Cydymaith Dog Training

12/02/2025

⭐️⭐️ It’s JR delivery day!! ⭐️⭐️

We’ve got lots of tasty, high quality training treats and chews available for your pooches to enjoy, including:

🐾 The super popular Buffalo wraps

🐶 Pure Pate in 2 sizes - great for chopping into high value training treats

🐾 Ostrich long bones - they look fantastic for hard chewers

🐶 Pure Training Treats - Kangaroo or Ostrich

🐾 Whole sprats - another favourite training treat in our house

All available to purchase at training sessions, flyball or to collect

10/02/2025

🥰 Let's have some feel good Monday motivation 🥰

Drop in the comments something you're proud of achieving with your dog.

Maybe it’s something that you’ve had to work really hard on to achieve, or maybe it’s the smaller steps towards the bigger goal.

Let's take a moment to celebrate the amazing progress we make with our dogs and how consistently and determination pays off.

Here’s Brac enjoying his first off lead walk around Hoddam Castle along the river - nailing his recall every single time. The engagement games and activities, and consistent approach to training his recall is paying off and we couldn’t be prouder of him 🥰

10/02/2025

🐾 PUPPY CLASS 🐾

We’ve got one space left on our Feb / March puppy course which starts this week, Wednesday 12th February, 7:30pm - 8:30pm at Kettleholm village hall.

6 week course to get your puppy’s training journey started 🙂

We cover:

🐶 focus and engagement games
🐶 loose lead walking
🐶 recall
🐶 impulse control
🐶 stationing / bed work
🐶 waits and stays

£96 for 6 week course

07/02/2025

🐾 FEBRUARY & MARCH classes 🐾

We’re trying something a bit different through February and March as the business evolves and we try to improve our services.

We will be offering 3 different types of class:

🐶 PUPPY courses will be 6 weeks and gives you and your puppy a great start to their training.

🐾 Puppy Plus and Adolescent classes will be ‘continuing classes’ which means you keep your space month on month for as long as you want it. This allows for regular training and continuity with training.

🐶 Movement Puzzles and Beginners Flyball will be Pay As You Go sessions. These still need to be booked but you book in and attend the ones you want to.

⭐️ Classes are limited to 4 dogs to ensure the best learning environment.
⭐️ All spaces must be booked - even the PAYG sessions.
⭐️ Dogs must be able to work safely around other dogs.

Please message for more information or to book.

06/02/2025

🐾 Do you warm up and cool down your dog before and after exercise? 🐾

Warming up and cooling down your dog before and after exercise is important to prevent injuries and keep them comfortable. It’s important for all dogs but especially for dogs taking part in dog sport activities or going for long and strenuous walks or hikes.

Warm-Up for Dogs

A proper warm-up increases blood flow, loosens muscles, and prepares joints for movement.

1. Gentle Walk (5–10 minutes) – Start with a slow-paced walk, gradually increasing the speed.

2. Light Stretching – Encourage natural stretching by using treats or having your dog reach up, bow down, or extend their legs. Be careful not to over stretch them.

3. Controlled Play – Short, slow movements like retrieving a toy or engaging in a mild tug game can help activate muscles.

4. Mental Engagement – Keep your dog focused with simple commands like sit, stay, or heel to warm up their brain as well.

Cool-Down for Dogs

Cooling down helps lower the heart rate gradually and prevents muscle stiffness.

1. Slow Walk (5–10 minutes) – Let your dog walk at a relaxed pace to bring their heart rate down.

2. Gentle Massage – Lightly massage muscles, especially in active areas like legs and shoulders, to release tension.

3. Hydration – Offer fresh water to help regulate body temperature.

4. Passive Stretching – Once your dog is relaxed, gently stretch their front and back legs to improve flexibility and prevent stiffness.

5. Rest in a Cool Area – Allow your dog to recover in a shaded or indoor space with proper ventilation.

05/02/2025

These two pooped pups took themselves off to have a nap before I’d even left after their session this afternoon.

Today we’ve been looking at play, including:

🐾 how they play with each other
🐾 their toy preferences
🐾 interrupting and changing a frequent behaviour pattern around toys which is not what we want going forward
🐾 games and activities which play to their breed characteristics and are suitable breed specific outlets

Play is such an important part of puppy development. It’s also great for:

⭐️ developing your relationship and having fun
⭐️ building focus and attention
⭐️ mental enrichment

They both worked so hard and have lots to work on before our next session 🙂

05/02/2025

📣 Last space available to book before this fantastic course starts next Wednesday 12th February

We keep group sizes small to provide the optimum learning environment so spaces are strictly limited 🐾 🐶

🐾🐾 PUPPY CLASSES 🐾🐾

Our new 6 week puppy course is now open for booking.

🐾 Small class size to ensure personalised attention and tailored instruction
🐾 6 week course to get your training journey off to a great start
🐾 Games-based, positive-reinforcement training to develop a range of life skills
🐾 Designed to develop a strong foundation of trust and communication

Dates:
Wednesday 12th, 19th, 26th Feb and 5th, 12th & 19th March

Cost:
£96 for the 6 week block

For puppies up to 7 months old.

Message the page for more details or to book a space.

03/02/2025

Some of our adolescent dogs have been working really hard on their loose lead walking skills. Tonight we combined walking a figure of eight with removing and replacing the lead.

These two have been working so hard on their focus and engagement skills over the past few months.

We included unclipping the lead and continuing the activity so that the dogs learn that the lead coming off doesn’t mean they can disappear off. The lead being removed shouldn’t be a cue to loose engagement or finish the activity.

Fantastic focus, engagement and attention 🐶

03/02/2025

🐾 2025 Goals 🐾

How's your 2025 going? As we are now at the beginning of February, I'd thought I'd review how we are progressing with our 2025 goals!

Back at the end of December, I looked at what I wanted each dog to achieve over the course of 2025. Rather than having New Year Resolutions, I set out a series of goals that I wanted to work towards. That way, one unproductive week didn't right off the rest of the month!

Each dog has individualised goals in the areas of:
🐾 Wellness
🐾 Fitness
🐾 Dog Sports / Enrichment
🐾 Life skills

In January we have been making progress towards.....

🐾 Brac running in a Flyball team (focused drills during training has been helping him work on this goal)
🐾 Teg working on his 'Out' behaviour and cue for letting go of toys and items, both in the house and in dog sports
🐾 Brac & Teg improving their Flyball fitness by looking at their weekly exercise activities, canine conditioning activities and their diet.
🐾 Buddy has been working on calmer transitions from the house to the van.

None of these goals are complete just yet, but I am really pleased with the progress that we have made towards achieving them throughout January.

We've some goals that we haven't really done much work on at all, so our focus for February will include:

🐾 Getting Teg and Brac started on Canicross to 5k
🐾 Working on weave entries with all three dogs
🐾 Allocating more time in the week for canine conditioning activities
🐾 Scentwork sessions for all three dogs
🐾 Brac's stationing skills

Looks like we have a busy February coming up!

What are your goals for 2025? I'd love to hear what you and your dogs are working on and what you are wanting to achieve

01/02/2025

🐾 What do we offer at Cydymaith Dog Training? 🐾

At Cydymaith Dog Training we pride ourselves on offering a range of excellent services where our client and their dog is at the heart of everything we do.

🐾 Customised Training Plans - for you and your dog to work on between sessions, along with ad-hoc support via What's App, Messenger or text message.
🐾 Experienced, Qualified Trainers - certified professionals with a commitment to on-going CPD, and personal & professional development.
🐾 Convenience and Flexibility - our flexible scheduling of sessions allows you to fit dog training sessions around a busy lifestyle.
🐾 Group sessions and Workshops - to work on various training goals alongside others.
🐾 Mobile Dog Treat Shop - where you can purchase high quality training treats and long lasting chews to support both training and your dog's natural desire to chew.

Drop us a message to start your dog's training journey today.

31/01/2025

🐾 Why is Mental Enrichment Important for Your Dog? 🐾

Mental enrichment sessions for dogs are designed to stimulate a dog's mind, enhance their cognitive abilities, and prevent boredom, which could lead to behavioural issues. Mental enrichment activities are an excellent way to stimulate their cognitive abilities and enhance their overall well-being.

Mental enrichment sessions can incorporate a variety of activities, including:

🐾 Puzzle toys (including homemade ones) that challenge their problem-solving skills
🐾 Scent games that utilize their keen sense of smell
🐾 Obedience training that reinforces their ability to follow known cues in a range of different environments
🐾 Dog sport foundation activities and drills, including going round objects or learning to go through a tunnel

Interactive play, like hide-and-seek or agility courses, also provides mental stimulation while strengthening the bond between the dog and its owner. Regular mental enrichment is crucial for a dog's overall well-being, offering them an outlet for their natural instincts and energy, ultimately leading to a happier and more balanced pet.

By providing mental challenges, we can help prevent boredom-related behaviors such as excessive barking or chewing. Furthermore, mental enrichment can improve a dog's problem-solving skills, boost confidence, build resilience, and strengthen the bond between pet and owner. Tailoring activities to a dog's specific interests and abilities can make these sessions even more effective, ensuring a happy and mentally healthy canine companion.

Do you think your dog would benefit from a range of mental enrichment in their lives?

We offer 1:1 Mental Enrichment sessions where we look closely at what your dog likes, their breed characteristics, their reward preferences and their daily routine, and then provide you with a range of activities that could benefit both you and your dog.

Drop us a message for more information and boost your dog's enrichment activities today!

30/01/2025

🐾🐾 PUPPY CLASSES 🐾🐾

Our new 6 week puppy course is now open for booking.

🐾 Small class size to ensure personalised attention and tailored instruction
🐾 6 week course to get your training journey off to a great start
🐾 Games-based, positive-reinforcement training to develop a range of life skills
🐾 Designed to develop a strong foundation of trust and communication

Dates:
Wednesday 12th, 19th, 26th Feb and 5th, 12th & 19th March

Cost:
£96 for the 6 week block

For puppies up to 7 months old.

Message the page for more details or to book a space.

29/01/2025

📣📣. Did you know? 📣📣

🐶 The best time to socialize your puppy is between 8-16 weeks!

🐾 Exposing them to new people, places, and sounds now helps prevent fear and anxiety later.

⭐️ Our structured puppy social sessions provide the perfect socialisation experience!

28/01/2025

I’ve been so busy thinking about February’s classes and activities that I almost forgot all about the last January Training Tip Tuesday!!

So….. Week 4 - Training Tip Tuesday

📣 DON’T GIVE UP 📣

Sometimes when we work with our dogs everyday we struggle to see the progress and the gains that they are making.

Whether it’s recall, toilet training, loose lead walking or any of the many other things that take time for us to teach and our dogs to learn…. Don’t Give Up.

Spending time establishing solid foundations is vital but can sometimes feel like you will never reach your end goal.

One day, all those little steps will all come together and you will realise how far you and your dog have come.

Here’s Brac at the beach this afternoon. His recall training has definitely been a journey (😳) and hours and hours of work has gone into securing his foundations. But today - he absolutely earned his off lead freedom.

We’ve still got work to do to keep improving and to expand the number of places where he will be given off lead privileges, but in this environment we’ve made huge gains.

So, whatever challenges your dog is merrily throwing at you today - keep going.

We offer bespoke 1:1 sessions as well as our group classes and workshops so if you would like support with a particular training issue, getting your new puppy off to a great start or overcoming a wee challenge you & your dog are facing then drop me a message 🙂

28/01/2025

🐾 NEW PUPPY SOCIALISATION SESSIONS 🐾

Our structured puppy social sessions incorporate fun and reward-based play activities to help your puppy become more confident in new scenarios.

There will be time for Q & A throughout the session.

🐾 If your puppy has had their 2nd vaccine but is not allowed on the floor just yet, please carry your puppy to and from the hall. The hall will be disinfected before our puppy social session.

🐾 Puppies must be under 20 weeks old.

🐾 Bring tasty treats (ideally nice and small), harness, collar, lead, poo bags and a toy.

🐾 These are one-off sessions and not a puppy course.

Please message the page to book or for more information.

24/01/2025

💨 STORMY DAY INDOOR ACTIVITY 💨

Our second activity is all about practising impulse control.

📣 Impulse control activities gets your dog really using their brain.

📣 Impulse control games help dogs to learn to wait, and promotes and practices calm behaviour.

🐾 Hold a treat or piece of kibble in a closed fist. When your dog sits, say yes and release the treat.

🐾 Gradually build up the level of difficulty so that you are placing the treat on the floor and there is a pause where your dog waits before you release them to the treat. We teach the release cue ‘break’ to let the dog know they can move and fetch the treat.

🐾 Increase the amount of pieces of food or the value of the food (the higher the value of the food, the harder your dog may find it).

🐾 Can your dog sit calmly in a wait while you write their name in kibble? (If your dog has a long name, you might just want to pick a few letters to begin with to ensure your pup doesn’t get too frustrated and that they are set up for success).

Let us know in the comments how you and your dog gets on.

24/01/2025

💨 STORMY DAY INDOOR ACTIVITY 💨

Our first activity is all about getting your dog to use their nose.

📣 Did you know that 10 minutes of sniffing is equivalent to 60 minutes of walking.

📣 Scent work and sniffing activities are great for building confidence, optimism and resilience in your dog.

🐾 Challenge your dog further by putting a smelly treat under one of three (or more, depending on your dog) upturned cups or bowls. Mix them around so you don’t know where the treat is and get them to sniff it out.

🐾 Work on their waiting skills by asking them to wait on their bed or a mat until you give their release cue and let them start the game.

Let us know in the comments how you and your dog gets on.