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Oxford Bark Dog Training

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Oxford Bark Dog Training

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23/04/2024

Can you help? Please share these girls!

Bonnie and Baci both need new homes. Video in comments.

Baci is a 2 year old GAP green collar Greyhound who was living with one of my older patients from ex work - apart from being too much dog for a mid 80s lady, said lady broke her femur recently and now Baci is way too much dog, even being a Greyhound. Fine with other dogs (living with my 4kg crew, Border Collie and Bonnie). Walks nicely on leash, loves people, needs a doggie friend as without one stresses a bit. A really sweet girl.

Bonnie is 7 yr old Border Kelpie, on the lower end of the energy scale, loves chasing a ball but isn't manic or OCD like some. Nicely trained (leash manners, recall, house trained), good with other dogs or on her own, totes fine with my crew, is fine to live with working breeds or dogs who don't care about toys (went on trial with toy loving Whippets and it didn't quite work). Loves people and kids. Has spent a bunch of time on the farm here and fine with livestock but I wouldn't leave her unsupervised with chooks. Owner having housing suitability issues unfortunately.

These girls adore each other - it would be cool to see them in a new home together, but they can of course go separately.

Both girls come with a complimentary training session with yours truly ❤️

DM if interested in meeting these girls 😁

22/04/2024

Lottie, Cookie and Juno thought Bree needed some worship.... And maybe in return for the worship treaties would rain down from the sky 🤣

Spoiler: that didn't happen (this time, anyway) 🤣

29/03/2024

Puppy Indi is 10 months old and well into the teenage stage - she thinks everything is exciting and listening is optional! 🙉

We're now into the third stage of the puppy program where we are Back to Basics! Strong, well practiced basics of loose leash walking, a fabulous recall and above all handler engagement and relationship are what pays off in the long run!

Today we practiced all the BTBs - Recall in the 5 acre paddock, loose leash walking and below you can see the end result of practicing engagement with the handler with Juno and myself as a distraction. This was very hard for Indi as she's pretty into being her friendliest self, but we can avoid leash aggression and frustration later in life by teaching her what we expect now. Indi is on the right track to be Set for Life!

10/03/2024

Results! Winner winner chicken dinners!

🤩 Carol and Fred nailed their Rally Novice trials x 2 - only their second trials ever and they took home first and first with awesome scores

🤩 Carly and Henry - Henry's first ever trials, they took third and second in Rally Novice with improvement between each trial and did themselves proud, conquering their nerves!

🤩 Bel and Cookie I can't claim credit for, because Bel trains me as well as the other way around! But she and her girl Cookie nailed their Rally Advanced trials and came second and first ❤️

So happy for these girls and their dogs, they've all overcome various obstacles and put in tons of work to get here 🥰

09/03/2024

Trial preparation!

Several of my long term clients are stepping into the competition ring, having trained their dogs with me using Steve Courtney's Training in Drive system to get the best from their dogs.

Here we have fabulous Fred the Stafford and Henry the Stafford getting in some last minute prep on Thurs before their trial yesterday ❤️

06/03/2024

Calm and engaged (without begging or bribing!)

Billie the Amstaff and young Lottie, showing the same skill at two different levels. Billie and her owner have been training with me for quite a few years now. We can stop and chat in the middle of a session with Billie off leash and she doesn't leave to fulfil her own desires (and trust me, there's plenty of distraction!), she stays with us and waits patiently, calmly engaged with her owner, who is generally ignoring her while we're talking. Does your dog nick off as soon as you aren't on their case about staying with you?

Lottie is about 9 months old and learning the same skill, hence the leash - it can take a while to perfect this - it isn't "look at me" and there are no commands involved, no food, no affection or talking to the dog.

Give it a go - it'll go better with a limited check collar or slip leash, rather than a harness. A good start point is to see what your dog does on leash if you stop and plant yourself steady and calm and stand still for 5 minutes. They'll probably pull on the leash, try and sniff stuff, perhaps vocalise at you, paw at you, jump on you etc. Wait them out, don't say anything, don't move but you can correct them if they are mauling you with their paws or mouth. The second they relax and check in with you with a loose leash, take a breath or two and finish the exercise, no fanfare, maybe a calm scratch on the noggin, just off you go. Repeat a few times a week (or as often as you want to, it's an exercise in patience, keep in mind) and see what happens by the end of a month.
If you give it a go, take note of how long it takes your dog to engage with you the first time vs a few weeks in.

If you'd like some help with your dog to create a better relationship, book in!

Happy training!

04/03/2024

Group class going for a walk - two child handlers (I love working with kids, they're often better at listening and doing than adults 😂), everyone on a relaxed loose leash, close proximity, no fuss, no muss ❤️

02/03/2024

Juno loves yoghurt tub cleaning day! And then the other dogs clean her!

Do your dogs wear their snacks? 😂 Show me a pic 😍

29/02/2024

New logo, who dis? 😁

Had to have my little girls in the branding, Pip started this entire caper and Juno is carrying the flag into the future 🥰

Designs done by my wonderfully talented client Bree, who can be found at

https://www.instagram.com/breemitchell_design?igsh=MWRveDR1N2M3eTdwZA==

19/02/2024

Out with my sister and her girl Ditto the other day and we came across this nice boulder. A perfect perch for a Border Collie! Environmental challenges like helping your dog jump up on stuff like benches or rocks or put their feet up on pylons or walk over metal grates or planks with gaps, among many other things, are a great way to build their confidence and your relationship (and dare I say it, beat "sniffy walks" hands down in almost every way) 😁

15/02/2024

So me being hopeless about social media, a few days later than promised, here's an answer as to how Captain Fluffy went from the threatened, side eye creature on the left, to the happy smiley boy on the right. All dogs are different and things tried for him won't necessarily be appropriate for other dogs. If you have a reactive dog, find a trainer who understands this.
What I did:

✅ I corrected the poor choice of reaction to Juno sniffing his bum. Feedback like that can be helpful for some dogs to take a step back next time and think before jumping in with the teeth. It also keeps everyone safe as it adds time between action and reaction.

🥱 I provided a space for him to decompress, with the other dogs around but not putting pressure on him or invading the space. In this case, it was a puppy pen.

🐾 I added leash control and taught him to give to pressure. Controlling himself on leash meant, again, he could add the step of think before react. Which turned reaction into no reaction.

🐕 I let my dogs do some of the work here too. They're generally not interested in other dogs, so their interactions (once he understood - think first, react later) were low pressure, non threatening and helped build his confidence. And when he showed he was ready, they were happy to play.

Because of his temperament, age, type of reactivity and adding a bit more structure to his life while he was with me, he was safe and secure with my dogs within 24 hours. Captain is back home with his family and on the journey to no reactivity with them and myself, becoming a Good Dog. This isn't the last we'll see of him, which is lucky because he's adorable!

What didn't I do:
Any of the suggestions in the comments on the last post 😂😂

Please seek a good trainer if you need help with your reactive dog.

03/02/2024

Caption this 🐕🙀😂

29/01/2024

Thank you so much to everyone who shared my post about finding Nacho a home. The lovely boy has found his dream home, with his own kids and a comfy couch, getting all the attention and boundaries he needs!

His new family saw him on a friend's page who shared my post, which just goes to show social media networking really can make a difference 🥰

Thanks again to everyone for sharing him around ❤️

28/01/2024

If your dog is fearful, do you avoid their triggers?

Or do you help them to be brave?

Think about how you feel when you're afraid of doing something, and then someone steps in, takes your hand and says, I'll do it with you, or I'll help you - and the feeling of almost euphoria when you do overcome your fear. It feels pretty good, yes? Scared of the rollercoaster, and then you go on it and get a massive high because you did it, you were brave! Each rollercoaster after that is less terrifying and you build confidence, until rollercoasters are easy peasy and you find you enjoy them ❤️ (You and your dog overcoming things together builds your relationship!)

Some dog trainers tell owners to just avoid the dog's triggers - for most dogs, this simply isn't possible - controlling the environment outside the home (and even inside sometimes!) to the level where a trigger like other dogs, or strange people or loud noises etc never appears isn't practical.

If your dog is scared of something, instead of trying to avoid it forever, take your dog's paw and help them be brave! If you don't know how, find a trainer who does!

Pictured is Flick the Border Collie, who is learning to be brave around other dogs, with her owners help ❤️ she looks pretty pleased with herself, and so she should be - being brave beats feeling so stressed you can't function!

19/01/2024

Scream if you love Friday nights! 😂 🐕🐾🐶

17/01/2024

My face when I see the comments on a general dog group or community group post about dog aggression, or resouce guarding, or human aggression or serious predatory behaviour issues...

There are some things you just shouldn't turn to the internet for advice about and issues to do with the Bitey end of the dog is one of them.

The problem with asking general dog owners for advice on what can be absolutely serious problems is threefold:

🫣They don't know your dog or you
🫣You don't know them or their dog
🫣 You have no idea if the advice will work for your dog or make the problem worse until you try it

Would you ask your neighbour who happens to own a car for driving advice? Does your answer change if their car is covered in dents and has a smashed windscreen? (Their last car was like that too). You probably wouldn't, right?

The internet advice for dog issues is like biting into a shiny apple and seeing half a caterpillar and you don't know if the caterpillar is poisonous...starts off looking good but could end very badly 🍎🐛☠️

If you're struggling with aggression from your dog towards humans, other dogs or other animals, get in touch with a good* trainer. Finding a good trainer can be a minefield, you might have to try several before you find someone who you click with, but keep at it. Your dog is worth it - and worth more than a stab at training them yourself with Terrible Internet Advice 🙃

*They'll be able to show you proof they've fixed this before, in a timely fashion to a satisfactory standard*

13/01/2024

Why we focus a lot of time and energy on that loose leash walk ❤️

12/01/2024

LOST: A pair of legs. Last seen just prior to crazy running time 😂

Reward offered: Kisses from Ted of Spots

With 20 acres of paddocks, practicing off leash recall is a breeze!

10/01/2024

Group class picnic! There's fish and chips in the trailer, which the humans partook in. No doggos crashed the party, but there were some sad puppy dog eyes who earned a chip or three 😂🍟

Group class is open to clients who have done previous consults with me and their dogs are ready to work in close proximity around other dogs to continue their training and upskill journey ❤️

08/01/2024

Edit: Nacho has left the building! He's found his wonderful people! 🥳🎉🥂

This lovely guy is still looking for his forever home. He's beautifully trained, knows how to do all the important things that make a dog nice to live with, loves people and food. He's a complete dag too, makes me laugh with his antics. He's not a dog park dog but has lived with other dogs and could do so again. He's had a run of really bad luck with his homes and deserves another chance to make someone happy ❤️

Please share this around, help find him the right person!

26/12/2023

How I looked yesterday evening after all the eating and festivities 😂 The thousand yard "I ate too much and now I'm tired but I'm too full to go to bed" stare 😂

23/12/2023

When you finally find a hat that fits 😂

Show me the best/funniest/silliest pic you took of your dog this year!
(or very late last year in Pip's case)

This photo cracks me up every time I see it, inspired by a friend 😂

22/12/2023

And that's a wrap! It's been quite A Year hasn't it, with some huge changes! I'm really looking forward to 2024, I've got some big plans - workshops, puppy school, group classes, dog sports, competing myself again with my own dog after a quiet year training young Juno and realising Pippa’s older body just isn't up to competitive obedience training anymore. I'm also very excited to continue what I've been doing for the last few years - meeting and teaching new people and their problem dogs - the aggressive ones, dogs with poor or no manners in the house or out in public spaces, barking, toilet training issues, husbandry handling issues, multidog household pack dynamic issues and the list goes on.

I often tell my clients they're doing an awesome job with their dog and they often in reply try to credit me - my reply to that is always - “You are the one putting in the work day in and day out. The dog wouldn't be showing such great progress if you weren't showing them what you want from them every day. I just opened the door for you. You've walked through with your dog and now you're reaping the rewards”.

On that note, have a great break over Xmas and the New Year and I'll be back on deck with the Little Crew on the 2nd Jan 2024 🎄🎁

And yes, the dogs were thrilled to pose in their Xmas outfits 😂 Ditto thought she looked so ridiculous she wouldn't even open her eyes and Juno had to be edited in cause she wouldn't look at the camera 😂

19/12/2023

This is the beautiful Osha. She's a working line German Shepherd who has some environmental sensitivity which is making life a bit stressful for her.
Her owner would also like to trial in Obedience and Osha isn't the biggest fan of people leaning over into her space, which makes things like the Stand for Exam, where the dog must hold still while the judge does exactly that, somewhat tricky! We had a great first consult today and her owner has some homework to do over the Christmas break. Stay tuned for more Osha updates next year ❤️

18/12/2023

Cafe puppies from way back, who turn into awesome pub puppies (Juno was under the legal drinking age, but don't tell anyone 😂)

Start as you mean to go on - If you want to take your dog to the local cafe as an adult and have a good experience, start taking them as baby puppies and show them how you'd like them to behave. Evie and Juno had a great first cafe outing as babies and then flash forward to Oct this year and Juno and Pip made the most of the comfy bed I brought along and had a nap - no begging for food, no barking or jumping at the other patrons, toileting inappropriately or making a general nuisance of themselves. Having dogs in public spaces like this is a privilege ❤️

14/12/2023

What the heck Wednesday (except it's Thurs apparently, but I'm going to let that one go through to the keeper 😂)

Lottie trying to figure out what Alpacas do and how you make them go - you don't, Lottie, you won't like what they do! 😂 !

03/12/2023

When a tiny potato meets a giant potato and it's love!

As part of my puppy raising program, puppies are exposed to all sorts of livestock around the farm - given most suburban puppies are unlikely to meet Alpacas at the shops, why would meeting livestock be important?

Exposure to different and novel (new) stimulus, the reactions from puppies week to week and the way you as a handler deal with that reaction is invaluable learning for puppies and handlers. The more well planned and executed novel exposures when puppies are under 20 weeks, the better puppies will be at dealing with new things as they get older. You can't beat doing this stuff in a safe environment with a good trainer on hand. There are other reasons I use livestock too - engagement with the handler, obedience and simple distraction and all the farm creatures come in handy at one time or other for this work with puppies but also adult dogs.

30/11/2023

Remi here is a working bred Neuro-collie (Neurotic!)
He is always asking himself, why relax and chill when you can snap at invisible flies or RUN or do burnouts or RUN or do circles at speed or RUN... You get the idea! So we do plenty of "nothing" with Remi, which he resents, even though it's good for him, like children and eating their veggies...he says he can still do "nothing" and give attitude at the same time 😂

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Did you know you can find us on Instagram as well? I don't always post the same stuff in both places, cause that's boring so make sure to give a follow over there as well if you like what you see here! https://instagram.com/oxford.bark.dogtraining?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==

Meet the lovely Stan Floofpants! Stan came to see me a while ago with a range of issues including dog aggression that made taking him for a walk a very unpleasant experience for everyone, and some human reactivity that really needed sorting out! He's come a long way since then (so have his owners!) and they really enjoy their lives together now. Yesterday we started working on transitioning Stan back to his flat collar for walks. This boy used to consider himself quite the freight train on leash, look at him go now!