Planet Dog Training & Behaviour

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Planet Dog Training & Behaviour

Planet Dog Training & Behaviour Based in Brighton, Planet Dog provides positive, reward-based training and behavioural consultations for dogs and the humans who love them.

07/02/2025

Take time to stop on your walks sometimes, let your dog spend time just taking in their environment, sniffing the air and watching the world go by: this can be a very valuable part of meeting their needs.

Whilst running and chasing and playing are important aspects of our dogs' lives, these are all things which increase adrenaline levels. If this is all that your dog is doing whilst out on a walk, then it is no surprise that they might then find it difficult to settle once they are home again.

A study on street dogs in India found that they did not choose to engage in fast-paced, high intensity activities like chasing: they spent far more time just mooching about, hanging out with other humans and/or dogs, and slowly exploring their world. This is a lesson we would do well to learn with our own dogs.

Whilst physical exercise is obviously important for our dogs, so too is giving them time to engage meaningfully with their environment when they are out and about in the world.

Dogs need to be given time to slow down. They need to be given time to sniff. To absorb their environment. A walk should stimulate your dog’s mind as well as their body.

In the right place and at the right time, taking some time to stop and take the world in can give a nervous dog the time they need to feel comfortable in that world (and if your dog needs support in this area, then Planet Dog can help!). But all dogs can benefit from having things slowed down for them when they’re out on their walk sometimes.

So why not give it a try? You may even find that it is something that could benefit you, too.

22/01/2025

There are lots of different ways that you can help your dog to live a happy life. Today’s focus is going to be on walks. Scroll through to read about all the different things that you can do to ensure that your dog enjoys their walks and gets the most out of them.

Remember: our dogs’ walks should, wherever possible, be for them. They spend so much time fitting in with our lives, but they deserve to have their needs met: ensuring that their walks are enjoyable for them is just one way of doing this. Linked to that, and to the issue of choice, it’s also ok if your dog doesn’t fancy a walk at any point for any reason. There are plenty of things that you can do at home to entertain them instead. If you need help with this then Planet Dog can help!

Learn to understand and to listen to your dog - these are small things that will have big consequences for you both.

18/01/2025

Providing opportunities for mental stimulation throughout your dog’s day is a vital component of ensuring that you are being a responsible dog guardian and are meeting your friend’s needs.

There are lots of ways that you can provide such opportunities for your dog, including sensory investigation of various types, training games, scentwork, puzzle solving, and interactive games.

Even if you don’t have enough time to provide such activities for your dog on a given day, there are still plenty of activities that you can prepare for them and which they can enjoy and get satisfaction from without you.

Earlier posts have highlighted the benefits of snuffle mats, puzzle boxes, lickimats, long-lasting chews, and toys such as the Bob-a-Lot. These are all things which you can prepare in advance for your dog and offer to them throughout their day, even at times when you don’t have time to be directly interacting with them yourself (although activities such as these should always be supervised, and you should always ensure that your dog has access to plenty of water, too).

There are so many different ways that you can ensure that you are meeting your dog’s mental as well as physical needs. If you need help with this, or any other issue, then Planet Dog can help.

24/12/2024

Wishing all my clients - past, present, and future! - a very merry Christmas and all good wishes for a happy and healthy 2025.

08/12/2024

Training FOR the moment not IN the moment is a very good maxim for any behaviours that you are trying to teach your dog.

If you would like them to walk with a loose lead rather than pulling in excitement to their favourite park, for example, then you need to teach them the skills of loose lead walking in a non-exciting environment first. Trying to introduce this skill in the very place where the behaviour is most challenging for you both is setting everybody up to fail.

Would you like your dog to wait patiently on a mat when people come to the door? Then you need to train the necessary skills at times when no-one is at the door first. Trying to introduce that new behaviour at the time when the dog is likely to find it most difficult is not the best way to set anyone up for success.

Training is not just about how to teach a given skill. It is also about:

* understanding how context may affect learning;
* understanding your individual dog and knowing what they might need in order to be able to succeed;
* knowing what motivates them;
* appreciating what they might find challenging and why;
* being able to read their body language so that you can understand what they are communicating to you, and being willing and able to respond to that;
* focusing on what you are communicating to them, not just by your words but by their volume and pace and tone, and by your own body language, too.

Learning what both you and your dog need in order to succeed can take time, but it is well worth the effort: the rewards will be felt by you, by your dog, and in your relationship with one another. If you need help with any of this, then Planet Dog would be delighted to help.

04/12/2024

Beautiful words from Mary Oliver's fantastic poem, 'Little Dog's Rhapsody in the Night'. If you love dogs and you love poetry, then you might well enjoy her collection "Dog Songs".

03/12/2024

It is easy to feel that you don’t have time to train your dog, either to teach them something new or to practise learned behaviours with them. But short sessions of engagement with your dog are beneficial for you both.

Short sessions of training keep your dog mentally active, and they can help them to learn and solidify behaviours that will be helpful to you both in your lives together. They also serve as bonding opportunities.

You will be surprised how much progress you can make with teaching your dog a new skill or practising an already learnt behaviour if you make space for just a few repetitions of it throughout your day.

Rehearse some eye contact exercises, walking beside you, or trick training as you wait for the kettle to boil.

Run through some behaviours like sit, stand, and down before setting off on your walk together in order to remind your dog how much fun it can be to engage with you.

At the end of your walk why not practise husbandry behaviours like wiping paws or clipping nails, helping your dog to learn to feel comfortable with these procedures? (And if you need help with how to go about this, then Planet Dog can help!)

Spending time hanging out with your dog and working on exercises that are fun - and useful - for you both is much easier to fit into your day than it might feel, it’s just about working out where you have those windows of opportunity and thinking about how you might best use them.

Be sure to use positive reinforcement training and learn how to read your dog’s body language so that you can ensure that the experience is always pleasurable for both of you.

If you need help learning how best to engage with your dog and how to teach them the skills that they need in their life with you, then please get in touch with Planet Dog.

28/11/2024

Reframing something enables you to look at it and experience it in a different way, which can be helpful in finding new ways to address it.

What might this mean in relation to your dog?

Maybe a reactive dog does not need “fixing”.

It is obviously important to help your dog to feel safe in their world. It is obviously important for them to learn strategies that will help them to cope with situations that they find challenging for whatever reason. It is also vital that we, as our dogs’ guardians, understand the reason for their behaviour, since this is an important part of knowing how best to address it.

But a reactive dog is not a broken dog and therefore does not need to be “fixed”. They need understanding and support, and to be given ways to reframe their own ways of seeing the world. It may help to remember that they are not giving you a hard time; they are having a hard time.

Dogs are sentient, feeling beings all having their own experience of being alive and being in the world. Having invited them into our lives we owe it to them to help to support them in whatever way we can, and that begins by trying to see things from their perspective.

If you need help with this or any other issue, then contact Planet Dog today.

27/11/2024

Reframing something enables you to look at it and experience it in a different way, which can be helpful in finding new ways to address it.

What might this mean in relation to your dog?

Maybe your dog is not “attention-seeking”. Perhaps they are trying to tell you that they have an unmet need: they may be hungry, or need the toilet, or need some mental or physical stimulation. Or perhaps all their needs have been met and they are just struggling to know how to settle when it’s time to chill out together - this is a skill that some dogs need help to develop, and perhaps the behaviour that you are seeing as “attention-seeking” is actually them asking for help in being shown how to learn that skill.

If you would like help learning how to better understand your dog and helping them to learn specific skills that will help you to live more harmoniously together, then Planet Dog can help.

26/11/2024

Reframing something enables you to look at it and experience it in a different way, which can be helpful in finding new ways to address it.

What might this mean in relation to your dog?

Maybe your dog isn’t “being difficult”. Perhaps they are finding some aspect of their life challenging in some way and are looking for support and guidance in how to navigate it. Try to think about what they might need in order to help them to be able to offer a different behaviour.

For example, does your dog constantly stop moving on their walk with you? Rather than thinking that they are being “difficult” or “stubborn” when they do this, think about what might be preventing them from wanting to continue: perhaps they are tired, or scared, or in pain. Perhaps they have simply become overwhelmed with the environment and need a moment to process their surroundings. Try to think about what your dog is experiencing in that moment and how you can alter things in order to help them to feel more comfortable.

If you are struggling to understand your dog’s behaviour, then please get in touch with Planet Dog.

22/11/2024

(Just reposting this given the windy weather that's forecast for the next few days!)

Does your dog behave differently when it’s windy? If you consider how much of a dog’s world is filtered through their amazing sense of smell, it is only to be expected that the world might seem very different to them on super windy days. Scents (and sounds) will swirl about on the cascading air currents, meaning that a) there are a lot more of those scents and sounds reaching your dog, and b) it’s a lot more challenging for them to work out which direction they are coming from.

There are way more distractions in the environment on windy days: this means that it may be more difficult for your dog to pay as much attention to you as they usually do. For dogs who can be worried by things in their environment, it means that there are seemingly way more of those things to be worried about and it’s more difficult to anticipate where they might be coming from, too; this could exacerbate their fear and unease, meaning that they may be quicker to react negatively to things that they might usually be able to cope with.

So if your dog is acting differently on days like today, when the wind is whipping through the trees and creating a lot more noise, movement, and scent distraction than usual, take a moment to try to understand how the world must seem to them and give them the time and space that they may need to cope with this strange, new turn of events.

20/11/2024

Does your dog wear a collar at home?

These can sometimes pose a safety risk, particularly where dangling tags are also attached to those collars.

Collars - and their tags - can get stuck on or in things: tragic stories of dogs looking out of windows and getting their collars/tags stuck in the grills on top of radiators on their way down, or stuck in the bars of a crate, on in another dog’s mouth during play have all been reported, with tragic consequences.

These stories are obviously the exception rather than the rule, and if you are around to supervise your dog then you dramatically reduce any risk.

Nonetheless, it is always better to be safe than sorry. So let your dogs wear nothing but a smile when they are at home with you. After all, as that most famous of naked bears sings, it is the bare necessities that will ensure your dog can rest at ease.

(Remember that it is a legal requirement for all dogs to be microchipped and also for any dog in a public place to be wearing a collar or tag which states both the guardian’s name and address.)

19/11/2024

Did you know that sniffing, licking, and chewing are all very calming activities for dogs? Providing opportunities for these activities throughout your dog’s day will ensure that you are meeting their needs and helping them to stay calm and content.

Opportunities for sniffing, licking, and chewing include snuffle mats and scent games, lickimats and stuffed kongs, and long-lasting chews of various types, respectively, to name just a few.

Providing access to such activities after any potentially stressful or challenging events, or those which are highly arousing, will help your dog to decompress.

A stressful (or highly exciting!) encounter on a walk, a car journey which they perhaps didn’t particularly enjoy, a day when you’ve had lots of visitors or your dog has gone to the vet - these are all examples of times when your dog’e emotions may have become aroused in some way. This is when people can see behaviours which they consider problematic, since the dog is trying to cope with an emotional imbalance.

Providing them with sniffing, licking, or chewing opportunities will help them to regain a sense of calm. In fact, if your dog has ready access to long-lasting chews, you may notice that they seek these out themselves after challenging events in their life in an effort to self-soothe.

So help your dog to find their bliss and let their mantras be “I am safe and all is well”; “I have all that I need to succeed”; and “Happiness is always available to me”.

18/11/2024

If you are looking to affect your dog’s behaviour, then always be ready to reward those behaviours you’d like to see more of.

Very often humans focus on those behaviours they wish their dogs wouldn’t do: people want to know how to stop their dogs from jumping up, pulling on the lead, digging, barking, counter surfing. This can often mean that if their dog is not doing any of those behaviours then they are simply ignored. But a key aspect of affecting behaviour is the understanding that what gets rewarded gets repeated.

So is your dog walking on a nice, loose lead? Reward them!
Are they keeping all four paws on the floor when children come to visit? Reward them!
Do they sit calmly while you’re eating something tempting? Reward them!

If you make a point of noticing when your dog is offering behaviours that you would like to see more of, then you can reward them - this will make your dog more likely to repeat those behaviours again in future.

Remember that reinforcement comes in many forms and is always determined by the individual dog - if you would like help with this, or any other aspect of training and your relationship with your dog, then get in touch with Planet Dog.

25/09/2024

A lot of training focuses on what is convenient for the human and ignores the fact that the dog is also a sentient being having their own experience of being in the world. Asking your dog “How is this for you?”* allows you to consider the current situation for them, too. How are they feeling, physically, emotionally and mentally?

Perhaps they are not responding to your request for them to sit because it is uncomfortable for them to do so. Perhaps they do not feel like continuing on their walk because there are sounds or smells in the distance which are making them uncomfortable. Perhaps they cannot focus on the new thing that you are trying to teach them because there are too many distractions around.

Asking “How is this for you?” in any interaction that we have with our dogs allows us to ensure that we are always responding to their needs, which is the best way to ensure that we are helping them to lead their best lives with us.

In order to understand their response to that question we need to be able to read their body language, need to be able to recognise any signs of stress or discomfort that they are showing, and need to know when they are saying ‘No, thank you’ as well as when they are saying ‘Yes, please!’ It requires observing what they do in response to things and being able to adjust the environment and/or our actions accordingly.

It is easy to make assumptions about what our dogs are feeling but these assumptions can often do them a very real disservice. If we are committed to respecting the individual lives that our dogs are leading and ensuring that we are always caring for them in the very best ways that we can, then we must always ask how things are for them, and we should educate ourselves so that we are able to truly hear - and therefore effectively respond to - their answers.

If you need help understanding more about your dog so that you can nurture that all important bond with them, then Planet Dog can help.

*one of Suzanne Clothier's 6 Elemental Questions

03/08/2024

Beach days are always happy days. 🥰

30/07/2024

Many people, when greeting or showing affection to a dog, reach out to ruffle them on the top of their heads. It is meant to be a nice gesture but, for many dogs, it can be anything but.

Studies have found that stroking a dog on the chest can lower their heart rate and be calming for them, whereas touches to the top of the head or the paws can result in body language of discomfort.

The dogs in the photos below are both clearly uncomfortable with being touched on the tops of their heads: both dogs are ducking slightly away from the hand that is touching them and their ears are pinned back, too. You can also see a tongue flick from the dog on the left and ‘whale eye’ (where the whites of the eye are showing) in the dog on the right. All of these signs are evidence that these two dogs are not enjoying receiving the physical attention which is being imposed upon them.

There are many reasons why it is important to be able to understand our dogs’ body language, amongst them the fact that you may be punishing your dog when you think that you are rewarding them. If your dog does not enjoy being stroked on the top of their head but, in your enthusiasm at them returning to you when you recall them you tell them how good they are whilst ruffling them in precisely that location, for example, then you may actually be discouraging, rather than encouraging them from returning to you the next time that you recall them.

Taking time to learn how to read your dog accurately and listening to their communications is a vital way of enhancing your relationship with them. If you need help with this, then Planet Dog is here to help.

23/07/2024

Do you take your dog for a walk or go for a walk with your dog?

Whilst at first glance these two things may seem to be the same, it’s worth considering the subtle difference between these two ways of describing this one activity.

If we are keen to make a dog’s walk as enriching as possible for them, then a tiny shift in perspective might make all the difference.

Going for a walk *with* your dog means recognising that the walk is for them. So how might this change things? It means letting them choose where they want to walk. It means letting them choose where to sniff and how long they want to stay there for. It means letting them initiate or reject play, and letting them choose whether or not they wish to interact with others (always keeping in mind the needs and preferences of those other parties too, of course!). It means letting them stand still or sit or lie down when they want to in order simply to take in their environment.

People are sometimes bewildered if their dogs just stop when out on a walk, but allowing them the time and space to take in their environment is so important, both for their sense of security and of contentment: a walk is an opportunity for mental as well as physical stimulation too, after all.

So take time to notice your dog’s preferences, and try to honour them when you go for a walk with them. This is just one of many ways that you can ensure that you are meeting their needs.

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Wishing all my clients - past, present, and future! - a very merry Christmas and all good wishes for a happy and healthy 2025.

Things We Love: Today’s offering is a twofer because this video is showcasing a place AND an object (you’re welcome). For the place: secure fields. Great for anxious or reactive dogs, dogs who need to improve their recall before being off-lead in public spaces, or just because you want some private time with your own dog and don’t live close to an environment where this might be possible. There are lots of reasons why secure fields might be beneficial for your dog. Check out Dog Walking Fields - enclosed dog walking areas for hire or free public use to discover all the fields near to you - there are quite a few within about 30 minutes from Brighton and new ones being opened all the time. For the object: the jolly ball made by Jolly Pets. This is a football sized ball made of a durable plastic which doesn’t require air, so it can take a lot of punishment from canine teeth and nails and cannot be punctured/deflated. It’s also too large to be carried in the mouth, so is fun for chasing and herding, if either of those are things that your dog enjoys (if your dog likes fetching then you can also buy the same ball with a handle). As you can see, combine the two and you have canine delight and a sight of rare beauty. #dogtraining #IMDT #positivedogtraining #dogcommunication #behaviourist #caninebehaviourist #dogadvice #forcefreedogtraining #positivereinforcementdogtraining #dogtrainer #bethechange #canines #caninementalhealth #DogHealth #dogmentalhealth #dogtips101 #dogtrainingtips #canineanxiety #caninewelfare #dogwelfare #enrichmentfordogs #enrichment #enrichmentfordogs #dogenrichment #canineenrichment #canineenrichmentideas #dogenrichmentactivities #securedogfield #jollyball

It seems like just yesterday that I was posting about enrichment activities that you could do with your dog if it was too hot to take them out for their usual walks…Ah, how times change! Now, of course, it’s time to think about offering some of those activities when extreme wind and rain are preventing you from enjoying your usual walks together (although enrichment activities are a wonderful addition to your dog’s day every day, no matter the weather!). Here are 3 ideas to get you started: 1. The puzzle box: a great activity for any day (please see my earlier post about how to set this up - boxes inside boxes can add an additional challenge for seasoned snufflers!). 2. Find it games around your home: ask your dog to wait as you hide treats or toys around your house, and then release them to go and find all of those treasures. (If you need help with how to train any/all aspects of this, then please do get in touch!). 3. The Bob-a-Lot. I’m not on commission from Starmark Pet Products, the makers of this toy (although I totally should be), but it really is a fantastic treat dispensing toy which can provide both mental and physical stimulation for your dog. And remember: these activities aren’t a substitute for time with you, they are an addition to that - spending time with you is also enriching for your dog. Stormy weather doesn’t have to be a source of boredom and frustration - it can be an opportunity to come up with new activities to offer to (and share with) your dog. So get creative and don't let the bad weather spoil your or your dog's fun! #dogtraining #IMDT #positivedogtraining #dogcommunication #behaviourist #caninebehaviourist #dogadvice #forcefreedogtraining #positivereinforcementdogtraining #dogtrainer #bethechange #canines #caninementalhealth #DogHealth #dogmentalhealth #dogtips101 #dogtrainingtips #canineanxiety #caninewelfare #dogwelfare #enrichmentfordogs #enrichment #enrichmentfordogs #dogenrichment #canineenrichment #canineenr

"Forever - is composed of Nows" - well said, Emily Dickinson. #poetry #emilydickinson #dogtraining #imdt #positivedogtraining #dogcommunication #behaviourist #caninebehaviourist #dogadvice #forcefreedogtraining #positivereinforcementdogtraining #dogtrainer #bethechange #canine #caninewelfare #dogwelfare #brightondogs #dogsofinstagram #dogsofbrighton #dogs #dogstagram #rescuedog #rescuedogsofinstagram #dogslife #dog #beachdog #beachdogs #beachdogsofinstagram

Want some ideas for activities to keep your dogs entertained at home when it’s just too hot to go out and about for their adventures? Well here’s one great, simple idea that your dog might enjoy: For the dog who’s new to this: 1. Get an old cardboard box and remove the top flaps so that it’s open. 2. Fill the box up with scrunched up bits of paper (newspaper, magazine, packing paper, etc.). 3. Sprinkle some treats in amongst the paper. 4. Let your dog snuffle them out! For the more experienced snuffler: 1. As above, but in amongst the paper, also put other, smaller boxes and the inner, cardboard bits of toilet/kitchen rolls, into which you’ve packed individual treats scrunched up in paper - a sort of doggy Pass-the-Parcel, if you will (and they will). 2. If your dog loves a good shred then you could leave the top flaps attached and close them so that getting into the box itself is the first part of the activity (but be sure that this doesn’t create frustration/concern for your dog before they’ve even started!). 3. Let your dog snuffle the packages out and rip them apart in order to get to the treats! Note: Always supervise this activity to ensure that your dog isn’t eating the paper and/or packaging. Many dogs will love this activity as it will get them to use their noses to sniff out the treats and sniffing is a hugely enriching activity for most dogs, satisfying their scavenging, foraging instincts and stimulating their amazing sense of smell. As well as loving this activity, it is also likely to be tiring - in a good way - for your dog, something which is obviously particularly useful if you’re not able to walk them as much as you might usually do. So let the shredding begin! #dogtraining #imdt #positivedogtraining #dogcommunication #behaviourist #caninebehaviourist #dogadvice #forcefreedogtraining #positivereinforcementdogtraining #dogtrainer #bethechange #canine #caninementalhealth #doghealth #dogmentalhealth #dogtips101 #dogtraining

We must dig deep in order to uncover a full understanding of the needs and emotions that drive our dogs’ behaviour. When trying to understand that behaviour, it is important to explore motivations before addressing manifestations. As psychologist Ashleigh Warner puts it, “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 you are struggling to cope with any aspect of your dog’s behaviour, then contact Planet Dog today to find out how we can help. #dogtraining #imdt #positivedogtraining #dogcommunication #behaviourist #caninebehaviourist #dogadvice #forcefreedogtraining #positivereinforcementdogtraining #dogtrainer #bethechange #canine #caninebehaviourist #caninewelfare #dogwelfare #brightondogs #dogsofinstagram #dogsofbrighton #dogs #dogstagram #rescuedog #rescuedogsofinstagram #dogslife #dog #beachdog #beachdogs #beachdogsofinstagram

Planet Dog bursting onto the scene like.... If you'd like help training a reliable recall in your dog, then please get in touch.

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