Gravitis Pet Supplies Blog

Dog behaviour, dog tails, dogs - November 4, 2021

How your dog uses their tail to communicate

For most of us, the sight of a wagging tail means we assume that out dog is happy or pleased to see us, which is often the case. But dogs actually use their tail to communicate in a variety of ways and it is something that they learn to do, rather than doing it instinctively. Puppies don’t wag their tails as soon as they are born. Like human babies, young pups have to learn to use their tail to express how they are feeling. They start to do this at about 3 or 4 weeks old when they realise that...

The Puppy Diaries – The Eleventh Month

This is the eighth instalment of our puppy diary, featuring Murdock the lurcher puppy, with candid insights and practical tips on welcoming a dog into your home. Birthday on the beach Since the last blog, Murdock hit a big milestone in his life. He turned one on the 30th April! To mark the occasion, we had a meet-up on the beach with some of his family members and it was tremendous fun. As a lockdown puppy Murdock can be a little nervous around people and dogs that he doesn’t know but he didn't seem to mind anything or anyone on...

The Puppy Diaries – The Tenth Month

This is the seventh instalment of our puppy diary, featuring Murdock the lurcher puppy, with candid insights and practical tips on welcoming a dog into your home. Murdock is now 11 months old and getting quite big. We’re still not sure how big he will be when he is fully grown. His mum Pie is greyhound-sized and quite muscular and his dad, Maverick is a pedigree whippet so probably somewhere in between the two. Behaviourally he is very different to my old lurcher, Beau. He was a Bedlington/whippet/greyhound mix on both sides. Bedlington Terriers are often used when reeding lurchers...

The Puppy Diaries – The Fifth Month

This is the fifth instalment of our puppy diary, featuring Murdock the lurcher puppy, with candid insights and practical tips on welcoming a dog into your home. Murdock will be seven months old in a few days’ time and this means that he is hitting the peak of adolescence. Described as the “teenage phase” puppy adolescence is characterised by increased assertiveness, rebelliousness, and momentary lapses in judgment. Murdock will be pushing his boundaries at this time as he starts to learn what is expected of him and what he can and can’t get away with! Measuring Dog Years But how can...

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dog behaviour, dog training, dogs, fireworks - October 23, 2020

Is your dog frightened of fireworks? Ten tips for surviving bonfire night

Many dogs are frightened of fireworks and this year we are expecting to see a surge in back garden displays, as most major displays are cancelled and many areas of the UK are experiencing limits on gatherings or tiered lockdowns due to coronavirus. So you may find more fireworks going off closer to home than usual. With this in mind, we have ten top tips for helping you to survive fireworks season this year. 1. Keep you dog indoors This usually goes without saying, but with more home displays going on, it may be difficult to judge when people are going to...