Charnwood Dog School

23/02/2025

Just a few photos from our last week of our Progressive Gundog course this afternoon. Well done everyone! 🥰👏

23/02/2025

This is teamwork at its best! Our intermediate Scentwork and tracking group worked as a team relay tracking 660 metres over very challenging terrain today. Just amazing to watch! 👌❤️

23/02/2025

We finished our Intriduction to Scentwork course today. Everyone is indicating on gun oil and the searching is just lovely to watch. So very proud of you all! 👌🥰👏

23/02/2025

We finished our Gundog Club grade 2 course today. We had a recap and covered hunting today. Keep up the great work team! 👏🥰

22/02/2025

How much do you put in your dog's jar of reinforcement for recall ?
It was today's reminder to reward your dog for recall 😊. It might just get better and better 😉.

Great representations 👌

22/02/2025

When you're majestic, but then remember you're just a big baby!!!! 😆😇🥰🥰🥰
Handsome Zeus learning that the world is not ending if he can't say hello to everyone on walks 😅😉🫠. Learning to stay calm around distractions, all in preparation for his Reactivity course! Superstar 🤗

22/02/2025

Our Beginner Gundog course finished today. We couldn’t be prouder of how well you have all progressed! All the dogs are retrieving so we had some fun today! ❤️👌👏

22/02/2025

Our final week of Puppy Plus class today. Lots of recall practice around distractions and other dogs!

You smashed it! So impressive. Well done Team!
❤️👌👏

22/02/2025

We finished off our Puppy course today with recall practice and recall theory. So proud of you all. I love seeing the progress and confidence building in just 5 weeks! Amazing! ❤️👏🥰

22/02/2025

Weekend training tip from a good resource. Can you guys remember our 3D's that we use in training?
Enjoy training your dog and create the best relationship ❤️.

Dogs are great at many things, but one thing they are not so good at is generalising. It makes sense to us that, when they have learned a cue at home, they should be able to understand and respond to that cue wherever they go. The thing is that dog brains don't work in quite that way. Dogs need to be taught that the same cue means they do the same thing in all different kinds of environments and situations.

To do this, we need to generalise or 'proof' the cue. Help the dog to understand that the cue asks them for the same thing, wherever they are.

To do this we look at the three factors listed here.

Distance: Initially when we are working on cues with our dogs, we will be very close. But there may well be a time when you would like or need to ask your dog to do something when they are a distance away from you. To do this, gradually start asking the dog to respond to the cue from further away. For recall, as an example, once the cue is well established at home, start practicing at slowly increasing distances when out for a walk (use a longline attached to the dog's harness until their recall is solid in all locations and from distance). Periodically call the dog back from a distance, reward, and then send them off to explore again. This is one that's good to keep doing once their recall is reliable and they can go off lead, as only ever calling an off-lead dog back to put the lead on might well put them off coming back! And remember to always call your dog back if they are approaching an on-lead dog as a simple courtesy to the others using the same area.

Distractions: This is an important one for many dogs, especially young dogs who are keen to explore the world and learn about their environment. Once the cue is well established at home, start building up distractions slowly. Going from your garden at home to a busy local park will be far too much for the dog to be able to concentrate so take it in little steps. Outside your house, perhaps, or somewhere like a car park with plenty of space but where there will be some people/cars etc to act as distractions. To begin with, in a new environment, go back a little in terms of the distance between you and your dog when you give the cue and increase it again as the dog is becoming comfortable with the cue in the new location. Build up the number of different places and how busy the places you go to are to help your dog see that the cue means the same, no matter how busy the environment. (But play fair and let them have plenty of time to explore new environments safely and happily, for both you/your dog and the others using that space).

Duration: Sometimes we will need to ask our dogs to do something and have them keep doing it for a while, perhaps a sit, a down, a wait/stay. Something that helps with building duration is having a release cue, and this is something that we can teach the dog at the same time as the initial cue we'd like them to respond to. For instance, I use 'OK' as my release cue, so I'll ask my dog for a down, and then say 'OK' to let him know that he's fine to get up again. Initially we'll say this almost immediately after we've marked and rewarded the down, and then gradually increase the length of time between the cue and the release.

You can combine all three of these factors to have a cue that your dog can respond to at a distance, in any kind of environment, and (where appropriate) will stay there until released. Having this kind of reliability in your cues means you can be confident and enjoy being out in the world with your dog, knowing that they will listen to you wherever you are.

21/02/2025

Great off-site session with Pixie!!! This girl is definitely well trained and understands all the cues that her guardians are giving her.
Due to her age and clearly strong working genetics, what she struggles is the 'do nothing' part! Today, we have practiced lots of games and less pressure on obedience! She did amazingly well!

21/02/2025

Lovely walk with the one and only Poppy! What a good and clever girl! All the hard work from her mum is really paying off now! A proper superstar today! Well done, girls!!!!🥰🥰🥰

21/02/2025

Only a few sessions with Nola, and we can already see improvements! Her guardians are clearly working a lot with her, and it's nice to see her all focused on them rather than dogs!

20/02/2025

Lots of work with the girls today! Storm is a learning machine 😇😆! Meanwhile, Rosie would easily have some cuddles as a break!
Such a special girls! We do have the best job!

20/02/2025

What a pleasure to see this clever little girl! Her family is very proactive and is planning how to keep her busy when the family is having health difficulties.
Amber is just a bundle of energy that would do something fun all the time and will try to get your attention by 'talking to you' until you give in 😆😇.
Lots of enrichment things for her to keep her brain working and management techniques!

18/02/2025

Dog REACTIVE owners!! We want to help you!

Is your dog reactive on walks, barking at dogs, or simply just frustrated and pulling on the lead?
Are you unable to enjoy your walks anymore?

Then this is the perfect training class for you!!!!

Led by our expert in reactivity with over 8 years of experience in rehabilitating difficult dogs for Dogs Trust. Our trainer, Emma, has successfully run dog reactive classes for the last 4 years and has improved the lives of owners and their dogs.

Qualified with the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT member no. 01633), approved by the ABTC (Association of Behaviour and Training Council).

18/02/2025

Recall with the girls!!!! Who can resist the floppy ears!!!!
Then we did a down with distractions of movements, even tried jumping jacks 🤣🤣🤣🥰🥰🥰 she didn't mind !

18/02/2025

Can you train two dogs at the same time??? Well, these girls certainly tell that you can! It was a fun and challenging task, and we loved it!
A great day for some outdoor training with Storm and Rosie! Lots of recall and loose lead walking with distractions from delivery vans! Both smashed it!