Sits ‘n’ Wiggles

05/01/2023

Hello all, and a happy new year.

Unfortunately it is with an extremely heavy heart that I must notify you all that over Christmas I had some health concerns that put the future of Sits n Wiggles in the balance.

While I don’t want to give up my dream job and usually I would just “muddle through” it and worry later, I do have to take my health quite seriously since my amputation. I’ve made the decision to go in a different direction with Sits n Wiggles, closing our training and walking and working more on our social media presence and seeing what the future holds as it comes.

This decision does not come lightly as I will very much miss working with a variety of dogs a daily basis and helping to grow young minds, however I’ve learnt the hard way not to mess with my body when it tells me enough is enough!

I hope you will continue to follow our journey, wherever it takes us.

Leah

03/12/2022

Very well done to Max and Billy on graduating from puppy class today, our last one of the year! You’re going to be grand wee men, best of luck for the future!

03/12/2022

A break in play (especially still in play bow) means the dogs are indeed checking they’re still playing, but I love this one from They Can Talk 😂❤️

01/12/2022

Well done graduating your puppy class today Gus! Have an amazing Christmas practising your new skills! 🐶❤️

05/11/2022

Are you worried about your puppy this bonfire night? Here’s a few tips from Sits ‘n’ Wiggles 🐶

✅ Play reggae or classical music. Not enough to drown the fireworks out completely, but enough to muffle. This will help your pup to slowly get used to the bangs and these genre of music have been shown to be a dogs favourite! (You can also search for “Through a Dog’s Ear” on Spotify for great playlists).

✅ Give your dog a long lasting chew, Frozen Kong or Frozen Lickimat. This will be a edible task for your dog to work on that rewards them through out. The licking and chewing also sends natural relaxing signals to the brain to assist in relaxing.

✅ Comfort your pup if they are worried. You can’t teach them to “get used to it” by leaving a scared pup alone, they will just find a way to comfort themselves, usually with behaviours humans dislike, and develop even worse fear and anxiety.

✅ Close curtains in the rooms your dog visits to prevent any sudden bursts of light. Although not the scariest thing in the world, the sudden spook of a light coupled with the sound of a loud bang can cause your pup to be fearful.

Stay safe! 🐶🔥

03/11/2022

As bonfire night approaches remember, comfort your scared dogs, you won’t be teaching them to fear in future when they are already scared now!

22/10/2022

Due to trainer illness our online class is cancelled for this week.

10/10/2022

New TikTok! Do you follow us?!

Ozzy wake up 😅

05/10/2022

Hello all! Due to the rain I’m going to postpone paperwork drop offs so that they don’t get drowned on their way! Stay snuggly!

30/09/2022

Wee Alfie looking so thoughtful on his walk this morning ❤️🐶🍂

28/09/2022

It's not going to solve any behaviour issue you are experiencing by using alpha, dominance or pack protocols.

It's 2016 folks. Get with the program

19/09/2022

**Online Puppy Class**

To assist in the "Cost of Living Crisis", I will be running a Puppy Course online for FREE

BEGINING SATURDAY OCTOBER 15TH - 6:30PM (GMT)

For six Saturday evevnings we will go through everything we typically go through in my in-person course, and you will have the chance to comment any questions you may have for me to answer in real time.

This opens puppy training up for those who cannot get out to a physical class due to accessibility issues, time constraints or limited funds.

Although the course fee is waived, there will be options to purchase the accompanying course booklet or your graduation pack through our website.

13/09/2022

As a mark of respect to our late monarch, Sits ‘n’ Wiggles will not be open on Monday the 19th of September. Any scheduled training sessions have been rearranged, and online orders will be processed the following day.

Sending my thoughts to Candy, Sandy and Muick, the Queen’s surviving dogs. 🖤

10/09/2022

New puppy class started today!

27/08/2022

Wally graduated from his puppy class today, he has come so far since week one! Keep at it wee man and you’ll have no worries in the future ❤️

17/08/2022

Mr Hogey has great fun with his Scent Pouch during his training session today. It kept him engaged, focussed, and being a hound it was the perfect reward.

Available in our shop online and in person complete with training guide soon 🙂

06/08/2022

Massive well done to Vinny who passed his beginner behaviour course this morning! All the best for the future wee man, you’re gonna be amazing!

Our beginner behaviour course is brand new and a perfect step up from our puppy class, you can book online at

Www.sitsnwigs.com

03/08/2022

THIS.

Three lessons we should learn to keep children and dogs safe.

23/07/2022

Big congratulations to Sugar and Crumpet’s humans who are getting married today!

We popped in to feed, walk and hang out with this lovely pair so their humans could party without worry ❤️

20/07/2022

This!

One of my colleagues posted yesterday about seeing criticism on social media.

I call it “the other trainer” syndrome.
You know the one. “Failed by another trainer” or “this person tried training elsewhere and it wasn’t successful because……”

This gets my eyes rolling and here’s why.

Firstly, not one of us is god. For a variety of reasons.
We may not connect with the client, no one to blame it is what it is.
We all have a different flair, and 99 out of 100 of our clients do well but 1 just doesn’t get the trainer or vice versa. Again no blame!
I’ve ate in restaurants that are supposed to be amazing and I didn’t enjoy the experience.
It is what it is!

Secondly. The trainer criticising wasn’t present at the sessions so they don’t know the dialogue.
End of.

But I think the most important part, for me anyway, is learning is continuous. Like us, our dogs learn from every new situation, every interaction, good days, bad days, in between days.
So someone might go somewhere for puppy class, their puppy is amazing but when the dog hits adolescence, boom!
That’s normal! That’s actually expected.
So please accept that learning is continuous and it won’t always be in a straight line.

I look at rearing a dog from beginning to end, whether that be from you having the puppy or from the day you adopted, like snakes & ladders.
Sometimes you climb the ladders, sometimes you slip down the snake. The dice isn’t to blame, you aren’t to blame. It just is.

As dog owners, you & me, we need to learn to manage our expectations and our frustrations.

And as a dog training community, we need to learn to be kinder to our peers, stay in our lane and just get on with the job!

Stop thinking you will make your star shine brighter but dimming someone else’s.

Peace out 💚

18/07/2022

I’ve seen a lot of confusion around whether you can give your dogs ice cubes or not in the heat or whether it will send them into shock.

❄️ healthy dogs can have ice cubes no problem
❄️ dogs suffering from heat stroke need to be rushed to a vet and their temperature brought down gradually
❄️ ice cubes are great for teething puppies as it can smooth gums

https://www.bluecross.org.uk/advice/dog/ice-cubes-for-dogs?fbclid=IwAR2EIWFwyeJX-prBpkZApfdmamY8zFp1jnPUjahwol8W6dUonazCH4it4_U

Can dogs have ice cubes? There's a lot of misinformation circulating on this topic and we’re here to clear that up.

17/07/2022

We are officially on TikTok! Why not try this recipe for doggie ice cream this weekend?

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMNuDTeGv/?k=1

Making dog icecream!

15/07/2022

I really feel for dog owners. The industry has boomed , there are trainers everywhere.
Then all these trainers are criticising each other. Tiktok is pretty spectacular!!

I find it all very toxic!

Balanced is cruel, Positive doesn't work.....

There are extremes at both ends.

Those who have experience only, think you don't need qualifications
Those who have qualifications think you need qualifications
Those who train positively think you don't need e and prong collars
Those who use e and prong collars think positive training doesn't work

What do you choose??? Who is right, who is wrong?

The problem is we all view the world through different lenses and we have biases that many people are not aware of. So we see things differently to each other.

Here's my thoughts

Wouldn't it be nice if all trainers had both plenty of practical experience and qualifications/awards (external assessment beyond their own ego).

The one or the other argument is really not helpful. It's like breeding dogs, health tests or awards. I'd like both please....

A good trainer should have both and people should expect both. But I have both, so I'm going to say that, right.

As for qualifications. My degree included 50/50 practical assessment and theory. I had to demonstrate I could train a dog in sports/competition to a high level and teach at those levels too as well as professional counseling skills and behaviour modification. I was practically assessed repetitively over 5 years. I was able to critically evaluate my years of experience.
It's disappointing that those that don't know anything about education criticise it with such ignorance.

I have this along with a lot of practical life experiences with dogs.
My life experiences with dogs have been massive life lessons, but so has my formal education.

As for methods, application is key. They only work if they are applied with skill. Good dog trainers need to be able to train a dog AND teach people.

Most of us are just striving to be the best version of ourselves in an unregulated industry.

Punishment works, Rewards work, meeting the emotional needs of your family members works too.
It depends what kind of relationship you want with your dog. It also depends on your personality too.

For me I absolutely do not want to apply punishment if I don't have to. It's something I'm not comfortable with. It's just as simple as that. Over the years I've got better at positive reinforcement and that's what I use because it's sits comfortably with me. Then I just find my people and I help them too.

What methods people choose is generally down to an individual beliefs on learning, discipline, relationships and communication. It's like parenting.

For me there are simply good and bad dog trainers, like any other industry.

There's a good trainer out there for everyone, find one that matches you and meets you and your dogs needs 🐾❤️

Here's a photo of Pickles, she's been my best teacher.

Have a great weekend 😊

Jane Ardern BSc (Hons)
Author of Mission Control - How to Train the High Drive Dog
Kennel Club Dog Trainer of the Year
Gundog Club Accredited Instructor and Assessor

13/07/2022

11/07/2022

For all you puppy parents out there! 😂😅

09/06/2022

I do love doing my window displays! Special thanks to Sophie Green Artist for my window sticker, the colours are so vibrant and the quality is amazing!

03/06/2022

We hope you are having a fabulous jubilee this bank holiday ❤️

01/06/2022

Just before the heavens opened in the middle of Joe’s session! Good thing he is a lab so has great fun running around in it!