The South Shields Dog Trainer

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The South Shields Dog Trainer

Dog trainer

🏆 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!

14/02/2025

🚨 Is Your Dog Pulling & Frustrated on Walks? See How Obi Improved! 🐕✨

We visited Cramlington to see Obi, a Golden Retriever x Newfoundland—just like Magnolia! Obi is super excitable and loves other dogs, but when he can’t say hello, he gets frustrated and pulls hard on the lead, making walks difficult.

Obi had already done a lot of training and had a great foundation, but his owners were unsure what they wanted from him on walks. This lack of clarity led to confusion and inconsistency, which made training harder.

So, we worked on:

✅ Clear expectations – Defining what a loose lead walk meant for them and where Obi’s position should be.
✅ Applying training to real life – Taking what Obi already knew and making it work in real-world situations.
✅ Dog distractions – Practising around other dogs and helping Obi stay calm instead of pulling to play.

The results? Obi smashed it! 🎉 He walked beautifully, stayed calm around dogs, and showed fantastic progress. As he matures, these methods will help him become the perfect pet. Well done, Obi!

👉 Struggling with a strong, excitable dog? Let us help! Drop a comment below!

13/02/2025

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

13/02/2025

🚨 Struggling with an Overexcited Dog? Here’s How We Helped Magnolia! 🐶✨

Magnolia, the Golden Retriever x Newfoundland, is a big, excitable young dog who LOVES people and other dogs. She’s already smashed our puppy classes but struggles with focus outside—getting easily distracted and frustrated, leading to barking when she can’t say hello.

In our one-to-one session, we worked on:

✅ Marker cues – Teaching her to expect a reward when responding to her owner.
✅ Focus training – Using a marker word when she looks at people or dogs, so she turns back for a treat instead of getting overexcited.
✅ Eye contact game – Reinforcing the habit of checking in with her owner before getting something she wants.
✅ Permission-based play – A fun game where she learns to wait for a release cue before approaching another person for attention, a toy, or a treat.

Over time, Magnolia will naturally check in with her owner instead of barking or getting frustrated when she sees distractions. She’s doing really well so far, and we can’t wait for session two! 🎉

👉 Does your dog struggle with focus and frustration outside? Drop a comment below!

11/02/2025

🐶 Reactivity distance and intensity coming down with Zuma and Nala 🎉

We started the week in Newcastle with Zuma & Nala, two Mini Schnauzers working on their reactivity—and they’re making fantastic progress!

✨ What’s changed?
✅ They’re both much calmer outside
✅ Reactivity is reducing significantly
✅ Now they can easily be interrupted—before, once they started, there was no stopping them!
✅ Their reaction distance is coming down

🐾 Nala’s Big Win!
She was struggling with traffic reactivity but has come so far! We switched her equipment because she was almost choking herself out on the lead. Now, with a harness & flexi-lead, she has more freedom and less stress, which is really helping.

🐾 Zuma’s Progress!
He’s doing brilliantly on a shorter lead, with less pulling and much better focus.

🎯 How we did it?
By teaching a marker word and pairing seeing a dog with positive experiences (treats & attention). Now, they see a dog and instantly look back for their treat—perfect behaviour!

💪 Well done to Zuma, Nala, & their owners—see you again soon!

11/02/2025

Congratulations to all of our superstar pups and owners for completing their puppy course. You have all put the hard work in and it has paid off. The improvements seen in six weeks have been amazing. Good luck with your continued training.

04/02/2025

Safe to say confidence week was an absolute success this week. All the pups loves it!

22/01/2025

Puppy class and bed shaping was a huge hit! All the pups did and amazing job and so did their carers.

14/01/2025

🐾 Jealousy, Rivalry, and Attention: Luna & Ralph’s Case 🐾

Can jealousy between your dogs cause fights? Luna and Ralph, two adorable Cockapoos, are struggling with this—and it’s causing tension at home. Here’s their story and our plan to help. 🐶❤️

✨ The Problem ✨
• Luna: Craves attention, gets jealous of Ralph, and tries to push him away when he gets toys 🎾 or affection.
• Ralph: Nervous but sweet, occasionally guards his space or toys, growling when Luna invades. 😤
• Fights happen mostly when their female owner is present, leading to them being separated into different homes. 🏠➡️🏠

🐕 The Plan 🐕
1. Teaching Calmness: Both dogs are learning to settle on mats 🛏️ during high-arousal moments (e.g., when guests arrive). This reduces conflict.
2. Managing Toys: A barrier ensures both dogs can enjoy their toys 🎾 without competition.
3. Desensitisation: Luna is learning to tolerate Ralph having attention or toys without reacting. 🧘‍♀️🐾
4. Separate Training: They’re practising these behaviours separately before being reintroduced for joint training.

💡 Progress So Far 💡
Their first session went brilliantly! 🌟 With dedicated owners and clear strategies, they’re on track to live harmoniously again.

If your dogs are fighting over attention or resources, there’s hope! With the right training, peace is possible. 🌈

13/01/2025

🐾 Rex The Reactive Cockapoo! 🐕🎉

We’ve been back to see Rex, the lovely little Cockapoo we’ve been working with for a few months now.

When we first met Rex at just six months old, he had severe separation anxiety. His owner couldn’t leave the room or the house without him going into a full meltdown. Thanks to their hard work, Rex’s separation anxiety is now fully resolved, and he has no issues being left alone—an amazing achievement!

Next, we tackled Rex’s reactivity. Initially, he would get overexcited around other dogs, lying down and stalking them. As he hit adolescence, he started showing aggression towards some male dogs. Through counter-conditioning, Rex has made fantastic progress. He now either responds quickly when called away or automatically looks back at his owners without any hassle when he sees another dog.

The final challenge we’re addressing is his instinct to lie down and stalk dogs. This behaviour can still surface, and when it does, it’s hard to interrupt. However, Rex showed amazing improvement today, responding easily to being called away even when he started this behaviour. Blocking his view is also helping, and this is the last hurdle we need to overcome.

Rex has come such a long way, and it’s clear his owners have put in a lot of hard work. With one more session, we’re confident we’ll finish his reactivity training and see him fully become the lovely little Cockapoo he truly is.

Well done to Rex and his amazing owners! 💪

12/01/2025

🐾 Meet Eddie: The Sleep-Deprived Silver Labrador! 🐕😴

We visited Eddie, a Silver Labrador from Washington, and his biggest challenge is lack of sleep, which causes troublesome behaviour.

Eddie is like a naughty toddler, but deep down, he’s quite anxious. To avoid FOMO or being out of control, he forces himself to stay awake by barking, mouthing, or throwing toys. He doesn’t actually want to play; he just wants relief from his anxiety caused by being overtired.

This creates a vicious cycle: tiredness fuels anxiety, which stops him sleeping, causing more tiredness and unwanted behaviours.

To help, we introduced management techniques like tethering him on a lead when free in the house. This allows his owners to step away when he barks or mouths, teaching him those behaviours don’t get attention.

We also taught Eddie to settle on a mat, using kibble to encourage calm behaviour. This will help him gain attention by being calm and relaxed, rather than demanding it, and will promote much-needed sleep.

Eddie already has his needs met—he gets multiple walks, enrichment, toys, and family time. The issue is, he just doesn’t take time to sleep. By encouraging rest and breaking this cycle, Eddie will become a happier, calmer dog.

Well done to Eddie’s owners for reaching out—this was a fantastic first session, and I’ll see you again soon! 🏆

10/01/2025

🐾 Different Dog Dennis! 🐕🎉

We’ve just been back to see Dennis, the Shih Tzu cross, and what a difference three months has made!

When we first saw Dennis, the session didn’t go well. His owners had just brought home a new puppy—literally 48 hours before our visit—and it was the first time Dennis had been walked since. He was very anxious, didn’t want to leave the puppy, and just wasn’t himself. So, we called that session early and planned to revisit.

Now, three months later, Dennis is a completely different dog! Previously, Dennis reacted to other dogs, pulled towards them, and could be quite aggressive up close. Today, during our walk at Seabourne, we saw loads of dogs, giving Dennis plenty of opportunities to practise his training.

We taught him a cue to look back at his owner for a treat whenever he saw a dog. By the end of the walk, Dennis was automatically looking at the dogs and then back at his owner—fantastic progress! He even met and played with a couple of dogs, something he wouldn’t have done before.

Now that the building work at home is done, we’ll continue working with Dennis to ensure he stays calm and confident in all situations. Dennis and his owner have done extremely well, and we’re excited to see what’s next for them. Well done, Dennis! 🏆

09/01/2025

🐾 Meet Charlie The Bulldog 🐕💪

Today, we met Charlie, a very lovely rescue Bulldog from Geordie Bulldogs—a true heart-stealer of a dog! This was his first session, and Charlie is already making progress.

Charlie reacts a lot to other dogs and has significant lead frustration. While he loves other dogs if he can meet them, he gets really frustrated when he can’t. To help, we started teaching him a marker, handling skills, and a method to set him up for success. This included getting him to look back at his owner when he sees another dog, allowing him to process the dogs, begin desensitisation, and feel more relaxed around them.

We also addressed behaviours in the house. If someone comes in and he doesn’t like them, Charlie nips at their heels, jumps up, and makes it clear they’re unwelcome. To manage this, we taught him to settle on a mat and introduced counter-conditioning paired with an enrichment toy. This helps keep him calm while visitors are present and avoids unwanted behaviours.

Another focus was Charlie’s behaviour around people carrying boxes. He tends to go wild, jumping up and trying to grab the box. We worked on building impulse control by counter-conditioning him to stay calm when he sees someone with a box. With treats as reinforcement, he learned to stay put instead of lunging. In the future, we’ll progress this to include behaviours like loose leash walking, heel position, or staying on the mat during these moments.

Well done charlie 😁

09/01/2025

🐾 Dexter revisited: a new dog 🐕🎉

We’ve just been back to see Dexter the Labradoodle in Jarrow for his second session, and what a transformation!

Initially, Dexter barked at dogs, pulled on the lead, and was really hyper outside. Now, he’s like a completely different dog! He walks perfectly next to his owner, doesn’t react to dogs—even when they bark at him—and is an absolute pleasure to walk.

In today’s session, we focused on helping Dexter settle more in the house. He barks a lot, is extremely hyper, and has a lot of FOMO (fear of missing out). On top of that, he doesn’t get enough sleep, which makes his behaviour worse because he’s overtired.

To tackle this, we’ve introduced forced naps and crate rest to ensure he’s getting enough sleep, which has already improved his day. We also started teaching him to settle during the day while his owners go about their normal routines, like looking after the baby or watching TV.

Using food, we taught Dexter to settle on a mat, and he did amazingly well. He stayed settled for a long time with intermittent feeding. Additionally, we introduced enrichment activities and scatter feeding to work his brain in a calm and relaxing way, meeting his needs and helping him unwind.

Dexter is doing extremely well, and with these new techniques, he’ll continue to thrive. Well done, Dexter! See you again soon! 🏆

08/01/2025

🐾 Meet Dottie: The Anxious Staffy 🐕✨

Today, we met Dottie, a lovely Staffy from Sunderland. Dottie is a really sweet dog, but she’s extremely anxious—especially on walks. She’s hyper-vigilant, constantly looking out for people, and just doesn’t seem to enjoy her walks. Although she doesn’t typically react to people unless they come too close, it’s clear she’s very nervous around them.

When it comes to other dogs, however, Dottie’s reactivity is a challenge, especially as she’s a strong Staffy. We’re also working on her response to the doorbell, so she doesn’t go mental when people come in. For now, she meets visitors outside for a short walk before they come inside, which is helping.

During our session, Dottie warmed up to me quickly with some tasty treats and was completely fine for the rest of the visit. We started with counter-conditioning: when she saw a person, food appeared on the floor. By the end of the session, she was looking at the person and then back at us for a treat—fantastic progress!

We also began teaching loose leash walking to help her focus and shift her brain from anxiety to drive mode, where she anticipates rewards. Think of her brain in three parts: anxiety (where she’s stuck now), calmness (hard to reach directly), and drive (anticipating rewards). With focused exercises like loose leash walking and healer work, she’ll begin to move into this reward-driven mindset, reducing her anxiety and building her confidence.

Well done, Dottie and family 💪

08/01/2025

🐾 Meet Hovis: The Loaf of Bread Who’s Learning to Chill! 🍞🐕

Hovis is an adorable 8-month-old Norfolk Terrier puppy from Sunderland, named after the loaf of bread because, well, she looks like one! While she’s super sweet, her excitement around other dogs is a bit much. She runs off, gets in their faces, jumps up, and doesn’t know when to stop—even when told off. Being tiny, this could be dangerous for her, as one bite from a bigger dog could be fatal.

Hovis also has a habit of barking and howling at people walking past her central Sunderland window. With so much foot traffic, this was something we needed to address.

We started with a kitchen recall game. When she sees someone outside, a word is said, and she runs to the kitchen for a tasty treat. She picked this up quickly, and soon, she’ll start looking at her owners or heading to the kitchen on her own when people walk by.

On walks, we introduced a long line to prevent her from running up to other dogs. Although we didn’t encounter any dogs today, we began practising a counting game. This helps her process seeing other dogs calmly and teaches her to make the right choice. Her owners crouch, count out loud, and place treats on the ground behind her to nudge her in the right direction.

Finally, since Hovis gets very full quickly during training, her high-value dinner will now be used as her training food. This ensures there’s plenty to work with without overfeeding her.

Hovis did fantastic today! 🏆

07/01/2025

🚨 Four Shepherds(x), One House = heaven

Meet Toby, Archie, Callie, and Reggie! 🐕🐾

Today, we worked with four amazing dogs: Reggie, the Lurcher; Callie, the German Shepherd; Archie, the German Shepherd cross Malamute; and Toby, the Belgian Malinois.

Toby is the newest addition to the household, and while he’s a very lovely dog, his excitability is causing tension with Archie and Callie. Archie, in particular, struggles with Toby’s energy, preferring a calm house, and sometimes nips at Toby out of the blue.

To help, we taught settling on the mat, starting with Toby and Callie. This technique will eventually help all four dogs settle in the same room while they get used to each other. The goal? Have three dogs stay on their mats while one comes off for training and play, gradually teaching the others to ignore movements—especially Toby’s.

Although each dog has their own individual challenges, today was a big step in getting them comfortable together. Great progress was made, and we’re excited to come back soon to continue their journey!

Address

The Waggy Warehouse
South Shields
NE335TE

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+447893950688

Website

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

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👇🏻 Got a CRAZY Puppy? This One Is For You! 👇🏻 We’ve just had our first session with Dexter, a super excitable young Labrador who’s always on the go! Dexter is full of energy, but not getting enough sleep, which contributes to his frustration and behaviour problems. He struggles with biting and mouthing when he’s overwhelmed and finds it hard to settle, thanks to his FOMO (fear of missing out). On walks, Dexter pulls on the lead and tries to play as soon as he hits the grass. He also reacts to other dogs and tends to stare at people. But today, we made fantastic progress! We started with a strategy to address all these challenges. As you can see in the video below, Dexter is now walking beautifully on the lead, focusing on his owner for treats. We also worked on his reactivity, using Chloe as a training partner. Chloe was nice and close to Dexter, and he handled it perfectly! We discussed routines to help him sleep better and strategies to manage his frustration when he bites or mouths. Finally, we worked on teaching him to sit calmly on the grass and look at his owner, instead of dancing around or trying to play. Dexter has done so well for his first session, and with a six-session package, we’re confident he’ll become a calmer, happier, and better-behaved dog. Well done to Dexter and his owners for putting in the hard work. We can’t wait to see his progress! 🐶👏

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!

The South Shields Dog Trainer

14/02/2025

13/02/2025

13/02/2025

11/02/2025

11/02/2025

04/02/2025

22/01/2025

14/01/2025

13/01/2025

12/01/2025

10/01/2025

09/01/2025

09/01/2025

08/01/2025

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07/01/2025

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