Repetition strengthens behaviour, so when trying to teach a new skill it's important to reinforce it as much as possible in the beginning. It can feel tedious but the more you do it in the beginning, the quicker they'll understand it and the less time you'll have to continue doing it in future.
Consistency is key! Get the nitty gritty stuff done first so you can enjoy the results later and start phasing out the amount of rewards you give. I would never personally suggest to stop rewarding your dog for something that they're reliable at, but the rate of reinforcement and the frequency of reinforcement should definitely be reduced over time once something is reliable, so we can ensure they do actually know what they're doing.
There is risk of behaviours becoming extinct if reinforcement stops completely, especially if in moments they happen to get reinforcements from elsewhere (environment, other dogs, people, chasing etc). If you have worked on a solid behavior, you can start to change the frequency of reinforcement, maybe you still take rewards out with you but you reward them every 3rd, 4th or 5th time they do a behaviour. It's better to do that than to completely eliminate any sort of reward, plus it reminds your dog that they're still doing a good job 🫶
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#dogtrainer #dogtrainingadvice #dogtips #dogbehaviour #dogadvice #dogmeme
5 minute discussion about the MYTH that is small dog syndrome. I'm not great at verbally stringing together long descriptions (if you've been to my classes you already know how much I trip over my words 😂) I'm working on it 😅
Small dogs get a bad rep, some are treated like lap dogs when internally they've got a strong drive that they need an outlet for. They need HELP!
They need you to take them seriously, they're cute yes but they also deserve to be understood. Stop making excuses and start figuring out why they're behaving the way they are, teach them management skills, provide activities that uses their brain and tunes into parts of them that will biologically fulfill them. Work with them to help them feel better around their triggers.
'It is what it is' doesn't apply here ❌️
We as a society can sometimes view small dogs as harmless but they're not. We expect them to slot straight into our lives, be great family pets, be easier to manage, we assume because they're small that they don't need as much. It's not true.
Small dogs deserve to be taken seriously. 'Small dog syndrome' doesn't cut it
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#dogtrainer #dogbehaviour #smalldog #smalldogsyndrome #dogtraining #dogadvice #puppyadvice
Yeah yeah yeah now throw the ball b*tch 🙄
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#dogmemes #dogmeme #relateablememes #relatable
The internet can be a wonderful place, but it's also a place where you'll find a lot of outdated and unhelpful nonsense that warps your view of what having a dog should be like 👎
Some stuff is just straight up harming our relationship with our dogs, convincing you to focus on things that are actually just getting in the way of enjoying the journey with them. Why is it important that you can move the food bowl away? Why can't you just ensure that they have a safe space where they aren't going to be bothered by anyone? It's really not that difficult 🤷♀️
How about we focus more on how can we make the experience of having a dog in our lives more enjoyable for them and us, learn about the individual in front of you. Let go of the high expectations you have of a living sentient being who's just trying to navigate this world with your guidance 🌏
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#dogtrainer #2025 #2025goals #dogcontent #dogs #dogbehaviour
Here's one for the pet parents who's dogs world revolves around stopping every 2 steps to gather important information 😂
It can be inconvenient sometimes but try and change your mindset from having to go a particular distance to spending more of that allocated time to doing what your dog enjoys. There's so much information out there that will tell you the benefits of sniffing and heck I've harped on about it enough times myself 😅
Think duration of time well spent rather than trying to get as many steps in as possible! And if you do want to have a walk dedicated to your personal fitness goals then it's absolutely fine to have a walk by yourself 😊
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#dogtrainer #dogmeme #relatable #dogcontent #dogbehaviour #enrichment #mentalstimulation #dogstuff
But I haven't even said anything yet? 😂
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#dogtainer #dogtraining #dogbehaviour #dogsofinstagram #dogsofig #dogmemes #dogmeme
Perfect recall until the nose gets tracking 😂
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#workingdog #gundog #spaniel #gundogmemes #gundogtraining #gundoghunting #huntingdog #workingbreed
The famous 'erm nah, that won't be happening' when they know it's time to go home 😂
Does your dog avoid coming back to you or ignore you when you're about to head home? Do they go further away from you once the lead comes out?
Here's a few tips for preventing it in future:
1. Practice putting the lead on and off during walks, if they only associate the lead to being clipped on to go home then they're more likely to avoid it
2. Practice recall randomly on walks, again try not to only recall them when it's time to go home
3. Engage with them more on walks! This could be in the form of games (games that actually involve participation from both ends, not just you chucking a ball!) Making being around you be more rewarding and reinforcing can build the desire to return to you more often
Dogs are so good at picking up our 'going home' cue's, even when we're not physically getting the lead out, especially if they go on the same walk every day!
And remember, if your dog doesn't have reliable recall outside of this context anyway, then they shouldn't be off lead in the first place 👎 get your long line or flexi lead and get practicing 🐕🦺
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#dogtrainer #dogmeme #funnydogs #dogtraining #puppytrainer #dogtrainingtips #relatable #dogadvice #dogtips #dogbehaviour
If you're not your dogs biggest hype man, then what are you doing? 😂 better believe I'm letting them know when they've done something good 👏
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#breakingbad #jessepinkman #dogmeme #relatable #dogtrainer #dogbehaviour #dogtraining #puppytrainer
Have you ever tried to put 30 minutes aside to work on one particular behaviour over and over with your puppy? How many times did they get distracted, check out or become frustrated? Puppies generally have short attention spans and learn best in short bursts.
If you're teaching them something new, or practicing a behaviour with them, keep the sessions 2-3 minutes long (give or take) and give them a break in between. This gives more opportunities for you and them to practice with a fresh mind and helps to keep it fun so they're more likely to want to partake. It also helps you end the session on a high rather than feeling frustrated!
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#puppymeme #puppytraining #puppyadvice #puppytrainer #dogadvice #dogtrainer #funnymeme #dogmeme #gordonramseymemes #gordonramsey #dogbehaviour #dogtraining
When is enough actually enough? Never 🙅♀️
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#dogtrainer #dogbehaviour #herdingdog #herdingbreed #relatable #australianshepherd #aussieshepherd #bordercollie #germanshepherd #belgianmalinois #gsd #funnymemes #dogmeme #dutchshepherd #herdingdogsofinstagram #aussiesofinstagram
Ethical, qualified dog trainer and walker based in Quarry Bank & surrounding areas
