The South Shields Dog Trainer

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The South Shields Dog Trainer

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🏆 Twice Voted UK Best Dog Trainers by the public
🥇 5x Winner Dog/Puppy Trainer/Behaviourist of the Year
🌟 500+ 5 star Reviews
🎓 Qualified and Accredited
🐶 5000+ Dogs
🤝 Recommended By Vets, Dog Groomers, Dog Walkers, Pet Shops and More!

03/11/2024

Celebrating Bella’s Life ❤️

Last week we sadly lost Bella, suddenly. One day she was playing and running around, the next she’s at the vet and we are being told it’s as bad as it gets.

Bella was a lovely dog, she was loved by everyone she ever met. She was incredibly sweet, loyal and loving.

I first got Bella when she was 8 months old, she was a handful and her last owners struggles with her. As soon as I got her, she would just copy her sister Chloe with everything she did until she knew the routines. She was so funny and silly from day 1.

Her 2 favourite tricks were ‘Pretty’ and ‘Howl’, which we taught her by putting the cue to her howling whenever she got excited by her dinner 😂

She was erratic and she was easily spooked, but when she was focused on her training, she was insane, she’d do anything for a treat. She loved life, she was just happy and always ready for action.

I always remember the time she opened the Christmas presents from under the tree and ate all the chocolates, or how she looked terrifying and angry when she ate ice cubes, or how she would always sleep with her tongue out 😅

She was always with me, she’s come with me to work everyday for about 7 years. She’s helped hundreds of dogs, even in her final week, the day before she took ill, she was out helping a reactive dog to get better.

She’s left behind Chloe, her sister, who is clearly missing her. They were the only dogs that played with each other like they did, and Bonnie was just starting to learn to play Bella’s way too.

Losing Bella has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done. She gone far too early, she was only 8 and had so much energy left in her. Sadly she had an internal tumour that erupted and she lost a lot of blood internally. Her heart was swimming in blood from another tumour. The vet said that is extremely likely to be cancer that’s spread throughout her organs and that nothing can be done.

Bella will be missed so much, there’s already an empty space in the house and it’s way too quiet and calm without her.

Sleep tight little Bella Wella, we loved you and always will ❤️😢 thank you for giving us so much happiness.

31/10/2024

🐾 Meet Kody, and "Guess the Breed" in the comments! 🐾

Kody was sold as a Cane Corso, but looking at him, he seems more like an American Bulldog, Staffie, maybe even with a bit of XL Bully in him. What do you think? Drop your guesses in the comments below! 👇

Regardless of his breed mix, Kody is an amazing dog, and I fell in love with him during his first session today. He's done absolutely fantastic! 🌟

Kody has had a couple of scuffles with other dogs, mainly when he gets frustrated. He tends to pull towards other dogs, and when he doesn’t get there fast enough, he can get hyperactive. This often leads to other dogs telling him off, and then Kody reacts back. He’s also a puller on the lead. 🐕

His owner, however, is doing a great job! They've already done some online training, which made today’s session much smoother as Kody is used to training. 🙌

We worked on counter-conditioning around other dogs to help Kody stay calm and neutral. He picked this up in no time! Then, we moved on to loose leash walking, using "drunk walking" to get him into heel positions, and teaching him to follow his owner. By the end of the session, Kody was walking beautifully and staying calm around other dogs.

Kody also nailed some lovely loose leash walking without treats or being asked. At just 10 months old, he’s doing perfect! 🏆

Can’t wait to see him again for the next session, where we’ll solidify these behaviours.

30/10/2024

🐾 First session with Zuma and Nala in Great Park, Newcastle! 🐾

Zuma is a nervous and anxious dog, especially around people and other dogs, while Nala is the complete opposite—she’s super friendly with people but extremely hyper and overstimulated when out and about. Her excitement means she’s never really processed the world around her, leading to some reactivity when she encounters new things, specifically dogs and cars. 🐕

To help both of them stop reacting to other dogs, our first step was calming Nala down. Today, we switched her from a collar to a harness, something she struggled with in the past. But by introducing it in a simple way, she quickly got used to it very quickly. 🙌

We then started working on calming techniques and teaching her to focus on her owners while out on walks. By the end of the session, Nala was much calmer—she didn’t react to other dogs or even the traffic around her! 🌟

There’s still a lot of work ahead for Nala. We’ll be focusing on giving her the outlets and exercise she needs at home, not just lead walks, and using counter-conditioning to help her process the world calmly. 🏡

Once Nala is more settled, we’ll turn our attention to Zuma. For now, though, Zuma is off to the vet to check a possible leg issue. We’ll be back soon with an update on how they’re getting on!

👏 A big well done to their owners for reaching out and doing so well in today’s session!

29/10/2024

🐾 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗗𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱! 🐾

Islay is a very happy little golden doodle who’s great with people and off-lead dogs. 🐕 However, she’s been having a few fights with on-lead dogs. I think the issue is that she doesn’t quite know how to read dogs that are on a lead since she hasn’t socialised with them much.

On our walk today, we also noticed that Islay wasn’t eating food—not because of stress or anxiety, but simply because she’s so focused on the walk! Just like when you’re working out at the gym, food isn’t the first thing on your mind—that’s how Islay feels during her walks. 🚶‍♀️

But since she pulls quite badly on the lead, we need to teach her to stop and use food to reinforce good behaviours. So, we changed things up by starting right outside the house, where we taught her to eat and work with food. 🍗

Islay picked this up incredibly quickly, and within minutes she was doing some beautiful loose leash walking! She lasted about 15-20 minutes before getting distracted, so we called it a day, but it was a fantastic start. She ate, she walked calmly, and we made a ton of progress in just one session. 🎉

Now we’ll keep working on this over the next few weeks, building up her focus and then tackling her issues with on-lead dogs. Well done, Islay, and a big well done to her owners for their hard work! 🏆

Can’t wait to see you all soon and take things to the next level!

28/10/2024

🐾 𝗝𝗮𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗼, 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 - 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗚𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝟭 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻! 🐾

Jarvis is a lovely little Cockapoo who has faced quite a few struggles. He's very sensitive to noise and was reactive when outside during our first session. He also has a hard time meeting new people and, on top of that, has an extraordinary number of allergies. After a long allergy test, it turned out he was allergic to almost everything (literally!)—something I've never seen in a dog before. 🐶

In our last session, we focused on counter-conditioning and calming him down before walks. Since then, Jarvis has made awesome progress! 🙌 He’s no longer reactive on his walks, the pulling on the lead has nearly stopped, and he’s so much more relaxed outside. 🌟

While there are still things that make him anxious, like workmen moving things and shouting, Jarvis no longer barks or lunges at people or dogs. He might pull towards them occasionally, but he’s easy to call back and reward with a treat, and then he forgets all about them. 🦴

We’ve now shifted our focus to his noise sensitivity. Our new plan is for him to go to his mat and get some treats whenever he hears a noise, instead of running to the door barking. 🏠

Can’t wait to see how this works out over the next few weeks! Well done, Jarvis, and well done to his owner, Macy—you’ve both done fantastic so far! 🏆

27/10/2024

I’m going to be taking some time away from the business for the next few days.

Unfortunately, my lovely Bella took ill tonight and was rushed to the vets but couldn’t be saved.

Here is her final howl.

I will contact everyone who has appointments this week to rearrange, classes in South Shields will not be going ahead, however Sarah’s classes in Eighton Banks and Newcastle will, as well as her appointments.

Thanks you for your understand.

25/10/2024

🐾 Betty and Snowy the Old English Sheepdogs 🐾

Betty and Snowy are two happy, lovely dogs who love human company. Snowy can be a bit nervous around new faces, but once there’s a treat involved, she warms up quickly! 🦴

The real issue, though, is between the two of them. As Betty has grown, she’s started to intimidate Snowy, even bullying her. This has led to tension, with Betty attacking Snowy and Snowy becoming anxious in her own home. 😔

Betty’s frustration and jealousy mean she tries to control spaces, and it’s hard for her to move away from Snowy. So we’ve been working on teaching them to be around each other without interacting directly. Using counter-conditioning, they can now walk near each other without needing to engage.

We’ve also worked inside the house by teaching Betty to look at her owners when Snowy enters the room, rather than approaching her. Betty is learning to move away to a certain place when Snowy comes in, avoiding tension in tight spaces like doorways. 🚪

The progress is amazing so far! While they’re not yet at the point of freely being together without supervision, they are relaxing around each other more and doing well on walks together. 🐕‍🦺

A huge well done to their owners for the hard work—it’s really paying off! You’re on the right path! 🌟

24/10/2024

🐾 𝗡𝗼 𝗣𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗣𝘂𝗯 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗮𝘂𝘇𝗲r'𝘀 𝗢𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 🐕

Winnie is an adorable mini schnauzer who struggles with relaxing when her owners stop moving to sit and relax out of the house. Whether it’s sitting in a café, taking a break, or going on holiday in the Lake District and going out for a meal, Winnie can start barking at other dogs when she’s still. However, if she’s walking past or meeting dogs, she’s perfectly fine.

Today was our first session with Winnie, and we started teaching her to settle on a mat. She picked this up really quickly—she’s a clever girl, very food motivated, and eager to learn. 🙌

Once Winnie was comfortable on the mat, we introduced another dog into the mix. We went out to the drive and had one of my dogs walk by. At first, Winnie barked, but then she learned that when the dog appeared, she should look back at her owners for a treat. By the end of the session, I was walking both of my dogs close by and in and out of sight, and Winnie sat calmly, looking back at her owners for her reward! 🎉

Her homework now is to practice settling on the mat and gradually increase the time between treats since she was getting a little impatient when the treats didn’t come as quickly as she expected. In our next session, we’ll take this progress on the road to a café, working around dogs in a real-world environment.

🐾 Well done, Winnie, and well done to her owners

23/10/2024

🚶‍♂️ 𝗡𝗼 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 🐕‍

Chino is a very lovely, excitable lurcher, and honestly one of the funniest dogs i've met in a while, but he’s been very reactive to other dogs since he was rescued. He used to bark at dogs from a distance, across the roads and beyond, making walks an absolute nightmare!

But now... after his block of six reactivity sessions, Chino is doing amazing! 🙌

His owners have learned so many new skills, and their timing has improved immensely. They can now confidently work with Chino, and have successfully helped him succeed in his training.

🌟 Chino is now able to see other dogs and either get called away or, even better, choose to look back at his owners all on his own! No more barking and lunging at every dog that goes past—just calm focus and engagement. 🐕‍🦺

During our final session, we even took Chino to the beach to at Seaburn, where there were loads of dogs around. And guess what? He did PERFECT with them all! 🎉

👏 A huge well done to Chino and his owners—you’ve both come such a long way, and your success is so well-deserved. 🏆

12/10/2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Another awesome new 5 Star Review from another happy client and dog super team! ❤️

27/08/2024

Milo's Final Session 🌟

We’ve just had our final session with Milo, a Cockapoo from Seaburn. 🐾 Milo was extremely friendly with people but quite nervous and aggressive around other dogs. He would bark, lunge, and even snap at them. On top of that, he pulled like a steam train whenever his owners tried to cross a road, making walks quite challenging.

After six sessions, Milo has done absolutely fantastic! 🌟 He’s gone from barking at most dogs, especially those bigger than him, to completely ignoring all dogs. This has allowed his owners to enjoy taking him to cafes, restaurants, and on stress-free walks without worrying about him barking. He also no longer pulls across the road—now he focuses on his owners and walks nicely, which is a huge relief for their shoulders!

Well done to Milo and his owners—you’ve done absolutely fantastic throughout the training. It has been great working with you! 🐕👏

26/08/2024

How Tim Overcame His Fears and Separation Anxiety!

We've been back to see Tim for his second session. 🐾 Tim is a nervous pointer who originally did some of our puppy classes. He reacted quite badly towards other dogs and wouldn’t really take food when he was outside. He was also quite stressed just being outside.

During the first session, we got rid of the food bowl and started feeding him only outside on walks, in an environment where he was calm, comfortable, and away from distractions. We also began some counter conditioning during these walks. Now, Tim is very happy to train outside, takes food, engages with his owners, and loves training while outside. He no longer barks at other dogs. His owners have even been able to go to cafes without him reacting at all—and this was just after the first session!

In this second session, we focused more on his separation anxiety. Before, the owners couldn't leave the room without Tim following—he was a bit of a velcro dog. If he thought you were heading towards the stairs to go out the front door, he would follow and start getting stressed. We implemented the no-follow rule, and now the owners can move around without being followed, and they can get out the front door while Tim stays put, without any stress.

Tim is doing really well! We’ll be catching up with him in a couple of weeks to further improve his separation anxiety. Well done to Tim and his owners—you’ve all done fantastic! 🐕👏

23/08/2024

Is Your Dog Reacting to Other Dogs? See How Snoop the Cockapoo Transformed in Just Two Sessions!

🐾 Meet Snoop, the charming cockapoo from Newcastle! 🐶 Despite his calm nature and strong food motivation, Snoop had a challenging habit of reacting to other dogs. Whether it was stalking, barking from a distance, or even jumping up aggressively or to play, his focus was hard to break.

But we’re two sessions in, and Snoop has already made incredible progress! 🙌 During the first session, we worked on a simple mark and reward system whenever he saw another dog. By the end of that session, Snoop was no longer reacting at all! Some dogs still made him stalk low, but in the second session, we introduced a distraction technique to redirect his attention to his owners. This involved using body blocking to prevent him from seeing the other dog and allowing his thinking brain to kick back in.

The result? Snoop was walking right past my two German Shepherds without any issue by the end of the session! 🎉

Snoop is doing amazingly well. He’s no longer barking or lunging at other dogs, and soon, he won’t even stalk them. 🐕👏 Well done, Snoop and family—you’ve done exceptionally well in just one week of training. Keep up the fantastic work!

22/08/2024

From Refusing Treats to Confidently Walking Farther Than Ever!

🐾 Back to see Kobe, who is on his way to becoming a rescue success story! This was a short session to ensure Kobe is progressing in the right direction. Initially, Kobe struggled with training, refusing to take treats from his owner whenever there was any pressure to perform.

We started with basic training, making it stress-free by throwing the food away and rewarding him when he looked back and checked in. However, once outside, Kobe becomes laser-focused on moving forward, pulling on the lead, and refusing to turn around, making him challenging to handle.

To help with this, we introduced loose-lead walking, and with time, Kobe has become much more confident with his owner, happily taking treats and doing well during his walks. Today, Kobe reached the farthest distance he's ever gone on a walk—an incredible achievement! 🎉

Kobe is making great headway, and we’re so proud of his progress! Keep it up, Kobe! 🐕👏

21/08/2024

From Meltdowns to Calm Walks!

I've been to see Chino, a rescue and an absolute character. 🐾 Chino was originally reactive to other dogs, even from far away. He would see a dog and have a genuine meltdown, barking, lunging, and dragging on the lead.

We've worked with him for a few months, and he’s doing very well. Chino now doesn't react to the vast majority of dogs and will only react to bigger dogs that pay attention to him up close. He is very food motivated, which has no doubt helped. When he sees another dog, he automatically looks back at his owners to get a treat.

We were down the Promenade at Seaburn, where we saw a lot of dogs, and he hardly reacted—he is doing very fantastic. The only thing we need to do is put a little more space in for the bigger dogs and gradually get him a little bit closer.

At the rest of the dogs, he's completely fine with. Well done, Chino and family, for doing extremely well! 🐕👏

20/08/2024

🐾 Back to see Betty, the incredible racing Greyhound with over 70 races under her belt! 🏆 That’s the most I’ve ever seen in a greyhound. Betty is super active, but she’s been quite nervous around other dogs—unless they’re greyhounds, which she doesn't even notice.

For the past couple of months, we've been working on counter-conditioning with Betty. Every time she sees another dog, we introduce an alternative behaviour that's fun and positive for her. This method not only makes training enjoyable but also helps with desensitisation. 🧀 And the best part? Betty loves squirty cheese, which has been a fantastic motivator!

Edith is doing fantastically well! 🌟 We’ve reached the point where we can walk along the Promenade, and Betty only reacts if dogs really pay attention to her. This is a massive improvement from before, when she was hyper-vigilant and would react to dogs from a distance, even if they weren’t focused on her.

Betty’s owner is doing a fantastic job, and as Betty continues to settle into her home and keep up with the training, she will undoubtedly stop reacting to other dogs altogether. 🐕👏

A lot of hard work has gone into Betty’s training, and it really shows. She’s doing great, and we’re so proud of her progress!

Address

The Waggy Warehouse
South Shields
NE335TE

Telephone

+447893950688

Website

https://www.southshieldsdogtrainer.co.uk/

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Videos

Celebrating Bella’s Life ❤️ Last week we sadly lost Bella, suddenly. One day she was playing and running around, the next she’s at the vet and we are being told it’s as bad as it gets. Bella was a lovely dog, she was loved by everyone she ever met. She was incredibly sweet, loyal and loving. I first got Bella when she was 8 months old, she was a handful and her last owners struggles with her. As soon as I got her, she would just copy her sister Chloe with everything she did until she knew the routines. She was so funny and silly from day 1. Her 2 favourite tricks were ‘Pretty’ and ‘Howl’, which we taught her by putting the cue to her howling whenever she got excited by her dinner 😂 She was erratic and she was easily spooked, but when she was focused on her training, she was insane, she’d do anything for a treat. She loved life, she was just happy and always ready for action. I always remember the time she opened the Christmas presents from under the tree and ate all the chocolates, or how she looked terrifying and angry when she ate ice cubes, or how she would always sleep with her tongue out 😅 She was always with me, she’s come with me to work everyday for about 7 years. She’s helped hundreds of dogs, even in her final week, the day before she took ill, she was out helping a reactive dog to get better. She’s left behind Chloe, her sister, who is clearly missing her. They were the only dogs that played with each other like they did, and Bonnie was just starting to learn to play Bella’s way too. Losing Bella has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done. She gone far too early, she was only 8 and had so much energy left in her. Sadly she had an internal tumour that erupted and she lost a lot of blood internally. Her heart was swimming in blood from another tumour. The vet said that is extremely likely to be cancer that’s spread throughout her organs and that nothing can be done. Bella will be missed so much, there

I’m going to be taking some time away from the business for the next few days. Unfortunately, my lovely Bella took ill tonight and was rushed to the vets but couldn’t be saved. Here is her final howl. I will contact everyone who has appointments this week to rearrange, classes in South Shields will not be going ahead, however Sarah’s classes in Eighton Banks and Newcastle will, as well as her appointments. Thanks you for your understand.

When should you start training your puppy? Straight away! Try our puppy course for FREE in our academy here: https://www.southshieldsdogtrainer.co.uk/the-academy

Is your dog trying to be dominant? Listen to this! Watch the science behind the dominance theory for free in our academy here: https://www.southshieldsdogtrainer.co.uk/the-academy

Thinking about introducing a new puppy into a house? Watch this first! Remember, its not your current dogs responsibility to train a new puppy!

The other day we were working on eye contact in our puppy class! This is a brilliant drill to teach your puppy to make eye contact and pay attention to you!

New Newcastle class with 2 awesome pups!These 2 smashed their week 1 by acing everything that they were taught, Luna the lab is ONLY 14 weeks old and Minnie the mini poodle missed her socialisation period and spent most her first year in the vets undergoing operations - both dogs acing their life skills on week 1! Well done 😁

‘Lennox and Lou Lou’ Jaake has been back in Cleadon to see Lennox and Lou Lou for their ongoing weekly training session. It was getting quite warm towards the end of our session so here they are cooling off and having some fun with the hosepipe. Today we looked at working on Lou Lou’s loose lead walking when out in public and looked at building Lennox’s confidence in outdoor environments and away from Lou Lou. Both Lennox and Lou Lou are always lovely to work with and they continue to progress with their training. If you are having a similar issue with your dog training, you can send us a PM or book in a FREE assessment call with us at www.southshieldsdogtrainer.co.uk or join our Academy for 3 days free training at https://www.southshieldsdogtrainer.co.uk/the-academy #southshieldsdogtrainer #dogtrainersouthshields #newcastledogtrainer #dogtrainernewcastle #dogtraining #dogsofinstagram #dog #dogs #dogtrainer #puppy #dogstagram #doglife #southshields #newcastle #sunderland #northeast #gateshead #tyneandwear #southtyneside #durham #newcastleupontyne #northumberland #northshields #northtyneside #gosforth

⭐ 𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙚 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗶𝘀 x 𝗟𝗮𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗿 was visited today by our trainer, Bren. Bren has been working with Jessie to reduce the amount of jumping she does at guests when they enter the home. We achieved this by teaching Jessie that no one walks into the sitting room unless her bum is glued to the floor - the second she gets up - they walk out. We then reinforced getting attention when all 4 paws are on the floor. She is doing great! We also introduced the heel position and staying engaged with her owner on walks. She has now learnt that pulling doesn't get her forward, but being next to her owner pays well. She's done us proud today, well done Jessie! If you are having a similar issue with your dog, you can send us a PM or book in a FREE assessment call with us at www.southshieldsdogtrainer.co.uk/dog-trainer-in-newcastle

“Milo the Cockerpoo (no birds were harmed in the making of this video)” I (Jaake) have been back to see Milo, a nearly 2 year old Cockerpoo, for his 4th session today. Today’s session was a little bit different as his owner asked if I would facilitate the introduction of Milo and a close family member’s new puppy. We had undertaken a little bit of work prior to the meeting to help set them up for success and both dogs were calm and relaxed throughout. Great job guys. When I saw Milo last time he was very interested in chasing birds, running to the end of the long line to do so. Milo’s owner has been working hard on building engagement and marking and rewarding disengagement from dogs and other things he fixates on. Milo had become a bit of a nightmare to walk. He is now walking nicely on a lead, ignoring other dogs and today in the hour we were there he showed no interest in chasing birds at any point. I also learnt that crows (or maybe just this one) are pretty awesome at catching cheese 😀. If you are having a similar issue with your dog, you can send us a PM or book in a FREE assessment call with us at www.southshieldsdogtrainer.co.uk/dog-trainer-in-newcastle