Dog Nerd Training

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Dog Nerd Training

Dog Nerd Training is a small West Sussex dog training business run by Emily Talmadge CTDI PDT.

At Dog Nerd Training we want to inspire our clients to truly learn about their dogs and how to help them succeed throughout their life, and we aim to be with them every step of the way. Our small business model allows for the 1-2-1 attention and ongoing assistance our clients need in order to succeed long term. Making our service a true partnership between the client and myself. I, Emily, am a ful

ly qualified dog trainer, puppy training specialist, and certified trick dog instructor (CTDI) with 5+ years of experience in the industry. I am also well known for my educational dog training graphics, which I use to proudly spread up-to-date training information across the web. When training I use science-based, force-free training methods alongside games-based training. I also focus on good habit-building for both dog and owner using worldwide recognised habit-building methods, this allows owners to keep motivated with their training so they can get long-term results they need. My focus and hope for my clients is that they will gain a true love of learning about their dogs and through their time with us they too will also begin to call themselves a 'Dog Nerd'.

21/03/2025

Did you know the way you train, or 'parent' your dog affects their attachment style?? 😮

It has been long recognised that a secure attachment style is the most optimum attachment style for human children, as it allows the child to feel more comfortable exploring and interacting with the world, and in the long term being able to grow into a well-adjusted adult. The same parallel has also been found in dogs, and that secure attachment provides the optimum starting place for a well-adjusted canine companion!

There is now even research showing that the pet parenting or training styles you use with your dog similarly mirror the parenting styles used for human children, and how they impact whether or not a secure attachment will form. With human children the styles of parenting are separated into several distinct styles including:

🔹Authoritative (responsive to needs, solves problems together, with clear expectations and rules)

🔹Authoritarian (demands obedience rather than working together, punishment based and little care of the child/learners needs or feelings)

🔹Permissive (no real boundaries or structure, indulgent of wants and needs of the child/learner)

And..
🔹 Neglectful/uninvolved (inconsistent boundaries, generally uninvolved and unresponsive to feelings or needs).

It has also been found that the authoritative style of pet parenting (shown through positive training, supportive and nurturing but not permissive) has the best outcome for producing securely attached dogs, and that the dogs were 'highly social, sensitive to social context and were more persistent and successful on the problem solving tasks'. Whereas authoritarian pet parenting (shown through balanced/alpha based training, strong boundaries and punishment based) had a significantly lower chance of producing a dog with a secure attachment. Permissive pet parenting styles (training with little to no boundaries or structure) also were less likely to have a secure attachment style (this research did not cover neglectful parenting styles).

This is further evidence, backed by scientific study, that punishment based training does not produce the most well adjusted canine companions, and that structure and boundaries taught with kindness rather than fear is the way to go! 👍

You can check out the study mentioned in the graphic for yourself here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36175745/

And learn more about attachment in our previous graphic here: https://www.facebook.com/DogNerdSussex/posts/pfbid02vKQKArqRNLn44TnsCQi7v4ck565piEE8idrT7rA5jEFN1SZvMGKo6aVnn9cz4yTjl

19/03/2025

Some of the marvellous doggies I had the pleasure of meeting for 1-2-1s this past week! Aren’t they gorgeous? 😍

If you are interested in booking any future 1-2-1 sessions you can contact me at: [email protected]

17/03/2025

Running a small business reviews like this are crucial to building a client base. I am lucky enough to have been rated 5 stars on both Google and Facebook, and it always cheers me up to read through reviews, especially those as lovely as this! It really is a pleasure to work with everyone and their dogs, I am truly spoilt to have such wonderful clients. 🥰

16/03/2025

We had our two nights of classes as usual this week (Thursday and Friday). 😁 ✨

Our all-ages Friday class started working on stay, leveling up their leave, building value in proximity and some loose lead walking practise. Our Thursday puppies, started working on their basic cues and off lead following and our Friday pups worked on recall from distractions and proper dog-dog interacts and more!

If you are interested in booking on any future courses you can contact me at: [email protected]

14/03/2025

When it comes to behaviour, what is repeated (and rewarded) will be what becomes the habit; behaviours are built like muscles - the more they are rehearsed the stronger they become. This means when training a new behaviour, or habit, we need to make sure the old behaviour can't be practised and allowed to become stronger. This is called behaviour management. 💪

Trying to train a new behaviour without managing the old behaviour is like starting a race 10 laps behind your competitor - you are never going to catch up. Every time you reward the new behaviour, the old behaviour is still being rewarded at another time, and has a much larger reinforcement history, due to the constant repetition it has previously acquired. To actually make progress we need to stop our competitor running until we are the one who is several laps ahead!

This can be seen most clearly when we look at something like recall. To manage the behaviour of running off, we want to put our dog on a long-line (attached to the back of a harness), this means they can't rehearse and get rewarded for chasing the squirrel, bike, small child etc. The behaviour of 'running off' is already established as extremely rewarding for the dog. If it was a savings account it may have thousands of pounds of rewards in, whereas coming to us may only have a hundred or so. To actually be able to compete with the previous behaviour, we need to make sure no more rewards (or savings) are going into that account, and plenty is going into the new behaviour we want the dog to do, until they find it to be the most rehearsed and rewarding option and will choose it on their own. 💰💰💰

If you are ever having trouble changing your dog's behaviour, it could be they are still getting the opportunity to get rewarded for the old one. If you 'manage' that behaviour so they don't get rewarded for it, you will have a better changing in promoting the new behaviour as the better option!

12/03/2025

Some of the cute and silly pooches I had the pleasure to see this week! (I missed photographing one as he was a bit nervous). ☺️🐾

We worked on fear of cars, over excitement, jumping up and heelwork amongst other things.

If you are interested in booking any future 1-2-1 sessions you can email me at: [email protected]

10/03/2025

🌟 ALL-AGES DOG TRAINING CLASSES 🌟

Are you looking to set training your dog up for training success this spring? 🌷

Do you have a new pooch, or does your current dog just need to top up on some of their training skills? Would you like to join classes that are science-based, fun, and have been proven to help get the results you need? Well, we have the service for you!

We have our next set all-ages dog training classes starting 7pm April 11th at Coolham Village hall. These classes run for 6-weeks, giving ample time to cover all the basics and show you how to take them even further out in the real world.

So, why should you choose us?

✅ Our classes are run by a fully qualified pro dog trainer.
✅ We provide our clients with exclusive handouts even when they miss a training class.
✅ We offer lifetime online support for you and your pooch.
✅ We keep our groups small, so each client and their dog can get the individual attention needed.
✅ We have been rated 5-stars on Google and Facebook.

If you are interested in booking you can contact us via messenger, or email us at: [email protected]

We very much look forward to hearing from you 🥰

09/03/2025

We have new Thursday puppies!! We had a new set of puppies join us for our Thursday class this week and our Friday classes continued for our puppies and older set. 🐶 ✨

Our new puppies learnt calmly settling, how to build value in their recall cue and some confidence activities such as ‘paws up’. Our Friday puppies started their work on ‘leave’ and leveled up their recall skill and their basic cues. Our older class started working on duration for basic cues, how to engage your dog on a walk and started their ‘leave’ cues also!

If you are interested in booking onto future courses you can contact me at: [email protected]

07/03/2025

A common excuse for certain tools and human-to-dog punishment techniques is 'it's mimicking what the mother dog would do' but is that actually a good thing? 🤔

Two of the common techniques/tools that get explained as a variation on 'what another dog would do' are the alpha rollover and the pinch/prong collar, and there are fundamental issues that come with both of these.

The alpha rollover comes from the idea of physically putting a dog in a position of submission. This has shown to not actually happen in the wild with wolves which, although they are not dogs, a lot of these myths do stem from. In fact, any time a wolf rolls over onto its back in this way it is done voluntarily and isn't forced by another wolf putting it in its place. Furthermore, true alphas are actually parental figures in natural wolf packs and part of being successful in this is shown by the fact they do not need to rule over others with some kind of iron fist. Aggression and squabbling in wolves tend to be seen in insecure packs in captivity, not well-established functioning packs in the wild.

The pinch/prong collar is often attributed to mimicking the idea of the mother physically grabbing a puppy with their mouth 'correcting' them with the pressure of the teeth on the dog's neck. However, yet again this is not accurate to reality. Normally there are many steps a mother dog will take before an inhibited bite is used on her pups, and being able to defuse the situation and teach her pups how to do so without resorting to aggression is part of what is seen as being a successful mother. It has also been shown that mothers who use more of these aggressive behaviours to wean their pups end up with pups who are less social with people, which is not an outcome we are usually looking for!

At the end of the day, we are not dogs or wolves and our dogs know that, but even if they didn't these techniques do not hold up to scientific scrutiny. It is so important that we look into these claims rather than taking them for a fact. So NEVER just do something because someone told you 'it's what another dog would do'. 👍

You can find out more about the study mentioned in the graphic here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/016815918490056X?fbclid=IwY2xjawIyshBleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHfFIvgSkiGQcKrZ3TAr3clSXsjbVNCTcVBTjHxdcX5MLNKwrFRXiYjhClA_aem_hTxcGbvZ_DuwEoxEHPQe3w

05/03/2025

And we are back to busy again!! I’ve been thrilled to see so many wonderful doggies this past week, and I can’t wait to work with a lot of them again. 🐶💕

If you are interested in booking any 1-2-1 sessions with your dog you can email me at: [email protected]

03/03/2025

A fantastic post from AniEd on canine adolescence! It’s important to be patient and keep up with training throughout adolescence and not just stop after puppyhood. 👍🏻

02/03/2025

Our second week for our new puppy and all-ages recruits, and just look at their gorgeous faces ☺️ 🐾

This week we started our ‘sit’, ‘down’ and ‘stand’ cues and started building on our recall and beginnings of heelwork amongst other things.

If you are interested in booking any of our future courses you can email me at: [email protected]

28/02/2025

When training our dogs it is so important to manage our expectations of what they will actually be able to handle at each stage of their training, or we will end up putting them in situations where they will fail through no fault of their own. So we must be really mindful to ask ourselves 'have we trained for that'? rather than just assuming they 'should' be able to manage.

If we think about learning to drive a car we aren't taken to drive on the motorway on our first day, and if we were, it would be the instructor's fault, not ours, should we mess up, for putting us in a situation that was too difficult too soon. What actually happens is we build up our skills in quieter safer areas at lower risk, and then our instructor will take us to that situation when we are ready, but whilst they still have some control of the car should something happen. We aren't fully allowed to head out and drive in these situations by ourselves until we have proven we are actually ready for, and have 'trained for', those situations.

Some things we need to consider when thinking 'have we trained for that'?

❓ Does our dog fully understand the skill we expect them to do outside of this situation?
❓ Has our dog worked with these particular distractions before?
❓ Has our dog worked at this level of distance before?
❓ Has our dog previously worked consistently for the amount of time we are expecting them to?
❓ Is anything different today than previous times they have worked in this environment?

And if we haven't trained for that situation we either need to put management in place, such as using a long-line on a harness. This is our version of 'having some control over the car' if they aren't ready to be fully in control yet themselves.
What about situations we cannot train for? 🤔

Yes, there are certain situations we can't train for such as emergencies and things we could never expect, but that is when we just have to hope for the best our training has stuck, and proofing it as much as possible will give you the best possible chance it has. Just like if something happens when you are driving your car, you haven't actually ever practiced for it but you just have to hope your reactions and driving skills kick in and you can manage it the best you can. We should never deliberately put our dogs in situations like this but sometimes life happens. This is NOT the same as letting your dog off around livestock or other dogs knowing they haven't learnt to come back from that level of distraction.

Sadly what commonly happens in training is we expect our dogs to just understand what to do in certain situations without ever actually instructing or telling them because it makes sense to us, but it does not innately make sense to them. Unless we teach it they have no reason to know what you are expecting, and unless we proof it they have no reason to be able to do it in any and all of the circumstances we expect them to.

So... TRAIN your dog, do not BLAME your dog. 👍

26/02/2025

A couple of gorgeous spaniels for 1-2-1 sessions!! I do love working with spaniels, they are such joyful dogs 😊🐾

If you are interested in booking any 1-2-1 sessions for March, do get in touch at [email protected]

24/02/2025

This lovely new review is a compilation of two reviews from the same owners (one on our Google page and one here on Facebook)! 😍

Working with puppies at home and in classes is such a joy, especially as we get even more time to get to know both owners and puppies as they grow on their journey.

23/02/2025

Busy busy classes! We had our Thursday puppies graduate their final class - well done everyone 👩🏻‍🎓 👨🏾‍🎓 👏🏻

AND started a brand new set of puppy and all-ages classes on Friday nights. 🤩

If you are interested to book on any of our future courses you can email me at: [email protected]

21/02/2025

Here at Dog Nerd Training we know it is important to train our dogs force-free, but why? ❓

Imagine you have been pulled aside by a security guard at a foreign airport, they are yelling angrily at you in a language you don't understand to do something. You think they may want your papers so you hurry to get them out, but they only gets more and more irate and aggressive. You try something else and it just gets worse, you are worried about what might happen if you don't figure out what they want, will you miss your flight? Or worse will you be arrested for some reason you don't know? 😰

Now obviously if you knew what to do you would just do it, it isn't your fault you don't understand, and yelling at you isn't going to make you figure it out any quicker, nor will scary consequences hanging over your head, particularly with a language barrier there.

This is what it is like for our dogs, they aren't being disobedient they just don't understand what we want. It is fundamentally unfair to punish them for things they had no clue about in the first place.

But this isn't the only reason punishment should be avoided and force-free training should be encouraged...

🐶 You can damage your training relationship with your dog (and their attachment), and make them more wary of people in general through using punishment.

🐶 Your dog will be more hesitant in training to try new behaviours, as they will worry the consequence of getting it wrong, rather than being excited to figure out what you want.

🐶 You can inadvertently make a negative association with something outside what you are training, such as a child passes when the dog pulls, and the dog receives a 'correction' the dog may associate this with the presence of the child rather than the behaviour.

🐶 Punishment can also change the dog's temperament, so they become more withdrawn and less playful.

There are also many more reasons on top of the ones mentioned above, and in the quoted study, that show training force-free is the better, and more ethical, option for us and our dogs.

You can find out more about the study mentioned in the graphic here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159111000876?via%3Dihub&fbclid=IwY2xjawIgSl1leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHcvU--NFwdA5Z4RF1JwVvA3_VtFP93pstFg5hpZjbuce3tLDNmbPju_xRg_aem_TAy9m20ygBl4zB5uQY41-A

19/02/2025

A quieter start to the week this week, but I still had a lovely time working with these wonderful dogs and their owners ☺️ 🐾

If you are interested in booking any future 1-2-1 sessions you can contact me at: [email protected]

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+447890034391

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http://www.dognerdtraining.co.uk/

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Videos

Dog Nerd Training 2024

And welcome to 2025 everyone! 🥳 Starting a new year we all tend to think about the goals we want to achieve, and what we didn’t manage to do last year. A mix of seeming failure from the year past and looking to the future to do better for the next, and yes it is always a good thing to try and do better each year, but we should also be kinder to ourselves, and to our dogs too. For me, this year was filled with a lot of personal loss and set-backs, none of which were avoidable but meant the year has been one more of survival than great feats and triumphs I can list. I have to know that finding joy in the small moments and changes is enough. So here are some kind and reasonable goals to consider for you and your dog this year… 🌟 Spend more time focusing and rewarding what you and your dog do right, rather than fixating on mistakes. We can’t change the past, we can only learn from it. 🌟 Learn more about how to understand your dog better, so they can better communicate with you. I would recommend the doggie language book by @doggiedrawingsbylilichin as a non-overwhelming way to get started! 🌟 Find ways to make yourself part of your dog’s hobbies and quirks instead of working against them. Does your dog love to sniff on walks? Perhaps start a scent-work course you can enjoy together. Does your dog get stressed when outside the home? Organise, some activity nights in, where you can both relax rather than forcing that walk. 🌟 Remember we all have bad days, even our dogs! And as we aren’t perfect all the time, we can’t expect them to be. This doesn’t mean either of you are any less worthy of love or connection. Always try and patient with yourself and them. And if there is one goal you should focus on above all else it is… 🌟 Love the dog you have, you won’t have them forever, and remember that’s all they really want this year and every year (and maybe some cheese, I’m sure they’d like some cheese too 😉). Look after yo

Two years of Dog Nerd Training!

And just like that Dog Nerd Training is already 2 years old!! 🤩 🎈 I have to say that running your own business is hard, so hard, and so full of stress 😅. But it is also so full of joy too! I really am so grateful to have had this business as something that is mine and that I can take pride in, in a year with so much loss and strife. It is certainly odd to be a dog trainer without a dog, after loosing my Suzi earlier this year, but seeing each moment of progress with each of your dogs has given me a purpose I wouldn't have otherwise gotten. I hope that through working with you all, I can give you the moments of joy and accomplishment in your relationship with your dogs that I had working with Suzi. As if I could give anything to you all through Dog Nerd Training, it would be even a part of that companionship that I had with her. I am also so proud of you all for all the hard work you have put in this year, I wouldn't be able to do any of this without you, and I am yet again forever thankful for your patience as I have navigated this year and all the loss it came with. Woofs and love to you all from your friendly neighbourhood Dog Nerd ✌🏻 💕

Despite the sad situation I have found myself in this Mother’s Day, I still want to wish you all a happy Mother’s Day for pooch parents and human parents alike. Here is a cute video memory of my own mother with my dog Suzi who loved her so very much. 🩷🐾 I am also sending love to those of you who find this time of year difficult also x

Dog Nerd Training 2023

🎆 HAPPY NEW YEAR 🎆 Thank you all for such an amazing year, we managed to achieve so much this year with your help, including raising over £400 for Battersea! I am hopeful we will be able to set and achieve even bigger goals in 2024. 🤩🎉 I am forever grateful, particularly to those of you who take the time to recommend us on social media as that is so, so helpful to a small business like ours. I also want to thank my wonderful girlfriend for being such incredible support this year through the ups and downs of being self-employed, and my family who without whom I wouldn't be able to do this. 💕 It has been truly wonderful working with all your dogs, and I can't wait to see both old and new faces in 2024, so I hope you appreciate this slideshow of some of the pictures taken this year...