Agata Brzek - Dog Focused

25/06/2025

Playing around with Movement Puzzles.

I'm essence Movement Puzzles are about walking from one bowl to the other, and getting treats.

This is how we start. If there are 2 bowls on the ground, the dog moves between them, on his own, without prompting.

Then we add some stuff between the bowls, like cones, platforms, cavalettis, different surfaces, etc, and the dog is taught what to do with them.

Then we can combine a few objects into a longer puzzle.

The dog's job is the same: walk from bowl to bowl, but now he navigates the obstacles too.

These exercises are used to increase body awareness and proprioception, coordination, balance, but also confidence and self control.

We've had a rough start, as Merrick could not understand why he needed to walk over the obstacles instead of just straight to the other bowl...

But now it's beginning to look like real progress, he usually just knows what to do, and doesn't need reminders.

In this video he paused for a moment and I encouraged him to go on for a few more reps.

Not a bad session. After a break we repeated it. Arco also had a couple goes. They always do the same, otherwise they get jealous.

19/06/2025

The boys and I joined the Movement Puzzles a couple months ago, and we love them!

They are slowly building their skills, and I'm learning how to progress them to more complicated set ups.

We started by joining a free training challenge, just like this one. If you're looking for something different to do with your dog, do not hesitate.

Mari is an awesome instructor, everything is explained in an easy to understand way, there are plenty of videos, and you can get feedback from one of the coaches in the group.

Highly recommend!👍👍👍

15/06/2025

Fitness and conditioning

I never said it here, but a couple months back Merrick was diagnosed with hip dysplasia. It's mild, so his everyday activities are not restricted, but we have started physiotherapy to help build up and strengthen his muscles.

It was hard to hear it after losing Comet to orthopedic issues 3 years ago. What are the chances of getting another puppy with pretty much the same condition? But it happened.

We are where we are, and we have to do the best for Merrick now.

As is typical for me, I threw myself into the topic of fitness and physiotherapy, and I found it pretty weird that almost nobody in the dog training world talks about it.

Such an important thing - your dog's physical health and ability. We talk a lot about behaviour, emotions, the brain, enrichment, genetics... but not fitness.

Unless you're actively involved in sports like agility or competitive obedience, as many competitors do care about their dogs' speed, balance, and coordination needed to do well in these sports.

Merrick is not my first dog who had some complementary therapies. Chester the collie had physio, hydro, and acupuncture for his pain as well. But he was already an older dog when we discovered his issues, and it was a bit too late to make much of a difference.

This time it's crucial that we do it, to slow down the progress of osteoarthritis in his hips. He will develop it anyway, but hopefully not for a while.

The exercises we got can be done by any healthy dog as well, I'll talk about them below.

However if your dog already has known physical struggles, you need to consult your vet before you start any fitness exercises.

So, in the photos are 3 of Merrick's exercises:

1. Front feet on a wobbly cushion - that's the basic position, and then I am to lure his head around with a treat, so his body moves and his back leg muscles have to work to keep his balance.

When the front feet are a bit higher, and on an unstable surface, more weight rests on the back legs, so more effort is required from the muscles.

2. Front feet on a yoga block, back feet on the wobbly cushion - and moving his head around like in 1.

Now the body is level but the back feet are on an unstable surface, so they have to work harder to keep the balance.

3. Standing on two yoga blocks and looking at the yellow bucket on the chair.

This is for the future assessment. The therapist needs Merrick to stand perfectly still while she lifts each of his paws separately. She wants to see if he needs to compensate for any loss of balance, as this would give her the necessary information about his weaknesses and discomfort.

This exercise is also used for improving core strength, as the yoga blocks can be gradually moved farther apart, to make the core muscle work harder ( basically planking for dogs).

These are not the only things we do now. Our other tasks are:

*Spin and Twist - who would have thought that "silly" tricks are useful... (actually that's why I teach them).

*Figue 8 around my legs

*Walking backwards in a straight line

*Pivoting with his front feet on a platform

*Movement Puzzles - this is something we are learning now separately, but it turns out it's also useful here.

Of course I also need to do some exercises with Arco now, because he gets jealous😆. But his are more generic.

We will probably need to do some physio and conditioning for the rest of Merrick's life, to maintain what we achieve here.

The problem is that left to his own devices, if he feels any discomfort or pain, he will naturally protect that place and move in an unbalanced way. We do the same when we have a sore joint.

Physiotherapy or fitness programme forces us, or the dog, to move properly to avoid loss of function in some parts of the body.

Merrick's programme will develop with his progress, so there will be new exercises coming later. He loves training and activities, and since we can't play with frisbees or balls, this keeps his mind and body busy.

Fingers crossed we can get him to the point of no discomfort or wonky gait. I'll keep you posted.

13/06/2025

Training Walks are a great option to help you and your dog through any walking, and daily manners, struggles.

❗️Got a puppy? Let's start them on the righ paw and introduce them to the world properly.

👍House training, settling in the crate or bed, beginning of recall, walking on lead, socialisation - we can cover all the things you need right now.

❗️An adolescent dog keeping you busy or getting into trouble? The walks are absolutely fantastic for it.

👍Pulling on lead, not coming back, running to every other dog, jumping and barking - these are all typical for young teenage dogs and we will address them together, so you can regain some control of your life.

❗️Stressful walks with your lunging and barking dog? These issues too can be resolved, and better understood, to give you more confidence and skills.

👍It's not fun to walk with a dog that is very stressed and snarls at every other dog they see, or barks frantically and pulls you like a train, and it doesn't have to be that way. You just need a good strategy that fits you and your dog.

How does it work?

We meet twice a week, and go for a walk together. I can handle your dog, to make it easier, but some dogs don't want to be walked by strangers and that's ok, I will tell you exactly what to do.

We'll talk about everything that's going on with your dog, and I'll observe their behaviour. We'll teach both of you some skills that you need to succeed, and the theory behind them, so you can actually understand why it works, or not.

The shortest programme is 4 weeks long, that's 8 sessions. At the end of it you should have a much better idea of what to do, and in many cases, your dog will behave a lot better, so you'll not have much to do, apart from some maintainance.

There are longer programmes available, 5 or 6 weeks, for persistent behaviour struggles, but the 4 week package is the most popular. The cost of the programme is £320.

There are still some spaces left for July. Drop me a message if you're interested, and we'll get you booked.

You and your dog deserve to have fabulous relaxing walks together!

07/04/2025

Yesterday we finished our 8 session programme with Baxter the spaniel.

Baxter was an unusual client for me, as he is not reactive, or over excited, and doesn't pull on lead.

In fact he's a perfect dog in many respects.

However Baxter developed a fear of the new wind turbine above Aviva in Perth .

The moment the turbine got switched on, something spooked him, and he started avoiding almost all locations where the turbine was visible from.

He would flatly refuse to move, and if off lead, he would charge past the scary places as fast as he could, and then wait for his owners.

No sweet talking, or treats, or balls would convince him that it was OK.

On the first session we couldn't do much. We got to a certain point, and tried some things, but he was not mentally available to work with.

But the last few sessions were really successful, and he was able to walk and engage with his people, take treats, or play with his ball, in places where he would not do that before.

The last session was at South Inch. On the way back home he needed to walk straight towards the turbine, and he did it with only minor hesitation.

All we did was introduce fun activities on walks, as we approached the scary places, and we always listened to what he was saying.

In this video he's searching for a few treats hidden around the tree. He loves scent games, so it worked really well for him.

Now Baxter is able to go for his normal walks, although this training must still be maintained, possibly for quite a long time.

Well done to his humans for putting in the work! They are absolutely fantastic, and committed, and I know Baxter will only get better now.

25/03/2025

A spaniel doing spaniel things😊

As a part of our training with little Skye, we introduced her to a gun dog dummy and it was an instant hit!

She loves searching for it in the garden, just like she would search for a bird out on a shoot.

It feels good in her mouth, the right shape, the right weight. Just like a little bird.

The majority of the gun dogs I meet absolutely love the dummies. I have a bigger canvas one, and also one covered with real rabbit fur.

The grin on the dog's face when he first grabs it is priceless.

We use the dummies to enrich the walks with breed specific activities, so the dog doesn't go hunting on his own.

We can practise retrieving, but what they enjoy most is the search. When the dog is busy elsewhere, we throw the dummy in the tall grass or other vegetation, and then call the dog for a search.

Great fun for a gun dog! And it's all with you, the handler, what could be better than that?

Dummies are available from any gun dog supplies store. They come in different shapes, weights and covers.

Ditch the old tennis ball and give your gun dog what he really wants.

24/03/2025

This cute little girl is Poppy. Yesterday we had our last session of the Training Walks programme.

Poppy came to me with some dog reactivity issues. Sometimes she would get so wound up, she would redirect onto her house mate, or her owner.

We took things slowly, at her pace, and I'm happy to report that she and her dad aced it!

They worked hard, and the results were obvious. Yesterday we walked in a very busy park, with lots of people and dogs, some of them running at full speed, and Poppy had only one little lunge, half-hearted I'd say, and then turned away.

At the first session this would have caused a massive explosion of barking and spinning and lunging, so we were very pleased with the improvement.

Well done team Poppy, you both rock!

If you're struggling with similar issues with your dog, please get in touch. We can definitely make your walks easier. I'm fully booked till the last week in April, but May is still almost all available at the moment.

22/01/2025

Do you play with your dog on walks?

Most people I talk to don't.

They also often complain that their dog doesn't come when called.

They complain that their dog prefers to follow other people and dogs than to stay with them.

They ask how to change that.

PLAY.

Your dog is your responsibility. You should provide entertainment for him, not rely on other people and dogs.

When your puppy goes out, he learns what out there is interesting, fun, exciting.

In most cases he quickly learns it's not you.

I never leave my house without food and a toy. Sometimes I don't use food at all, sometimes Arco just carries his ball but we don't play.

But with Merrick, who is just a baby, I use every opportunity to reward the behaviours I like.

Checking in, coming close, nice lead walking.

We play a lot, and I see that now he values staying with me more than chasing Arco.

And if we go to the town, he disengages from various distractions really quickly now.

I'm building strong foundations that will serve us well into the future.

And we're having fun.

As I was walking this morning I was thinking about all the dogs that run to everyone in the park, and how it makes my work so much harder, especially with reactive dogs.

And how my clients hate when an off lead dog charges at them, and how stressful it is, and makes them avoid walking their dog in any public places. ..

And, interestingly, how the dogs that play with their owners in parks are very unlikely to do that, they're engaged with their person, and ignore everyone else.

It's the dogs that never get to have fun with their handlers, that keep looking for something interesting to do and keep approaching everyone else.

The solution is so simple but people are so reluctant to do it.

Get a toy, put some treats in your pocket. Go out there and play with your dog 😊

05/01/2025

4 weeks ago my life changed, for the better of course. I welcomed this little cute dog into my family.

Meet Merrick, the Border Collie (I'm adding the breed here because many people already asked me what he was). He's 9 weeks old in these photos.

Having a puppy is an amazing experience. I'm aware that many puppy owners struggle with the typical issues of housetraining, biting, zoomies etc, so I'll give you my take and approach to this.

I'll tell you about Merrick's early life week by week, and hopefully you'll get some value from this. He is my puppy no 4, so I already have some habits and protocols that have helped with raising them.

Today we'll talk about week 1.

SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS: my puppies sleep with me in my bed, or I sleep with them in the living room. This time it's the latter.

I have a mattress on the floor, and Merrick can come to me and cuddle when he wants to. He's not crated at night, and I take him out every time he wakes up. It's not more than twice per night, usually once.

This is my best way to ease the puppy into a new home life. Remember until I brought him here, he was with his mum and littermates, and puppies sleep in a pile, not separately. They need to feel the warmth of each other, the heartbeats and softness of the little bodies. I provide that for him, and I've never had a single pip from any of the puppies I raised this way. They snuggle in and fall asleep instantly. They feel safe.

I do this until the puppy has a good bladder control over night, and enough independence to sleep all night on his own bed, without needing me (4-6 weeks).

HOUSE TRAINING: every 20-30 minutes the puppy is taken out. My whole attention is on him, and I'm super vigilant. We had a few incidents of course, which were cleaned with an enzymatic cleaner, but in general he was really good. No number 2s at all, only pees inside.

ALONE TIME: every day Merrick is left alone, in the crate, at least twice (Arco's walks). He's used to the crate, as the puppies had one at the breeder's home. He gets some goodies on a lickimat, and chews, so he's busy while I'm out. The maximum time alone is 2 hrs. I'm always watching for signs of anxiety, but I haven't seen any. None of my puppies never bothered with this. They just went to sleep. Of course I make sure the puppy has had some exercise, play, and potty break before I leave.

SOCIALIZATION: Merrick goes to work with me, so he meets some people there, and the first week he met one of the resident dogs, although he was in my arms, I didn't let them interact. At the end of the week we went to a village and he met some friends and one nice dog. He's super into dogs and people, very hard to distract, a big red flag for the future, we'll need to work on that.

He also went for a couple short walks with Arco, just in the fields near me. Again, totally obsessed with Arco, following him everywhere... as much as he could, of course, on his little legs. But able to engage with me and play with a toy a few times. Took treats as well, good treats, like cooked chicken or smelly puppy treats. I wouldn't even dream of offering him a kibble at that time.

PLAY: most of the time we just play. I want him to play with a variety of toys,, as well as food. I have lots of different toys at home, some are for everyday use, some are for walks only, and interaction with me. I want to see what his preferences are, and what he's clearly not interested in.

As with most puppies, he loves to chase long toys and catch them, and then tug. Also the horrible squeaky latex balls with faces are his very favourite (I think I lost a significant percentage of my hearing in the last few weeks).

And the flirt pole! Right from the get go, he loved it! At that stage he was still very clumsy and slow, so our play was a bit boring for me, but he had lots of fun.

Now for the biting part of puppy life, yes he was vicious that first week! I have scars to prove it. But as with the other puppies, I put on my padded working gloves and we played bitey-bitey with them. He quickly learned to only bite when the gloves are on, and leave my skin alone. He loves it, I love it, so it's a win for both of us. But I'm not saying that you should do that too. Especially if children are involved. In a single household it might work really well.

The alternative would be to get a big stuffed, realistically looking dog toy and play with it. Puppies really unload on a toy like this, and then you have peace and your hands are saved. I do use my stuffed black lab for this as well and Merrick can freely abuse it as much as he wants.

Play with food was introduced that week, again slowly and with zero difficulty, just dropping treats on the ground, or following a treat in my hand. Just to see what foods he likes, and how determined he is to get them.

TRAINING: only basics like food following. I'm more interested in play and engagement at the moment. I can teach him anything I want later. I was looking for some eye contact, a bit of hand touch, and a general prosocial attitude. And he's got lots of it.

RELATIONSHIP WITH ARCO: this was a biggie. Unfortunately Merrick wants to jump up at Arco and lick his face. Unfortunately this is the thing Arco hates most. Many of his angry outbursts at other dogs happened when the other dog jumped to his face. So it was, and still is, a constant work for me, although right now it's slightly better, but the first week was tough.

I have barriers at home, and I had to use them throughout the day, as the little dog was relentlessly trying to get to Arco, despite clear warnings. That week Arco went for him once, causing Merrick to scream and be terrified afterwards, but not enough to remember the lesson. for longer than half an hour...

There was a bit of friendly interaction towards the end of that week too. But generally Arco stayed on my bed knowing that the puppy couldn't reach him there.

In a multi dog house it may take a while to develop friendships, and it's our responsibility to be the mediator. I don't allow my dogs to 'sort things out themselves', I'm always there to offer support to either party. And if I can't be there, the dogs are separated. With Arco I know that he will be good with the puppy in a couple months at the max. But until that happens I supervise all interactions.

Ok, phew, so that was week 1. A lot of work, but also so, so rewarding! I'm absolutely loving it, although I'm still a bit sleep deprived. In a few days I'll post week 2. Now I have to go as the beast woke up...

01/12/2024

Sunday fun 😆

29/11/2024

Looking for something interesting to watch this weekend?

Look no further!

The Dog's Truth is a new free video that is a must for all dog lovers.

Previously only available as a paid course on Thinkific, it was recently released as a free resource for dog owners, as well as professionals who would like a simple introduction to the L.E.G.S. applied ethology model.

Watch and find out who your dog really is, and how to best help him to have a really good life that suits his individual needs.

The video is very engaging and beautifully made, and I'm absolutely sure you'll enjoy it.

If the contents resonate with you, and I'm sure they will, and you'd like to learn more about L.E.G.S. of your particular dog/s, get in touch, I've been a certified Family Dog Mediator for over 2 years, and can help you apply this knowledge in your everyday life.

Enjoy!

FULL PRO COURSE!https://kimbropheylegscourses.thinkific.com/courses/legs-applied-ethology-family-dog-mediation-professional-courseYOUR DOG is not broken, and...

24/10/2024

As we all know Dachshunds were originally bred to go down the badger holes.

They needed to be low and long, hence the short legs and super long bodies.

But, since we don't use them for this purpose any more, there's been a trend in recent years to breed shorter Dachshunds, which would also prevent some painful orthopaedic conditions.

Ogórek, in the picture, is a typical example of the new generation of Daxis. They're so short that their tails grow out of the back of their heads, so they never get any problems with their spines.

It's certainly a positive step in the history of dog breeding, one that I wholeheartedly support.
😉