Chasing Pawfection

06/11/2024

Remember this Saturday is Puppy Preschool… For any new dog owner, check out all these engaged puppo’s! These are every Saturday and only £10 per session. In these classes, we work on that critically important socilisation. And as socilisation is all about nutralitity, not play… We have all these pups working with their handlers, focusing on us, and learning about their new life with their new family in some fun and engaging ways, while getting to smell and 'meet' all of the other dogs... Im just popping to get some new kit from B&Q for jumps, and ordering some new bits online for this weeks classes.

Speaking of which, we have equipment and exercises to get them used to new sights, sounds, smells, experiences, textures and more. And we do all of this around other dogs, with the perfect balance of social, but focused in mind… Dogs are on lead, they don’t get to jump all over each other and they spend their time instead paying attention to us, looking to us for guidance and not developing that annoying habit of seeing another dog and… Well… Sodding off because they learned at an early stage that humans don’t matter when theres another dog around. So, to help with this we start with settles and focus to us… And if you’ve ever wanted to take your pup to a pub, café, or friends house without 200 ‘im so sorry, their just too excited’… This is what you want for your socilisaion.

So if you're interested in socilising your pup with an accredited, highly reviewed trainer, meeting new people and potentially squishing other puppies, then come join us at Duston Village Hall.

Any questions, feel free to ask. And as always, if you wanted to talk about any dog training, behaviour help, courses, walk and trains, free pack walks, workshops or anything else, you can set up a free call here - https://calendly.com/chasing-pawfection/intro

Or book onto the Puppy Preschool here - https://calendly.com/chasing-pawfection/puppy-preschool

25/10/2024

Last call for tomorrows Puppy Preschool… Check out all these engaged puppo’s! These are every Saturday and only £10 per session. Theres currently 1 spot open on the 10am and another 2 on the 11.30am. In these classes, we work on that critically important socilisation. And as socilisation is all about nutralitity, not play… We have all these pups working with their handlers, focusing on us, and learning about their new life with their new family in some fun and engaging ways, while getting to smell and 'meet' all of the other dogs... I think I might throw in some recall tomorrow, too.

We have equipment and exercises to get them used to new sights, sounds, smells, experiences, textures and more. And we do all of this around other dogs, with the perfect balance of social, but focused in mind… Dogs are on lead, they don’t get to jump all over each other and they spend their time instead paying attention to us, looking to us for guidance and not developing that annoying habit of seeing another dog and… Well… Sodding off because they learned at an early stage that humans don’t matter when theres another dog around. So, to help with this we start with settles and focus to us… And if you’ve ever wanted to take your pup to a pub, café, or friends house without 200 ‘im so sorry, their just too excited’… This is what you want for your socilisaion.

So if you're interested in socilising your pup with an accredited, highly reviewed trainer, meeting new people and potentially squishing other puppies, then come join us at Duston Village Hall.

Any questions, feel free to ask. And as always, if you wanted to talk about any dog training, behaviour help, courses, walk and trains, free pack walks, workshops or anything else, you can set up a free call here - https://calendly.com/chasing-pawfection/intro

Or book onto the Puppy Preschool here - https://calendly.com/chasing-pawfection/puppy-preschool

17/10/2024

This week had a cancellation, so theres a spot left for this Saturday, and next week Im adding a second class to make sure theres enough room for you all... Both are already mostly filled too... Its so nice to see people taking this up for their pups and having so much fun doing it! Check out some of last weeks happy pups, working around other dogs, but still focussing on their owners... LOVE it!

So for those of you that havent seen it, this is a weekly, pay as you go session. Its designed to help with confidence, life skills, proper socialisation and getting all of the things that are crucial for the early stages of puppy development.

It’s held at Duston Village Hall and they are relaxed, informal classes, focussed on training the core skills and confidence. We work through different experiences, textures, smells, situations and exercises, and talk about real and proper socialisation… This isn’t your standard off-lead puppy pile on, where we develop behavioural issues, bad habits, bad manners and learn that mum and dad are completely irrelevant… This is about starting you off in the best possible way, building bond, trust and core life skills right from the get go. But we also do this around other dogs so that you get the best of both worlds.

This is suitable for any vaccinated pup, even after the first vaccination, so long as your vet gives you the all clear. Some do, some dont and vets run their own socilisation classes after their first vac too. So im following their lead as this is a critical part of your dogs development.

Sessions are only £10 for the full hour and you can come to as many or as few as you like. Their held in an enclosed hall so everyone is kept safe, and this leads onto other courses, classes and workshops if you like, with anyone that attends getting £10 off a beginners course for when they are ready to move up the training ladder!

You can book here, and all information is emailed out to you when you sign on. https://calendly.com/chasing-pawfection/puppy-preschool

If you want to chat about any other dog training needs, feel free to book a free call using this link. https://calendly.com/chasing-pawfection/intro

15/10/2024

So just had a little puppy preschool to share… Check out all these engaged puppo’s… And that’s by design! These are every Saturday and only £10 per session. In these classes, we work on that critically important socilisation. And as socilisation is all about nutralitity, not play… We have all these pups working with their handlers, focusing on us, and learning about their new life with their new family in some fun and engaging ways.

We have equipment and exercises to get them used to new sights, sounds, smells, experiences, textures and more. And we do all of this around other dogs, with the perfect balance of social, but focused in mind… Dogs are on lead, they don’t get to jump all over each other and they spend their time instead paying attention to us, looking to us for guidance and not developing that annoying habit of seeing another dog and… Well… Sodding off because they learned at an early stage that humans don’t matter when theres another dog around. So, to help with this we start with settles and focus to us… And if you’ve ever wanted to take your pup to a pub, café, or friends house without 200 ‘im so sorry, their just too excited’… This is what you want for your socilisaion.

So if you're interested in socilising your pup with an accredited, highly reviewed trainer, meeting new people and potentially squishing other puppies, then come join us at Duston Village Hall.

Any questions, feel free to ask. And as always, if you wanted to talk about any dog training, behaviour help, courses, walk and trains, free pack walks, workshops or anything else, you can set up a free call here - https://calendly.com/chasing-pawfection/intro

Or book onto the Puppy Preschool here - https://calendly.com/chasing-pawfection/puppy-preschool

04/10/2024

These turned up today! First class is full... Next ones opened up, and I'm looking forward to meeting all the new doggos and getting them all set up for their new lives!

03/10/2024

.This new class is a weekly, pay as you go session. Its designed to help with confidence, life skills, proper socialisation and getting all of the things that are crucial for the early stages of puppy development.

It’s held at Duston Village Hall and they are relaxed, informal classes, focussed on training the core skills and confidence. We work through different experiences, textures, smells, situations and exercises, and talk about real and proper socialisation… This isn’t your standard off-lead puppy pile on, where we develop behavioural issues, bad habits, bad manners and learn that mum and dad are completely irrelevant… This is about starting you off in the best possible way, building bond, trust and core life skills right from the get go.

This is suitable for any vaccinated pup, even after the first vaccination, so long as your vet gives you the all clear.

Sessions are only £10 for the full hour, and held in an enclosed hall so everyone is kept safe, and this leads onto other courses, classes and workshops if you like, with anyone that attends getting £10 off a beginners course for when they are ready to move up the training ladder!

You can book here, and all information is emailed out to you when you sign on. https://calendly.com/chasing-pawfection/puppy-preschool

If you want to chat about any other dog training needs, feel free to book a free call using this link. https://calendly.com/chasing-pawfection/intro

01/10/2024

Dog training myth… Practice makes perfect!

So I was talking to someone about my new puppy socialisation classes… I started them as I’m not aware of anywhere that does them to the standard I would like to see… And routinely, far below that. They were asking why I limit the class sizes, and why I didn’t promote interactions… Just like on my pack walks. And the above myth is exactly why…

Practice doesn’t make perfect… Practice makes permanent. If a dog practices meeting every dog in the field, every human it sees, every everything… It becomes an expert at it. This is true for socilisation, training, good behaviour and bad. Have you ever seen the “Spot, come… Spot come, come, come, COME” shouted over a field as the dog chases frodo the choclate lab across a field? This is that, in action… Spots been OVER socialised and now your loose lead, recall, focus and just about anything else you want to achieve comes a poor second to meeting that other dog/person/whatever. This becomes even more true when you ramp up the adrenalin!

Think about it… The dogs social learning happens in a very specific timeframe, and by and large… When it’s gone, it's gone. Do we want to spend that time with the dog learning that the owners are the centre of the universe... Or that other things are? What makes more sense? I know why people do it (not least because the internet is full of crappy advice), but it boggles the mind sometimes that we spend all our time trying to get our dogs to do anything except interact with us… Always other people, dogs, anything. And while being SOCIAL is hugely important, PLAYING is not social.

It’s a massively small area (go and Google a ‘socialisation checklist’ and see if you can find any with ‘puppy play’ on there… And also, if you can find one where dogs and people are more than about 3 or 4% of everything on there). So why is it important that we put play so far down the ladder of importance for proper dog socialisation?

Before we do... Let’s forget the fact that dogs in a home have far more to do than just survive and roam the streets… They now need to listen to humans, walk nicely on a lead, leave things, drop things, and come back when called to name just a few! Dogs arent just wild animals that can learn wild animal things from other wild animals... But that aside, why should we place a MUCH lower importance on it?

Dogs are dopamine driven animals, and when a dog is doing anything (but especially while being socilised, and their brain is literally wiring/rewiring itself)… They will seek whatever gives them that dopamine hit, and whatever gives them more of it… We cannot really compete with play… Out of control, “structured”, limited or otherwise very well. A five-minute play session programs your dog’s brain chemistry in a way that takes a LOT to undo and you simply cannot compete with… And its why I spend SO much time fixing dogs that have gone to puppy parties, bad socialisation classes and everything else. I would say that bad socialisation accounts for maybe 80% of all dog behavioural issues, if I had to guess.

But play is important, right? Of course it is… With dogs we select, friends, family and limited to dogs we know (and I cant stress the knowing part enough... NOT strange dogs, no matter how cute it might look). The rest of the time… Social doesn’t mean play. Social means neutral.

I’m a social person… I don’t go and hug everyone I see… I’m neutral. And that neutrality is the key to a well behaved, well adjusted, focused, social dog. If theres going to be play… I’m more than capable of doing that for my dog, and setting boundaries, rules and giving enrichment… But they are looking to me and the family, and not strangers in a park. If they SEE a strange dog in the park, I want them to think exactly nothing about that dog… Its not good, or bad… Its just a thing that exists. What IS good, is owner. Owner is life. Work with owners, play with owner, be a team with owner.

Think about the lessons your dog might be learning if we promote play… We play with strange dogs… Dogs outside are strange dogs! Play with strange dogs is the most amazing thing in the world… That dog might play! Last time I played in a massive pile of dogs, it was the best thing in the world (at least, we can only hope that’s what was achieved, and it can go wrong, quick… Google single event learning) and theres a pile of dogs over there. These are all lessons that absolutely kill handler engagement… And what they practice, they WILL become professionals at… Even if we didn’t mean it.

Now I could go on about bad socialisation, its effects, how I see it’s fallout maybe 2 or 3 times a day and how people can spend months fixing it… If not more. But that’s why I offer my Sat morning classes so cheaply… To combat it at its source… We focus on the handler, different sights, sounds, sensations, whats good, whats bad, and help guide you through this massively important period.

We teach how to make the dogs world revolve around YOU, and not other dogs and people. We work on proper socialisation, not making a grabby, adrenalin fueled, dopamine seeking, over stimulated dog the second they see anything even remotely dog shaped.

And especially not the nervous, scared, reactive dogs that can come from these types of bad “socialisation” courses, where maybe some of that single event learning has taken place, because just for 1 second, there was something that got missed because one person just can’t oversee 5, 6, 10 offlead puppies, and all of a sudden, a young dog… Not well known for their good decision making, has just reacted to yours and doesn’t give a toss about your dog’s feelings, development, neural chemistry, or welfare… And all your ‘trainer’ can say is “oh, their learning from each other…”

They are… And it’s a coin toss as to whether its gold dust, or behavioural problems. Top tip, if a ‘trainer’ is taking your money so they can get strange dogs to teach unknown lessons to your dog… Your training money would be better spent on a coffee and chilling with your dog in a café… I teach that on this course too. lol

Anyways… If you want to talk about anything I do… Feel free to set up a free call. And if you want to ask on here, absolutely do. We like questions!

Free call - https://calendly.com/chasing-pawfection/intro
Puppy Preschool - https://calendly.com/chasing-pawfection/puppy-preschool

26/09/2024

🎉 Exciting News! 🎉

Chasing Pawfection is thrilled to be part of Molton Magnets' 20th Anniversary event this Sunday, September 29th! 🐾🎈

Join me, Chris, at Northampton Town Football Club (NN5 5QA) from 10am to 3pm for an amazing day celebrating all things dogs! 🏟️🐶

✨ I’ll be giving FREE dog training advice and running fun “have a go” activities with hoopers and agility equipment—perfect for getting your pup moving and having a blast!

Plus, I’ll be honored to judge a few categories in the dog show, so bring your furry friends and show off their skills! 🏅🐕

It’s going to be a paw-some day for all dog lovers! 🐾 Don’t miss out—see you there!

22/09/2024

And today's training is called off, due to the apocalypse. But new training service added... I teach your dogs to breathe through their ears... Unless you own a small dog, then I teach "how to use your dog as a flotation device"

Course is priced at whatever it costs to deliver me snacks, and will be given remotely, from my sofa. You're all welcome.

If anyone else has better ideas of what to do when you fear your dog may be swept away and into the Nile... Feel free to let me know!

10/09/2024

So theres a fantastic NEW event happening at Delapre Abbey this weekend called Delapre Dog Day. All the details can be found here: https://fb.me/e/5dUeiXpfD

But for what we'll be doing... Once inside the event, Me and Laura from Laura Wyllie Dog Training are setting up a fun little obstacle course for you to have a go on. Its 100% free, but we will be taking donations for Dogs for Good, and would appreciate a little one or two pound donation. We will also be giving little training talks, and theres a free pack walk I'll also have some scentwork bits there to show you some of that, and its generally going to be a lovely day! So pop along and come and enjoy a little doggy day out!

03/09/2024

Little footage from this week’s pack walk… About 25 dogs and maybe 50 humans. It was a lovely day for a wander, with some chilling, some horses and wildlife about. We had some lovely chats and I got to speak a bit about all the training I do. These are always free to join and if you want to keep up to date with them, you can sign onto the mailing list… I don’t spam people.
https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/865120/126930586236355677/share

I also send out offers, course dates, and all sorts… Coming up I have some puppy preschool, scentwork, life skills and some really cool events to go to over the next month or so, so stay in touch. And as always, if you want to have a chat about any training or behavioral needs, feel free to check out some reviews, and book in a free call with the link below.
https://calendly.com/chasing-pawfection/intro

Call now to connect with business.

31/08/2024

Last call for tomorrows Free pack walk at Halrstone Firs, Sunday the
1st September . 10.30am - NN7 4EW

Come and join me for a FREE pack walk with your furry friend! Our pack walks are a wonderful opportunity for dogs aged 16 weeks and older to socialize, explore, and enjoy their natural instincts. Even dogs with some reactivity are welcome, provided their behaviour is manageable. If you have any concerns, feel free to reach out to me for a private chat.

What should you expect? Well, picture a lively group of leashed dogs ready to embark on an adventure together. From energetic puppies to seasoned companions, dogs of all sizes and ages come together for a leisurely stroll around the beautiful Harlestone Firs forest walk. You're welcome to take breaks whenever your pup needs space and we make sure everyone has fun and gets to enjoy a lovely morning out. I believe in supervised interactions, so please seek permission before your dog approaches others, especially if they're still in training or may be reactive.

During the walk, you'll have the chance to connect with fellow dog lovers, swap stories, and chat with a certified trainer for advice and support. As your guide and fellow dog enthusiast, I make sure everyone feels included and has a great time. Come join us for a morning filled with fun, friendship, and furry companionship. How does that sound?

And don’t forget that this is a great way to meet a highly reviewed trainer, and find out exactly how I can help with any issues you may be having. You can also book free calls here if you cant make it, but want to discuss anything. https://calendly.com/chasing-pawfection/intro

You can book by following this link
calendly.com/chasing-pawfection/pack-walk-har
More info is automatically sent to you when you book.