💡I love capturing behaviours whilst teaching loose lead walking💡
Here I'm walking Tiggy and I'm going to demonstrate how easy this is.
Capturing is a technique we use to positively reinforce a desired behaviour. It simply works by waiting for your dog to offer said behaviour, we then give them something they love to reward the behaviour.
1. I'm not saying anything here to Tiggy until she offers me a loose lead walk with eye contact.
2. When I get said behaviour (notice the 'U' shaped loose lead), I mark. I'm using the word 'yes' and then within a couple of seconds I'm rewarding her with a piece of food.
3. Whilst rewarding, you want to keep moving to encourage the behaviour to continue. This is key when we want to extend the duration before we mark and reward.
If you're doing this with your dog who is just learning to loose lead walk, I'd strongly advise using a harness as your dog will still pull at times. It's important not to get frustrated with pulling and focus on reinforcing the good behaviours when you see them.
I've personally been the trainer when I first got my dog who 'snapped' the lead whenever my dog pulled, however this quickly becomes frustrating for both handler and dog. Switching to this method has made my walks much more enjoyable 🐾
Stellar a pleasure as always 😂 This girl is so good but often has a little crazy moment on our walks, and today took it out on my boots 😂
🐾 You've just stumbled across me, someone who understands what your dog needs during their contact time with their dog walker 🐾
Are you in or around one of the listed places? Great news, you're eligible for my dog walking and home visit services‼️
I'm Adam and I run a part time small business, helping out busy people like yourselves to care for their dogs when you're too busy to do so yourself.
I'm currently studying dog training and behaviour, all whilst running my part time business around my remote job I do from home 🏡
📥 If you're in the market for a dog walker, DM me to arrange for a free meet and greet, or comment "MESSAGE ME" below in the comments 📥
💡My tips are starting a small business as a full time employee 💡
1. It's hard to initially find clients as an unestablished and unrecommended business. Get started now and don't get disheartened if things don't pick up quickly‼️
In my first 3-4 months of business, I had 1 client whose dog I looked after once per week typically. But month 4-5 I had an influx of enquiries and now in month 7 I'm starting to get close to being fully booked!
2. As you grow and gain more clients, learn what works for you. Don't overstretch yourself as this may well impact your job performance (which is ultimately your main source of income) 💷
I've found in order to work around my job, that giving more than around 13 hours of time in the work week is too much, and that typically 3 hours per day is my max. I also have one day I will take on only 1.5 hours of work to give myself some extra time to work my job if needs be, or use it as personal time.
3. This is a biggy! Don't go and invest in a load of stuff you don't need, use the tools and equipment you already have 🛠️ I personally found building up a pot of money through my business meant that I had chance to prioritise what I needed, and then use my business income to start to get some of that equipment!
4. This is critical, but so easy to overlook! Make sure you're insured as required and have got any licenses needed for your business to legally operate. The last thing you want is to be shut down when you start picking up traction with your business, or be out of pocket due to not being covered 🤦♂️
🤔 Worried about how getting a dog might change your life? 🤔
Good. You should be thinking about this, because getting a dog will definitely change your life. For me it meant not jetting away 4 times a year, which is fine because home ownership means I no longer have the funds to do that anyway 😂
Instead now I've replaced it with UK trips, filling up the car with luggage and the dog 🐕
And I wouldn't go back! If you're someone serious about getting a dog, do your research and go for it. Embrace the lifestyle changes that come with dog ownership and watch your life change for the better 🤩
☀️ Meeting so many amazing dogs has got to be the highlight of my dog services business ☀️
Here's Ernie, the Jack Russell. There's a special place in my heart for these little dogs, so much character and they make for such great family pets!
😁 What I recommend you do with your dog to enjoy your training journey together 😁 👇
1. Stop forcing your dog to do commands. If they don't do it, let it slide and work on improving the position association with the behaviour 🛑
2. Teach behaviours you want to work on and that you will find useful, don't do something just because some "trainer" on the internet says you should‼️
3. Stop punishing your dog, instead lets implement control and management to prevent unwanted behaviour in the first place. Make use of leads, stair gates, crates, and other non-aversive tools and equipment 🐕
4. Go out with your dog and do things you both love doing 🌳
5. Stop aiming for perfection. Aim to progress but don't get hung up on not seeing perfection with everything you do together ❤️
6. Stop doing the mundane after work walks, instead go for a nice walk together somewhere or pick up their favourite toy and go out to play together 😁
7. Work out what your dog loves (food, toys, games). Use it as a reward when you train together ⚽
🐶 Problems walking your dog on a loose lead? This is your sign to STOP training a loose lead 🐶
Hear me out! I've not gone mad 😂
When our dogs decide to pull on a lead, even though we've taught them how to walk on lead, they're making a decision to do something more valuable to them than the nice walking they've been taught 🤔
So logically, the solution isn't training. So what is❓
Meeting our dogs needs is going to be much more effective. Ask yourself why your dog is lunging or pulling on lead, and then provide outlets so that your dog can do the things that fulfill their needs❕
Give it a go on your walk tomorrow morning. See how much better your dog walks afterwards🙏
‼️To the irresponsible dog owners‼️
What's the difference between using a long line (hands free not required) and you letting your dog off lead? 🤔
The handler using the lead has control to prevent unwanted behaviour whilst you're letting your dog develop bad behaviours 😱
Put your dog on a lead if it doesn't have recall, it's in your interest as well 🐕
📈 Who else is a MII, just taking each day as it comes? 📈
I'm constantly being asked about how my business is going, which is great because I love talking about it 😀
BUT! Questions like "when are you quitting your job" and "aren't you worried about money" are interesting to me, because I have no clue what the answer is right now 😂
Because unlike lots of people out there with a job, I actually enjoy my job! Sure, there are certainly aspects I don't like, and I aspire to work for myself one day with my own schedule, however I am absolutely not trying to escape a job‼️
It's such a great situation to be in, to be able to enjoy the journey and take each day as it comes 💪
🤩 I absolutely love scatter feeding 🤩
This is a daily occurrence in this household as it's such a great way to get your dog using their nose 👃 and getting your dog to use their nose is a great way to tire them out 😴
A 25 minute sniffy stroll around a local green space, with a bit of loose lead training on the way home, followed by this scatter feeding has had Mabel tired her out so I can get on with some work for the next 3-4 hours without her disturbing me‼️
Who's trying this next time they feed their dog? 👇
🐕 Let's talk rescues 🐕
My number 1 goal for my business is to play a part in reducing the amount of dogs in rescue shelters 🎯
That's why I'm so pleased that I've been trusted by a client to walk a recently rescued American Bulldog (probably a cross with staffie) 🐶
She's not had the best start to life having been born in a rescue shelter, and then once being adopted as a pup, then being surrendered back to a rescue at around 8 months old, and up until recently spending a further 10 months or so in kennels! 😢
Her history has meant that she has been known to be aggressive towards males, and has bitten people in the past! So of course, I was wary, but I really wanted to help 🐾
And having met her 4 days after being rehomed with her new owners, you wouldn't even be able to tell she has shown aggression before! She is an absolute sweetheart 🤩
I hope this finds at least one person who is considering rescuing a dog, to help them realise the dog you're seeing who is stressed in a kennel, desperate to find a forever home, is not a reflection of the dog they will be when you give them a loving home 🥰
