Second Nature K9

01/01/2025

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year🙌🏻
Here's to 2025 and growing the business😍

29/11/2024

November shots📷 🍂

24/10/2024

𝙉𝙚𝙪𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮. The concept has become a bit of hot potato in the dog training world. It's sometimes seen as a 'red flag' and something to be avoided, resisted or criticised. But I think that's a mistake.

The concept of neutrality has been hijacked by coercive, force based trainers to mean the total suppression of natural behaviours; a robotic, unthinking obedience. They use the term to mean that a dog should interact, and react, minimally with their environment and should, instead, be focused only to their owner. But we shouldn't allow a helpful concept to be hijacked and misrepresented in that way.

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙖 '𝙣𝙚𝙪𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙡' 𝙙𝙤𝙜 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣? To me it isn't about a robotic indifference to the world around us. It's not about forbidding dogs to interact with anyone, ever. It's about teaching dogs to be aware of the normal, day to day happenings around them and to have a regulated, proportionate, appropriate response to those things. It's about teaching a dog how to interact appropriately and also be ok with not interacting. It's about a dog being able to stay in a regulated, level headed state of mind under normal conditions. It's about a dog being able to move through their world without feeling the need to react to, or get involved in, every little thing. It's not about feeling nothing; it's about having a proportionate & appropriate response to feelings. Neutrality is the opposite state of mind to overstimulation & disregulation.

What it doesn't (or shouldn't) mean is a dog who expresses no emotions ever. A dog who is expected to tolerate threatening or stressful situations. A dog who isn't allowed to interact with their environment and those in it. A dog who is expected to tolerate the intolerable. A dog who is isolated from their own species. That's not neutrality; that's coercive control.

To suggest that 'neutrality' is undesirable just because it's been hijacked & misrepresented as a concept by 'balanced' trainers risks throwing the baby out with the bathwater. And I think that would be a mistake.

Thoughts?

28/08/2024

26/08/2024

A weekend to remember! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿Thank you for coming to Scotland and sharing your wealth of knowledge to inspiring trainers and dog owners. Hands down one of the most humble and honest person I've met.

Thanks to and for making this seminar happen! 🙌 What a great bunch of like minded people coming together having a laugh and geeking out about dogs! Here's to meeting again soon!

photo credits to the lovely .pack who captured so many great pictures of everyone and the dogs!

15/08/2024

My girl gang 💟

15/04/2024

We are now taking neutrality classes outside!!

Past, current and new clients are welcome to join! For those who haven't worked with myself or Gerard but are interested in trying out group class please get in touch to discuss your dogs suitability!

Starting from Saturday 27th April!
Booking is essential as spaces will be limited!

Outdoor work will allow new exercises and distractions to further up your dogs training! 💪🏻

23/03/2024

March Dogs! ☀️

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04/03/2024

What a dog trainers camera roll looks like!

03/03/2024

24/01/2024

When your camera roll is full of dog pics!🤣🤩 Here's a few of the dogs I've been lucky enough to work with!

19/01/2024

I feel it's time for my yearly post, "is a dog the right pet for you?"
Do you want a family companion who can go out once or twice a week on walks but can happily sit inside on cold or rainy days?
Do you want a pet who has cheap insurance and a long lifespan?
Maybe a pet who doesn't eat much?
Can toilet outside or in a litterbox?
Doesn't need much training or enrichment?

GET A CAT, NOT A DOG.

People's idea of a perfect family pet is often a cat.
An animal to walk on the weekends and teach kids about responsibilities is not a dog. But it could be a trained cat.

Pan loves his once a week outings and light training, making him the perfect second pet after the very demanding Rehn. I wish the general public had more awareness of cats in this sense!