Dog play what's ok?

Dog play what's ok?

1 April 2026

Dog play what’s okay?

You may have heard that you can be over zealous and you should leave dogs to work it out themselves but this is poor advice. Sometimes play can turn into something else so it’s important to be mindful of play signals. When a dog goes rushing over to another head on it can feel threatening – even if the intention is play. It can be hard to assess intention as the dog is likely to be moving very fast.

Here are some red flags in play

Tense postures

Head turned away

One dog doing all the chasing, sparing

Bites on the tail and ears

Mouth clamped shut

Low tail

Head over the dogs back

Here are some green flags during play/ interactions

Mirroring each others body language

Pausing when the other dog pauses

Soft wiggly body language

Soft eyes

Mouth open

If you would like support please reach out and remember there are podcasts on dog topics too.

Reference : Whitehead, Sarah, (2018), He’s Only Playing

Children and Dogs

by Lisa Sinnott • 4 March 2026

I know of many family members who have small children and dog and they live in harmony.

Mounting and humping behaviour

by Lisa Sinnott • 30 January 2026

Some dogs do it for hormonal reasons others due to behavioural. Reasons behind humping can include hormones, anxiety, tension attention seeking, frustration, eliciting play or displacement behaviour when stressed. Filling out the diary can help pinpoint more triggers and look at what is happening.

Children and dogs - harmony at home

by Lisa Sinnott • 30 January 2026

Children and Dogs: A Guide to Safe and Happy Relationships Having a dog in your family is exciting and fun, but it’s important to teach children how to interact safely and kindly with their furry friend. Puppies and young dogs are still learning, and we need to help them grow into happy, well-behaved companions.

Separation related challenges

by Lisa Sinnott • 30 January 2026

You may have heard that you have made a 'rod for your own back' with your dog, or 'spoiling' them has caused separation anxiety. I am here to tell you, that this is not the case. Dogs from breeders and rescued dogs can experience it. Separation distress can be caused for lots of different reasons. These can include:

Pica and dogs - eating non- food items

by Lisa Sinnott • 30 January 2026

Understanding Pica in Dogs: Why They Eat Non-Food Items

Sound Sensitivities in Dogs

by Lisa Sinnott • 29 January 2026

Sound sensitivities can be distressing for us to watch.

Dangers outside and in the garden

by Lisa Sinnott • 27 January 2026

Many trees can be dangerous if a dog eats them which many dogs can do.

Managing multi dog homes

by Lisa Sinnott • 19 January 2026

Sometimes management at home can be tricky if you have more than one dog, with this in mind I wanted to break down some options for you.

Stress and your dog’s brain

by Lisa Sinnott • 12 January 2026

It is thought that in chronic stress that the part of the brain responsible for learning and memory – the hippocampus – has shrunk.

Meeting dogs

by Lisa Sinnott • 7 January 2026

Introducing dogs to one another

Thank you for explaining all of this Lisa and how dogs brains work! I was really confused about why she was behaving this way. I've learnt alot over these sessions, thank you.

Catherine, St Albans

My dog Monty and I had a great experience working with Lisa at St Paws. I'd been struggling with him being quite nervous around other dogs, and reacting and growling as a result. We worked on association with other dogs and Lisa shared alot of things to train in to help us in different situations. It's a long process but we've definitely seen positive progress and continue to work on what Lisa has taught us. Lisa was very patient, gave lots of good insights and clearly has alot of experience and knowledge around dogs, their triggers and reactions.

Sarah, Brixton (but travelled to St Albans for the in person sessions)

I've seen a definite improvement over the course of the sessions.

Karen

We can leave him longer than in the first week now. It feels we are heading in the right direction.

Tracey

Lisa is a calm well organised teacher - Tyson has really enjoyed and was relaxed in the classes. Lisa made it fun.

Kam

Lisa is great! Very passionate and knowledgable.

Matt

We like that you are proactive in getting to know the puppies and checking on their progress. Being able to ask questions to get answers tailored to our issues. We also really liked tips on recall, like, "touch" command or "spin" to divert dog's attention from jumping.

Michael

The sessions were fun!

Kirsty

Lisa is very clear and understanding in helping us through the training and very patient. I felt listened to and Lisa answered all my questions with background explanations to clarify, which was very helpful

Sarah, St Albans

The children found Lisa very helpful, friendly and informative. She was very inclusive with them, and did not make any of us feel that we asked a silly/pointless question.

Naomi

Lisa was amazing and the training techniques were so useful. She understood our dogs needs, listened to our concerns and it was great working with her!

Jane

Lisa was great at formulating and communicating the plan. She provided amazing support not only during sessions but over messages and calls in between. Lisa was particularly kind. I am finding the experience difficult and she has showed amazing compassion which I really appreciate. I was surprised by the level of support and advice Lisa provided. She goes above and beyond her responsibilities and shows clear understanding and knowledge, as well as a love and passion for what she’s doing. She also displays good humour which I always appreciate! The literature, links and videos she sent me has been extremely useful. Lisa does not advocate for punitive techniques which had been advised to me by countless people. She explained to me why these are not effective.
I am very glad I chose her to help me with my puppy and I feel confident that with her help I’ll have a happy, well trained canine companion.

Josie

We wished we had met you when we first got our Boxers. In puppy class there was too much focus on theory and not enough action. The techniques are working really well.

David, St Albans

The techniques you showed us in the first session have been a fantastic. My friend noticed the difference straight away.

Ruth, St Albans

We enjoyed Lisa's expertise and teaching style. It made us feel comfortable. We wouldn't change a thing about the classes, we found them so so helpful. We are so sad the classes have ended.

Jo

I'd really recommend the reactivity course

Karen

I've just had such a positive walk paying attention to his body language - he played nicely on the open space with a little white dog (they were doing mirrored play bows) until she rolled over and I called him back to me. He came back straight away :)

Kate

She aw a dog and didn't bark.. I was astounded!

Rosalind

Seeing Poppy make clear progress each week and explanations from Lisa (based on her knowledge of dog behaviour) of why and how to use different approaches was a highlight of class.

Elisabeth

Nora is doing well, she's much better behaved!

Ella

Arlo is doing brilliantly! We have implemented your suggestions and are doing the decompression walks.

Jack

Just a quick note to say thank you for today and it was so lovely to meet you - you have such a lovely kind, calm nature which is just what she needs.

Emma

We had a big win.... our dog came over to us for treats instead of chasing our cat in the garden.

Tamsin

She didn't react to a big dog today at all! It was such a game changer practicing. She's so much better at meeting dogs this week.

Liz

I hope you’re keeping well, thank you for all the help you gave us with Oona.

Marilyn, Bushey

The counting technique you gave us was a game changer to avoid chasing the cats

Jai,, St Albans

We've had some positive changes. The popup crate in the living room has been an absolute game changer (for fireworks). We were practicing our new “go get it” treat game, searching for hidden treats, when a small dog suddenly approached us. I jumped up, called “come on!” to Alf, and ran in the opposite direction. He followed! After a bit, he noticed the other dog again and trotted toward it. Just as his posture started to stiffen, I whistled and said, “Go get it!”—our cue for the treat-finding game. He broke away from the other dog before going into his usual snapping routine and ran straight back to me!

Nicole, London

Just had a really calm lovely walk with Poppy today, thank you so much for all your reassurance and guidance.

Laura Harpenden

I took him for a walk yesterday and he was amazing, so good! A complete loose lead walk - my back was sore but he was sniffing. It was incredible, stress free and he was engaged! It felt like such a change - an enjoyable walk. It was only the second time we did it and a buggy walked past and he ignored it with the sniffing game. The crate is going well too. I was shocked but so proud of him! It's added to a stress free time at home.

Nicola Harpenden

We are keeping him and cats separate when we aren’t around or able to supervise properly. They all have treats together regularly and he can now be in a room off the lead again. They both know how to act around him. The other day he was off the lead with her for the first time (he did know treats were on their way!). One of the cats bunted him! Definitely don’t let him lose in the garden with them, only on the lead, I can’t see that changing but it’s more than manageable. Think small improvements will keep slowly happening in the house as they all get older. Looking back they have come a long way. We’ve really appreciated all your help so thank you so much.

Tam, St Albans

We understand him and his stress thresholds and how he is feeling so much more now. We now can see that his behaviour is not just out of the blue and random.

Nic, Finchley

You took the time to understand what our puppy needed and what we needed as a family

Mark, St Albans

Bailey's loose lead walking has really improved. The session you did with me walking him and counting to 10 was transformational! He's been a different dog since.

Nicola, Harpenden

Bernie is doing a lot better! We've been able to distract him from other dogs on walks or reassure him everything's okay when we see them. He's a lot less reactive generally and we're so grateful to you!

Annie

Kira has been doing brilliantly at night with her crate door open in the lounge. She spends the majority of the night in her crate & had her first dry night last night!

No crying us awake at 5.15am either!

Di

Thank you so much, Lisa. We found our session with you incredibly helpful and we've started to put some of the suggestions into practise.

Emily, St Albans

We're in such a better place now. We feel we have a plan and the issues between the dogs have massively reduced.

Tony, Hatfield

You can reach out to me here

hello@stpawstrainingacademy.co.uk

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Lisa Sinnott BA (Hons) PG Dip.

CAB Dog and Cat Behaviourist

Qualifications

👩🏻‍🎓 Postgraduate Diploma and Professional Development Programme in Clinical Animal Behaviour at the University of Edinburgh Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies

👩🏻‍🎓 Canine Coaching Diploma

Information

Enhanced DBS Certificate and Insured
Pet Welfare Speaker in schools
The photos with the blue background are by the talented Sara at Teef and Tails Dog Photography

Associations and Accreditations

Candidate Member of Fellowship of Animal Behaviour Clinicians
Associate Member of The Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors - APBC - Associate members have demonstrated that they have the appropriate level of Knowledge & Understanding for the professional role of Clinical Animal Behaviourist (CAB). They are now gaining the practical experience necessary to be assessed as a CAB and therefore become a Full member of the APBC. The APBC supports its Associate members undertaking behaviour consultations.

Experience

Worked with reactive dogs since 2016 providing solo walks and care initially
Trained hundreds of puppies into amazing dogs

Humble brags ahead...

Finalist in the national E v erywoman Entrepreneur Awards co-founded by Karen Gill MBE - out of nearly 1000 nominations 30 made the final
Cucumber sandwich eater along with my incredible Mum at Buckingham Palace Garden Party - I was nominated by a Prince’s Trust colleague upon completing the Launch Group
Silver Winner - Best Business Women Awards
Finalist in the National SME Awards at Wembley

Do you have a cat? 🐱

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My awards, memberships and places you may have seen or heard me on..

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