Puppy Coach

The official page of Jo Croft MA, Clinical Canine Behaviour & Training Specialist. DogsLogic

Jo also runs Dogslogic and is based in Hertfordshire but travels to see clients anywhere within a 2 hour radius. She has an extensive & varied career in Vet Nursing prior to specialising in canine psychology & training - Gaining a Masters degree & passing with distinction in 2015, her academic thesis focused on human emotion and its involvement with anxiety in the dog. Jo runs a successful one2one

behaviour & training consultancy, onliine puppy - owner support platform, she has a published book and also offers zoom consults for clients further afield working by word of mouth and vet referral. In addition Jo runs courses in canine behaviour for student behaviourists, with the Cidbt, is a member of the CFBA and is able to work with insurance cases. Jo can help you with all your canine concerns from the early puppy period, setting them up to succeed up to and including more serious and specialised cases such as anxieties, & all types of aggression in all breeds of dog! She has treated and rehabilitated hundreds of dogs over a 20 + year professional career and isn't phased by any complex training or behaviour concern. Along with her professional social media updates Jo has both Youtube and Podcast channels with heaps of free advice and regularly shares dog training and behaviour tips, tricks and guides, as well as daily life updates of on her dog, horse, triathlon & canicross adventures �

09/01/2025

Social session in Hertford town centre for Mr Jasper today - teach them yo be bored - stop, sit and watch - smashing it 👏👏❤️

06/01/2025

Training your dog can take many different forms but the most important consideration is to make sure you teach the basic exercise at home, quietly, when your dog is calm and has enough mental stability and focus to learn.
If you try and teach a new exercise in highly stimulating environments you will fail and so will your dog. Every dog is different so make a point of watching, understanding their tolerance, reinforce and repeat until it’s seamless before adding on!

18/12/2024

Why have one when you can have four ….🤣❤️

13/12/2024

SHUT UP! 🤣🤫 Clients are often surprised at how little I use my voice to communicate with dogs!

For someone who can’t shut up, it was a big learning curve when I closed my mouth & started to ‘feel’ the dogs reactions & response to my energy!

Always remember dogs are body language & scent communicators if they aren’t doing as you verbally ask them use another approach- be quiet. stay calm, step back breathe & ask again politely, respectfully & QUIETLY!

06/12/2024

Time flies - enjoy every minute …❤️

22/11/2024

Quiet time 💤💤…. It’s rare for me but being outside in the freezing cold means I need a warm up period at the end of the day and this is it. I love all the little beings in my life human and animals alike but every now and then I need 20 minutes of ‘stop’ - it’s 20 minutes but it’s enough. TV, sleep or just sit - our dogs need the same - do them a favour and give them regular breaks from human behaviour, if they take them selves away then this speaks volumes!

Just make sure you send your dog away to a safe, quiet place and let them be! Dogs are social so this is something they need to learn and tolerate but it sets them up well to cope when you need to leave them alone and teaches them to use the time to relax and recover !😊

19/11/2024

Rescued into a fantastic new home with a dedicated, committed owner who reached out to arm himself with all he needs to know to understand this boy better!

Focus today was on helping him navigate interactions with other dogs and outdoor stimulants - cool as a cucumber- top marks guys 🙌🙌👏👏
This is an admirable example of dog ownership 😊IT DOESN’T NEED TO GO WRONG!! Proactively NOT Reactivity dogtrainer

18/11/2024

This is heartbreaking but I totally understand how this gets on top of you. 🥲
People who have made a choice to work with and help animals are some of the most empathetic people you will meet. This leaves them vulnerable to emotional regulation and when their moral and ethic compass is compromised due to societal pressures, unattainable scenarios and the law, the tipping point will always be the physical and emotional health of the practitioner.

I loved my head nurse role and loved the animals more, years of these sorts of pressures made me so ill I had to change my career in its entirety to find a new normal. It was heartbreaking for many reasons but staying wasn’t an option.

I chose to make a difference at source with like minded people and dog owners who care and will go above and beyond for their animals & I will be forever grateful for the opportunities my behaviour career has afforded me and most importantly my mental health & physical wellbeing is restored. Albeit I manage the chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia it left me with!

When I see posts like these they hit hard- be kind to your vets and nurses ❤️

16/11/2024

Finished the boy off tonight - I’m no groomer and he will definitely need his coat but all that smelly hair has gone!

14/11/2024

Someone needed a hair cut and the poor boy met my thinning scissors 🤣🤣 so sorry to all my amazing grooming friends, feel free to comment, this is not my forte but I had some mats to deal with 🤣🤣 This is part one , new blade on the way for part 2 if he hasn’t run away.
I won’t give him a mirror!🤣 ,

01/11/2024

Socialisation - what is it, why is it so important & how do you go about actioning it correctly?!
Firstly - the critical period for learning in the dog is 3 days - 12 weeks, secondly the socialisation window closes at 4 months - after this time you can only teach manners and tolerance & build on communication and social interaction safely with buddy dogs and controlled scenarios- you don’t have long to mess around when raising a well behaved dog !
Dogs have to learn what’s acceptable to live a domestic life, normal dog behaviours are generally not well tolerated so teaching a bit of calm is essential.

Visiting as many places as possible and letting your dog observe not fly in and take over or hide should be your goal.
My top tip is a buddy dog walk followed by a quiet and boring rest on a park bench, later moving on to cafes and pubs but ensuring your dog is left alone and ignored by you and members of the public.
Over social dogs will have expectations to be involved in everything and this makes them demanding, unwelcome company in many situations!

31/10/2024

What’s your dog’s motivation….?
🥎 🦴 🧍‍♀️

Have you ever considered that “YOU”on your own should be able to animate your dog in play, training and general day to day interactions..!??

If you dog ignores you, doesn’t come in from the garden or recall when asked, doesn’t engage when you need them to and is intolerant of your handling then the balance and communication in your relationship is all wrong. This is the basis for the majority of behaviour issues- training in the form of bribing, luring and distraction will never fix these issues and for the most part this approach further compounds any problem.
Remember … Respect, value and kindness 🐾🐾❤️

30/10/2024

Should only one person train the dog….?!
I’ve been asked this question a lot so thought I’d address it here.

Dogs crave structure, routine, boundaries and clarity on their expectations, who sets that efficiently largely depends on the amount of time family members have and how the daily load is shared. Ideally all family members will play a part in delivering the dog everything they need, even children, although this needs to be properly managed.

The majority of dogs will accept direction from all family members but often show more respect for some, there are also breeds such as the German Shepherd who do better with just one primary handler and having too many people involved can be problematic.

All members need to have the same clear direction so as not to confuse the dog but you will find the dog responds quicker and better to body language cues so don’t get too hung up on your words.🐾🐾

25/10/2024

🐾🐾Helping this little lady adjust to life on her own - missing her big sister so much! 🐾🐾

Remember dogs feel the loss just like we do but the impact differs as the focus is on their social hierarchy- where do they fit, what’s their new role, who do they turn to for support.

It is essential that you offer clarity, routine, and structure to their day - you need to be their support even through your own grief!

Empathy and sympathy cause chaos for dogs! They are complex emotions that dogs read as conflicting energy - focus on fun training exercises, clear permission (in the form of a bed command) to relax and recover, small and often mealtimes & keeping life as familiar and normal as possible.

It will be a tough journey but they battle through we need to meet their needs and guide them as they do so!

Be brave little Cleo! 🐾❤️

19/10/2024

It’s taken me a while to be able to write this post - each time I’ve tried to I’ve been writing through tears and sadness.

We have very sadly said goodbye to our beloved Sheba - although she wasn’t mine I was fortunate enough to have trained her from a puppy and remained a huge part of her life until the very end.

12 years of love, loyalty, protection - watching over my kids as they were born which continued as they have grown, she gave me a confidence in my profession that I will be forever grateful for.

Everything I taught her she remembered, everything I expected of her she excelled at and above all I have never felt safer in the dark than when I walked with her and had her to stay overnight.

Words can’t describe what this gorgeous girl and her mum have brought to mine and the kids lives, I will be forever grateful for my memories and will miss her more than I can describe.

Rest in peace beautiful lady it was a privilege and a delight to have had such a special soul in my life, we all need to adjust to your loss now 🥲💔💔💔

11/10/2024

Who am I, what do you expect of me, do you know what makes me tick, what is valuable to me, when do I work??
Dogs love a rule, love to please and will do anything to be successful- don’t leave them wondering!

09/10/2024

Freedom …🐾🐾🐾

Such an important part of the relationship you share with your dog.
Your aim should always be to teach your dog to ‘earn’ their free time, value it and enjoy it.

Achieve safe freedom with a solid and immediate recall and you can be comfortable that you have developed the best possible relationship with your dog that you can. It’s not easy and it relies on your home life interactions not just ‘in the moment’ training!
Can you recall your dog…..????

07/10/2024

The best way to raise a well behaved dog is to educate yourself …🐾
There is so much more to training than grabbing cheese and chicken to bribe lure or distract. Training is organic, it’s every interaction you have with your dog, every social experience you expose them to and every communication platform you use.
PUT YOUR TREATS AWAY- see what happens and make yourself valuable - dogs evolved to be with us, the loyalty and companionship we provide and the security of having someone to take care of them! The odd treat should make things a little more amazing not be your only (failing) tool of negotiation!
🐾🐾🐾oh and if you want to know how I did it, then it just so happens I wrote a book and filmed it all just for you - go check out the puppycoach website….🙌🙌🙌

Address

Cheshunt

Telephone

07851299560

Website

http://linktr.ee/jocroft

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