New Forest Dog Training Academy

28/02/2025

❤️ Crufts Ob Champs are just over a week away…. I believe deeply in my relationship with Storm, the love I have for this incredible soul runs so deep… a bond that links us in life… this connection is more than just training…

I don’t spend hours training - what will be will be… what matters is his happiness, fitness and doing what he loves … hours of walking, exploring and our night beach walks are just incredible…

Crufts - the extraordinary world of dog sports.. The alien environment, a unique indoor show, the sensory overload and mental stamina for a dog is like no other… Storm “knows his stuff!” - our “training” focuses on increasing fitness, stamina and duration ready for his long day in this alien world…

He is a collie…their need for stimulation, exercise and companionship is out of this world..🌍..

Always… Love the dog first, dream of adventures second, followed by the love of participating in a canine sport…..

Have a strong belief in your training, perfect is a myth… every minute of your time with your dog counts…. Where else would I possibly want to be than on an empty beach, watching the sea and counting stars while counting the miles 🐾🐾🐾

19/02/2025

Sometimes, you just have to take a look at how far your training journey has taken you….
Storm and I have been preparing to compete at the Crufts Dog Obedience Championship in March.. We have taken a step back to focus on us and our journey…

This year he wears his Ob Ch Crown 👑 - an incredible accolade - years of training, building a once in a lifetime relationship, built on trust, kindness, motivation and no tools, check chains, punishment, harsh handling or compulsion… a journey not counted in months but years! He qualified to join just twenty other dogs - the cream of the obedience world… I am humbled by this incredible soul and what we have achieved…we will stand proud on that green carpet at Crufts- a magical moment that creates memories for years to come…

In dog training, nothing is ever a quick fix, it takes hard work, dedication, compassion and time to build your dreams, be it a simple recall or just loose lead walking - a five week puppy course is just the start of your puppy’s training, a few lessons here and there won’t make your dreams come true…..

To feel the magic of success is priceless…❤️

09/02/2025

Awwwww Bella- She just loves her crate! ❤️

Little Bella has had a really tough time recently- she has had surgery for cruciate rupture on her stifle and she has been spending a lot of time in her crate which she adores! Sadly, she has also been struggling with the grief of loosing her canine companion and also a human buddy...😔

Now she has the all clear to begin physiotherapy and she is healing really well! Emotionally she is struggling with being left home alone. She has never been the only dog in the house.... She gets really anxious and has begun barking on being left...

We can totally relate as to why... We have begun to help build her confidence along with her fitness- She is starting to enjoy life outside of the crate and slowly learning that departure doesn't mean she will be alone forever....❤️

Training to reduce separation distress takes time to adjust those internal emotions.....

14/01/2025

When you simply don't like your younger brother...🥲

Multidog households involves lots of differing canine personalities, feelings and behaviours that can change rapidly, often canine differences appearing to us humans, as being arguing over nothing- they just don't get on...( A little like us and our siblings!)

Often introducing a younger puppy into a household with an existing older dog in their golden years can be challenging - I always say it's like giving your Grandma a new born baby to look after!!) Older dogs have enormous changes to their routines, they sleep more, play less and often have underlying age related changes that can causes issues with mobility and discomfort...

Little Muckle is full of fun, happy go lucky little puppy who his older brother really dislikes.... Managing environments and behaviours is not only stressful for the dogs involved, but also to the human families attempting to keep the peace...

Keeping the balance can certainly be carefully managed while seeking a truce....

20/11/2024

Small in stature - big in heart! 💙 Peanut 🥜

This little dude is really worried about people and other dogs- He lives in London with lots of busyness around him. He heads into the office with a small team of people who he likes to guard against delivery men.. It's a hard job that Peanut feels he needs to be the CEO!

At the age of six, this behaviour has been going on for a little while - No one is taking the CEO seriously 😆 So his owner feels it time to give him a more laid back role....

Life being small has it's challenging- everyone sees the cuteness in Peanut and wants to invade his bubble and say hello! Peanut doesn't really care less about people, he is happy just doing his own thing!

We have begun addressing the emotions fuelling his behaviour and learning about respecting Peanuts need for space and security - He is loving his crate training which will become his new office!

Being the CEO sucks! Time sit back and enjoy retirement 🥜🤎

18/11/2024

Cassie 🐾

Half cocker and half Kangaroo! She has the most impressive jump up with an added twist in mid air - she is one very happy girlie! Sometimes doing nothing is actually the reinforcement that some dogs need to keep repeating the behaviour of jumping up!

Have you ever been told to stand and act like a tree🌳 to stop the jumping up? In all likelihood, your dog jumped up more! They do love to target a "sitting duck"! Often dogs jump up, then they are asked to sit followed swiftly with a biscuit!

Dogs learn quickly the sequence, jump up, sit and biscuit! Breaking this sequence is so much fun! Cassie has been busy learning how to great people without lifting her feet off the floor- Easy!

We have begun a training journey to develop her dynamic, reliable recall too....She is one clever cookie! 🍪

26/10/2024

What is acceptable?

So, this week while walking my dogs, we witnessed and then assisted an incident on the forest, a very reactive dogs, muzzled, wearing high visibility “coat” to warn others of their dog’s temperament, on a lead walking on the forest in a really “dog” busy locations- The equivalent of the doggy M25!

The owners “socialising” their dogs in environments that are just so full of triggers that resulted the dog pulling over the owner, dropping the lead and then the dog pins down another a dog- muzzle punching the dog on the neck…. NOT acceptable!!
I totally understand the training process and have helped so may reactive dogs develop the skills of acceptance over months, the process is long with lifelong management of situations and triggers – Thankfully, we managed to pick up the lead and extract the aggressor from the victim – after a heated exchange between two parties about the incident, the question was raised about who was in the wrong, the off lead dog too close? The reactive dog in the wrong location? What is the right location? Just an accident waiting to happen? The outcome, the owner has now been referred to a behaviourist for expert advice- Sometimes you need to realise when you are out of your depth and need help…
Annoyingly, I am seeing more and more dogs exhibiting undesirable behaviours on the forest- The trigger for me yesterday - My broken treat box. Destroyed by a Labrador, no recall response, owner merrily chatting and walking, as always miles away from their dogs, her dog simply did what it pleased. The treat box was closed while I trained the boys, the box was picked up chewed, while I foolishly attempted to keep foot was on the box – calling to the owner fell on deaf ears, the dog ate everything… The owner eventually walked back, “what did you expect, it’s a Labrador” no apology, no sorry, no accountability…. Just walked way….

Sometimes we do need to take accountability of our dog’s behaviour, understand that training is a lifelong process to live in this modern world…

09/10/2024

Who are we really to teach a dog how to “use their nose” in scent work?! ❓❓

I’m good at maths… I use this skill daily, it can cause anxiety when the pressure is in to calculate a drug dose on the spot and quickly! It’s a skill that is kept current by repetition- I don’t go home and then practise again for “fun” - it’s a cognitive workout! I feel the same for scent work training in dogs…

Dogs continually use their noses - absorbing smells, olfactory information about the world and it’s continuous and for some dogs it can be over whelming and intensive… what happens when we add a degree of “formality” - go and play olfactory “snap”.

Is it really a calming exercise for dogs? In my experience, from training my dogs, observing and training other dogs their body language and their drive seems very different- is this a good thing? Plodding along sniffing lamp posts, food searches in the garden and general foraging is more “natural” but when we add in an odour, do we add in additional pressure? (Like the stress associated with my mental maths in comparison to using a calculator! 😂)

Here is Moss… training match to sample- which means, he is given a particular human scent to find… laid out are twelve clothes.. all smelling of human scent…he plays “snap” - remember the odour that he smells and go and find the same odour and return the cloth to me…this is an exercise required for competing in a dog sport…

What do you see? calmness or a higher level of arousal? His determination and discrimination is incredible along with his accuracy…. SNAP! He find the cloth!

So….. it has been shown that scent work can shift the brain into a positive bias and improve mood… so not necessarily calming but offers a different state of mind and very much depends upon the dog!! Calming versus tiring when we add in formality?

Wow! That’s a big mid week question! 😂

08/10/2024

Let’s talk about the “walk”…

Natural enrichment is everywhere… the sights,smells, textures, the freedom to make choices - just be a dog..

What do these “walks” really mean to you and your relationship with your dog?

Time to bond or an extension of the “office” replying to emails, phone calls or simply a quick “spin” round the block?

Humans create habits, comfortable in the same patterns and routines… add some adventures into your walks… change one thing about your dog “walk” that will really make your dog smile ❤️

07/10/2024

OUR LAST KENNEL CLUB PUPPY FOUNDATION AWARD CLASS FOR 2024!!!

Our next term begins on the 3rd of November - We have moved to Sundays! Classes begin at 11am in a warm snug hall ( St Marks in Pennington) for five weeks.

The course covers all the basic puppy behaviours and training! From loose lead walking to achieving a dynamic recall! As always, our classes are fun, informative with a maximum of six puppies in the class..

To book - Please complete the form below...🐾 Get in touch if you have any questions or would like to find out more...

https://form.jotform.com/242665248802359

30/09/2024

The end of another successful Kennel Club Puppy Foundation Award course …❤️

It’s always so rewarding to watch each puppy develop and achieve so much while supporting puppy parents through the ups and downs of puppy life!!

Many congratulations to

Kobe ❤️
Monty ❤️
Pilot ❤️
Zephy ❤️
Bunsen ❤️

And little Olive who was poorly for Graduation night

Go and show the world how awesome you all are!! 🐾

26/09/2024

Thank you Three Best Rated ❤️❤️

15/09/2024

Augustus ….. Mr Happy Feet! 🐾

This incredible little soul has been an invaluable beacon of hope and joy for his family through a really difficult time… As life begins to adjust, his family would like to help Augustus adjust some of his more comical behaviours.

Mr happy feet, like to paw for attention and jump up a lot (That poodle gene has a lot to answer for!) often grabbing on if he doesn’t get the attention that he would like. He is an awesome counter surfer in the presence of cheese and eggs. Even in the darkest times he can make people smile..🧀

We have begun the process of helping understand that there are other ways to get attention without using paws – nose touching hands is so much more rewarding!

He has also learned the fine art that coming near the kitchen counters is really boring, but so much more fun if he stays much further ways…
The flying cheese (not so much the eggs!) is helping to build solid boundaries in the kitchen.
Keep making your family smile Augustus!

See you again soon…❤️

13/09/2024

This is always a "hot topic" in the puppy classes and how the misinformation about increasing exercise in puppies "general rule of thumb is to give your puppy five minutes of exercise for each month of age, once or twice a day. For example, a five-month-old puppy can get 25 minutes of exercise up to twice a day" It drives me crazy 🤣

I am seeing more frustrated puppies due to this "rule" which seems to continually build momentum... It has become accepted and is never questioned, until I discuss this at puppy classes and the science behind the "facts" is very poor....

Finally Dr Mike Farrell has come to my aid! Reference and myth busting in an awesome video!

Have you ever wondered if limiting your puppy's playtime keeps their joints healthy? Board-certified veterinary surgeon Dr. Mike Farrell, a developmental joi...

10/09/2024

Roux ….. Welcome to a whole new world..🪐

Roux was found in a well in a farmers field in Greece.. No one knows how long he had been down the well – He was eventually heard by the farmer and a rescue mission devised, from the well emerged a very thin, happy boy, grateful for a second chance in life. 🧡
Three months on, Roux is settled in his new home, but he has begun to exhibit some reactive behaviours, especially around new people, people who invade his own little bubble and traffic – He also lunges at cars when he is travelling in a car!

Life is just so overwhelming for him; his new life is so very different, and we need to help Roux adjust slowly.

Slow and steady is so important in rehabilitation of rescue dogs, especially dogs who have travelled from other countries. From my experience, many dogs are traumatised by the excessive handling, transportation often long journeys by land to the UK – Once free roaming dogs then have to learn to adjust to a domestic lifestyle. It’s tough but these dogs are often willing to adaptable to life on Mars!

One paw step at a time, not running before we can walk, building solid foundations around confidence and compassion is vital - Roux has a journey a head of him but this loving boy has begun to adjust, in his own time we will move slowly forward showing him life on Mars is good! 🧡

06/09/2024

When temptations are just to much! 🐿 Time for a career change🤎

Solly has been in training with the Guide Dogs for the Blind for the last two years - He is an incredible boy- except for distractions!

Sadly, his love for small fluffy creatures ( especially squirrels) mean that he couldn't finish his training - Life is just to exciting!

Solly has been rehomed to a wonderful family, he is just about perfect in everyway, except for his recall around distractions and the need to chase those pesky critters! 🐿

We have begun to review his recall foundations and training around distractions to help him enjoy his new life.... 🐿

04/09/2024

Would you know what to do in common canine emergency situations? Would you like to learn practical techniques, such as bandaging and CPR? -Well, I have been asked to deliver some of my first aid training workshops...The workshops are classroom based, with expert qualified tuition and will be held at weekends..

If you would like to learn more, then complete the form and further details will be emailed over...

Please click the link to complete this form.