Pets Corner

Life In Lockdown

Photo: Simon Lunn / Great North Woods A s I write this it is difficult to know for how much longer lockdown is to continue. A phased return to the workplace in May or June could still leave significant numbers facing isolation, although it is hoped that by high summer there may be some respite, if only until the autumn. In terms of the impact of the pandemic on pet owners, there has been plenty of online information from the government and other reputable sources about managing pets as well as the important fact that pets can carry the virus on their fur and paws, making regular hand washing after contact with your pet a must. Fortunately, dog walking has been viewed as essential exercise and many will have benefitted from this, not least the dogs. However, peering into the future, two possible consequences of lockdown are of particular concern for behaviourists. The first is in igniting or augmenting separation issues in dogs, the second is the impact on socialisation of pups reaching key developmental windows just as lockdown started. It is not clear why some dogs are more prone to separation issues than are others. Please note, I use the qualifier ‘issue’ rather than ‘anxiety’. It is now thought that many separation problems can be the result of frustration and lack of separation training in puppyhood, rather than necessarily an anxiety disorder or some other pathology- although these clearly exist too. What we do know is that even dogs who have learned to cope with being left for hours at a time can quickly sensitise to separation again if the family/owners suddenly start to stay at home for extended periods. This is a common occurrence at Christmas time when having enjoyed constant companionship for a few weeks the dog ‘objects’ to his owners returning to work. At such times owners can make the mistake of assuming that because the dog copes with sleeping downstairs alone at night, it knows and understands how to be alone. For those continuing with varying degrees of isolation the best advice is to ensure your dog has ‘alone’ time, even if you are in the house Pets Corner with Leonie St Clair | www.londondogstraining.co.uk with them. Go ahead and put them in another room, shut the door and limit access to the rest of the family. Make sure some of the alone time involves you leaving the house altogether; when you go for essential shopping is one opportunity but do vary the times of day if you can. The dog needs to hear that front door shut and other family members should also go into another room and separate from the dog. If your dog has a meltdown then don’t panic but you will have to revisit basic separation training and build up again. Trainers and behaviourists will be happy to help if you get stuck. Fortunately, separation training lends itself to consultation by remote. For puppy owners who got caught up in lockdown as soon as their 8- week old pup arrived you will be aware of the challenges that face you in terms of socialisation. However, try not to worry. Although not ideal, there is good research to indicate that pups of a sound underlying temperament can still recover from lack of socialisation, even if they were brought up in a shed! This is not to say you will not have to work much harder, just that all is not lost. However, please research what you need to do and ask for help from trainers and behaviourists. Photo by Ryan Walton on Unsplash

FAIRLAWN PRIMARY SCHOOL DISCOVER THE MAGIC OF LEARNING

New Nursery Class Opening: 21st September 2020

Fairlawn Primary School is a highly successful and happy school in Forest Hill. We pride ourselves on providing a warm and friendly environment where both children and parents feel they are welcomed and listened to. We are offering both part time and full time places. Term time only. Your child must be 3 years old by 31st August 2020

Nursery Hours 08:45 to 11:45 10 places available 12:25 to 15:25 10 places available 08:45 to 15:25 16 places available * *providing you are eligible for 30 hours free childcare.

Early years provision rated as ‘’Outstanding” by Ofsted. ‘The stimulating environment and exceptional curriculum provides rich, varied and imaginative experience’ Apply by 30th April 2020.

Please email Michelle Pay for an application form: admin@fairlawn.lewisham.sch.uk Fairlawn Primary School, Honor Oak Road, London, SE23 3SB Tel: 020 8699 7948.

Many local businesses have had to adapt to life under the Covid-19 lockdown. So many businesses got in touch to tell us how they have adapted their business to cope. Look out for more stories on our website www.arounddulwich.co.uk and on our social media channels @AroundDulwich.

markets, as well as gaining a great new local following! Whilst we are in a pandemic the only thing we can do is stay safe and take all the recommended government guidelines seriously, which is why we operate a contactfree curb-side delivery system with all payments made online. Other than that, why not be positive and look towards the future of great healthy honest food ..and of course our up and coming lunch party! We have a few surprises to come this year, we’re looking forward to celebrating with you all in person.” All orders are through jerkoffbbq.com. Orders in by midday Friday and delivery on Saturday between 10am-5pm, meals to heat at home. All deliveries are to south East London postcodes.

@jerkoffbbq

Jerk Off BBQ At Jerk Off BBQ we love to host events and parties. We’ve been planning a launch for our new site but due to the Government lockdown we’ve been unable to celebrate when we’d wanted to, it a real shame not to see our supportive customers and community. However, we believe in positivity and great food, so as cooks we are always ready and willing to adapt and have done this by going fully online. We’re delivering locally to some lovely regulars from our pop ups and

Taking Maths Online Local maths tutor Joe Lyons visited students in Dulwich in their homes to teach them maths. Since the lockdown he is now teaching the lessons with the same students online. The students find the lessons fun and informative. They are able to work directly onto any electronic device such as a tablet or laptop and be guided through the questions. So after spending over ten years tutoring in students homes I am now available for on line lessons. Joe has taught in local Charter school and can be contacted at: 07736 01930 dulwichmaths@gmail.com. Dulwich Delivers Helping local restaurants, shops & essential services that deliver direct to your door. Inspired by his friend, Calypso, who set up dealdelivers.com for her community, Tom Szekeres has set up Dulwich Delivers. Using

the same code for his website, offered freely by Calypso, before long he had some brilliant local people helping to update the listings. In the first week, they had 4,000 people visit the site, and people can now order anything from sourdough starter to bread flour to Kimchi. All delivered contact-free to your door. https://dulwichdelivers.com 161 Food + Drink We are 161 Food + Drink, a neighbourhood wine shop and bar in Sydenham specialising in organic and low-intervention wine. We have opened our doors in summer 2014 with the vision of creating a cosy place for locals to come together. We offer delicious homecooked food, wines and handcrafted beers.