DogMa Dog School

19/08/2024

15/08/2024

Today's client Wendy Gardner said "Hi Karen. Thanks so much for the video and a million thanks for all your help today. Ralph is a changed dog and has really caught on the things about barking , following me through the door etc. I just can’t believe how you taught him so quickly and I am determined to make sure I keep him on the straight and narrow from now on.
You have worked your magic on him for which I shall be forever grateful.
Delighted to know that you do walks too. Will talk to you soon about that and look forward to seeing you again, the coffee is always at hand and always good!!!
Much love and thanks, Wendy xx"
It's a wonderful feeling when you help someone and it clearly means so much 😊

14/08/2024

A dog's lead is not just for use when you're walking your dog. It's a TOOL which can be used when ever you feel it appropriate in helping to give corrections direction and guidance.......

08/07/2024

Saw a new client today with a pretty female Rottweiler. They had previously seen a fluffy trainer who said they wouldn't see them outside their home, as the dog goes hypo around other dogs, unless the vet medicates her....luckily they didn't agree and called me via a recommendation. It's outrageous.....dogs don't need medication, they need rules, boundaries and limitations which are consistently put in place by educated owners. The clients paid a fortune and never left their house with this so called trainer.

17/05/2024

Applies to many dog owners today......sadly

05/05/2024

Facts about dog breeding even some breeders don't know...
1. Progesterone damages the canine uterus , not pregnancy. So when you skip a heat there is no less damage to the uterus than if she had a pregnancy.
2. The canine uterus is back to normal size 12 weeks after delivery.
3. Spaying/Neutering prior to 2 years of age is actually detrimental to the dog's health, temperament, and well being. They need the hormones to grow properly and develop. Early spay/neuter can cause orthopedic issues such a hips, shoulders, elbows, and ligament weakness.
4. Your dogs do not have to be two years old for hip certifications. OFA does preliminary and Pennhip certifies at 16 weeks of age.
5. The gestational period of the canine is 63 days from ovulation, not from breeding. Once the progesterone spike happens this is ovulation. Eggs take two days from ovulation to ripen to be able to accept the semen. If you aren't sure when your dog is due and it should have a C-section you can have progesterone ran as the due date gets close and the progesterone will drop. This is reverse progesterone testing.
6. Diatomaceous earth given daily to male dogs will increase s***m counts.
7. University of Wisconsin will perform a nomograph on your dam's blood to tell you when to vaccinate your puppies by testing the mother's immunity. Any vaccinations.given before mother's immunity has worn off are worthless. For example a female that was exposed to Parvo may have a high titer and a normal unexposed vaccinated dog may have way less. One litter could need vaccines at 6 weeks and another at 20 weeks based on the testing.

All of this information is backed by scientific data . Dr. Robert Hutchinson webinar and from various veterinarian podcasts on Pure Dog Talk. 🐕

19/04/2024

Wendy Gardner reviewed DogMa Dog School – 5 star

"Karen is a genius! After no more than 5 minutes she had Vinnie (my daughter's 12 week old Patterdale X) walking at her side, answering to his name and being a very calm and composed puppy. She had the same effect on my puppy Ralph.

She is a brilliant trainer with a down to earth, no nonsense approach & I wish every dog owner could benefit from her teaching. Thank you Karen for showing an old lady who has never had a dog in her 75 years, how to manage and get beautifully trained Ralph."

14/04/2024

Karen isn’t one of those ‘one size fits all’ trainers – she really listened and understood our issues, she explained why what we were doing wasn’t working (politely and without judging us!) and then she came up with some brilliant and simple solutions that we would never have thought of ourselves, but which made a lot of sense. When you talk to Karen, you learn so much about what makes dogs tick.

09/04/2024

Susan Billington said

"Thank you Karen! My two dogs, a pointer and a lab were ruling the household. Now I have a strategy and can see light ahead. After one session the situation improved markedly - walking well on the lead, no longer barking at the TV etc. I have plenty of
work to do, but with concrete exercises I can envisage a time when they will be a joy to have around."

04/04/2024

Not meeting your dogs psychological and biological needs can lead to frustration and confusion for your dog!

04/04/2024

Caroline Price said " We contacted Karen for help after she came highly recommended by a friend. We had recently introduced a very young German Shepherd into our family and to our 10 year old Chocolate Labrador. We were slightly anxious about the new arrival and we were looking for 'advice' on how to best integrate her into the family as well as help with training going forward. Karen's straight forward approach gave us confidence on how to deal with undesirable behaviour and her explanations from the dogs view were extremely valuable. Our puppy is relaxed and settled thanks to Karen expertise. We look forward to continuing to work with Karen going forward. Thanks Karen, I would recommend your services any day- you have made such a difference to us."

03/04/2024

Fit is better than fat!

29/03/2024

Julie Barker said "Karen Harvey you are a legend!!!! Mine and Odins first training session with you this afternoon was truly amazing! I felt so proud and confident walking odin past all the distractions of other dogs,people,kite surfers! He was totally focused and im so proud of him, steve said i was beaming ! With your training,advice,support,and guidence odin and i will just blossom. See you in 2wks,we promise to work hard . Im still smiling! ###"

26/03/2024

Note the correction from one dog to another. No fluffiness here. All clear and precise. The message is clear.

14/03/2024

There’s a reason so many balanced trainers experience the same patterns when working with reactive dogs. The common thread is three main environments.

• Dog parks have become increasingly popular; unfortunately, the same repercussions occur. They are a free-for-all environment where dogs observe and learn poor behavior. Bullying, unfair play, oblivious owners, and zero advocacy create opportunities for negative experiences.

• Often dogs outnumber employees at a daycare facility where things surely go unseen (hu***ng, rough play, distress, etc.). Just another environment where bad manners are learned, and negative associations become the norm.

• The walk is a leadership exercise, not an opportunity to “say hi” to other dogs. Our dogs must learn how to coexist and calmly acknowledge other dogs outside. But too often, our dogs have pattered overly heightened responses when seeing other dogs, which results in uncontrollable, stressful walks.

*How* we socialize our dogs impacts how they *feel* about other dogs. Strive for neutral reactions through exposure work because our dogs don’t need to say hello and be friends with every dog we pass by. Written by Pet.techniques

11/03/2024

Socialisation of your puppy or dog is not just about exposing them to places, people and things. It's about teaching them what's expected of them while they are going through the experience!

28/02/2024

Discomfort when using discipline is temporary for humans and canines and may even be seen as a hindrance at first. But by pushing through you and your dog will achieve growth, confidence, respect and trust.

25/02/2024

Client review from Saturday. "Karen was recommended to me by another dog walker, who had also used her services, we are having some training issues with our 10month old dog and found Karen to be prompt, very knowledgeable of his breed, understanding to our household dynamics, and methodical in guiding us as the owners on where we have gone wrong and moving forward, guiding us in putting the correct training methods in place, already I have seen improvements in the last 3 days, and as long as we stick to her guidance consistently I see no reason why we won’t reach our goals, Karen also made us aware that she is always at the end of a phone if needed and we will be looking to join her classes to further improve our own knowledge.
Will definitely recommend her to any other dog owners struggling.
Thanks Karen"

22/02/2024

Today's clients Steve and Debbie Young said "Karen came to help us with our anxious German shepherd, Bear.
We learnt that it is us that need training and not the dog. We are already feeling much more positive and looking forward to putting her instruction into practice.
Karen is a thoroughly lovely lady and really knows her stuff. Bear is already much calmer and we are really happy with the progress after only one session.
We can't recommend Karen highly enough."

22/02/2024

UNDERSTANDING THE SPECIES
When you bring home a new puppy, it’s so easy to forget that this adorable, cute little furry being, is an apex predator, animal canine species dog - with its own set of species specific behaviours and instincts. It often doesn’t occur to us that as a dog, it is entirely different from us. Dogs have their own set of customs, rituals, needs, desires, habits, thoughts and emotions. They are different from us genetically, emotionally and socially and they communicate differently from us. So by not understanding their nature we superimpose our standards on them. Dogs can only see things from a dogs perspective.
Dogs operate on a survival level and their needs are not as complex as ours. They are not motivated politically, environmentally, economically or religiously. They have no morality or ethics as we know them. They don’t chew your best shoes because they have no values or they have no respect for you or calculate revenge on the something you have done to them or failed to do. They do this because they are opportunist, it’s pleasurable and rewarding.
Understanding the species as a whole will help you make better decisions when teaching your dog how to live in our environment. Educate yourself and respect the species you choose to share your home with. You and they will be much happier in the long run.

19/02/2024

Excessive and Inappropriate Affection.

Giving your dog too much affection, especially to an excited mind makes them needy and unstable. Rewarding a calm state of mind will encourage calm making interactions with you and other entities much more productive. Anxiety is not just a negative emotion, excitement, especially prolonged will make a dog unbalanced and often reactive. So next time you engage with your dog ask yourself what state of mind you are encouraging. A calm dog is much happier in the long run.

08/02/2024

This afternoons client James Brown says "We contacted Karen from DogMa Dog School as our 4 year old Rescue Pug x Terrier called Poppy had anxiety and behavioural issues. For months she wasn't able to approach other dogs without excessive barking and protective behaviour and was very protective and anxious at times within the home.

After only a 2 hour session with Karen we learnt how to effectively correct both Poppy’s and our behaviour and put this into practice immediately. Our very first walk after the session we met a group of 4 dogs and Poppy was able to interact and sniff and be sniffed in a very relaxed manner with no barking or signs of anxiety :-)

Not only can we see that Poppy feels more relaxed and confident, but we are also filled with more confidence going out for walks now.

We look forward to seeing what we can achieve over the next couple weeks before our next session with Karen."