Focus Dog Training

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Focus Dog Training

Focus Dog Training We are passionate about using modern, reward-based methods to help you and your dog.

Focus Dog Training offers an unrivalled choice of puppy & dog training options designed to suit you and your family, so whatever your training needs, we have a solution.

19/02/2025

Another wonderful group of puppy class graduates. We were so impressed with the bonds these teams have build together over the last few weeks!

There's still one space available to join us next Monday at 6pm or Wednesday 12th March at 6.30. Spaces can be booked directly through our website

www.focusdogtraining.online

18/02/2025

We ADORE using tuggy for a whole host of things. Here are a few tips to keep the game fun for everyone.

🏆Let the win!
Your dog will quickly loose interest in the game if you take the toy from them all the time.

Let them pull you around, let go of the toy and celebrate when they win.

Keep it fun and light, it's not a battle it's a game!

⛔️Train a 'game over' cue
With a high energy game like tug it's important that our dogs can stop playing if we need them to.

We like to use a treat scatter on the floor as a cue the game is over.

Make sure the toy goes away once you’ve told them ‘game over’

🥎Keep the toy low to the ground
The last thing we want is your dog jumping up to grab the toy and accidentally grabbing your arm instead.

Keeping your toy low to the ground is also safer for your dog.

Moving the toy side to side instead of up and down will reduce strain on your dogs neck too.

🐶Don't leave them hanging
Tug can be super exciting so some dogs will need a calming activity after a game of tug to help bring their energy levels down.

This is especially important for young dogs or dogs who struggle with their arousal levels.omething as simple as scattering a few treats on the floor for them to sniff out can help with this.

17/02/2025

You can't beat a good game of tug! Aside from all the relationship building benefits of play, we can also use it to help teach our dog skills.

We've been using tug games with Jeff to help him with arousal management. Jeff is a wonderful little dog who brings heaps of enthusiam to everything he does, but once arousal goes up he can struggle to bring himself back down again. We've been using a variety of games to help him learn this skill. In doing this we're also helping him learn to think in arousal, which is a tricky skill for lots of dogs to master!

16/02/2025

Does it matter where my dog sleeps?

It’s important dogs sleep wherever they’re most comfortable, however location is important. Not only do we want to make sure the room they’re sleeping in is warm and comfortable, it’s important your dogs bed isn’t in a busy or noisy part of your home

Things to consider...
🐶Proximity to entrances/exits
If your dogs bed is by the front door they’re going to be disturbed much more frequently.

🐾Noise levels
If you get lots of foot traffic past the front of your house, encourage them to sleep at the back of the house. How close is there bed to where the kids play?

🦴Proximity to you
Dogs are a social species and as a result often sleep better with company. However, if you’re up and about all day (or night). They may sleep better away from you.

Can they sleep on the furniture?🛋️
Absolutely! Bob has his own sofa at Rach’s house!

Dogs often like to sleep in places that are higher up and sofa’s and beds give them this.

If you’re working through any guarding issues this may need to be reconsidered, But generally as long as everyone is happy with dogs on the furniture it’s great for them to have the option.

Having the choice to move between sleeping spots can be really beneficial.

What type of bed should I get for them?🛏️
Look at how they choose to sleep, for example if your dog likes to rest their head on pillows find a bed with soft edges.

Orthopedic beds are great for extra support even for younger dogs.

Make sure your dog has space to stretch out. If they’re sleeping in a crate they need to be able to stand up, turn around, and change position easily

13/02/2025

One change to encourage more restful sleep

Sound Masking 💤
Noise sensitivity is a common struggle for sensitive dogs. Sound masking can help reduce how often they are startled by noises.

When the house is silent dogs are more likely to notice, and react to, smaller sounds outside.

Reducing how often they’re startled by noises cansignificantly improve their sleep quality.

What to use ❓
Consistent sounds with minimal pauses work best. Different dogs will respond to different sounds, so try and few to see what works for your dog

🖥Talky TV shows
Friends, The Big Bang Theory and Magazine shows all work well.

📻Talky Radio shows
Radio 4 and Talk Sport

🎧Ambient noise playlists
Traffic noise, coffee shop noises, nature sounds etc.

🎼Music
Classical music is often suggested but one study found reggae and soft rock worked well.

11/02/2025

Callie was a little bit tired after our session last week 😆

Learning is tiring for our dogs but did you know sleep can actually help consolidate learning?

Sleep is super important for your dogs emotional and physical well being but is also an essential part of the learning process too. New information is temporarily stored in a part of the brain called the hippocampus. Its commonly believed that the hippocampus has limited storage capacity. This means, if the hippocampus is full, our dogs will struggle to take in new information.

Scientists hypothesize that during stage 3 or NREM sleep (the deepest phase of sleep), brain waves serve as a courier service transporting memories from the hippocampus to other more permanent storage sites!

So if you want your training to stick, take a leaf out of Callie's book at get your dog snoozing after their training session 💤

08/02/2025

Why do we recommend window film to so many clients?

💪Rehearsal Strengthens Behaviour
The more dogs practise a behaviour the more likely they are to do it again.

If they have opportunity to practise barking at dogs/cats/people at the window, they’re more likely to bark at them on walks too.

Window film can prevent dogs seeing things they usually bark at, quickly reducing rehearsal.

🧱Trigger Stacking
Trigger-stackingis when dogs are exposed to multiple stressors without having time to decompress in between.

As the stressors ‘stack up’, the cortisol (stress hormone) builds up in your dogs body. When we have too much cortisol in our bodies we respond to low stress events as if they were high stress events.

For example, when not trigger stacked they may be able to walk past a dog calmly. When they are trigger stacked they may bark and lunge towards that dog.

💤Rest
Dogs who sit in the window watching the world all day are unlikely to be getting enough rest. Even if they’re not barking.

Sleep is essential for stress recovery and emotional regulation. A comfortable, calm space away from visual triggers is essential for your dogs overall well-being.

06/02/2025

Development stages and how they affect your dogs behaviour

🐾Socialisation Period: 3-12 Weeks
In this period puppies are more likely to easily form social bonds with people and dogs, and are more likely to react to new things in positive ways.

We still need to be cateful with introductions and take things slowly so asnot to overwhelm them.

Puppies are like little sponges at this age and what they experience and this age shapes how the develop as adult dogs.

🐾Juvenile/ Pre-Adolescence: 12 weeks to 6 months
The exact time of this period varies between individuals and breeds, but ends when adolescence starts. For larger breeds this can be as late as 12 months.

Puppies in this stage tend to start to show more independence and confidence but can be more reserved in new situations.

Your puppy may experience a ‘fear period’ around 16 weeks. This is when they become much more sensitive to their surroundings.

🐾Adolescence: 6-24 months
This period is often experienced as the most difficult period for owners.

Teenaged dogs tend to be less tolerant of frustration, act more ‘impulsively’ and struggle to regulate their arousal.

They’re often driven to roam further and test social connections.

Teenagd dogs experience huge chemical changes in their brains and need
plenty of sleep to process these changes.

🐾Social Maturity/ Adulthood
Small breeds reach physical and social maturity much sooner than large breeds.

Behaviourally, the struggles of the teenage years should be long behind you!

Dogs never stop learning and they’ll likely still need support from you in some situations.

🐾The Senior Years
As dogs age they may start to sleep more, but slowing down, or physical and behaviour changes shouldn’t be brushed off as ‘old age’.

It’s estimated that up to 80% of dogs over 8years old suffer with arthritis. This is a painful condition but can be managed with the help of your vet.

Dogs can also suffer from cognitive decline as they age, which affects their day to day behaviour. If you see any physical or behavioural changes, get in touch with your vet,

05/02/2025

Meet Akamaru! Isn't he stunning? We're working together to help him and his family work through his big teenaged feelings.

He's a big softy who learns very quickly but finds it very frustrating when he see's things he can't immediately interact with.

This is a common struggle with our teenaged dogs, all the chemical changes they experience often lead to a reduction in their ability to tolerate frustration and this can manifest in big reactions.

If your dog struggles with frustration there's one very simple thing you can do to help them start growing their ability to cope with frustration. Enrichment feeding!

🐾Start very simple with some scatter feeding over grass or flat ground

🐾Level up by scattering on and around obstacles.

🐾Start with some really easy puzzle toys

🐾Slowly increase the difficulty by hiding food in multiple puzzles

❗❗ It's really important that we get the difficulty level just right for the individual dog so that we don't accidentally cause *more* frustration. Making sure there's always a small amount of easily accessible food to start with can help.

🧠Remember... the aim isn't to make things as difficult as you possibly can for your dog but to ever so slightly increase the time they're waiting between reinforcement

04/02/2025

Spicy Social is back! This time we're honoured to have the fantastic Yaz from Yorkshire Pooches Therapies .pooches coming to share some of her wonderful wisom with us.

These events a great opportunity to meet like minded dog folk, share ideas and build a support network for you and your spicy dog!

Join us at the Brownlee Arms in Horsforth at 6pm. Book your spot via our website ☺️

https://focusdogtrainingleeds.as.me/social

01/02/2025

Here's what's happening at FDT this month!

Spicy Social: Tuesday 11th 6pm

Puppy Class: Wednesday 12th 6.30pm & Monday 24th 6pm

Circus School: Mondays 12pm (zoom) & 7pm (in person)

Mooch About: Saturdays 9am, Wednesdays 12pm & Thursdays 12pm

Scent Work: Wednesdays 10am & Thursdays 6.45pm

All classes can be booked direct via the website! See you there 💚🐾

30/01/2025

We've all been there, returning from a walk with your dog and feeling completely defeated. Maybe your dog barked at every dog they saw, dragged you down the road after a cat, or seemingly left their ears at home and ran off across the park. Here's what we recomend to help you both settle after a stressful walk.

🐾Give your dog something to chew🐾
Chewing helps lower arousal and can aid in decompression. But it also allows you to take a moment for youself. The longer lasting the chew the better for both of you but grab whatever is easiest in the moment

🐾Do something simple for yourself🐾
This could just be putting the kettle on, doing a few breathing excersises or stretches, or maybe even going back out for a walk by yourself.

Put your own life jacket on first.

🐾Write down what went wrong🐾
Sometimes this just helps put things into perspective but it can also help us plan to avoid this in the future.

🐾Think about what you can change🐾
Was that location too busy? Can you go at a different time in future? Was it too challenging from your dog? Are there any skills you could work on to make it easier in future

🐾Try some co-regulation🐾
If this is something you and your dog enjoy offer some gentle stroking or massage.

Invite them up onto the sofa to lay with you. Watch your favourite tv show, listen to music and just chill together

29/01/2025

Knowing when your dog is comfortable or uncomfortable is really important when helping them grow in confidence or overcome fears. Dogs communicate primarily with their body language. Here are some of the ways they show us they're uncomfortable.

🐾Level One
Yawn
Nose/Lip Lick
Scratch
Turn their head away
Turn their body away
Walk away

🐾Level Two
Ears Back
Creep
Crouch
Lift Paw
Tuck Tail
Show whites of eues

🐾Level Three
Stiffen
Stare
Show teeth
Growl
Snap
Bite

When dogs use these signals it's a sign they need space from something. If we give them that space at level one, they won't need to escalate to level three.

28/01/2025

Peggy got a mooch about class to herself last week so we took a wander down to the vets to practise hanging out in the waiting room.

Lots of dogs develop fears about visiting the vet but finding time to pop in when your dog doesn't need treatment can help mitigate against the risk of those fears developing.

How to make the most of a five minute trip:
🐾Give your vet a call and ask if there's a good time of day to visit. Some practises have quieter periods with no appointments so you're more likely to have the waiting room to yourself.

🐾When you arrive, ask your dog for a few easy behaviours they enjoy doing. Keep rewards high and criteria low to make it as pleasent an experience for your dog as possible, but keep arousal low.

🐾If your dog is comfortbale, you can ask them for a settle for a little while.

And that's it! Leave on a good note and don't ask for too much. You can start to add in some co-operative care skills when your dog is feeling super confident but keep the early visits simple.

24/01/2025

Let's talk about Muzzles!

When we talk to people about muzzles we often find there is a lot of stigma attached to them. But to us, muzzles are a wonderful tool that help keep every body safe. Whether that's the dog wearing the muzzle, other dogs, or people. Here are some of the benefits they bring:

🐾Muzzles allow us to minimize risk while training dogs who show fearful or aggressive behaviours

🐾They can help owners feel confident enough to work through their training goals

🐾Muzzles can be a great visual cue for others that this dog may not want to be approached

🐾Wearing a muzzle can allow dogs to go to more places, because they mitigate risk

🐾They can also be used to prevent dogs eating things that are harmful

Important things to remember
❗️Muzzles should be introduced slowly to ensure dogs are confident and comfortable wearing them

❗️They need to be big enough that dogs can pant fully and drink while wearing them. (Check out the awesome measuring guide on The Muzzle Movement website)

❗️Muzzles shouldn't be used to put dogs in situations they're uncomfrotable with. We should still be reading body language and carfully managing thresholds when dogs are wearing muzzles.

Huge thank you to Fuzzy's human for allowing us to share this picture of her enjoying a trip to the beach in her muzzle 💚

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https://www.focusdogtraining.online/

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Videos

Somedays dog training has to go on the back burner, and that's totally fine! Whether you've got too much on, you're not feeling great, whatever the reason it's okay to take a day off. Find a way to meet your dogs needs that works for you too 💚

An important reminder, your dog doesn't blame you when bad things happen to them 💚

When Bob was younger he was really quite worried by other dogs and this impacted lots of things but one thing that may surprise you was that it also affected his ability to walk calmly on a loose lead. Once he felt more confident outside the loose lead skills came more naturally. So if your dog is struggling with loose lead walking, it's worth considering that it could be a symptom of bigger worries

Stationing is a great skill to teach our spicy dogs, it helps us create distance between them and triggers and keeps them safely out of the way! Do you use stationing with your dog?

'My dog has a funny tummy after day care what does that mean?' It probably means they're finding daycare a bit stressful. Here's how you can tell if your dog is enjoying daycare or not...

Party season is here and that also means the fireworks will be starting up again If you dog is scared of fireworks and you struggle to help them settle, this is the course for you! This incredible course has been put together to cover everything you need to know about supporting your dog through firework season as best as you possibly can. Join Lauren, our head trainer, as she explains why our dogs are scared of fireworks and how we can know they're scared - not just at the big obvious stage when they're shaking in the corner, but as they start to get a little bit worried before they're truly panicked. You'll then deep dive into strategies we can use both in advance and in the moment to really help your dog stay calm. You'll look at calming remedies - are they as good as they say? Along with noise masking and vet prescribed medication. You'll wrap up by looking at planning for next year; how can you build on this years success to make next year even better? By the end of the course you'll be confident you can help your dog cope with firework season much better. Book here - https://focus-dog-training3.teachable.com/p/firework-survival-guide

As we approach the festive period we tend to do a lot more socialising and with more and more places becoming dog friendly there can sometimes be pressure to bring our dogs along too. That pressure can come from friends or family but also from ourselves if we feel guilty about not including our dogs. So here's a reminder that it's okay to leave your dog at home if... 🐾Your dog will struggle in that environment. Just because a place is 'dog friendly' doesn't mean all dogs will succeed there. If you think your dog will struggle, you don't have to take them. 🐾Your dog will need help to succeed and you just want to socialise. This is really important. It's okay to want to see friends and family without worrying about your dog. If you think they'll need your help but your attention is likely to be split, you don't have to take them. 🐾Your dog will benefit from some peace and quiet Dogs need time to sleep and rest, and being left home alone to snooze can be much more benficial than going somewhere busy. Especially during the festive period when things can get a little hectic. 🐾You wont enjoy yourself if you’re trying to manage your dog If your dog is young, or maybe a little 'spicy' managing them in new or difficult scenarios can be difficult. If that will take your enjoyment away from whatever it is you're doing its okay to leave them at home. #focusdogtrainingleeds #dogsofleeds #dogsofhorsforth #dogtrainerleeds #positivedogtraining #dogtrainer #dogsofyorkshire #yorkshiredogs #dogtraineryorkshire #dogtraining #forcefreetraining #ethicaltraining #sciencebasedtraining #learningthroughfun #fearfreetraining #fearfreedogs #snackleadernotpackleader #leedsbusiness #leedssmallbusiness #horsforth #northleeds #dogloversofinstagram #femaleownedbusiness

You asked, here's your answer! "My mother-in-law is coming for Christmas and the dog's going to jump all over her and she'll get really annoyed, what do I do?" Think about what you want your dog to do instead! A nice alternative to jumping is laying on a bed! So try it, let us know how you get on!

Brrr it's been a bit chilly out hasn't it? So how do we keep our dogs toasty and still manage to get their harnesses on for a walk? Our absolute favourite coat for dogs is the equafleece style jumpers. They're water proof, warm, and fit nicely under a harness. Rydale make a similar style with a zip in the back for pups who don't like things going over their heads!

This year we'll be making some super cute Christmas collars while we chat all things dog at our Christmas Crafts workshop. Join us at St Giles Church in Bramhope on Wednesday 11th December 6pm - 8pm for festive doggy fun Find out more here https://focusdogtraining.online/christmas-craft/

Do you ever have those moments were you feel incredibly irritated by your own dog? You're absolutely not alone! Our answer is to give them something to do away from you. Rachs solution? Keeping a stock of yogurt covered lickimats in the freezer. If you're finding dog ownership challenging and would like to chat to like minded folk and find solutions come and join our social on 26th November at The Brownlee Arms in Horsforth https://focusdogtraining.online/social/

Do you have a 'difficult' dog to live with? We understand how challenging it can be living with dogs who have behaviour challenges. Whether they struggle with other dogs, visitors, noises, or you're struggling with managing their pain or discomfort, it can feel really isolating. On Tuesday 26th November Rach will be giving a talk all about living with difficult dogs. There will also be a great opportunity to chat to fellow dog guardians who 'get it' Join us at the Brownlee Arms in Horsforth 6pm-8pm Book here https://focusdogtraining.online/social/