Canine Connections Dog Training

14/10/2025

🐾 Beginner Life skills Class – For Older Puppies & Adult Dogs! 🐾

Suitable for puppies who have completed our Puppy Foundation Class or any dog over 6 months who has had little or no previous training.

We’ll cover:
✨ Building connection & engagement
✨ Loose lead walking / heelwork
✨ Reliable recall (even with distractions!)
✨ Impulse control & calmness
✨ Core positions: Sit, Down, Stand & Middle
✨ Fun tricks to boost focus
✨ Settle training for relaxation

Our classes also work towards the APDT Good Companion Awards – earn certificates 🏅 and rosettes 🎀 as you progress through each grade!

What’s included:
✅ Lifetime access to our Beginner Lifeskills Online Course
✅ Certificate & rosette for every grade passed
✅ Connect with other dog guardians via our class WhatsApp group
✅ Extra guides, links & info sheets
✅ Ongoing support from a qualified trainer via WhatsApp
✅ And so much more!

New class intake starts 1st November and we only have a couple of spaces left so book on now via the link below:

https://www.canineconnectionsherts.co.uk/classes/apdt-good-companion-awards-saturday/

04/10/2025

If you're not local to us and need a trainer then this is a good place to start.

I'm proud to be member of the APDT.

Looking for a dog trainer?
We know it can feel overwhelming — but with APDT you don’t need to worry. Every APDT Member has already been independently assessed to the highest standards of knowledge, skills, and ethics.

That means you can be confident your trainer uses kind, fair, and effective methods you can trust.

Qualified dog trainers
Professionally assessed
Ready to help you and your dog

Find your local trainer today: www.apdt.co.uk/apdt-dog-trainer

03/10/2025

Well said Spainel Aid 👏👏👏

This week, like most weeks, we have taken in a dog whose owner had sought help from someone who calls themselves a balanced trainer. Someone who uses aversive consequences as ‘corrections’ alongside positive reinforcement to ‘reward’ when working to change a dog’s behaviour.

Let us be absolutely clear: Spaniel Aid does not support or endorse any form of “balanced” training, or any use of aversive training methods or tools. When we are out and about in public places, we are increasingly seeing dogs wearing prong collars, choke leads or anti-bark collars. These tools are designed to change a dog’s behaviour by teaching them to avoid something painful or scary. In the short term, they may be effective in suppressing the unwanted behaviour, but they do nothing to change it for the better in the long term. Often, in order to keep suppressing the behaviour, the intensity with which the tool is used has to be increased, and that has a detrimental effect on the dog’s welfare. Overly controlling and aversive training methods don’t address the root cause of the problem behaviour, or change the way a dog feels about a perceived threat or attraction. All they do is change the response to it, leaving the dog feeling fearful, confused and uncomfortable. Because these negative emotions form part of the training process, the saddest consequence of using aversive techniques is the damage it can do to the relationship, and the loss of trust, between a dog and their human.

If you are struggling with your dog’s behaviour and you seek the help of a trainer, ask them if they use these methods to shut down the behaviour you want to stop. Then ask yourself if you really want to do that to your dog. At Spaniel Aid we see damaged dogs who need to learn to trust and rebuild their relationship with people after unethical training methods have been used, and our fosterers must cope with the behavioural fallout and often unpredictable reactivity that is frequently a result of the use aversive equipment and training techniques. In contrast, ethical training using positive reinforcement focuses on understanding why the dog is behaving how it is, encouraging long lasting behaviour change by setting the dog up to make good choices, and helping the dog to develop new neural pathways, all while building a trusting relationship with their handler. Reward based training results in a dog that feels happier, more relaxed and more self-confident, because they are being listened to and supported in learning at their own pace.

Spaniel Aid supports positive reinforcement training because evidence from multiple well regarded scientific studies shows it’s effective, because it doesn’t damage the dog’s emotional state, and because it’s kind and ethical. Please help us to fight the misinformation and the cruelty inherent in so many of the training practices currently being promoted and offered to owners. Ask questions of anyone you ask for training advice to find out what methods they use, and how they will teach you to support your dog in learning new skills and responses. If their answers don’t feel right in your heart, walk away - our dogs need us to be their advocates because their lives depend on us. Please stand against cruelty: Be another shoulder to the boulder and one day it will roll.

For telephone support: https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/get-help/behaviour-support-line
To find an in-person trainer/behaviourist: https://abtc.org.uk/ or https://www.imdt.uk.com/
For online support: https://fbdtas.com/

02/10/2025

****NEW CLASS SCHEDULE FOR NOVEMBER/DECEMBER****

Classes and 1-2-1 sessions to suit all ages and abilities and we are bringing back our very popular Training Walks!!

All bookable via our updated and refreshed website 😀😀

https://www.canineconnectionsherts.co.uk/

27/09/2025

Highly recommend Carly if you're looking for daycare 🐾🐾

19/09/2025

🐾🐾🐾PUPPY CLASSES🐾🐾🐾

Next start dates are Friday 3rd October or Saturday 1st November.

If you book on now you get access to our Puppy online course straight away giving you tips on how to prepare for the arrival of your new puppy, how to puppy proof your home and how to start training as soon as puppy arrives in the home and much, much more.

Click on the link below to find out more and book your space:

https://www.canineconnectionsherts.co.uk/classes/6-week-puppy-foundation-course/

18/09/2025

If you have a Gundog, whether they are working or not, it's so important to harness their hunting instinct rather than fight against it.

You might have heard the phrase: “those who hunt together, stay together”.

Students often come to us with similar stories… once their gundog’s nose is engaged, their ears turn off and they become “deaf”, too busy following scent.

You’ve worked on recall, you’ve practised focus, and yet their natural hunting drive seems to take over. Especially at this time of year, with the shoot season just on the horizon, when there is an increasing amount of game scent around.

It can feel frustrating, leaving you wondering if your gundog will ever truly listen or learn to work with you when it matters most.

But hunting isn’t just a behaviour for gundogs. It’s part of who they are. It’s what they were bred to do, and rather than trying to fight it, the key is learning to understand and harness it.

By teaching your gundog to hunt with you, not for themselves, we can tap into their instincts in a way that builds trust and teamwork. Which will leave you with a more focused, responsive, and happier dog who’s both mentally and physically fulfilled.

We've put together a blog to dive into the essential role hunting plays in your gundog’s life and how you can work together to channel their instincts in a positive way.

From breaking down the hunting chain to understanding how your dog uses scent and exploring breed-specific exercises, you’ll learn practical steps to help your dog become a confident and skilled hunting partner, whether they’re a pet or working gundog.

To read in full head to: https://clickergundog.co.uk/blogs/news/how-to-get-your-gundog-to-hunt-with-you