Who else agrees? 🧡 #bestfriend #doglife
Behind the scenes at Club Dogwood 🧡 #clubdogwood #dogtraining
100% pure Bella love 🧡 #doglover
I get a huge sense of satisfaction watching Fifi enjoy her walks.
Here's the thing though: she is slooowwww - and not because she is nearly 17! She takes her time, sniffs, mooches and explores - exactly the kind of fulfilling species-specific walk I want for her (and for all dogs).
Walking is my go-to mental health booster - but MY natural pace is fast! Brisk walking takes me into a flow state: I feel the tension release from my body and brain, my mind starts naturally problem solving 🌲✨
Mine and Fifi’s walks serve totally different purposes: one is human and the other canine. We each have our own species specific needs that must be met.
In Club Dogwood we encourage members to go on Wellness Walks without their dogs. It sounds counterintuitive and I get it, a lot of people think ‘What’s the point of going for a walk without my dog?’
‘The point’ is total switch off from being 100% responsible for another living being and those around them, mental release, physical recharge, connection with nature and reprioritisation of your own needs (instead of leaving yourself in a heap at the bottom of your own to-do list). Plus, when we take ourselves for regular Wellness Walks, we can be totally sure that we’re not making our dogs conform to our very human ideas of what a dog walk ‘should be.’
Do you treat yourself to Solo Wellness Walks?
It takes MORE than training alone to fix reactivity 📣
Most dog owners think they have to ‘train, train, train then train some more’ in order to stop the pulling, barking or lunging.
And I get it. I understand why most people think that because that’s ‘just the way it’s always been done’ and that’s why you see everywhere ‘loose lead walking classes’ ‘recall classes’, ‘reactivity groups.’ And that’s why if you Google, for example, ‘’loose lead walking’’ you’ll get a ton of videos showing you technique after technique - so it’s easy to fall into that trap. But let me ask you…
If you had a headache every single day, twice per day, every time you went on a walk, would you continue taking paracetamol forever, or would you try to find out what’s causing it, and heal it at the root to get permanent relief? Probably the latter. So why don’t we do that for our dogs?
What most dog owners never realise is that there is always a root cause behind the pulling, barking and lunging - fear, over-excitement, frustration - and so trying to ‘train away’ the problem is like sticking a plaster on a gaping wound. It might patch up the issue - but you haven’t healed it. Sure your dog might be able to behave better in very specific circumstances, but it doesn’t mean you’ll see better behaviour on new walks or at the vets, cafes or on days out. Plus is it really ethical to skip over how your dog is actually feeling in order to make walks easier for yourself? 🤔
Isn’t it more important to help them feel calm and confident from the inside out? Relaxed on the inside, good behaviour on the outside 🧘🏽
That’s how you get long lasting results. Nell's human calls her 'a formerly reactive dog' - and it took the WHOLE strategy, not just a few training techniques.
Right now you have a choice. You can continue the group classes, the 1-1s, the training videos with little to no progress to show for it. In fact, that is exactly
Dog Owner Perfectionists, listen up!
Be courageous today, because your dog needs that from you 🧡
Most stressed out dog owners think they have to ‘train, train, train then train some more’ in order to stop the pulling, barking or lunging.
But the practical techniques are just one piece of the puzzle for stress free walks. Dogs owners who adopt a confident mindset get faster results, and they have waaay more fun in the process!
At our FREE 5-Day Online Skills & Confidence Event we’re giving you both.
You’ll have some of our MOST effective training techniques for pulling, barking, lunging dogs AND the mindset hacks that will make you feel CONFIDENT out on walks.
Register your free place (link in comments) and we’ll get this working for you and your dog too 🧡
If your dog pulls on the leads, barks or lunges at other dogs or people, at some point you may have felt like a failure. Don’t worry, we’ve all been there!
I’m here to tell you that if you’re still here, still trying, still searching for solutions to help your pulling, barking, lunging dog, you are not a failure. And your dog doesn’t think so either!
When you have quick and simple techniques for loose lead walking, recall and calmness around other dogs and people, AND boost your own confidence, THAT’S when you’ll have those stress free dog walks that you see other people enjoying.
The first step is to register your FREE place for the 5-Day Skills & Confidence Training Event for Dog Owners.
I’m sharing quick and simple failure-proof strategies that will have you stepping out in confidence with your dog 🧡
Register your free place. The link is in the comments 💌
Drum rolllll 🥁
We are deeeelighted to announce that our headline partner is none other than the INCREDIBLE @thedoghoose_tynemouth
It was a no-brainier match in values! Thank you everyone here who suggested this partnership 🫶🏼
Sarah and her team are providing prizes at our upcoming Skills and Confidence event and let me tell you, they have Fifi’s chomp of approval!
Thrilled to be working with @thedoghoose_tynemouth and cannot wait for what’s to come! 😍
The traits of Stress Free Dog Owners 🧡
Stress Free Dog Owners are confident because they’re competent. They have all the dog training tools they need and they sure as heck know how to use them!
They’ve been on a tough journey and they’ve come out STRONG, so they don’t let setbacks like the occasional pull, bark or lunge ruin their walk - and certainly not their entire day! And they don’t let offhand comments or unsolicited advice send them into a doom spiral. Emotional resilience happened as a natural result of their determination for progress - but they also intentionally cultivated it by strengthening their mindset.
Stress Free Dog Owners have tight (almost telepathic at times) communication with their dog; they understand each other and love spending time together - they’re now one of those people who has a dog they love walking! Their world is open to new experiences and they discover life beyond the problem.
The happiest, most relaxed people with the happiest, most relaxed dogs never stop learning with and from their dogs because they know this is the best way to get the best behaviour in the long-term, and lessen the likelihood of new problems arising. And when something does come up, they know exactly how to deal with it or who to ask 💁🏽♀️
If your dog pulls, barks or lunges on 60% or more of your walks, then you might be doing one of these 3 things 🤔
Today I'm talking about the BIGGEST Confidence Blocker that holds the owners of reactive and easily-distracted dogs back from stress free dog walks.
Do you resonate with this?
Most dog owners just want relaxing walks with a well behaved dog.
The problem is that we've been led to believe that dog training is the only way to achieve that, and so we never quite get the results we want because the most important piece is missing. I’ll explain in the video...
If your dog pulls on the lead, barks, lunges or ignores you on walks, you might be searching for that one perfect training technique, or that one loose lead walking, recall or socialisation method. The truth is, training alone won’t fix the painful pulling, infuriating recall or worrying reactivity. A Whole Dog approach is way more effective if you want long-term results. When the Scent, Exploration, Environment and Partnership Compass Points of Scentventure are all working together, you'll have a calm, well balanced dog from the inside out, and a supercharged bond that can withstand even the toughest of distractions.The Compass Points have you covered, no matter what behaviour challenge you’re facing. #Scentventure #DogTrainingTips #ReactiveDogTraining
Have you taken part in our Bear Hunt yet? 🐻
Masses of love to the XL Bullies and their families this evening. Tomorrow is the day we hoped would never come 💔
Here's Katie, Amy, Bruno & Dogwood on Good Morning Britain this morning.
Partnership is one of the compass points of Scentventure 🧡
Our ‘Scent SantaPaws’ Facebook winner is Louise Mcgilloway 🎅🏻 Please send us a message to claim your three free sessions!
Apple bobbing with dogs
I adore this throwback of Fifi & Lao apple bobbing at our little Howl-o-ween party in 2018!
🕸️ In fact it's become a bit of a tradition that I dust the cobwebs off it and watch it back every year.
Over in Club Dogwood we’ve just begun a weekend of spooky (but rather non-scary) hound-friendly fun 👻
There’ll be apple bobbing, trick or treating, pupkin carving and fancy dress redesigned so that our dogs can take part.
Most importantly we’ll be making memories to look back on in years to come, with big smiles and a warm heart, like mine when I watch this video of Lao being a silly sausage 🧡
