Bliash Dog Training & Behaviour

11/05/2024

Solar storms and how it may impact your dogs.🦮🐕‍🦺

Scientific studies have repeatedly demonstrated that dogs are sensitive to geomagnetic changes.

Currently the earth is experiencing a powerful solar storm. It's effects on our dogs should not be underestimated. Especially our sensitive working dogs who are bred to have a heightened sense of direction. Dogs who are anxious or nervous may experience exacerbated symptoms. Dogs are sensitive to even small changes in the earth's magnetic field, this current storm is big and disruptive.

Epileptic dogs and people may be affected. There is a huge body of evidence relating to solar storms and seizures, have a little Google, there's too many relevant bits of literature to post here.

What can you do? Dogs are at increased risk of becoming disorientated in new environments, keep them on lead, in sight, have a heightened awareness of where they are. For dogs who rely on their sense of direction for work such as sheepdogs working hills, search and rescue dogs, tracking dogs, hunting dogs and trail dogs, it might be worth evaluating putting off any work where a dog may get lost.

In humans existing mental health conditions can worsen temporarily, particularly conditions caused by or associated with trauma, where your integral ability to orientate becomes distrupted and makes you feel unsafe, increasing anxiety and hypervigilance. This change in your presentation can also impact your dogs.

Just something to be aware of. As much as it sounds like hippy woo woo nonsense, I can assure you, it's a thing.

"the idea that animals can detect Earth’s magnetic field has traveled the path from ridicule to well-established fact in little more than one generation. Dozens of experiments have now shown that diverse animal species, ranging from bees to salamanders to sea turtles to birds, have internal compasses. Some species use their compasses to navigate entire oceans, others to find better mud just a few inches away."

09/04/2024

Jump In Dog Dog Therapy

03/12/2023

30/11/2023

BLIASH WORKSHOP
TRENTHAM GARDENS - CHRISTMAS MARKET

We have a few places left for this Sunday 3rd Dec 1:30 - 4:30 (£45 to book a spot on the workshop for you and your dog)

This is great opportunity to help develop and improve your dog’s obedience around:
- lots of other dogs and owners walking around
- outdoor shop stands with balls and teddys on front display
- food stalls
- having food and drink
- ability to settle in one spot with lots going on around them
- not jumping up to others to say hello when walking around
- if your dog is anxious or reactive to others, then as I’m sure you know, very often people will greet your dog without asking first. So we look at how to position yourself and your dog to look to avoid these situations, and it not being where you further their anxiety by pulling them away from everyone you pass.
- close walking manners, and building their ability to stay at your side even when your walking pace speeds up or slows down.
- massage techniques that you can use out and about to help calm and relax your dog in busy environments.

So get in touch now to book your place for this weekend.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us a message with any questions you may have.

Look forward to seeing you all there 🐾

30/10/2023

🦮BLIASH WORKSHOP

TRENTHAM GARDENS WORKSHOP.

- Sunday 26th November 1pm - 4:30pm
Or
- Sunday 3rd December 1pm - 4:30pm

This is a great challenge for those wanting to put to the test keeping your dog under control in busy environment.
This is a popular destination where people enjoy eating, and walking their dog around the lovely shopping village. Also for even more challenge the Christmas market is also on so will give even larger area of distraction, wether you want to improve:
- your dog seeing other dogs out and about on a walk
- confidence or calmness in busy area
- scent distraction of food and shops
- sustained sit and settle whilst others walking by or a member of the family walking into a shop
- settle whilst having a drink and snack
- being able to assist and calm your dogs anxiety with lots going on, or simply getting good manners on the lead and eye contact whilst walking in smaller area.

All these various challenges, and we look at really refining your general obedience, as well as any additional techniques to help aid your dogs needs in these busy areas. This way we can ensure your dog is happy, relaxed and feels safe next to you.

If you would like to book on to the workshop, please get in touch now to book your place.

Hope to see you there 🐾

28/09/2023

25/09/2023

BLIASH WORKSHOP

Upcoming workshop this weekend.

PLEASE NOTE: This will be running this Sunday, but I will also add on a 2nd date for this workshop if there are those of you who have purchased your place for the workshop but unable to make this Sunday.

🔸Advanced Dog Body Language: Recognising and assessing body language of your dog and other dogs, and how to prevent and promote good, calm, as well as safe interaction with others.
Sunday 1st October 1:30pm - 5pm.

This will working on:
-🐾How to read your dogs body language:
•what to look for
•what does it mean
•what is your dogs emotional state, so you can give instruction most effectively.
🐾how to utilise movement assessment in recognising behaviour change early
🐾quick and easy to perform techniques that you can implement on a walk to help calm your dog, as well as ease any stress. This will result in them being more responsive to instruction.
🐾dog to dog body language
🐾how to assess dog body language at a distance.
🐾assessment of dog body language in performance of natural drives and high stimulation environments.
🐾how to use your knowledge of body language and assessment of your dog in an environment, and how to then use this to in:-
🐾 using the most effective instruction for the situation
🐾 using what you have assessed to then know what level and approach to use take in communicating with your dog
🐾 utilising this knowledge in order to be able to give effective instruction earlier (proactive not reactive, as I always say)
🐾 helping ensure as much as possible your dog then feels safe, happy, and has positive experiences.
🐾 great improvement on your success in your dog responding to instructions, because you are recognising earlier stages of thought process aka tunnel vision, so you are then developing the ability to give your dog instruction before they have fully committed on the mind process of performing a behaviour that is unwanted.

If you would like any further information or would like to book on to any of the BLIASH Workshops, please send us a PM.

I look forward to seeing you all there 🐾

19/09/2023

Busting the Bully XL Myth

In a world filled with misconceptions about dog breeds, few have faced as much negative press as the Bully XL has lately. These dogs, often unfairly labeled as aggressive or dangerous, have become victims of sensationalism and prejudice. It's time to set the record straight: when it comes to dogs, it's about "deed not breed." In this blog, we'll explore why judging a dog solely based on its breed is misguided and why employing kind, calm and consistent training methods is the key to nurturing well behaved, happy dogs, regardless of their breed.

It's undeniably heart wrenching when dog attacks occur, causing harm and distress to both people and animals. Our shared goal as dog behaviourists and responsible dog owners is to acknowledge the seriousness of such incidents and actively work towards minimising the risk of future occurrences. By focusing on education, responsible ownership and the promotion of positive training methods, we can collectively strive to create a safer and more harmonious environment for everyone, fostering a world where every dog, regardless of breed, can thrive as a well-behaved and beloved member of the community.

The first step in dismantling the negative stereotypes associated with the Bully XL breed is to understand that no dog is inherently aggressive because of its breed. Just like humans, a dog's behavior is influenced by a combination of genetics, upbringing and environment. To label an entire breed as dangerous is not only unfair but also counterproductive. Responsible ownership, socialisation and positive reinforcement training play a far more significant role in determining a dog's behaviour. No matter the breed, the foundation of effective dog training is built on kindness, calmness, and consistency.

Positive reinforcement techniques, such as reward based training, have been proven time and again to yield the best results. Using fear based methods or punitive measures can exacerbate behaviour issues and harm the bond between you and your dog. By creating a loving, safe, and consistent environment for your Bully XL (or any breed), you can encourage good behaviour and help dog's to become happy, balanced companions.

In conclusion, it's essential to break free from the stereotypes surrounding dog breeds and shift our focus to responsible ownership and training methods that emphasize kindness, calmness and consistency. By doing so, we not only help Bully XL dogs overcome their negative image but also contribute to the overall well being and harmony of our beloved canine companions, regardless of their breed or background.

27/08/2023

🐾NATIONAL DOG DAY🐾

There's nothing like the wag of a tail to brighten your day. From big to small, fluffy to sleek, dogs bring joy and unconditional love to our lives.

24/08/2023

🔸UPCOMING WORKSHOP 🔸

🦮Dog Massage & Movement Assessment

Sunday 3rd September 1:30pm - 5pm

This workshop will be working on:
🐾 dog massage, covering stress and anxiety release techniques both in the home and for out on a walk.
🐾 dog movement assessment - this is great for further developing being able to read and understand your dogs body language, as well as further
Developing your skills and ability in recognising even more detail or your dogs body language and indicators.
🐾 movement assessments & massage techniques to check your dogs health, as this is important for their well being and also can sometimes be a factor in reason behind cause of certain behaviours, learning stress points and how to relieve them.

This all results in building your dogs trust and feeling of safety next to you, and not them either going and sitting the situation themselves, or going into flight and running away.
By improving these areas it is then building up your dog to be in environments that they currently may find stressful, and improving their association with those scenarios, which only then can you be training in a permanent change of behaviour and the dog’s association to those situations.

This will really help you in being able to relax your dogs when they are anxious, calm them down when over excited, and I also find this helps in increasing the amount of eye contact they give you. As well as understanding your dog, and reading your dogs movements. This will do wonders for your confidence and getting tour reaction times (to change in environment and distractions) changing over to proactive times.

If you have any questions about the workshop, or would like to book your place to come and join us, then please give us a call or send us a message.

We look forward to seeing you all the workshop, and taking you to that next level with your training.

Bliash 😃🐾

19/08/2023

BLIASH WORKSHOP 🟠TOMORROW 🟠

🐾UNDERSTANDING DOG BODY LANGUAGE & WHAT THEY ARE TRYING TO COMMUNICATE TO YOU.
- This is such an important part of achieving success in your training with your dog, and most importantly, ensuring you dog feels happy and stress free. With this ability and understanding you can recognise behaviours sooner, and able to address them with the right approach, depending on your dogs reason and emotional state for performing the behaviour.

🐶We still have a few spaces left, so get in touch and BOOK YOUR PLACE NOW.

🔸Sunday 20th August 1:30pm - 5pm.
Dog Body Language Workshop

This workshop will be working on:
🐾understanding your dogs body language in play.

🐾understanding what body language indicates various emotional states.

🐾recognising what body language indicates the first stages of your dog having difficulty in performing the instruction you have asked them for. For example, starting to find it challenging for resilience in various states, such as excitability, stress, anxiety etc.
Being able to recognise this will assist with great improvements on your general obedience training, and most importantly the overall wellbeing of your dog, as you will be able to identify correctly the actual emotional state your dog is feeling. As a trainer I very commonly see an owner feeling demotivated and disheartened, because when their dog for example may be pulling quite intensely on the lead, and very often it will be thought that they are pulling excitably to their local dog playing field or because they have seen another dog and they want to go over and play. Which some times yes this is the case, but also equally it can be a sign of anxiety, which can then lead to displays of other behaviours that owners find quite distressing.
So by being able to correctly identify your dogs state, we can ensure we are keeping them feeling safe, relaxed and happy, because you will be taking a more effective and supportive approach to getting your dogs focus back on you.

Dog body language is a very in-depth part of training and understanding your dog, so I will be ensuring to deliver information and learning on this in a format that is very relevant to things you will be coming across day to day. This way it will help with your learning to be easily associated, as well as helping build your knowledge and confidence out and about with your dog on your normal weekly routine with them.

If you would like any further information or would like to book on to the BLIASH Workshops, please send us a PM.

I look forward to seeing you all at tomorrow’s workshop 🐾

17/08/2023

🐾UPCOMING BLIASH WORKSHOPS🐾

🔸Sunday 20th August 1:30pm - 5pm.
Dog Body Language Workshop

This workshop will be working on:
- understanding your dogs body language in play.

- understanding what body language indicates various emotional states.

- recognising what body language indicates the first stages of your dog having difficulty in performing the instruction you have asked them for. For example, starting to find it challenging for resilience in various states, such as excitability, stress, anxiety etc.
Being able to recognise this will assist with great improvements on your general obedience training, and most importantly the overall wellbeing of your dog, as you will be able to identify correctly the actual emotional state your dog is feeling. As a trainer I very commonly see an owner feeling demotivated and disheartened, because when their dog for example may be pulling quite intensely on the lead, and very often it will be thought that they are pulling excitably to their local dog playing field or because they have seen another dog and they want to go over and play. Which some times yes this is the case, but also equally it can be a sign of anxiety, which can then lead to displays of other behaviours that owners find quite distressing.
So by being able to correctly identify your dogs state, we can ensure we are keeping them feeling safe, relaxed and happy, because you will be taking a more effective and supportive approach to getting your dogs focus back on you.

Dog body language is a very in-depth part of training and understanding your dog, so I will be ensuring to deliver information and learning on this in a format that is very relevant to things you will be coming across day to day. This way it will help with your learning to be easily associated, as well as helping build your knowledge and confidence out and about with your dog on your normal weekly routine with them.

Also to assist in making it a great training tool for you, I will be breaking it down into 3 workshops, so that depending on what level you would like to take your learning with dog body language, you have that choice of how in-depth you would like to take your learning.

So the above information is for ‘Body Language Stage 1’ , then I will also be running additional advanced stages.

🔸Dog Massage & Movement Assessment Workshop
Sunday 3rd September 1:30pm - 5pm

This workshop will be working on:
- dog massage, covering stress and anxiety release techniques both in the home and for out on a walk.
- dog movement assessment - this is great for further developing being able to read and understand your dogs body language, as well as further
Developing your skills and ability in recognising even more detail or your dogs body language and indicators.
- movement assessments & massage techniques to check your dogs health, as this is important for their well being and also can sometimes be a factor in reason behind cause of certain behaviours, learning stress points and how to relieve them.
This all results in building your dogs trust and feeling of safety next to you, and not them either going and sitting the situation themselves, or going into flight and running away.
By improving these areas it is then building up your dog to be in environments that they currently may find stressful, and improving their association with those scenarios, which only then can you be training in a permanent change of behaviour and the dog’s association to those situations.

Then the more advanced stage workshop following the 2 workshops above….

🔸Advanced Dog Body Language: Recognising and assessing body language of your dog and other dogs, and how to prevent and promote good, calm, as well as safe interaction with others.
Sunday 1st October 1:30pm - 5pm.

This will working on:
- more in-depth in areas covered in the previous 2 workshops.
- dog to dog body language
- how to assess dog body language at a distance.
- assessment of dog body language in performance of natural drives and high stimulation environments.
- how to use your knowledge of body language and assessment of your dog in an environment, and how to then use this to in:-
🐾 using the most effective instruction for the situation
🐾 using what you have assessed to then know what level and approach to use take in communicating with your dog
🐾 utilising this knowledge in order to be able to give effective instruction earlier (proactive not reactive, as I always say)
🐾 helping ensure as much as possible your dog then feels safe, happy, and has positive experiences.
🐾 great improvement on your success in your dog responding to instructions, because you are recognising earlier stages of thought process aka tunnel vision, so you are then developing the ability to give your dog instruction before they have fully committed on the mind process of performing a behaviour that is unwanted.

If you would like any further information or would like to book on to any of the BLIASH Workshops, please send us a PM.

I look forward to seeing you all at the workshop 🐾

03/08/2023

17/07/2023

Dogs Need Guardians and Friends (not bosses)

It's seriously time to put an end to the age-old myth that dogs need to know you're the boss in order to behave properly. While this notion may have stemmed from outdated ideas of dominance theory, our understanding of canine behaviour has evolved significantly. Dogs are domesticated animals who rely on us as their responsible guardians and friends, rather than authoritarian figures. Instead of establishing dominance, we should focus on building a strong bond with our furry companions, helping them understand and navigate the world they live in.

The concept of a boss implies a hierarchical relationship where one party must dominate the other. However, this perspective fails to acknowledge the true nature of dogs. As social animals, dogs thrive on cooperation, trust, and positive reinforcement. They seek guidance from their human companions, not to submit to an alpha figure, but to feel secure and supported. By assuming the role of a responsible guardian, we can create an environment that promotes mutual respect and allows our dogs to flourish whilst understanding through positive reinforcement how to "behave" and stay safe.

Being a canine guardian means recognising that our dogs have their own unique needs, fears, and desires. It involves providing them with proper guidance, mental stimulation, physical activity and enrichment, as well as meeting their emotional requirements. By nurturing a bond built on kindness, patience, and understanding, we can help our dogs develop into well rounded individuals who are confident and happy. So, let's discard the notion of being the boss and embrace our roles as compassionate guardians and trusted friends to our canine companions.🐾

08/07/2023

Fantastic walk out group session. Dogs had a great time swimming, some of which for the first time, and was just so lovely to see you all having fun and looking so proud of your dogs.

Also absolutely fantastic results putting into practice your commands that we have been training and working on at the field, the dogs responded amazingly well, including from high distraction.

Just absolutely amazing, well done everyone and can’t wait for our next walk out 🐾

20/06/2023

🐾BLIASH WORKSHOP🐾

SUNDAY 25th JUNE 1pm - 4:30pm

Workshop: Motivation & Stimulation play/reward, Recall (with an optional additional 30min whistle recall 4:30-5pm), Dog interaction and response in distraction areas, STOP work.

This is an action packed workshop, where we look at building engagement and response to commands in high distraction areas. We look at what is the best approach for you and your dog so that walks can be enjoyable and as stress free as possible. No more avoiding those fun walks through dread of the distraction areas, where you feel you will just being sayin ‘Bon voyage’ to your dog.

For more information or to book your place at this weekends workshop, please get in touch.

Look forward to seeing you all there 🐾

10/06/2023

BLIASH SCURRY CLUB:
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Tomorrow morning start time is now 10am.
🐾

05/06/2023

Bliash would like to send out a HUGE congratulations to one of our younger BLIASH Members.

Huge congratulations to Jess for achieving
2nd Place in the Junior Handler competition, at the Berenese Mountain Dog Event.
Absolutely fantastic achievement Jess and BLIASH is so so proud of you.

Keep up the amazing work with your training.

🐾

03/06/2023

BLIASH SCURRY CLUB

Hi everyone, reminder for all next weekend, Sunday 11th 10:30-12:30 is the Scurry Club Training.
Both Members and Non Members are welcome.

This is great fun, and great challenge for you and your dog. If you would like to join us please get in touch now, or if you would like any information about becoming BLIASH scurry club member, please let us know and we will happily send over information or answer any questions you may have.

Look forward to seeing you all next weekend🐾

09/05/2023

🦮BLIASH WORKSHOP🦮

PUB WORKSHOP- Saturday 20th May.

it’s going to be a great day, and a challenge but the whole day is about:
- assessment of your dog and areas to work on.
- improving your knowledge and understanding of your dogs body language and behaviour.
- individual assessment and application of what methods and techniques will work best for you and for your dog in order to achieve the wanted behaviour.
- and finally, to have fun, really build that bond and understand of your dog. Then lastly, for you to go home feeling confident and positive about implementing it all at home.

Then even following the workshop I’m only a phone call away if you have anything you need to ask, and also if you would like any further assistance or video assessment and feedback.

So the morning part of the workshop is going to be at black bank the opposite side to apedale.
Here we will be doing a walk out around the lovely and popular dog walking area, with mixture of long distance visibility of other walkers, water, birds, other owners and dogs, and also walking area where someone could be just around the corner and almost an instant visibility that would require you and your dog to adapt desired behaviour with minimal time and distance to do so.
We look at:
- manners on the lead
- recall
- interactive play
- dog check ins visually and/or physically
- motivational play
- effective reward systems
- effective indicators to the dog for performance of unwanted behaviour.
- identifying your dogs drive’s
- dog body language and reading your dog so that you can give the appropriate command before the dog started to perform any unwanted behaviours, over against the dog starting to perform the unwanted behaviour and you having to bribe and practically 😂beg them 😂in some cases to stop performing it and to then perform wanted.

So we look at what techniques you and your dog respond best with, as I want to as much as possible help put things in place for you so that it can just feel natural and not like it’s training for you, as consistency is key for success.
This is a 2hour walk out, which as we are walking round we will be stopping at certain points so don’t worry it’s not a hike that we are walking, I think roughly the distance covered all in all us about 2miles .
This is a 10am meet for about a 10:15am start.
Meet is on High Lane (which a dead end road) ST7 8BS

So we will finish here at about 12:15pm.

BREAK

Then on to the pub section of the workshop, which is 1/1:15 meet ready for 1:30 start.
(3hour workshop)
This will be held at:
The Offley Arms
Poolside
Madeley
CW3 9DX
(This is a 10min drive from where we will be doing the morning walk out workshop)

Here we will be working on:
- assessment of your dog’s behaviour, and areas that we need to work on in a pub environment.
- identifying what is going to be the best approach and technique for your dog.
- resilience training
- implulse control with food, people, and movement of your feet.
- place/boundary training
- settle technique’s
- what does your dog need from you with their emotional associations in the environment.

Everything we look at at is bespoke to you and your dog.

If you would like to book on to the workshop then please send us a message as spaces will be limited In order to ensure everyone gets the absolute most out of the workshop.
I hope all of this information is of help to you, and I look forward to hopefully seeing you at the BLIASH Workshop 🐾

23/04/2023

🐾BLIASH REMINDER🐾

Good Morning Everyone,

I look forward to seeing all of you who are coming along to this morning scurry club meet.

The club will run 10:30 - 12:30.

If you have any questions or if you are new to BLIASH and it’s your first time coming along, should you have any trouble finding the training facility please give me a call and I will help guide you to the ground.

Really look forward to seeing you all this morning for some more fantastic fun with the dogs 😃🐾

10/04/2023

I had a absolutely lovely drawing given to me by one of my customers grandchildren. This is a drawing done by Emmy who is 9yrs old and sh wants to be a dog trainer when she grows up. Thanks Emmy😊, and make sure you keep telling me when your Nan hasn’t done her dog training practice home correctly 😆. Needless to say Nan was in the naughty books when I found out 🤣🤣very entertaining lesson that was. (Never boring with Debbie & Toro, absolutely nuts them pair 🤣🤣)