Canine Connections Dog Training

15/07/2025

Day 15 of our 10 year anniversary celebration 🎉

But this was no celebration! This was a scary time for everyone and I can't believe it was 5 years ago!

We actually made the decision to close before the official lockdown announcement but that was only days later.

Whilst it's not a time we want to remember that fondly it was a significant milestone for the business because it triggered a lot of changes 😳

Covid-19 update

After much deliberation and discussion with colleagues, we have made the incredibly difficult decision to close all our current face to face services:

This includes: Group dog walks, Individual walks, 1-2-1 training, Training walks, Adventure Walks and Dog Training Classes.

The health and well-being of our clients, staff and volunteers is more important than keeping our business open.

The support we have received from our customers during the last few weeks has been amazing and we can’t thank you enough.

We will be moving some of our training services online and we will continue to support our customers through our page and Comunity Group.

Stay safe and well everyone and we hope to see your lovely dogs soon.

Canine Connections Team

14/07/2025

Member Spotlight: Lisa Slater (Lee) – Canine Connections Herts
Based in East Hertfordshire | www.canineconnectionsherts.co.uk

Lisa runs a brilliant range of training classes including Puppy Classes, Recreational Agility, Fun Gundog Training, and the Good Companion Awards — all designed to strengthen the bond between dogs and their people while keeping learning fun and engaging.

Not just a dog trainer, Lisa also has experience clicker training horses — and once appeared on TV with a clever pony named Stinky, who she trained to retrieve a ringing mobile phone!

With a creative, positive approach to training, Lisa brings out the best in both dogs and handlers.

14/07/2025

Day 14 of our 10 year anniversary celebration 🎉

Social Training Walks - I loved doing these! Such a great way to build confidence around other dogs and proof training. Again it's another service I've thought about reintroducing. These were only for dogs that had already trained with us...

13/07/2025

Day 13 of our 10 year anniversary celebration 🎉

When I launched our Adventure Walks. These were 2 hour walks with a small group of dogs that incorporated a bit of training, fun games and new environments.

I loved doing these and have considered doing them again 🤔🤔

We are excited to announce the launch of a new service - Adventure Walks!

Is your dog lacking stimulation during the week? Do they need more than just a normal walk? Does their training need a little brushing up? If the answer is yes then why not book them on an Adventure walk once a week.

An Adventure Walk is a 2 hour walk for your dog in a small group (max 4 dogs) with a qualified trainer. But not just any walk. We will include: recall training, scent work, trick training, impulse control and loads of stimulation. All for only £25 per dog. Dogs will be collected and dropped off as per our normal Ts & Cs.

For sociable dogs over the age of 12 months.

Initially these will take place on a Wednesday lunchtime with possibly more days being added at a later date.

Spaces are on a first come, first served basis and need to be booked a week in advance with payment upfront.

Our first walk will be on Wednesday 24th April. Message us now to find out more.

12/07/2025

Well done to our Saturday puppy class who got up super early this morning to complete their course with Gemma 👏👏👏

12/07/2025

Day 12 of our 10 year anniversary celebration!

When Sadie joined the team and we expanded our dog walking services. This also allowed me to focus more on the dog training side of my business.

We are excited to announce that we have a new member of the team joining us in May this year - Sadie Murphy.

Sadie has been running her own dog walking and pet sitting business since the middle of last year, but has always had a keen interest in animals and working with them. She has also volunteered with the Dogs Trust helping with their training classes for all dogs including rescues and puppies, where she has gained a lot of knowledge on caring for and training dogs. Sadie will also be helping out at our dog training classes to gain more experience. She is DBS checked and fully insured but will also be covered by Canine Connections employer liability insurance.

All bookings and invoices will still be managed by Canine Connections.

Please join us in welcoming Sadie to the team :)

11/07/2025

Day 11 of our 10 year anniversary celebration 🎉

Our first agility classes!!

I've always loved agility. The original Ruby was my first agility dog. She was fast, bold and brave and loved it!

I then trained with Murphy to build his confidence as he was an anxious dog and it did wonders for him.

I raised Gimli to be an agility dog and planned to compete him before he sadly passed away so young. And I got Henry to competition level before I had to retire him early due to possible physical issues.

Since running that first class I've seen how this sport can help dogs grow in confidence, how it can help build amazing bonds with dogs and humans and I've loved seeing people have so much fun with their dogs.

For me it's never really been about competing but it's about providing safe and structured training and having fun at the same time without the pressure of a competition club.

All our equipment is now KC approved and I'm also a qualified Agility 1st instructor.

11/07/2025

Please be careful of outdated advise on social media about how do deal with heatstroke in dogs like don't use cold water to cool them, just get their paws wet, use towels etc. You absolutely should immerse them in cold water if fit and healthy or pour cold water over them
continuously. The key is to get their body temperature down as quickly as possible and then straight to the vets.

We've been doing it with horses and humans for years and it's the same for dogs.

Recent research by Vet Compass and the The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) showed correlation between human heat warning and heat stroke cases.

Yellow heat health alerts are now in force with temperatures expected to hit 34C (93F) in parts of the UK this weekend.

Is it true that if we use cold water on heat stroke pets they will go into shock?

One of the most common things we still hear is that we can only use tepid water on a pet with heat stroke, incase they get some complications like hypothermic overshoot, peripheral vasoconstriction hindering a cooling response, and cardiogenic shock...

We have heard not to use cold water in case it causes shock... this rarely happens!

But guess what? In a recent study over 26% of dogs presented with heat stroke died, with flat faced breeds making up nearly half of heat stroke cases seen in the study.

You should:

💧Get someone to call the local veterinary practice and tell them you're going to travel down with a heat stroke patient
💧Pour, hose or if safe immerse the pet in very cold water (this should obviously be done under constant supervision, ensuring the head is fully above water and immersion should not be attempted if the animal is too large, or you are unable to do so without hurting yourself)
💧NB: If using a hose pipe, make sure it has run through until cold, as they can often contain water that is extremely hot in the tubing initially
💧Do not drape in towels and leave them in situ. Keep the cold water flowing.
💧Move to a cool, shaded area
💧Prepare to transport to vets in a cold, air conditioned car

In studies they found that:

🌅International consensus from sports medicine organisations supports treating EHS with early rapid cooling by immersing the casualty in cold water.
🌅Ice-water immersion has been shown to be highly effective in exertional heat stroke, with a zero fatality rate in large case series of younger, fit patients.
🌅Hyperthermic individuals were cooled twice as fast by Cold Water Immersion as by passive recovery.
🌅No complications occurred during the treatment of three older patients with severe heat stroke were treated with cold‐water immersion.
🌅Cold water immersion (CWI) is the preferred cooling modality in EHS guidelines and the optimal method applicable to UK Service Personnel
🌅Studies suggest using either ice-water or cold-water immersion

The best intervention is PREVENTION, but if you find yourself with an animal with heat stroke, using cold water either by pouring, hosing or ideally (if safe) immersion then this may help reduce their temperature to safe levels while you transport to a veterinary practice.

Read more below with updates from Hot Dogs - canine heatstroke education for dog owners

https://www.vetvoices.co.uk/post/cool-icy-cold-or-tepid

10/07/2025

🏆COMPETITION TIME🏆

🎉 CELEBRATE WITH US – WIN A BUNDLE OF TRAINING TREATS! 🎉

We’re celebrating 10 years of creating incredible partnerships at Canine Connections Dog Training – and we want YOU to join the fun!

To thank you for your support, we’re giving away an awesome prize pack to one lucky dog & their human, including:

🐾 A Fauxtastic PowerBall Bungee Toy from Tug-e-Nuff
🐾 A clicker
🐾 A £25 gift voucher for Canine Connections – to spend on training sessions or online courses.
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🏆 HOW TO ENTER:

1. Post a photo of your dog training with us – past or present!
2. Like and share this post to spread the word 🐶
3. Comment your photo below this post
4. Ask your friends to like your comment – the photo with the MOST LIKES WINS!

📅 Entries close Friday 25th July.
🏅 Winner announced the next day!
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Whether it’s a sit, a heel, a retrieve, jump or just a happy face during training – we want to see it!

Help us celebrate 10 years of connection, confidence & canine fun 💙

📸 Ready, set, POST!

10/07/2025

Day 10 of our 10 year anniversary celebration 🎉

Another big milestone for the business when we finally secured a dedicated venue for our training classes at Digswell Nurseries in Welwyn Garden City.

This was a superb venue with an enclosed field, large poly tunnel for winter training, on site coffee shop and a toilet!

Sadly we lost this venue just after the first lockdown but we had such fun training there 🐾🐾

09/07/2025

Highly recommend this course for any dog owners, dog walkers, dog trainers, dog groomers etc.

You never know when it might come in handy. I'm doing it again as a refresher 😀

REMINDER! If anyone else would like to attend, please let me know asap as I’ll soon be needing to request payment. This will be a very informative day so please don’t miss the chance to attend if you can.

Those signed up to attend, I’ll contact you all shortly. 👍🏼👍🏼

🚨🏥 Our Canine first aid course is now booked with Canine First Aid Workshops - UK - Rachel Bean RVN Sunday 10th August at Datchworth Village Hall.

This Course is taught by Qualified Veterinary Nurse Rachel Bean RVN

Not your average Canine First Aid Course, its very comprehensive, interactive, emotional and thought provoking.

Sunday 10th August 9.30am to 4.30pm/5pm

You can attend without gaining the Level 3 Qualification, this is *£70 per person (course content is exactly the same).

The OFQUAL Level 3 Qualification is £150pp

The Workshop is 7 hours approximately

iPET Network are proud to have developed the ONLY regulated Qualification in Canine Emergency First Aid in the Canine and Feline Sector

The qualification is an excellent balance of theoretical and practical learning to ensure Candidates have the knowledge required should they ever be faced with an emergency first aid situational.

*£70 will be what most will be doing but if you specifically need the OFQUAL level 3 qualification please let me know.

Monies will need to be paid in full approximately 3-4 weeks in advance.

In order for me to keep a track on the attendees please email me on [email protected] to confirm your place as soon as possible.

I cannot stress the importance of this course enough - you just never know when you may need it for your own dog or by being able to help someone else with theirs.

🐾🩹⛑️