Indigo Dog Training

24/09/2025

So I thought I ought to reintroduce myself because I've been pretty quiet on social media recently...

I'm Juniper. I'm a level 4 qualified dog trainer and I specialise in helping people train their puppies and teenage dogs.

I'm here to support you through all the excitement and anxiety of getting a puppy and the confusion and frustration of your dog's teenage stage. And ultimately to help you teach your dog all the skills they need for you to enjoy exciting walks exploring the world together and then come home to relax in the evening snuggled on the sofa.

You and your dog both learn best when you're having fun. So that's what I'm all about - showing you how to teach your dog essential skills like walking calmly on-lead, coming back when you call them and chilling out at home in a way that's enjoyable for both of you.

You and your dog are unique - and so are your goals and struggles. We'll work on exactly what you and your dog need to learn to live the life you both dream of. There's no point wasting time learning skills that just aren't useful for you. And we'll go at your dog's pace - making quick progress in skills they're acing and spending more time on ones they're finding difficult.

My support doesn't end when your training session does. After every session you'll get an easy-to-follow training plan emailed to you along with written and video tutorials for the exercises you and your dog have learnt as well as other useful advice and information. So you'll never be left confused after our sessions realising you've completely forgotten everything we talked about. And if you are ever confused or struggling between training sessions, you can just send me a message and I'll get back to you so you and your dog can keep making progress.

If that sounds like the type of training you and your dog are looking for, send me a message. I'd love to chat about how I can support you both to live a lifetime of shared joy. www.indigodogtraining.co.uk

18/07/2025

With the summer holidays coming up, kids and dogs are going to be spending a lot more time together.

But that can mean kids and dogs just race around the garden together for hours. Which can lead to everyone involved getting overexcited and overwhelmed and often end up with children in floods of tears.

And that’s obviously not great for your child’s relationship with their dog. They should be best friends - and it’s hard to be friends with a dog when you get knocked over or nipped every time you play.

So I wanted to share six awesome activities your kids and dogs can do together this summer. So they can have fun together, build their bond while making sure everyone stays safe.

For a child their dog is the best kind of best friend. Dogs don’t judge and they’re always there to provide comfort and distraction if school gets stressful, they argue with friends (or their parents) or life gets hard. That kind of relationship can take time to build, but there are some really ...

18/06/2025

Are you bringing home a new puppy soon? Don’t wait until you’re struggling to get the support of a dog trainer.

Having a new puppy is super exciting. But it can also be super stressful and exhausting. It feels like there’s so much to do in such a short time. You need to toilet train your puppy so they’re not peeing all over your house, help them feel confident being left alone and show them that the world isn’t scary. All while being very sleep deprived because your puppy is crying all night and getting bitten by your adorable land shark almost constantly.

It’s no surprise many new puppy carers get the puppy blues and even question whether bringing their puppy home was the right decision.

Caring for a new puppy can feel incredibly lonely when you’ve got no support. And many people only reach out for help once their puppy’s 12 weeks and old enough for puppy classes. And by that time they’ve already been struggling for a month.

But having a new puppy doesn’t have to be like this. You deserve to enjoy your puppy's first days, weeks and months with you.

I’m here to support you before you’ve even picked up your puppy. I’ll help you make a plan so on the big day you feel relaxed and ready to bring home your new puppy confident that you know exactly how to care for them.

We’ll talk about everything you need to know over your puppy’s first few days home - how to toilet train them, how to help your puppy feel safe with you and in their new home, how to cope with puppy biting and how to make sure you all get enough sleep. We’ll chat about how to prepare you home ready for the new arrival - because no-one wants puppy teeth holes in their favourite shoes. And you’ll get a list of everything you need to buy before the big day so you don’t have to make a panicked trip to the pet shop in the evening when you realise you’ve somehow forgotten to buy your puppy a bed.

And you’ll get support once your puppy comes home so you don’t have to feel alone and confused. I’ll be there to help you prevent small issues becoming bigger problems so you can truly enjoy having a new puppy and feel confident you’re giving your puppy the best start possible.

Give your puppy and yourself the best start for your life together. Everything you need to know to help your new puppy settle in to your home.

21/03/2024

And you're DEFINITELY not the only person struggling...

Having a teenage dog is hard - much harder than having a puppy. They run off and ignore you, pull on-lead, jump up at everyone, steal food and basically just leave chaos in their wake wherever they go.

The worst thing is that you spent so long training them when they were a puppy. Instead of all that work paying off, your teenage dog's behaviour is going backwards. And you're left feeling like you must have done something massively wrong...

But you haven't. All these things are NORMAL for teenage dogs.

It's normal to make loads of progress training your puppy, only to get to 6-7 months and find that your teenage dog seems to have forgotten EVERYTHING you taught them.

Your teen dog ignoring your recall cue when they used to come back enthusiastically, pulling on-lead when they used to walk nicely next to you and staring blankly at you when you ask them to 'sit' even though they used to sit immediately isn't a sign you've failed.

You've not caused this. During adolescence your dog's brain is developing rapidly and that makes it really hard for them to remember things. This is normal. You've done nothing wrong.

'But if this is normal, why do I feel like I'm the only person struggling?'

Because everyone else is as ashamed as you. They're all quietly sitting at home feeling like a failure and not wanting to admit how much they're struggling. You're not alone, having a teenage dog is hard.

But it doesn't have to be quite this hard. Understanding why your teenage dog's behaviour is so chaotic means you won't feel like you're failing. And knowing how to train your teenage dog in a way that suits their developing brain will help you achieve your training goals. You'll even be able to enjoy your dog's adolescent instead of desperately waiting for it to be over.

If that sounds like what you need - then my webinar Adolescence: Your Dog's Chaos Era is perfect for you. You can find out more here: www.indigodogtraining.co.uk/teenage-dog-training-webinar or just message me for the details.

18/03/2024

I want you to enjoy your dog's adolescence.

If you're finding your dog's teenage phase hard, you're not alone. It's one of the trickiest periods in a dog's life and leaves many dog carers exhausted and wondering why they ever got a dog.

The hardest part of adolescence is that it's so confusing. It seems like every single day you have a different dog - one day they're beautifully behaved and respond to all your trained cues. The next day they're a agent of chaos who's forgotten everything you've taught them.

So you're left feeling frustrated and very embarrassed by your dog's behaviour. And you're probably wondering whether you've failed your dog.

The good news is: you don't have to feel confused and frustrated. I'm here to help your enjoy your dog's adolescence with my webinar - Adolescence: Your Dog's Chaos Era.

During the webinar we’ll explore ways to make your dog's adolescence easier. We’ll touch on the science that helps you understand what your dog’s going through. And then we’ll talk about the simple, day-to-day techniques that you can use to make life better – to enjoy calmer walks, less-stressful training, and a dog ready to chill out.

The webinar will be on 6th April at 2pm and will help you:

⭐Enjoy your dog’s adolescence instead of longing for it to be over

⭐Know why your teenage dog’s behaviour is so chaotic, changing from day to day

⭐Learn why you’re struggling with your dog’s training, and the easy changes you can make to spin things round

⭐End the frustration by understanding that the way your dog behaves is normal for a teenager, and that you can manage it

You'll get a recording after the webinar so you can watch it back or to catch up if you're unable to join me live. The recording won't be available to buy after the webinar and I have no plans to rerun this webinar in the next year. So make sure you sign up so you don't miss out.

If you want to ace your dog's adolescence click here: www.indigodogtraining.co.uk/teenage-dog-training-webinar or send me a message to get the details.

06/03/2024

Your teen dog probably doesn't need more exercise.

Are you desperately trying to tire your dog out with longer and longer walks and hours of fetch every day hoping they'll finally come home and sleep?

If you are, you're probably finding that despite your teen dog's exercise increasing on an almost daily basis they're still doing laps of the house and literally bouncing off the walls as soon as they come home.

They might not be exhausted - but you are. You're waking up earlier and earlier to walk your dog before you go to work. You're losing out on precious sleep and feeling like you've done a session at the gym. And you were hoping that your morning dog walks would be a short stroll around the park...

Unfortunately all that exercise isn't helping your adolescent dog to relax - they're just becoming a canine athlete who's getting fitter and fitter and needs more and more exercise.

Don't worry, you don't need to start training for a marathon to get your teen dog to actually chill out and snooze. You just need to change how you walk your dog so your tire out their brain not just their body.

And the amazing news - that's actually super easy. Your walks can be a relaxing morning stroll, you can have that lie-in you desperately need AND your dog will FINALLY go home and sleep.

If that sounds like your perfect morning then you need to check out my latest blog about how to walk your teenage dog: www.indigodogtraining.co.uk/blog/does-my-teenage-dog-need-more-exercise

29/02/2024

And start managing their behaviour...

Training teen dogs is HARD. They're forgetful, distractable and very impulsive. And what's worse is their behaviour is completely different every day.

You can spend weeks working hard on your dog's recall seeing amazing improvement. And then SURPRISE, you let them off and they completely ignore you to run across the park and steal someone's picnic.

You're left feeling very, very embarrassed and wondering whether any of that work was worth anything.

Luckily, there's a much easier way. One that works so much better for your teenage dog's very chaotic brain.

Just don't train them.

Ok, maybe do some training. But don't make it your main focus and don't rely on your teen dog remembering anything you're taught them.

All you need to do use management to prevent their problem behaviours.

You don't need to cross your fingers and hope your teen dog will come back when you call then. You can use a long-line to let them run, knowing that you've got hold of them if today's the day they completely ignore you.

You can put shoes out of your dog's reach so they don't chew them. Or close the kitchen door so they don't steal food from the counters.

The amazing thing about management is it works on your teen dog's worst day. The day they've at their most forgetful, distractable and impulsive. They don't need to remember anything you taught them. Because there's no way they can do the problem behaviour anyway.

21/02/2024

Is to slow down and walk less...

If you're like most dog carers you're probably rushing your dog's daily walks so you can get back and get on with your day. You need your dog to chill out and sleep when you get home so you focus on walking as far as possible in the short time you've got.

But what if I told you that there's a better way to walk your dog...

Dogs, like humans, get fitter the more walking and running they do. And fitter dogs need more exercise to get tired. Which is why you've found that the walk that knackered your dog a couple of months ago now leaves them wanting more.

Physical exercise will tire out your dog, but if you want your dog to sleep after a walk they're gonna need to use their brain as well. And the best way to do that is to just let them sniff.

Using their nose is EXHAUSTING for your dog. Scent is their main way of understanding the world. Taking in and processing all that information requires a huge amount of brain power.

The park might look roughly the same to you on different days but it smells dramatically different to your dog. They can smell the wildlife who walked through the park the night before and they know exactly which people and dogs walked there earlier on. Even the time of day and the weather gives the park a unique scent.

Dogs will usually match our pace on walks. So if you're rushing they won't stop to sniff much. But if you slow down most dogs will start sniffing and tracking scents. And if your dog doesn't, scattering some treats on the ground usually gets them started.

Slowing down your walks will make them much more relaxing for both of you. And your dog's going to feel much more satisfied and tired so they'll sleep much better. It's an incredibly easy way to improve your dog's wellbeing without requiring any extra time or effort.

And that's not the only easy change you can make to increase your dog's quality of life. If you want to know the others you should read my blog: www.indigodogtraining.co.uk/blog/how-much-enrichment-does-my-dog-need

07/02/2024

We've all been there...

You were just trying to train your teen dog and suddenly they're hanging off your arm by their mouth. And you're left wondering why that happened, how you can stop them doing it again and most importantly, is your sweet, chaotic teenager a dangerous dog?

Teenage dogs have big feelings and they have no idea what to do with them. That's why they throw themselves towards anything that excites them and bark and lunge at things that spook them.

And one of those big feelings is frustration. When teen dogs gets frustrated they jump up, hump, shred and mouth.

Mouthing can be pretty scary but it's different to biting. If your teen dog is mouthing they'll put their teeth on you but they won't draw blood and you usually won't be left with marks or bruises.

And it often happens during training because people expect way too much from teenage dogs. Training becomes hard, they're not getting any rewards and they get so frustrated. They don't know what to do with themselves and so they put they mouth on you.

If your dog is mouthing then that's a very good sign that it's time to finish that training session and give your dog something like a snuffle mat to help them calm down. And to make training sessions shorter and easier in future so your dog doesn't get super frustrated.

So when should you be worried about your dog's mouthing or biting?

Honestly, it's really difficult to judge whether a teenage dog's mouthing is normal teenage frustration or a sign of a pain or aggression without seeing the dog. So if you're worried, your dog is drawing blood or biting your child then speak to a dog professional.

But I regularly see teen dogs who mouth (often I arrive for a training session, they get very excited and end up on my arm) and I'm usually not concerned. These dogs are often jumping up and bouncing off the walls at the same time.

And Hattie spent A LOT of her adolescence hanging off my sleeve. She's 5 now, hasn't done it for years and shows zero signs of aggression - some teenage dogs do just grow out of mouthing.

31/01/2024

I honestly can't believe SO MANY people are still being told to do this...

When people get a dog they're often told to follow a huge list of rules to 'teach their dog their place in the pack'. And one of those rules is 'don't feed your dog until after you eat'. And yeah that advice doesn't immediately seem harmful... But following it isn't going to have any benefits and will probably cause a few problems.

This rule (and most of the others dog carers like you are told to follow) comes from dominance theory. This is the belief that wolves are pack animals who fight for dominance. And because dogs are descended from wolves, if we're not dominant over our dogs they won't listen to trained cues and will have lots of problem behaviours.

There's only one teensy issue with this: none of it is true. Wolves do not fight for dominance over their pack. And there's no need to show your dog you're their pack leader - dogs are not pack animals, they don't have any concept of pack leaders or dominance.

And this 'news' that dominance theory isn't relevant to dogs isn't new. It's like 30 years old. There is no reason for anyone to be telling new dog carers to follow this huge list of rules.

'Ok, Juniper. I get that feeding my dog after I eat isn't going improve my dog's behaviour. But you said it could CAUSE problems?'

Definitely. Do you want your dog to relax and leave you alone while you eat? Do they bug you for attention or try to steal your dinner?

If they do, they're probably bored or hungry. Or both. By giving your dog their dinner just before you sit down to eat yours, they'll be preoccupied by eating and be less likely to annoy you while you're trying to relax and eat your meal.

It's a simple solution that often (not always, obviously) works to solve one of the most common problems people have with their dog's behaviour at home. But yet, people like you are still being told not to feed your dog until after you've eaten.

If you've been following this rule, don't feel bad. It's not your fault you were given bad advice. And you have my permission to feed your dog first - if you want to.

24/01/2024

When you bring home a new puppy there's so much pressure to do EVERYTHING...

There's so much socialisation and training to do and it feels like the clock is ticking. It's easy to panic and try to do everything immediately because you feel like you'll fail your puppy if you don't.

But it's ok. You can slow down. You don't need to rush.

The most important things you can teach your puppy right now is that the world isn't scary and that you'll always keep them safe. And your puppy isn't learning either of those things when you desperately try to shove SO MUCH socialisation and training into a very short period of time.

That's just going to leave your puppy feeling overwhelmed and stressed. And overwhelmed and stressed puppies don't grow up to be happy and confident adult dogs.

Give your puppy time to settle in to your home and your family before you take them to lots of busy places and expect them to learn new skills. Let them relax and decompress after new experiences. And don't rush to do everything in your puppy's first few weeks home - only do as much as YOUR puppy can cope with.