Sam Humberstone - Dog Trainer

06/09/2025

On Sunday 7 September, the UK Government will be testing the Emergency Alert system at 3pm. All compatible mobile phones / tablets across the UK will make a loud siren-like sound and vibrate for around 10 seconds. Phones on silent will still sound the alert.

Dogs’ hearing is more sensitive than ours. If your dog is reactive to noise, startles easily or is anxious, here are some things to consider before the test:

- Walk them in advance of the test so they are more relaxed by 3pm. Return home in good time to a safe and comforting environment

- Keep your dog and phone in separate rooms and put the TV or radio on for background noise. Give your dog something to engage their brain such as a lick mat or long lasting non-rawhide chew. Provide reassurance if they need it

- If you are in a public space, keep your dog on the lead. Multiple phones could sound the alert from any direction, which could be disorientating, and initiate their fight or flight response. Others may also take their dog to the same “quiet spot” so be mindful that other dogs in the space may react differently from yours

- If disabling the alert is the best action for your circumstances, find out more from the UK Government: https://www.gov.uk/alerts/opting-out

06/09/2025

Enthusiasm & bounce is wonderful to see, but there are times when a little bit of focus is required, such as walking together in a limited space, when we might need to consider traffic, other people or dogs around us.

On the remit this week was to give tips and guidance to two clients with energetic spaniels, those who know spaniels might not be surprised to hear they had been finding lead walks a little testing at times. Beautiful dogs, both arrived giddy & spaniel-y on arrival 🥰

Foundations first, exercises to help lower the arousal, keep the enthusiasm and engage those busy brains, then on to the training.

✅ Cracking progress made, as you you can see by the videos.
Lovely relaxed body language, staying connected.
Practice will be required, as will consistency, and not asking too much too soon. Looking forward to our next One to Ones.

What I often see happening:
❌ a dog that keeps jumping up and nudging/mouthing our hand for a treat
❌ handler keeping the lead tight or continually pulling back against the dog pulling
❌ dogs with cricked necks looking for a treat from their person not where they are heading
❌ a dog rushing ahead, reaching the end & coming back for a treat, ping pong walking
etc

Leads long enough for dogs to enjoy a wander sniffing, absolutely, as often as is possible, or off-lead, but when that's not an option, I recommend you train for the more joined-up walking.

💥New class dates to be announced soon, something quite special!

04/09/2025

There is training for a specific action such as teaching your dog to put their front paws onto an object, following your visual or verbal signal, a cue... some may refer to as a command - that's for another post maybe one day
Or a series of actions with several moves, such as teaching your dog to come to a standstill, and wait there, or turn to look to you and then return, or sit or lay down, which could require several cues or be a sequence trained and then understood as one cue (request)

And then there's situational training, where there are numerous things to consider, some dogs take to new places and new experiences like a duck to water and others like their feathers have NO waterproofing! Situational training may include and sometimes benefits from the specific action training, as mentioned.

Situational training is something I help with often retrospectively after a negative experience visiting the vet or a groomer. Or when a dog from rescue starts to exhibit bigger responses, often after a month or so of a move into their new home. Or when a dog has had health issues and has become more sensitive.
I might be the only professional support required or I may refer, or be working from a referral. It may take a multi-modal and collaborative approach, with one or several other professionals involved such as a Behaviourist, a veterinary team, a groomer, the dog walker, vet physio. Situational training can take a bit more time and planning. We're dealing with new learning, without asking too much in case we cause further sensitisation. No to suppression of behaviour, for a couple of reasons, but one being it masks how a dog feels. We need to be careful that we're not only using distraction, yet it may be used as part of the programme. We work hard to avoid doing anything that the dog may find too challenging. We put in the groundwork before we train to build new associations, with careful consideration & observation so we are less likely to see any re-emergence of big responses previously seen in similar situations.

Here are photos of Nelly Golden, before and after her laparoscopic ovariectomy (keyhole spay) earlier this week.
Nelly is generally relaxed about being handled. After x-rays some months ago and going to a different surgery she became less sure. We've since had good experiences of new places recently. She also had her wonderful person there, the best social support for Nelly, which can make a big difference, relationship matters! She has trained to stand & sit on weight scales. No blue gloves before the temperature probe, so she didn't make the association, removing that anxious anticipation for that not so pleasant part of the pre-op routine.

She did great, except for being understandably reluctant to use the steps get into the car afterwards. It is an honour to have a dog's trust, and she was relaxed enough to let me lift her in, a physical test for me, as I'm no weight lifter.
Big thank yous to Luca, Tasha and the rest of the team at Cinque Ports Vets Rye, they were great!

I help with puppies, adolescents, dogs new-to-you and with settling-in to their new home. Training cues, out & about lead walking, on & off-lead time, and situational training.

To book
📧 [email protected]
or phone
☎️ 07484 767650...
Or you can book a 20 minute phone call to discuss your dog's training needs or behaviour concerns. Please note, this is an enquiry call not a consultation. There is no charge.
Find out more on my page or my website
samhumberstone.co.uk

03/09/2025

An introduction and cuppa meeting my new neighbour certainly brightened my morning, on a rather gloomy day.
While helping with online applications to local rescue centres, I like to think that Osh might have made a good impression .... a Collie had not been a breed considered as an option before then 💁‍♀️

03/09/2025

A thank you to Perfect Fit!

I have 6 and a bit Perfect Fit Harnesses, and a few other brands too, only 1 or 2 of each of them 🤓

The first one was bought over 6 years ago for Freya the Golden. We still had to train for lead walks, but it was great knowing in the teenage months of her frequent impulsive responses, she wouldn't have pressure on her neck if she pulled suddenly.
In July, I won a voucher for a Perfect Fit harness, for living the closest at the fantastic Animal Behaviour Kent conference held in Ashford.
A phone call to Perfect Fit customer services team with a cheeky ask to have their training leads instead, and as usual they provided their 5 star service - leads in my choice of a lovely blue. Some of the more observant may have seen these fleece leads in recent social media training photos!
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61565919193847&locale=en_GB
😊 🙏

02/09/2025

As a Collie advocate, an often misunderstood breed, I'm pleased of the advice given in this post.
A dog's individual needs matter.

Sound sensitivity in dogs (part 1)

5 year old Hope is one of my rescue dogs who came from a traumatic background and likely a poor start from the point of view of nutrition, socialisation and habituation. (She was removed from a flat in Birmingham at 6 months where she, along with 3 children under 10, had been abandoned). When I adopted her from the RSPCA she was very fearful and reactive towards people. These days with much training and behaviour management she is greatly improved.
However she remains very sound sensitive. This is probably partly due to her background, her genetics - collie's are hard wired to respond quickly to changes in the environment and respond to directions over a distance - and probably also in part due to pain.
The approach to working with sound sensitive dogs is always multi faceted but as a starting point here are some tips for managing the behaviour and helping your dog feel less overwhelmed.

1. Block out background noises - this might be with radios or white noise machines (can be bought fairly cheaply on Amazon). Keep windows shut when there is a lot of local noise - i.e. on bin day etc. Reduce household noises which cause reactions - beeps on washing machines can be switched off usually, doorbells which call your phone rather than ring etc.
2. Make sure they can rest in an area of the house where they won't be disturbed, good quality rest is essential for dogs who are hypervigilant and aware of every tiny sound in the environment.
3. Try to reduce stress elsewhere in their lives - quieter walks, safe places when visitors come, sticking to familiar and safe routines.
4. Give your dog plenty of activities which help/enable relaxation and avoid the ones which get the adrenaline going and keep them fired up. So licki mats and long lasting appropriate chews, freework and some low level scent work for example but avoid repetitive ball throwing and fast running. The first set of activities reduce stress, and increase the presence of hormones which aid relaxation and a sense of well being, and second set keep adrenaline high and may contribute to further (unintentional) stress in the body.
5. Do comfort your dog. Out of date advice suggested that caregivers shouldn't comfort their fearful dogs but we now know that emotions can't be reinforced and if your dog is feeling high levels of anxiety and comfort from you will help them then that should be given. Hope always wants to be really close to me when she is feeling particularly anxious and definitely gains comfort and is then able to rest more easily.

There is a lot more information to give you on sound sensitivity so look out for part 2 coming soon.
If you want help with your anxious or sound sensitive dog please head over to my website to see what behaviour packages I offer and email me to discuss how I can help.
www.paulinewhittaker.co.uk/behaviour

01/09/2025

Why work with me?
Training advice that has you and your dog’s best interests and wellbeing in mind. I support you and work collaboratively, with Vets, Behaviourists, dog groomers and walkers and other trainers, and discuss ideas with other like-minded canine professionals.

I provide
🐾 One to One Training for Puppies, Adolescents, Dogs new-to-you, refresher training and Training Walks

🐾 Behavioural first-aid, which means that I give advice and practical help to prevent issues from escalating, such as anxiety of other dogs, or people, and can help new-to-you dogs to feel a bit more settled in their new home environment.

To book
📧 [email protected]
or phone
☎️ 07484 767650...
Or you can book a 20 minute phone call to discuss your dog's training needs or behaviour concerns. Please note, this is an enquiry call not a consultation. There is no charge.
Find out more on my page or my website
samhumberstone.co.uk

31/08/2025

A working weekend
and...
serendipity smiled as the Marsh sheepdog summer trials were literally down the road in Lydden!

Loved watching the dogs work and to see some very skilled shepherds 💚

31/08/2025

Plenty of smiles this morning, little Miss Fleur is one of the sweetest & happiest of dogs. She also becomes quite excitable, we managed to keep her enthusiasm and have her focus, doing incredibly well in her One to One this morning.
She has a great bond with her person, and today they worked well as a team. Before our training Miss Fleur was quite full of bounce and erratic, pulling in different directions. Our second session - Walking Together on lead, in sync & connected - fabulous!!!

Contact me for
🐾
One to One Training for Puppies, Adolescents, Dogs new-to-you, refresher training and Training Walks

🐾 Behavioural first-aid, which means that I give advice and practical help to prevent issues from escalating, such as anxiety of other dogs, or people, and can help new-to-you dogs to feel a bit more settled in their new home environment.
ℹ️ To book
📨 [email protected]
or phone
☎️ 07484 767650...
Or you can book a 20 minute phone call to discuss your dog's training needs or behaviour concerns. Please note, this is an enquiry call not a consultation. There is no charge.
samhumberstone.co.uk

30/08/2025

What a find!
Osh is trying to entice me to pick up a tired and well mouthed tennis ball... he is currently finding me to a bit of a bore, I'll explain why in a bit...
My decisions are with the best interest of dogs, their wellbeing & of course the people they live with. They come from experience, and lots of hours of observation and learning from dogs & others.

Doing what I think is the right thing, my values and ethics matter.

Asked by another professional to help with her dog who had become increasingly sound sensitive, and less keen on walking. It was over a cafe breakfast, her dog was there. We then went for a brief wander, with what I saw I suggested I was not who she needed to see, not yet anyway. I recommended a vet visit and if okay with them, a vet physio I know, this was early June. And now, life is much better since seeing the physio, vets are pleased with the change too!

My observations are not always easy to hear, I try to be gentle.

Dogs that are scared in an environment, or in poor health, or in pain are not ready to learn.
As with my friend's dog above, advice on dogs and helpful guidance on changes to their routines, or training support is not always what is required!

A new client, contacted for help with a Collie with very big responses, to people mainly. One visit, it was very clear she was not ready for training, as the dog had a serious injury that needed veterinary attention, asap!

Another Collie, I had concerns with health issues due to an unhealthy habit, and other behaviours, I recommended a discussion with the vet, before further training.

And another Collie, who I would dearly love to change his circumstances of, sooner rather than later, but he looked like he was in pain, thankfully a vet trip and x-rays and serious hip issues have been diagnosed.

Not news that any of these new clients wanted to hear, and I know, for whatever reasons, not everyone will always heed my advice.

And back to Osian...
I'm very careful with types of exercise as continually exercising Collies on energetic activities fuels impulsive responses.
Since he arrived sometimes I'd look and think when he sits, and when he lies down, he doesn't always look quite aligned, a bit askew. On several occasions over the last year, he has momentarily lifted a front paw. This Wednesday, he was lame, so lead walks, then we went for a vet visit on Friday. Initially, with the adrenalin of the visit his weight distribution looked even, but soon after a bit of watching his walking the lameness was back.
Anti-inflammatories and a date for x-rays being confirmed next week, poor dog boy!

30/08/2025