-term fixes and not quick fixes.
To find out more about this type of training, go to my website eccaines and have a look.
If you need a dog trainer closer to home, check the IMDT website, which will give you the names of qualified dog trainers in your area.
We would like to thank Emma for her advice and we can’t wait to here from her again
If you would like to talk to others who own dogs / puppies why not join our friendly Facebook page All things Dog
This post was kindly written by Emma Carpenter who runs classes in Cornwall, she offers group classes, one to one and flyball – to contact her please click on her website link below
E C Canines
www.eccanines.co.uk
Duchy Dashers Flyball Club
www.ddflyballclub.co.uk
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A little about me…
I am a writer ( and a librarian in the day ) who lives on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, I love my two dogs, Grace a English Bulldog and Dinky Daisy my French Bulldog.
They inspired me to write this dog related blog and also to set up a business to sell handmade dog items – the problem being I only have one hundred pounds start up money.
Follow us on the ups and downs of living on the Moor, being 40 years old and wanting to succeed at something in my life but having to do it with not much at all but drive and enthusiasm x
I am always happy for you to contact me for product reviews, guest blogging, writing for you or if you just have a question
If you would like to contact me please feel free to e-mail me
Emily Jones
E mail – [email protected]
If you would like to send me something pet related or small business start-up related for a review that will have a post written about, adverts with links and social media exposure – please e mail me for a price and conditions – [email protected]
I am always happy to review well produced products and requests from guest bloggers, if you would like to talk to me, e-mail me – please take a look at my review page to see earlier reviews I have done for other companies
I am always happy to look at writing for other people, so if you are interested in me writing for you and would like to discuss further then email me in the first instance leaving your phone number and I will call you to discuss.
I would love to hear from you
Emily Jones
Instructions on how to train your dog how to tidy up their toys and how to make it into a game your dog will love to play. Follow these easy instructions to train your dog by doing only 10 minutes a day. This is part of a number of posts I write on dog training. take a look at my other games including ‘giving you a cuddle’ and ‘high five’.
Why not teach your dog to clear up their own toys, you can by making it into a fun game.
What you need
Toy Box / Toy Basket
Dog toys
Healthy small dog treats
Important information before you start :
The best way of teaching this game is to not to make the training sessions too long – good amount of time is to do about 5 to 10 minutes a day
Only play this game, if your dog is enjoying it and is actively engaged with the game. Don’t ever force your dog to do any action or game if it is causing them distress…now to the training
Enjoy this training session and I would love to hear how you get on with your dogs new-found confidence in tidying up their toys – comments and photos of how your training is going are welcomed and you never know, you may end up on the next post !
If you need a new toy box why not buy this – clicking on this link costs you no more but gives me a few pennies to keep this blog going.
Have a good day, Emily x
credit to photographer
This blog is written to help you parents of both children and dogs these are some activities that are based for your children and your family dog to do together – please read on to find activities for children and dogs to do together.
You have been so busy you haven’t even had time to have a wee in the last 4 hours, it is a Saturday and you still have the whole house to clean which looks like a tornado has whipped through it and then you hear those dreaded words from your children … “I’m Bored”. You say something like why don’t you all play out in the garden – but you know deep down that this is not going to wash as an idea, that they can sense that you have just relied on the old go play out in the garden line that you always fall back on . That there is no way they are going to say ”what a wonderful idea Mum, you are so amazing” whilst running out in to the garden singing your praises , leaving you to clean the house
They are looking for more from you and before you have even pressed the on button on the Hoover the little angels start the bored routine – jumping on the sofa, fighting with each other until one ends up crying and running around the house hitting each other with anything to hand – empty toilet rolls, socks and towels were always a favourite in our house.
Then you see your dog lying in its bed waiting for something exciting to happen like the appearance of the lead or food bowl…now you feel guilty that you haven’t walked the dog yet or spent much time with her. So two lots of guilt, bored children and bored dog – it is time to come up with a plan. Games for both children and dogs to do together.
Encouraging and building a trusting, respectful and bonding relationship between your children and your family dog is vital for your dogs well-being and health, it also teaches your children so many life skills. It is important that your children know how to treat their dog with respect and care and that they have the tools to give their dog direction and commands that your dog follows.
One way to do this is to use fun activities that both your children and dog can to do together.
Hopefully this list of activities will help
1. Treasure hunt
This needs a bit of fore thought, but worth the bit of effort– go and hide little treats for your children ( in little Tupperware boxes , so your dog doesn’t eat them by accident), Easter is coming up why not do it with little Easter eggs and a treat for your dog around the garden – write clues indicating where the treats are on pieces of paper folded in half and put in a jar.
One child reads the clue and calls the dog to her/his side – gives the command to sit and gives her a small treat to get her interested in the game.
The children will take it in turns to go outside to find the treat following the directions on the clue – the child that reads the clue is the one who is in charge of the dog and calls the dog to looks for the treat, do this by pointing under things for your dog to look, voice tone (e.g excited tone when asking the dog to sniff in a certain places, a normal tone if telling the dog that the treat is not there). The rest of the group sits down and supports the child looking for the treat by giving ideas where the treat might be.
Once the treat have been found they can start again – another child can choose the clue from the jar – now it is the turn of that child to be charge of the dog – starting the process with giving the dog a small treat again.
This could be done on the time trial basis – see which child can do a clue the fastest, the children who are not looking for the clue can not help but instead time each other.
2. Join the Junior Kennel Club
This is a club based with the Kennel Club and has amazing things for your child to do with their dog – If I was a child I would have loved to have been part of this club. It is only fifteen pounds for the year, and for that you gets loads.
Read their Blurb from the Kennel Club Website
“Members receive FREE tickets for Crufts and Eukanuba Discover Dogs, access to our dog training days, entry to our great competitions and events, so there are always opportunities to make new friends – furry or not!
When it comes to learning whilst having fun, you’ve come to the right place. You and your dog will get the best training there is, with Kennel Club experts teaching:
Our senior members are also there to help when you need. They’ve often been with us since they were very young, so they’re the best people to lead our activities.
Click here to visit The Junior Kennel Club
So back to some more activities for children and dogs
So if it is raining outside and your children need to do a quieter activity why not get them writing, how about a blog…stay with me on this,
3. As a librarian and avid writer I would like invite your children to send a blog post to be added on Yoga Dogs.
I love to have dog stories on my blog page so…
Why not get your children to write a blog post and tell them that it will be put on the internet for others to read.
They can write about anything dog related – it needs to be one piece of A4 or shorter in length – include a photo or photos ( no photos of the child writing needs to be sent, as I know a lot of parents do not want photos of their children on the internet) so think dog photos, action shots, holiday snaps – get the idea.
This piece needs to be written on a Word Doc so I can transfer it to my site – with a bit about the Author, how old and about their dog and a contact email so I can let you know when the post is added.
Ideas for blog posts;
Send their finished blog post to me [email protected] and leave a comment under this post to let me know that you have submitted a post.
4. Hide and Seek
In this game one of your children is in charge and tells your dog to ’stay’. Either that child or one of the others goes and hides with a dog treat in their hand – tell them not to hide in a really hard place the first few times so your dog can learn what she needs to do in the game. Give the dog the command ‘find’ and send them off to look.
When they have hidden they call the dog’s name about three times and they then do not say anything to give the dog time to work out where to find them. Each time they play this game they need to hide in harder and harder places to really challenge the dog.
This is great training for your dog and soon you will be able to hide the dog treat without someone holding it – you can then move on to hiding a toy by showing your dog a toy and then without the dog seeing hide the toy and give the dog a command like ‘find’ to start the game
5. Write a book
You will need some paper, folded in the middle to make a blank book, pens and a camera / phone camera and colouring pens – put supplies on a table with chairs around.
Ask the children to write a story called ‘My adventures with(Your dog’s name). Tell them they need to come up with a make-believe adventure that they have been on with their dog.
How about;
Me and my dog went into space
Me and my dog had to find who stole the towns gold
Me and my dog stepped into another world
Me and my dog got into our time machine that we had hidden in our bedroom and ended up in the year…..
Once your children have an idea it is time to make the book cover, give them some books to look at so they get an idea what needs to be on the cover – such as a catchy title, authors name and picture of the story – make it special for them to write their story -writing to me is everything and maybe this could be the start of your child’s writing journey – Often the relationship between your dog and child is very strong – often they have grown up together so for your child to write a story their dog will be a great start to a journal that can develop as they get older and add to it – I love the look of the Diary of an Awesome kid as a keepsake type of journal.
Now it is time to leave them to write their story – they need to write on one side of the folded paper and the other side is to put a picture on or a pencil note of the sort of photo they would like.
When they have written the story it is time to make the pictures they want to put in – they can do this by photographing the dog. I would suggest watching the dog carefully as he or she goes about their daily business as opportunities for snaps will present themselves – or if the dog is in the mood they can try and set up scenes, remember to make these photo shoots fun and rewarding for the dog. ( It is important to explain to your children that your dog is not a professional model and so may not pose in the way they want and to never to force your dog to do anything they are not happy doing ) tell them they could have a page for outtakes !
You will now have to upload the photos onto the computer and get them printed – either with the use of your own printer or you can always find great deals online to get them sent to you printed ( it is kind of fun to get you photos through the post ) – Try Super Snaps, get your photos printed and to help with the cost I am offering you 10% off when you click the link below !
10% OFF Super Snaps – Promo Code SUPER10
Once you have the photos get them to stick them into their books – time to read their finished product.
Hope you enjoyed the above activities, please feel free to add your activities in the comments – we can all do with ideas sometimes to help our day go that little more smoothly and it is amazing to see your children and dogs play side by side.
It is International Women’s Day, such inspiring stories of amazing women..so I am a women – do I feel that I have succeed, inspired others been influential ? Well, truthfully no I don’t
As a 40 and a bit, cubby old tracksuit wearing woman who has been ‘trying’ her whole life but feeling like she never ‘succeeds’ at anything. Recently I have started to question why that is. As I sit here in my living room looking around at where I am I start thinking to myself – how did this all happen? How did it happen that I’ve ended up sat in front of a laptop, in a little house living with my husband and parents in law and two dogs on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall.
As a little girl I wanted to ‘be’ something, thinking about it now I am not really sure what that means –‘be something?’. Is it to be noticed by lots of people? To be respected as an expert on a subject? To be famous? To own a highly successful business? I am not sure anymore. I just know that I don’t feel that I am, well, anything.
So how did I end up at 40 and a bit, living with my husband and parent in laws (not forgetting my two dogs) on Bodmin Moor? Chance? Bumbling along and banging into life opportunities and encounters? Again I am not really sure. Is this what my being something looks like…? I hope not.
I have anchors that pin points big life moments – my Mum dying when I was 19 years old and in my first term in University, my daughter being born when I was 20 , again when I was at University and becoming a young single mum, the meeting of my husband at a friend’s retirement party in a night club and the move to Bodmin Moor to live with his parents. Then I have smaller but still noteworthy moments in my life that have also shaped where I’ve ended up , my Dad moving away to France with his new wife, my sister moving to Australia with her now husband thus leaving me with very little family in the UK.
The thing I am sure of is that I am not where I want to be – don’t get me wrong – I don’t mean in a physical sense, mentally, I know I am not there yet.
How do I know this? Many things highlight that I am not where I want to be… I still have that little green envious monster lurking in the pit of my stomach when ( by accident, I am not searching) I look at old friends facebook walls and with the help of face book they all look like they have magazine type lifestyles – well worked out beautiful bodies, happy children, happy marriages, businesses that are doing well etc. So back to me…Do you know the ‘box’ – you know the box others put you in with a big label on – what does your label say – mine says in big bold letters – Not done great
My family have been put me in the ‘messed my life up box’ or in simple terms ‘it’s just Emily’ I know my place, and that is at the bottom of the family ladder of successfulness – the worse thing of being in that box is that I do not have voice. I am only noticed only when I am discussed around the table when I have made or done a life change – I make a good story to tell and gossip about – ‘did you hear? Emily has had a baby at 20?…OMG no really has she, well we are going have to now support her, she will not be able to do that on her own or cope, that poor baby…’ and so on (I would just like to point out that my daughter is amazing – she is in her final year at University heading for a 1st) . I love my family and they are great but I know that I am looked at with that ‘slight pity look mixed with I am so glad I am not her look’
This post sound like a big old moan, I don’t mean it to come across like that I am just trying to understand how I became the grown up version of me…
I am a trier as I said, I strive to feel that I am something, successful and respected. I have done many things – a Law degree, working as a librarian, a family venture social enterprise, many evening classes from British Sign Language to jewleraly making – none of these have come to much and I have never felt that I fit into them.
So as I said I don’t feel that I have succeeded in anything, maybe to some it is not important to feel successful or that you have made ‘it’ but to me it is. So to this blog ’ Yogadogs’ – I am a secret blogger – I write in between cleaning the house, in between the yelling’s from my husband of ‘ make the tea love’ or at night whilst everyone is sleeping, I look at the pictures on instagram of the beautiful cream desks, with sewing machines on, shelves above, the odd pot plant to make the space yen and I can only dream of a work space. Me I am balancing my laptop on my lap on a sofa with a pile of ironing on the side and two dogs draped over the tiny bit of lap I have left – I don’t know why I am writing this blog and setting up a dog brand up in my semi secret way…I am making out it is nothing important, why ? – I suppose I have little faith in my ability ( with the words of my husband still ringing my ears of – no point you putting any money into this, loads of people are doing the same thing – just make it into a little hobby love’ but it is important to me, to make a success out of this, to hush the voice in my head telling me I am wasting my time. I need this venture to make ‘it’. Yogadogs is not just about my dogs, it is just as much about me – blogging is not just writing, it involves so much more than that, it is going to put me out there – selling my brand to people, putting my blog and dog clothes out in the market with a absolute belief that it is good and that people will want to buy into it, buy into me…
I felt the need to write this post when I woke up this morning, maybe writing about me it is a leap of faith that I can and will do this. I am writing this between my husband asking me important life questions that only I have the answers– where are my trousers? what is for lunch and look the dog has had a wee on the floor you better wipe that up before it ruins the wooden floor, but through getting out the kitchen roll to clean up dog wee, getting his trousers from where he left them and telling him he was having the gourmet lunch of cheese and pickle sandwiches, I have continued to write this.
I suppose I wanted to understand how I got here, sat in front of my laptop writing a blog and making bandannas for dogs on my little sewing machine. I don’t think I have come up with the answer although maybe it is time to leave my fears behind and step into the shoes of a business owner and blogger and own who I want to be and keep going.
My day job is that of a librarian, I love books and I read a lot. Of course you all know that my other love is dogs so combining these passions are a must for me. Dog Books !!
I thought I would share my favourite dog inspired books – this list will be added to as I continue my reading so please check back from time to time
This read is what it says on the title; Mark Wallington walks the South West Coastal Path with his friend’s dog. They start in Somerset and walk the five hundred route through Devon and Cornwall.
Neither of them are prepared or your standard ‘walker’ and his dog is more used to travelling on the London Underground than seeing rabbits and the delights that the countryside has to offer them both. I love the personal journeys that they both take in learning how to understand the walk that they are undertaking.
This book follows their adventures walking from place to place, with descriptive narrative on each place they visit – I think this is a go back to book, not only as a story but as a guide to amazing coastal walks.I have used this book time and time again and found some astounding places in my home county of Cornwall.
You might have seen the film; to be honest I cannot watch the film without crying like a baby. The book is just as good or I would say even better. This is a get wrapped up in a blanket, get a cuppa, turn off the phone and read type of book.
Think Dog: An Owner’s guide to Canine Psycology by John Fisher
This book looks at how our dogs see the world – it is a dogs point of view on things.
I can’t be the only one that looks at my dog and wonders what they are thinking – I am hoping this book will help answer that for me.
“In this seminal pet psychology book, John Fisher examines the mind of the dog with examples taken from his practical experience, with the aim of explaining to owners how the world appears from a dog’s point of view.”
Then in the second part of the book he looks at the A – Z of common dog behaviour problems
I will let you know what I think once I have had a read
4. This is my holiday pick
A Dog’s Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron
What a lovely book, this one is to be read whilst sat on a sunny patio or in a hammock on a beach holiday, holding a cool drink – this book is going to make you smile. It is a “…dog’s-eye commentary on human relationships and the unbreakable bonds between man and man’s best friend. A moving and beautifully crafted story teaches us that love never dies, that our true friends are always with us, and that every creature on earth is born with a purpose”
Pets at Home homepage
Hope you have enjoyed my top dog book picks – as I said this post is in working progress – so if like me you love books keep following to find out my next reads.
Enjoy reading
Emily, Grace and Dinky Daisy x
My top five interactive dog toys :
I do have to work, at home, but still I need time where I don’t need to be entertaining my French Bulldog, Dinky Daisy and English Bulldog, Grace. When I am trying to do something it only takes 5 minutes and my dogs are bored – I am looking at five interactive dog toys that will boredom bust
Interactive toys are great – They keep changing what they do, make your dog use its brain and keeps them busy and focused.
How about the Bob-a-Lot toy – keeps moving – they push and it comes back up, and they have to work out how to get the treats ! This is a good starter interactive dog toy if you have not tried them before
Or I love this two toys that are a bit like board games for dogs – the first one is a game that your dog can play on their own.
2. Trixie Dog Activity Flip Board 23 cm
or you could try 3. Dogit 3-in-1 Mind games ( this one is a game to play along with your dog – kids and dogs entertained at the same time, can’t be bad)
4. This is on my wish list of dog interactive toys – I think my French Bulldog, Dinky, would enjoy working this out – hours of fun !
The Nina Ottosson Dog Brick Activity Toy boasts the following…
5. Now, I am not sure if mine would be able to work this out, but if you have clever dogs who need an extra challenge then this is the must interactive dog toy for you
Trixie Dog Strategiespiel Gambling Tower
This involves your dog pulling the platforms in a certain order to get the treats – Do you think your dog is clever enough – challenge on !