TOP DOG Hertfordshire Training School

24/08/2024

I couldn’t have written it better myself! For pets, temperament and health should be the first thing that should be taught considered? What are the parents like? Previous litters? It won’t necessarily guarantee you and sound puppy in temperament and health but it’s a good indication.

THE FIRST MISTAKE IN BUYING A DOG

If your first inclination when purchasing a dog is to buy an all-breed book and begin flipping through the pages to find "the right breed" for you, you are already making a mistake.

The goal of all-breed books is to fill your mind with a romantic ideal of a brand-name dog.

The danger in doing this is that once you get this picture locked in your head, you have already "chosen your breed," which means you have rejected healthy non-pedigree dogs without even considering them.

It also means you have probably chosen a canine registry.

With breed and "registration papers" occupying the first and second slots in your priority list, gender and coat color typically fill slots three and four.

That means health and temperament fall to level five and six.

No wonder so many people end up with unhealthy dogs!

Remember that all-breed books are the dog market equivalent of a sales brochure; they offer lovely pictures and descriptive puffery, but they are not Consumers Report magazine.

You would not buy a car based on a sales brochure. Why are you buying a dog this way?

As for Kennel Club show dogs, remember the scoring system used by the Kennel Club:

▪️ZERO POINTS for health

▪️ZERO POINTS for temperament

▪️ZERO POINTS for work.

06/08/2024

Some more fantastic advice from our friends at Family Dog Services. Grab it now, it’s free 🐾🐾

10/07/2024

You can’t say we didn’t tell you….

18/06/2024

Some very valuable advice from our friends at Family dog services 🐾🐾

17/06/2024

🎉🎉RECALL MASTERCLASS! 🎉🎉

LAST COUPLE OF SPACES AVAILABLE

✨️New dates - Friday 21st June & Friday 5th July✨️

Would you like to work more with achieving a consistent, reliable recall?

Learn new tricks and ways of being able to help your dog achieve the recall that you can rely on to enable you to be able to let your dog off of the lead without concern.

These classes have been created by Lexi & Natalie (we will both be teaching this class) to help you push forward and work towards the above.

Both existing and current Topdog handlers are welcome.

Friday 21st June 10-12pm and Friday 5th July 10-12pm at the training field, £60 for both classes.

If you would like to join us please message Natalie on 07966181020 to book your space - limited places available.

Nat & Lex 🐾🐾

11/06/2024

🐾🐾RECALL MASTERCLASS! 🐾🐾

✨️New dates - Friday 21st June & Friday 5th July✨️

Would you like to work more with achieving a consistent, reliable recall?

Learn new tricks and ways of being able to help your dog achieve the recall that you can rely on to enable you to be able to let your dog off of the lead without concern.

These classes have been created by Lexi & Natalie (we will both be teaching this class) to help you push forward and work towards the above.

Both existing and current Topdog handlers are welcome.

Friday 21st June 10-12pm and Friday 5th July 10-12pm at the training field, £60 for both classes.

If you would like to join us please message Natalie on 07966181020 to book your space - limited places available.

Nat & Lex 🐾🐾

06/06/2024

These guys said it better than I could…. ‘Leave’ is a precious command which doesn’t mean ‘wait a few seconds and go for it’ 😉🐾🐾

31/05/2024

A couple of spaces have become available for our PUP SUP (paddleboarding with dogs) sessions. Please note that your space will only be confirmed once payment has been received and is not refundable. If you cannot make it, I will do my best to find someone to take your space but I cannot guarantee it, especially if you cancel on the day or the day before (In the unlikely event that the venue has to cancel a session, refunds will be given).
Sessions are £20 and no equipment is required other than a harness which we can lend you if required. It is worth noting that dogs who love water can be more challenging than those who hate it 😁
We are looking forward to more fun on the water this year:

3rd June 18:00-19:30
5th August 18:00-19:30
2nd September 18:00-19:30

17/04/2024

I often hear people say that their dog is stubborn or unruly but as Jamie quite rightly pointed out, dogs don’t have the cognitive ability to deliberately do the opposite of what you have asked. Instead, they largely focus on what works for them (and often it has served them well in the past so there is no reason to stop). So several things are always worth considering when calling a dog ‘stubborn’ such as innate drive (to chase for example), your relationship (and whether there are more than one instance where your dog has been taught to make good decisions but choose not to because it works better for them) or whether you have indeed reliably trained the behaviours you are asking for.
As for the ‘they know they shouldn’t do it’ because their facial expression changes, try using different words and see if the result is the same…. Perhaps YOU thought they knew but in fact they react to the tone of your voice rather than what you are asking them to do.

12/04/2024

Wednesday classes are back at Topdog Hertfordshire Training School, over the past few weeks we have been working on lots of skills to gain a well rounded, good mannered dog that we can take anywhere with us as well as having fun!
Feel free to pop us a message if you'd like more information 😁🐾🐾

14/02/2024

I am away on a dog training course until Friday evening and internet and phone signal is very limited. I will reply to emails and messages as soon as I can. 🐾🐾

18/12/2023

We are experiencing technical issues with our emails and website which should get resolved by 20th December. If you have emailed us since 15th, please message us via Facebook. Please accept our apologies for the interruptions.

04/12/2023

When the behavioural trainer turns up and you put your cutest face on and pretend you always on best behaviour….

02/12/2023

I rarely advertise things on our group as it isn’t the groups’ purpose, but a dear friend and local artist paints the most amazing commissions, his work on metal is particularly stunning so I thought I’d share his page here and some of his work.

https://www.facebook.com/BenAskemArtist

18/10/2023

Is your dog insured for Public Liability? Did you know that in case of a claim against you for damages caused by your dog you could be forced to sell your home if you are not insured and cannot afford to pay the court costs and compensation to the Claimants?

Many vet insurance companies provide Third Party cover as part of pet insurance (although it is worth checking) but for people who do not want to (or cannot) insure their dogs for vet fees, there is an economical solution: the Dogs Trust membership cost £25 a year and includes Public Liability for up to a million pound. It covers all the dogs in your household so if you have more than one no need for multiple policies and the cost is £12.50 for owners over 60.
Membership also includes a Care Card which means should you pass away or become seriously ill, the Dog's Trust will take care of your dog for life if necessary.

Join Dogs Trust today and play a key role in helping us give thousands of dogs a second chance at happiness every year!

06/10/2023

If like me you have a deep respect for dogs with jobs, are in awe of their abilities, and the bond humans can have with them, I highly recommend watching 'A dog called Laura' with Martin Clunes. I worked with the French Guide Dogs for the Blind Organisation in my late teens and I studied the breeding and training program used by the the Guide Dogs for the Blind' in England so I am fairly familiar with their work but the whole thing never ceases to amaze me.
On a side note, the bit about their breeding program will illustrate what I always tell my customers about the importance of temperament as well as health when choosing a puppy - it's not just about the owners.
You can watch it on Catch up on ITVx

Guide Dogs: Providing mobility for the blind and partially sighted. Supporting research, raising awareness and campaigning for the visually impaired

06/08/2023

A gentleman called Liam sent an enquiry via our website but we are getting an error when attempting to reply. Perhaps your emails address wasn’t accidentally misspelled. If you’re the person in question please resend your message so we can reply back. Thank you

01/08/2023

This week we are at Kennel Club Young Handlers summer camp (training the next generation of behavioural trainers 🐾) so email responses may be a bit slower than usual. We apologise and get back to enquiries within the next 24hrs.

25/06/2023

Today my 12 year old daughter did a little handling demo at a local fete, all off lead of course: her dog Elsa knows that ‘work’ happens in any setting and it pays well.

I cannot recommend the Weatherbeeta coolcoats enough! They stay cold and wet for hours. 29 degrees and Elsa didn’t even need to pant to cool down. (Disclaimer: even a very effective cool-coat is not a license to run a dog ragged in the heat. Elsa was kept cool from the time we left our house and had a coolmat with ice underneath, she then worked for 15 mins and rested again).

Edit: it’s now 9.15 pm and the coat is still very wet from being soaked at 2pm 💜

19/06/2023

The first few weeks following your pup’s arrival is the most critical time to instil good habits. Training in as many locations with as many species as possible, learning to get paid for being calm and relaxed, for doing well, nothing. Short car journeys, hundreds of repetitions of the behaviours you want to grow and perfect in preparation for adult life. Puppy parties shouldn’t be top of your list unless you want your pup to learn that every dog they see is a license to play. Instead you need to list every place you can take your puppy to and do a little training session there. If I had a pound for every time a new customer says: ‘Fido is perfect at home but the second we’re out and about he doesn’t listen, even with treats’…..socialisation and habituation is much more than puppy parties, and it includes learning to focus around anything, anyone and anywhere 💜 🐾🐾

16/06/2023

We never get bored of how lovely the field looks when it’s freshly cut 🐾🐾

25/04/2023

Paddleboarding with dogs (Pup Sup) is back. First session on 1st May 18:00. A couple of spaces left.£18 for non-members of our school

05/11/2021

A lady called Carly sent us an enquiry using our web form, sadly the email address provided doesn’t work. If this is you please resend your enquiry with a different email address. Thank you.

16/07/2021

Attention Saturday dog handlers 🙂
Due to the weather forecast tomorrow we have decided to move class times (aside from 9.30 am class) to keep the dogs safe.
If haven’t received a WhatsApp message about your class time tomorrow please get in touch. For those who can please bring an umbrella for shade, as well as lots of water for you and your dog. If you have a cooling coat please bring it along too.
Many thanks
Nat and Lex 👍