2am Dog Questions; A good walk doesn’t have to cover miles. Sometimes the best bit is one very interesting patch of grass. 🐾 Got a question? Drop it below ⬇️ #dogbehaviourawareness #nervoussystem #2amdogquestions #dogbehaviour #themischiefmethod

Sometimes something has captured your dog’s attention so completely that your cue can’t compete. They aren't doing anything wrong and neither are you! It's actually useful information about what feels important in their world, at that time! 🩵🐾 #dogbehaviourawareness #nervoussystem #dogbehaviour #themischiefmethod #dogs

Would you like "A Little Weekly Mischief" in your inbox each week? This week I'm talking about the progress beneath the surface, whether in our gardens, within our dogs and within our learning too. If you'd like to subscribe hit the link; https://muttsandmischief.substack.com/p/a-little-weekly-mischief-56c #dogs #cookiepushersunited #doglearning #funnotformality #themischiefmethod #dogbehaviour

2am Dog Questions; Post-bath zoomies Relief, excitement, or a very damp announcement that bath time is OVER? 🛁🐾 What does your dog do after a bath? Let me know in the comments! ⬇️ #dogbehaviourawareness #nervoussystem #2amdogquestions #dogbehaviour #themischiefmethod

Heading into the week... Some of the most important growing happens where we can’t see it. As a gardener, I can water, tend and protect my plants, but I can’t see everything happening beneath the soil. Roots are spreading. Vegetables are forming. Nature is doing its work in its own time — and I may not know what the harvest looks like until I gently lift what’s been growing. Supporting our dogs can feel much the same. We can make thoughtful choices, offer safety, build trust

Progress isn’t always a changed behaviour. Sometimes it’s you recognising the early signs sooner. Noticing the hesitation. Seeing the weight shift. Recognising when your dog needs distance. Realising today’s plan needs changing. Your learning matters within the relationship too. #dogs #dogbehaviour #cookiepushersunited #gentlereminder #themischiefmethod

If your dog functions better when they’re further away from something, that’s useful information. Distance can change intensity, increase opportunities for observation and make other behaviours more available. We don’t have to repeatedly find the closest point a dog can tolerate. Sometimes creating more space is exactly what allows learning to happen. #dogs #cookiepushersunited #funnotformality #themischiefmethod #dogbehaviour #worthknowing

One difficult walk doesn’t erase three lovely ones. One bark doesn’t erase twenty calm observations. One moment of fear doesn’t undo months of growing confidence. Learning isn’t erased every time life gets difficult. Zoom out before deciding you’ve gone backwards. 🐾 #dogs #dogbehaviour #cookiepushersunited #gentlereminder #themischiefmethod

Where learning happens matters. The sights, smells, sounds, surfaces, distance, people present and emotional state of the dog can all become part of the learning picture. That’s one reason “but they know this!” can be such a frustrating idea for both dogs and humans. Sometimes they do know it. They just haven’t learned that it applies here too. #worthknowing #dogs #dogbehaviour #themischiefmethod #funnotformality #cookiepushersunited

We talk a lot about the reaction—but what happens afterwards matters too. Recovery gives us valuable information. How long does it take for your dog’s body to soften? Can they sniff, eat, rest or reconnect? Do they need more distance, quiet or time? A reaction still happening doesn’t mean that progress hasn’t been made. Sometimes progress looks like recovering a little sooner, seeking support or finding regulation more easily. Instead of asking only, “Did my dog react?” try

We sometimes measure success by how independently a dog can do something. But needing a little less distance, slightly fewer prompts, recovering a little faster or seeking support before becoming overwhelmed? That’s progress too. Support isn’t something dogs have to graduate from to prove they’ve learned. 🩵 #gentlereminderaboutprogress #dogs #dogbehaviour #themischiefmethod #cookiepushersunited

Just because your dog is comfortable with one person, place or situation doesn’t mean that learning automatically transfers to every similar one. Different movement, distance, smell, location or context can matter. Categories are convenient for humans. Dogs experience the details. 🩵 #dogbehaviour #dogs #themischiefmethod #behaviourmakessense #cookiepushersunited

🌿 Tiny Toxins: Paws Off Plants 🐾 (A little series combining my love of plants and pets 🌿🐶) Today’s tiny check: Elder — the shrub that produces elderflowers and elderberries. Those clusters of tiny flowers and dark berries may be familiar sights in hedgerows and gardens. But they aren’t something we want our dogs helping themselves to. The leaves, stems, bark, roots and unripe berries contain naturally occurring compounds called cyanogenic glycosides. If chewed and digeste

🌟 WE’RE FINALISTS! 🌟 I’m absolutely delighted to share that Mutts & Mischief Holistic Education and Behaviour Services has been named an East Midlands finalist in the Dog Trainer/Behaviourist category of the UK Pet Industry Awards 2026! 🐾🏆 My work has always centred upon supporting dogs and their people with compassion, curiosity, choice and kindness, so having that work recognised means an enormous amount to me. The awards are decided entirely by public vote. If Mutts &

🐾 2am Dog Questions: Why did my dog suddenly react? “They were absolutely fine five minutes ago!” And they may well have been. But the thing immediately before a reaction isn’t necessarily the whole story. Maybe there was a noise earlier. A difficult interaction. Poor sleep. A frustrating moment. Something uncomfortable in their body. A dog staring from across the road. Then another little thing. And another. Until one seemingly tiny event becomes the moment when their syste

THE MISCHIEF METHOD™ — ADVENTURE ONE IS HERE! What if learning with your dog wasn’t about getting everything right? What if you could explore, experiment, change the plan, make mistakes, celebrate the unexpected and discover what actually works for you and your dog? Welcome to The Mischief Method™ — Adventure One. 10 weeks. One shared adventure. No perfect required. Across ten weeks, we’ll explore listening and observation, choice and agency, curiosity, connection, scent and

Something mischievous is coming… 👀🐾🔍 The Mischief Method™ — Adventure One 10 weeks. No obedience checklists. No chasing perfection. Just you and your dog learning to notice more, understand more, make choices together — and have some mischief along the way. And yes… there are Mischief Medals. 🏅 Adventure One is coming very soon. Fun, Not Formality — Building Connections Through Paws to Play. 🩵🐾 #themischiefmethod #funnotformality #cookiepushersunited #dogs #muttsnmisc

2am Dog Question “My dog can do it perfectly in the kitchen… so why can’t they do it on a walk?” Because learning doesn’t automatically transfer from one environment to another. Your kitchen and the outside world are very different learning environments — different sights, smells, sounds, emotions and distractions. Rather than thinking “but you know this!”, try asking: “Have we practised this version of the behaviour, in this environment, under these conditions?” Dogs aren’t

🏆 A rather lovely bit of news from Mutts & Mischief… I’m incredibly happy to share that Mutts & Mischief has received a @Quality Business Awards for Best Dog Trainer in Lincoln 2026, with an overall quality rating of over 95%. Awards have never been why I do this work, but I won’t pretend it isn’t rather lovely when the work is recognised. Especially because behind Mutts & Mischief are years of learning, teaching, advocating, questioning, adapting — and, of course, an awful

Behaviour Makes More Sense 🧠🐾 Prediction Error Sometimes, learning happens because something doesn’t happen the way the brain expected. That’s prediction error. A dog anticipates one outcome based on their previous experiences — but something different happens instead. That little mismatch between “what I thought would happen” and “what actually happened” can provide incredibly important information to the brain. And this is one of the reasons simply repeating an experience