Marta's Dog Behaviour

07/03/2025

Very excited for this! I’ll be taking Bruce!

This will be so much fun, Tina is great and I can recommend her scentwork classes too🐾🐕

EDITED TO SAY….. SUNDAY 6th 10am FULLY BOOKED - I’ll open a waiting/reserve list.

‼️‼️‼️PLEASE READ THE POST REGARDING VENUE RULES - in the comments below ⬇️ ‼️‼️‼️

📣 ❗️B I G ANNOUNCEMENT! 📣

BARN HUNT is finally going ahead!

Places are filling fast. Book asap to avoid any disappointment.

04/03/2025

What a pretty face 🥰

Darcy is a young lab with some very big emotions. She doesn’t really know what to do with herself when she sees another person or dog on a walk and gets frustrated pretty quickly.

On our last session, we took Darcy to a field where she could see other dogs in the distance and children playing football. We used BAT (behaviour adjustment training) to let her make her choices, we rewarded her for good choices and helped her out if she got a little too fixated and she did wonderfully! 🤩

Her owners are also working hard on making sure her needs are met at home such as getting enough sleep and playing scentwork games.

It was a pleasure working with her and her owners.

28/02/2025

Are you currently doing some sort of training with your dog? Maybe you have a puppy and are about to start teaching them some basic skills?

If you have previously trained your dog, you have probably heard of 'marking and rewarding' a behaviour. While the meaning of 'marking' a behaviour is obvious for most trainers and behaviourists, it may not be for everyone.

Have a read of my easy to follow document on what is 'mark and reward' and how to use it in dog training 🐾🐾

www.martasdogbehaviour.co.uk/advice/blog-post-title-one-g7c22-4pd4d

18/02/2025

Great video from Smart Dog Training!!

12/02/2025

Just because your dog is running around and jumping doesn’t mean they are not in pain, j say this over and over again. This is why!!

05/01/2025

One of my first books on dog training was ‘Don’t shoot the dog’ by Karen, it’s a wonderful book.

We owe Karen so much, she really did change the dog training industry for the better ❤️

We are deeply saddened to learn of Karen Pryor's passing. She was a pioneer in animal training and behaviour whose contributions have shaped modern dog training as we know it. Her innovative approach and entrepreneurial spirit transformed the industry, paving the way for countless trainers and animals to benefit from science-based, positive reinforcement methods.

Karen’s work extended far beyond the Karen Pryor Academy, which has educated and inspired trainers worldwide. Her book, Don’t Shoot the Dog, introduced an entire generation of trainers to the principles of clicker training and remains a cornerstone of dog training literature. The annual Clicker Expos she founded became vital opportunities for professional growth, collaboration, and community-building within the field. Her legacy also includes Reaching the Animal Mind, a profound exploration of the science and art of animal training.

Karen’s vision, intelligence, and compassion revolutionised how we communicate with and understand our canine companions. Her contributions have had a lasting impact on the lives of trainers and the dogs they work and live with. She will be greatly missed, but her legacy will continue to inspire and guide the animal training community for generations to come.

Our thoughts are with Karen’s family, friends, and all those whose lives she touched.

https://karenwpryor.com/

26/12/2024

My sensitive lap dog 🥺

Me and Bruce hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and managed to get some rest 🎄

We wish you all the best in the New Year and hope it brings plenty of joy, achieved goals, love and lots of playtime with your dog!

(Yes Bruce is having a wee in the second photo😂)

09/12/2024

⭐️The benefits of an online consultation⭐️

For a lot of my clients, I offer an online consultation instead of a face to face. There are a number of reasons for this:

1. The dog is more likely to be comfortable with expressing his natural behaviours when I am not around, just me being there, can have a very big influence on how a dog behaves making the behaviour modification plan a lot more challenging.
2. Some dogs can become ‘obsessed’ with me being there. Now, some of you may think that’s not a bad thing, but we want the dog’s owner to work with the dog. When I’m there (a lady with new treats, toys and exciting smells) they are less likely to engage with their owner, making the training session a little tricky.
3. Because it’s just the dog and their owner on camera, it gives me a clear picture of how each exercise is performed, I actually find that coaching an owner online is a lot easier that in person because they are the ones in ‘charge’ of the situation!
4. Some dogs simply can’t cope with visitors, like Freddie below. If you have a dog that’s extremely fearful of visitors, the last thing we want to do is implement a behaviour modification plan by me coming to your house and causing your dog distress, this is just unethical.

Of course, face to face sessions are just as important, but we need to look at each approach on a case by case basis.

Picture of Freddie practicing cooperative handling through the ‘bucket’ game🥰

02/12/2024

Exactly!!

06/11/2024

This post makes me laugh every time 😂😂

It’s that time of the year again where our dogs provide us with enrichment.

02/11/2024

When you try to take a cute photo of a 7 month old cocker cross Labrador 😆😆

Ralph is a young dog who struggles to settle down. So today we covered some mat work, calmness, mental/physical enrichment and behaviour outlets.

I fell in love with him, he gives the best cuddles ❤️❤️

28/10/2024

How gorgeous is Romy?! 😍😍

Romy is a young Large Musterlander who struggles with frustration. Being a working breed she naturally has a very high drive to do things!

Today we covered breed specific needs, management and self control. We will work on calm greetings with people and other dogs when I next see her🥰