Canine Kind

18/08/2022

Positive reinforcement training is based on a very simple concept -
1. Reward behaviours you like
2. Prevent or ignore behaviours you don’t like

Dogs are naturally programmed to repeat behaviours that lead to good consequences, so we look for opportunities to reward as often as possible!

Always remember… there’s no such thing as “bad behaviours” - there is only behaviour!

Behaviour comes in all different shapes and sizes, some behaviours are less desirable than others to us humans….

But just because you view certain behaviours as “good” and others as “bad”…. It’s so important to know that your dog has absolutely no concept of this!

Dogs do not come pre-programmed with human values. They do not have morals… they don’t know right from wrong… and they certainly cannot be expected to understand your specific and unique view on what behaviours you deem appropriate or not!

Dogs simply act based on innate needs, desires, instincts and drives. If they dig, chew, rip, chase, bark… well, they’re just being dogs! 🐶

Don’t get bogged down with what you DON’T want your dog doing, it’ll hold you and your dog back 👎🏼

Focus on the positives instead! Learn to set them up for success and open your door to progress once more 👍🏼👍🏼

🐕‍🦺 Follow us for more training tips .dogtraining 🐕‍🦺

12/08/2022

15/06/2022

With temperatures rising this week, it's the paw-fect time to remember how to keep pooches safe and happy in warm weather. ☀️🐶💛

25/05/2022

🐕‍🦺 Looking for a local dog trainer?

🐾 I can help with anything from puppy training, adolescent manners, new rescue dogs, behaviour problems and more….

🐶 Affordable prices and fully personalised services

🦴Contact for a free quote!

05/05/2022

Booking for 1-2-1 training is now open from June and throughout the summer 🐶🐾🌞

Facing some behaviour issues? Is it causing stress to daily life? ….We’ll be there to support you every step of the way 🐾

Or maybe there’s a new puppy on the way, or just need a refresher on the basics… we can help with that too🐶

Message today for a free chat & quote!!

20/04/2022

💭Understanding your dog 💭

It’s so easy to “humanise” dogs and put our own thoughts and feelings onto them.

But doing so is potentially dangerous because you can so easily misinterpret a dog’s actions and motivations and then respond in an inappropriate way…

🏷 Labelling your dog as guilty means you presume that they know they have done wrong and they’re being “naughty” on purpose.

The assumption is that your dog has CHOSEN to act in a way that you don’t like, and is now looking guilty which proves your original point, right!?

‼️Wrong‼️ Dogs simply don’t function at such advanced cognitive level. Dogs aren’t “self-aware” - they don’t have an “I” - they can’t think to themselves “I’m being naughty” or “I’m doing something my human forbids” ….they simply go through the bin because it smells really good!! 🗑 👃🏼

Dogs live in the present moment and respond to environmental cues. They act based on whether something is safe or dangerous, pleasant or unpleasant. So when you come home angry at the rubbish strewn across the floor… your dog is quick to pick up on your tone or voice, facial expression and body language and immediately tries to calm the situation by using appeasement gestures to let you know that they want to avoid direct conflict ✌🏼☮️

Understanding how to interpret body language correctly can help you to know when your dog doesn’t feel safe. You also won’t presume that they already know how to behave and won’t scald them when they get it wrong….

Instead, you’ll learn to see your dog as a student in need of coaching 👩‍🏫 You will learn to set them up for success in areas where they might struggle to make the choice that you want…. You won’t leave that bin in reach next time, because it’s simply too tempting for your natural scavenger! 🗑🐶

Want to know more about what your dog’s saying through their body language? Message us for a friendly chat! 📩📩

12/04/2022

💠 PLACE TRAINING 💠

Here’s Alfie the in his recent 121, absolutely smashing his place training after only a few practices! 🐶

Alfie’s mum has been struggling with his attention-seeking and destructive behaviour in the evenings, so we’ve kept it super simple and stripped his training back to basics!

Place training teaches your dog to go to a specific place on cue, then wait there until they are released, no matter what is going on. It’s a SUPER versatile behaviour and can be applied to lots of different situations, especially as an alternative to “bad” behaviours 🐶

📫 DM us if you’re interested to hear more about place training and how it could help you and your dog!!

05/04/2022

Please support little Bailey if you can 💛

Baby Bailey… a lovely little lady! (Equally as crazy) … Janine Dobbin needs your support for Help baby Bailey get a new hip

05/04/2022

The other day I mentioned I was angry, and I was, but I also had zero intent to hurt anyone, through word or deed.

Do my words in the image ring true to you?

"Anger and aggression are different. Anger is a response to boundary violation. Aggression is an intent to harm. We can learn to express anger without aggression, and so can dogs."

In humans, anger is an emotion that comes up in response to violation of a social more, agreement, personal boundaries, etc. We don't know what's going on internally, with dogs, and we can't ask, but we can look on the function side of things, ways that dogs say "no, I don't approve of that behavior, and I'm standing up for myself in some way." Distance-increasing behavior in response to a space violation, for example, doesn't have to be a threat. Like the dog that harumphs when a puppy is too close and doesn't engage.

Aggression...we can't really tell intent in dogs (or anyone else, honestly), but we can observe behavior and see if it's on the continuum of doing harm, i.e., a threat.

What behaviors do dogs do that indicate anger without threat?

For example, if Joey goes to take Zuki's toy, she puts a paw on it and continues chewing. "Mine, kid."

If a young dog hits an adult dog too hard, there's could be a grr and an air snap. "Watch where you're going, whippersnapper." Is it an intent to do harm? I don't think so. I think that's just anger and not aggression.

I think it's important to ponder this sort of thing because anger is an oft-maligned emotion in humans and dogs, but really being able to set boundaries is *healthy." What we don't want is aggression.

Food for thought...

04/04/2022

Had the pleasure of meeting Amy the last week 😍

Recently rehomed, her new mum and I chatted through some issues around barking - at the TV, at visitors and for general demanding of attention!

Amy’s super smart and quick to pick up new learning, so with a few simple plans in place to and we are already starting to see some little baby steps towards progress ✨

12/03/2022

Can dogs really behave badly? Many dog guardians will likely claim they do and sadly even TV trainers may agree. Interestingly, we readily accept that there are thousands of websites, social media pages and articles that promote false information or "fake news", however we seem to perceive anything....

16/02/2022

This is amazing 👏🏼

The birds are being recruited to pick up discarded butts from the streets of a city in Sweden as part of a cost-cutting drive.Subscribe to Guardian News on Y...

09/02/2022

Joined the utterly gorgeous Malish and his mum for a walk yesterday. We’ve been working on Mali’s loose lead walking and reactivity to people and dogs.

This picture of a calm collected boy tells us everything 🙌🏼

As a dog trainer, it never gets boring helping dogs to succeed… and even just the smallest win warms my heart every time 🥰😍

06/02/2022

Weekend 1-1 with gorgeous little Riley. Someone was tired after practicing basic training, and working on mouthing and being left alone 😴🐶

01/02/2022

Fears & phobias 😰

Little Sammy here quickly developed an aversion to car travel at only 12 weeks old… just a couple of bouts of travel sickness left him with a negative association 🥴🚙

It’s not unusual for puppies and young dogs to develop fears and it can only take one or two bad experiences in some cases!

Our top tips on how to help your dog through his fears….

❌ Never rely on the belief your dog will grow out of his fear on his own, no matter his age
❌ Never force your dog to do something he doesn’t want to
❌ Don’t think your dog is silly because he’s scared of something “normal” to us

✔️Always pay attention to your dog’s body language and go at their speed
✔️Give reassurance and gentle encouragement to make progress, but let your dog take breaks when he needs
✔️ Get help and advice from a force-free trainer
🐶 how do you know when your dog is feeling fearful? Tell us in the comments below!! ⬇️ 🐶

15/12/2021

Zuko, our new slipper-stealing teddy bear 👨‍👩‍👦🐾

This guy has been with us for over a month now and has turned our lives upside down! To go from living with a little old westie 💔 to an 18-month Cockerpoo is a bit of a shock to the system!

Zuko came from my old friends at and didn’t have the best start to life… we’re his 4th home in his short little life 😔

He’s got some issues around mouthing…. he LOVES to steal slippers and anything really that he can get his paws on 🐾 … he’s scared of new people and barks, especially men…. He’s frustrated on lead around other dogs… he HATES the postman… but aside from all of that he’s an absolute superstar 🌟 he’s affectionate and makes us laugh constantly! Everyday he continues to settle in and gain confidence, whilst keeping me on my toes and providing an excellent training project of my own!

Welcome to the family Zuko, A.K.A Zucchini 🥰🥰

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08/12/2021

A good reminder - not only for kiddos - adults forget too!

Most dogs (and people!) don't like others messing with them when they're eating.

Just like you wouldn't want someone to take your plate away before you've finished eating (or as you take your last mouthful!) make sure you give your dog time to finish and walk away before rushing in to clear up.

Dogs tend to have more relaxed body language when they can eat in peace without other dogs or people hovering over them or rushing around nearby. Feeding dogs somewhere quieter with plenty of space is safer for everyone and is an easy way to avoid conflict.

⚠️This is every day advice at feeding times to prevent conflict. We are not addressing training foundations here to prevent resource guarding (this is something we will cover in another infographic), nor are we addressing behaviour modification for resource guarding. Neither of these need to involve taking food off the dog.

13/11/2021

Understanding not discipline 🙌🏼

Fixed mindset VS Open mindset.
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Thinking of a Dog as behaving badly disposes one to use punishment.
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Thinking of a Dog as struggling to handle something difficult encourages one to help them through their distress.

10/11/2021

Give dogs space - unless they are nagging for attention, don't assume they want pats

02/11/2021

29/10/2021

20/10/2021

Are you finding puppyhood a bit of a challenge? 🐶

You’re not alone!!

We know it can be a tough journey raising a puppy with so much to consider from the start!

We keep classes super small and tailor each session to suit you as you learn, play and have fun with your pup 🐾

Spaces still available in our next course starting 4th November 🎓

DM for more info ➡️➡️

19/10/2021

18/10/2021

It really doesn’t matter if your dog is friendly or not.

What matters is that you don’t take the choice away from another owner (and their dog) as to who they interact with.

There can be so many reasons why a dog and their owner need space from you and your dog.

Please allow them that choice 💙

18/10/2021

🐾 Loose-lead walking 🐾

What a fantastic start to the week - coaching Molly’s mum as they continue their loose-lead journey 🦮

The foundations were there but Molly’s mum found it was inconsistent and difficult to predict when she may suddenly pull on lead….

Top tips today were:

1️⃣ reinforce, reinforce, reinforce! 🧀 more regular and highly motivating rewards for doing the behaviour you want will speed up Molly’s learning

2️⃣ stop as soon as Molly pulls, so she learns she can’t get to where she wants to go unless the lead is loose

3️⃣ introduce “sit to say please” to increase impulse control & focus, using life rewards like sniffing, having an off-lead run, or playing fetch to reward a good choice 🎾
🐾 is your dog very strong on the lead? 🐾
📩 DM today to find out how we could help you 📩

16/10/2021

Recent Puppy Home-School graduate, Hollie 🎓

This beautiful German Shepherd pup was in a very mouthy stage of life when we met and benefitted hugely from adding in enrichment and mental stimulation into her daily life.

Problem solving and brain games are a great way for your puppy to expend extra energy as well as teaching independence and self-soothing 🐾😌🧠

I especially love Hollie’s method of “just grab it with my mouth” at the end… whatever works! 😅

13/10/2021

Do you know when your dog is trying to tell you something🤔? Knows the signs 🧐