Cathy's K9 capers. Group dog training classes

05/11/2024

Reminder. NO classes this evening

28/10/2024

All ready for some Halloween fun this week

24/10/2024

I will be cancelling all classes on Tuesday 5th November evening. The training barn is their happy place and I don’t want any dogs getting worried in there or on the car journey too and from class. Thanks. Cathy

25/09/2024

Love this. Such good advice

Training Session Prep!

A training session is not simply from the moment you pick up your dog to when you stop working with them. There should be thought and planning well before you pick start. Here are my top tips!

🐾 To exercise or not exercise?

This depends on the dog and the exercise you are looking to train. Some dogs most definitely benefit from removing the steam before you start! This could be as a general rule or it could depend on which exercise you are training. If it is an exercise which requires more thought then exercise first will probably be your choice. If however you are looking for 'oomph' and more especially if your dog is not naturally high drive then you would probably train first and exercise after.

🐾 Know what you want

So many handlers pick up their dog and their reinforcements and just start training with no planning whatsoever. This makes for ineffective training at best and shoddy training at worst. What are you aiming for in this session and how do you plan to approach it?

🐾 Have everything to hand.

There is nothing worse than having to stop partway through a session to have to start to chop or open more treats or have to go fetch your retrieve article for example. Leaving your dog in limbo whilst you organise yourself interrupts train of thought and is not conducive to good learning for either party.

🐾Consider the environment.

Is it going to be distracting? If so adjust your expectations. If your dog is going to be more excited in an open field then choose exercises which will benefit from arousal. Remember that all exercises should be taught at home first or in a quiet environment before generalising to a busy environment.

🐾Set a timer.

If you are inclined to get carried away and train for too long (🙋‍♀️) then set a timer. It can be so easy rack up half an hour when a 10 minutes session would be much more conducive to learning. This is particularly easy to do with a higher drive dog. Just because they will it does not mean it is productive.

🐾Consider you!

Are you tired, emotionally sensitive, hormonal or just having a hard time? Spending time with our dogs can change a bad day into a good day. However not being in the right head space can make training difficult and if you aren't feeling it the odds are your dog won't be either.

🐾Double or quits.

You know those sessions where you are starting to dig yourself into a hole? Things are going wrong and you cannot work out why? There is absolutely no shame in just quitting. Sometimes we need to remove ourselves from it and have a think about how best to approach it next time as opposed to digging ourselves deeper and deeper without pausing for thought.

🐾Video.

Where possible do set up a video to record your session. It may be that the session never sees the light of day and certainly is never shown to a third party! However videoing your sessions helps so much with learning. Every time I video a session I can see little areas where I need to improve. None of us particularly like seeing ourselves on video....get over it because the benefits are huge!

❤and one final tip .....training your dogs should be fun, it should be productive and it should be time well spent. However life is not perfect and your training sessions will not always be either. Don't sweat it. If things do not go according to plan just down tools and go for a walk instead. There is always another day tomorrow

Fabulous pic by kind permission of Brian McGovern

04/09/2024

For anyone’s dog that are worried by fireworks here is the list of local events this year

31/08/2024

Thank you bonnie active_animal_dog_training for creating this. Made me smile x

25/08/2024

For everyone training this week.

Road closure - by the new development /world of water so you won’t be able to get up Ershsm rd to Saltmarsh lane. This means access only through hailsham via A27/A22. I will message you all on the whatsapp too.

12/08/2024

No classes this evening it’s going to be far too hot. 🥵. Keep your dogs in the shade and cool. Walk very early or late but it doesn’t matter if your dogs miss a walk for one day in fact they will thank you for it.

28/07/2024

So proud to be one of the three best rated again. ❤️❤️

11/07/2024

I talk about this a lot. It’s good to understand.

ANTHROPOMORPHISM

THE GOOD / THE BAD AND WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE

This hard to pronounce and complicated sounding word – (anth-ro-po-morph-ism), means assigning human qualities, characteristics, emotions, feelings or motivations to our dogs (a non-human entity).

Advancements in canine neuroscience have revealed remarkable similarities between human and canine brain function, particularly in areas related to emotional processing.
This has given us far more understanding of canine cognition and emotion.

Although this is a great thing, it’s so important not to take anthropomorphism too far by assuming that our dogs experience emotions in exactly the same way that we do.

Dogs experience a similar range of emotions that would be seen in a 2 to 2 ½ year old child but are currently not thought to feel more complex emotions like guilt, shame, remorse, spite, pride or contempt.

Here is a link to a graphic that shows where a dog’s emotions are thought to stop in relation to the age of a child - bit.ly/canineemotions

Here are some examples of taking anthropomorphism too far:

“My dog knows exactly what he’s done – look how guilty he looks! No, your dog is reacting to your body language, tone of voice or remembers your previous reaction – this is fear, he is trying to appease you, calm you down, diffuse the situation.

“My dog chewed the couch just to get back at me for not taking him for a walk “ - No, your dog was probably bored, frustrated, lonely, had separation distress and was looking for a way to self-sooth or entertain himself.

“My dog pees inside just to spite me” – No, there could be a host of reasons, but spite is not one of them.

“My dog is just so stubborn” – No, find what is motivating, rewarding for your dog, are there too many distractions?

“Look at how proud my dog looks for winning the competition, graduating from a class, after being groomed etc” - No, your dog is reacting to your emotional state.

Instead of assuming that your dog is feeling “adult human emotions”, learn about body language and notice the context of the behaviour. This will provide a far more accurate idea of how dogs are really feeling.

Anthropomorphism is an essential tool in recognising a dog’s emotional state and allows us to have compassion, empathy, understanding and connection, but taking it too far is detrimental and undermines relationship.

02/07/2024

Saltmarsh lane closed 2/7 and 3/7 it seems. If you come this way you will need to divert through Hailsham or Rickney to get to the barn for classes

25/06/2024

The usual annual reminder which we all know but still we see some people with the ball chucker letting their dogs run and run. Heat stroke is very serious. Please be careful. Don’t forget they’ve got a fur coat on.

20/06/2024

😃😃. Don’t forget it’s their walk

28/05/2024

👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

22/05/2024

Treat cupboard is restocked 😝😝

19/05/2024

Just been given a 10% discount code if anyone wants to use it

Makers of the finest air-dried dog food and treats, handcrafted in Yorkshire.

14/11/2023

Hi all due to a power outage at the barn and surrounding area there is no classes tonight. 🥲🥲

06/11/2023

This is so true