Chaotic idiot
The big guy bringing belly laughs since 2018
💚 Nelly’s first session working on ‘pram walking etiquette’ 💚
I’m using this footage to highlight the reality of training and the management of expectations.
A 60 minute consultation/ initial session is NOT going to achieve miracles instantly.
Nelly was a ‘puller’ before the pram even came in to play so we had a lot to fit in 60 minutes.
Here’s what we managed to get through:
🐾 Observation of Nelly in full swing walking/ pulling by the pram
🐾Revision work on loose lead training (Nelly’s owners have recently trained their previous American Bulldog to loose lead walk with DogSwot so it was a case of going back over those methods)
🐾This also included encouraging Nelly to enjoy a slower walk when required- we all know the Staffie stomp but it definitely doesn’t go hand in hand with a pram!
🐾Teaching a ‘close’ command – I walked the pram while Nelly’s owner rewarded the position she needs her to be in beside the pram.
🐾Beginning to implement a threshold so asking Nelly to return to the ‘close’ position when she was too far past the front of the pram or too far to the side.
In all honesty, this was a lot to get through and Nelly had started to switch off a tad after 45 minutes but, as I have worked with Nelly’s owners in the past, I was confident that they already understood a lot
of the principles of reward timing, eye contact etc which allowed us to get through more than I may have got through with first time owners.
Initial sessions are designed to assess the dog, practice techniques (and explain the reasons behind using them) and ensure owners are confident in using them correctly to be able to take them away and
implement them consistently and repetitively.
Only then will behaviour change really start to occur.
Be patient, be honest, put in the work, manage expectations and if in doubt…. Message me!!
Meet Wilf
Wilf, and his sister, Suzie, have been with us temporarily for a week or so while their humans are on hols.
I do know of Wilf as he lives quite near us. His owner ( and several mutual
Friends) have often told me he hates most people outside of his little circle, and is deffo not a fan of other dogs! Often kicking off in their presence but a lot of noise and bravado so to speak!
At his meet and greet he barked at me constantly and, when I arrived for his first walk he ran in to the car park to get away from me. So I basically went in to walks with a ‘trial and error’ kind of attitude.
Day 1- we did a solo amble and did lots of engagement and eye contact work
Day 2 - I introduced him to a couple of teeny skwotters to see how he faired, and he let me have a little head scratch!
Day 3- I took along a couple of medium sized skwotters and we also did some desensitising work in a group- just chilling and watching the world and dogs go by
Day 4- torrential rain meant I had to take the big boys ( my 50kg of bulldog) . He did look at me like ‘wtf?’ When they got out of the van but they showed him v little interest when he barked and so he instantly gave up that game and was surprisingly
Interested in our Big C ( prob realised he made a good rain shield)
Day 5- he went with the lads again and also got to meet Nana Dogskwot
Day 6- back with the big C
Day 7- I treated them to a solo walk with my full attention where he came to sit with me, let me give him a right good fuss and also licked a treat in my hand!
I’ve honestly loved getting to know him and Suzie and I hope I’ve showed his owner a side to him that she may not have seen in a long time!
Thanks for trusting me….
Have faith in Wilf……. The little dude did ace!!!
A wonderful update from Billy’s owner this morning!
We’d previously worked with Billy around barking in the house and garden ( no doubt about it…. This guy loves the sound of his own voice)
His owners smashed that problem but contacted me months later re some barking and reactivity to a few particular dogs - mainly in the same park that he has his daily walks in.
His BEFORE shows how he was reacting when he saw certain dogs - lunging, barking, standing on his two back legs and demonstrating little engagement with his owner to even try to understand what she wanted from him in this situation!!
After a session working on more confident handling, communication and engagement techniques and starting to desensitise Billy to his stimulus, his reactivity has reduced massively.
This is only a 2 week difference and he has a way to go but his AFTER certainly shows some major improvements.
And what a change in his body language and the relationship between Billy and his owner - the difference in how Billy’s owner now approaches the issue and verbalises commands and praise to Billy is making such a huge impact on successful modification to his behaviour.
Keep up the good work team! 💙🐾
How Casper used to greet people and how he now behaves when someone visits!
I love to see a happy dog but not everyone wants a head butt and a hand nibble from this strong lad when they enter !!!
Casper’s owners have been working so hard on his ‘place’ when visitors come where he waits patiently until he is released to greet his fans in a calm, polite manner!
The first videos are when his grandad and his dog Walker arrive and the final video was seconds after I arrived yesterday!!
The work going in to this lad is just awesome!
Bearing in mind, this wasn’t actually the reason I visited yesterday but I was so impressed with him that I had to capture it to show him off!!!!
Stay tuned for yesterday’s garden work where his new challenge will be to stop barking and lunging at the neighbours, gate and passing people!!!
Anyone else got a headache yet?
Daschunds are notorious for their ‘voice’ and feistiness but this little guy has been pushing it!
Nipping at visitors legs ( he gave me a little taster on my calves and ankles today) and incessantly barking at people in the house as well as anything that moves that dares to pass his house!
After an hour session we had him in a quiet place in the house where he could resist nipping and barking ( and could actually accept and switch off from any big bad visitors) and started desensitising him to the front garden with some well timed recall and rewards and counter conditioning - we even caught him making his own decisions to resist the bark and lunge after just twenty mins practice!
Lots of practice and repetition to be done and all family members/ visitors have been prepped to assist with his training .
Winding up a daschund who is already displaying insecurity is not a good idea so we’re aiming to create a calmer Winston in the next few weeks!!
Thanks to your neigbour for letting us use them as ‘stimulus’ ( or bait as I like to call it)
Good luck Winston and your wonderful owners!
I look forward to your update!
*** Behaviour Update ***
Meet Barney 💙🩵
A little rescue bulldog from the Edward Foundation who has had several homes in his 5 years.
Last year he landed on his feet finding his forever home with experienced bully owners and their senior lady, Evie.
That said he had come with some ‘quirks’
Barney doesn’t really know how to handle himself in a variety of new and stimulating situations but especially on walks where he was getting overwhelmed and fixated, mainly on dogs who couldn’t get to . He would cry, lunge, bark and whimper for the rest of the walk.
Barney was also barking a lot in the night and early in the morning no matter where he slept.
So…. We got to work!!!
It’s hard to solve so many issues at once so for the last 3 weeks Barney’s owners have worked on:
Extra enrichment and mental stimulation in the home environment
Upped the anti to encourage engagement with them and Impulse control activities.
Used clicker training and desensitisation techniques on busy walks to break fixation, and help him to remain calmer when over stimulated to try to prevent going over threshold .
3 weeks is definitely not a long time in modifying behaviour and you can often feel like you are going backwards before you make break throughs!
Barney has a lot still to learn but consistency, repetition and bags of patience does pay off!
Keep grafting Barney , and your slaves!
