Calm Dog Coaching

11/11/2024

🪞Reflections of a first time puppy parent🪞

Puppyhood - is puppyhood one of those experiences that we don’t talk about candidly? A period that we choose to quickly forget about afterwards?!

“It will pass”, “it’s just a phase”, “won’t last long”.

Phase X of how many?! And I daren’t ask how long.

Scarlet is 23 weeks old and she’s been with us for 15 of them.

We wouldn’t change a thing - except the weeks of shark attacks 🦈 and sleep deprivation!

It’s all part and parcel 💝 of having the privilege and responsibility of bringing this tiny, vulnerable, precious little baby dog into your life.

It’s all part of getting to know each other and striving to develop a bond, as beings from different planets.

It hasn’t been easy.

Perhaps that’s an understatement!

There have been tears.

At times it has felt impossible.

You want to look after (and train) this cutest little creature in front of you and at the same time risk being bitten! And I’m not just talking about a gentle nip.

We’re ’puppy-proofed’ to within an inch of our lives. It’s true, they do put everything into their mouths. If it dangles it’s super exciting. Cue tea towels being swiped off the radiator. We found that if we ignored this, it became far less fun and eventually stopped.

‘Drop it’ was one of the first cues we taught Scarlet and it has been a life saver (as have puppy pens).

A consistent routine and puppy schedule have served us well. Scarlet was toilet trained after a few weeks and also happily sleeping in her pen by herself (until recently… cue more sleep deprivation 😬).

I’m glad it was summer when we were toilet training. Standing outside five times a night in a nighty in winter would have added an extra challenge!

Thankfully we’re past the puppy play biting stage🤞, which felt like it was going to go on forever at the time, and Scarlet’s super enthusiastically friendly personality has been able to come to the fore ♥️.

She’s been teething for weeks, which has been a tough time for her. Like her mouth is erupting.

Lots of cuddles, sleep and a cornucopia of chews have helped (and saved our furniture). Sometimes she’s wanted soft chews, sometimes hard, sometimes cold. When a tooth has been loose she’s been desperately trying to dislodge it to get it out.

We aced the challenge our friends set us to find one of those teeth; there are about half a dozen of them in a pot on the mantel. I guess most of them get swallowed. An expensive time for the tooth fairy 🧚🏻.

The weeks and weeks of puppy exploratory biting, which are actually not that long ago, now feel like a distant memory 😮‍💨.

We have had unwavering support from Scarlet’s breeder, who set the litter up so well for their new homes.

Fireworks? 🎇 What fireworks?? 😌

The gentle introduction to the world that we started as soon as Scarlet came home is paying off. She is able to relax with us now, she’s happy to see us and she’s learning how to interact nicely with other dogs.

We graduated from puppy school this week too! 🎓🌟

This journey is not linear by any stretch of the imagination and we have some guiding principles.

THE most important thing is that Scarlet can trust us to have her back and feel safe.

We will continue to:
🫶 Put ourselves in her shoes 🐾
🫶 Take things at Scarlet’s pace
🫶 Set her up to succeed

We’re 5 months in and bracing ourselves for the next phase of this rollercoaster ride - adolescence.

Onwards!

30/09/2024

Scarlet is our first puppy 🐶🧡.

Without doubt my top tip for any new puppy owner is:

“Break things down into your puppy’s paw-sized steps 🐾 and push forward at their pace…”

I say ‘push’ (gently) because “brains don’t grow in comfort zones” - believe they can and treat their response as information for where to take things next.

If the information suggests they’re not quite ready - how can you break the next step down even further? Or, perhaps stay where you are for a little while.

Two things have happened as a result:

🐾 We have progressed forward further than I could have imagined with Scarlet, who is now 17 weeks old. She has been fully toilet trained, slept 21:30-06:30 through the night and cool as you like in the car, for a few weeks now.

🐾 Arguably we have made this progress much faster, more comfortably and more sustainably than we would have done other wise.

Through supporting Scarlet and having her back every step 🐾 of the way, she’s transformed from a nervous, trembly little pup at 8 weeks old, when we first started to introduce her to the world, into a super confident little star.

Meet Scarlet ♥️.

25/01/2024

I have some very sad news to share about my Calm Dog Coaching sidekick; the inspiration for my business.

We lost Bella before Christmas and we miss her terribly 💔.

Love you always Bella pup 💛.

🐾 Bella Ashcroft 🐾
12/12/2014 - 12/12/2023

We said goodbye to Bella on 12th December, her 9th birthday.

Over the previous 7 weeks Bella had made an astounding recovery from surgery to remove a very large growth and her spleen; she was back to all normal activities again and there was hope for the future. Fit as a fiddle in every other way.

As Bella’s wound healed we gradually visited all of our favourite places and did our favourite things together.

A run up Whitbarrow Scar, our favourite walk at Arnside, fitness sessions (she was ripped! 💪), TONNES of cuddles, a potter in the snow, an adventure with her pals in Grizedale Forest, to name just a few.

Devastatingly, an ultrasound revealed that cancer was aggressively attacking and ravaging her liver.

There was nothing more that could be done, except to bring Bella home to say goodbye and let our beautiful little princess go peacefully.

From a few days post surgery Bella bounced up every morning, tail wagging like mad - charging those Bella batteries for the day ahead!

Parading her toys to celebrate the arrival of one of us coming down stairs, or entering a room, or to greet visitors.

Such a little trooper, such a zest for life.

It wasn’t her time but her body said otherwise.

An eternal puppy with the most beautiful soul.

Our hearts are breaking and at the same time we feel huge gratitude and joy for the 5 absolutely wonderful years we had together.

Bella was such a gift, such a blessing in every aspect of our lives and made us whole.

Our friends couldn’t have put it better:

“Bella was such a bright spark and brought absolute joy into every day we spent with her.” We built ours lives around her and “she returned everything in absolute bucketfuls.”

We loved and appreciated everything about Bella so much, we knew every hair on her perfect little body (she had the cutest paws), and cherished every moment we had with her.

She was our world, we are missing her terribly and we will be lost without her 💔.

Our bright, beautiful, sparkly-eyed Bella 💖💝.

08/08/2023

⏸️ P A U S E ⏸️

I’m taking a pause from dog training and won’t be taking on any new clients for a while.

I’ve been very lucky to work with some wonderful people 🤩 who have conscientiously taken games based training on board and got some great results.

As I take a pause, I feel proud to be able to share a latest review from my most recent clients Sue and Inky:

“I’m so pleased I found Claire. Traditional dog training methods did not work for my reactive, under-confident, oversensitive, excitable dog and I was at my wits end knowing what to do! At first I was a little hesitant because the training was online but that was because I knew nothing about it! Having completed the 3 sessions, I now realise face to face was not needed – I was being retrained – not the dog!

I am astounded at how easy and simple this games based training really is and how quickly my dog responded.

As a result he is now walking by my side on a lead (before he was pulling on ahead), he is much more responsive and the bond between us has grown. Lots of little problems I had have been resolved due to Claire’s advice.

I’m still working on the reactivity but it has improved because of the games and I feel more confident going forwards, as I was lost and struggling before and now I have hope.

Claire is so understanding, patient and has so much good advice, she has helped us tremendously! Thank you!”

Sue & Inky 🐾

02/06/2023

😌 E N R I C H M E N T 😌

Enrichment for your dog is not just stuffing some food in a Kong and giving it to them.

It’s aaaallll the things in this beautiful illustration by Doggie Drawings by Lili Chin and possibly more…

Would you add anything else?

Illustrated for PetHarmonyTraining.com
What is Pet Enrichment?

01/06/2023

😁 S U C C E S S 😁

I love it when I'm working with a client and we find a simple solution that makes a big difference.

Nobody wants to have bleeding fingers when they are training their dog. This foundation sets us up nicely to get better results from the Frustration to Calm plan and training will be far more enjoyable!

Well done for putting this into practice.

Progress comes from taking action.

19/05/2023

🔑🔑 C A L M N E S S K E Y S

Here are two key concepts I taught Bella that unlocked calmness 🔐 for us.

🔑 Scatterfeeding: scattering your dogs food over a large service area for them to seek out.

🔑 Disengagement: the ability to leave, ignore or come away from something.

🎬 In this short video (33 secs) you can see Bella controlling her impulse to rush in to get the food. She quickly learns that she gets rewarded for leaving the food.

By covering the food when she comes towards it initially and rewarding her for moving back from it, Bella swiftly gets the drill! 🤩

Why not give these a go with your dog?

Pop any questions you have in the comments below if you’d like any help.

25/04/2023

☀️ 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 H O L I D A Y 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿☀️

We had THE best holiday in North Wales last week. The best of everything for pups and humans alike, including wall to wall sunshine.

We’ll be back! (Appreciate the sunshine isn’t guaranteed next time 😂).

16/03/2023

😩 W O R N O U T 😩

What’s all this about ‘wearing our dogs out?’

What does that mean to you?

Here are some dictionary definitions of worn out:

▶️ Badly damaged and/or no longer useful because it has been used a lot.
▶️ Extremely tired; too old or damaged to use.
▶️ Someone who is worn out is extremely tired after hard work or a difficult or unpleasant experience.
▶️ Depleted of energy, strength, or enthusiasm; exhausted; fatigued.
▶️ Worn or used beyond repair.

Are these really aims we want to have for our dogs?

How about achieving a lifestyle where they are calm and content most of the time instead?

Wearing our dogs out time and time again, so we can have some peace and quiet or go out, doesn’t sound like we’re putting their needs first, or particularly good for their health.

For me, being constantly worn out would send alarm bells ringing. I don’t consider that a good place to be. It’s something I need to recover from. Not a goal or state that I aim for for my wellbeing.

It’s all about balance for our dogs (as it is for us).

Balance of mental exercise, physical exercise and rest to keep them in the best of health, calm and content. With mental exercise, or giving our dogs opportunities to use their senses, being the one that tends to get left out the most.

This is something we need to be mindful of with Bella as she gets older, as we certainly don’t want to wear her out. We want her to live a long, happy, healthy life with us.

Surely our aim is to keep our dogs in tip-top condition and give them the best lives we possibly can, rather than to wear them out?

If you’d like to achieve a calmer lifestyle with your dog, so you don’t feel like you need to make a special effort to wear them out, get in touch!

Sources:
www.macmillandictionary.com
www.oxfordlearnersdictionary.com
www.collinsdictionary.com
www.dictionary.com

📸: Image by Pitsch from Pixabay.

04/03/2023

What do you think to my snazzy new t-shirts? 👕

Looking forward to wearing them as the weather warms up 🌤️ and chatting with people about Calm Dog Coaching out and about 😌.

23/02/2023

🔹🔷 W H Y O N L I N E ? 🔷🔹

In this video I share why I choose to work online.

If you like the sound of my approach, why not book a free, no-obligation clarity call with me? ☎️ (See link in comments).

The clarity call is a quick chat where I can find out more about you and your dog and talk about how I can help you to lead a calmer life together.

You will usually come away from that conversation with a tip that you can put into practice straight away 📝.

23/02/2023

16/02/2023

🔹🔷 M Y V A L U E S 🔷🔹

🔹K i n d n e s s
Dogs deserve our kindness, full stop.

When we work together, I’ll show you how to communicate with your dog with kindness; rewarding them for the behaviours that you’d like to see. Showing them the way through games, praise, food, toys, a favourite behaviour.

Without question, I will never coach you to inflict any pain, or cause any fear in your dog (and I would strongly recommend walking away from any dog trainer who does this).

🔹E m p a t h y
Let’s treat our dogs the way we would like to be treated ourselves.

A lot of what I do is to put myself into your dog’s shoes (paws?!). I gather as much information as I can from our initial call and client questionnaire, to look at things holistically from their perspective. That forms the basis of your bespoke training plan.

🔹C o n n e c t i o n
The most important thing is your relationship - my aim is to enhance that connection.

I do not train your dog. I coach you to train your dog. Your connection with your dog is everything. Your relationship, the lives you share together, the success of any training plan - all count on it. You and your dog are front and centre in my approach. I want you to live your best lives together. I want to see you both light up.

🔹F u n
Dogs (and humans alike!) learn best when they are having fun.

As well as teaching new concepts, ways of thinking and recommending simple life style changes - I use games to teach your dog the skills that they need to thrive in everyday life. As a former professional trainer of humans, I know how important it is to be engaged through interactive learning - games are brilliant for this and fun for you too!

If you’re ready for more calmness in your life with your dog, click here to book your free clarity call with me https://calendly.com/claire-l-ashcroft/clarity-call-1

15/02/2023

🔹 W O R K I N G W I T H M E 🔹

❌ I do not train your dog.

✅ I coach you to train your dog.

Why?

🔹 YOUR relationship with your dog is the single most important thing.

🔹 I can become a distraction for your dog.

🔹 When I’m not around you will be doing the training.

🔹 Your dog may (or may not) respond well to me - what matters is how they respond to you.

🔹 I teach you fundamental concepts and lifestyle strategies to underpin your training plan.

🔹 I want to leave you with the confidence that you’ve got this 👊.

If you'd like a quick chat about how I can help you achieve a calmer life with your dog please book a slot below 🔽.

https://calendly.com/claire-l-ashcroft/clarity-call-1

You'll come away from that call with some tips 📝 to get you started.

01/02/2023

📣 B E H A V I O U R 📣

Problem?
Issue?
Struggle?
Or,
Communication?

At a training course relating to humans yesterday, a particular point struck a chord with me.

Bulleted on one of the slides was the phrase ‘behaviour issues’. The trainer balked at that term and said they believe that behind every behaviour is a message; someone trying to communicate, someone wanting / needing to be heard.

I believe this to be true about dogs as well.

What if we thought about our dog’s behaviour problems, issues, struggles as communication?

🐶 What would we do differently?

🐶 What are our dogs trying to tell us?

🐶 What do they need from us?

13/01/2023

📝 F R E E T I P S !! 📝

I’ve discovered that Facebook is not very discrete when it comes to updates being made to cover photos, so apologies if you’ve seen mine pop up a number of times over the last day or so! 🤦🏻‍♀️

Did you know that I have a free tips worksheet 📝 5 Top Tips for Calmness 📝 that you can download? (Link below 🔽).

If you didn’t, you probably do now!!

These are simple, fundamental things that you can start to do today that will help your dog to feel more calm and content 😌.

Things like allowing our dogs to sniff 🐽 on walks can have a dramatic effect on how calm they feel. (And there’s a top tip in the worksheet about how we can allow our dogs to do that, even when we’re in a hurry).

In 2023 I would like grow my audience 📣 and let more people know about my services. So please, if you like my content - like, follow and share 🙏🏻.

Many thanks,
Claire 🐾

Grab your 5 Top Tips for Calmness here:

10/01/2023

🔮 U N P R E D I C T A B L E 🔮

🎉 Is it too late to wish you all a very Happy New Year? 🎉 I hope you had a relaxing break with your family, friends and canine companions.

We had the best start to 2023 when we got the wonderful news that our friend’s spaniels, who had gone missing in the Lake District, had been found. Thank you to everyone who shared my post, kept an eye out for them, or even joined the search 🤩.

I thought it worth making reference to a previous post. However well trained our dogs are, we will always need to be vigilant and on alert for the unexpected, as we cannot control the environment.

As excitement and novelty levels rise, dogs will struggle to make the best choices and may become unpredictable when they are highly aroused and overstimulated.

We’ve made the decision to invest in a GPS tracker for Bella. In fact here she is, sporting her new ‘bling’!

We cannot predict the future but we can try to prepare ourselves as much as possible for if the unexpected happens.

If it does ever happen to you, I recommend getting in touch with Drone SAR For Lost Dogs UK as quickly as possible. They are an amazing voluntary organisation who help to find lost dogs across the UK every single day.

16/12/2022

✨🎉 N E W W E B S I T E 🎉✨

My early Christmas present 🎁 to myself is to finally stop tinkering 💻 with the website I’ve been making and share it with you!

This is very much homemade but I hope it gives you more information about Calm Dog Coaching and the services we offer.

You can find it here: www.calmdogcoaching.com

Have a look 👀 around and get in touch if I can help you achieve a calmer life with your dog in 2023.

Booster Session:
I’m now offering a new Booster Session service for existing customers, who would like to inject some momentum back into their Frustration to Calm Plan.

Best wishes,
Claire 🐾

Calm Dog Coaching Would you like less stress and more calmness in your life, home and walks with your dog? If the answer is yes, you’re in the right place! Services About Testimonials Hi, I’m Claire Ashcroft, a certified games-based concept trainer. I specialise in supporting conscientious dog o...