Sandy Dog Training Costa Blanca

01/09/2024

Looking forward to starting training again at Westvilles with these guys 🐶🐾🥰

31/08/2024

Looking forward to getting back to training 🐶🐾

Hi All
Hope you all are having a wonderful summer break.
We are looking forward to getting back to training.
The class schedule for WestVilles attached 🐕
Angela, Sandy & Ben

19/08/2024

What have you been doing with your dog during August, getting up really early ? Taking them out later in the evening ? Poppy and I have tried to keep up with our training and still get out and enjoy the outdoors 🐶🐾🌞

09/08/2024

Looking forward to to getting back to training in September 🐾🐶

01/08/2024

Training day today at Short Bark and Sides, practicing my faces with “Darling Douglas” and “Magnificent Mags” two very well behaved dogs, of course under the watchful eyes of Sherry and Jo guiding me all the way 🐶🐾

21/07/2024

I received my AIM certificate in Canine Training and Behaviour today, so pleased to have achieved a recognised qualification. It’s taken two years as well as doing numerous workshops and courses over the past 3 years. The Dog Training industry is unregulated but I believe it is important to explore all aspects of Training including Behavior, to understand the theory, science and research behind what we do at Dog Training Costa Blanca. Thank you to Rebecca Hanlon my course tutor for always encouraging me, Angela Holt for believing in me and of course all the clients at Dog Training Costa Blanca for letting me work with them and their wonderful dogs.

06/07/2024

Poppy loves being able to sniff, whether on or off lead, we really try hard to vary the walks of our dogs, especially as they are young and have lots of energy 🐶🐾❤️

We specialise in Dog Behaviour. Visit our website for details.
Telephone 696426783

04/07/2024

Reactivity

When we have a dog that is lunging, barking or growling and pulling on their leash if they meet other dogs, this is referred to as reactivity.

What not to do:
Dogs who practice this behaviour in the incorrect environment, like when we put the dog in a situation where they are unable to cope, where there may be lots of other dogs, and in close proximity, they will start lunging and barking. We do not want the dog to keep practicing this behaviour.

The myth:
Is that by continued over exposure and intervening when the dog reacts, this will supposedly will make the dog calmer but it actually does the reverse.
Some behaviours can become habit, whether rewarded or not. So every time you expose your dog, you are forming this response and eventually it will be how they respond.

So what do we need to do:
We need to only expose the dog to the correct environment with a low enough intensity, where he does not react. That means with just a few dogs and at the correct distance he can cope with, so that he does not practice barking and leash pulling. The dog can then practice being calm and this is the behaviour we want him to learn, by extremely gradual exposure.

The last thing we want is for them to behave this way, for example if we had a child who was scared of the water, would we throw them in at the deep end, would this help them overcome their fear of water, NO, this would probably make them fear the water even more or maybe even make them terrified for life, what we would do is introduce them gradually in a calm environment where the water is shallow and they are not out of their depth, with armbands to get them gradually used to the water.

25/06/2024

We are now finishing group classes for the summer as its too hot for us and the dogs, but we are offering 1 to 1s in the shaded areas at Westvilles. Try not to walk your dog in the heat of the day, daytime temperatures are soaring now and always make sure you have plenty of water, for you and your dog. 🐾

18/06/2024

Grooming is an important part of a dogs well being, here at Short Bark and Sides we try to create a stress free environment for your dogs, we always encourage clients with new pups to introduce them to the groomers early on and make it a positive experience with lots of cuddles 🐶🐾

01/06/2024

A great day on Friday at Westvilles with Speak Dog Education with Rebecca Hanlon “Through a dogs eyes” a fascinating workshop, lots fun and especially enjoyed the role playing 😊

01/06/2024

Fabulous course on Friday “Through a dogs eyes”, so very interesting looking at everything from the dogs perspective a big thank you to Speak Dog Education with Rebecca Hanlon, Angela Holt for Hosting and our Training base Westvilles.

Sad to say good bye to all the amazing trainers at DogTraining Costa Blanca .
Thank you for all of your support and for teaching so many people how to live with and understand their dogs with compassion and empathy.
I can't wait to see what you all do in the future. I feel blessed to call you all my friends.
Big love ❤️

30/05/2024

Love this group 🐶🐾❤️

21/05/2024

All dog owners need one of these 🐶🐾❤️

08/05/2024

Really interesting read 🐾🐾

How odd we must be to our dogs?
We have two legs that make us high off the floor. This makes a hello very difficult for our dogs. And when they do go to say hello with an appropriate muzzle sniff, they are often met with people shouting at them and pushing them away.

We leave food in easy-to-reach places, kitchen worksurfaces, coffee tables, bins. Perfect places for our dogs to do what has kept them alive as a species for thousands of years. scavenging and foraging, using their nose to find food. And us weird humans shout and get angry, wonder why our dinner got stolen, and think of them as bad dogs.

We think sniffing natural things like dead animals and urine is disgusting and yet we constantly try to cover up any natural smells we have with chemicals, often toxic to the world around us. Detergents, perfumes, chemical sprays. We must smell overwhelming and pretty horrid to our canine friends.

We greet each other with a friendly smile, only touching each other when we give consent to do so. And yet we often greet our dogs by leaning over them, patting them on their head. If we greeted humans the way we greeted dogs it wouldn't be long before we had no friends and were arrested for assault.

We leave our dogs alone when we go out or put them in separate rooms. We use doors to confine them when it suits our daily needs. Then we wonder why this hyper-social animal feels distressed.

We have these rather odd things called hands. We touch and feel things with them. We use them to navigate the world, we grasp and pull, we hold and touch. Our dogs don't have hands, they have mouths. They use these to navigate the world around them and yet when they bite and chew, they are often told off.

We talk. We natter away, this jumble of noises that only people from the same place as us can understand. Some of us may be able to speak to some other humans from a few different countries but often struggle even with our own language. Dogs are fantastic communicators. Being able to communicate with other dogs all over the world. How confusing must our jibber jabber be to them? They often understand us a lot better than we understand them and when they do communicate with a bark they are labeled a nuisance.

They can only eat, sleep, have s*x, play, socialise, run, sniff, hunt, be free, be dogs! when we enable or allow it.
Our dogs are ridiculously tolerant of our weird human ways.
We owe it to them to be just as tolerant. We owe it to them to learn more about them, communicate, and teach them in ways they understand.

They do not have unrealistic expectations of us, they don’t judge or shout at us when we get things wrong. Let's try and be as tolerant and patient with them as they are with us.

08/05/2024

Come along on Sunday and enjoy our last walk before summer 🐾🐾

This will be the last walk before the summer heat sets in ❤️🐾❤️🐾❤️

29/04/2024

What an informative morning spent with Melissa Royle Dog Walking & Pet Care participating in the First Aid for dogs workshop, highly recommend 🐾🐶

19/04/2024

A bit cooler this week, games mixed in with training, its important to make training fun for both dogs and owners 🐾🐾

18/04/2024

New Times for all classes 🐾🐾

New class times for training at Westvilles 🐾

18/04/2024

Group Training for the Trainers, such fun, spending time with our dogs 🐾🐾

17/04/2024

The times have changed for our Thursday Classes at Westvilles
Beginners Plus 5pm
Intermediate/Advanced 6pm
If you would like to join one of these classes you need to have completed the Beginners course or had a 1 to 1 with either Angela, Sandy or Ben at DogTraining Costa Blanca 🐾🐾

09/04/2024

Why train your Dog:
Dogs are always trying to communicate with us. We need to learn their language and discover how dogs learn.
Why not come and join us on the new Beginners course.🐾

05/04/2024

02/04/2024

I wanted to share a link to this great book, it is full of information and links with a Facebook group “Dog Training Advice and Support”. It covers care and training, managing and working with behaviour problems , it is easy to follow, humorous, no complex jargon, presented clearly and well written.
Dog Training and Behaviour rSolutions: The stress-free way to live in harmony with your dog

Dog Training and Behaviour Solutions: The stress-free way to live in harmony with your dog

26/03/2024

My work with dogs has been transformed since I started working with Angela and the Team at Dog Training Costa Blanca about two years ago.
I assist Angela with the Dog Training classes this includes Beginners, Beginners Plus and Intermediate Dog Training Groups. I have always had Dogs since a child, starting with Labrador Retrievers, Labrador Mixes and German Shepherds. I have always loved working with and training Dogs. In the UK, I volunteered at the RSPCA and I ran a Pet Sitting and Dog walking business, since coming to Spain I have been doing the same. I have expanded my knowledge by further studying Dog Behaviour, courses include: The art of Canine Communication learning to walk together, Are Dogs Wolves - the origins and domestication of canis familiaris, The Theory of Dog Training - how dogs learn, Understanding Aggression in Dogs, Clicker Training, Canine Anatomy and Physiology, Dog Nutrition, Prey Drive, Separation Anxiety, Loose Lead Walking and finally studying for my OFQUAL Level 3 Qualification in Canine Training and Behaviour with Rebecca Hanlon and the Dog Genius Institute, Most recently, I have participated in a 2 day workshop on Reactivity in Dogs and attended a workshop in Understanding Aggression in Dogs. I love helping and encouraging people to work and learn with their dogs, to build a fulfilling and understanding relationship. I also have worked with Rescue Horses and Dogs here in Spain and have a young rescue dog Called Poppy (Podenco crossed probably with a German Shepherd) who is a great teacher. "Every day is a Training Day"