Jack Fenton - Dorset Dog Trainer

24/04/2025

Your dog's noise sensitivity might be the reason you have so many problems.

Meet Nellie - she came over from Guernsey for us to do some work together. Her primary concerns are noises. She hears the roar of a motorcycle or the bang of a diesel car, and she flattens straight to the floor.

This was coupled by a hyper fixation on dogs, consistent pulling on lead, and a refusal to walk in certain directions at home.

Those are all symptoms. Noise sensitivity is the cause.

Today, we worked in the gorgeous Poole Park, and started turning the noise of cars and motorbikes into positive activities. She loves a game of tug, so we used that, alongside some herding breed specific food games.

We did tackle the other things too, but honestly? They'll resolve themselves.

Nellie was getting so stressed by noises that she'd constantly be scanning the environment to fixate. She'd pull to get closer to something to make sure it was safe. She'd put the brakes on because she was concerned about the noises she was hearing, she wouldn't dare move

Nellie's family have a great plan moving forwards to solve these issues, and we'll touch base properly when I go over to visit soon.

Prioritisation when working with your dog is key. If one core issue is head and shoulders above the rest, you should dedicate 80% of your time to fixing that.

Want help? I've got limited availability for May and June. Reach out for details!

23/04/2025

Here are four things you might not know that will be holding your training back (especially if you've got an anxious or fizzy dog!).

1. Fizzy dogs need change.

If you have a fizzy dog (a dog that gets overexcited, overstimulated or overenthused easily), then you need to change stuff up constantly. Their brain goes a thousand miles a minute.

It's why loose lead walking fails because their attention span is limited. It's why they blow off your recall because they know what to expect. It's why they run from dog to person to bird because there's variety.

You need five-six different ways of doing the same thing, to keep them invested.

2. Anxious dogs need consistency.

The antidote to anxiety? Routine.

A common mistake I see dog reactive caregivers make is trying to create associations with other dogs by going on a walk. But then everything is changing - the environment, the smells, the sights!

Instead, find an area and stay there. Have enough space to move, but let the only thing that changes be dogs and people. Otherwise you're piling on far more stimulation.

3. Quality over quantity.

My behaviour students know the rule - five good minutes over five decent hours.

I'd rather a student goes out to do people reactivity work, sees five dogs in five minutes, has zero reactions, and goes home. Amount of time is a separate issue entirely.

If you're trying to work on a problem, and you get five-six incredible steps towards solving it? Stop there. That's you done for the day.

4. Rest.

You will not win if your dog is not resting.

They need breaks. From dogs, from people, from birds, from life. Just like we do.

Give your dog two days off a week. What that looks like? Depends on the dog.

If they need a walk, but don't want to deal with people or dogs? Find an industrial estate or a deep woodland walk.

If you can't leave the house without being triggered, have a day inside. A dog has never died from a day off a walk, replaced with training and enrichment.

Rest is just as vital as practise. So you might be overdoing it.

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Any questions on these? Let me know! They're going to be covered on my Reactivity/Anxiety Pathway this week (new message from me every Saturday). Link in the comments.

22/04/2025

You're making a critical mistake with your Overseas Rescue - but we can fix it!

Meet Huxley, who today had a Half Day Overhaul. He's a mix from Turkey, found as a stray not too long ago, who has been with his family for about two months.

He's got a few issues - snarling and barking at entire male dogs, obsession over guarding food, and a very slow recall. All quite intense!

We can't tackle these issues the normal way, as we would with a 'British' dog.

We're lucky to know some of Huxley's - which meant he was surrounded not only by a bunch of entire males regularly, but based near an area with a sizeable population.

This most likely meant he got into conflict with other males, and also had been punished for fishing food out of restaurant bins.

So, we changed it. We started pairing every single dog we saw with something good, and taught him to create space from dogs he didn't like. We talked through some activities we could do to reduce his food guarding, and his general fixation on food. We looked at reducing his alertness, and channeling that focus into a rapid fire recall.

All great progress. Next steps for him are Nosework classes, because based on the breeds he acts like, he'll need a job.

In general, we can't treat overseas rescues like pet dogs. They've got their own backgrounds, needs and quirks that need to be addressed.

If you'd like some help? Fill out this short, two minute form and I'll get back to you with a link to a call. We'll get it sorted.

Well done Huxley!

21/04/2025

Let's talk about mice, lavender and fear responses.

Over on my Pathway system (my email list), I share weekly insights into you and your dog's behaviour. After lots of feedback on this segment called Beyond the Bark (where we make your dogs behaviour easy to understand), I thought I'd share it here. Enjoy!

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Let's talk Lavender (and warning for animal abuse).

Picture this - a cage. The floor? Electrified. A bunch of mice just chilling. Then, the zap was turned on. As it was, a puff of lavender scent permeated the cage. After a little bit, the shocks stopped, as did the lavender scent. The scientists then measured the stress levels of the mice.

They then bred those mice, and popped them in a cage. Rather than shocks, they just exposed them to lavender scent.

Those offspring? Expressed the same stress response as their parents, despite having never been shocked. Lavender scent? Sent stress levels through the roof.

Another round of breeding occurred, same experiment - cage, mice, scent of lavender. Can you guess what happened?

The same stress response. Two generations down, and the mice exhibited the same fear as the generation that had been shocked. The scientists wanted to see if fears could be passed down generation to generation.

We can't say for sure if fear is genetic, but in my experience, so many dogs who display nervousness of people, dogs and noises? Their parents were the same. True of Resource Guarding and Separation Distress too.

Sometimes it isn't an incident that happened to your dog, but something from the previous generation. Scary right? Have a think on it.

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If you'd like info like this delivered to you weekly, sign up to the relevant section via the link in the comments!

21/04/2025

Ever wondered what happens in a Scentwork class?

Cooper's been attending classes for years, and loves them - they're his favourite hour every week!

To answer all your questions about them, I've put together a handy post on my website. Each week I'll be updating there with a new piece of writing based on helping you and your dog thrive, not just survive.

Click the link in the comments and let me know what you think!

(And if you're ready to turn your dog into a sniffing superstar, reach out via WhatsApp - we'll see if there's a space available on your chosen time-slot!).

20/04/2025

A reminder that we don't care.

Do you know the most common concern caregivers have when joining a class or workshop?

They're worried that people will judge their dog. And that comes from their learning history - because people have.

Their dog has been kicked out of classes for not coping. Their dog has been yelled at by people on walks. Their dog has been told, over and over, that they're a problem.

You've been told you're a 'bad owner'. That you can't handle your dog. That you're not the best home for them.

Honestly? It's bo****ks.

You've just not found the right place yet.

No one in Nosework classes, or any workshops, is bothered by your dog. Because we all get it. 83% of the dogs I work with have additional needs - they're reactive, or fizzy, or nervous (or all three!).

Because the point of working together should be to alter those things. So that your dog can socialise with other dogs. So that your dog enjoys meeting people. So that your dog has somewhere they're not judged.

This photo was taken during Reactive Roamers, my monthly reactivity workshop. Daisy and Obi (the dogs pictured) both attend a weekly Nosework class. They're different dogs to when I first met them. Both were reactive to dogs in their own way.

And no one cared. Because the only thing we care about? Is ensuring you make progress.

So this is a reminder to you - if you're a current student, you're doing well. And if you're a future one? We're here when you're ready to join us.

You deserve an environment where you're supported. What are you waiting for?

18/04/2025

Just a snapshot of Scentwork chaos on Wednesday!

Always found, even if some aren't bothered by the end (look at you Dudley!).

Favourite dog in the video?

17/04/2025

The trickiest thing about having a dog is that your personalities might not align.

And honestly? That's hard.

You might have got a dog to spend time with just them. Long walks, quiet musings, just existing with one another. Perhaps to get you through some tricky time periods.

But your dog? A social butterfly. Charging up to every person and dog, desperate to say hello, delighted to interact.

You might have an active social life. Friends over, social dog walks, constant cafe visits. People might be the lifeblood of your day to day life.

But your dog? Wary, shy, nervous. Dislikes strangers, whether they're dogs and people. They stop you from seeing the people in your life - no more visits from the grandkids, or cafe stops with a friend.

It's even worse if you've had dogs previously who did align with your own personality. Because this one, right here? They don't.

And that's beyond stressful.

The good news, is that something can be done about it. We can make a dog obsessed with people and dogs a less bothered with the world, and more interested in you. We can turn your dog from shy to social, turn strangers into friends.

We can meet somewhere in the middle. Will your dog ever be completely unbothered by people and dogs? Probably not! But are you?

Instead, we can align your personalities together. Not change, just tweak. Not remodel, just highlight the bits that work for both of you.

If you're interested in finding out how, reach out. I've got limited availability for May for 1-2-1s. Contact form in the comments!

16/04/2025

Scentwork taken to the next level!

Detection Dog Club is one of my favourite classes I teach - focused purely on the art of Scentwork (think drug detection, but without the drugs).

In my outdoor classes, we focus on Nosework not just for competition, but for life skills and confidence building. This class though? Purely about training the best Scentwork dogs!

Whether your dogs a seasoned pro or never done it before, you can make use of a massive theatre, cafe and bar space to search thanks to our wonderful friends at The Factory Space.

Interested? What's App me at 07508 883008 to sign up!

14/04/2025

Emails deserve an overhaul. So that's what we're doing!

Over on my emails we're designing something with a difference. Stuff that'll help you genuinely achieve your dog training goals.

I'm calling it Pathways. There are three options, depending on your needs. Each email will have three distinctive segments, focused on providing as much value as possible.

Pathway 1 is for Anxious and Reactive Dogs. Including Chapter One - where we'll unpack the psychology of your behaviour, and how that impacts your dogs reactivity.

Pathway 2 is for Dorset and South Coast caregivers. Including Cue and Do - a bespoke tutorial each week!

Pathway 3 is for Pet Professionals. Including Building Blocks - the foundational things that have helped me get to where I am today.

Those are just one of three segments included in every weekly email. All for free!

To join, check out the link in the description You can sign up for each one by clicking the corresponding tick box and then adding your email address.

Very excited for this!

12/04/2025

Exciting times! We're delighted to announce we're adding Teams and a League to our Scentwork Escape Room series with Emma Phillips - Paw by Paw Training & Behaviour.

All my Nosework students will receive a debrief for this via email and in our various What's App groups tomorrow, so watch this space for further details.

Beyond exciting times!

Noses at attention! Our Escape Rooms have had an update!

We're now allowing TEAMS to compete! Teams can be a group of 3 handlers and dogs from the same training clubs or made up of a group from different training clubs and if there's more than three of you from the same group then it's absolutely fine to have multiple teams from the same training club!

We're also introducing leagues! There will be both individual and team leagues. You don't need to do anything special to join a league - if you book in to any of the Escape Rooms we'll automatically pop your results in the league tables.

Can't wait to see our first teams in our next Escape Room on the 28th April!

10/04/2025

What is your biggest struggle with your dog at the moment? I want to know!

09/04/2025

And those are a few examples in Nosework Classes.

The dogs can also be trained to find lost items like keys and wallets, different scents like gun oil and even proper retrieve items.

Each dog has a training plan tailored specifically to their individual needs and their caregivers desires. Iford Playing Fields was a great training ground for us today!

Well done Team.

08/04/2025

These four images tell the truth about you and your dog. I believe them wholeheartedly.
..is what I'd say if I was an ar****le. And honestly? You shouldn't take that from me.

Who am I to tell you these things? That just makes me a terrible dog trainer.

The truth, of course, is that these are just funny images from a great creator called 'Disappointing Affirmations' (link in the comments). Great for a giggle if your humour is that way inclined.

Unfortunately, there is an even deeper truth- you say this stuff to yourself all the time.

That things won't get better. That your dog isn't good enough. That you aren't the right home for them.

It's not true.

Reality says you're here, reading and learning and growing. You'll get through it, not with affirmations, but with actions.

When you're ready to let me help you, reach out.

Stop being hard on yourself. No one benefits from that.

07/04/2025

There are five reasons why your dog could be reactive (if it's based on anxiety/fear):

🔹 They had a bad experience in their life that led to that association.
🔹 Pain/discomfort (they don't want a dog to come over because they are worried they'll get hurt).
🔹 They're overwhelmed by the world, and are reacting to anything different (it just so happens to be dogs and people because you see more of them).
🔹 It's genetic, and their parents had a fear that has been passed down.
🔹 They're not having their needs met (not enough sleep, stimulation, terrible diet).

The frustrating thing is that all five of those issues need different responses from us to resolve the reactivity, especially if your dog has more than one of these as the reason why they hate people/dogs.

Over the next week, I'll be unpacking these in more detail. But if you'd like a tailored approach that guarantees results? Check out my website and fill out a contact form. Link in the comments.

06/04/2025

What else would I be doing?

Great day to kick off another block of Sunday Nosework classes! Focused on Mantrailing (on lead search and rescue) in the beautiful sunshine.

Well done Teams!

05/04/2025

Want my number one exercise for getting your dog started with Scentwork?

I've spoken about it numerous times in the past, but for me, it's an exercise called the Coin Game. I'll be posting the tutorial video to my email list tomorrow evening.

So if you want it, hop on over there! Link in the comments!