Pawsitive Regard Dog Training

03/12/2023

Love it when people send me video updates! Peggy lives on a boat and is an amazing example of how enrichment/ exploratory play can be achieved in the smallest of places. Go team Peggy!

01/12/2023

Very chuffed with my new homemade snuffle mat! Saved me money and BIG plus I got to recycle all our hole-y socks!

26/11/2023

Food impulse control fun!

23/11/2023

I got to work with
the this week! He switched roles to willing pupil and he was an ace student. I loved working with him 🧡 special thanks to Lisa for giving me permission to try to win him over 🙏

21/11/2023

I'm excited to announce that I'm going to be offering Puppy classes at EYE2EYE DOGS in Kingston Seymour, Clevedon from January 2024. Find out more on my website www.pawsitiveregard.org and book now!

17/11/2023

This is a wonderful shop in Bristol selling evidence based dog products, natural chews and food, a wide range of enriching toys and well designed harnesses. They even offer harness fitting.

Please do support local businesses where you can 😊

I am sure that many of you have been wondering who has taken over the shop from Roz, so I thought it was about time that I introduce myself👋 Hi, my name is Jenn and I have a Border Collie cross, named Archie.

Like many of you, I was really sad when I heard that Roz was planning to close down the shop earlier this year. The Mutty Professor had become my go-to pet shop because I loved how knowledgeable and helpful the staff were. I felt frustrated with the number of pet shops selling questionable products, so it was a huge relief to be able to shop somewhere that I knew carefully vetted everything that they stocked. And I really appreciated that they offered fittings, catering to dogs of all shapes, sizes, and temperaments.

Coincidentally, the news of Roz planning to close the shop came at a time when I was considering a change in my career. I am a research psychologist, and for the last 10 years have studied nutrition, health behaviours and wellbeing in humans. Unfortunately, Archie exhibited several behavioral problems from a young age and I was completely overwhelmed until I worked with Roz and her team. As a result of my experience learning how to manage Archie’s reactivity, I am now planning to focus my research on how behaviour and wellbeing in dogs and their owners impact one another.

When Roz mentioned that she was open to selling the shop, I decided to go for it! Being able to keep such a great shop going for pet owners like myself, particularly one that also aligns with my new research focus, really appealed to me.

In the coming months, we will be rebranding, and the name of the shop will change. However, I want to assure everyone that the ethos and dedication to high quality products that promote a healthy and great quality of life for your pets will remain the same. I am a huge advocate of evidence-based products and methods that support both the health and wellbeing of pets & their humans, and environmental sustainability 🐶🐱👨‍👩‍👧🌍

I hope that you are all as excited as I am for this next chapter and look forward to meeting many of you in the shop.

P.S. There is a new google listing for the shop. If you are a fan of the shop, and you have the time to leave a review, it would be much much appreciated! And please let us know if you have any suggestions on things you’d like to see in the shop ☺️

16/11/2023

Let’s talk thresholds…

What do I mean by a threshold?
We’ve all experienced reaching our emotional limit. You’ve had tight deadlines at work, then you get a call to say your child is sick at school, when you go to collect both children them they fight in the back of the car, you hit a traffic jam and then arrive home to find the cat has vomited on the carpet. You shout at the cat- something you’d normal never do but you’ve gone over your threshold.

We may shout, shut down or find a way to self soothe.

Well our dogs experience this too but it looks more like the postman coming to the door, a scary noise outside, a strange visitor to the house and then the neighbours cat runs into the garden. This is also known as trigger stacking.

Our dogs response might be to bark, lunge, spin, bite or freeze, retreat, shut down or self sooth (in the form of sniffing, yawning, scratching, chewing, sucking).

Why are thresholds important?
You dog is in a stressed state when it is over threshold and hopefully a relaxed state when it is way under threshold. A dog over threshold is unable to process or learn new information. There is also a much higher risk of them biting when over threshold.

However, when they’re under threshold and in a relaxed state then they can process new information to learn new things.

What to do with this information?
If your dog has had a stressful few days because of fireworks or any other negative events then give them TIME. Have a few low arousal, restful days where they feel safe (my equivalent of a spa day). Play scent games or mentally enriching games at home and lay low for a while.

If you want help identify and understanding your dogs levels of arousal/ threshold level then book in a 1-2-1 .

14/11/2023

★★★★★ "Our dog Sully loves his training sessions with Lucy! Sully is a 2yr old Labrador so has lots of energy amd strength but Lucy's calm, kind and patient nature combined with her knowledge and experience with training dogs really helps bring out the best in him. We have seen great impro...

14/11/2023

Hi all,

UPDATE: Thank you so much for all the offers of help, I’ve now got everyone I need 🙏 but I’m taking a reserve list if anyone is still interested.

One spot left!

I am looking for willing volunteers (human and dog) to take part in my final practical assessment for my PACT training course (to become an accredited Animal Training Instructor). This involves taking part in a group training class (for free), where we will be covering important skills such as loose lead walking, recall and impulse control.

You must be happy to be filmed and your dog must be over 12 months of age. Taking place near Clevedon, Somerset. If interested, please message me for more details.

11/11/2023

02/11/2023

29/10/2023

So you are expecting a new bundle of joy into your life, or maybe they’ve already arrived? With the joy and excitement also comes many challenges but I’m here to support you to build a solid foundation with your new pup so that they develop into a confident, well adjusted and attentive dog.

Has your adorable puppy turned into a baby shark? Does it have unrelenting zoomies or springs from the floor like a kangaroo?

It can feel overwhelming with all the plethora of advice that well meaning friends, family and neighbours offer you but who do you listen to? I’m here to support you on that journey from 8 week old pup to adult dog. On our course you'll learn about:

Mouthing and how to re-direct this

Handling

Grooming

Socialisation

Walking on the lead

Preventing resource guarding and drop

Basic manners and skills such as sit, down, stay, recall

Play

Toilet training and separation tips

And most importantly fun!

Visit our website to find out more:

www.pawsitiveregard.org/puppies

or contact us to register your interest.

Humane, ethical and welfare friendly dog training in mid/ South Somerset.

26/10/2023

Excellent enrichment idea for non-food motivated or toy motivated dogs! Our dogs need mental stimulation as well as physical (especially working breeds). Hiding a toy for them to sniff and dig out utilises some of their natural behaviours and adds some novelty to their day. It can also be useful for keeping them busy when it’s raining outside or you can’t get out!

Brain exercises are particularly tiring and can lead to settled dogs, snoring and snoozes.

With my unique partner link below you can get:
10% off 2 toys
15% off 3 toys
20% off 4 toys (or more)

Time’s almost up to bag a howling good deal in the Tug-E-Nuff Howloween sale

Don’t let your beast miss out on the fun and games - bag yourself up to 20% off the absolute best dog toys out there….

Your little monster will thank you for it!

https://www.tug-e-nuff.co.uk/collections/howloween-sale?ref=lucypartridge

17/10/2023

I hear this a lot: “but their tail was wagging so they were happy”. This is often misunderstood. ABC dogs have put together a great video illustrating how not all tail wags are happy. Worth a watch!

16/10/2023

Enrichment toys can be great for rainy days, when your pet has low level injuries or just adding a bit of extra fun to your dogs day! They encourage exploratory behaviour and problem solving which can help with confidence building too! Helping your pet can also increase your bond together

14/10/2023

Hey all,

I’d like to introduce myself…I’ve been helping Sue out at Connected Canines for a little while and she’s kindly offered to let me use her facilities. More about me below…

I’m now offering 1-2-1 “life skill” training sessions (home visits or some field availability) with puppy and life skill classes starting in the new year. Please contact me direct or visit my website: www.pawsitiveregard.org for more info. All details on my FB page bio “Pawsitive Regard Dog Training”.

About me:
I've worked with many animals over the years both large and small- with Reindeer being the most unusual! As a teenager/ young adult we had a reactive Labrador x collie called Phoebe. She is the dog that started it all! I developed a growing interest in how to understand canine behaviour in order to help her overcome her issues. In 2017, I started fostering dogs and helping out a well known assistance dog charity at their training centre. I learnt a huge amount from their trainers but mostly from the dogs that I fostered, understanding their quirks and unique personalities. I also developed my passion for training using reward based training methods that are humane, ethical and welfare friendly.

I’m all too aware of the human element of training; I'm keen to understand the human and dog relationship more and why our dogs may be behaving the way they are. Guardians can be strongly affected by their dog's behaviour and vice versa. With this understanding, I hope to work with both human and dog to create a positive bond and long lasting relationship by laying strong foundations.

I'm currently studying on the Canine Training Instructors course with PACT Dogs and I'm working towards full PACT Membership

13/10/2023

13/10/2023

13/10/2023

Now offering 1-2-1 dog training sessions in South Somerset area. Visit my website to find out more: www.pawsitiveregard.org or contact me!

About me:

I've worked with many animals over the years both large and small- with Reindeer being the most unusual! As a teenager/ young adult we had a reactive Labrador x collie called Phoebe. She is the dog that started it all! I developed a growing interest in how to understand canine behaviour in order to help her overcome her issues. In 2017, I started fostering dogs and helping out a well known assistance dog charity at their training centre. I learnt a huge amount from their trainers but mostly from the dogs that I fostered, understanding their quirks and unique personalities. I also developed my passion for training using reward based training methods that are humane, ethical and welfare friendly.

My undergraduate degree is in Neuroscience, and since then I have studied for a short time on a Veterinary Science course (uncompleted) and a human Psychotherapy course (tbc). From these experiences, I’ve developed an understanding of the role of training to help with husbandry and veterinary procedures, as well as the link between health issues and behaviour. Furthermore, I’m all too aware of the human element of training; I'm keen to understand the human and dog relationship more and why our dogs may be behaving the way they are. Guardians can be strongly affected by their dog's behaviour and vice versa. With this understanding, I hope to work with both human and dog to create a positive bond and long lasting relationship by laying strong foundations.

I'm currently studying on the Canine Training Instructors course with PACT Dogs and I'm working towards full PACT Membership.