Tailored training and guidance for
○ Pet dogs
○ Rescue dogs
○ Assistance dogs
Gorgeous Rio is learning all about the weird and wonderful experiences our world has to offer 🩷 She has a wonderful life ahead of her, helping her owner navigate daily life more easily through specific tasks that she will learn. She's already doing a wonderful job learning how to behave in different environments and has started learning the foundations of her future jobs 🌟
A miserable day, but a great view from the "office" nonetheless 🐾 🌧 George enjoyed a good run at the beach after today's session with lovely little B. the Maltese.
His owners' main concern is his reactive behaviour towards some dogs, but underneath this symptom is a lack of general foundation skills - handler focus, the ability to take his attention off interesting stimuli, and so on. So, rather than focusing too much on the actual dog-reactive behaviour, we worked on introducing a new, well-conditioned marker and taught both B. and his owners how to use and respond to this new signal. This new, functional line of communication suddenly transformed the "stubborn" dog who was ignoring his owners into a hugely keen and responsive little man who was picking up new skills at a rapid pace 🤍
Often dogs who think very quickly and like to work will learn the "wrong" things easily when they aren't receiving clear or enough information from their handler and this can make them appear stubborn, naughty or thick, when actually, they're just much faster than we are!
Super work from Team B.! 🌟
Thank you so much for your review 🩷
On Monday, one of my senior dogs had to have surgery, suddenly and unexpectedly. While we are still waiting on some lab results, Layla is recovering well 🩷
I thought I would take the opportunity to share a couple of things you can teach your dog to hugely reduce some of the stressors associated with having procedures at the vets.
1. Crate training: whether you choose to use a crate at home or not, teaching your dog to be comfortable in a confined space like a crate means that when they have to spend hours and hours in one at the vets, they at least won't be stressed out by the confinement itself and have a little more capacity to deal with the other stressors🙏
2. Cone training: dogs often find themselves having to sport the "cone of shame" after medical procedures in order to prevent them from licking wounds or nibbling on stitches. Wearing a cone can be hugely stressful for some dogs, so teaching them ahead of time that wearing a cone is fun and that they can move around in it as well will take away a huge stressor for your dog.
All of my younger dogs were crate and cone trained ahead of their neuters and other medical procedures, but dear old Layla hasn't ever had a medical procedure since she was spayed as a young girlie (where she didn't need a cone) - and so I never even thought to teach her to wear a cone like I did with the others. Wearing the cone at the vets really stressed her, and I could have easily prevented that stressor.
Thankfully, toddler leggings are doing a great job preventing her from licking her surgery site, so we have been able to ditch the cone successfully 🩷
Dramatic skies today for a lovely session with a young maltese and his dedicated humans 🤍 He has missed out on some important socialisation and training due to prolonged medical treatment, and now we're going to catch up on those skills to help him navigate his environments better, especially when other dogs are around. He did a super job today 👏
It was wonderful to see young Betsy, the rescue pup, again today 🌸
Her new owners have done a phenomenal job of working with her, and the progress they've made is undeniable ✨️ Betsy's handler focus and lead walking skills have improved immensely 👏
Whilst she has gotten used to many of the sights and sounds of her new environment very well, one thing that still worries her is young children. With their erratic movement and sudden noises, many young dogs can find children a little bit concerning.
Like many working breeds, Betsy really thrives when she knows exactly what to do in a situation. Lack of instruction and feedback increase her anxiety, making her more likely to react by barking and lunging, so we worked on teaching Betsy exactly what *to* do and expect when she sees any children.
Betsy and her owner did brilliantly navigating the pavements, keeping Betsy at a distance where she is interested, but not completely over threshold, and working on their new techniques.
Well done, Team Betsy! 🌟
Thank you for your kind words 🩷😊
This young man worked hard on his arousal levels out and about. His desire to go 'spanielling' is strong, but clear criteria and feedback really help him to keep himself under control until it's time to run free again 🥰
What do playgrounds have to do with dog training? 🤔
Well, sometimes you've got to be creative! 🤭
Today's client's dog sometimes overreacts at random stimuli in the environment, but those stimuli are often sudden and unexpected, and the behaviour is also wrapped up in handler emotions, making it trickier for them to practise in the 'real world'.
We used the weird and wonderful noises and movements the playground offered as a source of predictable stimuli, allowing the handler and dog to learn and practise new and better behaviour patterns without there being any anxiety or worry involved 💙
It's always lovely to spend some time with other dog professionals - especially when we have matching dogs! 🥹😍 Such a pleasure to meet little Rio from Extra Mile Dogs
🫧 Training offer 🫧
Would you like to improve your dog's lead walking skills? Or perhaps their recall could use a polish? Does your dog struggle to settle in the pub, or do you need help with grooming?
If you'd like to focus on just one training topic, this Deep Dive offer is for you! 😊 You choose the topic, and I take you through all of the stages of the training process - from teaching from scratch to proofing in the real world🐾
🩵 3x 30-minute in-person sessions
🩵 30-minute introductory video call
🩵 Support via WhatsApp for the duration of your package
🩵 Travel to you is included for clients within 30 miles of Dunfermline
🩵 Package fee is £200.00
Get in touch if you'd like to know more!
Does your dog get to sniff on their walks? 🌸🌼🌳
Sniffing is essential for a dog's well-being - dogs 'see' the world through their noses, so being able to sniff when out and about is hugely stimulating and enriching for them.
When walking our dogs, we often have a tendency to try and get from start to finish as quickly and efficiently as possible. And of course, we can also teach our dogs to travel from A to B in a more formal manner and there are situations where sniffing and lingering aren't as appropriate, but do remember to give your dog ample opportunities to take in the world in their own way 🩷
After a busy weekend in Birmingham for , it's back to normality in Edinburgh with my first client of the week 🐾
Lovely J. and his owner have been putting in the work, and their progress has been immense 🌟 Walks in the park are much more relaxed now with J. able to approach doggie greetings with less intensity and disengage when asked as well 👏 😊
We then also progressed their settle mat training further - it won't be long before they can really take it 'on the road' - and started working on getting J. comfortable with having his nails clipped.
Being comfortable with body handling and grooming is so invaluable for our pets - it makes vet visits and grooming sessions so much more pleasant for everyone involved 🩷
If you'd like help with teaching your dog how to enjoy grooming or medical procedures, do get in touch 🐾
I had the pleasure of working with the two gorgeous Tibetan Terriers again this week! Their owner has diligently worked on their homework, which enabled us to work around one of my dogs, George, safely and successfully 😁🫶
George is a very reliable, confident, and resilient dog who loves coming to work with me 💛 Being able to practise new skills around a safe and reliable stooge dog can be incredibly valuable as it puts owners at ease and allows dogs and owners to become really confident with their new strategies before braving the 'real world'.
Working around a stooge often also helps us observe more nuanced behaviours and allows us to tailor our training sessions accordingly.
Having ample space to navigate life is something that would help many dogs handle day to day life better. But it's not something that is always an easy option.
Earlier this week, I met a lovely cocker spaniel who finds it hard when people suddenly appear or approach him. Living in the city, there will always be people around, causing him and his owner stress on the daily.
The good news is that we have lots of strategies up our sleeves for both dogs and owners to learn to help them navigate their regular environments more easily and successfully while working on changing their emotional responses and behaviour patterns 💛
What an utterly beautiful day for a training session in the park 😎☀️
I met my little friend, the overseas rescue dog, again who has already improved so much since our last session 🥰🫶
Mr. J hyperfixates on other dogs as a coping strategy in this new big scary world. Whilst making doggie friends is helping him gain confidence in his new surroundings, it is also important for us to help him relax and gain confidence when he is on his own.
His owner has been working diligently on encouraging little snippets of behaviour towards our goal, and his ability to detach himself from other dogs (and even sit and watch them patiently!) has already grown exponentially.
Superstars 🌸
I love a little brag video 🤭🥳🫶
Here is gorgeous Betsy, the young rescue Shepherd cross doing a brilliant job of her loose lead walking.
Good lead manners are a really important skill, especially for a dog who will grow to a large size, but they take time and consistency to teach and then proof in various scenarios. Young Miss Betsy is well on her way ✨️
Well done, Team Betsy!
When working one-to-one with me, we work in blocks of two, or ideally, four sessions. This is because it allows me to not only get to know you and your dog better and introduce new skills to you both, but it also allows me to coach you through different 'real world' scenarios, giving guidance, instructions and reassurance where necessary ❤️
Allowing a very active dog like a Spaniel off the lead can be a daunting prospect, and our own anxieties around it often affect *our* behaviour which in turn then affects how the dog behaves and what the dog learns from the experience.
Here, I am coaching a lovely Spaniel and his owner on a walk, guiding them both to make good choices and grow each others confidence in each other. They did brilliantly 🥰
This week, I had the pleasure of meeting two beautiful Tibetan Terriers - a breed we don't often get to work with 🥰
These two lads are absolutely adorable but can struggle with excessive barking in certain circumstances. We will be working on more appropriate responses when faced with other dogs on walks, as well as reframing their approach to soliciting attention in the home. Both boys are super switched on and have a lovely bond with their owner, which is always a delight to observe 💜
Today, I'm heading into Edinburgh to see a lovely little rescue from overseas who has been struggling a bit with the changes in his new life. He has a very patient and dedicated owner who is doing a great job at helping him understand his new surroundings 🥰
Overseas rescues have often lived very different lives to our UK pet dogs (we could say they have different cultures!), and integration into our world can be challenging for them. Even simple things that we take for granted, like passing other dogs on the pavement, can be a real challenge since, for free-roaming dogs, head-on approaches are very rude and can feel very threatening.
I myself share my life with four overseas rescues and have experienced a lot of their unique challenges and needs 🐾
If you have got, or are planning to adopt, an overseas rescue dog, don't hesitate to get in touch and help them settle into UK pet life more easily.
I hope you've been having a lovely Sunday! ☀️
We've been keeping busy by training in new environments 🌳🌲☀️
As dog owners, we're often in a mindset of "just getting from A to B" on a walk, rather than tuning into what our dogs need from us in the moment, and this is how undesirable habits like lead pulling and poor recall quickly creep in.
By spending a little bit of ✨️dedicated✨️ time and patience teaching and practising core skills like lead walking, recall, and general impulse control, your dog will become a much more pleasant companion to share a good walk with 👣❤️ 🐾
Gorgeous Lottie had her second in-person coaching session this week and did a superb job of her lead walking 🌟 We also worked on polite greetings and introduced a mat settle.
In-person coaching is available in blocks of 2x or 4x sessions. Following an introductory video chat, we spend our first in-person session getting to know the dog-handler team and assessing their needs. We also begin to introduce the chosen strategies and techniques. Having a second session thereafter allows us to troubleshoot and fine tune these new skills and take them up a notch. With blocks of 4x sessions, we can also add on more real-world proofing and/or approach further areas in need of attention 😊
It feels like spring is well and truly on its way 🌼🌞 I've really been enjoying my outdoor training sessions in this beautiful weather! 😍
Earlier this week, I met the gorgeous Betsy - a Shepherd mix puppy who has recently been adopted by her dedicated new owners. They have done a brilliant job already helping Betsy learn that her new life in the city isn't as scary as she thought, so we were able to mostly work on laying the foundations for skills like recall and lead walking as well as talking about her needs as a breed.
Such a lovely puppy!
This morning, our walk got gatecrashed by an exuberant young Labrador who couldn't resist coming to see what we are all about 🤭 Notice how my dogs greet the party crasher briefly and then choose to focus their attention on me instead 🥰
We can't control every element of our environment (like other people's dogs' behaviour), but we can absolutely influence how our own dogs feel about and interact with the world 😊
Relaxed and pleasant walks rely a lot on our dogs feeling neutral about experiences and stimuli in their environment. "Feeling neutral" means that they are comfortable around various stimuli, but are not completely over-the-top excited (or worried/scared), which allows for much more relaxed interactions and the ability to take their attention off something of interest when needed as well.
As a bonus, lead walking and recall become so much easier, too!
If you'd like to work on your dog's life skills, do get in touch 🐾
Christmas is coming and there are just a few slots remaining before the holidays 🎄 If you'd like to book in for some training before Christmas, do get in touch asap 😊
This is going to be a really interesting and valuable event hosted by our colleagues at Edinburgh Dog Behaviour
Tickets to our online Dog Control Law in Scotland event are now on sale. Early bird discount until 5th Nov:
https://edinburghdogbehaviour.com/dog-control-law-in-scotland-workshop/
I've been rather quiet on social media this past month, but very busy behind the scenes 🐾
On of the things I've been working on is this educational video for the Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust. It is going to be used in schools, colleges and universities to help illustrate why dogs are very valuable animals and as such, hopefully nurture a stronger appreciation for them and encourage better welfare for dogs in The Gambia.
Koa, the dog in the video, is a former patient of the charity who now lives with me in Scotland 😊
Dunfermline
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| Wednesday | 9am - 5pm |
| Thursday | 9am - 5pm |
| Friday | 9am - 5pm |
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Gorgeous Rio is learning all about the weird and wonderful experiences our world has to offer 🩷 She has a wonderful life ahead of her, helping her owner navigate daily life more easily through specific tasks that she will learn. She's already doing a wonderful job learning how to behave in different environments and has started learning the foundations of her future jobs 🌟
I love a little brag video 🤭🥳🫶 Here is gorgeous Betsy, the young rescue Shepherd cross doing a brilliant job of her loose lead walking. Good lead manners are a really important skill, especially for a dog who will grow to a large size, but they take time and consistency to teach and then proof in various scenarios. Young Miss Betsy is well on her way ✨️ Well done, Team Betsy!
When working one-to-one with me, we work in blocks of two, or ideally, four sessions. This is because it allows me to not only get to know you and your dog better and introduce new skills to you both, but it also allows me to coach you through different 'real world' scenarios, giving guidance, instructions and reassurance where necessary ❤️ Allowing a very active dog like a Spaniel off the lead can be a daunting prospect, and our own anxieties around it often affect *our* behaviour which in turn then affects how the dog behaves and what the dog learns from the experience. Here, I am coaching a lovely Spaniel and his owner on a walk, guiding them both to make good choices and grow each others confidence in each other. They did brilliantly 🥰
I hope you've been having a lovely Sunday! ☀️ We've been keeping busy by training in new environments 🌳🌲☀️ As dog owners, we're often in a mindset of "just getting from A to B" on a walk, rather than tuning into what our dogs need from us in the moment, and this is how undesirable habits like lead pulling and poor recall quickly creep in. By spending a little bit of ✨️dedicated✨️ time and patience teaching and practising core skills like lead walking, recall, and general impulse control, your dog will become a much more pleasant companion to share a good walk with 👣❤️ 🐾
This morning, our walk got gatecrashed by an exuberant young Labrador who couldn't resist coming to see what we are all about 🤭 Notice how my dogs greet the party crasher briefly and then choose to focus their attention on me instead 🥰 We can't control every element of our environment (like other people's dogs' behaviour), but we can absolutely influence how our own dogs feel about and interact with the world 😊 Relaxed and pleasant walks rely a lot on our dogs feeling neutral about experiences and stimuli in their environment. "Feeling neutral" means that they are comfortable around various stimuli, but are not completely over-the-top excited (or worried/scared), which allows for much more relaxed interactions and the ability to take their attention off something of interest when needed as well. As a bonus, lead walking and recall become so much easier, too! If you'd like to work on your dog's life skills, do get in touch 🐾
Three gorgeous Spaniels working on their lead manners 🥰
Handsome teenager Finn came for an Explore&Learn field trip today 🥰🩵 Finn is a lovely young man with some beautifully trained obedience skills, but he struggles to keep it together in new environments, which results in him lunging towards sniffs, pulling on the lead, and spiralling arousal levels. Today, we worked in a new environment and learned about the concepts of boundaries and lead pressure, practised cue response in exciting environments, worked on switching between high and low arousal, and also simply adapting to a new handler. This was his first ever field trip with a different handler, and he rocked it 💪
Little StS secret 🤫 While you're seeing primarily Spaniels on my newsfeed, my heart lies with toy breeds, in particular Yorkies 🥰 Small breeds are just as capable as larger breeds, especially in jobs like Medical Alert work, and can often even have significant advantages for their handlers! Take a look at Toy Poodle "Happy" over at our friends from Finding Happiness - Dog behaviour and training for example! Happy is a phenomenal assistance dog 🩷
Safety through Scent George alerting to a hypo during a walk 🐾 Because medical alert dogs are scent trained solely through positive reinforcement, smelling the target odour (in this case, the odour of a hypoglycemic episode) is SUPER exciting to them 🥰 🩵 Please excuse the subpar camera work - filming with a plummeting blood sugar whilst handling three dogs is a challenge 😂
Does your pet or assistance dog need help with their lead walking skills? We can help 😊🐾
Keto and his handler have been doing a fabulous job at practising their lead walking skills 🌟
Did you know that Diabetes Alert Dogs don't only alert to a "fresh" out of range blood sugars? Low and high blood sugars can be quite persistent, so our dogs are trained to re-alert their handlers after set time intervals if the blood sugar remains out of range 💙
Sunny, warm weather can strongly impact on blood sugar levels, often causing sudden hypos. Thankfully, trusty wet noses are always ready to warn us 🌟
Dogs are often so much faster than technology. Here, George was alerting to my impending hypo well before my Libre and my hypo symptoms registered it.
Scent training aside, a huge part of training a Diabetes Alert Assistance Dog is Public Access Training (teaching your dog to be confident and unobtrusive in public settings). At Safety through Scent, we can help you with just the scent training element of your dog's training or guide you through the full Assistance Dog training process.
Perfect low blood sugar alert from George - from inside his crate in another room to where I was sitting with my husband's parents visiting for the afternoon. The odour conditioning is so strong that your dog does not have to be in the same room with you - they just need to have a way to tell you! In this case, I had absolutely no awareness of my blood sugar having dropped as I was completely focused on the social interaction with my in-laws, and would not have noticed for quite some time if George hadn't told me. If you or someone you know would like to know more about training your own Diabetes Alert Dog, please get in touch 🐾
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