Brighton Dog Training

09/06/2022

Many of us have been in the situation at some point where we don't feel comfortable with the way we are being told to handle our dog, or the situation our dog is being put in.

It can be very hard to stand up for yourself and your dog, especially when you are paying a professional. You can feel like you're overreacting or that it's necessary for the greater good. But the truth is that if it feels wrong, it probably is.

Here is your reminder, and your permission to:
‍👉Ask questions
‍👉Leave the lesson
‍👉Find another trainer

Sometimes, it is hard to do this in the moment, and many of us have experienced that uncomfortable freeze when you can’t find your voice – and if this happens, don’t beat yourself up. Give yourself time to unpack the situation and if you feel able, talk to the trainer after the fact.

11/08/2021

I’m very excited to now be accredited by the Professional Association of Canine Trainers and a registered Animal Training Instructor with the Animal Behaviour and Training Council.

**New Full member announcement!**
Woohoo another full member of the PACT team. Please join us in congratulating Ali Fell from Brighton Dog Training on passing her practical assessment for 1:1 training.

"I’ve been working as a trainer for several years and looking for an organisation to join that reflected my values. PACT strongly promotes a high level of ethics, skills and science-based knowledge and I’m delighted to be accredited by them. PACT were really supportive throughout my application and assessment process."

Ali Fell
[email protected]
www.brightondogtraining.com

06/11/2020

How are you, and your dogs, doing after last night? Were you bombarded with fireworks, or did you have a relatively peaceful night. We had some locally - which is a first - but I've seen posts from friends who had to endure hours of bangs and distressed dogs.
If your dogs had a bad night then let them rest today. They will be processing the shock and stress hormones and will benefit from a quiet day to recover. Skip their walk and do some scent games, parkour, fun retrieves or play at home with you instead. You want to raise their positivity with fun stuff, while avoiding anything which will increase their adrenalin / cortisol responses. And let them sleep.

15/10/2020

We’ve got a new logo!

21/08/2020

Science, dogs and happiness. Sounds like a good combination!

16/04/2020

Good news. The police have clarified today that a short drive to exercise (including walking your dog) is allowed! Just remember to be very careful about livestock if you’re walking in fields.
🐾

Moving house, shopping for luxuries and essential repairs allowed, says CPS guide

07/12/2019

Mischief managed.

Bodie is still in recovery from a broken toe so it’s short lead walks only for now. This means he has a bit too much excess energy and the Christmas tree might not be safe when he’s left alone with it. He’s also an adolescent and could find the temptation of a decorated tree in his living room a bit too hard to resist.

If your dog is likely to make a bad choice then manage their environment to help them out.

24/11/2019

Yes!

11/11/2019

Dog lovers in Brighton and Hove can’t have missed the cases of Luna and Daisy who were both missing for over a week recently. This dedicated group of volunteers were out day and night to find them. They need equipment to continue the work they do. Please donate if you can to help them get lost dogs back to their people!

FUNDRAISING UPDATE 11/11
We have really been blown away by the support we have recieved over the last 2 weeks - our equipment fund last night stood at £2862, and we have been donated a large 3ft x 3ft x 5ft trap

31/08/2019

Topping up my theory knowledge at the Action conference on psychological trauma in dogs. 🤓🐾

23/07/2019

Keep your dogs safe from heatstroke. Ideally early morning walks only for the next few days at least!
Having seen heatstroke first hand, it is really something to be avoided at all costs.

Many parts of Europe are set for a heatwave the next few days. Please consider your pet’s safety.
Except horses, most of our pets cannot sweat so they can overheat really easily.
Dogs: walk early in the morning, even evenings are likely to be too hot. Why not do some calm indoor or shady enrichment later in the day instead?
Remember if you take them even for a short stroll in the daytime, not only may they get too hot but pavements can easily burn their paws.
Small furries (rabbits, guineas, chinchillas etc) PLEASE DONT FORGET THEM. Outdoor hutches can get very hot so make sure they are in the shade all day long or alternatively bring them inside into shady rooms or garages. Offer cold surfaces like ceramic tiles for them to sit on away from warm bedding as a choice.
Cats: make sure their favourite sleeping rooms are kept shady (keep curtains closed). If you live in an urban area, keep a close check on their paws for any signs of early blistering if they choose to go outside. Perhaps put a litter tray inside if they dont normally have one so they have a choice not to go outside.
Horses: just because they can sweat, doesnt mean they dont over heat. If you are feeling hot, its too hot to exercise your horse. Make sure their turnout areas have access to shade.

This is not meant to be a complete list just some thoughts to consider.
Vets see animals suffering or even dying as a result of heat waves every time they happen and honestly, it was preventable.

Enjoy the weather but keep pets safe.

27/06/2019

Yes! 🙌🙌🙌
One of our main priorities when working with adult dogs and puppies is to help build emotional robustness so that dogs have a safe and secure base from which to explore the world.

If you asked me to name the single most important thing you can do for your dog, it would be this.

Keep your dog feeling safe.

This is not to be confused with your dog being safe, or whether or not you think your dog is safe. This is about keeping your dog *feeling* safe. Which means identifying what your dog finds stressful or scary by learning how to observe and read their body language to recognize when, where, and under what circumstances they feel uncomfortable, and doing whatever you can to avoid those situations.

This can mean that your dog never visits another dog park.

This can mean that even though it’s a beautiful Sunday and you’d love to have brunch on a patio of your favorite restaurant with your dog, your dog stays home.

This can mean that you politely (or not) decline requests to pet your dog.

This can mean that when children come over your house, your dog is in another room with a yummy Kong.

This can mean that you walk your dog during quiet times of the day.

This can mean that you drive your dog to walk them in a different area.

Whatever it means for you and your dog, keep your dog feeling safe.

You are your dog’s best and only advocate. You are what stands between them and the rest of the world, a world where dogs are set up to fail every day with often heartbreaking consequences. This doesn’t mean that we don’t also actively and *humanely* work to help our dogs feel more comfortable and confident in this world, but it does mean that until they do, WE HAVE TO KEEP THEM FEELING SAFE.

Our dogs are relying on us, it’s our job to have their backs.

13/06/2019

Please keep your dogs on lead on Southwick Hill.

Good afternoon
Mile Oak Farm have put 6 young Highland steers out onto Southwick hill National trust ground this afternoon.
Please respect them and give them some distance and keep dogs on leads around them! Many thanks in advance 🐂🐂🐂

16/05/2019

We mostly walk on farmland. We never let Bodie off lead in fields where there are livestock but we still do training around farm animals whenever we can, as long as we won’t cause stress to them. Bodie has been trained that sheep mean treats are available from me so he is relaxed and can easily focus on me in a situation like this.

07/04/2019

I am really proud of my dog today.
You might think that dog trainers have perfectly behaved dogs, but ours go through the tricky adolescent stage too. At six months, Bodie became bolshy and thuggish in his play-style and also started jumping up at people. We have done most of his walks in quiet, countryside locations since then so that he can’t practice inappropriate behaviour or be a nuisance. We have worked hard on recall and responsiveness.
Today we walked near Devil’s D**e, it was a beautiful day and therefore was very busy. Bodie was a little excited at first but, after a fun play with a couple of other dogs, he really settled down. He stayed near me, didn’t jump up at anyone and played nicely and respectfully with other dogs.
Adolescence is challenging but today I saw a glimmer of what waits on the other side when you invest a lot of energy into training.

25/02/2019

This! 🙌

18/10/2018

This is entirely our outlook on puppy training. We focus on helping your pup to feel happy and confident during those important first few weeks and months.

Your puppy is forming his critical first impressions these early precious months. Make sure to choose a puppy class that emphasizes socialization over obedience!

27/08/2018

Woohoo! We couldn’t be more excited at this news. A fantastic day for dog welfare and ethical training!

Environment Secretary Michael Gove said the collars caused unacceptable "harm and suffering".

19/07/2018

Should I let my puppy off lead?
We get asked this a lot. We recommend varying walks for puppies so that they can learn a variety of skills. Staff pup Bodie is allowed fully off lead in safe places where there are no roads and few distractions so we can work on recall. In busier places he might be on a long line so he can learn that it pays off to come away from exciting things and we can prevent him from making the wrong choices.

30/05/2018

We had to take a bus this morning so we used it as an opportunity to practice Bodie being able to settle and ignore people. He can get frustrated easily so this gave him something to keep him occupied while also learning a useful skill.

21/04/2018

There are still 5 days before Bodie is allowed to walk on the ground but that hasn’t stopped us from getting on with socialisation. He’s been out and about seeing traffic, the sea, boats and livestock. He’s also been on an essential trip to the pub! He has been given plenty of treats to help him form good associations with everything he’s encountered.

10/04/2018

Have you got a aged 16 weeks or younger? Why not consider taking part in Generation Pup - the first to follow of all from as they grow up into adults. To learn more visit http://generationpup.ac.uk

08/04/2018

We focus on well behaved rather than just well trained.
9 week old Bodie has lived with us for 16 days, he knows that our dinner time isn’t anything to do with him so he settles down in his bed. He doesn’t need to be told to go to his bed or lie down but he does it out of choice because that is what happens when we eat. We have taught this gently and kindly, without any punishment.
Get in contact to find out how you can train your dog with reward based and effective methods.

02/04/2018

As well as focusing on getting Bodie used to our home we’ve also put a huge amount of work into housetraining. Young puppies need to be let out to p*e very frequently, sometimes up to four times an hour! However, by taking Bodie out this regularly he has had very few accidents indoors and he even started to make signals that he wanted to go out on his third day at home. What a clever pup! 🐾

30/03/2018

We still have a few spaces left at our secure dog walking field on Sunday and bank holiday Monday. Please get in contact if you’d like to come along!

Safe Off Lead Walks Brighton Dog Training runs a secure dog walking field in Shoreham so that dogs can have…

28/03/2018

What are the most important things to focus on when you bring your new pup home? We’re not worrying about obedience training too much at the moment but we’re spending lots of time helping Bodie get used to his environment. Here he is learning how to get food out of a Kong while in his crate.

23/03/2018

It’s National Puppy Day, very fitting that new staff pup Bodie arrived today!

15/03/2018

We’ve got a couple of spaces available at our secure dog walking field tomorrow afternoon, get in contact if you’d like to book!

Safe Off Lead Walks Brighton Dog Training runs a secure dog walking field in Shoreham so that dogs can have…

27/02/2018

We are very excited to hear this news! Shock collars are so damaging to dogs in so many ways. Fingers crossed for this ban to come into force!

** BREAKING NEWS **

UK government are set to announce a ban on the sale and use of electric shock collars across the UK; following a long campaign from The Kennel Club with the support of cross-party MP's and members of the public.

Pawesome news for dogs across the country! 🐶

18/02/2018

Greyhound make fantastic pets, could you have room on your sofa for one of these boys?

Unfortunately we are not alone in finding that black male greyhounds are the hardest to rehome.
As always our pretty coloured lady hounds provide instant appeal and are whizzing out of the kennels, and our boys are being overlooked.
Please give our black boys a chance and judge them more on character than coat colour.
Here's a selection of our male black beauties looking for their forever homes - KP, Bocko, Paudi, Brandy, Duke, Ragna, Hero, Jerry & Cloud - All handsome with different personalities.
xDx

25/01/2018

We have a vacancy for someone to oversee our secure dog walking field in Shoreham at weekends.
If you have a love of dogs, good customer service skills and access to a car then it could be the perfect job for you. Please get in contact for more information!

24/01/2018

Well done Scotland! Now hoping England bans these harmful devices too. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿👍

In a policy U-turn, the Scottish government decides to outlaw the controversial training devices.

16/01/2018

The first case of Alabama rot has been confirmed in Brighton today. This is a disease of unknown cause that affects all breeds and doesn’t discriminate in terms of age or weight..... If not spotted early, it can lead to sudden and potentially fatal kidney failure (Source: http://www.vets4pets.com/stop-alabama-rot/)

We must emphasise that this is a very rare condition and that it isn't just based on where dogs walk. So a brief reminder on the best advice available at the moment:

- Always WASH OFF WOODLAND MUD. It is thought that the disease is picked up on the paws and legs on muddy walks

- Regularly check for skin lesions (a swelling, patch of red skin or open ulcer) usually seen on lower legs. After a couple of days there may also be signs of kidney failure (vomiting, reduced hunger and unusual tiredness). Any concerns, urgently contact your vet

More information is available at: http://www.vets4pets.com/stop-alabama-rot/

https://www.brightonandhoveindependent.co.uk/news/cases-of-alabama-rot-confirmed-in-sussex-1-8332337

Coastway vets have posted that the affected dog was walked predominantly in Stanmer Park

https://www.facebook.com/CoastwayVets/posts/1772716142772839

Our thoughts are with the family of the dog who passed away last month.

16/01/2018

We’re looking for someone to join the team on Saturdays at our secure dog walking field in Shoreham. The role involves greeting clients, overseeing the transition of dogs in and out of the field and providing a high level of customer service. Access to a car is essential as is a love of dogs! Please get in contact for more information.