Wülfgang - Force Free Dog Training and Walking

19/06/2024

Lots of availability next week for 121 training sessions for loose lead walking, puppy biting and chewing, recall, muzzle training or jumping up.

Get in touch to book your consultation call🐾

17/06/2024

16/06/2024

Sighthound Sunday - Part 4 - Sighthound quirks and physiology🐾

13/06/2024

Let sleeping dogs lie!

Veterinary Centres of America (VCA) (2021), estimates that, "60% of dog bites in children occur when the child wakes or attempts to wake a sleeping dog". In the UK, 75% of dog bites involve children, with a bite to the face or head. So clearly this demonstrates that any family dog can bite due to startle reflex, and that children are the most common victims. Simply touching the sleeping dog, talking near their face or kissing them on their head can be enough to startle a sleeping dog.

We would all love to believe that our dog would never bite us, our children or anyone else. Unfortunately, studies show that most bites are inflicted by their own family dog or a dog they know. You probably can't fathom your gentle dog biting you or your family. It would be completely out of character for them, but sadly this is often what families say after their dog has seriously bitten them or a family member, and its seen time and time again.

It is so unfair to euthanise dogs for startle reflex, when this behaviour is not a conscious choice. Regardless of whether your dog has startle reflex, make sure you always provide:

-Separate sleeping area that children cannot access, such as a bed behind a pen.

- Use safeguards, such as a barriers and child gates to keep your dog and children separate when you cannot 'actively' supervise their interactions.

-Prevent children playing on the floor and near a resting/sleeping dog.

- Always have a barrier between your dog and your baby/toddler when your baby/toddler is playing/crawling on the floor.

-Teach your children to never disturb the dog when they are resting.

- Train your dog to rest/sleep in a designated area, rather than the sofa.

The startle reflex is your dog's body and brain bracing them for potential danger. So by letting them sleep, you may very well save their life, and that of your child's. - Holly Leake

For more info check out my articles on the subject.

Why does my dog snap if I wake him: Understanding startle reflex
https://www.pawchores.com/post/why-does-my-dog-snap-if-i-wake-him-understanding-startle-reflex

Hot to manage your dog's startle reflex
https://www.pawchores.com/post/how-to-manage-your-dog-s-startle-reflex

12/06/2024

Research has shown that leaving a dog with separation anxiety to “cry it out” can damage and kill neurons and increase cortisol levels, often causing our dogs even more stress and anxiety than they were already feeling. In humans the cry it out method has be shown to cause PTSD and PTSD like symptoms, and there is currently no reason to suggest that the same doesn’t occur in our dogs.

If you and your dog are struggling with separation related issues contact a force free separation anxiety behaviour consultant, I highly recommend Paws for Thought - Canine & Equine Coach 🐾

How many times have you been told you should let your puppy cry it out? I’m betting you’ve lost count.

Usually we get told this by well-meaning friends and family. Sadly you’ll hear this advice from uninformed trainers too.

But here’s the thing. Letting a puppy cry-it-out increases stress and reinforces the association that being alone = scary.

It's true that sometimes cry-it-out does work. On the rare occasion that does happen then it’s most likely the result of a process called “flooding.”

Flooding exposes a dog to something it’s scared of at fullest intensity. The goal is for the dog to experience this extreme fear but then realize it’s actually okay. He survived.

But it’s a miserable experience for the dog. And a high-risk one too as it more commonly just makes the dog even more scared.

Another risk of cry-it-out is that your puppy can develop “learned helplessness”. No matter what he does, or how hard he cries you don’t return. Eventually, he might give up. He doesn’t feel better but he’s just learned that nothing works to relieve him of his fear.

He might look calm. But he’s actually shut down.

Rather than risk putting your puppy through this and making his condition even worse you want to train in tiny increments of alone time. By doing so you come back before he cries. And you gradually change his association of being left from “scary” to “ok”.

09/06/2024

Sighthound Sunday - Part 3

The Irish Wolfhound

08/06/2024

Due to certain times of the day being so popular for dog walks and being just one person covering the whole of Torfaen & Newport I have had to make the difficult decision to close our books for new dog walking clients for the time being. This is to ensure that I can keep meeting the needs of the dogs I currently walk (and the needs of my own many animals)

We do still have availability for 121 training sessions. Our first session will usually last around 2 hours, and any sessions after that will usually last 1-2 hours. Our availability for 121 training sessions include:

Monday 4pm-6pm
Wednesday 4pm-6pm
Friday 4pm-6pm
Saturday-Sunday hours may vary.

Although our diary is full for new dog walks right now, if you are stuck and in need of someone to walk your dog(s) please don’t hesitate to get in touch and I will try my best to fit you in where possible🐾

02/06/2024

Sighthound Sunday - Part 2

Today we’re looking at Salukis, some of their history, traits, personalities and training🐾

30/05/2024

We only offer solo walks, usually with a maximum of two if from the same household, but when we were asked if Talia, Ras’s mum could join us for Robyn and Ras’s next few walks, how could I say no?🥰

26/05/2024

🐾Welcome to Wulfgangs first Sighthound Sunday, where every Sunday starting today we will share new facts about Sighthounds🐾

What is a Sighthound?
Sighthounds are a type of hunting dog. Known for using their sight and speed to hunt and catch prey. This type of hunting dog includes breeds such as Whippets, Greyhounds, Salukis, Scottish Deeerhounds, Irish Wolfhounds, Borzois, Podencos and many more. All of which can be defined by their lean bodies, deep chests, large eyes and long noses.

What is a Lurcher?
A lurcher is a crossbreed of a Sighthound X Working breed such as Greyhound X Collie, Bedlington Terrier X Whippet.

What about a crossbreed of multiple Sighthounds?
A Sighthound X Sighthound such as a Saluki X Greyhound or a Whippet X Deerhound is known as a Longdog.

25/05/2024

🐾Meet Sully the lovely Whippet, who has recently joined us for regular walks🐕

🐾And Indy the small Lurcher who I haven’t introduced yet but she has been with us for a while🥰

A lot of you will know that I have a soft spot for Sighthounds, so I’ve decided to start a series called Sighthound Sundays. Every Sunday starting tomorrow, until I run out of facts to give I will share a fact about sighthounds, from sighthound breeds, their traits and predatory instincts, to behaviour and training, to their history and origin and the greyhound racing industry, you name, you’ll learn it right here at Wülfgang - Force Free Dog Training and Walking 🐕 🐾

19/05/2024

🐾Let's talk about Separation Anxiety Support🐾

Separation anxiety is thought to affect one in every 4 to 6 dogs. Just know if you do have a dog with separation anxiety, you did absolutely nothing to cause it.

You don’t always need to an expensive one-on-one session with an expert trainer to help....

…but you DO need a training plan that’s written by one.

It's really important that you have the right advice from a specialist separation anxiety expert because navigating separation anxiety alone can be tricky.

It is not typical dog training and requires a very different approach. There is a lot of misinformation and confusing advice out there.

Here is where I am different. I am a Certified SA Pro Behaviour Consultant (CSAP-BC) following proven force free training methods. I also provide holistic wellbeing support for both you and your dog to compliment your plans.

Join my Separation Anxiety training, and you will get exclusive access to the Be Right Back! App which is just like having a coach in your pocket!

I will help you with :

💜Knowing where to start and using the training plan app
💜Setting up your plan
💜Coaching you through the steps
💜Reviewing your progress
💜Additional holistic wellbeing and healing support

Are you ready to get started with me and have access to the app? Let's have a chat about how I can help you
https://pawsforthoughtcaninecoach.newzenler.com/support

For more information you can visit my website https://pawsforthoughtcaninecoach.newzenler.com/courses/overcoming-separation-anxiety

If you would like a taster of the training you can also have instant access to my 3 day Separation Anxiety challenge https://pawsforthoughtcaninecoach.newzenler.com/courses/3-day-separation-anxiety-challenge

10/05/2024

☀️To all of my current and future Dog Walking clients☀️

With temperatures rising, hitting 23 degrees celcius today and 22 degrees celcius tomorrow, it looks like summer is finally here after what feels like an extremely long winter🌧

It’s great for us to have the sun back after so long, but for our dogs the sudden increase in temperature may not be so great.

An image below from Vets Now shows that certain dogs that may be at more risk should have a close eye kept on them even at 16-19 degrees Celsius. The temperature that your canine friend can safely walk in will depend on their age, breed(s), size, weight and health.

A lot of my regular walking clients are either young, brachycephalic breeds or sighthound breeds, all of which can be more prone to heatstroke and over heating than other dogs.

Due to this, I will be contacting everyone over the next few days regarding arranging plans for the hotter days that we have this year.

These can include:

☀️ Earlier walks to avoid the hottest times of the day
☀️ Visits at the same time as usual, but we can do a number of mentally stimulating activities within your home and garden instead of a walk in the sun. These activities can include but are not limited to, scentwork games, focus and engagement games, short training sessions including teaching simple “trick” training, recall, drop it, leave it, retrieving and more
☀️ Or I can simply visit, let them outside to toilet and just be with them for our allocated time so they’re not on their own.

The best option for you and your dog may depend on a number facts but are all things that we can discuss on the days where we have high temperatures, or that we can plan ahead.

06/05/2024

Behind every behaviour is an emotion, there is always a cause for an emotion, be it trauma, pain, lack of sleep, a neurological condition or genetics, once we understand that our view’s on our dogs, how we train our dogs and what we think of our dogs “bad behaviours” completely changes❤️🐾

06/05/2024

🐾New research into how the training methods we use affects our dogs🐾

There are a lot of dog trainers, particularly online, on apps such as a tiktok, and on popular TV shows that use outdated and potentially physically, emotionally and psychologically harmful techniques to train dogs.

I often get asked “what do you mean by force free?”.

In my training “force free” means:

🐶 Recognising that behind every behaviour is an emotion, understanding what that emotion is, where the emotion stems from (trauma, pain, neurological, genetics or other), and changing that emotion(s).

🐶 Not forcing the dogs I work with in to situations or environments that will increase the emotion that is causing the behaviour that their guardians come to me with.

🐶 Not using unnecessary force to get a dog to do what I or their guardian wants them to do.

🐶 Keeping up to date with CPD (continues professional development) and science backed research in to canine behaviour, emotions and training.

🐶 Making training sessions fun for both the dog and their guardian.

🐶 Understanding that dogs need to be understood, and ensuring that their physiological, emotional and breed specific needs are met.

🐶 Not using aversive tools such as prong collars, shock collars, E-collars, slip leads or any methods that inflict physical or emotional pain on our dogs.

Did you know the way you train, or 'parent' your dog affects their attachment style?? 😮

It has been long recognised that a secure attachment style is the most optimum attachment style for human children, as it allows the child to feel more comfortable exploring and interacting with the world, and in the long term being able to grow into a well adjusted adult. The same parallel has also been found in dogs, and that secure attachment provides the optimum starting place for a well adjusted canine companion!

There is now even research showing that the pet parenting or training styles you use with your dog similarly mirror the parenting styles used for human children, and how they impact whether or not a secure attachment will form. With human children the styles of parenting are separated into several distinct styles including:

🔹Authoritative (responsive to needs, solves problems together, with clear expectations and rules)

🔹Authoritarian (demands obedience rather than working together, punishment based and little care of the child/learners needs or feelings)

🔹Permissive (no real boundaries or structure, indulgent of wants and needs of the child/learner)

And..

🔹 Neglectful/uninvolved (inconsistent boundaries, generally uninvolved and unresponsive to feelings or needs).

It has also been found that the authoritative style of pet parenting (shown through positive training, supportive and nurturing but not permissive) has the best outcome for producing securely attached dogs, and that the dogs were 'highly social, sensitive to social context and were more persistent and successful on the problem solving tasks'. Whereas authoritarian pet parenting (shown through balanced/alpha based training, strong boundaries and punishment based) had a significantly lower chance of producing a dog with a secure attachment. Permissive pet parenting styles (training with little to no boundaries or structure) also were less likely to have a secure attachment style (this research did not cover neglectful parenting styles).

This is further evidence, backed by scientific study, that punishment based training does not produce the most well adjusted canine companions, and that structure and boundaries taught with kindness rather than fear is the way to go! 👍

You can check out the study mentioned in the graphic for yourself here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36175745/

And learn more about attachment in our previous graphic here: https://www.facebook.com/DogNerdSussex/posts/pfbid02vKQKArqRNLn44TnsCQi7v4ck565piEE8idrT7rA5jEFN1SZvMGKo6aVnn9cz4yTjl

05/05/2024

Happy Sunday everyone🐾 I have been quiet on social media over the last few weeks whilst working busy behind the scenes through two new specialist courses.

This is the one I’m most excited about, Scentwork!

What is Scentwork?

Scentwork is a training activity that involves teaching dogs to use their sense of smell to find specific scents.

Can your dog do Scentwork?

Although some dogs may be better at scentwork than others, all dogs of any age and breed can take part in Scentwork.

How can scentwork help your dog?

Scentwork is a naturally rewarding, calming and highly stimulating behaviour. In puppies, just a few minutes of scentwork can help prevent unwanted behaviours such as puppy biting, chewing, over arousal and fear around visitors and vet visits. Scent work can also be including as part of a behaviour modification programme to help with reactivity, recall, excessive barking, fear around the vets, cars, visitors in the home, and much more.

Why is sniffing important for our dogs well-being?

Sniffing is a natural behaviour in dogs, it’s one of their many ways of communication and helps them to understand the world around them. Sniffing also promotes all of the happy hormones, Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin and Endorphins, helping our dogs to become happier, calmer, more relaxed and mentally enriched.

And last but not least…..
Why do I love scentwork?

As many of you know, predation (prey drives), particularly Predation Substitute Training is my “thing”. Allowing and encouraging our dogs to take part in and to display their predatory behaviours in safe environments (for us, the dogs and wildlife) is incredibly important for our dogs emotional and physiological well-being. Displaying predatory behaviours are a fundamental need for our dogs as they have been bred in to their genetics for centuries. As genetics can not be trained out of them, we can work with them instead. By giving our dogs what they need in controlled environments as part of our behaviour modification programme, we can prevent the unwanted and unsafe parts of the chain from happening in unwanted environments.
For many dogs, sniffing is the first part of their predatory behaviour chain, so what better way to give our dogs what they need than through the wonderful world of Scentwork🐾

I will be taking on new clients for 121 training sessions over the next week, to keep updated give this page a follow or contact us via:
Messenger
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 07852473334

20/04/2024

Great video showing how the types of harnesses we use can have a negative impact on the way our dogs are able to comfortably move🐾

14/04/2024

Paws for Thought - Canine & Equine Coach have a couple of half hour animal communication sessions available over the next few weeks🐾

Having had a session myself to help my canine companion when we moved homes a couple of years ago, I can’t recommend Paws for Thought enough, because of our session we were able to learn exactly what my girl needed to help her settle in her new environment❤️🐾

06/04/2024

By Ren Volpe

25/03/2024

When the results start to show, there’s no better feeling, and there’s nothing more rewarding when you look back from where you’ve started and see how far you’ve come.

24/03/2024

Are you neurodivergent (or not) and looking for an online course to help both you and your dog with your loose lead walking journey, that you can complete in the comfort of your own home? Then look no further 🐕

Last Sunday 17/03/24 to kickstart Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2024, we launched our first Neurodiverse friendly, online dog training course.

What makes this course neurodiverse friendly?
🐾 Large and Bold Text
🐾 All information in the font OpenDyslexic
🐾 Light but fun coloured background
🐾 Can complete from the comfort of your own home - yes, even the 8 games and exercises are recommended to start in your own home or garden first
🐾 Online support with myself during and after your course

Why is creating Neurodiverse friendly courses important to me?
Being neurodiverse myself, processing information and learning new skills hasn’t always been easy, so I understand the importance of accommodations and inclusion, in all aspects of our lives, but particularly in education and learning.
As an estimated 1/5 people live with a neurodiverse brain, I’m committed to accommodating our 121 sessions and online support to not only your dogs needs, but your needs too, and to making my online courses as neurodiverse friendly as possible.

To access the course visit https://www.wulfgangdogtraining.com/blank

For £10 discount which ends this evening - USE CODE: NDWEEK2024

Terms and conditions apply

Neurodivergent Friendly online dog training courses, with all information on light, but fun coloured background with large, dark and bold text in the font OpenDyslexic.

21/03/2024

Only 3 days left of our £10 off discount when using the code NDWEEK2024 on our first Neurodiverse friendly, online course at https://www.wulfgangdogtraining.com/blank

The voucher code should be working again now, if you're having any issues with this please get in touch 🐾

19/03/2024

18/03/2024

🚨 Important Update for XL Bully Owners 🚨

The government has announced an extension to the deadline for neutering young XL Bully dogs, following engagement with the veterinary industry.

🗓️ New Neutering Deadline: For XL Bully dogs under seven months on 31st January 2024, the new deadline is extended to 30th June 2025. This decision aims to ensure the safe management of the XL Bully dog population while balancing their welfare with public safety.

Neutering Reminders:
•Dogs aged under 7 months on the 31st January 2024 are now to be neutered by 30th June 2025
•Dogs aged 7 – 12 months on 31st January 2024, must be neutered by the end of 2024
•Older dogs (over 1 year on 31st January 2024) must be neutered by 30th June 2024

Owners of older dogs are reminded to book a neutering appointment with the vet well in advance of the deadline.

Failure to provide evidence of neutering by the deadline may result in legal repercussions, including potential seizure of the dog by the police.

🚫 Breeding and rehoming of XL Bully dogs remain prohibited, regardless of age.

For any questions or to schedule a neutering appointment, please contact us as

17/03/2024

Welfare & wellbeing over obedience. Always.

🐾

09/03/2024

08/03/2024

Due to unforceen circumstances we have been unable to take on new clients outside of Cwmbran over the last couple of weeks, this issue should be resolved by the end of next week, we’ll keep you all updated when we know more🐕‍🦺

Picture of Robyn and Ras enjoying our first dry walk together during the week, here’s hoping for many more sunny walks to come ☀️ 🐾