The Sunday Times Magazine • 35GARETH IWAN JONES FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES, ILLUSTRATION
©^ OFF THE LEASH (RUPERT FAWCETT)
Pooch corner
Dog beds that
are built to last
My cavapoo, Fudge, turned
his £15 bed from Pets at Home
into a plaything and it came
unstuffed, writes James Palmer.
Time for something sturdier...Bespoke Harris Tweed dog bed
From £95; chilcottuk.com
A stylish, tough, luxurious tweed
cushion, handmade on a farm in
the Brecon Beacons. It’s stuffed
with natural wool and the base is
waterproof, so I can flip it if Fudge
slumps on it after a wet walk.
Catch: no sides, just the cushion.Atomo pet bed
£119; petsandpods.com
For design and eco-conscious
owners of smaller dogs (maximum
cushion size 60cm). The firm,
fuzzy geometric body of the bed is
acoustic felt (as used in recording
studios), made from recycled
plastic that can be recycled again.
That won’t be necessary because,
looks-wise, it’s a keeper. Maybe too
smart for my scruffy hound...Wainwright’s self-heat square
From £40; petsathome.com
Not as stylish as the others — but
this is the one Fudge chose to curl
up and go to sleep in, with one of
my shoes for company. Its cushion
has a fluffy side with a warming
reflective layer. Come spring it
can be flipped to a cooler,
herringbone-design side. Catch:
must remember to do that.Your canine
conundrumsanswered
I can’t stop my dog
jumping up to greet
visitors, particularly
those he knows
best. He can sit on
command but gets
too excited — we
ignore him or brush
him to the side, but
he’s very persistent.
Any advice?
Mary, east LondonGraeme says Yo u
seem to be doing a few
of the right things, but
you may be missing a
trick. What’s in it for
him if he sits of his own
accord? Praise him
for making the right
choice (and give him
a treat if he’s food-
orientated) and he’ll
do it more often. He’s
craving attention, so
give it to him only when
his paws are firmly on
the ground. Be patient
and consistent — he’ll
soon get the message.Email your doggy
dilemma to dogslife@
sunday-times.co.uk2 Be careful with consequences
Behaviours that meet with
undesirable consequences
diminish. We’re not talking about
abuse or bullying here — there’s
no place for that. Instead, think
clever: withholding Flash the
collie dog’s ball until he stops
jumping and pawing at you, for
example, is a consequence he
doesn’t like — but the moment
his paws stay on the ground, his
owner flings the ball across the
park. Crafty, because it brings us
back to, and puts the focus on,
rewarding the good stuff.3 Get your timing spot-on
Dogs are super-logical about
timing. That is, they connect praise
(or tellings-off ) with whatever
they’re doing in the moment.
Getting angry with a puppy who
had a toilet accident in the middle
of the night when you come down
in the morning will only confuse
and upset them. “Why are you
mad with me? I’m sitting quietly
in my bed like a good girl.” Never
tell them off after the event
(better still, focus on rewarding
the behaviour you want at the
moment that’s happening).4 Practice makes permanent
Sure, you’ll need to repeat
training a lot to create a really
good habit, but if we threw Flash’s
ball at the wrong moment, we
would be setting him up to fail
by repeatedly encouraging the
wrong behaviour. Only perfect
practice makes perfect, so first
make sure you get it right —
and then keep at it.5 Watch your tone
Dogs don’t understand English
like we do, so make sure your tone
of voice matches your meaning.
Pleased with her? Is she a good
girl? Sound happy! Not so pleased
that she’s barking at the parcel-
delivery guy? Shouting at her frombehind sounds an awful lot like
you’re joining in with the barking.
Careful you don’t fuel the fire.6 Make your actions speak louder
There’s a lot of evidence now of
dogs’ ability to read our body
language and facial expressions.
If you’ve ever watched me on the
telly, you’ll have seen me switch
between my village-idiot smile and
disapproving-headmaster frown.
I’m sending clear signals that I back
up with my voice.7 All pet the dog
Touch is a powerful thing. Petting a
dog has been reported to lower our
heart rate and increase production
of oxytocin (the heart-protecting
“love hormone”) — and keep us
warm too (something the energy
supplier Ovo Energy reminded its
customers about recently). I’m sure
it’s good for dogs too, so don’t let
me stop you inviting them onto the
sofa for a nuzzle. Heresy, I know.8 Calm down!
Many behavioural problems are
different flavours of “too much
excitement”: pulling on the lead,
nuisance barking, aggression, even
anxiety. Odd, then, that we’re
often taught to use “whoopee-do”
praise all the time at puppy classes.
We rev them up — but then can’t
cope with the crazy thing we’ve
created. Encouraging calmness,
and rewarding it with calm praise,
is my approach. A lilting “goooood”
is better than a machinegun
staccato “There’s-a-good-girl!”9 Speed up!
So when is the right time to
promote excitement? Save it for
when you want to create more
speed, or to lift a dog that’s a bit
flat. No one wants a slow, plodding
recall, for example, so you can go
doolally with your praise when
they’re rocketing back towards you.
We can all calm down again later.10 Have fun
Life is hard enough sometimes
and you didn’t get a dog to make it
harder. Take your training seriously
— we’ve all got a responsibility to
bring up well-behaved dogs — but
don’t forget to have a few laughs
too. All work, no play, and all that nGraeme’s TV series, Dogs Behaving
(Very) Badly, is on Tuesdays at 8pm
on Channel 5. His live stage show
tours the UK from April to June.
Visit graemehalllive.com for details