Stay Positive - Dog Behaviour and Training

17/10/2024

A video I helped with pet plan on how enrichment feeding your pets can be low cost, but have massive benefits busting border, offering problem solving opportunities which can help lower frustration and is 'free exersise!'

10/09/2024

Excited to watch the newest series of The Dog House!!

Anyone else tuning in? 📺

You occasionally see this face on it 👀 🤣

We're back! A brand new series of 'The Dog House' starts on Sunday 15 September at 8pm on Channel 4.

How excited are you? 🐶🏠

22/06/2024

It's official, Chia is now the newest member of our household 🐾

She's a rescue, around 2 years old and clearly has been used for breeding of multiple litters of puppies. She came in as stray, so didn't know much else about her before hand, but I feel privileged to have such a loving and gentle girl.

Feels great to be a dog owner again and coming home to this face every day.

Any guesses on her breed type? 🐶

28/05/2024

Rocky was one of the softest gentle giants I've ever worked with.

People often underestimate that dogs are able to feel a range of emotional states, including grief and depression.

Depression doesn't always present itself like it did with Rocky, who was sadly not eating and losing weight.

It's important to know there's a whole range of behaviours that can suggest your dogs mental well being is affected such as barking to other dogs, reactive to sounds in the home, obsessive behaviours, over excitability/mouthing and lack of impulse control.

This is why my approach will always be to look at every part of your dogs life from medical, age, diet, sleep, amount physical/mental stimulation, overall mood, stressors and outlets for natural behaviours. We can then work together to understand the root causes behind the behaviour.

12/05/2024

Tonight 'The Dog House' has been nominated for another BAFTA! 🏆

It's an amazing experience being a part of the show as a dog handler right from the very beginning. Fingers crossed!!🤞

29/03/2024

In this clip for the channels 4s The Dog House you'll see me briefly working on Brookes reactivity to other dogs.

German shepherds do have a reputation for being a 'gobby breed' and through selective breeding humans have specifically breed German shepherds that bark, as this makes them excellent guard dogs. However, as a result, barking becomes a default behaviour when they feel frustrated, scared, excited unsure or over stimulated.

Not all dog reactive dogs are aggressive!

Brookes underlying emotion behind her barking was actually frustration. She was desperate to get to dogs to say hello, but being on lead prevented this causing her to feel frustrated. Her coping mechanism for this was... You guessed it barking.

If you have a reactive dog then get in touch, and I can help you understand what's causing their reactivity and arm you with skills and knowledge to support them.

With Brooke we practiced desensitizing her to other dogs at a distance she could cope at, and was able to successfully re-home with another dog!

15/03/2024

Ollie was a typical busy spaniel! They are bred to help hunters find and retrieve game, which is why they find it rewarding chasing tennis balls and carrying things in their mouth.

A typical owner might try to use endless toy games to tire Ollie out. What that can actually create is a highly adrenalised dog, with the fitness of an athlete!

This is why it's really important to work a dog's brain and provide outlets for what he is breed to do. Some ideas area
- blind retrieves instead of fetch (using his nose, not his eyes to find toys)
- scatter feeding (throwing his dinner in the garden to work his brain) instead of bowl feeding
- opportunities to chew (a highly rewarding but tiring behaviour)
- find it games inside the home - suitable for all weather!

If you want help understanding the individual needs of your dog and to help 'calm' them down drop me a message!

14/03/2024

If you missed the dog house tonight, you can watch the newest episode on catch up. Keep an eye out for me as one of the dog handlers! 👀

Currently have bookings available for this month and start of April. Drop me a message for any and all support you need for your dog 😁

Calling all dog-lovers 📣: Your favourite show ‘The Dog House’ is back on screens tonight! Tune in at 8pm on Channel 4 to see more lives being changed by the perfect match at Woodgreen. 🐶🏠

04/03/2024

A video I worked on with Pet Plan about the importance of enrichment and activity feeding and it's benefits!

12/12/2023

Tonight is Channels 4's Christmas special of . Keep an eye out for Jock, Macey and me! 👀😁

I've always had a soft spot for Westies as that was the breed of my first ever dog Jasper, that got me interested in dog training 🐾

16/11/2023

Absolutely love receiving feedback like this. 😁

Maud was a pleasure to work with 🐕🐾

"We contacted Chris because we were having a few issues with our 5 month old mini schnauzer puppy, Maud. She was worried by people coming into our home and sudden movements. Her way of showing this was by barking.

Chris was extremely knowledgeable and gave us lots of strategies to use to keep Maud happy, calm and confident in the presence of others, both in and out of the house. In just over a week there’s already been signs of improvement.

We can’t thank Chris enough for his help and would highly recommend him to anybody who needs advice and support for their dog."

08/11/2023

Another lovely review from a recent customer 😁

"Would like to thank Chris from Stay Positive Dog Behaviour and Training. He came for a 1:1 assessment session with my 16 month old puppy yesterday.

We had an intense few hours where we have addressed some of Stanley’s anxiety behaviour while out on a walk. Even after one day following the tips we were given we can see a difference and we are able to understand Stanley and the signs we need to look out for.
Thanks Chris"

05/09/2023

Bookings available for September/October!

Why to book with me?

🐾 Over a decades experience working with dogs
🐾 Specialising in behavioural modification
🐾 Training based on up to date science and literature
🐾 Working off a vet referral to rule out any medical contribution to the behaviour
🐾 3 month's on going support from the day of the consultation.

26/06/2023

Just to inform everyone I am currently away on holiday until Tuesday the 4th of July so will endeavour to get back to any new enquiries as soon as possible. Thank you 🐾

20/05/2023

Wow, 7 years ago today I signed up to become a qualified dog behaviourist after 3 years of working in rescue where I discovered my passion for dog training. 🐾

Not long after achieving a distinction I set up Stay Positive - Dog Behaviour and Training and have loved helping hundreds of people over the years have a better understanding and relationship with their dog 😁

09/03/2023

Just done an interview on BBC radio Northamptonshire about the amazing work we do at Woodgreen, the impact of COVID and the cost of living on dogs and owners 😁

12/01/2023

Let's be honest.... How cute was Albie tonight on ❤️🐶

Can't resist a puppy selfie!

07/01/2023

Hi everyone.

Due to my trip to climb Kilimanjaro from the 18th-30th of January 2023 the earliest I am able to book new consultations or training sessions is early February. I will also be unavailable to take new enquiries during the time so will get back to people as soon as possible.

If anyone would like to sponsor me you can do so here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/chris-rea2

Also pictured is Ruby 🐶🐾