Purple Pup

20/06/2026

I absolutely love this! 👌I wish everyone prioritised what their animals friends were telling them. 🥰

I wanted to ride - but my horse didn’t.

Yesterday I finally had time to ride Mayana again after more than 10 days. The weather was good too. Not too hot, no horse flies, no rain.

I took all tack down to tack her up. She was still ok to put the halter on, came to the grooming place and was happy as long as I focused on brushing over itchy spots.

But when I was done with grooming, and about to saddle up, she was clear about leaving.

(I never tie my horses up for grooming - this way, I always get good feedback about where the horse is emotionally that day.)

Misbehaving horse? She has to stand still?

No, for me this is feedback. Sometimes she needs to go for a quick p**p or p*e before she is happy to put the saddle on.

So i let her go. But she went straight to the bedding area in the shelter and went to stand at her spot where she always takes her naps.

Hm…

Alright. Disappointment creeping in. I really wanted to ride.

But I know Mayana - she either is happy to go for a ride, or not.

And when she gives a clear yes, she will stand at liberty for tacking up!

So, this was a clear “I don’t feel like it today. And on top, it's my nap time. Please not now.”

That little voice “come on, just take her anyways” was there and it would have been so easy.

But then the other voice kicked in "hey, whats most important? Why do you love horses?"

Mayana is my precious and riding is really just the cherry on the cake. My main goal is to spend a good time with her and knowing she has fun too.

So, I went to her, took the halter off, put it away and sat down on the wooden beam that keeps the bedding where its supposed to be.

Masi, Tara and Salimah joined us and we had a nice 45 minute nap all together in the shelter. ( I obviously came right before collective nap time...)

Mayana and Masi with their heads over mine. It was so calming and relaxing.

After 45 minutes they woke up, wanted some scratches and then wandered off.

I got their dinners and fed them as it was time.

And afterwards - Mayana came and stood at the gate looking at me “can we do something together now?”

“Yes, we can go on a walk in the forest!”

And we had the most happy, energizing and relaxing walk in the forest! With a happy, ears forward, bouncy Mayana who clearly enjoyed our time together.

You know, I 100x prefer to just sit with my horse or change plans and just go on a walk if I feel my horse doesn’t feel right that day, than ride anyways and have a mediocre ride.

Why do I have horses?

Because I love them, because I see them as my friends and my first priority is that we all have a good time.

Yes, I love riding and I love the feel of a good ride, of making progress and feeling my horse move well.

But it's the second motivation. And I do my best to never let it override my first priority.

I know when Mayana says YES to riding, we have the most amazing rides. I rather have 1 amazing ride a week, then 4 rides that feel pushed and mediocre.

What would you have done?

P.s.: today she said YES to riding and we did have an amazing ride!

19/06/2026

19/06/2026

PREVENTING BEHAVIOUR PROBLEMS IN DOGS : THE IMPORTANCE OF GASTRO INTESTINAL HEALTH

A significant number and majority of our behaviour cases have a history of compromised gastro intestinal health or an ongoing, unresolved issue with their digestive health.

Symptoms can include;

💩 Stools that are frequently of a liquid > soft consistency
💩 Eating grass to the extent it appears in faeces or vomit
💩 Consumption of inedible and non food related (wrappers etc) items
💩 Gurgling stomach
💩 Terrible flatulence
💩 Inappetite or 'picky eating'
💩 Excessive appetite
💩 Low body condition score
💩 Tear staining
💩 Copraphagia and excessive gorging of herbivore poo
💩 Excessive scavenging (seeking/searching rather than opportunistic)
💩 Repeated a**l gland issues
💩 Frequent infections (skin, ear, a**l glands)
💩 Frequent licking behaviours
💩 Excessive mouthing and chewing
💩 Restlessness
💩 Conflict behaviours around food such as resource guarding or caching (relocating/moving/burrying/hiding food).
💩 Paying sudden attention (head flick around action) to the back end.
💩 Not wanting dogs to sniff their hind end.
💩 A roached spine / tucked up abdomen
💩 Touch sensitivity > can include avoidance of harnesses (walking equipment)

Some of these symptoms can be labelled as 'behavioural', and a suitably knowledgable and qualified person will know how to pick apart information via in depth assessment and narrow potential causes down.

Too often, symptoms are dismissed or normalised as 'just the way the things are for this dog'. This is quite commonly the case with 'picky eating' or varying stool consistency.

Occassional boughts of loose>liquid stools are often swiftly blamed on 'something the dog must have eaten'.

This is especially the case with puppies. Assumptions can be too quickly made, risking acute issues turning into a chronic problem.

There is now an abundance of research in humans as well as dogs that show the role the gut plays in emotional health.
A 2026 paper found that dogs with chronic enteropathy had compromised emotional health (linked in comments).

Compromised gut health can interfere with neurotransmitter activity. Neurotransmitters are 'chemicals' that are produced in the gut and brain and regulate emotions, arousal, the immune system and digestion.

Additionally, discomfort and pain (stomach cramps/spasms, bloating, inflammation of the gut etc) can all affect behaviour.

Trying to get on top of compromised gastro intestinal health can be challenging and for this reason it is important that people realise the sooner you identify that your dog's gut health is not at optimum and act- the better.

Long-term chronic issues can be harder to address!

Whilst hypo-allergenic food can support some dogs well- it is not uncommon for us to meet dogs who have been put on these these diets as a prilimary intervention who continue to exhibit the same symptoms as before the change of food.

These diets can make training much more challenging due to unpallatable food reducing motivation. The stress of exhibiting /engaging in some behaviour problems can then compomise gut health further.

Whilst it's important to relieve symptoms (and that sometimes involves medication) if the reason for compromised GI health has not been addressed- then the issue very likely won't go away.

Things to consider if your dog has ongoing GI issuees:

👩‍⚕️ Obviously, book them in with your vet!
But unfortunately, for many dogs the standard consultation time of 15-20 minutes is not always enough to understand and successfully treat the issue, including consideration as to what diagnostic tests may be best carried out. If your dog has a chronic issue, I would encourage you to request a double -slot so you and your vet can discuss things thoroughly.

🍖 Consider changing them to a food that has one animal protein and one carbohydrate. Caution if your dog has struggled with diet changes in the past. In some instances, a qualified nutritionist such as Junior @ Heal the Dog can support you and work alongside your vet.

👅 Doing a Nutriscan test for food intollerances

🦠 Running a microbiome screen (we recommend Biome4Pets)

🧠 Consider if your dog is too frequently stressed or too frequently in a heightened state of arousal.

🪱 Run a screen for parasitic infections such as Giardia and Campylobacter. You'd be surprised at how many of our cases test postive despite routine anti-parasitic treatments.
Link to a recent paper on Giardia in dogs and behaviour in the comments.

We recommend wormcount.com but your vet can test also (although there are two different ways to screen for the parasites).

Imagine if you had an upset stomach as often as your dog exhibits symptoms.

Would you just accept it as 'the way things are'?

Let's stop normalising sub optimal gastro intestinal health and increase awareness of how important a health gut is for emotional and behavioural health in dogs.

If your dog has compromised GI health AND behaviour problems, it is paramount you work with someone who works via VET REFERRAL.

This means the vet will send them your medical history and reading this will form part of the assessment process. You'd be amazed at what we can tell from some of our cases medical histories!

Your vet and behaviourist can then work together to support you as a team.

18/06/2026

This! ❤️

18/06/2026

Monty is an 11 year old Border Terrier and he is needing to find a forever home due to very sad circumstances. He is a friendly and affectionate dog with people, and he gets on really well with other dogs, but he doesn't like cats. Monty does have severe separation anxiety so will need to find a home where he has someone with him all the time if possible, as he does bark if left alone. He is fit and healthy, travels well in a car, and enjoys walks, but this has been on the lead as his recall needs some work. Please call us on 07583269614 for more information, or email including a contact number to [email protected]

18/06/2026

❤️

18/06/2026

Goodness for tummies, and skin, and immune systems ... from a British company I love, recommended by a vet I trust. 👌🐾💜