Little Tia celebrates her 17th birthday today!! Massive happy birthday to our gorgeous and crazy little lady 🎈 🎂
This pup pulls like a train when he is in the car park! He flattens himself and pulls so hard to get home.
On the walk, we watched his body language closely, we stopped when necessary to help him calm down, and we rewarded all his loose lead moments. In the car park, we gave him a fun sniffing game to play. This really helped him relax and he interacted and responded so well to his mum after this. Great work x
I get it - dogs can drive you mad at times!! I have worked with so many people ready to give up on their dog or whose relationship is on the rocks owing to the dog's behaviour. If this sounds like you and you want some help, please get in touch!
This adolescent has been testing his owners' patience and they felt that no matter what they did, they could not stop his unwanted behaviours. He jumps up, nips at people, bites on RNG lead, does not respond to cues reliably, and never lies down. As a result, he was spending too much time in his crate which was upsetting for his owners as they wanted him to chill with them in the living room.
What we discussed: adolescence, demand behaviours, body language, positive reinforcement, creating new habits, meeting his needs, and being consistent and fair.
We made progress in the session and his mum carried on after I had left. She was so happy to finally see him lying down, relaxed, on his bed! 🥰
Play and exploration are a huge part of your puppy's development. Building confidence, encouraging problem solving, teaching appropriate behaviour, increasing the dog/human bond, using physical and mental energy, and providing an outlet for emotions.. these are just some of the benefits!
Provide your pup with toys suitable for their age, needs, and their preferences. Pups benefit from lots of different textures and long toys (to keep human flesh safe from piranha teeth!) Many gundogs enjoy toys that they can carry, terriers enjoy toys they can chase and tug games, some dogs love to chew.
I use loads of puzzle toys at home with Tia. We love the Kong Gyro, Spiral, our snufflemat (from Walkie Mountain Toys), Pupstrami, and loads of others, tbh! Tia also loves sniffing out treats. I hide little treats all around the garden and indoors and she will spend ages searching them out. When your dog is good at sniffing out treats, make it a little harder by hiding them at different heights, under pots, in rolled up towels, or even squashed toilet roll tubes.
Most importantly - have fun!!!
One of the wee fox cubs was in the garden today. Had a sniff around then did some sun bathing before being spooked by a noisy seagull!
🐾 Master Loose Lead Walking with Your Pup! 🐾 🐶
Are you struggling with your dog pulling on the lead? I am a qualified Guide Dog Trainer and I can help you get back on track.
Loose lead walking can make walks enjoyable for both you and your dog. It also helps to reduce stress levels in dogs who are anxious or have low confidence. Here are some tips to get started:
1. Use Positive Reinforcement: (as if I would say anything else!!) Reward your dog with treats or praise whenever they walk beside you without pulling.
2. Be Consistent: Practice at home, in your garden, and in low distraction environments. Keep sessions short and fun. Show up! Train your dog daily. Consistency is key!
3. Be Fair: It is unlikely that your dog will be able to walk on a loose lead for an entire walk if he has practiced pulling on the lead for months or even years. Train for a few minutes and then give your dog time to sniff on a longer lead, then go back to training. This helps to keep stress levels down.
4. Use the Right Equipment: A well fitting harness (eg Perfect Fit) and a lead of at least 6 feet in length (I use an 8 foot lead for my wee terrier) usually work well. Oh, and a well stocked treat pouch and a toy.
Work on engagement with your dog, work on rewarding the behaviours you like, practise in environments that allow your dog to be successful, and work on your own lead skills: do NOT to pull or tug on the lead, allow as much length of lead as the environment safely allows, and learn to move with your dog.
If you would like support with your dog's walking skills, DM me! Tell me all about your dog and I will tell you how I can help 😊
Last session for now with this fabulous boy. We have worked on engagement, lead walking, recall, and barking. He really is such a sweet boy and his family now has lots of skills to keep practicing and a better understanding of his body language and emotions.
Well done, Team!!
Foxes! This one is always hanging around in the same place but we actually have so many in our area at the moment, including a number of cubs. I have no problem with them - I actually like seeing them and all the squirrels that are dropping by the garden! But....the foxes in the garden are concerning me a little. The other evening, I let Tia out for a pee and a sniff and while she was out, three foxes came into the bottom of the garden! They were following paths that they use regularly. They saw Tia and didn't seem too bothered by her, even when she barked at them 'get out my garden!' Instead of leaving, they stood and watched her until I moved closer to them. I am a little worried! Are they likely to mess with her if she gets too close or if they see an opportunity? We have a rule now that Tia is not left unsupervised in the garden after 5pm which is when they start appearing, but has anyone had an issue with their little dog being attacked by a fox??
This gorgeous boy is displaying some concerning behaviours. He refuses his food, he refuses walks, he is reactive to lots of triggers, and generally acts withdrawn. I am working with another behaviourist (two heads are better than one!) to help him and his wonderful family 💕 He has digestive disorders, allergies and we suspect some other conditions that will need to be correctly diagnosed by a team of specialist vets.
Once we know more, we can put together a solid behaviour modification plan. For now, we are responding to his needs and taking the pressure off him to reduce as much stress as we can.
#lovethisboy❤️
Do you take your dog's emotions into consideration when you are training? This wee one can struggle to focus so we started with a simple FOLLOW ME exercise.
You can see that she wanted to follow mum but her body language is showing signs of low confidence and anxiety. She slows down, looks around her, looks a bit worried. If we carry on, we are setting her up to fail. We quickly found that the lead dragging behind her was the issue.
So, we moved on to the grass, temporarily removed the lead, and what a difference. A much happier , much more responsive wee girl. Sometimes, it just takes a small change to make a big difference to your training.
Feedback after our first session 😊 Sessions can sometimes be slow burners with not much to see...and this was one of those times! This wee dog needed a lot of time and space to feel confident in his environment. By taking the pressure off him, he turned a huge corner!! These amazing clients took everything on board, changing their approach and training style, and showed the little guy so much patience.
So proud of you all! 🥰
We focus a lot on teaching skills but it's also really important to teach your dog to do nothing 🥰 Just sit quietly and take it all in. I am so proud of how far this amazing little girl has come. From reactive and worried to navigating busy streets and now chilling out while mum enjoys a coffee 🥰
If you have an excitable greeter you have to work on a few things:
•Management to prevent rehearsal of jumping up on people
•Refining your own skills so that you are not tugging on the lead or shouting 'OFF, DOWN, NO' at your dog
•Teaching an alternative skill. In this case, we chose TOUCH.
•Practise individual skills until reliable (fast response to dog's name, touch, wait)
•Practising over and over in controlled exercises that set your dog up for success.
It is completely normal for your dog to follow you around. After all, you might be heading to the fridge or going to get their harness and lead! Dogs are social animals and are inquisitive. Wandering around and seeing what you are up to is not a problem. However, if your dog follows you everywhere and cries, barks, scratches or jumps at the door if you close it behind you...then we may be dealing with some anxiety issues.
If your dog is unable to settle unless you are right there with them, then you should definitely drop me a note!
If you are concerned that your dog is hyper-attached to you or someone else, get in touch to find out more about separation anxiety training.
I only use positive, ethical and scientifically proven training methods.
Puppy Training!
If you are a first time puppy guardian or it has been a while, you may not be aware of how training methods have progressed. There have been countless scientific studies carried out looking at how dogs learn, the most effective and kindest ways to teach dogs, how to understand their body language and meet their needs. So much has changed even from when I first started training 😅 That's why I am always learning and continuing my studies to keep up to date and to offer the best service I can for you and your pup.
If you would like to get in touch about 1-2-1 puppy training with ongoing support, please message me.
How cute is this! Coming home late this evening and the wee fox cubs were out exploring! 💞
We have so many foxes around our neighbourhood that Tia barely bats an eyelid at them anymore!
Is your dog suffering from Separation Anxiety?
Are you cancelling meeting up with friends because your dog cannot cope with being alone?
Obvious signs of SA include: excessive barking and whining, panting, yawning and lip licking, trembling and pacing, causing destruction to the environment, self harm, toileting, excessive drooling or vomiting.
Please know that these behaviours are your dog's way of coping with a very stressful and frightening situation. Shouting at your dog or pleading with them to stop barking is not going to work.
To help your dog, we use desensitisation. We set up controlled exercises and we carefully monitor your dog's progress at each step.
Training is remote so it does not matter where you live, I can help.
To find out more, please visit my webpage https://dogcoachglasgow.com/
Do you have 2 dogs to train? It can certainly be a lot easier to train one at a time. This family welcomed their new pup the night before I arrived so we left the pup to settle in and explore his new surroundings. He is doing great and showing lovely levels of confidence.
We worked with the family's first dog who is in his adolescent period and, typically, testing boundaries. We went back to basics and are focusing on making training fun!
Reminder... don't forget to consider the emotions of other dogs in the environment when you are out training. If a dog (or owner) looks as though they are struggling, please give them lots of space!!
