CHANGING THE MINDSET
Most reactive dogs have a leading state of mind when we start working with them. This means that typically, they pull on the lead and like to be out in front, leading the walk. They have positioned themselves to take full control of situations as and when they are encountered on the walk. They enjoy the opportunity to bark and lunge at the thing they are reactive to.
Once you put that same dog into a following state of mind by preventing pulling and teaching the dog to follow you rather than leading you, it changes the dogs mindset completely. This change in mindset alone can be enough for some dogs to stop being reactive.
You can see from this video how the dogs energy has changed. The dog is in a much calmer state of mind and in this mindset is now much less likely to be reactive.
It’s one step towards stopping the reactivity long term but it is a very big step!
If you would like help with a reactive dog, get in touch and ask for details about our Reactive Dog Programme.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/dog-behaviour-modification
INDOOR REACTIVITY
Many dogs are reactive inside the house or in their garden. Some people seem happy to put up with that and that’s fair enough. We all want different things from our dogs.
The point of this post is directed at the people who are not happy with their dogs reactive behaviour in and around the house. You can change any unwanted behaviour with the right training. Even better than that, you can teach your dog how you want them to behave from day 1, in the presence of external stimuli, to prevent this behaviour starting in the first place.
In this video, Skye is lying in her bed whilst the hoovering gets done. She was taught at a young age that when she hears the hoover, if she goes and lies down in her bed, she gets a very tasty treat after the hoovering is finished. During the training she was rewarded more frequently for staying in position.
Dogs that are not given that guidance often bark or attack the hoover, or even develop a fear of the hoover. This is an example of how reactivity can develop around the home, whether that’s the hoover, the doorbell or people/dogs walking past your garden.
Give your dog the guidance they need to avoid reactivity around the home. If you already have a dog that is reactive in the home, we can help you to bring this behaviour to a successful conclusion. Get in touch and ask for details about our services.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/dog-behaviour-modification
CAN YOU PROVIDE A HOME FOR RITA?
Rita is a 5 year old spayed female Doggue de Bordeaux x Presa Camaro and Jo is looking to rehome her. She has had her since she was 7 months old. Jo has a small doggie day care business and Rita has become intolerant of other dogs company. The older she is getting the more this is the case.
Jo has 2 other dogs she lives with and so far has never had a problem. Rita is not dog aggressive. Her really good friends were the 2 little dogs and the schnauzer. Rita is crate trained and very good on the lead. If you are a competent dog owner she is good for bath, nails, vet and car. Medium shedder and medium slobberer.
She would suit someone looking for a partner in a dog. Jo wants to do the right thing for her and she just feels that her home environment is the wrong environment for her.
Give Jo a ring if Rita sounds like the dog you are looking for and she can tell you all about her. Jo lives near Winchester, Hampshire. Contact her on 07887981195
We love to receive these types of progress report videos from customers. Keep ‘em comin’!
Customers who do their homework reap the rewards.
Everyone wants different things from their dogs but what ever your training goals are, we can help you achieve them. Get in touch for details about our services. ‘We Train You To Train Your Dog’.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/
CONFIDENCE AND OVERCOMING FEAR
Sometimes dogs can have a fear of things. In Mo’s case, the big, strong, roughy, tuffy GSD, it was an open staircase. Sometimes, no amount of treats, toys or coercing is going to cut it, it needs a different approach.
Over the years we’ve helped dogs overcome their fears of; Stairs, jumping into the car and moving traffic. We’ve also helped dogs with, what we call, ‘superstitious fears’, where they have a fear of something completely random. I once had a working dog that had a fear of a stone statue of a bear!
All of these fears can be overcome with a bit of knowledge, skill, confidence and above all leadership.
If your dog has a similar fear or lack of confidence in something, it can be overcome. Get in touch for details about our services.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/dog-behaviour-modification
ENGAGEMENT TRAINING
Most people walk their dog, whilst their dog is completely oblivious to their existence. The dog is typically at the end of the lead, as far away from the owner as he can get, smelling scents or scanning the environment and getting all of their mental stimulation needs from that environment. These dogs have learnt to tune out the owner as they seek out their own personal fulfilment. Imagine trying to hold a conversation with your teenage child whilst they have headphones on listening to their favourite music, it’s very similar. You first need to disengage them from the distraction and then engage them into your conversation.
Trying to train a dog that isn’t engaged and is completely distracted by the environment is impossible. Many people try to train their dog whilst they are in this state of mind. We hear things like, “my dog is stubborn”, or “my dog has selective hearing”. The truth is, it’s neither of those things. It’s just that in the absence of any interaction from you, your dog has learnt how to entertain themself and now doesn’t see any value in you, when in a distracting environment.
These dogs need engagement training, to tune them into the owner before you try to teach any commands. This is the exercise or exercises that teach your dog to keep interacting with you and to ignore distractions. These exercises teach your dog that all the fun and mental stimulation they need comes from you. Once you have your dog’s attention training is easy.
If you would like to learn how to practice engagement exercises or if you need help with any type of dog training and/or behaviour modification, get in touch and ask for details about our services.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/dog-behaviour-modification
COMPETING MOTIVATIONS
This video was taken last year when we were in Spain with Skye, our family dog. This is the standard of dog training most people want from their dogs and this is the areas of dog training we specialize in.
In the beginning of the video, Skye was free and offlead to do what she wants but even a well trained dog WILL make poor decisions, so it’s important that you have control in all situations.
Skye loves water and swimming. She knew that the sea was on the other side of that sand dune and that’s where she was heading. It wasn’t the right time for me to let her go swimming so I recalled her and she immediately returned to me. WHY? Nothing I had on me could compete with the urge for her to go swimming. It wouldn’t matter what I had on me, it couldn’t compete. Not even a tasty piece of cheese, favourite toy, belly rub or a game of fetch could compete but she still came back to me.
Teaching your dog to ignore competing motivations is an important component of training and it’s where most people fail. If I had a £1 for every time a client has told us that their dog has a reliable recall until there are distractions, we would have quite a pot!
If you would like to learn how to teach your dog to listen and act on your commands reliably, ignoring competing motivations, get in touch. Ask for details about our services.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/
ENGAGEMENT
There are different levels to Engagement but it’s a very important step for any dog in their dog training journey. If you’re not doing this kind of training in some form with your dog, your results are always going to be limited.
Keeping your dog engaged with you through distractions has so many benefits in all kinds of situations and makes training so much easier.
Once you have your dogs undivided attention, training becomes fun, results start happening, it’s a game changer in every sense. Yet, somehow this little exercise is overlooked or discarded as unnecessary. Trust us, learn how to get engagement and your training goals will be achieved faster than you ever dreamed possible.
We teach every client how to conduct engagement exercises, it’s that important.
If you have training goals you want to achieve or if you have a dog with unwanted behaviours. This helps massively. Get in touch and we’ll send you details about our services.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/
Eli
Molly is having to give up her dog very reluctantly and through unforeseen circumstances. If you are able to provide this dog with the home he needs, get in touch with Molly directly.
This is our beloved dog, Elijah (Eli for short). Due to personal circumstances, we are looking to find a new home for him. We are heartbroken by this but unfortunately, we are now in a position where we no longer have the time to commit to his further training and needs.
Eli is a 1 and a half year old shepherd mix rescue dog from Bosnia. We have had him for a year. He has lived with another dog since we got him, and due to his attachment issues, it might be suitable for him to be with another dog in the home. Despite having a few issues with regards to fear reaction, he is the most loveable loyal dog. He’s a bit clumsy! He knows how to sit, wait, paw and he’s been going through lead training as well. He loves to chew his toys and we have found out he adores a muddy puddle. His fur is really wonderful to maintain, I like to cut it shorter and he’s good in the bath/shower. Eli has brilliant recall, although we don’t usually let him off the lead much due to his fear of other dogs and barking episodes.
Eli needs someone who is with him quite a lot, so he can continue daily training, and he needs time and commitment to help him overcome his reactivity. All he needs is someone to be able to give him time and patience and he will be the most incredible dog. We love him very much and he is a very special boy. We would like to make sure he goes to a good home who can cater for him well. He loves being outside.
If there is anyone interested in meeting Eli, they can meet him as many times as they wish before committing to him and we recommend this too, for Eli. The more comfortable he is with someone, the more he comes out of his shell and is really his relaxed, happy, dopey self!
You can contact me via WhatsApp message on: 07572152169 and we are in Telford, Shropshire.
Thank yo
BOUNDARIES AND IMPULSE CONTROL
Teaching boundaries and impulse control has so many benefits, it’s a shame more people don’t implement them into how they live with their dog.
For example, if your dog pulls you over the threshold of your front door and then pulls you all the way on his walk, the place to start training your dog not to pull isn’t on the walk, it’s at the threshold by teaching the boundary with impulse control.
Once we have this part nailed, now we can work on the pulling during the walk! Set yourself up for success.
If you need help with any kind of dog training or behaviour modification, get in touch and ask for details about our services.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/dog-behaviour-modification
DEKA THE REACTIVE GSD X
Matt got in touch to get help with his 3 year old GSD X Deka, who was reactive to the doorbell when in the house and also with people whilst on walks. This resulted in lots of 5am walks to avoid people.
Matt is totally committed to Deka and after the first session, he could already see progress that had not been made previously. This was all the motivation Matt needed and after a few more sessions, he feels he has learnt enough to continue the training himself.
That is the stage we want everyone to get to. ‘We train you to train your dog!’
Our reactive dog programme is a 9 hour course, split into 6 x 90 minute sessions or 3 x 3 hour sessions. This is a complete course, that takes you through every stage of training required for your reactive dog.
(Try us out, with a single 90 minute session to get started. You won’t regret it!)
We will be with you every step of the way with instruction and practical demonstrations. You will be assigned homework between sessions. We will give you practical guidance for you to develop the correct handling skills in order to bring your reactive dog to a successful conclusion.
If you’re looking for help with your reactive dog, don’t look any further. We are the best around and this is our specialised subject. Get in touch and ask for details about our services.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/dog-behaviour-modification
#dogtraining, #wetrainyoutotrainyourdog, #behaviourmodification, #salisburydogtraining
We don’t teach our dog tricks, we prefer to work on useful behaviours. There are many things we eat that dogs shouldn’t; Chocolate, Onions, Garlic etc.
We’ve taught Skye not to pick things up in her mouth unless she is given permission, no matter how tasty they might be. It keeps her safe and visits to the vets at a minimum.
If you would like help to teach your dog something useful or to stop an unwanted behaviour, get in touch and ask for details about our services.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/
DEKA THE REACTIVE GSD X
Matt and his family got in touch recently to ask if we could help with their 3 year old GSD X, Deka. Deka is reactive to any activity she hears outside. She reacts to the doorbell and if anyone comes into the house.
Matt has to walk Deka at 6am in the morning, to avoid other people and dogs as she is reactive in these situations.
They have already worked with two previous dog trainers who were not able to help them. We love a challenge and Steve got straight to work. This is a video from the first session then a week later. Matt and family have their homework to complete and the story continues.
If you have a reactive dog that you would like some help with, even if you have tried other dog trainers, get in touch and ask for details about our services.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/dog-behaviour-modification
Sometimes, the emphasis of training needs to focus on a specific behaviour. It varies from dog to dog and on this session the emphasis was on impulse control.
There is no, ‘one size fits all’, for training, it’s about training the dog in front of you and tailoring the approach accordingly.
If you need help with any kind of dog training or behaviour modification, get in touch and ask for details about our services.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/dog-behaviour-modification
RECALL - THE HOLY GRAIL
This is something a lot of people struggle with and from what we’ve seen, very few people have what I would call a reliable recall when there are distractions present. Why is that?
In the main, it’s because the training is set up to fail in the first place. The dog never truly learns what the command actually means because it gets contaminated. What do we mean?
When you practice your recall without a long line, this sets your dog up to fail. When you call your dog, you have given them the choice, to return to you or not return to you! When we set up our training in the beginning we remove the option not to come, with the aid of the long line. Now when we call the dog, if the dog chooses not to come, we use the long line to guide the dog back to us each and every time. We are now teaching the dog what the command means.
We then have to fade the use of the long line until we no longer need it at all.
Top tip: As always, be consistent. Being inconsistent confuses the dog. Dogs learn through successful repetitions that are rewarded, making the behaviour more likely in the future.
If you would like us to help you put this into practice so that you can have a successful recall, or if you need help with any other dog training or behaviour modification problem, get in touch and ask for details about our services.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/dog-obedience-training
Nelly is a 14 week old Doberman puppy that is a little bit nervous of new experiences. It’s important for dogs like this that they are exposed to different environments without being overwhelmed. There is a balance to be struck.
Not enough controlled exposure sets them up for a life of fear, nervousness and anxiety. Pushing them too much, too early will have the same effect. It’s knowing how much to push and when to back off, to build up the puppies confidence.
Interestingly, at the start of the session, Nelly was lured up on to a flat bed trolley, which she was naturally nervous about. She was gently guided up and was rewarded for doing so. Later in the session, whilst walking past the trolley, she pulled us over to the trolley, climbed up without any assistance or encouragement. Where she sat and waited in anticipation for her reward! Good girl Nelly!
Puppy group classes are not the best environment for most puppies to learn effectively. This is an example of why we say, there are better ways to train your puppy. Environmental training, including controlled exposure to as many different experiences as they are likely to encounter in their lives, should be the highest priority for very young puppies.
Get in touch for details about our puppy training services.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/puppy-training
