The Download- Week 7 SUMMER- feat. Aftab from The Dog Ami

🎙️ The Download – Enthusiasm, Understanding & A Whole Lot of Dogs!

Welcome back to The Download as we begin the final half term of the school year — and what an exciting few weeks we have ahead.

In this episode, we introduce our new Character Quality of the Month: Enthusiasm and explore what it means to bring energy, positivity and curiosity into everything we do as we head towards Sports Day, the Year 6 production, French Café events, Gala Day and the House Singing Competition.

We also reflect on a thoughtful and inspiring assembly led by Mrs McChesney exploring neurodiversity, where staff and older pupils shared their experiences of dyslexia, ADHD, autism and more. Through stories, advice and inspiring role models, we celebrated how different ways of thinking make our community stronger.

🎧 Special Interview:
This week we’re joined by Aftab from The Dog Ami, a dog behaviourist based in Esher. We explore how dogs communicate, why they behave the way they do, common training myths, and discover what it takes to build positive relationships between dogs and their humans.

🐾 Plus:

•  A look ahead to an action-packed final half term 
•  Important reminders about the Year 6 Charity Event supporting Home-Start 
•  Sports team photo dates 
•  And a quick safety reminder about Oak Processionary Moths on site 

Bring your enthusiasm and enjoy this week’s episode of The Download.

Transcript

SPEAKER_07 0:00

Hello and welcome back to the download. And welcome back to the final half term of the school year. It's hard to believe we're already here. This half term is always one of the busiest and most exciting of the whole year. We've got the year six production coming up, sports day, the French cafe, and all those brilliant end of year celebrations that make this term so memorable, including Gala Day and the house singing competition. There's lots to look forward to. It's about getting involved, encouraging others, and being willing to give things a go. This half-term gives us lots of chances to show enthusiasm, whether it's on stage, on the sports field, in lessons, or supporting our friends.

SPEAKER_03 1:29

Enthusiasm can make activities more enjoyable. And enthusiasm spreads. When one person gets involved, others often do too. Sometimes just trying something with a positive attitude change everything.

SPEAKER_07 1:44

Exactly. Enthusiasm isn't just about the loudest person in the room, it's about bringing the energy and helping others enjoy things too. This week's assembly was led by Mrs. McChesney and focused on neurodiversity. We heard from staff and older students who shared their experiences of conditions like dyslexia, ADHD, and autism. There were some brilliant messages about strengths, challenges, support, and understanding. We heard advice that helped people through school and reflections on strengths they feel their different ways of thinking have given them. We also learnt about well-known figures connected with dyslexia, including Albert Einstein, Richard Branston, and Tom Holland.

SPEAKER_02 2:29

I liked hearing that people can think differently and still achieve amazing things.

SPEAKER_03 2:34

It reminded us that everyone has different strengths, and that support and understanding can make a huge difference.

SPEAKER_07 2:42

Exactly. Our differences can help make our community stronger. Avtap is a dog behaviorist based in Isha and owns the Dog A Me. He helps people understand their dogs and supports them in building positive relationships with their pets. It's truly fascinating. Avtap will be uh here at Claremont very soon, also speaking with the senior school pupils about his work, also, but we're very lucky to have him here today. Avtap, thank you so much for joining us.

SPEAKER_06 3:30

Thank you so much for inviting me. And I must say, I'm quite jealous about your school grounds. I don't remember when I went to school our school being this big. It's quite nice, isn't it? It's very nice. So lucky you.

SPEAKER_07 3:42

Uh yes, I feel very much the same. My school uh field does not compare to this one. Um, well, thank you so much for joining us in our pod today here with the Digital Explorers. Um, could you start off by uh by explaining really what a dog behaviorist actually does?

SPEAKER_06 3:59

Oh well, uh most people uh think that we only do one thing, and that is we go and see clients after they've called us and try to sort out the problems that they're having with their dogs. So the dog might be being aggressive, he might have bitten someone, or the dog might have some separation anxieties. And my job really is to work out why the dog is doing what the dog is doing, and the best way to change that, to change that behavior to something that is acceptable to the human household. So that's essentially what we do, but there's a lot more than that, really. There's marketing. I have to answer emails that come in, I have to call, I have to answer telephone calls that come in, I have to speak to other organizations that want to give me or want to use me to provide lectures for them. So there's the whole host of you know, there's that to do. And then of course, there's in terms of lecture work, there's a pre preparatory work. Once I found out what they want me to do, I then have to prepare, and that can take time.

SPEAKER_07 5:11

Wow. That's that's pretty impressive. Have you always loved dogs? I'm uh I'm I'm guessing that you like dogs.

SPEAKER_06 5:16

I've all yes, I do like dogs, and I've always liked animals generally. Cool. And all of us had an interest in ethology. That's all about why animals do, what they do, and for what purpose.

SPEAKER_07 5:28

Fascinating. I think it's amazing you can kind of do that. It's like a real-life doctor doolittle. Uh it's incredible. Uh right, we've got some questions here from a couple of the uh digital explorers. Um let me pass you over to uh one of our first ones here.

SPEAKER_02 5:40

Why did you once become a dog behaviorist?

SPEAKER_06 5:43

In truth, I was never always a dog behaviorist. So my I used to be a lawyer in the city. Uh, and because of work-life balance, because uh I never saw my children, I was too busy working. I thought I wanted a change in Korea. And as I said to Mr. Bates earlier, I've always loved animals and understanding why they do what they do and what the purpose is. And so um it really started when I got my first dog, and a dog trainer gave me some advice. It was a puppy and it was biting my hands, and a dog trainer said, Well, you should smack it on the nose, or you should put pepper on your finger so it doesn't like the taste of it, and it'll stop biting you. And I thought, well, that can't be right, surely, because after all, all young animals bite and nip and play. Children, for example, bite and nip and play when they're babies. Well, you wouldn't smack your child on the nose, would you? And you certainly wouldn't put pepper on your fingers to stop the child from biting. You would just teach the child in a gentle way that that was not acceptable and that hurt, but the the child or the dog could bite something else more suitable.

SPEAKER_07 7:03

I think that's uh yeah, absolutely true. Yeah, you wouldn't do that to an animal, therefore you wouldn't do it to anybody else. So absolutely. Um yeah, super. That great question, thank you. Um who's next?

SPEAKER_03 7:15

What does a typical day look like for you?

SPEAKER_06 7:17

So the first thing my day starts off with checking my emails, seeing who wants to instruct me. I have to deal with that. I also have to deal with emails coming in with organizations wanting me to present for them, present lectures on different aspects of dog behavior. I then have to telephone those people and explain to them what my costs are and what I can do for them and how I uh work with animals. So that's the first thing. The second thing that I do is the actual dog work that you know about. I go out, I assess why dogs are doing what they're doing, and then I work out strategies and action plans to change the dog's behavior from what they're doing that's not acceptable to something else that is acceptable. So if a dog is jumping on you, for example, all the time, well, I would work out a strategy and an action plan to stop the dog from jumping on you, but instead sit down in front of you to get your attention. So we can then give it a stroke. And then the third thing I do is as I say, I present lectures and seminars across the UK and also in Europe. So I might get a call from Malta, somebody saying, Look, we've got lots of clients who want to hear about dog aggression and why dogs are why dogs are being why our dog is being aggressive. So I will go over and present for a whole day maybe on why dogs are aggressive, what we can do about it, and understanding aggression generally. Does that answer your question?

SPEAKER_01 9:02

Yes.

SPEAKER_07 9:02

Excellent. Awesome. Thank you. Great question. Here, who here, just by raising your hand, has a dog at home? Uh, I know I do. Um, I have a uh a little dash and she can be very anxious uh from time to time. And yeah, I'm sure you you guys have got them too. You guys have got dogs? Okay, super. Right, who's got our next question then, please?

SPEAKER_04 9:24

Dogs can't use words. So, how do dogs communicate with us?

SPEAKER_06 9:28

Well, what a fantastic question that is. Before I say anything, the secret to reading a dog's language or understanding a dog's language relies on two rules. First of all, we have to look at the dog's body language in clusters. So a dog might put his head down. Well, that's not the only thing we want to do. We want to see what the rest of the dog's body's doing. So, because a dog putting his head down can sometimes be a sign of submission. A dog's putting his head down can sometimes be a sign of uh stalking its prey, it can be a sign of stay away, a warning sign. So one signal on its own means nothing. We have to look at lots of other signals. So that's the first. So we see so we look at the body dog's body language in clusters, and the second thing to remember is to look at the context of the signal. So if your dog is shivering, for example, well, it might just be very cold. So we just need to put a coat on and warm it up, or it might be ill. So we look at the context, what's going on? Okay, so that's that though that that's two rules to bear in mind. And so we look at all the body language, but if we just look at the mouth, for example, well, when a dog is relaxed, then you will see that a dog's mouth that's very good. It'll have a nice lolling tongue, the lips will be relaxed, the ears will be down. Absolutely, but when a dog is anxious or stressed or a bit annoyed, then you will find the whole face tightens, and the dog then makes a C shape with its mouth, like this. And then we look at the eyes. The ears do all sorts of acrobatics. The tail, the tail in itself, has 13 different signals. It doesn't just go up and down, and it doesn't just go side to side, it uh can go fast, it can go slow. If it knows you and is looking forward to meeting you, it moves more to the right. If it sees someone that it the dog might be a little bit anxious about, it'll go to the left. And we all know the whirlwind when the dog is so overjoyed that it just goes round and round like a whirlwind. So there are all these little signals that we look at to interpret what the dog is telling us. So if the dog is standing up straight, high, forward, head slightly over, another dog, it wants to be the prime mover in that encounter. But if the dog is leaning backwards, slightly lowered, tail tucked in, well that is a sign that it's a bit worried and submissive.

SPEAKER_05 12:36

So we can see what's going on just looking at all the different parts of the dog's body language.

SPEAKER_07 12:42

That's so interesting. I I would never have thought about looking at the tail in that way. I know it wags, but I never realized that it went to certain points and it means different things. How incredible is that. Well done.

SPEAKER_06 12:52

And not just the not just where it goes, but the intensity of the tail wag can tell you the you know how intense the emotion is. Okay.

SPEAKER_07 13:03

So good, so good. I love this. Um, the next question, then please. Who's got the next question there?

SPEAKER_03 13:08

What are some of the funniest or most surprising things dogs do?

SPEAKER_06 13:12

Another fantastic question. I don't know what the funniest things are because different people think different things are funny. But I quite find the zoomies funny.

SPEAKER_05 13:27

Have you seen the zoomies? Well, the dog goes mental and it runs around like a lunatic coming towards you, running away from you, picking something up, begging you to chase him, etc.

SPEAKER_06 13:40

Technically they call fraps, frenetic, random activity periods. And it's a great way for a dog to show us again he's very happy and he's releasing this energy. But I find that really funny. And as so far as surprising things, well, who knew that dogs can breathe in and out at the same time? We can't. But dogs can because they have a different airway for breathing in and a different airway for breathing out. And not only that, when a dog is breathing in, it takes air in from the ground, but when it breathes out, it doesn't blow it back on the ground, but there are slits on top of the dog's nose, and the air goes upwards. So it doesn't disturb the ground and the smells that the dog is trying to take in. That's why dogs can sniff for hours. Bloodhounds will stay on the ground for hours searching for the for the prey. Because it's breathing out and in at the same time, doesn't have to have a little rest. So that's one surprising thing, I think. The other thing is, you probably know this. A dog's sense of smell is a hundred thousand times more powerful than ours. So you might only have three mm, about six million no sense receptors. A dog has three hundred million. Wow. And did you know two more, two more really surprising things that I think you're gonna be interested in? When the dog smells something threatening, something that it finds frightening, it smells with the right nostril more. When it finds something that's not threatening, it smells with the left nostril. Isn't that amazing?

SPEAKER_07 15:40

It's amazing. That really is amazing. I just thought they smell. I didn't think they had these different sides of it. It's incredible. There's amazing stuff that we're learning today. Really lovely. Thank you so much. Next question, please.

SPEAKER_01 15:50

Why do some dogs bark at anything while others hardly ever bark?

SPEAKER_06 15:55

There are two reasons for this. Firstly, genetics. Do you remember that when dogs first became dogs and started to, you know, 30,000 years ago when they started to live with cavemen, it was a really useful function for the dogs to bark because they warned off intruders. And so people liked those dogs and they kept those dogs and they're bred from those dogs. And so dogs have a useful function to bark, and we like that. So that's the first reason, that's why they started off. And and now we want still some dogs to bark, Alsatians, for example. So what breeders have been doing, they have been breeding from certain dogs that bark a lot, and the puppies then pick up those genetics and continue to bark a lot. So really they're barking a lot because that's the way we are breeding them. So that's the first reason, and the second reason, I think, why dogs bark a lot is because some dogs are frightened. When dogs are frightened, they bark. Because when we're frightened, we tell things to go away. And that's the main purpose of a dog, one of the main one of the reasons why dogs bark. They say, Go away, I don't want you. And the reason why some dogs are frightened is because they weren't socialized properly when there were puppies. Just imagine if you guys now saw a spaceship land just outside this room. You'd be frightened. But if you were intergalactic spaceship travellers, you'd just say, Hey, stop it, would you? We're trying to do something in here. You wouldn't be bothered at all, would you? So that's the re but I'll tell you one interesting thing, very quickly. Is it just dogs that bark? Actually, no. Wolves bark, foxes bark, seals bark, and there is an owl called the barking owl. The way barks.

SPEAKER_07 18:02

It's not just dogs, I'm afraid. Wow, yeah. The barking owl. We have to look that up. I've never heard of that one. That's pretty impressive, isn't it? But there are sound cute, interesting.

SPEAKER_06 18:10

Sorry, just to finish that, but there are some dogs that don't bark as much. So you've got something like the Saluki, the Borzoi, the Glenafy Mar terrier, the Australian Shepherd Dog, the Irish Setter, and of course they don't bark very much. They can bark, but they don't very bark very much. And there's one dog that doesn't bark at all. Does anybody know the name of a dog that doesn't bark at all? Nearly, they bark quite a lot. It's called the Basenji. And the Basenji is the only dog that doesn't bark and it yodels. So there you go.

SPEAKER_07 18:44

Excellent. Thank you, guys. Right, let's move on to our next question then, please. Let's pass it over.

SPEAKER_04 18:50

Do dogs feel emotions like happiness, fear, or jealousy?

SPEAKER_06 18:56

Wow, all these questions are absolutely fantastic. Every one of them. Um now there's a big debate in the scientific world as to whether dogs do feel emotions. Some scientists say they do. So they feel rage and and and and and um fear and grief, uh, that sort of thing. So that so some scientists say they do. Some scientists say, No, they don't feel that. So the debate is uh ongoing. So that's the first thing I have to say to you. I think they do. And we can certainly see things like happiness, which is perhaps not an emotion, but it certainly is a a feeling. So they do feel they do feel happiness. We see that when they're uh doing the um zoomies, for example, or where their body's all relaxed. Um and I and I think you said do they feel jealousy? And again, that is a very complicated emotion, jealousy. So we have to first define what jealousy is. Jealousy is, I suppose, what what is it? It's when we feel angry, we feel suspicious, we feel a bit insecure if we're jealous, I suppose. And the purpose of jealousy was to keep a third party getting in between you and somebody you love. It might be a girlfriend, it might be a boyfriend, it might be a mum, it might be a friend. So that's what jealousy's there for, and the and the purpose of jealousy is to drive a wedge between this third party and the person you care for. Now, some research has been done and it suggests that dogs do feel jealous because what behaviors, what are the behaviors that we exhibit when we're jealous? We get in between, we seek attention. And so there was a scientific experiment, and it showed what what happened was the owner petted a pretend dog that wagged its tail, and the owner's dog came rushing in, it it growled at the dog, it barked at the dog, it got in between the dog and the mother. So that so it showed all these behaviors of jealousy. So that side and and and um when the owner stroked something something other than anything, something like a I mean a a a box, just a box, which is doesn't look like a dog. Which doesn't look like a dog. The dog wasn't bothered. So the dog so this science, this experiment showed that dogs can feel jealousy.

SPEAKER_07 21:54

Well, that's uh yeah, I think when when uh when my daughter was born, we were really worried about. That with my dog of being like, who is she going to have a go? Is she gonna get angry or cross or upset? Because if new babies there, suddenly the baby's taking all the attention in our house. Um, luckily she was okay, and we kind of brought her back in in the comfortable manner and kind of made sure they were both okay together. But yeah, I know some people have not had that experience, and it I suppose they'd be giving you a call, I guess.

SPEAKER_06 22:24

And I go to many households when a new baby's on the way to show them the best way to introduce the baby and the dog so the dog doesn't get jealous or get angry or whatever. Fantastic stuff.

SPEAKER_03 22:38

What's the most common problem dog owners ask you for help?

SPEAKER_06 22:42

Well, that one I can speed through and I can tell you now that the most common problems raised by dog owners relate to aggression issues. Aggression, separation anxiety, and prey drive, where the dog's always chasing the squirrel or the birds, etc.

SPEAKER_07 23:00

Thank you. Who's next, sorry?

SPEAKER_02 23:02

If a dog is behaving badly, is it usually careful or de-owners?

SPEAKER_07 23:07

Oh, that's tricky, that one I would have thought.

SPEAKER_06 23:09

Well, again, a good good question. But I don't I would like to rephrase the question or challenge your challenge what you're saying, because I don't think dogs behave badly. A dog behaves because it needs to behave in a certain way to meet its needs at that time to survive and to get on in the world. So it's a question of survival. Um when we say behaving badly, what owners normally mean is the dog is behaving in a way that we don't like. But it's not the dog that's behaving badly. If you were drawing for too long or playing football for too long, and your mum said, Come in, well, you wouldn't necessarily be behaving badly because you wanted to carry on playing. So whose fault is it? The question is whose fault is it if the dog is behaving in a different way than the human owner wants? And I think the answer is if it's just a question of manners, like the dog jumping up, etc. etc. etc., then it's the human owner's fault because we just haven't taught the dog not to jump up. But it might be for a medical reason. The dog might have a painful paw or something, and it might growl when somebody came too close to it. Well, that's not the human's fault. It's not the dog's fault either. But it's not the human's fault. So we I I suppose we need to just then tell the human to take the dog to the vet and get the pain sorted out and then be alright.

SPEAKER_07 24:49

Yeah, it's interesting that one, isn't it? Working out what they're working out the balance of behaving badly. Well, yeah, it could be a mixture. It could be a real mix. Thank you very much. Next question, please.

SPEAKER_03 24:59

What should someone do if the dog doesn't seem to listen?

SPEAKER_06 25:03

Well, there are only a few reasons why dogs don't listen. Firstly, it's a puppy uh age-related behavior. So if it's a really young puppy, they're not gonna listen because they don't understand. Um or the dog might be really old, it might not be able to hear, it's going deaf. So we have to work out why the dog isn't listening and get that sorted out. Or it might be the dog doesn't understand your instructions. So again, we need to teach the dog what we want it to do. Um alternatively, the dog may not listen to you because the rewards for not listening are far greater than the rewards for listening to you. So when the dog is playing over there with another puppy and you call it back, the dog might not come back to you because the rewards are so great, so much greater playing with the other puppy. So we have to make ourselves a bit more exciting and interesting. So, really, what should you do if your dog doesn't listen to you? Is the the answer I think to that is first understand why your dog isn't listening to you, because there's only a few reasons, and then address those reasons. It might be a training reason, it might be a medical reason.

SPEAKER_07 26:17

So interesting, isn't it? We're trying to work out kind of what a dog needs. Um, it's always that thing of when you get a puppy or uh a dog to start with, giving them treats, and that's that reward to come back, I guess, isn't it? Going Absolutely. You're coming back because here's a here's a little bit of chicken for you.

SPEAKER_06 26:34

Dogs will repeat behaviors if they are rewarded for it. So if you want a dog to do what you want the dog to do, reward it when it does it for you.

SPEAKER_07 26:45

Um, right, uh, a couple more questions then, guys. I think there's one or two more before we kind of uh come to the end. Who's who's next, please?

SPEAKER_04 26:52

Can dogs understand rules in the same way children do?

SPEAKER_06 26:56

And the short answer to that question is yes. Because we always think about the differences between dogs and children. Actually, we don't think about the similarities, and the similarities are the brain works in the same way. It might be a bit smaller, but it works in the same way. Okay.

SPEAKER_07 27:15

Awesome. Thank you very much, right? Great question. I like that one. Yes, they can. Uh, last two questions then, guys. Last two.

SPEAKER_01 27:22

What's the easiest thing people can do to help their dog behave better?

SPEAKER_06 27:27

Well, I think that's a good question. I think Mr. Bates has already answered this for you, and I think he should become a dog behaviorist. Oh, that'd be good. Well, so the answer the short answer to that is reward the dog when they do when it does something that you like. If they are doing something you don't like, you can ignore it, or you can ask him to do something else that you do like and then reward that. That's the best way to get your dog to behave better.

SPEAKER_07 27:57

I think that's great. Yeah, giving them a reward. I think that's how I think uh I would do things better if I just got rewards all the time, I think.

SPEAKER_06 28:04

Yes, I think Mr. Bass is asking for a pay rise.

SPEAKER_07 28:07

Yes, yes, that would be nice. Right, last question then, guys. Well done. You've uh listened really well today and asked some really interesting questions. So, last one then, please.

SPEAKER_01 28:19

What's one big myth people often believe about dogs?

SPEAKER_07 28:23

Wow, interesting. Well, myth, that's quite a tricky.

SPEAKER_06 28:27

What is the biggest no, there are lots of myths. First of all, do dogs have a sense of self? Do they know who they are? Do they know what they are? You know you are who you are, but does a dog know who he is? And the interesting test that we use to find out whether an animal knows or has a sense of self is called a Gordon Gallup test. And you might have heard of this where you put a red mark on an animal and you present a mirror in front of the animal. And if the animal has a sense of self, is the if the animal knows what they are and who they are, they'll go, they'll try and wipe it clean. So if you put a we put a red mark on your forehead and you went in front of a mirror, you'd mark mark it clean. Apes can. So, you know, I put a mark on my dog's forehead, a little sticker on his forehead, and I presented him with a mirror, and he's no idea. He's not trying to so under the Gordon Gallup test, dogs don't know who they are, what they are, but actually they do have a sense of self. They know who they are because there was an experiment where when a dog weed in the snow, that snow where the dog weed was picked up and moved further forward. And when the dog went to smell its wee again, it spent less time smelling smelling its own wee than it did smelling other dogs' weeds. So it has a sense of mineness. So it knows that way.

SPEAKER_07 30:05

It knows its wee. It knows its we. Avtab, thank you so much for joining us here today. It's been fascinating hearing how understanding behavior, communication, and relationships matter just as much for dogs as it does for people. So, Avtab, thank you so much for joining us today.

SPEAKER_06 30:21

You're welcome. I've really enjoyed myself.

SPEAKER_07 30:28

A few important reminders for next week. Next week, it is the year six charity events running on Thursday and Friday lunchtime. Please remember to bring in lots of pennies to help raise as much money as possible for our school charity this year, Home Start. Sport team photos are also happening. Year five and six will be on Wednesday lunchtime, and year three and four on Thursday. Please make sure you bring in the correct kit and arrive promptly. And finally, we currently have oak possessionary moth activity in the main tree on the Astro Turf next to stable court. Please do not touch the tree and avoid this area where possible, as these caterpillars can cause skin irritation. As we begin this final half term together, remember to bring enthusiasm, try something new, support others, and make the most of every opportunity that comes your way.