Buddy
The rain didn’t dampen our spirits during Buddy’s training session joined by Emma from Follow my lead ☔️
We are SO close to accomplishing our end goal of Emma being able to comfortably pop into Buddy’s house to take him out for regular walks whilst his parents are working! With each visit Buddy is more trusting, calmer and responsive to cues.
Today was our first moment where Emma was able to take the lead (quite literally) and head out of the house with Buddy for a walk and what a blast we had 🤗
We love to see creativity when it comes to elements of Free Work 🤌🏻 Pamela’s parents are keeping her positively busy in the garden whilst also spending precious time with their young human baby, keeping the whole family occupied✨ #dogtraining #freework #dogsandbabies #terrier #rescue #calm
Young Bailey is heading into 2024 with a new found friend in Kevin (who you may recognise) 🫶🏻 aren’t they just the sweetest pair!! Entered the muddy field with 1 yellow lab and 1 red fox lab…left with 2 chocolate labs 🫣 #dogfriends #dogtraining #labrador #puppylife #muddypaws
Today I wrapped up my last 1:1 train & walk of the year in MK with Cody, the little bundle of Joy!! Just a few snippets of our walk together, working hard and of course playing just as hard 🎾💚#dogtraining #bichonfrise #looseleadwalking #calmdog #clickertraining
Puppy socialisation
How often should my puppy greet other dogs??
We often hear different pieces of advice from dog lovers on how to best socialise a puppy around other dogs. Although they’re just trying to help, some of this advice can do more harm than good, such as …
🫣”You must let them meet as many dogs as possible every day”
😣”They must be off lead”
😬”Go to the biggest puppy groups as possible”
🫠”If they scrap they’ll sort it out between themselves, they’re asserting dominance”
If you follow this advice to the fullest, it’s more than likely you will raise a young dog that is hyper obsessed with dogs and has very little respect for other dogs boundaries. Instead try to…
🤗 Give your puppy the opportunity to meet a new dog a couple of times a week, if they are a good match
🧐 Be selective, you want them to influence your puppies behaviour and help teach them how to play respectfully
😌 Calm adult dogs are ideal
🥳 Vary the size, sex and breeds you meet over time
🐷 Keep in mind flat face dogs can sometimes be a little confusing to puppies, so make these extra positive encounters and reassure them they mean no harm
😁 Your puppy can go off lead with dogs for short periods where the play flows naturally and they seem in sync. Look out for lots of mirroring and give them plenty of breaks
REMEMBER : Dog greets are a very small part of over all socialisation
Test what your dog is capable of WITH OUT using cues. Allow your over excitable or reactive dog to observe at a safe distance and let them come away when they’re ready 👀 ⏰ #choices #dogtraining101 #rescuedogs #husky #chowchow #terrier #pomeranian
Lola bucket game
🪣 BUCKET GAME 🪣
Lola’s mum decided to have a little refresher of the ‘Bucket game’ recently and sent me a great video which I’ve shortened down.
This cooperative care method is designed to mainly help keep dogs settled during husbandry tasks such as vet visits, grooming or administering treatments💉
The dog is able to feel more in control as they can say “I’m fine carry on” 🟢 or “please stop now” 🔴 with out the need for extreme behaviours such as growling or snapping. The dog being handled just needs to simply look away from the bucket/cup for us to stop touching or look at it again for us to continue.
Once Lola mastered this first part of her training we introduced a soft brush to parts of her body she was comfortable with, moving on to the dreaded area…her paws!
I couldn’t resist uploading the last part of the video where excitement got the best of Lola 🤣
Big fan of clicker training when it comes to managing reactivity in more built up areas 🙌🏻 Clever Cody who is one of my Milton Keynes clients shows major signs of lead reactivity towards other dogs, mainly due to frustration and insecurities. As you can see in the sneak peek video of our session he’s taken to clicker training like a duck to water, go Cody!!🦆💚 (Please remember this is for management purposes and other methods will be introduced to help boost Cody’s confidence around other dogs)
A heartwarming video to help brighten up a gloomy Monday 🌧️ We’ve seen a new friendship slowly blossoming between rescue dog Kiko and our buddy Labrador Darcy ♥️ This is now the second time they’ve met allowing Kiko’s confidence to naturally build, he even offered Darcy an invitation to play for the first time!! #rescuedogs #dogtraining #dogrescue #labrador #dogfriendship
Touch ✋🏻
Touch ✋🏻 has become an invaluable cue we taught Darcy during her puppy course almost 2 years ago!
She LOVES nothing more than diving head first into bushes and getting carried away following scents.
‘Touch!’ brings her right back to her handlers side with in a matter of seconds. This means she is still trusted to have fun and live her best Dora the explorer life 🎒
Please excuse my comfy clothes, I took this video whilst pet sitting Darcy and her lovely cockapoo sister Trixie recently, got to be warm and comfy on winter walks 🥶
Fulfilment
✨ FULFILMENT ✨
One of the most important elements when looking to train or improve your dogs behaviour and wellbeing.
Is your dog satisfied? Are their natural needs being met? Are they a ‘good tired’ after their walk or just physically exhausted from stress?
These are all of the questions we discussed during Bruno’s initial assessment last week and most importantly came up with a plan of how we can meet his needs even more…
🪢 We changed his walking equipment
🌲 Found better suited places to walk him
🏃 Gave him more freedom
⏰ Altered the length & frequency of his walks
👀 Allowed him to observe his surroundings
🧸 Introduced sensible ragging games
🏥 Identified some lameness which will be checked out by a vet
The video below was sent to me by Bruno’s guardian, using the long line for the first time in one of his new walking areas. Great to see him sniffing and feeling so chillaxed😌
Young Lua putting her relaxed lead walking into practice on a family walk in the Autumn sunshine 🍂🌞 #labrador #dogtraining #looseleadwalking #clearsky #autumnvibes #nature #dogwalking
Saving Grace offers modern ethical training helping dogs & owners to develop harmonious relationships
