Sitting down to write this, I am about to say how things seemed to have calmed since our nasty incident with the ball of fury, aka shouty man with dog. As I start to type I change where I was sitting and Cauta erupts in a barking frenzy… Say what? Just when you think things […]
New graduate Emma Lee, who works within a large rescue in France, has given permission for us to share her excellent thesis. This could be particularly useful to those who are involved in rescue. Emma’s points about aggression being a behaviour rather than a character trait are vital to accurate assessments and modification plans. Please click […]
I wanted to write about us running together with the wolf dog. How one day, as the sun was setting, we went up a hill and dropped the long line. Where he was no longer physically attached, but instead chose to stay with us. It felt a world of difference, very liberating and moving to […]
It has been a week of firsts. The first time Cauta returns to my call when half way between me and an unknown dog. The first time he lays his head on me. And then, the first time he falls asleep laying his head on me. From heavy, stressed panting he falls into a deep, […]
Episode 10 in the story of Rowena and Cauta’s journey together. Cauta is, in Romanian terms, a ‘medium sized’ dog. Which means he is nearly German Shephard size. But not quite. And every few steps whilst out, comments will revolve around ‘oo, that’s a big one,’, ‘he’s huge,’, ‘isn’t he dominant?’, ‘bet he’s strong’, ‘oo […]
We have a new course opening soon! The Advanced Diploma in Canine Behaviour course will launch on the 1st September this year, in tandem with the 6th birthday of the ISCP! The course tutor will be Teresa Tyler, with Tom Candy on hand as her teaching partner, and the course syllabus is the equivalent to Level 6, degree […]
‘What does it all mean?!?’ Declared in an existential way, shaking a fist at the sky whilst standing alone on the peak of a craggy mountain. Well, not really, in more of a quiet, less dramatic way, whilst frowning into a coffee cup. Cauta is in the corner, splayed out, chin to floor, still, breathing […]
We spent the weekend on a workshop for rescue dogs. We work on training me to pick up more nuances in Cauta’s behaviour. Trying to fine tune observations, or as the behaviourist Roz Pooley says, ‘listen with our eyes.’ I start to see more clearly the anxiety that could lie behind the blustering. The silent […]
Our competition for a free place on the ISCP diploma course and goodies for the dogs has now ended. Drum roll, please! The winning number, via a random number generator, is 403, Pawprints Dog Rescue in Rugby. Congratulations from all of us at the ISCP, and many, many thanks to all of you who nominated […]
Episode 7 of ISCP member Rowena’s adventures with Cauta, her adopted Romanian street dog. I have been thinking on how our companion animals can become a lightning rod for frustrations in other parts of our lives. Something as outwardly simple as pulling on a lead can become multi layered and complex when seen in the […]
