Dog Citizen

10/11/2025

Positive training offers our dogs choices to express themselves, rather than ‘telling’ them what we think they should feel.

16/10/2025

When the clocks soon set back, don’t let your dog training do the same!

When the clocks go back at the end of this month, some of us can look forward to an extra hour under the duvet on Sunday morning. The pay-off might come as you start getting hungry a good hour before lunch or dinner time. (Make that 2 hours for me, I’m always hungry a good hour before anyway!) But for our dogs, this sudden time change can be very confusing and unsettling.

They have a whole hour to get frustrated and even stressed, thinking you have forgotten about their dinner. And their training can suffer as some of those attention-seeking behaviours make an unwelcome comeback. This is because they have a very strong internal clock, and a strong sense of routine.

We can get on top of these things in the week or two before BST ends by easing them into it now. We can begin by feeding them just a little earlier each day, aiming for a full hour by the time the clocks do go back. So when it does, they don’t even notice!

We could do the same with our walks too, though this is rarely possible! But don’t forget, if they normally need to have a p*e at 8am, but now the clock says 7am, if they need to go, they need to go!

In a previous Dog Citizen blog post, I delve a little deeper into our dogs’ sense of time…

Eastside Tails is the Dog Citizen blog. Read the latest views and news from Dog Citizen, this blog: Dog Time: Your dog's internal clock.

07/10/2025

Life as a Dog Citizen® Can dogs feel empathy?...

Eastside Tails is the Dog Citizen blog. Read the latest views and news from Dog Citizen, this blog, can dogs feel empathy?

25/08/2025

The Countess of Warwick Country Show dog show and scurry team ready for another fun-packed day!

23/08/2025

Dog Citizen Woody testing out the scurry run for Sunday & Monday’s Countess of Warwick Country Show 😀

22/08/2025

Just a few days left until Countess of Warwick Country Show
and we are delighted to be joint sponsor of the Dog Show again!

Dog Citizen, based in Dunmow, is a force-free dog training service providing personalised 1-2-1 training in your home or nearby outside space.

Chris, trainer and founder of Dog Citizen, will be in and around the Dog Show arena on both days, August 24th and 25th from around 11.30am until 4.30pm and available for a chat or advice. Or just come and say hello! Looking forward to meeting dogs, puppies and their parents and to hear about your experiences!

06/08/2025

Life as a Dog Citizen® Paws for thought: How surfaces affect dog behaviour...

Eastside Tails is the Dog Citizen blog. Read the latest views and news, this blog: Paws for thought: how surfaces affect dog behaviour

29/07/2025

A day in the life….
What do dog trainers do in their spare time?

Decompressing and relaxing are high on my own list – ok, ok, usually with my dog! As is NOT watching every dog show on telly. (Ever asked a chef about food on their day off? Better duck!) I do have a lot of (probably) geeky interests outside work. But also part-time professional study too. I don’t think learning (real life or study) should ever stop.

To that end, I recently gained another qualification, a Diploma in Canine Aggression. A journey that began in 2023! The biggest take-away for me was confirmation that force-free training is now totally dominant in canine behaviour academia. Nice to feel vindicated. But still much work to do. And so we press on, spreading the message. 😉

02/07/2025

When a resident dog struggles with a new arrival…

Introducing a new dog into the house with an existing dog will go one of two ways. And when both dogs in question are adopted adults, it can be particularly challenging. In this case, the new arrival showed signs of aggression and the resident dog became depressed and retreated, also showing potential guarding tendencies. This had to be handled very carefully because in this case a ‘leave them to it’ strategy could have had heartbreaking consequences.

Of course we can’t make two dogs co-exist or even like each other, but we can create conditions to allow each dog space and to control their interactions in a measured and sensitive way with positive reinforcement. This allows them to slowly build a more positive association with each other, to indeed gradually work it out for themselves. But safely, with us intervening when appropriate.

Their human mum is brilliant and knows instinctively what she wants to do. I was simply guiding them along, making some suggestions where appropriate, and keeping everyone pointing in the right direction. With their mum’s sensitive and diligent approach, the results have so far been amazing. Rather than stressful stand-offs we are now seeing, like here, some calmer, gentler, positive interactions and even some play! It will take time, but I am very confident in the happy ending all three of them so deserve. Kudos, Ann!

01/07/2025

Saw this sign while on holiday…

Good idea to remind folks, especially on popular urban routes.
This was in a very dry climate, so in a humid climate like ours lower 20Cs is more accurate than 25C. And I’d never heard of the 7 second rule.
I prefer to keep it simple: if it’s hot, don’t walk! 😉

09/06/2025

Life as a Dog Citizen® Adrenaline & Your Dog.....
And what it means for you....
BLOG - DOG CITIZEN - EASTSIDE TAILS

Eastside Tails is the Dog Citizen blog. Read the latest views and news from Dog Citizen, this blog: Adrenaline and your Dog.