Recall... it's a life skill that should not be seen as a restrictive exercise.
Tonights video (yes, mid-July 😭), is me recalling Zac back from parading around in the long grass with a Teddy.
I call out his name (the attention getter), then with lots of encouraging, I recall him back. Ivy jumps in the mix with some hope she's going to get the Teddy.
He approaches me, and then he rethinks his decision and considers wondering off.
Why? Because he is afraid that it's going to be an opportunity for Ivy to get the toy and him lose it. I give him words of encouragement (which he listens to my tones). He decides that it is safe to come back to me and play time won't be ended.
I give him lots of praise. I rub him around his neck and touch his collar, so that he doesn't associate his collar being touched as going back on the lead.
I then release him back to playing.
This exercise is a trust building exercise for both of us. I recall him back whilst he's having fun, add in some difficulty of multi dog household competition, but I haven't stopped and restricted his fun.
Would you like some help with your recall?
Contact me [email protected] to see how I can help.
1 to 1s £30 per hour + travel time over 8 miles from SA44 4TJ
Would you like to train your dog in a relaxed environment with like-minded people?
Come join us on a Thursday evening 7.30pm, at Tregroes Community Hall, SA44 4NN.
Practice makes progress. Therefore, to achieve your goals of your dog listening to you in different environments, we have to gradually add distractions and difficulty.
Contact me to find out more
[email protected]
Building up positive associations with their owner leaving.
Tonight, all the owners 1 by 1 went out of sight for a brief period. During this time, I calmly stayed with them and gave them some treats to build on the positive association of their owners leaving them.
We kept the separation brief to ensure that they kept calm and relaxed.
This is an essential skill to learn and it is important it is practised when they are young. This ensures when we are out and about, popping into a shop or going to the toilet is a none stressful experience, and our dogs aren't anxious about the separation
The next 4 week puppy class starts Thursday July 13th, 7.30pm at Tregroes Community Hall.
Contact me to find out more
Proud trainer tonight 🥰
These puppies match well, and therefore, we got the chance to practice some off lead training tonight. We practised recall from play, staying close, and listening to cues such as sit and down.
Look at how amazing they all did. Some of these puppies sat under the chair, unsure about interacting, when we first met. Each week, their owners have put in hard work working on building their positive exposures to new things and listening to cues in different environments. The hard work is really paying off.
The next 4 week puppy class starts 18th July. Contact me to book your space.
Recall at puppy class 🐕🐶
We practised recall outside with the puppies this week, with the other puppies scattered around the field doing focus exercises.
Here Boo is a little unsure to run through the middle, but with a little encouragement from me, she ran straight to her mum for treats. 👏
It is important to practice recall at home, always offering a VERY tasty treat, also recall when on a short lead and a long line.
Taking the time to have positive experiences with different environments and cues helps build a good foundation for when our puppies may get in a situation where they are unsure, they know to trust what we are asking of them. Also, when their confidence grows, they will begin to explore their environment more, and a foundation recall at this stage really starts to pay off. We may have to put them on a long line for a short while to help them if they make a wrong decision, but little stints of positive training when they are developing ensures you get a dog who you have a good trusting relationship with.
The next puppy class starts 18th July.
Junior classes are running weekly pay as you go £10 a session. Contact me to find out more details.
Checking our sheep with Turbo. *Please note he is only off lead because they are our sheep, any other livestock he would be on a lead.*
Turbo hasn't always been this chilled around our sheep, it took alot of work to get him here when he was younger.
The work involved building our trust relationship and ensuring good foundations were in place. I then walked him every evening on a lead with the sheep in the distance and practiced these foundations, ensuring he listened when they were around.
If we identify an area that our dogs find difficult, we need to ensure they can answer difficult questions at home. For example can they stay in a sit position whilst we sit on the floor and eat a plate of food, can they stay down whilst we run around the garden. Working on good foundations at home is important, if they can't resist running around with us in the garden, we can't expect a recall in an open field where there's distractions such as wildlife and livestock, therefore they should be held on a long line or short lead. We can then ask for recalls whilst we are out and about on lead.
To find out more regarding my 1 to 1 sessions or group sessions contact me [email protected]
RECALL MID ZOOMIES WITH DISTRACTIONS 🎊😎🥰
Here is a video of us taking Cadi's recall to the next level. Practising in a controlled environment doesn't mean just recalling when they are in 'training mode'. We want to ensure we are practising when they are excited and aroused, too.
Why?! Because we need them to learn whatever emotional state they are in, they still need to listen and respond to their caregivers. So when you are out walking in the real world and the world is stimulating and exciting, they listen to what you are asking and respond as needed.
We then let Cadi go back to her zoomies, we also need them to learn responding is rewarding not restricting.
Contact me if you would like to join in our summer training evenings on a Thursday evening 6.30pm at Tregroes Hall starting May 16th. Pay per an evening.
Socialisation and habituation.
How do we get our dogs to learn that everything and everyone does not need interaction!?
How do we teach them to accept being bored?
We need to expose them to lots of different environments at their own pace. We need to start by taking them places for a short period of time, ensuring that these little snippets are positive.
Here is a short reel of me and Ivy out and about in Llandysul. It is important to start by choosing areas where you can retreat away from people/traffic so if it becomes too overwhelming, you can give them the opportunity to observe from a distance that they are happy with.
These sessions need to be short initially, so take every little opportunity you get.
*A wonder around the village if you are stopping for milk and bread.
*kids at club
*Dropped the other half at the pub.. Wonder around the car park
*Picking up a takeaway, allow an extra 5 minutes to have a quick wonder around.
*Stop somewhere different and sit down on a bench.
*Take the bin out and stand and do nothing for a few minutes.
Training cues are often what people are focused on, but if our dogs can't focus in different environments, then listening to cues is very difficult for them. By going at their pace and exposing our puppies in a positive manner at the earliest opportunity, we will help our training in the future.
Contact me to discuss 1 to 1 or group training
[email protected]
Puppy class
This is just a quick video of separation practice. It is important to build our puppies up to separation in a variety of environments, as when we are out and about, there are many scenarios we will need to walk away.
*Going to the toilet.
*Going into a none dog friendly shop.
*Waiting in the car whilst you pay for parking.
*Waiting with one family member whilst the rest of the family are in a playground.
*Staying at the table in a cafe whilst someone goes and orders.
This puppies owners have gone out of the exit, as you can see he only has one thing on his mind, finding them treats. 🥰🤩
Puppy class runs at 7.30pm on. Thursday evening at Tregroes Community Hall. Contact me to find out more @[email protected]
This video shows impulse control, listening with distractions and introducing cues in different scenarios (from a distance, at the side).
We have an adult group with 3 German shepherds, what dreams are made of 🥰.
They are all here because they want to practice their training around different dogs and people. In an environment where they know there's no off lead dogs, there's no 'it's OK my dog is friendly, he just wants to say hello' or 'they will sort it out together'. Everyone is here to support each other and give each other space as needed.
They are all at different levels, BUT every week, each once has progressed. Practice makes progress 🥰
The clocks change soon, and evening outdoor training will commence, which means more space and bigger training opportunities 😀 🥰🤩
Contact me if you would like to work on your dogs focus in a safe group environment.
[email protected]
Focus and recall this week at puppy class.
These 2 are good friends and love to have a play together.
This week, at the puppy classes, we increased the difficulty for the puppies. One puppy staying in the sit position, and the other puppy released and then recalled before they went to say hello.
These are very important life skills when out and about.
At puppy classes, we can do this in a safe environment. Knowing the character of the other puppies is very important should they not focus for a little moment.
Contact me if you would like more information on how to join us.
Puppy walking 1 to 1 sessions
This morning, I met Minnie and her owner out on a walk at Newcastle Emlyn.
Minnie had a 1 to 1 training session at home prior to her vaccination course completion and joined us for puppy classes, so she has been putting into practice appropriate habituation, socialisation, and training.
Minnie is doing very well and was confident with alot of different sights and sounds on our walk. If she was unsure, she would take a little moment to have an investigate and then move on.
Minnie wants to say hello to everyone when out walking, and her owner is keen to ensure that Minnie doesn't continue to see everyone as a fuss magnet.
We worked on identifying the distance that Minnie can currently ignore people passing and gave her praise and rewards for not pulling towards passing people.
Minnie soon worked out that people were just background, and the rewards and praise came from looking at her owner or carrying on with her walk. We decreased to a distance that Minnie could work with, and her owner now has a plan working forward, ensuring that it is Minnie controlling her emotions and not her owner tightening the lead and pulling her away.
We discussed impulse control and focus training with Minnie, and we highlighted that her focus training with no distractions needed increasing to help both her owner and Minnie when out and about.
Habituation to different sights, sounds and environments is a very important part of training
This morning, we had
Young people
Old people
People walking in groups
People on their own
Men
Women
People carrying shopping and boxes
Men with hats
Children in bright clothing
Prams
Wheelchairs
A women with a stick
Large dogs
Little dogs
Barking dogs
Lorries
Cars
Motorbikes
Cyclists
Scaffolding
Blowing street signs
As you can see from the video, Minnie did very well in her session. She had been out for an hour, and Minnie was ready to head home for a rest and process her morning.
It is a fine balance betw
A quick video from last week's puppy class, where the puppies are learning, that lots of different things happen in the environment, but they don't go over and get involved unless they have been told they can do so.
Here, we are teaching our puppies that staying with their owner/recalling to their owner is highly rewarding.
My next 4 week puppy class starts 29th February. Contact me for more information if you would like to join.
*One space remaining - 7.30pm Tregroes Community Hall SA44 4NN*
Look at the focus ✨️ 😍
Grace came for a 1 to 1 at Tregroes Hall on Thursday evening. She is a gorgeous 18 month old German Shepherd, who has some good training foundations but her owners are wanting to increase her focus around distractions and get her loose lead walking.
Grace's owner used alot of body language alongside repeating cues to get her to sit/down so we increased the challenge. Does Grace understand the cue sit and down, without body language and whilst you are not always standing in front of her close by.
Using body language and cues together is a useful tool, to get our dogs understanding what behaviour we want them to carry out. However, when we are out and about we want to be able to ask our dogs to listen to cues in various scenarios. This can only happen if our dogs understand that 'sit' means sit if we are looking away/they are moving away etc. This understanding comes from lots of practice in low distracting environments prior to asking bigger questions when out and about.
Here is a video of Grace doing very well in her first session with Clawdd Melyn K9.
Grace and owners are going to practice their new training for a couple weeks and then they are going to join our group sessions to enable them to practice with distractions in a safe environment.
Practice makes progress 🥰🥰
Contact me to see how I can help you get more focus and enjoyable walks.
Puppy classes at Clawdd Melyn are all about building their confidence with different puppies, people and objects at their own pace in a safe environment.
Puppy socialisation and habituation is important to ensure they feel confident and relaxed in the unpredictable world. If they feel relaxed and happy then they are able to learn that things go on around them, but what their owner is asking them is the important thing and positive things come from listening to their owners.
Here at Clawdd Melyn K9 we gradually increase the challenge of listening to cues whilst the environment is busy and exciting.
Whilst the weather is wet, cold, miserable and dark it can be difficult to get out and about with your puppies.
Come join us on a Thursday evening at Ysgol Tregroes School to learn and have fun with your puppies.
Contact me for more information through messenger or email [email protected]
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#PuppySocialisation
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Dogs and little human relationships can be wonderful, but boundaries need to be set to ensure that it is safe and enjoyable for both parties.
I am very happy to have 1 to 1 consultations with the whole family to ensure that everyone understands how to have a successful relationship.
In 2023 I welcomed many family groups to my training classes and it is a joy to watch the children's enthusiasm for showing me their progress each week.
Children do need to be calm and sensible at the classes to ensure a safe learning environment for everyone. There is space in the hall for them to sit out classes if they prefer to watch from a distance.
Contact me for more information if you would like to get your children involved in training.
Do you have a dog over 6 months and would like to learn more foundation skills to make your everyday life more enjoyable.
Join Clawdd Melyn K9's next 5 week course starting Thursday 18th January at Tregroes Hall.
*Last couple of spaces remaining *
Clawdd Melyn K9 offers a safe indoor venue where you can learn together.
Week 1 is theory week without the dog where you learn how to create focus in a stimulating environment, how to recognise signs of frustration and stress and how to minimise this. This ensures the classes are an enjoyable learning environment for you both.
The course covers
Reward and motivation
Brushing up on the foundation cues such as sit and down.
Loose lead walking
Recall foundation skills
Waiting at doors and gates
Introducing release cues
Focus and relationship
Dogs must be social to attend the group classes.
I offer lots of support to help you achieve your goals. Practice makes progress, the first step is to ask for help and guidance.
THURSDAY 18TH JANUARY AT TREGROES HALL 6.30PM - 45 MINUTE SESSION.
5 WEEK COURSE ONLY £65
PUPPY CLASSES 7.30PM
COMTACT ME FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO BOOK.
Here is Minnie at our 1 to 1 puppy session having her new harness on and a short session with the lead.
Minnie has had the lead on a couple of times before our session, and she thought it was a wonderful tuggy toy. Her owner wanted to be proactive to prevent this becoming an issue.
Minnie has a couple of weeks before her vaccines are complete so there's plenty of time to get her happy and walking with her new harness and collar.
Minnie is going on little adventures in the safety of her owners arms.
Don't wait until vaccine courses are complete for your puppy to experience things. Little and often from the beginning is important.
Contact me to dicuss your training needs
Minnie is going to do a little training session out and about with me soon and she is also joining in the weekly classes, so get ready for lots of Minnie pupdates 🐶🐕
[email protected]
Merry Christmas from Clawdd Melyn K9.
I would just like to take this opportunity to thank all of my customers in my first 6 months as Clawdd Melyn K9, it has been a pleasure to meet you all and work together to achieve your goals. I am looking forward to 2024, continuing to work with you and meeting new families and their dogs.
Thank you to everyone for the likes, shares and recommendations. It certainly doesn't go unnoticed, and it means so much that you are all supporting me grow my business.
The best Christmas present you could give me is to continue supporting me in 2024. A review would be an absolute bonus 🥰.
I am now taking bookings for January 1 to 1s.
The next Junior/adult class starts 18th January at 6.30pm
The next puppy class starts 18th January at 7.30pm.
Contact me to secure your place.
Enjoy your time together and remember to advocate for your dog. Give them plenty of space where they can go undisturbed and havr quiet walks together.
Loose lead walking is a skill that some dogs find more difficult than others.
Lovely Iona is a spaniel who can get herself overwhelmed with the environment when out on a walk and then finds it difficult to engage with her owners.
We have been working together to get Iona more engaged with her owners, in less stimulating environments and ensuring she understands cues at a good level, before expecting her to respond to them with distractions.
On Thursday evening we progressed to lead walk practice. The lead is a safety tool that ensures that your dog is kept safe when out walking. Your voice, body language/movement and rewards are the tools for loose lead walking. So initially we practised without the lead, to avoid the temptation of using it to pull her back. We then introduced the lead. Here is a little video of them together, the treat delivery needs to be lower to avoid the jumping up but it is progress in the right direction 😃. As Iona becomes more relaxed we will give alot of rewards for her walking in a more natural position whilst not pulling. Practice makes progress!
1 to 1s in Tregroes Hall are available on a Thursday evening at 8.30pm. Ideal if you or your dog would find it difficult to learn in a group environment or you would like to gain some focus before joining a group session.
Contact me for more details.
