Just Pet Dogs - Training & Behaviour

22/09/2024

Recently had a discussion over training fees. And if fees for group classes are too expensive. I was quite surprised that someone thought £140 for a 7 week course was a bit steep bearing in mind they own a dog that they couldn't have purchased for less than £2K.
I was informed that there is a new training school nearby which charges £40 quid less. I asked how much that school's insurances cost? Dunno.
I asked how long the person had been training dogs for? A couple of years as opposed to almost 45.
I asked what training qualifications the person had? Oh, a 3 day course or an online one lasting 5 modules.
Did they attend professional government accredited courses in several different different disciplines over a combined length of about 2 years? No. OK.
Higher level academic qualifications awarded by a University? No, they've attended a couple of workshops though.
Teaching qualifications awarded by a university? No.
Coaching Certificates awarded by the Army and Royal Air Force? No.
What professional bodies do they belong to? None or one, at the lowest grade. Well, that's a start, at least.
The thing is when you book in with Cosford Dog Training you're not just paying for the hour. You're paying for all those things listed above that make the hour a good investment in the life of your dog and your development an a knowledgeable dog owner. If you don't value those things, you wouldn't enjoy our courses anyway.

06/09/2024

28/08/2024

Congratulations to Aloy (with Helen and Nikki) on passing both of her APDT GCA and her KC GCDS Puppy Awards last night. And to Diana and Suki on achieving their APDT GCA Intermediate Award. Well done, all!

31/07/2024

Congratulations to Gill on achieving the APDT GCA Foundation Award with Dexter. Well done!

24/07/2024

Congratulations to Melissa with May, who achieved their APDT GCA and KC GCDS Puppy Awards last night!

27/06/2024

A bit quicker this time...congratulations to Di with Marshal on completing his APDT GCA Improvers award this week.

24/06/2024

As always, slightly delayed but... Congratulations to Jayne and Jon in helping Duggie achieve his Puppy Awards for APDT GCA and KC GCDS.

23/05/2024

Congratulations to Hannah and Maisie on achieving their APDT GCA Improver Award this week. Well done!

13/05/2024

Only slightly delayed... congratulations to Rachel on helping Nelly achieve her puppy awards last week!

27/01/2024

Well, I tried to post these pictures last week but, for some unknown reason, they didn't upload! So, belated congratulations to last week's successful puppy passes, with everyone achieving both their APDT GCA and their KC GCDS Puppy Awards. Well done!

17/01/2024

Congratulations to Beth Lightowler and Beau on achieving their APDT GCA Improver Award last night. (Holding a tennis ball above the camera worked brilliantly!)

09/12/2023

Late as ever in sharing recent APDT GCA achievements, congrats to Clare and Quinn on achieving 'Improver' and to Lucy and Rose on achieving 'Foundation'.

11/11/2023

Hurrah! After my car being off the road for three months (it's a long and convoluted story), I'm finally mobile again and able to get classes started again. I've messaged everyone who was already in a class (see you next week) and I'm trying to schedule a new class start date for 6pm on Tuesday 28th November. That class is suitable for friendly dogs of any age that need some basic training. If you're looking for a fun and friendly class starting before Christmas, email me for info.

25/08/2023

ABTC Statement on Augusto Deoliveira’s dog handling practices.

02/08/2023

As always, I'm a bit slow at sharing award successes. Congratulations to those who successfully achieved their APDT GCA awards in recent weeks.

17/03/2023

Congratulations to Tuesday's successful puppy passes, all achieving both the KC GCDS and the shiny new APDT GCA puppy awards. Well done to Victoria with Milo, Libby & Ben with Wilf, Ella & James with Russo, and Abbie & Gail with Edwin. An outstanding group that caused me to have to rewrite my class plan!

10/03/2023

BRAIN UNDER CONSTRUCTION!
The challenges of teenage dogs
There’s a saying that parents who have gone through the teenage years with their off spring will relate to - “Parents with teenagers understand why some animals eat their young!”

Many dog owners are unaware that dogs also go through a teenage stage and are frustrated and unprepared for the changes this brings. It’s a sad reality that this is the age that many dogs are surrendered to shelters as their owners no longer “like” the way their dogs behave, can’t handle them and give up on them.

The teenage brain is going through many changes. Think of it as being “rewired”. The rewiring process can cause some parts not to work at all or only work sometimes. Some parts work too much with too much current and new wires cause unexpected results.

There are many similarities to the changing human teenage brain. There’s a valid scientific reason why car insurance premiums for young adults under 25 are more expensive. The brain is not fully matured – irrational decisions, risk taking, poor choices and accidents are more likely to happen.

Be patient, understanding and most of all consistent with your teenage dog. Don’t give up on them. They are feeling just as frustrated as we are. Being aware of what is happening in their brain as it develops to full maturity helps us to be more accepting. Remember that this is just a phase and it will get better.

16/02/2023

Congratulations are in order for Bob and Beth on achieving both the KC GCDS and the APDT GCA puppy awards this week with the wonderful OMG-he's-so-big Beau. Well done! (Multiple photos because: one with certificates and everyone looking at the camera, one with Beau being a typical Lab trying to eat the certificates, and a third just because the lighting is better so we can see him properly.)

13/02/2023

Possibly one of the biggest insults to our dogs is the idea that we need to get in their faces in order for them to gather more information.

Dogs live in a world of scent. We can’t even begin to imagine what that may look like. But what we know for sure is invading their space is likely to make them feel less comfortable, rather than more.

09/02/2023

Me being a bit rubbish again... totally forgot to congratulate Sally (@ Leads In Action) last week on completing the APDT GCA Foundation Award with the fabulous Simba. Well done!

18/01/2023

Although it might surprise some, this is often what an advanced dog training class looks like.

Six dogs of varying ages and abilities, including a 20w lab pup, an over-excitable pointer, a worried-about-the-world lurcher, an easily-spooked poodle, and a qualified assistance dog...all just chilling together. And not forgetting the one year old cockerpoo who's also chilling off camera with the lovely Sally (Leads In Action ) who kindly took this video for me.

Thanks to all my wonderful owners for being amazing advocates for their dogs!

14/01/2023

After receiving an achievement certificate from the wonderful Leads In Action recently, this amazing team also achieved their APDT GCA Foundation award this week. Well done!

04/01/2023

(Catching up with all the developments from just before and just after Christmas...)

HUGE congratulations to Lou and Rooby on passing the ADAA assessment and gaining her official assistance dog status!

I'm so proud of you both 🥰

04/01/2023

Suki came to class last night after a break of about three years because of lockdowns then the arrival of her housemate, Lenka, who's been coming instead. After a three-year break, Suki sauntered casually into class and successfully finished her APDT GCA Adult Beginner Award within ten minutes of arriving. So we went ahead and ran the tests for the next level up...she breezed through the Foundation award too! Congratulations to Suki and Diana!

04/01/2023

A little video clip of Simba working on being happy to move away from Sally. Simba is fine being with other people or being alone at home but worries if he is taken away from Sally while she's still in sight. So we worked on him choosing to move away with me (and being rewarded for that) and going back to Sally whenever he wanted. Reinforcement for moving away was food, praise and the option to return, although the food wasn't used to lure him away since that could have caused conflicting emotions.

14/12/2022

Some great successes in last night's class. Sammy successfully completed his APDT GCA Adult Beginner Award. He and Clover have become great friends, able to take turns in sharing treats from Amanda, despite Sammy originally being reactive to dogs and Clover sometimes guarding treats from other dogs. And, although I didn't get any photos, we also had Clover loving her fusses from Andrew, despite being a bit scared of men, and some fab off-lead recall and heelwork from Bella, who can often be reactive to other dogs. A great session for everyone - well done all!

03/11/2022

Congratulations to the most recent group of successful puppy passes, and an ingenious idea from an owner from transferring 'stay on the stooll' to 'stay on the floor'.

18/09/2022

Yay! Finley passed his puppy awards last week, too.

07/09/2022

As always, I'm a bit slow at posting our award achievements, not helped by FB refusing to upload the photos. So, here's some from the past few weeks, just in separate posts. Simba, Cooper, Duggie and Charlie with their puppy awards (KC and APDT), and Bertie with his APDT Foundation award. Congratulations to all!

15/06/2022

More puppy award congratulations! This time to Olwen & Maud (mini dach), Julie & Tia Rose (dandie) and, from a little while ago, Elizabeth & Clover with Thomas proudly showing off her certificates.