Casper barked at every person until today!
Being an older terrier with some issues with his eyesight, Casper would bark and lunge at most people on walks and in cafe settings.
We identified that he is social with people once he's met them, but the initial appearance causes him concern. Without clarity, we get the barking!
So we developed a new rule - when we see people, good stuff happens!
Despite being alert, Casper was able to process for nearly half an hour after some initial work. Huge progress already!
This is the power of a Half Day Overhaul. Three hours dedicated to you and your dog to create a comprehensive, effective plan to change their behaviour.
Bookings for January are open. Let me know when you are ready!
What actually goes on in a Nosework class? Let the dogs show you!
Nosework is an umbrella term used to describe dogs being tasked to locate a specific scent, and perform a specific behaviour while doing so.
In classes, we do four core types of Nosework:
🔹 Mantrailing, which is on-lead Search and Rescue. The scent is human, and they find an actual person.
🔹 Scentwork. This involves searching an area for a target scent. This could be food, cloves, kong or something else entirely. Think drug detection dogs.
🔹 Tracking. Following human scent and ground disturbance to find an article with human scent (glove, wallet, keys etc). Think a police dog hunting for stolen property.
🔹 Active Searches. Sending a dog into an area to find a toy/gundog dummy and retrieve it.
Dogs are trained in all four disciplines for the first couple of months, and then for each block of classes we focus on one/two core disciplines to build up their skills.
We're also the only class to change location each week, and the only class to accept reactive/anxious/fizzy dogs to work in public places. This is because the only way a dog is going to grow is through being tested in as many locations as possible.
This week we were at Highcliffe Castle, and you can see dogs, people and cyclists in the videos below.
For us, Nosework isn't just about sniffing - it's about building real world skills.
It might be confidence building, and massively reducing reactivity. It might be channelling all that energy into something productive. It might be learning to work around dogs, people and prey animals.
Nosework classes will be your dogs favourite hour each week, guaranteed.
If you'd like more info to get booked on for January, now is the time. Drop me an email at [email protected] or comment down below for more info.
Massive well done Team, you smashed it!
Taking over Tyneham for our Nosework masterclass!
All ten dogs utilised their sniffing skills to search abandoned buildings, an old church, and zoom across the fields to find their missing people!
As the final workshop of the year, we wanted to make it a big one, and we did. So many incredible clove searches and rescues delivered from all different types of dogs.
Next year is set to be even better!
If you'd like to know more about our Nosework Masterclasses, better get in contact now. I'm releasing the info on the next four special masterclasses on my private Nosework What's App group on Friday, and I can promise they'll all be sold out by the time they get to here.
Want the link? Let me know!
Well done Team!
Nosework changes lives. Here's how it impacted two Spaniels.
Lucy and Arthur have been working with me for over a year, and they've grown massively.
Lucy used to guard most objects, and struggled with anxiety towards dogs and people. Now she leaves things she finds happily, and greets everyone with enthusiasm.
How? Nosework.
Arthur is a fizzy boy who desperately need a job. He would get overwhelmed in new spaces, and it'd impact his behaviour. Now he can head to locations like a football stadium, and given a job, he soars.
How? Nosework.
There is genuinely nothing better you can do with your dog.
Anxious or reactive, fizzy or unfocused, the answer lies in the nose.
Here are some of their best searches from the Scentwork Escape Room ran with my great friend Emma from Paw by Paw Training & Behaviour. Thank you to Weymouth FC for letting us use their grounds.
More info on Scentwork workshops with Emma coming soon! If you'd like the inside scoop comment down below!
Well done Lucy and Arthur!
This is Bryn's first ever walk outside of his local street!
He had a rough start in life - found wandering the streets of Poole before being handed to a local rescue. Landing on his paws with his new family in Dorchester, he displayed reactivity towards people and dogs, and constantly pulled on the lead.
Because of this, his caregivers were reluctant to take him outside of his bubble, because of his severe anxiety.
Except he wasn't anxious at all!
Instead, he was frustrated. He got so overwhelmed in the presence of dogs and people, and was so thrilled at being outside, he pulled, barked, lunged and screamed at everything.
Until today!
We took him for his first proper walk to a local field, and began to teach him how to behave around dogs. Didn't he do amazing?
So often, our dogs with additional needs - whether they're anxious or fizzy - have such small worlds. But they don't need to be tiny forever.
If you'd like help widening your dogs world, let me know in the comments down below. I've got some availability for January.
Well done Bryn!
This video starts with a dog doing a poo. It's a huge deal.
Violet is one of two dogs I'll be assessing for a rescue organisation this month. In her previous life, she as kept crated for upwards of eighteen hours a day, and unfortunately witnessed some horrible in-home situations.
Because of this, she is hugely reactive to dogs and men, and struggles with the movement of bicyles too.
She has already come on leaps and bounds since being with her fosterer, and I was contacted to put together a comprehensive plan to help with rehoming her.
Within twenty minutes, we had become friends, and she took food from my hand.
She was also able to, for the first time, feel comfortable enough outside to wee and poo. You will not understand how massive that is.
You'll also see in the video we experiment with using a tennis ball as a reward for her disengaging from people, cyclists and dogs. It's 'rough' work, in the sense that we're still discovering what works for Violet.
Already though? Huge progress.
Violet's had a rough life, but now? She's learning to feel safe.
Well done to Violet!
This could cause your dog's reactivity. Check out the first part of the video.
Frankie had an Half Day Overhaul today, because he would scream at other dogs when they would disengage with him.
This isn't aggression, though - it's frustration. He was so excited in the presence of other dogs that he'd bark, lunge, howl and bay when they wouldn't interact with him. You can see the momentum building in the first part of the video, where he's straining against the lead to go and say hello. This allows momentum to build, and his arousal to sky-rocket.
Notice the difference in the other sections?
We taught Frankie to process the other dogs, and offered him plenty of alternative choices. We channelled his Terrier behaviours into exercises he rapidly responded to. We taught him that if he wants to say hello to dogs, he needs to check in first.
He used to react to every dog, but that's changed for him.
Half Day Overhauls are the most in-depth behaviour modification session I do, to make changes like this quickly, efficiently and above all, stress-free.
Some dogs are already booked in for January. So don't miss out - drop me an email at [email protected] and we can finally set your mind at ease.
Well done to Frankie and his caregivers!
Four signs of reactivity progress, explained by me!
Trying out something different - here's around ten minutes video from one of my Half Day Overhauls on dog reactivity, featuring the gorgeous Loki the Collie-Cross.
I discuss four signs of reactivity progress, how we achieved them, and highlighted some things for you to consider.
This is the type of stuff I usually save for webinars, but Loki provided such a clear picture of what I want my students to look for, I couldn't resist sharing!
Half Day Overhaul spaces are open for January 2025. Drop me an email at [email protected] to book.
Well done Loki and his caregivers!
Sighthounds can do Scentwork!
It was pleasure this weekend to go up to Birmingham to run a Sniff to Safety workshop for Insight Hounds, entirely comprised of Sighthounds!
We let the dogs decide what they wanted to do, and most opted for Mantrailing, so we had great fun teaching them the joy of finding people.
What's even more impressive is the resilience they developed. Lots of the dogs were nervous of men, or struggled with noises, but absolutely smashed it!
Special shout out to Bullet (the first video, finding my hat!) and Buzz (laying down in the blue coat in the hall). They were gifted two spaces on the workshop as they're both currently in rescue. I'll link both their charities in the comments, so you can go and visit their pages. They do incredible work for Sighthounds, and both boys are up for adoption now!
Well done to all the incredible dogs, you all smashed it!
On Wednesday we took over Wimborne, and there's an opportunity for a Dorset Dog!
Due to having a rough week with illness on the personal and dog front, I've been slack with sharing all our adventures. The Ultimate Nosework dogs charged around Wimborne with some ace searches.
We're entering our final block of Nosework classes on Wednesdays and Sundays soon, with one space on these time slots:
10am-11am on Sunday.
3pm-4pm on Sunday.
1pm-2pm on Wednesday.
This is your last chance to work with me Nosework wise this year.
Ready to discover your dogs favourite hour each week? Comment down below or drop me a message at [email protected]!
Well done Team!
You can't solve reactivity without exposure.
This is Rufus - the point of this video was to demonstrate his ability to do normal dog things on a walk, despite loads of other dogs nearby.
Instead, we dealt with a resilience building moment.
Another dog sprinted across the field into a group of dogs, and the dog got yelled at. It nearly escalated into a dog fight.
Rufus watched, and although we helped him disengage, he was able to take food and move on with his day.
Before? He would've exploded.
Reactivity solutions aren't just based on 'less reactions'. If your dog goes ballistic and can't calm down, that's a far bigger barrier to progress.
So we focused on Rufus having an outlet for his fizzy behaviour, helped him with his consistent lead pulling, and taken steps to massively reduce his reactivity.
All accomplished in a single Half Day Overhaul!
Well done Rufus and his family, and thank you for travelling from Southampton to work together!
Want help with your dog? Reach out now before the year is over!
We do dog training classes differently.
Yesterday, it was the Ultimate Nosework dog's adventure class! Once per block of classes, we'll go on an amble into an exciting location to practise not only our sniffing abilities, but vital training skills too. Canford Heath was out venue this time.
So many dogs struggle to exist around dogs or people, or focus in an outside environment.
We don't shy away from it. We make it a priority.
Here are some examples of the dogs hanging out and spending time together, alongside some trails to find 'missing people' and a lovely active search by Stanley (even if he did get stuck!).
Nosework classes are built around the concept of real world skills for real life results. It just so happens we get there through lots of sniffing!
Well done Team for a great day yesterday, you all smashed it!
