Cornerstone Canine Training

10/07/2025

Can I ask you a question? How does your body react the moment you feel like someone is nagging you?😤

Do you sense your body tense up? Do you take a sharp intake of breath? Do you want to turn away from them and saunter (or sprint) off in the opposite direction?🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️

Have you ever wondered if this could be the source of some of your dog’s behaviour choices?

Let's set the scene of your dog being off lead on a little sniffy adventure. You recall them, with their lead in your hand. They see the lead, hear your stern voice calling them...and they saunter off in the opposite direction.

So how can you achieve that dream recall?

🐶✨When your dog feels inspired to make the choice to come back to you, they feel like ‘super dog’🦸‍♂️🐶 and will do it time and time again.✅

When I’m mentoring owners like you to train their dog, one of the key areas we work on is inspiring the dogs to make great choices, rather than begrudgingly obey a command.✨

How do we do this? We play games where your dog sees that when they make an amazing choice, they have so much more fun.🤩💃 In our dog’s eyes, we have become even more of a 🦸‍♂️ human.

The joy when owners see their dogs want to be close to them when out exploring off lead, for example, is very special.😍🤩

Your dog will start to see that coming back to you is far more fun compared to what is in the environment (even the neighbour’s cat that is ‘deliberately’ tormenting them).🐱😹

If you have found yourself in the situation where you are desperately attempting to get your dog to pay attention to you and you feel like you are nagging your dog - your dog will be feeling this as well.💡

We want our dogs to bounce back to us when we recall them, with a big smile on their faces, rather than begrudgingly make their way back to us because we have nagged them. 😞😤

Next time your dog chooses to turn around and come back to you, have a little play with them - let them know they have made an amazing choice and they are your ‘Superdog’. 🦸‍♂️🐶

22/06/2025

How we finish this sentence can either leave us feeling fabulous or rather negative about ourselves and our dogs.

Some 'feel good' positive phrases you may be using -

😍My dog is beautiful...so sweet...gentle...so much fun...loving their training and starting to feel calmer...developing some amazing new skills...🤩🐶

When we focus on the good, rather than the struggles, and use positive phrases about our dogs, the impact these words can have on how we feel is phenomenal.❤️

We find ourselves standing taller, smiling, feeling calm and most importantly for me, reacting better in potentially stressful situations.💡🧠

Positivity breeds positivity - and our dogs pick up on this. They are so intuitive. ❤️🦉

Or maybe you find yourself using the labels of 'reactive' or 'naughty'?

If we are always telling ourselves, or others, that our dogs are naughty/bad/difficult then these are the behaviours our minds will focus on. This will lead to us feeling negative about our dogs and our abilities as their owners.

Without realising it, our mind will be looking out for these behaviours to prove we are right, even if our dogs wrap amazing behaviours around a few moments of not so great behaviour choices - we focus on the negative.

What we focus on we get. 🤩

Next time you hear yourself saying, 'My dog is...' focus on keeping your words positive and you will see your training go to new heights - trust me. ❤️

On a side note, another label that is often used from dog owners is, 'my dog is a rescue'. This label is often used to excuse behaviour struggles and it often leaves us feeling negative about the situation.

How about putting this label in the past.

💡🧠Your dog is learning new skills to cope better with the world.

They are now your dog, in a loving home with people who care about their needs and supporting them in every way they can.❤️

I would love to hear how you are going to be finishing this sentence going forward. 🐶🐾🤩

20/06/2025

09/06/2025

🐶“My dog is reactive, and we both need help.” 🐶

If you have ever muttered the above sentence to yourself or to others, then I have something very exciting coming soon - and I would love your help.

I am developing something very special for reactive dog owners and my first thought was to ask all of you for your input.

Do you currently share your life with a reactive dog, or have had one previously, or maybe you look after one for a friend or family member? If yes, then you can help.

I have put together a short questionnaire for you to fill in to help me get a more in-depth feel for how I can help reactive dog owners even more.

As a thank you, all entrants will be added into a free prize draw. The winner will win an hours 1-2-1 free Zoom training. I can help you with anything to do with your dog training journey.

To fill in your questionnaire, please click the below link. 😍🤩🐶
https://forms.gle/ZZmgHdu9WtzZsWJh6

The closing date for entries to win the free training is on Sunday 22nd June 2025 at 12 noon. The winner will be emailed on Monday 23rd June. Good luck and please do forward this onto others who you think may be able to help and for a chance to win some free training.

🐶😍If you have a reactive dog in your life, you can help others…

01/06/2025

If you enjoyed hearing about my, ‘6 Dog Training Pearls of Wisdom’, and would like to discover a little more about how they can elevate your dog training, this new blog post is for you.

Have a sit down somewhere comfy with your favourite drink and enjoy. 🐶📖☕️

Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working with so many fabulous dogs and their wonderful humans. And while every dog is different, with their own struggles, there are a few guiding principles I return to time and time again. “My 6 Pearls of Wisdom”. These little gems can make such a hu...

27/05/2025

The sound of a dog barking can go straight to your core can't it? You take a sharp breath in and while your body tenses, you say a prayer that the barking will subside FAST. 🙈🐶

It rarely does. If you have been there, you know the chances are that the barking builds and builds, with both you and your dog getting more and more worked up.

When your dog barks, rather than deliberately winding you up (✋hands up who has thought this at one time or another?), they are more often than not, communicating that they don't yet have the skills to cope in that situation.🤯🐶

🐶They hear a noise outside that has unsettled them - their reaction is to bark.
🐶They see another dog and are worried/over excited - their reaction is to bark.
🐶You walk through the door - their reaction is to bark.
🐶 They don't understand why they are home alone - their reaction is to bark.
🐶They want some attention - their reaction is to bark.

I know you will have many other examples as well.

We have all been there at one time or another, we hear them bark and unconsciously, before we even have time to think, our reaction is to shout (bark) back at them to be quiet.

Our dog's are so good at matching our energy, so if we are shouting back at them, they often will see us as joining in their (loud) party and carry on.

Or for some dogs, they fear being shouted at, and will silence the bark, yet the emotional turmoil that started the barking in the first place, is now internally running at 100mph.

This is where being able to truly listen to your dog when they bark, is going to give you both the turning point you have been looking for in your training.

😍✨Would you love to be able to understand your dog's barking and help them build new skills, so that in the situation that used to trigger a bark, your dog is now able to respond calmly?

When we work together, I will also help support you. The saying, 'knowledge is power', is so true. You will find that when you can see what is happening in these moments, you go from unconsciously reacting, to feeling calm and consciously responding, and more importantly, being able to help your dog. 🦸‍♂️

21/05/2025

It can be easy to fall into the trap of simply trying to stop a behaviour, whether that be barking, lunging, jumping up or even growling.

Especially when you’re under pressure from the outside world to have a 'well-behaved' dog.

When we silence the behaviour without understanding what’s driving it, we risk pushing emotions underground, where they often grow louder, rather than quieter. We all know what happens to emotions that get bottled up, at some point they will explode.

One of my favourite quotes from child psychologist, Ashleigh Warner, sums this up so beautifully.

'Beneath every behaviour there is a feeling. And beneath each feeling is a need. And when we meet that need, rather than focus on the behaviour, we begin to deal with the cause not the symptom.'

If we truly care about our dogs’ emotional wellbeing, we need to ask more than just 'how do I stop this?' We need to be asking ourselves, 'why is this happening?'.

Meeting the need behind the behaviour changes so much more than just what we see on the surface - it helps our dogs feel safer, calmer, and truly supported.

And that’s where real change begins.

20/05/2025

🐶🌟Skills for Life class starting 2nd June at Ellesborough Parish Hall.

Is your dog struggling with behaviours you would love to change?

The Skills for Life class is a 7 week class where we go deeper into the emotions behind your dog's behaviour.

Through playing games, we help your dog see the world around them in a new light, leading to new behaviours we all love.😍

As an owner, it is life changing when you are able to see when your dog is starting to feel overwhelmed and be able to help them before the undesirable behaviours manifest.

You will be able to understand your dog on a whole new level.🐶🧠

🐶To ensure you and your dog get the support you need, classes are kept to a maximum of 4 dogs.

😀✨If you are open, curious and want to discover a new way of training your dog - this class is for you.

📩 To book you and your dog in, send me a message or click the link below.

Booking essential.
https://cornerstonecaninetraining.co.uk/services/

19/05/2025

🐶😍We have all been there with our dogs, that moment where they are either doing something, or about to do something really BAD...🙈

Maybe digging in the garden, eating the cat food, turning the sofa into their personal assault course...the list is endless.

How easy is it to react ourselves in these moments? 🫨

How about having a plan in place so we can respond calmly in these moments?✅😍

Quite often when our dogs are about to do something like the above, they are full of energy and what we would really love is a little more calmness. ✨

So let's explore how we can focus more on connection over correction. ✨✅

This is where, if you have a freezer, having some frozen kongs or lick mats already made up, will be like your magic wand. Having some of your dog's daily food frozen will encourage them to lick, which will help release some of those lovely calming endorphins that your dog needs in moments like this. 🤩😍🐶

This is just one of the ways we can help your dog.

When you catch them doing something you would rather they were not doing, rather than correcting the behaviour and maybe getting frustrated yourself, let's get them doing something else - something everyone loves and rewarding them for doing a great job.🐶😍

And remember, whenever you catch them doing something good, reward them. Let them know they are doing great. Dogs are just like us, the more reward they get for doing something, the stronger that drive becomes to do more of the same. 🤩🐶👍

It can be so easy to only focus on the moments they are doing something we don't like and reacting in those moments. 🙈

By focusing on what you do want them doing, rather than what you don’t want them doing, you build amazing opportunities to grow connection rather than conflict.🐶🤩

Give yourself the challenge to purposely look out for moments of calmness where they make great choices - and reward them, maybe with a verbal, 'well done', or a gentle head stroke or a little treat if you happen to have one with you.

And next time you notice your dog struggling, ask yourself, ‘where does my dog need help right now?’, This question helps you naturally develop the desire to want to understand your dog, rather than feel frustrated with your dog. We have all been there, so stop, take a breath and ask yourself this question.

When you focus on connection over correction, you and your dog become a real powerhouse of a team and your training goes from strength to strength.

💬 Has there been a moment where connection changed everything for you and your dog? I’d love to hear. 👇✨🐶

09/05/2025

What happens when you attempt to make a good decision while feeling overwhelmed or stressed?

Does it ever go quite how you pictured it in your head?

It’s hard, isn’t it? 🫨

And it’s exactly the same for our dogs. 🐶✨

Whether they’re bursting with excitement or feeling anxious about their surroundings, it’s almost impossible for them to make good choices when they’re in a heightened emotional state.

That’s why calmness is so much more than a, ‘nice to have’ — it’s essential.

It creates the headspace for better choices, deeper connection, and long-lasting transformations.

When we help our dogs feel calm and safe, as well as supporting their emotional wellbeing - we’re also enabling them to succeed, even when they are on their own.

Calmness isn’t the absence of energy.
Calmness is the foundation that helps your dog use their energy wisely.

Helping owners bring more calm into their dog’s world is one of the most rewarding parts of my work. It’s where we start to see those undesirable behaviours melt away - and the behaviours we love begin to flourish.

✨🐾 Calm leads. Confidence follows.

05/05/2025

Some days we feel energised and ready to take on the world, other days, we need rest, peace and understanding.

Our dog's energy levels, focus, and emotional state can change...just like ours can.

Training is about so much more than having a plan. It's about having the flexibility to meet your dog where they are at any given time.

And giving yourself some grace on your your own training journey. By focusing on what you can do now, you can let go of what you wanted to do differently.

One of the first areas I guide owners to tune into is their dog's emotional bucket, as well as their own.

When you honour yours and your dog's needs in the moment, you build trust, safety and long term success.

How about your dog? I would love to hear what small or big hints your dog gives you when they need a quiet day to chill.