Waggy Dogs

02/07/2025

Meet the latest Puppy ABC's graduates, Coco and Max. Not only did they do really well in their final session, working both inside the training hall and outside on the grassy area - which is super distracting 🙈 - but they had a lovely play together too.

We really missed the 2 Dylan's and Teddy who couldn't make the final session, but I'm looking forward to hearing how they all get on in the future. They've been a lovely group, and I've no doubt they'll continue to develop into amazing dogs 💖🐾⭐.

And if you'd like to join the next group, the next course with spaces available starts on Tuesday 29th July at 7.15pm, at the Marychurch Centre in Bucknall. If you'd like more info, just drop me a message 🐶

26/06/2025

Congratulations to Bear and Oreo who graduated from their Skills Booster course yesterday (we missed Winnie who wasn't able to make it). They've both done the Puppy ABC course too, and followed it up with the Booster, and have both done incredibly well. We celebrated by having some offlead time on a walk together, and they really made the most of it 😍🐾🐶.

20/06/2025

Puppy classes can be a great way of helping your pup to meet other pups safely, build confidence with other pups, people and places, as well as learning the basics of how to live in harmony with your family and be the best pup they can be.

As a graduate of the Victoria Stilwell Academy, I've been taught to use only kind, humane methods to teach the pups in my classes, and I've found time and again that using positive methods really helps the pups blossom as well as making it easier for them to learn.

So what can you expect from a Puppy ABC's group class?
🐾Once you've booked a space, you receive an information pack to help you get started straightaway, before the course even begins.
🐾In your first session, you'll get a training pack containing some treats and information, and the puppies get the chance to meet each other safely in the enrichment zone, which is full of objects for them to explore. This helps the pups to settle into this new space, and with each other by having something fun to do, helps them be a bit calmer by doing some sniffing and searching, and also helps to build up confidence, both by giving them the opportunity for problem solving but also to get out of the way of the other pups if they need some space.
🐾During the next few weeks they learn the basics like paying attention to you, sit, lie down, walking nicely on the lead, recall, drop and leave, among other things. I use fun ways of teaching them so it's more like a game - I want them to enjoy learning 😊.
🐾After each session I send out an email detailing what we've covered to help everyone practice.
🐾Places are limited to 6 so each pup has got plenty of space to learn, and each team has plenty of 1:1 time with me to guide them through each exercise and help with any problems.
🐾Classes are friendly! We all have the chance to talk, swap horror stories of our little land sharks and give each other support.

So what else do you need to know?
🐾Classes are on Tuesday evenings at the Marychurch Centre in Bucknall. The next course starts on Tuesday 22nd July at 6 pm, and there's currently 1 space available (update - this course is now full, there is another starting on Tuesday 29th July at 7.15pm).
🐾Each course lasts for 6 weeks and is £99.
🐾There's plenty of reviews on Facebook and Google if you'd like to do a bit more research, as well as some lovely comments from recent graduates on previous Facebook posts.
🐾If you'd like to join, just drop me a message and I'll send you the booking info. I hope to see you and your pupper there 🐶🐾.

17/06/2025

So many dogs don't seem to have an off switch. You know the kind of thing - barking, whining, unable to relax.

Having adopted a dog like this myself, I did loads of research into how to help him, and along with making sure he had plenty of enriching experiences, I discovered an exercise to teach him how to relax himself.

If we try to cue a wired-up pup to do something like Sit or Down, they are going to find it really hard, because they're still full of beans. However if we teach them to be able to relax themselves, in more and more distracting places, they'll choose to do this because they know it pays off.

I was a bit sceptical to start with, but the latest proof of the pudding for me is being able to take Crumpet on holiday, to a hotel, and for him to be able to relax while we're having breakfast, with other dogs in the same room. We take his special mat with us, and after having his breakfast, he'll settle himself down 💖.

Crumpet has been a really great teacher over the years I've had him, and this is just one of the things he's taught me that I now share with my clients 🐶🐾.

11/06/2025

Congratulations to Loki, Ted and Willow who graduated from their Puppy ABC's course yesterday. We really missed Betty, Bobbie and Ozzy, and hope humans and puppers feel better soon.

Some pups strutted into the training room on the first session brimming with confidence, others were a little more cautious, but it's been lovely seeing not only the pups but their humans developing in skill as well as confidence as the weeks have passed.

For anyone who'd like to join a Puppy ABC's group class, the next course with spaces available starts on Tuesday 22nd July at the Marychurch Centre in Bucknall - hope to see you there 🐾.

28/05/2025

Welcome to Coco, the 2 Dylans, and Teddy (and we look forward to meeting Max next week who couldn't make it yesterday).

Dylan Frenchie is a great example of how a pup gains confidence in a space, when he first arrived he was a bit worried and sat away from the action to size things up. Just before he left he was playing with Dylan Fox 😍.

They all did really well with their starter exercises helping them pay attention to their humans, starting off their sit/stay, and learning to Settle, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how they develop over the next few weeks 🐾🐶

25/05/2025

Puppy classes can be a great way of helping your pup to meet other pups safely, build confidence with other pups, people and places, as well as learning the basics of how to live in harmony with your family and be the best pup they can be.

As a graduate of the Victoria Stilwell Academy, I've been taught to use only kind, humane methods to teach the pups in my classes, and I've found time and again that using positive methods really helps the pups blossom as well as making it easier for them to learn.

So what can you expect from a Puppy ABC's group class?
🐾Once you've booked a space, you receive an information pack to help you get started straightaway, before the course even begins.
🐾In your first session, you'll get a training pack containing some treats and information, and the puppies get the chance to meet each other safely in the enrichment zone, which is full of objects for them to explore. This helps the pups to settle into this new space, and with each other by having something fun to do, helps them be a bit calmer by doing some sniffing and searching, and also helps to build up confidence, both by giving them the opportunity for problem solving but also to get out of the way of the other pups if they need some space.
🐾During the next few weeks they learn the basics like paying attention to you, sit, lie down, walking nicely on the lead, recall, drop and leave, among other things. I use fun ways of teaching them so it's more like a game - I want them to enjoy learning 😊.
🐾After each session I send out an email detailing what we've covered to help everyone practice.
🐾Places are limited to 6 so each pup has got plenty of space to learn, and each team has plenty of 1:1 time with me to guide them through each exercise and help with any problems.
🐾Classes are friendly! We all have the chance to talk, swap horror stories of our little land sharks and give each other support.

So what else do you need to know?
🐾Classes are on Tuesday evenings at the Marychurch Centre in Bucknall. The next course starts on Tuesday 27th May at 7.15 pm, and there's currently 1 space available.
🐾Each course lasts for 6 weeks and is £99.
🐾There's plenty of reviews on Facebook and Google if you'd like to do a bit more research, as well as some lovely comments from recent graduates on previous Facebook posts.
🐾If you'd like to join, just drop me a message and I'll send you the booking info. I hope to see you and your pupper there 🐶🐾.

16/05/2025

Having a pit stop with the girls, and Frenchie kisses with Chase ❤️🐾

15/05/2025

Catching up with former students is great, especially when you have time to walk with them. I ran into little Poppy with her dad today; it's 2 years since I've seen her and she still looks like a puppy 😍.

Her dad told me one of the things he found really beneficial was that coming to classes helped her become more confident around other dogs and people - and that was definitely true today!

It's one of the areas I focus on in the first session of the Puppy ABC's course. I want them to enjoy learning, and helping them feel relaxed and confident in the space is fundamental to that.

I've 2 spaces left on the next course, which starts on Tuesday 27th May at 7.15pm at the Marychurch Centre in Bucknall. If you'd like more information drop me a message to find out more 🐶🐾

09/05/2025

Puplife Tips #4

Leaving your pup alone. When you bring your cute pupper home, you'll probably want to spend as much time with possible as them, but it's really worth having a plan in place for building up the amount of time your pup spends on their own.

One area to build up independence is at night. If you don't want your dog to sleep in your room, you'll need to build up their ability to spend the night on their own. Have them next to your bed, contained in something like a soft crate, to begin with. This means you can put your hand out to comfort them without having to get up - and because they've been taken away from where they felt safe, they'll most likely need some reassurance. As time goes on, you move the crate further and further away from your side until it's where you want them to sleep. Potty training comes into the process too, but that's a whole other subject 😉.

Your breeder may have started the process of crate-training your pup. Crates can really divide opinion, but if the pup is taught that the crate means good things - like a comfy bed, their best toys and treats - it can be a place of sanctuary and peace for a pup. Many pups who've been kindly trained to love their crate will go there of their own accord to sleep. You can also use a particular room with a baby gate, or an exercise pen so they can't go anywhere they shouldn't.

Always make sure that anything that your pup is left with isn't something they'll try to swallow. Puppy pads and blankets are prime candidates so observe for a few practice sessions before leaving them for real. Always leave them with water in reach too.

Gradually build up the amount of time your pup is confined in their crate, pen or room. To start with, have them in there while you're pottering in and out, then spend some time out of sight (but still in the house or garden), building up from a few minutes as long as they can stay calm.

A difficult one this, but avoid sounding emotional when you leave them, and being excitable with them when you come back! This can just make the process an emotional rollercoaster - dogs are very good at picking up on our emotions, and it's easier for them if our leaving and returning is nothing to get worried about.

Before leaving them, make sure they've had a bit of exercise - whether mental or physical - and leave them with some food, which can be in an enrichment toy such as a Kong or lickimat - by the time they're finished they should be ready to rest.

You can set up cameras to make sure they're coping too. And if you're eventually going to need to leave them for longer than 3 or 4 hours, have someone pop in to give them a potty break, a fuss, a game or walk, and leave them with something tasty. Dogs are social animals but we can make their rest time something they can enjoy or at least cope with 🐶💖.

07/05/2025

Puppy classes can be a great way of helping your pup to meet other pups safely, build confidence with other pups, people and places, as well as learning the basics of how to live in harmony with your family and be the best pup they can be.

As a graduate of the Victoria Stilwell Academy, I've been taught to use only kind, humane methods to teach the pups in my classes, and I've found time and again that using positive methods really helps the pups blossom as well as making it easier for them to learn.

So what can you expect from a Puppy ABC's group class?
🐾Once you've booked a space, you receive an information pack to help you get started straightaway, before the course even begins.
🐾In your first session, you'll get a training pack containing some treats and information, and the puppies get the chance to meet each other safely in the enrichment zone, which is full of objects for them to explore. This helps the pups to settle into this new space, and with each other by having something fun to do, helps them be a bit calmer by doing some sniffing and searching, and also helps to build up confidence, both by giving them the opportunity for problem solving but also to get out of the way of the other pups if they need some space.
🐾During the next few weeks they learn the basics like paying attention to you, sit, lie down, walking nicely on the lead, recall, drop and leave, among other things. I use fun ways of teaching them so it's more like a game - I want them to enjoy learning 😊.
🐾After each session I send out an email detailing what we've covered to help everyone practice.
🐾Places are limited to 6 so each pup has got plenty of space to learn, and each team has plenty of 1:1 time with me to guide them through each exercise and help with any problems.
🐾Classes are friendly! We all have the chance to talk, swap horror stories of our little land sharks and give each other support.

So what else do you need to know?
🐾Classes are on Tuesday evenings at the Marychurch Centre in Bucknall. The next course starts on Tuesday 27th May at 7.15 pm, and there's currently 3 spaces available.
🐾Each course lasts for 6 weeks and is £99.
🐾There's plenty of reviews on Facebook and Google if you'd like to do a bit more research, as well as some lovely comments from recent graduates on previous Facebook posts.
🐾If you'd like to join, just drop me a message and I'll send you the booking info. I hope to see you and your puppers there 🐶🐾.

07/05/2025