Clever Dogs Training School Ltd

06/06/2024

Repost because it’s important!

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Hormonal imbalances can be directly linked to the excessive rise and fall of glucose spikes throughout the day, over a period of time.

In our dogs, the biggest culprit for glucose spikes is processed food and a high diet carb load found in commercial dog food (including treats).

There can be a range of early warning symptoms that diet is more of a factor in behavioural issues than you may first think.

Besides obesity, symptoms may include persist allergies, ear and urinary infections, dry flaky skin, blocked a**l glands and gassiness as well as behavioural issues, including irritability, anxiety, lack of impulse control and aggression.

23/04/2024

Spring is here and that means it’s time to look out for some common hazards that your dog may come across. There are lots of potential dangers not limited to our list - we’ve just highlighted some of the more common ones we see, so we encourage you to brush up on the others for a safe and fun spring time.

Knowledge is power.

29/02/2024

Every dog owner trying to explain what’s on their clothes… 🐶

13/02/2024

When the teacher tells you to put your listening ears on 👂

12/02/2024

Do you know anyone that still believes in dominance theory? 🐾

31/01/2024

Cognitive dissonance is wanting to keep the kids clean but knowing microbial exposure from the mud is good for them 🥴

30/01/2024

Reinforcement is the term we use to refer to giving a dog something they like after a behaviour has been performed, in order to reward them.

In order for a reinforcement to be rewarding, it has to be something your dog likes from their POV (not your assumption of what your dog likes). Equally it has to be something that can be given in rapid succession because the more repetitions we can get whilst the dog is interested, the stronger the behaviour will become in a short space of time. This is why we often use small bits of food but food doesn’t have to be the only reinforcement!

There are many different kinds of reward schedules used but in training, the two most often used, especially in the early days of learning a behaviour will be continuous reinforcement (CR) and intermittent reinforcement (IR).

CR: delivering reinforcement (immediately following) each time a behaviour is performed. This is especially relevant during the learning stage.

IR: delivering reinforcement intermittently and randomly each time a behaviour is performed. This is especially relevant when wishing to maintain a behaviour. Undesirable behaviours are usually maintained through IR without realisation from the caregiver.

Usually during training, you would start with (for example) CR and gradually phase to IR once a behaviour has been learned.

Other terms used when discussing reinforcement and schedules include: Fixed interval schedule (FIS), Primary reinforcement (PR), Secondary reinforcement (SR), Tertiary reinforcement (TR) and Variable interval schedule (VIR).

25/01/2024

Another great example of why it’s important to take an objective view of behaviour instead of labelling it.

Being curious about why your dog does what he/she does will lead you to so many more right answers than being angry, ignorant or frustrated ever will.
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2024 update -

This post was made two years ago and has recently been getting attention again. The sad thing is that actually nothing has changed. This program is still being made. There is ( as far as I know - and very happy to be corrected if I am wrong) no veterinary involvement with these dogs prior to filming.

How many more dogs are going to be labled as awkward, difficult, stubborn or just lazy when actually there is an underlying pain issue?

We have so many wonderful trainers and behaviourists that could fill this man’s shoes and provide far more valuable advice and training. Stop giving people like this man air time… pick someone who actually cares about the wellbeing of the dogs they work with instead of the cash going to line their pockets…

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Some phrases used on this particular episode of ‘Dogs behaving (very) badly’ where 8 year old Ruby would only get off the sofa if the rug was over the laminate flooring, and would sit down and stop on walks…

‘being a madam’

‘Controlling the diva’

‘Indulging her with rugs’

‘Thinks she’s in charge’

OR

Is this actually a dog in pain, a dog scared of slipping and hurting, a dog trying to tell everyone that she’s uncomfortable?

It’s not indulging her with a rug, it’s making sure her own home is accessible and safe for her. She’s not ‘being a diva’ and refusing to walk, she’s telling you it hurts and she’s uncomfortable.

I’m very glad that the owners realise that this dogs weight is having a significant impact on her life but there are other things that need addressing here. I have no doubt they absolutely adore their girl, that is very clear to see, but I desperately wish they had the right kind of support for Ruby, not just let’s force her to walk and walk on a floor she’s is scared

Dogs Behaving Very Badly and The Dogfather (Graham Hall)… I’m afraid the blame falls to you on this occasion. You have a massive platform with thousands of dog owners watching every episode. How about talking about signs of pain? Indicators of discomfort? When behaviours actually tell us somethings wrong? Ways to adapt houses for older dogs and those that struggle with mobility? You could educate SO MANY owners but no, it doesn’t happen. Instead we just see an uncomfortable dog being forced to walk when she doesn’t want to, and live in an environment that she is scared of.

Dogs need us to advocate for them, to realise when we need to do more and to learn the ways that they tell us something isn’t right. Owner education is the key to this and this could have been a brilliant opportunity to do just that.

20/01/2024

On Monday morning we will be joining our friends at to discuss the growing concern from industry professionals, in the rise of use of aversive training methods and tools, particularly in “pandemic” dogs.

The topic of using aversive tools and methods sadly, isn’t a new one and as an industry we have worked hard as a collective to educate owners in what science has to say about animal behaviour in response to various training methodologies, in the hope that we can improve our animals health and emotional wellbeing along the way.

And for the best part, it’s been working! Or at least it seems it was until it wasn’t; when the pandemic hit us.

Whilst we will leave the discussion of the impact this change in trends is having on our animals until Monday, what we will discuss here is the Psychology behind this change.

You see, the pandemic caused a lot of turmoil. We saw people going through job loss, financial hardship, familial separation, decline in health status….the list goes on. And with the cost of living crisis that soon followed, the daily worries that people are experiencing are continuing.

You may be asking yourself what all of this has to do with our pets but if you look a little closer you’ll soon see that the consequence of all of these experiences is a growing sense of feeling out of control. Combine that with the increasing desire to feel socially acceptable, thanks to the rise in social media platforms, e.g. Tik Tok and you have a recipe for disaster.

When people lose their sense of control in one aspect of their life, they will look to create a sense of control in others. This is a well known and accepted fact in other aspects of society too, such as when looking at the increase in domestic
violence, which happened over the same time period.

Sadly and unlike the issue of domestic violence, the issue of using punitive methods on our pets has created a divide. In many ways it is now being seen as necessary, even trendy to resolve problem behaviours such as lead pulling and aggression by using tools such as prong collars, for example with little to no thought about the emotional impact to our pets.

It’s time for change.

19/01/2024

Winter can bring its own hazards for our pets too. Knowing your pets environment and their habits can help you identify potential risks and take action ❄️

18/01/2024

When you get the Friday feeling but it’s not Friday 🤪