Delighted to meet this beautiful girl for the first session of her puppy package. It's so beneficial to get training in early. There's no strict 'obedience' in our packages, but a gentle introduction to life skills to enhance your life together.
Knowing how to tackle the most commonly experienced problems before they arise is invaluable, and can really strengthen your relationship from the onset!
Get in touch or check out the website for more details!
www.4seasonsdogtraining.co.uk
Have you ever had a hug from someone you're really fond of but lasted a bit longer than you were comfortable with? It's a bit awkward isn't it 😬
Maybe your young children love your new puppy sooo much, but little puppy gets a bit bitey with the over zealous cuddles they bestow!
Consent testing is a really easy way to find out if our dogs are enjoying the fuss we're providing.
When you give them their favourite chin scratch or stroke, withdraw contact after a few seconds and see how they respond.
✅️ ️ If they want more, you'll know about it! They'll lean into you, nuzzle you or even paw at you to carry on. Continue to give them affection, but continue to repeat the test so you don't overstep their comfort zone.
❌️ If they move away or dont respond, it's fair to say they want some space at that time.
It doesn't mean they don't enjoy it or care to hang out, it just means not right now, thank you.
This is a really effective way to teach our children how to safely interact with our dogs, and for our dogs, it helps prevent them from needing to escalate signals requesting space.
A big thank you to Bonnie today for being such a fantastic walking partner for Rosie!!
Bonnie is really well socialised, and by that, I mean she has a really calm demeanour when interacting with other dogs. She doesn't rush other dogs or get over excited. She is happy to move along without any interaction at all and is very good at 'speaking dog'.
This is important for Rosie to both observe and learn to implement herself, and she took many cues from Bonnie today.
This was their first walk together and so it was important to allow Bonnie additional space with the long line to ensure she had the freedom to move away and enjoy her walk, giving Rosie the opportunity to interact as and when Bonnie invited it.
In addition, this gave Rosie the chance to be present around another dog and manage her emotions appropriately without getting herself into a pickle. Incredibly, she demonstrated some beautiful loose lead walking too!
She was able to stay engaged with me despite Bonnie being present, and she had the freedom and capacity to explore the world around her as she should, instead of obsessively following Bonnie, which is what likely would have happened had they been off lead or equal in their space.
I could have walked them side by side, but that would have risked Rosie having direct access to impose on Bonnie's personal space which may have led to a negative interaction. It's not Bonnie's job to tell Rosie off for not knowing what is OK and what isn't.
Puppies have limited experience of other dogs and it's important we don't set them up with potential for negative experiences; just one incident could manifest into life long fears or anxieties.
A well socialised dog isn't the one who runs up and greets every other dog/person they meet. In fact, your uber friendly dog is a cause of great stress for many.
Choose their friends and interactions carefully, especially whilst they're young and impressionable!
Well done girls, you were a joy this afternoon
We planned high street training today, but it was dead, so we came back to the car park to work on stationing, recall, 'off lead' walking (on a long line) and emergency stop.
Can I just say, I absolutely adore this girl!! 🥰
Sooo proud of Titan on his training walk this morning!
His brother has been acing his lead walking for some time, but Titan has taken quite a bit longer to get it. Teenage Spaniels... struggling with lead walking? No shock there!
This morning however, he walked beautifully for the whole duration and I couldn't have been more impressed! If anything, he was too enthusiastic at checking in. But, this is a big step forward so next we need to strike the balance between occassional checking in and more enjoying the walk.
Training Walks can be a great way of helping you and your dog progress, especially if you are limited by the constraints of working!
If you think training walks might be a useful option for you and yours, get in touch to see how we can work together to improve your dog's lead walking, recall or socialisation!
[email protected]
Apple Bobbing winner at the party!
During our training walks, we have started working on making my van a positive space.
We will be moving our walks to pastures new to ensure they can mange all kinds of places, but we have been fortunate enough to have plenty of time to work on ensuring they are both happy getting in and out, and most importantly, getting out safely.
Titan is doing a great job of waiting for the cue before jumping out, and is something I would recommend all owners teach their dogs. Safety first, but also, it's just a better experience for all parties!
I've had my favourite kind of day...
Back to back lead walking 🥳
I met George, a lively and endearing adolescent golden retriever, I was super impressed with Astons progress iver the past couple of weeks, and enjoyed the company of Saxon and Titan on their regular training walks.
Yesterday was also a great session meeting Lucy, again, for lead walking but we've got some work to do there first.
Unfortunately, I get so wrapped up in my sessions, the camera often gets forgotten 🙈
Here's some footage of the amazing saxon though, and to think our first few walks were, ahem, challenging, I think this speaks for itself!
But, give us a shout if your walks aren't too enjoyable, lead walking is my favourite 🤩
We had SO much fun!!
Our puppy circuit's were a big hit last night 😁
With so much to explore, our pups were able to learn in a brand new way. Combining Learning and Play, we loved watching both puppies and handlers enjoy the exciting, sensory playground we created, consolidating previous learning, working around distractions and making new friends.
Can't wait to see everyone coming tomorrow, you're in for a treat!
Our next planned circuit event will be held at the end of the month. You'll have to be quick as Wednesdays session sold out in under 24hrs so keep an eye out for the next one to make sure you secure a space for your pup 😃
Dolittles Animal Training & Behaviour
Another recent graduate sharing their progress. Recall into Middle, fantastic!
Awesome work team 🥳
Get your puppy enrolled into classes to find out how you can achieve this with your pup!
[email protected]
It's not easy showcasing the progress these boys have made in a few short weeks, simply because the method of training we use means we don't actively encourage or reinforce the unwanted behaviours.
Every rehearsal just strengthens it. Practice makes perfect, right?!
What I will say though, is on my first walk with them, individually, I was planting at an almost 45° angle to counter the pulling with a stop.
Very quickly, they have both learned tension = brakes. For Saxon (in this video) particularly, moving forward is the biggest reinforcement.
I am thoroughly enjoying walking these two, and look forward to upping their criteria, ensuring they are well equipped to know pulling isn't going to pay out for them.
Dogs are like us. If it is enjoyable or achieves a goal, the behaviours are repeated. Teach them what you want from them and they shall surpass your expectations!