Forbes Dog Training

17/09/2025

WHAT YOUR DOG REALLY NEEDS versus WHAT YOU THINK YOUR DOG NEEDS
Most owners want to do the right things for their dog but there is so much nonsense being spouted that is so misleading, that it’s causing big problems.

Common mistakes that owners think their dog needs:
- [ ] Trying to socialize their dog with every dog they come across. (It’s not necessary and most dogs don’t like every other dog. They might only like a select few or none at all and that’s fine).

- [ ] Using ‘enrichment’ toys as the only means to break boredom. (Whilst enrichment toys can be used as a small part of the solution to fulfill the dogs needs, on their own they are rarely the solution).

- [ ] Thinking that walking the dog on lead meets all of the dogs physical & mental needs. (Again this is very rarely enough physical and mental stimulation on its own.)

What your dog actually needs:
- [ ] The most important thing that your dog needs is YOU! Your dog needs your guidance & leadership. Your dog needs YOU to be their best friend and to meet all of their needs through play every day.

- [ ] Your dog needs you to play with them every single day. What ever games your dog likes to play should be a part of your routine. Dogs like either chasing games with a ball, or tugging games, or searching games. Some dogs will only like 1 or 2 of these games and some dogs will like them all. True enrichment comes from playing with your dog daily.

- [ ] Whilst walking your dog on a lead is often necessary for safety, most dogs need freedom to run in order to be completely fulfilled. Using a flexible line or a longline can help until you can teach a reliable recall. Freedom can be the reward for walking on a lead without pulling.

If you need any help to implement what your dog actually needs to live a balanced and fulfilled life, get in touch for details about our services.

We are professional dog trainers with a great reputation for handling dogs of all sizes and breeds. Contact us to learn how to train your dog.

06/09/2025

WHEN IS A WALK JUST A WALK?
Answer: NEVER!
A walk should never be, just a walk. It is an opportunity for you and your dog to spend quality time with each other improving your communication system.

There are always things to work on. No dog is ever perfect, so we can always improve.

So, if you’re still of the opinion that it’s your dogs walk and they should be allowed to do what they want, sniff what they want, when they want. You’re missing out on a valuable opportunity to improve your dogs quality of life.

Well trained, well balanced, reliable dogs have more freedom and more fulfilled lives.

Change your mindset and book a session. Let us show you how to start building your communication system in order to have a well trained, well balanced, reliable dog.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/dog-behaviour-modification

01/09/2025

WHY DOGS PULL?
In order to stop your dog from pulling, you need to understand what motivates your dog to pull. You can then remove that motivation and replace it by making walking on a loose lead more rewarding instead.

If you have a dog that pulls and you’ve tried all of the highly marketed equipment and the internet quick fixes. Book a session and let us show you what really works. Significant progress guaranteed in one session!
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/dog-behaviour-modification

30/08/2025

What does that tell us?
It tells us that, it’s not the dog that’s the problem, it’s you, yourself, yes you! 🫵

If you still don’t believe it, you probably also don’t believe that if your dog came to live with a dog trainer for a few weeks, it would make any difference! 🤔

We often have to tell clients this harsh reality, because without the honest truth, as harsh as it sometimes sounds, we can’t move forward.

Accepting the responsibility for your dogs level of training is the first step in the process. The second step is to get in touch so that we can help you.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/dog-behaviour-modification

28/08/2025

DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW DOGS LEARN?
If your answer is no, why not, if you own a dog? If you don’t understand how your dog learns and be able to put into practice the theories of classical and operant conditioning, your dog misses out!

Many people are sending the wrong messages at the wrong times to their dogs, simply because they don’t understand how dogs learn.

Don’t worry, you’re not alone, most people are in the same boat but you owe it to your dog to understand it and be able to put it into practice at the right times.

Some people can Google it, understand it and put it into practice, for everyone else, we’re here to help; explain it, demonstrate it and get you to practice under our expert guidance.

Once you fully understand how to put these theories into practice, you will be able to influence every behaviour your dog performs. Get in touch for details about our services.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/dog-behaviour-modification

27/08/2025

RELIABLE RECALL TRAINING
Do you have a good recall until there is a distraction? Is your recall great unless there is a competing motivator elsewhere? This is the standard of recall 95% of dog owners reach.

The problem is that it’s in those situations where the dog is distracted or otherwise motivated, that it’s important to have a reliable recall. These are the moments that matter!

We have developed a tried and tested system that can be tailored to you and your dog, to get reliable results.

Get in touch and ask for details about our services.

We are two highly experienced dog trainers in Salisbury with army dog handling training and capable of handling any dog.

18/08/2025

OBEDIENCE v BEHAVIOUR
If you’re still trying to fix your dogs behaviour with obedience, this post is for you.

Obedience is obedience but the crossover into behaviour is negligible in comparison to how you live with your dog. There are plenty of examples around of highly trained dogs in; obedience, agility and other dog sports that are a nightmare at home and outside of their particular sport. Why is this?

It’s because obedience is just that, there is very little benefit in behaviour from obedience. How you live with your dog consistently within the rules and boundaries you set, effects your dogs behaviour way more than doing obedience. My opinion is that it’s probably around 90% v 10% in favour of how you live with your dog.

If you need help with your dogs behaviour, get in touch and ask for details about our services.

We can help with reactivity, resource guarding, separation anxiety, lead pulling, jumping up, and aggression issues.

17/08/2025

YOUR DOG DOESN’T NEED FRIENDS!
Too much emphasis generally speaking is placed on encouraging your dog to interact and play with other dogs. Whilst some dogs love this interaction, others hate it, respect your dogs personality and character.

What your dog really needs though, is for you to be their best friend, to the point where they would rather choose you, than anything else in the world. This is the best goal you could have. Work on teaching your dog to be neutral to external distractions and to be ecstatic about interacting with you.

Trust me when I say that this small change in the way you live with your dog will have a dramatic effect on your relationship. All of a sudden recall for example becomes a breeze because your dog wants to interact with you at every available opportunity.

If you need help to achieve this, get in touch and ask for details about our services.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/dog-behaviour-modification

16/08/2025

DOGS THAT PULL ON THE LEAD
It’s probably the most common behaviour that owners struggle with. If you’re trying to fix it by stopping or changing direction and you’re not getting anywhere, let me explain.

Believe it or not, pulling is a self reinforcing behaviour and you need to stop your dog from reinforcing it. Your dog pulls to have a p*e and then the lead goes slack. Your dog pulls to sniff where another dog p*e’d and then the lead goes slack. Your dog pulls you all the way to the park and is then released from the lead to run around free from the lead. Your dog pulls you to greet another dog and then …… you guessed it, the lead went slack. Can you see the pattern?

This pattern of pressure, pressure, pressure and then release is called negative reinforcement in the science of dog training. When you remove pressure (negative in this context means removing) it reinforces the behaviour, making it more likely in the future.

The more often you release that pressure, the more reinforcing it becomes until you have a very reliable behaviour. When dogs pull, it’s working against us but we can also use negative reinforcement to work for us.

If you have a dog that pulls and you would like some help to stop it, get in touch and ask for details about our services.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/dog-behaviour-modification

15/08/2025

THE FINGER OF BLAME! 🫵
Mirror mirror on the wall who is responsible for my dogs bad behaviour?

Many people mistakenly point the finger of blame at other people, their dogs, events that traumatized your dog in the past etc. However, ultimately regardless of what’s happened in the past, the future is more important now. What are YOU going to do about your dogs behaviour?

If you’re ready to accept responsibility for your dogs behaviour, get in touch and let us show you how you can make changes that make a big difference.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/dog-behaviour-modification

13/08/2025

INGREDIENTS OF DOG TRAINING
If you try to bake a loaf of bread without flour, water, yeast, sugar or water, your bread isn’t going to turn out well.

Before you start training your dog, you need to make sure you have all of the necessary ingredients, or your training won’t turn out well.

THE most important ingredient is, MOTIVATION! It’s also the MISSING ingredient in most peoples training sessions.

Building MOTIVATION should be your starting point. If you’re using food, your dog needs to be hungry or you won’t have motivation. If you’re using toys, your dog needs to be motivated to play with the toy.

If you’re not sure how to build motivation using food or toys, get in touch and let us show you. Ask for details about our services.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk

09/08/2025

STOP SOCIALIZING YOUR PUPPY!
I know, I know! You’ve been told you have to do it or your puppy will end up being scared of dogs, people, cars etc. Your local puppy classes promote it, I get it but they’re wrong! There is no easy way to say it, so I’ll just repeat it, ‘THEY’RE WRONG!’

At best, socializing your puppy to a lot of dogs or people builds up an expectation, that every time you see them you interact. After a while there will be situations when your dog can’t interact and because you’ve built up an expectation, dog gets frustrated. Frustration leads to barking, whining, lunging towards the things they can’t have. You now have a reactive dog!

At worst, your puppy/dog will have a bad experience and become scared of other dogs or people, cars etc.

Not all dogs are affected like this but it’s a big risk to take. There is nothing to be gained and you’re taking a lot of risks on things that could go wrong.

We used to believe that was the best way. It was the best most up to date information we had in the 1970’s & 80’s but we now know better. We now teach, NEUTRALITY! This should be your goal during those very important early weeks of your puppies life. Teach your puppy to be neutral (not scared, not over excited) to other dogs, people, cars, loud noises etc.

Don’t know how? Get in touch and we’ll show you.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/puppy-training