Firstly an apology, unfortunately I due to illness I had to take just over a week off which did impact the response time for emails - I apologise to those that were affected.
After years of managing to avoid covid, I was completely knocked off my feet as were the whole family after we all went down with it one by one! This meant that for days our dogs didn't get their daily walks & their routines were all over the place, so this month I have included some activities to try with your box that can be done when you, their human, isn't feeling their best
We are still looking for a range of testers from younger pups to senior dogs as well as dogs living with conditions which impacts their health each month so if you would like to be involved I would love to hear from you just drop us a message at hello@cognitivecanineco.co.uk
As always if there are products, activities that you would like to see featured just drop us a message as Laura &Waffle
Duvet Day Activities
Interactive Toys & Puzzles
Appropriate chew toys & chews
Snuffle & foraging activities
Keepitlowkey
Having a bank of toys and activities is incredibly useful, especially when you’re ill and unable to provide your dog their usual daily walks and playtime. This armoury of tools ensure that your dog remains mentally stimulated, physically engaged and emotionally content even when you’re not at your best. Interactive toys & puzzles challenge your dog’s mind, preventing boredom and the development of destructive behaviours. Chew toys satisfy their natural urge to chew providing a healthy outlet for energy, snuffle , forage and scent work activities are great for helping dogs lower their heart rate & boost happy hormones. We also recommend interactive storytime with audio books, the sound of your voice, or a narrator’s, can be comforting to your dog and you can find lots online thats you will both enjoy whilst you rest together.
Relaxing activities we recommend
Long lasting chew
Stuffed interactive toy Rest
So what is enrichment?
Enrichment is defined as ‘something you add to your dog’s environment that they choose to interact with and that has a positive impact on their psychological or physical well being.’
Although this sounds complicated, it's really easy to do and just involves adding some simple but fun activities to your dogs day - it can be as simple as just scattering some of their food on the floor!
Providing our dogs with adequate mental stimulation can be just as important as meeting their physical needs, and can help to prevent a wide range of problems that occur when our dogs become bored and understimulated such as excessive barking, destructive behaviour and hyperactivity
To provide the best possible activities for our dogs, we need to look at the natural behaviours and activities that they enjoy. These will vary from breed to breed and dog to dog, for example if you have a scent hound providing some activities that involve sniffing are going to be really popular, where as a Border Collie might enjoy the challenge of a puzzle type activity.
Enrichment Top Tips
The most important thing to remember with any enrichment activity is that the aim is to make your dogs life more interesting, not more difficult. We've broken down all the enrichment activities in this guide in to step by step actions to make sure that you're working at your dogs pace and not asking too much from them. If we ask them to do something too complicated such as a puzzle toy that they don't understand, they're likely to become frustrated or lose interest - it may even put them off trying other activities in the future, so starting off simple can really help.
The activities we can do with our dogs fall into two categories:
Engagement/ Bonding Activities - these involve you being interactive and present with your dog and will increase the bond between you. This means your dog will be more attentive to you in general, not just when your training.
Independent Activities - These are activities you can leave your dog to do while you're busy or stuck for time, and can help to calm and tire your dog. Both are important and a healthy mix of both is the best way forward
A tired dog is a happy dog....
"A tired dog is a happy dog" is a phrase that's used a lot. Tired can mean a lot of different things, for example you could feel tired and relaxed after a chilled out day. Alternatively you could feel absolutely exhausted and just not being able to stay awake after something that's physical or mentally strenuous, which is definitely not a happy experience! Providing the right balance of mental stimulation, physical exercise and rest ensures our dogs can feel a relaxed and happy tired, rather than just exhausted from too much running around.
Snuffle Cage Ball Product Guide
This neat little ball is so versatile, which is why we love it so much! The Hot-ee roller can be played with as it is, or built into enrichment puzzles like the one you have in this months box. We will take you through some variations to try later in the guide.
Tips for success:
1.
Start Easy! When introducing puzzles such as this, make the variations simple. This will allow your dog some time to get used to the activity and how it works.
2.
Don't stuff with items that are too large i.e items that you struggle to put in yourself. We want any variations to gradually increase in difficulty but dont want them to be impossible. We have thumbs but I can tell you from experience that its virtually impossibly to get a tennis ball inside one so imaging how hard it will be if you can only use your mouth
3.
Modify if needed. USe what your dog loves, if you have a dog that loves to shred, integrate some brown paper in the puzzle (we use brown paper in our packaging so you can use this as part of your activity.
To set your dog uo for success, remove the roller once the activity or game is completed as whilst the hol-ee roller is durable it will live longer if used specifically for enrichment activities
Product Guide
Tiddlers
Fish4Dogs® crunchy, grain free, Sea Jerky
Fish Tiddlers are small, delicious, 100%
white fish skin treats that are naturally abrasive to help support your dog’s dental health, and low in calories too. Dental care, naturally abrasive, lower in calories, 100%
white fish skin, crunchy & delicious.
World of Food Treats
Wonderful World of Treats have embarked on a mission to make treat time an extraordinary experience for both pet parents and their fourlegged companions. This exciting, new brand has been looking at foods us humans love to eat and reformulated them, so they are both healthy and irresistible to our dog’s.
Forthglade dental Sticks
Natural dental sticks for dogs that are designed by vets to help to remove plaque and tartar, freshen breath and support strong teeth.
Please note that if you have a dog with dietary intolerances or allergies, alternative suitable products will be provided depending on your dog’s dietary requirements
Recipe Idea
Quick & Simple
Ingredients
Fruit - rasperries, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries
Low fat or fat free Greek yoghurt
Method
Wash, chop and blitz the fruit into a liquid
Pour into a mould
Top with low fat or greek yoghurt
Freeze
Activity One
Non-food Variation
This activity is a great alternative for dogs who love to rip and shred as the act of pulling the paper out is similar to pulling the stuffing out of a toy so super satifying for them
Using shredable paper, such as the brown paper included in your box, you are going to simply just stuff it all into the ball
Alternatives to paper
If your dog is likely to eat paper, these are some good activity to try:
stuff the ball with some of your dogs chew toys (which are not going to be impossible for them to get out) such as a yak chew, nylabone etc 1.
Toilet roll centres, simply pop a few of these in your ball 2. Use some strips of your fabric threaded through the ball which your dog can “pull out” 3.
Activity Two
For Food Motivated Dog’s
All you will need is some paper tubes and some treats
we are going to add 2-4 toilet rolls inners with some treats in each and rough up/scrunch the edges so the treats don't all fall out immediately this now turns into a cool puzzle your dog needs to navigate to find those tasty treats
The Best of both worlds
In the final variation we are going to combine the best of both worlds. For this option we are going to need some treats, toilet roll inners, some chew toys and some fabric/tea towel. We are going to lay the fabric flat lenghways, pop some treats inside and fold over and pull thrpugh our ball so that our dog can pull out. We are going to add some toilet rolls with treats as we did in the option above and we are also going to pop a few chew toys in there e.g. nylabone, yak chew, forth glade dental stick, beco bone etc These are great puzzles for mental stimulation, alleviating boredom and can help motivate dogs who arent interested in free feeding
First aid at home
by Meg Richards RVN
My name is Meg and I am a Registered Veterinary Nurse, working in a referral practice in Cornwall.
I am very passionate about equipping pet owners with up to date, relevant information in order to best take care of their animals. I believe that knowing what to do in a first aid emergency is an essential part of pet ownership.
Dogs and Heatwaves
Over the past few weeks, we have experienced extreme temperatures here in the UK, and despite there being easily accessible information all over the internet and social media about how to take care of our pets in the hot weather, heatstroke is unfortunately still a condition we treat frequently within veterinary practice.
Heatstroke
Heatstroke can be fatal, and it is important that you act quickly. Dogs struggle with heat, as they cannot sweat like humans. They have thick coats and self-regulate their temperatures by panting. If the weather is hot, panting may not cool your pet down fa nosed) breeds such as Pugs and Frenc geriatric and those with particularly lo more.
Signs of Heatstroke
Excessive panting
Trouble breathing
Vomiting or diarrhoea
Dark red or purple gum colour
Weakness or collapse
Hypersalivation
Disorientation
Seizures
If your pet has been out in direct sun or appears to have any of those signs or symptoms in the hot weather, contact your veterinary practice immediately.
What can I do to help cool my pet whilst I speak to the vet?
Cool your pet. Hose or douse them with cool water – use tepid water and not ice or freezing water to avoid cooling too quickly which could send the body into shock
Move your pet into a cool place, out of direct sunlight
Give them cool water to lap slowly
Wet a towel and place under the pet
Do not place a towel over your pet, this can further hold in heat
Turn on a fan or air conditioning
Cool packs or cold fridge items wrapped in a tea towel can be used, never to be applied in one area for more than 2 minutes at a time
If you have a thermometer at home, take your dog’s temperature A normal temperature for a dog is anywhere between 38 and 39 degrees Celsius, although there are slight fluctuations between individuals
How can I prevent heat stroke?
In warmer weather (anything over 19 degrees), do not exercise your pet during the hottest part of the day, which is usually between 11am-3pm
Where possible, walk them somewhere where there is a body of water in the cooler parts of the day
Avoid long trips in the car
Keep shaded areas in the house – keep the curtains closed
Purchasing cool mats and bandanas can help
Offer access to fresh water at all times
Add water to your dog’s food to keep them hydrated
Feed frozen treats or Kong’s
*Taking your pet’s temperature is routinely carried out rectally
We absolutely love seeing your pups with our amazing products so don't forget to share and tag us on social media with your vids and pics or email them to us at hello@cognitivecanineco.co.uk, and we'll get straight back to you! Don't forget to use #caninebrainbox
