When Did You First Notice It??

A calm starting point when your pet’s behaviour suddenly changes

If your dog or cat has started acting “not quite themselves” — and you don’t know whether to worry, wait, or act — this short guide is for you.

Most pet parents don’t panic right away.
They notice something small.

A dog who suddenly won’t settle.
A cat who hides or lashes out.
New anxiety, pacing, vocalising, or unusual habits that seem to come from nowhere.

This free starting guide is not training.
It’s not behaviour correction.
And it’s not about blame.

It’s a calm, practical way to help you pause, observe, and understand what might be changing — before guessing, Googling, or making things worse.

What you’ll get

In this free starting guide, you’ll find:

  • Why sudden behaviour changes often have a reason

  • A simple observation checklist you can use immediately

  • How to tell the difference between stress, discomfort, and “normal variation”

  • What not to do in the early stages

Most people read this in under 10 minutes.

Written by an experienced professional groomer and canine behaviour consultant, with years of hands-on observation in real-world settings.

This guide is about understanding, not diagnosis.

This guide is for you if…

You don’t need a label or a diagnosis yet.
You simply know that something has changed — and you want to understand when it started, and why that matters.

This guide is for you if:

  • your dog or cat’s behaviour feels different, but you can’t quite explain how

  • a problem appeared “out of nowhere” and hasn’t resolved on its own

  • you’re being told what to do, but not helped to understand what happened

  • advice online feels generic, conflicting, or reactive

  • you want to make thoughtful decisions instead of guessing or panicking

You don’t need to be at crisis point.
You just need to be paying attention.

What this guide is — and what it is not

This guide is not a list of quick fixes, training tricks, or behaviour hacks.
It won’t tell you how to stop a behaviour without understanding where it came from.
And it won’t ask you to label your dog or cat before you’ve looked at the bigger picture.

What this guide does offer is a calm, structured way to think.

It helps you step back and ask the most important question first:

When did you first notice it?
From there, the guide walks you through:

  • how to recognise meaningful changes in behaviour

  • how to trace those changes back to events, routines, or physical shifts

  • how to tell the difference between behavioural, environmental, and physical causes

  • when observation is enough — and when professional input matters

  • This guide respects that behaviour is communication, not defiance.
    It assumes your pet isn’t “being difficult” —
    but responding to something in their world, or their body, that has changed.

What’s inside the guide

This guide is organised around real situations — not theory, not training trends, and not diagnoses made in isolation.

Each section follows the same calm, diagnostic structure, helping you slow down and think clearly before taking action.

Inside the guide, you’ll work through situations such as:

  • sudden behaviour changes

  • tension between pets

  • anxiety or fear appearing suddenly

  • behaviour that feels off, but unclear

  • toileting changes after reliability

How this starting guide supports you

For each situation, this guide helps you:

  • identify when the behaviour first appeared

  • recognise what may have changed around that time

  • understand whether stress, pain, environment, habit, or aging may be involved

  • decide what can be observed calmly — and what needs professional input

You’re not asked to jump ahead to solutions.

You’re guided to understand the sequence of events first —
because that’s where the real answers usually are.

A final thought before you begin

Behaviour doesn’t change in a vacuum.

Something shifts — in routine, in health, in environment, or in emotional security — and behaviour follows.

When we slow down enough to understand when that shift happened,
we stop reacting to symptoms
and start responding to causes.

This guide won’t tell you what to think.

It will help you ask better questions —
about your pet, your household, and the moments that may have been overlooked.

If that feels like the right place to begin,
the guide is there when you’re ready.


Free PDF. No payment required.

© Le Woof
Professional grooming, care, and education for dogs and cats

For educational purposes — not a replacement for veterinary or behavioural diagnosis.
Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Disclaimer
Questions? hannelie@lewoof.co.za