Happy Hounds Hexham

15/10/2025

Puppies! From Toryns breeder.

15/10/2025

Popular pup together!

Rescheduled after the storm.

https://www.dogtraininghexham.com/event-details/puppy-meet-19th-october

11/10/2025

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09/10/2025

🐾 The Happy Hounds Compatibility Test

How Easy Is My Dog to Live With?

Let’s find out! Score your dog using the list below.
Tick every one that matches your dog’s behaviour — then total your score at the end.

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✅ My dog can...

1. Sit when asked

2. Lie down when asked

3. Wait for their dinner

4. Leave food on the floor if told

5. Drop a toy or item on cue

6. Come back when called – even from a distraction

7. Walk nicely on lead in quiet places

8. Walk nicely past other dogs or people

9. Settle calmly in a new place

10. Choose to check in with me instead of chasing something

11. Take food gently without snatching

12. Play with me and stop when asked

13. Know what a marker is

14. Offer eye contact when they want something

15. Respond to their name and all locations

16. Stay focused with dogs nearby

17. Be handled for grooming or vet checks

18. Put on harness or collar without a problem

19. Be left alone without stress

20. Travel calmly in the car

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🧮 Scoring:

16–20: 🏆 Dream Dog — calm, reliable, and easy to live with

10–15: 🌱 Work in Progress — good foundations, but a few rough edges

5–9: 🔧 Challenging Companion — some training needed to make life easier

0–4: 🚨 Time to Start Fresh — don’t worry, every dog can improve with guidance

08/10/2025

Its the training that stops a dog from pulling not the lead.
Rebuild the non physical connection and they will walk with you.

08/10/2025

What “Socialisation” Really Means for Your Puppy 🐾

When people think of socialisation, they often picture puppies meeting other dogs or saying hello to new people. But true socialisation is so much more than that.

This image says it perfectly 👇
It’s not just about puppy play — it’s about helping your dog feel calm and confident in the world around them.

🐾 Real socialisation includes:

Exploring new environments and surfaces

Hearing different sounds and seeing novel sights

Learning to relax around other dogs rather than rushing in to play

Building confidence through small, positive experiences

That’s exactly what we focus on during our Puppy Socialisation sessions — calm, controlled exposure that helps your puppy learn to take new experiences in stride. It’s not about chaos in a hall full of barking dogs — it’s about creating the foundation for a balanced, confident companion.

If you’d like your puppy to get the most out of these early experiences, our next socialisation session is coming up soon. It’s the perfect chance to put this kind of learning into practice.

07/10/2025

A lovely review from Emily.
Life with a new puppy isnt easy. You got to keep trying! Especially when your new pup is growing at the rate of knots!

02/10/2025

Storm Amy in coming

01/10/2025

Sometimes they dont want to walk...

This little was clever enough to hide from the rain under a bench for a little break today

We have a little problem that she doesn't want to walk even if its not raining. She walks better off lead but she can't be off all the time.
Especially when training to be calmer around other dogs
Its a tricky problem and common in puppies.
But it is a problem that I have seen get so bad the dog won't leave the house.

➡️So why does it happen...
Puppies it often a sign your over doing the walking and they are over stimulated and want to go home. They sit their but down and there is no moving them apart from the direction they want to go

For others its similar but it can be created from a trigger (something that happens that worries them in to not wanting to go further). Even long after the event, if they so much as get a hint of it happening again they stop

So how can we get them moving again?
📌For pups - try a shorter walk and slowly increase distance.
📌Walk them in a different locations and see if you can work out the trigger. It maybe traffic, busy dog areas, the woods.
📌Don't pull. So tempting to tug them along but if you ever see those videos with the dog flopped on its side this is where it started. They will hold out!
A tiny bit of tension to say this way but if it fails dont pull.
📌Don't lure them forward for food. This a slippery slope. As they can learn to stop just to get fed.

🐾Do reward them when they are doing well. Reward with food, play or life reward like off lead time if they have walked well for a patch
🐾Keep it positive, dont fall out them on walk time
🐾Reduce your expectations and shorten walks. Add more play and interaction than just getting from A to B
🐾Still struggling? Seek advice, I know of dogs that have refused to walk for years dont let them reinforce the habit.

For Callie today We were able to carry her small patches. Because she has practiced this habit a bit. Then offer her to walk herself. Enough reps and she realised her stand off wasn't going to work and she walked well.

29/09/2025

Puppies in the Park gathering on Saturday

Did you know most puppy owners get puppy socialisation wrong?

Learn how to help your dog into the world properly with an experienced trainer to set your dog up right for the next 10 plus years!

Booking preferable - online training course included on booking.

Sign up at
https://www.dogtraininghexham.com/social-walks-and-hikes

21/09/2025

Chase drive?
All dogs have it.
To create the best recall, you need to get impulse control around their chase triggers.
Getting a dog to stop mid chase is hard. So I start by teaching a wait or stop in a controlled way with something I can create repeat actions with.
Here im using a ball.
This sort of training doesnt happen over night. There are stages to it, and it takes time.

BUT when I ask her to stop chasing the squirrel that was crossing the park, it worked because we have been training for situations just as you can see here.

Recall isn't just about name and feed there is many more stages of learning and skill attached to it. You need to cover all bases, create drive, practice skills, and work with your triggers dont ignore them.

19/09/2025

What happens in a training session? Every client and every dog has their own story, and it's my job to listen and help. Discover the beginnings of a training journey with us! Read more: https://wix.to/xtO0S3d

Where We Start, What We Notice & How We HelpEvery client and every dog has their own story. My job is to listen — properly. Sometimes the things owners think aren’t relevant are actually key to unlocking the problem. So I let people talk, I ask questions, and I take in as much as I can.At the sa...