Heath Pups Dog Training

03/04/2024

26/03/2024

Hi, I’m Hannah.

I am a proud dog trainer using totally force free, scientific, ethical and evidence based methods to train dogs!

I also ensure my education is up to date and backed by science based evidence.

I belong to the Institute of Modern Dog Trainers (The IMDT), an organisation of accredited trainers.

I believe in keeping dogs and their owners safe by building confidence, whilst ensuring all parties are happy (dog included!)

Please get in touch if you have any questions for me about dog training, or share this post with someone else who think might.

📷 photo of lovely client Skye learning to settle around distractions.

18/03/2024

Hi, I’m Hannah. I am a proud dog trainer using totally force free, scientific, ethical and evidence based methods to train dogs!
I also ensure my education is up to date and backed by science based evidence.
I belong to the Institute of Modern Dog Trainers (The IMDT), an organisation of accredited trainers.
I believe in keeping dogs and their owners safe by building confidence, whilst ensuring all parties are happy (dog included!)
Please get in touch if you have any questions for me about dog training, or share this post with someone else who you think might.

📷 photo of lovely client Skye learning to settle around distractions.

09/03/2024

I had the very first set of mats that came out from LickiMat and I have been promoting them ever since...

However, since the company has decided to promote a well-known abusive, unqualified dog trainer, I will no longer be promoting or buying their products.

As a company who makes items directed at improving dogs lives, it's disappointing to see them promoting someone who makes profit off of compromising dog's welfare.

Lickimat, ZeeDog, Bully Billows and We Feed Raw - do better for dogs.

05/03/2024

Honestly makes me so mad watching videos like this! I can tell you first hand that “letting them cry” really does not work!

22/11/2023

A few weeks ago we posted regarding the muzzle training clinics registered veterinary nurse and fear free practitioner, Lily would be offering our bull breed patients.

We are delighted to report that the clinics have been really popular and Lily has been meeting lots of lovely XL Bullys and their parents along with some other bull cross breeds who have decided to muzzle train.

The beautiful model in our picture is very sweet Nessa who is enjoying a little squeezy, cheesy treat whilst she gets used to the feel of a muzzle. Nessa is not an XL Bully but a Bully cross. For the moment and for peace of mind, her Mum has decided to muzzle train her.

The type of muzzle you can see in this picture is a Baskerville Ultra and these are the muzzles of choice for bull breeds due to their broad fit. Panting and feeling comfortable is absolutely vital to any dog who wears a muzzle and Nessa will be able to pant and also drink or eat snacks whilst wearing it.

What a super star she and her Mum are!

A quick reminder of what we are offering

A 20% discount on these sessions to any dogs of a 'bully' type breed.

They will include the following.

- Helping to find a suitable muzzle that fits appropriately and teaching your dog to wear a muzzle without being afraid

- Professional advice on neutering and answering any questions regarding the exemption process

Even if your dog is not an XL bully breed it is always useful to muzzle train to prepare in case your dog ever needs a muzzle on. A muzzle does not mean your dog is aggressive but sometimes the only way a dog can express pain or fear is to snap. It is a far more stressful ordeal if your dog has to have a muzzle placed when it has never had one before as they try and pull it off and can panic, which can cause further stress.

These special clinics will initially be performed by our registered veterinary nurse and fear free practitioner Lily. Lily will aim to travel between clinics but is also possible that you may be required to travel to another site which isn't your usual clinic. Lily is extremely passionate about supporting this breed type and will be providing training to the rest of our nursing team to ensure that over time you can attend your preferred clinic.

If you would like to book in, please either call your local branch or email Lily directly at [email protected]

18/10/2023

Absolutely love this

08/06/2023

05/06/2023

I often feel that the adolescent stage in a dog’s life is overlooked, while on the other hand there is a lot of information out there about puppies; some really good stuff, some not so good.

People often do a lot of research about how to care for their new puppy, but many people are shocked by behaviours that emerge once the puppy stage is over. Many surveys show that during this period of a dog’s life they are at the highest risk of being surrendered to a shelter.

I personally receive a lot of phone calls about dogs at this age. The puppy that was walking beautifully on the lead, staying close by their guardian’s side on walks, has all of a sudden started to pull like a train, running off and going deaf when called. Puppy biting is to be expected, but it gets harder when those bites are from an adolescent, especially with big breeds. They can now reach counter tops, their jumping up has stopped being cute and instead of everyone stopping to say how adorable your pup is, they are now shouting at you because your over -excited dog is scaring theirs and hasn't quite learnt how to read other dog’s communication properly yet.

This is not a 'how to' on adolescent dogs, but a few things that may help. As always, if you are really struggling, seek support from a force free professional.

Things to consider:

1. The behaviours they are presenting are often very normal! It can be really tough, but try to remember they are not being naughty, they are being dogs. Finding appropriate outlets for their normal dog behaviours is key.

2. Adolescence can occur at different ages depending on breed and also the individual dog. Many two year olds are still going through this stage.

3. Your dog is not just going through massive hormonal changes but changes in their brain too. Quick castration to reduce these hormonal changes can be damaging and often make situations worse. It's no different to a child becoming a teenager, apart from a teenager is usually a lot harder to deal with and the adolescent stage lasts a lot longer in humans.

4. Just because teething is nearing its end does not mean they don’t need to chew. Chewing is a large part of being a dog. Teething also lasts a lot longer than many think. With some dogs still suffering at 8-9months. Not all dogs love to chew the same things. Try different things to see what they enjoy.

5. Sleep patterns change. They will need less sleep and sometimes struggle to settle at night. In this case use lots of enrichment. This can include toys such as Kongs, Licki Matts, scatter feeding, and Snuffle Matts. Also have enriching walks; slow down, let them sniff, and encourage foraging. Running around like a loon isn't the answer and will only tire them physically, leaving you with a frustrated brain and an exhausted body which is a recipe for frantic, hyperactive and frustrated behaviours.

6. It is common for dogs at this age to have spurts of energy around late afternoon and evening. This can be difficult - I've known lots of dogs to start biting and pulling at their humans at this time. Try to initiate some level of interaction. Pre-empt this time. If you know they go a bit crazy at 5PM take them on a sniffy walk at 4.45pm. Do some scent work in the garden or around the house. Give them a frozen Kong or a raw bone. Make sure they have an outlet for their energy and frustration.

7. Adolescent dogs can have little spurts of fearful periods. It's common for them to sometimes feel overwhelmed by things they appeared to be OK with before. Let them explore at their own pace. Support them, be patient and don’t push them into situations they are struggling with.

8. Don’t stop telling your puppy they are amazing. It's easy to ignore the perfect pup walking by your side. It's easy not to notice the little glances back at you on walks. Don’t just notice the bad behaviours, do a happy dance and have a party every time they get it right. This will make them want to continue these behaviours when they reach adolescence.

9. Your dog’s behaviour will be somewhat of a yo yo. Seemingly forgetting everything they have learnt one day and being an angel the next. Keep at it, it's normal.

At this age they are finding out who they are in the world. They are exploring, finding out what works for them and what doesn't. Remember how it felt to be a teenager; the confusion, the change in how you thought as a child and then started thinking like an adult, the emotions flooding over you, the feeling of being out of control. Our dogs probably experience adolescent life in a very similar way.

They may appear to be over the top, stubborn, obnoxious pains in the arses, but they are struggling too! They need patience, support, consistency and outlets for their normal species - specific behaviours. Try to ride the storm with them, not against them. It will be worth all the hard work, I promise

17/11/2022

I think these photos sum up our week at 🌧️ ☔️

26/10/2022

We launched an investigation into the conduct of the makers and sellers of popular shock collar products for dogs, including PetSafe, Invisible Fense, SportDog, and PremierPet.

13/10/2022

Autumn is my FAVOURITE time of year🍂

Here’s the lovely Fern in the woods doing so gun dog training today with dummies

Amazing recall today even on the scent trail of a pack of deer 🦌

28/06/2022

Muzzle training is one of the most important things you can teach your dogs!

23/06/2022

Doggy Day Care for Basils cousin Hector.

Don’t be fooled by their cuteness 😈

22/06/2022

20/06/2022

Everybody meet Barney 🥰

I was contacted by team Barney back in November with suspected separation anxiety, reactivity towards dogs and humans (mostly men, but women too occasionally).

After so much hard-work, a few tears and some serious dedication from team Barney, it fills me with so much joy to be able to share photos like these with you all!

Not only is Barney off lead with my crazy, bounced Weimaraner Basil, but he’s also happy and comfortable around my partner James, plus multiple other dogs and people that were also passing!

Amazing work Team Barney! 🐶

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17/06/2022

We want to make training and asking our dogs for mutually compatible behaviours as fun and enjoyable as possible.

This doesn’t change the fact that we are asking our dogs to work for us. To do something they might not naturally choose to do.

Just like our dogs, we know our motivation would drop without payment, and we would stop showing up. Most importantly we would loose respect for our boss, not gain it.

04/06/2022

LOOK AT THIS RECALL 😍

I love receiving update videos like this from my clients.

Team Cooper have been working really hard on their recall over the last few months, and they are getting some superb results!

Cooper has always struggled to listen to his owners when out in exciting environments.

So the biggest challenge has been finding something that motivates Cooper as food doesn’t cut it when there are loads of distractions around.

The Rabbit fur tug toy paired with a whistle is definitely a winner 🤩
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16/05/2022

Currently training not 1, not 2 BUT 3 French bulldog puppies! 🐶 🤪

06/05/2022

Love this!!!

This is what the door of my freezer looks like. I have 4 dogs. They have about 35 rubber toys between them.
And none of them is a puppy ... they are 2, 4, 7 and 9 years old.
Dogs of ALL AGES benefit from chewing. I cannot say this often enough. It is incredibly relaxing for them.
Have a stressed and anxious dog? Let them chew.
Have an overexcited, hyperactive dog? Let them chew.
Have a dog who is bouncing off the walls when you get home after a long day and just want to relax? Give them a frozen chew toy when you arrive!
Have a puppy? Of course, you should let them chew as well 🙂
Your dog needs to eat every day in any case … instead of putting his food a bowl, stuff it into a rubber chew toy and freeze it.
It is so easy, so quick, and if you use it wisely it can make all the difference. For clients who are really struggling and have limited time, I often recommend to feed every single meal through frozen toys - often adding up to 1-2 hours of chew time a day.
The other week I saw a client whose dog was going crazy every morning watching workers at the business across the street arrive and load up for their day - giving her a frozen chew toy now has her relaxing instead of barking frantically.
Your dog already has the built-in calming mechanism of chewing. Use it to your advantage!
And a little video on how to fill the toys and which common mistakes to avoid:
https://vimeo.com/461971805/2cd78cffe3

Happy Chewing 🙂

What's your dog's favorite filling?

05/04/2022

Seeing posts from 'Rescues' who are promoting old fashioned, outdated methods and trainers and putting dogs in situations they should not be in is just too triggering for me at the moment.

The combination of anger and sadness is not healthy.

Environmental overload, figure 8 slip leads, corrections (yanks), scaring dogs by rattling cans of stones!!! WTF??

Studies show, that a mix of positive and punishment training increases anxiety. It makes us unpredictable.

The most important thing our rescue dogs need is PREDICTABILITY and to feel safe in order to build their confidence.

Rescues that promote such methods and trainers are FAILING the dogs that they are meant to be saving.

They are NOT offering proper rescue back-up.

If we truly love dogs - WE MUST DO BETTER.

🐾🐾❤🐾🐾❤🐾🐾

26/03/2022

I currently have space on both my lunchtime and afternoon group walks. I cover areas between Fishbourne and Southbourne and charge £12 for an hours walk. I started Muttleys Dog Walking and Training five years ago in May 🥳 and have loved walking with my little Muttley Crew. If you are looking for a dog walker and think your dog might like to join us please get in touch for more information

19/03/2022

This is a topic I feel it’s important to share and it’s not talked about enough. Reactive dog grief is that feeling of loss when you have a reactive dog. That moment you realise that your dog is different and gone are those romanticised walks in the parks. It hurts, it’s tough, and many of us would be lying if didn’t admit that at times, we even resent the dogs we love so much, because of the limitations they have imposed on us.

Shock / Denial

As dog owners we’re often outgoing people. We have a dog to share our life with, to go out on long walks, have picnics in the park and pub lunches. Some of us have an idea of the life we want for our dog when they’re a puppy or before the puppy is even born. Our next dog will come everywhere, let’s take them on holidays, they’re going to be an agility dog etc.
Then as they start to grow, we see a few early warning signs that most of us pass off as ‘puppy behaviour’ it’ll pass. Then it becomes ‘well they’re a teenager; it’s hormones’ but there’s a voice in our heads that knows it’s far more that that; yet we deny it. My dog isn’t aggressive, my dog isn’t ‘one of those’, my dog would never bite, my dog doesn’t need a muzzle people will think they’re nasty…but were often fooling ourselves.
Anger / Frustration

Then comes the anger / frustration as it gets worse not better. “Why can’t you be like a ‘normal’ dog / our last dog.”, or that Disney idea of the ‘family dog’.
Our frustration can take us to quick fixes that often make the problem worse, or we start to hide from the world and become the antisocial dog walker, up at 5am to walk the dog and 11 pm, no lunchtime or afternoon park walks for us. We start to bargain with how reactive they are. They’re not aggressive just ‘grumpy’, or ‘sorry she’s a bit unpredictable’. We feel guilty, have we caused this?
Bargaining / Guilt

They say “There’s no bad dogs; only bad owners” we tried so hard where did we go wrong?
Often you didn’t this guilt is misplaced, it’s not you, sometimes it really is your dog. They could have underlying medical condition, developmental problem, or even poor genetics. Sure, there’s always things you could have done differently, but often even with the best knowledge some dogs are just born this way.
Experimenting
In this stage you may have found help, someone who’s positive and force free and is helping you rehabilitate your dog and explaining the underlying emotions that are helping to drive your dog’s behaviour. But there’s no quick fix, and the light at the end of the tunnel seems so far away.

Depression / I can’t do this
We start to feel depressed, we hide, we avoid conversations on a walk as our dogs won’t allow us to get close to others. We dread the ‘friendly’ dogs that come charging across the field as we panic thinking am I going to have to deal with a dog fight, what do I do? What if my dog gets injured or they injure another dog? We start to lose hope, this is it, it’s who they are. I can’t do this, the training isn’t working, it’s not progressing fast enough.

Moving on / finding new approaches
Then we look at our dogs and we see that spark of hope, they calmed down quicker, their reactivity was less intense, there’s hope. You start to really take on the advice and work out your distances, prepare your walks like a military operation, muzzles, treats and toys at the ready. This is your dog, they’re special and you have a bond now that very few can understand. You work as a team now; you’ve accepted this is who they are, and they struggle in many situations but having you with them helps. They gradually feel safer with you and become less reactive, you find new hobbies, scent games, and other activities on a walk. You often feel like you take two steps forward and one step back…but you keep going.

Living with and rehabilitating a reactive dog is tough, it’s isolating, but you’re not alone. They’re with you and there’s so many others who are alone but with you on this journey.

Acceptance

https://controlthemeerkat.com/reactive-dog-grief/02/