Pawsitive Steps

10/02/2025

Dottie came for another visit, we started of with some loose lead walking, she was much improved when her rate of treat levels were increased to keep her more focused on her owner, she finished with some pleasing work.Then we went on to start teaching some whistle turns as her breed traits are to cover a large area of ground while hunting, it will be essential we work on this while she is young. We finished with introducing the placeboard and for her to be able to have all four feet on at once, we ended with her sitting on it quite nicely, that certainly tired her out. A good session of learning.

05/02/2025

Kali came for another visit, a little prolonged since the last due to all this terrible weather we have had. She had grown again, 9 months old now, today we worked on her manners around other people who have things she wants. When we achieved some nice manners she was rewarded with her new favourite h***y toy. We worked also on Not Yours and finished with some loose lead walking, you could see she was tired at the end of the session, a lovely young dog.

03/02/2025

Pip came for a first visit, looking for some help with this lovely young cocker, we walked about and talked about things he needed and I saw some things which needed a little help , fun little man, who loves his ball. Look forward to seeing him more.

03/02/2025

Murphy came for a visit, he’s had a bit of time off in his adolescence, but was very happy to be back, always willing to learn, so his owners were looking for some new and more stretching games and ideas to keep him focused on walks, so we ran through a few of them and had fun and challenges along the way.

06/01/2025

Dottie came for another visit, she has grown a lot since last time we met, they have obviously being doing their homework, as she was a lot more focused on her owner. We did a bit of hunting, practiced her recall and also some loose lead walking, all which is coming on nicely. We chatted about what her owners want from her in the future, so we will continue to work on the basics and add other things along the way.

01/01/2025

Teagan came for another visit, we concentrated on some hunting today and I put out tennis balls, some red so she has to really use her nose to find it, she is such a stylish little dog. We also practiced some memory retrieves and blinds, increasing the distance and her confidence in finding them. Tui also came out for a short session and she did the same, her joy for working now, pretty much returned, which is lovely to see.

18/12/2024

Happy Christmas to everyone, thank you for your support this year, looking to see what we can all achieve next year.

18/12/2024

Kali came for another of her regular visits, when her owner arrived she told me the tale of some very over excitable behaviour she had seen in her young dog, you obviously expect youthful enthusiasm, but sometimes it can be more than this. So in getting to the bottom of this behaviour which is not normally how her dog is, I was able to help her understand that doing lots of exciting things several days in a row and thinking long walks are going to tire her dog out, isn’t always the case, as it is better to think of your walks as opportunities to work on certain things in different environments, keeping your dog thinking and working together as a team, so they look to you for what happens next and your not just their taxi service to somewhere exciting and bye see you later when I’m done!! So if you experience your dog getting over excited they can’t leave or do anything you ask they have most probably gone into that space when they are unable to do so, so leave 48 hrs between very exciting things, allow their adrenaline/ cortisol levels to come down from way up high to normal levels so they can be the dog you would like .

13/12/2024

Teagan and Tui came for a visit, their owner wanted to work on them being able to be together but work separately and wait nicely, we got out the placeboards so they knew where they had to be while waiting. We took things slowly and didn’t ask too much , keeping retrieves short and not too exciting, so we can build up to more challenging ones as we progress. We finished with some hunting, thinking about wind direction, when to encourage, when to be quiet and let them work it out. A interesting session with lots to work on, when you have two enthusiastic spaniels. It was definitely a fun week with all the dogs finding this windy weather a tad too exciting 🙈.

06/12/2024

Kali came for another training session, she was full of beans, so we started of with some lead walking and me approaching and her not jumping up, she is starting to use her nose when out walking, so we introduced her to some hunting for a hidden toy in the long grass, she really enjoyed this game and was very thorough with her searching. We finished with a little more heel work , keeping rewarding her for good eye contact. She seems to grow every time I see her, a lovely young dog.

30/11/2024

Teagan came for a visit, instead of the training field, we went on another training walk, practicing some memory retrieves back along the track, so there is some distraction, a bank one side to hold her in, but an open sloping field the other , she did really well getting more confidence in going back straight. We did some hunting in the corner of the field so she can keep focus better, we worked on her setting of taking our time to get her going out to the side and not too quickly in front, her handler not walking forward too much, but just turning a shoulder and taking a small step, to keep her focused and turning, we also put some stop whistle in , then set her of hunting again as her reward, a great little session on the drizzle.

18/11/2024

A first visit for this little lady, 13 weeks old lovely GSP , she is a bright cookie, so we worked on getting to know her, played the catch up game, started practicing her recall and generally talked about what they wanted to do with her in the future and things to do at home to bond with her and build up good association with whistle recall as this needs to be strong for all breeds but especially with ranging dogs as this breed is.

18/11/2024

A nice little session with Teagan and Tui, we went on a training walk, as I thought it would be good to test her steadiness in slightly more realistic environments than the training field. It was indeed more exciting for her and definitely next time probably better with just Teagan as mother and daughter fire each other up. Some good work though from them both , letting us know what needs working on. Some great little autumn coloured dummies, which made them work harder to find.

12/11/2024

Today Kali came for another visit, today we couldn’t use the field as it had sheep in there today, so we worked on the lawn which is not fenced, so we started with some focus and lead work, which she did nicely, we practiced how to manage her when people approach, without her lunging forward, she soon got the hang of it, her reward was to have her favourite toy thrown around, she kept close and was so well behaved. We then walked down to the small pen which is the field the sheep are in, Kali took no notice and the sheep likewise. As the small pen is secure we practiced her recall, which was lots better than last time as they have been practicing so much, I was very pleased with her despite my bag full of goodies and the temptations around her. We put her back on the lead and walked back up past the sheep and out, again she was totally unphased. We finished of by getting out my young Labrador to practice meet and greets and walking past each other without the need to say hello every time, they were both really good, I was proud of both of the young dogs working so well. A tired young dog at the end of the session. 😊

01/11/2024

Today Teagan and Tui came for a visit, Teagan has been busy having a go at some working tests, she is a super talented little dog with such a great desire to work, Today we did some hunting and then back chained retrieves to start getting her confidence to go greater distances. Tui also did some hunting to try to keep her focused on a job so she didn’t think about being worried, to finish she did some retrieving into the jump box, which she thoroughly enjoyed. A great session

29/10/2024

16/10/2024

Murphy came for another of his regular visits, his hormones are kicking in, so things are changing a little, loose lead walking in highly scented areas, have been too difficult, so to prevent unwanted behaviours becoming learnt ones, he has gone back to only certain places where he is able to concentrate. He still wants to say hello to all dogs, so we worked on how to approach, time limits of saying hello and moving on, sometimes not saying hello at all and how to do this. So with the help of one of my dogs we practiced this with good results. Always something new to learn. It help when both the owners and the dog are keen to getting things right.