Practical tips for sensitive dogs with Sarah Jones of My Anxious Dog and the #DogsInYellow day

Episode Transcript
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(00:01):
Welcome to the Yappy Hour, poweredby Yappily, the podcast for dog
lovers, dog parents, and anyone whowants to deepen their connection
with their four legged friends.
I'm your host, Nathan Dunleavy, and I'm soexcited to bring you our second episode.

(00:22):
In this episode, we're joined bySarah Jones, the inspiring founder of
Sarah is a multi award winning advocatefor Anxious Dogs and the creator of the
hashtag Dogs in Yellow Awareness Day.
We had a heartfelt conversation aboutwhat it's really like to own an anxious

(00:45):
dog, the challenges, the joys and theemotional journey that comes with it.
Whether you have an anxious dog or justwant to learn how to support those who
do, you won't want to miss this episode.
So grab a cup of tea, settlein, and let's get started.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Welcome to the second episode of the (01:07):
undefined
Yappy Hour podcast powered by Yappily.
I'm your host Nathan Dunleavyand I'm so excited to have you
with me for what's going to beanother brilliant conversation.
Today's episode is particularlyspecial because we're talking about
something that so many dog ownerscan't Can relate to the emotional

(01:31):
journey of owning an anxious dog.
Joining me is someone who has madea huge impact in this area, area.
Sarah Jones, the founderof My Anxious Dog.
Sarah, welcome to the Yappy Hour.
Thank you so much for being here today.
You're my second guest onthe show, so no pressure.

(01:54):
But how are you doing today?

Sarah #dogsinyellow: Yeah, I'm good, thank you. (01:56):
undefined
A little bit chilly today becauseI've been sitting in a cold field
with Bella for two hours, but

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour (02:04):
Oh, wow.
Oh, were you doing some, you weredoing some man trailing this morning.

Sarah #dogsinyellow (02:10):
hunting,

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Trial hunting. (02:11):
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hunting now, so that's a new smell.
So yeah, we, we've done allsorts now and that's the

How,

to, to

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: how exciting. (02:20):
undefined
So our listeners, we willbe having someone on to talk
about that in the future.
There's a little reveal for you.
So that's great.
So at least you're in the warm now.
So welcome to the show.
Could you first tell me a little bit aboutyourself and your background, please?

Yes.
So I'm new to the dog world.
fairly new anyway.
So my name's Sarah.
I'm 58 from Berkshire.
Sounds like I'm on adating agency or something.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: It's not blind date. (02:49):
undefined

And my background is sales and I used to be a managing director
in sales for an electronics company.
That's me.
That's what I used to do and thereason I came into the dog world
was because back in 2012, got agorgeous looking little puppy called

(03:13):
Bella who's she's a Cocker Spaniel.

Lovely.

So yeah, so that's how I never knew I was gonna
put my toe into the dog world, butthat, that's a bit of my background.
So yeah, I'm not a

Oh,

or a dog walker or a groomer or a
behaviourist or any of those things.

Wow.
What a, what a complete contrastfrom what you were doing.
So for those that may not know, couldyou tell us a little bit about my anxious
dog and what inspired you to start it?

Yes.
So my anxious dog is allaround my anxious dog, Bella.
And it's funny because a memory cameup on my Facebook a couple of days ago.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: I saw that (03:55):
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And it was 11 years ago and I was asking if anybody knew a
company or where I could get somethingfor my dog that said, do not touch me.

Yes.

and that was the start of my journey because
literally I, I needed something.
And what happened was.
got Bella back in 2012.
She was eight months old.
And when I went to pick her up,the, I didn't get to see her mum.
I was told that they'd been separated.

(04:30):
and Bella had had a traumatic birth.
Her mum had to have an emergency cesarean.
one

Oh gosh.

had died.
So she'd come into the world in tears.
in trauma.
So that's the start of her journey.

Gosh.

was about five or six weeks old and she got bitten by one
of the litter mates, probably playing.

Oh.

obviously hurt because when I got to her
a couple of weeks later, shestill had a mark on her back.
So

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Oh, my goodness. (04:58):
undefined

Puppy, so to speak.

my gosh.

socialization And there was, you know, four or five
puppies, but she wasn't really interested.
She just sat under my chairwatching all this chaos going,
going on in front of her.
And, and then, you know, I didn'tknow anything about anxious dogs.
So, she went to trainingand she was really good.

(05:28):
She was really obedient.
She learned really quickly, butshe would completely fixate on me.

Mm.

I thought, oh, it's because I'm a wonderful mother to her.
just loves me

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Of course. (05:39):
undefined

But it wasn't, it was because I've learned it's because
she didn't want to engage or haveanything to do with the rest of the room.

Oh,

would

okay.

fixate on me as if there's nothing going on here, you know.
And then she got, got to a point withthe training where she wasn't happy.
We went up to an advanced class and shewasn't happy just being, if I told her to
wait and leave in the room, she wouldn'tjust sit there, you know, really still.

(06:11):
So

Mm.

I just thought this, what am I doing this for now?
She's not enjoying it.
So, and it just

Why?

problem after problem, she got
attacked and hurt and yeah.
And I

Oh my

that.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: goodness. (06:25):
undefined

signs and yeah, I had a problem.

Oh, wow.
Okay.
Gosh, what a what a story and whata rough start for little Bella.
Bless her.
She's had a few thingsto contend with there.
I love that you've created dogsin yellow or hashtag dogs in
yellow and we're going to be goinginto that in a lot more detail.
But what sparked the idea for a, anda national, a national awareness day?

(06:52):
day and how has itgrown since you started?

think it came from, it stemmed from using the yellow.
I, it was like a wow moment forme when someone told me about
the yellow, it was a wow moment.
And then like, even today when Igot out the car, someone said to me,
Oh, I've got a really reactive dog.
And I looked at her and said, so have I.

(07:17):
And that's why she's wearing yellow.
And she said, Oh, but

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Oh, okay. (07:20):
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And I was
We all used it, everybody would know.
And it sort of, it comes from that.
So didn't want to give up with it.
I found it was such aconfidence thing for me.
So I started off by doing poo binstickers and wheelie bin stickers and
car stickers and posters to the pointit was like, right, this is going to be.

(07:46):
I need something big as well,and the dog's in yellow.
Yeah, I, I pitched forthe, for the Awareness Day

yeah.

and it got approved.

undefined
So who do you have to pitch it to then?

Sarah #dogsinyellow: It's, it's been so long, I (07:59):
undefined

Oh,

can't remember, but I'm sure

No.

Sarah #dogsinyellow: got a podcast for that. (08:05):
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I can't

Yeah, I just, I just wondered, I just didn't
know how you, how you sort of like,created these aware days and when you
said like, you pitched it, I wonderedwho had to sign it off or something, but,

Sarah #dogsinyellow: it's an official thing. (08:18):
undefined
You have to go to a

undefined

can't remember who they are.
But

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: No, that's fine. (08:24):
undefined
But I just didn't know that you hadto, like you say, you had to officially

yeah,

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: to a company and get it approved. (08:29):
undefined
So brilliant.
So that's on March the 20th, isn't it?

it's

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yes, I got it right. (08:36):
undefined
So you're in your fourth year.
So we're going to be talkinga little bit more about the
Awareness Day as we go through.
This episode, so March the20th mark your diaries.
Okay, so we're going to be moving on toowning an anxious dog and the emotional
journey that's involved with that.

coming up.

What would you say are some of the biggest
emotional challenges you've seen asyou've seen anxious dog owners face?

Sarah #dogsinyellow: a failure, embarrassed (09:08):
undefined

Oh,

side of it.
Yeah.

yeah.

get judged.
Yeah.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: gosh, right. (09:17):
undefined

really, really hard.
When, first started reacting.
It was a buildup because I have,I have never worked with dogs
before or anything like that.
Never had an anxious one.
I would, I had the opposite,you know, I would let my dog
off in the park and eventually

undefined
Okay.

back to me, you know, that, but that was quite a long time ago.
But when they first start showing thesigns, if you don't see it, Bella then
got on to growling and lunging becauseshe had got a tat when she was young.
She was, was all bruised down one side.
Obviously I didn't know that.
So when people touched her,she just, it caused pain.

(10:00):
So she never forgot that.
So she was really funny about strangersputting the hand down and it got to

Yeah.

where she actually started growling and snapping.

Gosh.
Yes.

so

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: So the trauma sticks. (10:12):
undefined

Yes, so when someone does that and your dog
responds with that, you can imaginefear you have yourself, the panic

Yeah.

And then people just your dog's being aggressive, it
shouldn't be out, it should be put to

Oh God.
Oh God.

Yeah,

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: my goodness. (10:33):
undefined
I didn't realize peoplewere saying that as well.
Oh God.

You can, it can be really, really hard, really hard.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Really hard. (10:44):
undefined
Gosh.
I'm sorry there.
You know, you've hadsome of those comments.
So as someone who's been throughit yourself, how do you manage or
how did you manage those feelingsof guilt or frustration that can
come with caring for an anxious dog?

I think you have to at some point and think, no, it's okay.
This is, it's a bit like with humans.
I am what I am and

Yes.

I'm, I'm going to go with it.
And it's the same withyour dog, with Bella.
It was like her, personality.
That's what, you know, the way she is.
And I think even the dogs that yousee out that are having a wonderful
time and doing all the lovely things.
you want to do or your dog to do, there'sprobably other issues going on somewhere

(11:33):
else, you know, with all the people thatI talk to at the dog shows and everything.
If it's not one

Yeah.

else, you know?
So

Yeah.
Oh, okay.
So there's often judgment fromothers like you've just explained
there when your dog doesn't sortof behave perfectly in public.
How do you think owners can dealwith these situations and stay
confident in their journeys?

I always say to people, who's the most important
person when a situation or someone'slooking at you, do you love your dog?
Or do you love what that personis thinking over there that you
possibly will never see again?
You know, let's get it.
know, your dog is the mostimportant thing to you.

(12:20):
don't worry about whatsomeone is saying or thinking.
It's hard, really hard.
Sometimes you just gotto take a deep breath
and focus back on your dog and not worryabout what the other people are saying
to you, or, It's really important as wellnot to turn into a reactive dog owner.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Absolutely. (12:41):
undefined

Because

Okay.

happen too.
You know, I've had Bella telling anotherdog off and there's me going as well.
And there's the two ofus all like barking.
So, I've, I've, I've managed to stopthat and think, you know, that's wrong.
I need to, learn to deal with that.
Because it, it is hard.
You know, you get stuck in for yourself aswell as, you know, for your dog as well.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah, you're fighting like (13:05):
undefined
you're fighting for your dog.
You're being your dog superhero.
You want to stick up for them.
But then you want to, like yousay, stick up for yourself.
And it's a bit of avicious circle, isn't it?
So but it is hard and I like howyou said with the previous question
where you just, I am what I am.
It is what it is.
You know, you take it or leave itat the end of the day, don't you?

(13:27):
So,

You do it

Yeah,

I don't see why

you do.

dogs.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: And we're not always going (13:32):
undefined
to be everyone's cup of tea.
So,

I know, I know, it is, it is really hard, but I just think
there's so many different personalities

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: there it is. (13:42):
undefined

and there's so many personalities with dogs, but also,
having experienced trauma myself, nowunderstand as well what trauma can feel
like So what does it feel like in dogs?
You know, some of these dogs aswell that wear yellow, had the most
horrendous stuff happen to them in life.

(14:04):
It's not, you know, Bella, she's hada few issues, but nothing horrific.
And some of the stories I've heardand been told can make you cry and
you just the whole point of my dog'sin yellow day as well was to other
people to just to stop and think aswell about what that owner is trying

(14:25):
to do for that dog and what possible
That dog's been through.
So, know, it's it works both both ways.

It does.
Brilliant.
Thank you.
What's the one thing you wishevery anxious dog owner knew about
their own emotional well being?

They're a superhero.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: They're a superhero. (14:48):
undefined
Yeah.

they are, it's hard, you know, it's not just a case of
butterflies and and things like that goingon, it can be really tough, really, really
tough to step foot outside the front door,And yeah, I think they're amazing people
that, you know, you, you come across and,you know, going out for a dog walk is

(15:11):
meant to be a lovely, a lovely experience.
And sometimes

is.
It is.
It is.
It is.

be quite stressful as well.
So

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah, stressful for you, the owners (15:20):
undefined
and obviously the dog as well.
I mean, you don't want to be puttingyourself through that, let alone your dog.
So yeah, I absolutely lovethat, that they're a superhero.
So always remember that.

yeah.
Yeah.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: brilliant. (15:35):
undefined
So moving on to obviouslythe dogs in yellow campaign.
So could you just tell us the storybehind like the yellow gear for anxious
dogs and why it's such a powerful symbol.
So there's obviously lots ofdifferent gear you, you've got now.
So, did it just start off like witha lead or how did it all come about?

Well, the yellow started when I've traced it back, it
came from a dog trainer called TerryRyan in Australia back in the year 2000.
And the idea of it is yellow is theofficial warning color for caution.

Right.
Okay.

the ribbon idea came from the horse world.
So if you had a kicking horse, peoplewould tie a red ribbon onto the
horse's tail to warn people that it

Oh,

kicker.

okay.

So

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: never knew that. (16:28):
undefined

Yeah, so all of that came from from that idea.
That's where the yellow ribbon came from.
And then obviously a yellow ribbon ona dog like Bella just a you can't see
it from a distance and be sometimesit can make a dog look cute, so
they want to touch them even more.

Oh god, yes, you're almost drawing people
in and bringing that attention in, whichis the opposite of what you want, isn't

absolutely.
So so it stemmed to having yellowproducts, yellow leads, yellow lead
slips and coats and things like that.
So 11 years ago I had the issue oftrying to find something like do not
touch, cause it was more importantthan I need space or nervous.

(17:15):
I wanted something very clear.
That's how it started.
So then I I had some samples madeup and things like that with the,
where I had a keep away lead, keepaway harness, and I do not touch.
One as well.
Lead.
And it just

it?

out there weren't very good as well.
So I wanted something Bella thatI would want to use every day.
Difficult enough puttingon your yellow cape.
So you wanted a goodyellow cape to put on.
So yeah, I had issues with it fadingor ripping or so, and it just stemmed

(18:06):
a product for her that I'd want to use.
So now we've gone from collars andharnesses to jumpers and coats and

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: It's evolved. (18:14):
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There's, I mean, I, I believethere's stuff for humans as well
now, like you say, coats and jumpers.

Yep.
Yep.
Yep.
There's everything.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: you could kit out your wardrobe (18:26):
undefined
with some, some yellow gear.

Yeah.
So even written on theback of my camper van.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Oh, right. (18:35):
undefined
Okay.
So is that like a sticker or something?

no.
So last year I done 8, 000 milestraveling the UK doing the dog
shows with our yellow space

Yes.

but on the back of

Right.

van in bright yellow, it just says hashtag
dogs in yellow needs space.
everybody that sat behindme on the motorway or,

Oh, wow.

seen it.
So

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: That's a big audience to get. (18:59):
undefined
Yeah.
I absolutely love that.
Brilliant.
So have you got a rewarding moment orstory that you've heard about in, in
regards to dogs and yellow and how it'shelped an anxious dog and their owner?

Sarah #dogsinyellow: I've got lots of stories. (19:16):
undefined

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah, I bet you have. (19:18):
undefined

yeah, I get lots of messages on socials and posts.
And some of them make me cry as well.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Oh, oh bless. (19:26):
undefined

I just know how rewarding it is because I
use it and believe in it myself.
I know how it makes, how it's

sucks.

my

Exactly.
You've got that first hand experience.

Yeah, absolutely.
And it, and it's the acceptanceof, of using it as well.
When people say to me about the productsor how things help or because it's not,
you know, there's a whole package as well.
So obviously the training, you know,seeing a behaviourist and things like

(20:00):
that, I found that after I'd donethat journey with Bella and found
out all the things that I could dofor her when I was out in public.
In public, I still, she stilldidn't have a voice and that's
obviously where the yellow came in.
But yeah, it.
There's a, there's a whole thing to it.

pretty.
Now it must be so rewarding for youjust to get those stories as well.
Obviously, like you say, you, you know,how it is firsthand, but to hear like
the messages from other owners on socialmedia you know, that must, that must
make it all worthwhile for you even more.

It does.
It really, really does.
And, and it's funny because evenwhen we go to the dog shows and
you, you, you meet people face toface, they all say the same thing.
When the dogs are at home.
You know, my dog at home is lovely.
Everybody has to tell youhow wonderful their dog is.

(21:00):
And because

It

safe space, you know.
And that's how we

is,

we feel that everyone's judging our dog on
how they're acting of the home.
But they are all lovely dogs.

exactly.
They just need that little bit ofextra support and space, as you say.
Brilliant.
So how can dog owners and thewider community get involved
in supporting dogs in yellow?

Well, obviously sharing their stories
when they use their yellow.
take a photo, put it on your socials.
I mean, I always think people must begetting so fed up with seeing Bella
on socials or on my Facebook, butjust never stop talking about it.
Be proud to use it andexplain your story as well.

(21:49):
I'm trying at the moment, I'm doingsome work with a dog training school to

Oh, wow.

Talk about the yellow more to trainers
as well, so that we can get.
You know, I see a lot of classeson social media and things like
that for reactive and anxious dogs,but you hardly see any yellow.
So it's trying to get the trainers andthe behaviourists to use in the yellow and

(22:17):
getting involved in the campaign, then to
Another way we're trying to getget the message out, out as well.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah, sure. (22:24):
undefined

sharing it and talking about it and getting involved.

Yeah, they've got a big audience, haven't they?
Trainers and behaviourists.
So it's just about getting out in frontof those different people and just
raising awareness and educating newpuppy owners, for example, like in puppy
classes and stuff that's a good shout.

yeah, I have I've spoken to a few of the trainers
and people like this morning I wentto trail hunt and it was my first.
First one that we've done andthe conversation straight away
was talking about, got two dogsin yellow here explaining what
that meant and interactions.

wow.

Yeah.
And I, I trained with Wonder.
I've been training with Wonder Martsand they were talking about, you
know, they, they encourage people withanxious and reactive dogs to come.
They have cer, you know, theydon't have big classes, but they,

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: that's good. (23:19):
undefined

They both have anxious and reactive
dogs as well, the trainers.
So it's okay.

Yeah.

like.
And it's really, really good to feellike you're in, you can be included.
I might sit on the end,

Yeah.

but you can still have a distant chat, you know, it's,
it's just, it's so lovely for thingslike that to happen as well, rather
than seeing posts where dogs and thingslike that, you know, almost feel, you
always feel like you're being excluded.

Yeah.
Yeah.
I, I must've, I've seen somewhere they've said, Oh if you've
got a reactive, not to come and

Yeah.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: that, and that instantly (23:57):
undefined
makes you feel excluded, isn't

Yeah, absolutely.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: a nice feeling. (24:01):
undefined

come and try?

Exactly.
Yeah.
Brilliant.
Oh, I'm so glad that you're enjoying that.
So we're going to move onto some practical advice for
owners of anxious dogs now.
So what would be one small, butimpactful change owners can make to
better support their anxious dog?

I would, it's quite hard with one thing.
I definitely, definitely, ifyou've got a dog that needs

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: can have as many things. (24:29):
undefined

is use some yellow, you know, use a little
bit of, because it, it makes itfair as well for the other people.
You know, if you don't want a dogrunning up, I know there's lead
etiquette, but at least show that you'vegot an anxious or a There's so many
words for anxious, reactive, nervous,fizzy, sensitive, you know, at least

(24:53):
show a little bit, help, help people.
So you can at least say, no, I've hadpeople say to me, I'm sorry, I just didn't
know, notice a yellow, but now I see it.
You know, I'll remember it or I'll explainwhat the yellow means if it's an older
person, start with some yellow at least.

(25:14):
And then if you're anything like me,you go from a little bit of yellow
to now Bella's covered in yellow.
A whole wardrobe is yellowbecause I love it so much.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: It's, I mean, yellow is a lovely (25:22):
undefined
vibrant and bright color, isn't it?
So, you know,

people use, it's not a color that people use really.
I mean most of the colors for the normaldog owners that I would say, they would,
they use red or purple or blue or black,you know, it's not, very rarely see
someone using yellow unless they'vegot a, a dog that needs, needs space.
So

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: yeah, sure. (25:47):
undefined

that's a good start and it gives, It gave me a
little bit of confidence as well.
So I think it brings your levels downbecause you are visually showing, you
know, you don't have to start shoutingacross, you know, to put your hand up and
all this business that some people do.
I have yellow on, and if I'm walkingsomewhere, I now, and an awfully

(26:11):
over because it still happens.
You know, it's not a miracle

Okay.

running sort of game.
And then I try and run, encouragethe dog from their owner.
So then the other owner of theother dog goes, Oh my you know?
And it's like, well, youknow, work on recall.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah, yeah. (26:32):
undefined
It is, half the battle is like,it's other owners, isn't it?
Rather than the dogs.
Oh, it's okay, my dog's friendly or

Yeah, it's okay.
My dog's friendly means I'vegot no recall on my dog.
It, you know, it shouldn't beoff lead and it's just charging
around doing what it wants.
It's understandable, you know,if you haven't had an anxious and
reactive dog before, sometimes you'reoblivious, you know, I, I, and again,
that's part of the campaign is tryingto show people we want, but it's

yeah.
I think if I had a pound forevery time I heard someone say,
it's okay, my dog's friendly.
My dog's friendly.
I'd be a millionaire because there'smany reasons why the dog's on lead
for a reason, or, you know, it's, it'sanxious, it's elderly, it's, it's just
had surgery, but you know, it is a lotaround the other dog, you know, it's

(27:27):
probably not got great week or training.
But I kind of like where you, whereyou sort of say, Oh, just run the other
way and make, make a game out of it.

standing in one place panicking doesn't work.
It just doesn't

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Doesn't work. (27:43):
undefined

So I change direction and walk away or do a detour
and sometimes if I can see a dog runningover I don't, I turn around and then
I try and do a play game with Bella.
I don't just run away type thing.
But I just try and get her to trot, youknow, and just make it something fun
and what we're going to do and what'sover there and That type of thing.

(28:03):
Then she can't see it well, but it just,

Yeah,

know, we're just, rather than standing there and shouting
and waving your arms, because then Bella'sgoing to go, what the hell is going on?
You know,

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: yeah, and it, (28:15):
undefined

shouting, so

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: it might, (28:17):
undefined

up.

I better start shouting then you've got
a shout off and then the dog that's offlead like thinking, Oh, this looks fun.
I'll hang out here.

Yeah, exactly.
So,

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Defeats the object of what you're (28:28):
undefined
trying to do, trying to shoo him away.
And obviously I, I liked, well, we'retrying to get away from this term
reactive now because there's, there'sa lot of reasons why a dog could be
reactive and it doesn't necessarilyalways mean that they're aggressive.
But I'm kind of likingthe, the change in words.

(28:49):
So we're using sort of like theword sensitive instead, instead.
So,

yeah.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: know, the dog sensitive or, (28:55):
undefined

But,

fearful

think people use spicy, but we're all reactive.
We all

spicy.

you know.
If someone took mydinner away, I'd go, Oi!
Say, you know.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: So would I. (29:08):
undefined
I don't know about that.

if somebody woke me up in the middle of the night when I'm
sleeping, again, I'd be going, shoutingor, what the hell are you doing to me?
And it's, to me, it's just, their voiceand it's us that doesn't understand some,
you know, what the dog's Trying to sayto us, it's just saying the same things
as, you know, if someone ran up at mein a park and tried to play with me,

Silence.

know, some of us have different personalities and want to do
certain things the same as our dogs do.

Yeah, I once heard someone say when a dog was off
lead or whatever, Oh, my dog's got fleasor something like that, or got a disease.
And that soon sort of made theother dog owner get their dog
on lead quite, quite sharpish.

Oh, it's, it's crazy.
She's, she's really scared of otherdogs because she's been attacked.
And most people will

yeah.

you know, but

Oh,

to explain, but we feel we do because we don't want them

yeah.

our dogs.
That's the, that's the trouble, trouble

Yeah.

but it's

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: And then that goes back to, Yeah, (30:24):
undefined
that goes back to advocating for yourdog and being your dog's superhero.
I must admit, I did like the word spicy.
I've not heard that one before.
So yeah, my dog's a bit spicy.
I often say, I often say my dog's special.
My dog's special, so, well,they're all special, aren't they?

They are

So how can owners learn to advocate for their
dog's needs, especially in those publicspaces where people might not understand?

Again, it's just be, you know, feeling the
love for your dog and accepting.
What your dog is and how theyfeel as well, I think is really,
really an important thing to do.
It's like trying to change.
Your husband, your partner's personality,you know, there might be something that

(31:17):
you don't quite like halfway throughand then in a relationship, and then
you want to change something, it's, youhave to accept you've got, don't you?
And, and, and work with it and tryand help them and make them feel
safe, you know, the best way youcan, and people that have, These

(31:37):
anxious and sensitive and spicy dogs,you know, they're amazing people.
And I think the whole package of,you know, going to a trainer or a
behaviourist to learn like I did ofthe communication signs that dogs give.
And then there's lots of otherthings that you can do as well.

(31:59):
I mean, were talking to Andy helllast week and Bella's been using now
for the last six months with the car.
You know, she has a calmingspray sprayed on a harness.
Cause you've

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Oh yes, yeah, (32:11):
undefined

calming spray powered by pet remedy, which I'm very proud

yes, you have, and I use their products as well,

and I've seen a change in Bella over the last six
months, all these little things.
So we've got the, the calming spray.
I've used the calming drinks.
Poured, do a calming drink.
It's again, all natural things.
And all of these little things,have really helped her in the last

(32:41):
six months, even, you know, having

oh wow,

looked at and having bone broth, then, because that's all the
thing, you know, like humans, it's nowlooked at in dogs and their behaviour and
their wellbeing, know, so there's a whole

yeah.

of stuff that goes with it.
These dogs nowadays vehicle dogs.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah, definitely. (33:02):
undefined
I love the pet remedy stuff.
I've got their plugin.
We use their plugin, but we also use abandana and have some of the spray on
the bandana for a couple of my dogs.
So yeah, brilliant.
What would be your advice to owners onrecognizing and celebrating progress,
even if it's small feels small.
So just those small wins,what would be your advice on

(33:24):
recognizing, celebrating and that?

You're doing so much for that dog,
making it feel safe, you know?
So do focus on the little things thatgo well and not the, you know, the,
the, something else that happened,you know, 80 percent of that walk
could have been good and 20 percentof it could have been quite stressful.
But, know, just make sure that you focuson, the good stuff and the positive stuff.

(33:52):
It's like today, you know, doingthe trail hunt, Bella was, amazing.
You know, she was so good.
We sat on the end.
We had lots of squeezy cheese in thesqueezy rewards for distraction work.
Yeah.
And it, and, and you came away,I came away really proud of her.

(34:12):
but

Oh,

yeah.
Just,

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: that's nice. (34:13):
undefined

focus on on the little things cause you've done them.
You've, you've helpedthose little things happen.
So

Yeah.
And you mentioned the squeezy cheese.
So you've also got these littleyellow dispensers now, haven't you?
That you can put cheese in and squeezy

so this

cheese.

distraction work is, is really important as well, so
finding a class that will you and yourdog's happy with and you, and you gel
with the, the trainer doing the classes.
I found with Bella, she reallyliked, you know, obviously
licking is very calm, calming for

does.
Yeah.
It helps.
Yeah.

know, going around with the Primula squeezy cheese in
your pocket and unscrewing it and allthis thing is quite, quite hard work.
If you also have a dog thatyou want to keep close to you.
So yeah, we have these squeezy rewards.
They clip onto your, I have awalking belt when I'm doing classes

Yeah.

Like a little pouch from a frankfurter sausages it just
clips on there but it's on a reel soyou can extend it so it's always there.

Okay.

and it just means when somebody else is doing something
or it's or someone's close by, youknow, she can focus on the squeezy
cheese because she loves squeezy cheese.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Brilliant. (35:33):
undefined
Yeah.
Oh, I love a bit of squeezy cheese.
No, that's brilliant.
I'm, I'm really pleased.
And yes, the licking does helpbring their arousal levels
down helps promote calmness.

Yeah.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: and, and it's really good for their (35:44):
undefined
brain and mental stimulation as well.
So she's getting that as wellas, so I think that's great.
Brilliant.
Okay.
So I know you said you get sick.
I've sent loads of stories and stuff, butdo you have a personal story that reminds
you of why this work is so importantfor both you and the wider community?

I suppose the personal story is about the best way
for me to give an example is Bella.
I would say probably now over thelast, I've been probably doing
this after Matt had an accident.
So in 2019, so I've beendoing it full on since then.

(36:26):
And

Okay.

if I walk past 10 people, whether it's in the woods, or
on the road, or wherever I am, and Idon't necessarily go through a park,
but Six, seven of those 10 peoplewill put their dog back on a lead.
And that's huge.
You know, it makes

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: That is huge. (36:45):
undefined

one when people say it doesn't work, but
even if one or two people do it,that's better than the 10, you know?
So it w it's taking that level,that stacking, you know, the
bucket of water filling up.
And I do

Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.

You know, I'm really, really

Yeah.

saying that.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: That's good. (37:17):
undefined
Brilliant.
Thank you.
I mean, I'm a big believerin one is better than none.
So if you're getting sixor seven out of the ten,

Yeah.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: you know, great. (37:26):
undefined
You know, we'll get there to thepoint where it's everyone soon enough.
So by spreading this message.

done a little bit of awareness in their own area,
because that's what I've done.
I've done it more than inmy area now, my own area.
But, you know, we sell poo bin stickers,wheelie bin stickers, car stickers.
We do packs that people can taketo their vets or the pet shop.
You know, there's so muchthat you can do just to put.

Yeah,

done a little bit themselves, it would be.
nine out of 10.

yeah.
And we mentioned the pet remedy products.
Is the spray in conjunction with petremedy or is it a different spray?
It is, isn't it?

it's still, it's powered by pet remedy.
So it's, it's

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Ah, powered by pet remedy. (38:11):
undefined

Yeah.
So it's a calming spray, butit's, it's obviously got Bella
on it and dogs in yellow.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah, that's (38:18):
undefined

So yeah.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: That's good. (38:21):
undefined
And going back to the point you saidearlier about, oh, people probably getting
fed up of seeing pictures of Bella.
I don't think we could everget fed up of cute dog pictures
or cute pictures of Bella.
So, you know, I say the more the merrier.

Thank you.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: So Sarah, if you could give one (38:37):
undefined
piece of reassurance to an anxiousdog owner who feels like they're
struggling, what would it be?

If they're struggling by being judged, don't
take any notice of anybody else.
You know, I suppose that covers lotsof issues, doesn't it, in the world?
Just don't worry about what other peoplethink about your dog, you, you know,
whether you've got pink hair or blue hair,it's just, got that bond with your dog.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: yellow hair. (39:07):
undefined

Or

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: You could have yellow hair. (39:08):
undefined

Sarah #dogsinyellow: yeah, don't give me ideas. (39:09):
undefined
It's, it, it's,
it's have, you know, havefaith in, in you, you know.
If they

Hmm.

you know, if they're struggling and somebody's judging you,
just walk away from that person, you know.
They're not important in your life,so just concentrate on your dog.

Yeah.
Let, like you say, let it go.
And in the,

Best

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: words of frozen, (39:38):
undefined

Yeah, let it go.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: let it go, start busting out (39:42):
undefined
in the frozen theme tune.
No, that's brilliant.
And yeah, just, just don't,don't worry about anyone else.
Just be, you know,focused on your, your dog.

They bring, they bring, if someone said, would
you, could you, would you changeBella into that, know, dog that
wants to be petted and wants to goand play with all the other dogs?
Would you change her?
I wouldn't now.
No, she's just shown

No.

a whole different way of thinking and thought, and she's
brought so much, obviously, into my life.
With these issues.
And so many, I've met somany amazing people as well.
So because of it.
So

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: You wouldn't want to change, you (40:29):
undefined
wouldn't want to change it nowbecause that's just who she is.

yeah,

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: You know, (40:35):
undefined

Yeah.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: you know, (40:37):
undefined

all different.

we are all different and why should we,
you know, why should we change it?
It would be boring ifeveryone was the same, you

Yeah.
We don't want to conform.
Nor do my dogs.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: and like. (40:50):
undefined
And like you say you've you'vemet loads of different people
through this whole journey.
You know, being, going from whereyou were and what you used to do
and now, you know, working withobviously different dog professionals.
And you've won some awardsas well, haven't you, Sarah?
Haven't you?
Could you tell me a little bitabout a couple of your awards?

Yes.
I won pet Quip Award.
I won a silver marketing, trademarketing campaign for dogs in yellow.
And I was against fros, so that was

Oh yes,

won

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: the ice cream. (41:30):
undefined

So that the ice cream, so that's a huge company.
So for.
little old me to come and get a silver.
I was, you know, that was really amazing.

Amazing.

and

Yeah.

been a finalist in the PIF awards as
well, you know, and that's again,

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah, so that's (41:49):
undefined

category.

the Pet, pet Industry Federation, isn't it?
Yeah.

Yeah.
so yeah, I've had a few, fewawards, which is lovely, you

No,

to be appreciated, but it's, it's just,
but they help with the awareness for,you know, it's not, not about me.
And it's about getting that message outfor, you know, what a dog in yellow means.
So that's,

yeah.
I mean, it's nice to have the recrecognition, but like you say, it's all
about raising the awareness, isn't it?
And just how can you reach more people,

Yes.
Yeah,

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: you know? (42:26):
undefined
It is, it's not necessary dog owners.
It's the, it is everyone, isn't it?
Because if you've not got a dog and youare out, like you're just walking down
the park and you see a dog in yellow, ifyou're not a dog owner, you may not know.
what that means.
So it's, it's, it's, it comes back toeducation, just everyone, isn't it really?

And it's been a real opportunity as well to be able
to do the yellow space zones that thelike at dog fest, we're going to good

Yes.

year.
And, and that has been a huge.
Campaign for helping with it aswell, because it's, it's strange.
Cause people say, Oh, you shouldn'tencourage, you know, anxious
dogs to go to places like that.
And I, and I, my answer to them isI'm not, I'm not encouraging people
to come for a full day, they come,you know, I've been going to dog

(43:17):
shows now for eight to 10 years and

Yeah.

they are brought to shows, unfortunately.
And you know, you, you, you.
You see them shutting downand struggling and and I had

Well,

a show not last year, the year before to go
and see Ali from Be Kind Rescue.

Yes.

and it was a village show, I thought.
And when I got there,it's quite a big show.
And obviously Bella was muzzledcause there's children there
and also covered in yellow.
But when we went to get something toeat and a drink, It was just too busy.
There was nowhere to go.
so we ended up going behind thevans, and sitting down eating there,

(43:59):
trying to find a little bit of quietspace so that we could relaxed to eat
ourselves, you know, let alone Bella.
And this is where

Yeah.

for that came, because I just thought
wasn't, there wasn't a safespace for us that we could sit.
Bella.
and then I just thought, well, let's see.
My first shows I was doingwas all about dog shows.
My first one was in Newbury and I pitchedthe idea to them and they loved it.
And then it's just snowballed from there.

(44:31):
And it's amazing the, the,

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: I think it's a great idea. (44:33):
undefined
Such a great concept.

The amount of pictures that we took in the summer
where people would come, you know, we'vegot pictures of muzzles on the little
haystacks on the hay bale, sorry, wherethey've come in and been able to take
the muzzles off and let their dogs havea, you know, mooch around or, you know,

Yeah.

sniffing and playing with the toys that we've got in there.
been huge that has, and alsohelped with the awareness.

And I've going back to your point where
someone said that you shouldn't take areactive dog there, but why shouldn't
a reactive dog be allowed to go toa show and not be able to enjoy,

Yeah.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: know, some of that. (45:17):
undefined

Bella.
go.
what I've been talking to some of theevents is a lot of them are two days.
They do a Saturday and a Sunday.
Most people have goneon before the last hour.
So we're trying to, we, the first eventwe've done it for was the yellow hour.
the last hour of the Saturday, it meantthat dogs in yellow or any dogs that

(45:42):
wanted some quiet time could come forthat last hour because it was quite empty.
And that's worked quite well.
Some, some of them can, butsome of them come when they
really shouldn't come at all.
You know, I've, seen dogsthat are just all over the
place and completely shut down

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Oh, gosh. (46:00):
undefined

But it's just hopefully providing a little safe space
and making, Some dogs that if they hada little bit of space could come and
have a go at things because I remember

Mm.

at some of the shows thinking, Oh, Bella would love that.
I wish she could come or I wish Icould do that with Bella, you know?
So yeah, that's been a

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Nothing is great. (46:24):
undefined
It's a good.

It's

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Yeah, I think it's brilliant and (46:27):
undefined

the shows to be able to, like Dogfest or
Goodwith, you know, to put what Dogsin Yellow means on their website.
It's been,

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: that's huge. (46:38):
undefined

massive for, for

Yeah.
I think even as humans, we might want tolike a little chill out area to get away
from the hustle and bustle of everything.

It's funny you should say that because quite
a few, we put these little pop upcamping tents in there as well.
And I had one lady, I'm sureshe fell asleep in there.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: That's brilliant. (47:00):
undefined
It goes to show how nice of an area is.
Brilliant.
So we're gonna start sort ofwrapping up this episode for the
last sort of five or so minutes.
So just some some final questionsand points, if that's okay.
So where can people find out moreabout you, Sarah, and my anxious dog.

Well, my website is my anxious dog.co
uk and all my socials are the same.
My anxious dog.
So we're on Instagramand Facebook as well,

undefined
Okay.
And just remind us again of the datefor the, the dogs in Yellow awareness.
day.

20th of March.
But it's always a dogs in Yellow Day

Yes, it's always a dogs in yellow day, but the
actual awareness day we've got is comingup in the next couple of months, isn't it?
It's the fourth one this yearand that's on the 20th of March.
Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.
So yeah, that's all about

Perfect.

if you own an anxious dog, you know, get pictures up, talk
about your dog on social media, you know?
That type of thing.
So,

undefined

there.

Yeah.
So go and check out obviouslySarah's website and all our
different social media channels.
So a couple of questions thento end finally, Sarah, if dogs
could give us one piece of advice,what do you think they'd say?

You doing alright?
You know, you're my safe world.
know you're doing alright for

Yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, I love that.
Absolutely love that.
If, if only they could talk.
Okay.

Yeah.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: so yeah, I love that. (48:48):
undefined
You're doing all right.
You're doing a good job.

doing a good job.

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Thumbs up. (48:52):
undefined
And that's all we can do, isn't it?

Yeah.
Yeah.

cool.
So we've got various different guestslined up for the yuppie hour, but
if there was one person or a coupleof people you think we should invite
on to the podcast as a guest, doyou have any suggestions at all?

A very special lady that helps me in the yellow space zone.
Nikki French.
So she works

I know.

with me a lot and works with a lot of

Yeah.

reactive dogs, and she's written Stop Walking Your
Dog book as well, which is amazing.

Yeah.
So Nikki French.
Yeah.
She was mentioned by Andy on ourlast episode actually, so I think
that's definitely a sign that Ineed to invite invite Nikki on

Yeah, she's lovely.
Really,

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Brilliant Brilliant. (49:44):
undefined
Okay.
So for our listeners, we've gotsome cracking guests lined up.
We've got a renowned separation anxietyexpert, a gundog, a spaniel specialist.
We've got a couple of vets that aregoing to be coming on and they're going
to be talking about desensitizationto things like obviously going to
the vets and how important that is.

(50:04):
We've got groomers.
So we've got lots of differentguests lined up for the happy hour.
Sarah, thank you so much foryour time this afternoon.
And just, I just want to saythe impact you're having on the
community is absolutely amazing.
Thank you so much forjoining me on the Yappy Hour.
It's been an absolute pleasure talkingwith you and learning more about your

(50:27):
journey with My Anxious Dog and Bellaand the incredible work that you've been
doing for anxious dogs and their owners.
Your passion and dedication increating awareness and support
for initiatives like the Dogs inYellow Day are truly inspiring.
You not only give anxious dogsa voice, but you also empower so
many owners to feel seen, supportedand confident in their journeys.

(50:52):
Your impact on the dog communityis undeniable, and I know that so
many listeners, including myself,will all walk away from this
conversation feeling both inspired.
for everything you do, and I can'twait to see the continued growth of My
Anxious Dog and all the amazing workthat you'll be doing in the future.

(51:17):
Thank you, Sarah.

That's made me quite emotional, thank you!
LAUGHS

Nathan Dunleavy - The Yappy Hour: Oh, bless you. (51:22):
undefined
Thank you so much for joining me today.

You're very welcome.
Before I jump into today's recap, Iwanted to give a huge shout out to some
of our listeners who took part in theteaser post we shared on social media.
We asked you to guess whoour first two podcast guests
were, based on some fun clues.

(51:50):
And we had some brilliant guesses come in.
For our very first guest, Andy Howe,congratulations to Tracy Ordesh.
Di Sedi and Rachel Hunterfor all getting it spot on.
You absolutely nailed it.
And for our second guest, SarahJones, a big round of applause to
Vicky Mann, Louise Hughes and JessicaBradley for all guessing correctly.

(52:16):
Great work all of you.
Thank you so much toeveryone who took part.
It was great fun seeing all yourguesses come through and keep your
eyes peeled because we'll definitelybe doing more of this in the future.
Now let's dive into today's key takeaways.
What an incredibleconversation with Sarah Jones.
Her insights into the emotional sideof owning an anxious dog and her work

(52:40):
with My Anxious Dog are so inspiring.
If you're caring for an anxiousdog or know someone who is, I
hope you found this episode asreassuring and eye opening as I did.
Here are some key takeaways from our chat.
Number one, owning an anxious dog isan emotional journey and that's okay.

(53:00):
Sarah reminded us that it's normalto feel guilt, frustration and even
isolation, but it's also a journeyof growth, patience and connection.
Again, Advocacy is key.
The hashtag dogs in yellow campaignis such a simple yet powerful way
to communicate your dog's needs andcreate awareness in public spaces.

(53:23):
It's a movement that helps anxiousdogs feel safer and more understood.
Number three.
Small wins matter.
Whether it's a calm walk or yourdog relaxing in a new environment,
Sarah emphasised celebratingthe little victories because
they add up to big progress.
And number four.

(53:44):
Most importantly, don't forgetto take care of yourself.
Supporting an anxious dog can bechallenging, but as Sarah said,
you can't pour from an empty cup.
Sarah, thank you so much for sharingyour story and your invaluable advice.
Your work is making such adifference in the lives of
anxious dogs and their owners.

(54:05):
If you enjoyed this episode,please consider leaving a review
or sharing it with someone thatcould benefit from Sarah's wisdom.
And don't forget to check outmy anxious dog and the hashtag
dogs in yellow campaign.
March the 20th is the big day.
Let's help spread the word.
Thank you for listening to the Yappy Hour.

(54:27):
Don't forget to subscribe soyou never miss an episode.
And I'll see you next time.

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