If you come on the client walks you'll be very familiar with this. I practice this daily. We move the pack to the side to allow other people/ dogs to pass. Why is this important? Safety is the number one reason. If you don't allow your dog to approach passing people and /or dogs without your permission you keep your dog and other people and their dogs safe. This also allows other people to feel more relaxed. Passing a pack of dogs is not an easy task for everyone. Particularly if you happen to have a fear of dogs which some people do. Respect for others is the another reason. We generally don't approach other random people in the park and just start walking with them, so why would we allow our dogs to do this?.
Ruby has in recent times developed a stick obsession which her owner is finding challenging. I have taught her the "out" command which means drop it and come see me. You'll see Stephen in the video calling her with no impact on the beginning. This is because at this time she's fixated on a stick. I then give the "out" command and watch how quickly she responds. Obviously it takes a bit of time to get this level of obedience but she's nailed it
It's not unusual for the dogs to pick activities on walks. Today was swimming and paddling. I've always said dogs have life figured out and teach us valuable lessons all the time. Every dog I have owned, worked with or encountered has taught me this. Investigate everything that looks interesting, never pass up an opportunity to have fun, live everyday like it's your last and be here now. They don't teach this in schools. We learn so much from our dogs. We just need to pay attention to the lessons.
The body language of the dogs and watching the dynamics and how they interact never gets boring. Here Boss, aka, the fun police, is telling Doris (boxer) her energy is too high. Doris is not really getting this and has taken this as a game and is attempting to engage Boss in play ( notice the play bow). Boss being Boss and the master of discipline is having none of it. The conversation from his side is very much "stop your nonsense, lower your energy levels and calm down." My dogs have spent their lives walking in packs and with me. They know the rules and what's expected and will enforce this. The joys of zero tolerance dogs 🤣
Teaching your dog to take food from you nicely without snatching is important. Basic manners and learning to slow down and wait matters because it saves your fingers and stops accidental bites. Particularly important for those with small children
Ruby's owners struggle to allow her off lead because she's reactive with other dogs. As you can see she's not with me, so why is that? I'm completely relaxed and confident when I'm walking dogs which means I'm not giving out protection signals which can trigger a dog to attack another person, dog or animal. We need to be very intune with own own emotions because dogs pick up on these. If I was to suddenly see a dog and become nervous around Ruby she wouldn't pick up that I was nervous about how she may react, but she would pick up that the dog appeared and my energy changed from confident to nervous. Therefore the dog is a potential threat and Ruby may see it as her job to get rid of the dog. High energy levels when playing, particularly in reactive dogs, can trigger high excitement which can lead to aggression. Safety is always a priority. Had other people and or dogs been present in the park I wouldn't have allowed play at as high a level as this. It would have been much calmer and much more controlled to keep others safe.
Ruby's owners struggle to allow her off lead because she's reactive with other dogs. As you can see she's not with me, so why is that? I'm completely relaxed and confident when I'm walking dogs which means I'm not giving out protection signals which can trigger a dog to attack another person, dog or animal. We need to be very intune with own own emotions because dogs pick up on these. If I was to suddenly see a dog and become nervous around Ruby she wouldn't pick up that I was nervous about how she may react, but she would pick up that the dog appeared and my energy changed from confident to nervous. Therefore the dog is a potential threat and Ruby may see it as her job to get rid of the dog. High energy levels when playing, particularly in reactive dogs, can trigger high excitement which can lead to aggression. Safety is always a priority. Had other people and or dogs been present in the park I wouldn't have allowed play at as high a level as this. It would have been much calmer and much more controlled to keep others safe.
Perfect recall is important because it can stop your dog from being attacked by or attacking another dog, keeps wildlife safe and stops your dog from running up to other random dogs they do not know, which can cause fear and or alarm in the humans with the dogs your dog is approaching. This is enough to have your dog destroyed under the dangerous dogs act. All they need to do is cause unnecessary fear and or alarm in a public place to be condemned. Be safe, not sorry.
New dog alert! Meet Murphy: This was Murphy's first walk with us. The goals for this young pup are walking to heel which we did some work on today, recall and good manners around people and other dogs. There was a lot going on for him today as I had 5 walkers with me and clients who joined us for a client walk. Murphy handled himself amazingly well and I can't wait to see his progress once he's learned everything we have to teach him
A little training session today with a little cocker spaniel who gets angry when she sees toys. This is progress as she no longer wants to "kill" the frisbee as she did when she first was introduced. We're now at a lower level where the growling is still there but she's understanding this is not a threat and can now engage in a game. The next step is to be able to phase out the food rewards completely and have her just enjoy playing with the frisbee and a human.
Little refresher for Stephen in lead walking. He struggled a bit with Roscoe pulling today. We were able to get a video today for a change as the weather has been torrential lately. Sunday afternoons I normally do some work with my own dogs and Stephen to enhance and sharpen his skills along with teaching him new skill sets. Recently we've had a few people ask if the can come join in and this is becoming increasingly popular so I've decided to open it up to the public. £20 per dog, please bring a fixed length lead and plenty of food. I also don't want loads of people so will be limiting spaces so please PM to book, for location and time details x
"LIKE A KID ON CHRISTMAS DAY" So, I didn't originally plan on using our little Sergi in a video but his behaviour here reminds me of behaviours I have seen in some dogs. What you're seeing here is classic overstimulation. When an animal comes from an environment where their needs are not met and fundamentals like mental stimulation are not present, when it suddenly is provided it can become too much. This is demonstrated by Sergi moving in circles at times and trying to explore everything at once along with being unable to pick a direction. At one point he becomes so overwhelmed he hides behind the wheel, suggesting he's so overwhelmed he now feels unsafe. I've seen this behaviour in dogs when various stimulators have been provided and they've been unable to focus on or choose which one they want to check out first leading some to want to run from the situation. What's improved in the short time he's been with us is that he doesn't hide for long, his confidence has increased massively although, me being me, I'd still like to see more improvement in this area. Previously he would try and hide in the playpen and I had to dim the lights or he wouldn't move. We've moved beyond that now. He's also a determined little critter and when I've presented problems for him to solve he'll keep trying until he's mastered it. You see this with the rat wheel, where he eventually learns he needs to be in a certain position to be able to push it. I could have pushed it for him but I'd rather he figured this out himself because he can do it. I have helped in other ways by lowering it and loosening it for him too. I suspect we will reach the point where Sergi "normalises" stimulation exercises and will settle down a bit. Robos are known for high energy levels (like some dog breeds) and as much as exercise is important we need to remember there's a mental aspect which also needs to be catered for.
Don't let people get you down. Just rise to the challenge. Obviously Dundee is full of "expert" dog trainers. I don't mind negative comments but it would always be better if you could send videos of dogs that you have trained yourself. I love to see evidence of how it can be done better from those clearly more experienced and qualified than myself.
Answering your questions (hopefully). As mentioned in the video if you need to get in touch still please do x
Intensive training session: Working on recall and teaching the dogs to "wait." Stephen is working hard with Biscuit and Thor in this session. Biscuit has done and is continuing to do prey drive training. Thor needs a much more solid recall and needs to learn to slow down which is part of the "wait" command. These sessions are bookable in blocks and have a maximum of 2 dogs so we can work to your dogs specific needs. Lots of people looking to book for manners outdoors and avoiding distractions. Client walks can also help with this. I am getting round to messages and if you're not already booked in you will be shortly. Thanks for your patience x
Targeted Training: Biscuit has quite a high prey drive and likes to chase and kill small animals. Dogs are predators right? Anything small and fluffy, deer, ducks, squirrels you name it he'll go for it. Many people believe having a high prey drive is "just the way the dog is." Or believe "it's instinctual." Yes, but when allowed to do as they please they are more likely to repeat these behaviours as no-one has told them not to. When we teach an alternative behaviour and make ourselves of higher value than the animal of interest we get a different result. We've been working for a while with Biscuit now on this and as you can see from the video he is now at the stage where he has learned to look, do not chase, look at me and get a reward. It's easier for the dog to get chicken from the human than it is to hunt. This does not mean they don't want to do it, they've just been taught an alternative behaviour. We can now safely pass any prey animal and Biscuit will look to the human for a reward instead of chasing it. Targeted training like this is available in block bookings. DM me if you need help and need a specific issue worked on. Please don't ever accept a negative behaviour as "just the way the dog is." Any behaviour can be worked on and alternative behaviours can be taught. This includes prey drive as you've just seen in the video.
A bit of basic gun dog training with Luna today. She's not a gun dog but any dog can do this type of work. What's important is that it's fun for the dog. Patience and consistency is all that's really required. Rosie is unhappy as Stephen had to put her on a lead because all she wanted to do was sabotage the whole thing and distract Luna lol. Dogs 😞
First time I've bought these guys buffalo rolls. I love trying my lot with new things. Clearly these are a hit
A little bit of exploring with the dogs. Lady's on a training line so we can stop her approaching people and dogs that she's passing
The importance of not allowing your dog to approach whoever they please and why friendly is not enough:
If you're confused about who you can and cannot let your dog approach, just ask the human with the dog your dog wants to approach. We humans can communicate too and I think this has been forgotten in recent times. Make sure your dog has a command that let's them know that appraoching in this case is ok and also ensure that control is strong enough that your dog will not approach if not given permission to.
Roscoe unmuzzled: Stephen's worked really hard with this dog to help him understand what the rules are and what behaviour is acceptable and unacceptable. Roscoe, for the most part, has taken the training in his stride and made some real progress. Muzzles are a tool which we should ( in an ideal world) train into and train out of. ( Not possible in every case). A muzzle will prevent biting but will not teach the dog not to. The ability to make good decisions and want to is paramount. That training comes from the human and also other dogs but when it is possible the results are a happy dog, under control with complete freedom.
