Craze Dog Training

11/11/2024

Goodbye UK. See you soon Thailand! 🐾🇹🇭

16/10/2024

Clients! I won’t be working on these dates whilst we settle into Thailand. Monday 18th I’ll be back working with a lovely island backdrop 🏝️

If you start a package with me before these dates, or you are renewing your package for another month, you’ll have the days I’m off added to your plan so that you don’t miss out 🤝

02/10/2024

Situations like this are easily avoided

Keep your hands to yourself and educate yourself on dog body language

The amount of FREE resources out there for learning how dogs communicate is immense

Teach yourself and teach your kids, so that the next generation can avoid getting into trouble with dogs

It all starts with dog body language and communication. I dread to think how many dogs have been relinquished for snapping/biting, just because they had exhausted all their warning signals that were never being acknowledged

Drill it into yourself and those around you that you should not be touching dogs you do not know, regardless of if their owner says “they love being patted on the head!”

Because with that shocking statistic of only 24% of people being able to consistently identify when their dog is worried, the chances are the owner doesn’t know what their dog is saying either, just like in this clip

30/09/2024

They didn’t ask to be here

Before you choose to bring a dog over from a different country, you need to be totally prepared to do absolutely everything you can for that dog to help them adapt to life in your country

Your idea of what life will be like with a dog may be completely different

You may need to spend a lot of money on medical and behavioural care

You may need to rearrange your entire life

This is a contract you need to sign with yourself and your dog, before you even start looking for one

A huge part contributor to the issue of foreign rescues being brought over and not suiting their homes, is that the rescue organisations do not do their job properly

They are not preparing families for what to expect, and not supporting them. Or they are providing s**t support filled with abusive trainers and outdated methods. Some rescues are still telling their adopters that their dogs are behaving the way they are because they don’t know their place in the house hierarchy!

These organisations need to do better. They should have an obligation to have the best, most modern, scientifically-based support for their adopters. With certified professionals who have observable expertise when it comes to foreign rescues

And it should be a no brainer that these dogs NEED to have rescue backup. That is a non-negotiable

Adopting a dog from overseas is not for everyone. Speak to the majority of my clients, they will tell you it is hard fu***ng work. Blood, sweat and tears type of s**t. Life changing s**t. Rescues should be being brutally honest with their potential adopters

You could be lucky. You could adopt a foreign rescue that was destined for a domestic life. But, is it worth taking that chance without the proper support and rescue backup? I think not

30/09/2024

Do you worry about blind corners? I got you covered

Dogs meeting head on is never a great idea, but especially not when you add being startled into the mix

Take corners wide where possible

Use food like a ‘magnet’ to keep your dog occupied glued to your hand

Check the coast is clear

Either release and continue onwards or continue to magnet your dog into more space or go back the way you came

🤝

29/09/2024

Want to work with me? 🐾

All you need is in the link in my bio 🔗⬆️

28/09/2024

You can appear happy, but be living in avoidance

I’m sure many people can relate to my human example. Your cunty boss has all the control, they control whether you pay your bills or put food on the table. Better to avoid conflict and fall in line when that’s the case

I’d rather the dogs I work with do the things I ask of them because they feel rewarded for doing so, not because they’ll be shocked or lead corrected if they don’t

‘Your dog is just working for food!’

And so what? When did it become classed as normal for our dogs to only do things out of the fear of punishment? And that our dogs working for something they like, and that makes them feel good, is somehow the strange thing here?

If you can’t train your dog to perform without being a dick to them, maybe reconsider your career path cause dog training ain’t for you

28/09/2024

Strategically set up your home for your new arrival!

Setting up your home so that your dog from overseas can feel as safe as possible will give you a huge advantage

These dogs hate to feel vulnerable. When they arrive somewhere new, they feel insanely vulnerable. So little wins where you can will go a huge way

It’s not uncommon for foreign rescues to not eat for a few days, or at least not near you or whilst you are around

Move the bowls into a room where your dog will not be disturbed, where they won’t have anyone passing by randomly. Then place the bowls where your dog can have a solid object behind them, such as a wall or a door

This way, they can eat and drink in peace without wondering what we will creep up behind them

Remember, if a street dog doesn’t feel 1000000% safe, they will not do it. Survival and all that

05/09/2024

I apologise for the lack of activity on here! I’m frequently posting on Instagram, which you can find here ⬇️

https://www.instagram.com/crazedogtraining?igsh=MWs1bWc1ejU4bW9lcg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

I’ll do my best to keep this page as updated as my Instagram 🫡

4,398 Followers, 700 Following, 172 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Toby Craze | Certified Dog Trainer ()

05/09/2024

You’ve got to the stage where you’re dog is semi-comfortable with a visitor, but now they are stuck in one place 😅

We can break this down, take it step by step, and help our dogs to overcome this

A lead should be attached for safety and loosely held at a distance where your dog cannot reach the visitor. Think worst case scenario prevention

Announcing your movements is KEY. Softly narrating what you are about to do can prep your dog for what comes next, rather than catching them off guard

We took it through the levels:

Complete distraction > marking and rewarding the end of the human behaviour (could have done this at the start of the human behaviour depending on reactivity level) > marking and rewarding for disengaging from the human moving

The next would be to fade out training and announcing completely once our dog was totally comfortable with the human (through non-pressure meetings, shared positive experiences, and patience)

We could have broken this down even more with less sudden movements, more distance, etc etc.. if you’re struggling, thinly slice the steps even more. Too easy is better than risking it

Through this method we create a new chain of events for our dog to expect. Starting with an environmental cue. Human getting up and down = reward is coming. Which in turn gives our dog an alternative to barking and lunging, and creates a positive association with the human moving about. Winner

Do not try this without a certified professional’s guidance if you have a dog that can show aggression towards people at home!

07/08/2024

Back on Wednesday 14th August!

Clocking out to get loose at Boomtown 🎪🍾

Any WhatsApps, DMs, emails etc., will be replied to then

Have a good one everyone, catch you on the other side 🫡

06/08/2024

Were you told the 3, 3, 3 rule when you adopted your dog?

I’ve handled over a hundred successful adoptions for foreign rescues, and not once did I tell this rule to an adopter. Just like with my behaviour clients, I’ll never use timeframes as a goal

You just cannot put a time on something that is as delicate as a dog settling into a new home. If you moved to another country, or if you moved into a home with a totally new family, could you safety bet that you would be totally settled in a really specific amount of time?

I get the sentiment behind it, but it does more harm than good

So, scrap the 3, 3, 3 rule. Take each day as it comes, create a safe place for your dog to call home, meet their needs, and enjoy the process 🙌

31/07/2024

The one and only Tomas! 🏆

What a journey it’s been. From the house split in two, to face licks, walks, and warm greetings every morning

A collection of small wins gradually increasing over time. Combined with absolute 10000000% commitment from Nicky and Roger; checked in with me daily with videos and updates, followed everything to the point, and developed their own skillset to progress Tomas themselves. They totally deserved this huge outcome. Even when things seemed standstill at times, they trusted the process and now they can start really enjoying life as a family, and Rog can start heading into the ‘positive credit’ area in his relationship with Tomas

Some of you reading this may be in a similar situation with your foreign rescue. We’ll probably never know what triggered Tomas’ severe reactions to Rog. But Tomas is a perfect example that a relationship doesn’t need to stay that way, it can regrow with time, consistency, and most importantly KINDNESS. By also covering all bases, such as the medical side which the amazing got sorted for us (I cannot recommend Grace enough!)

But it doesn’t end there! We are now expanding Tomas’ world bringing in more trusted people to his inner circle. As well as working towards car journeys and making some new dog friends

For anyone struggling with their own dog who may be showing this behaviour to members of the home or visitors, just know the help is out there. You can always book in a free, no commitment discovery call tobounce things off me and to see how I could help 😁

30/07/2024

What are the quadrants anyway?

Are you confused by seeing R+, P+, P-, R- on social media? I’m here to save the day

I got a lot of positive feedback on my weekly email (link in bio) where I explained what the quadrants mean, so I decided to bless you all with it in video format

Also, this took me forever to edit the footage into a six minute clip, so do me a favour and share it about

Enjoy!

27/07/2024

What is ‘meeting their needs’?

You will see this thrown about on social media a lot, and you may be confused as to what that means for your dog

Every dog is an individual. And with that individuality, comes a unique set of needs for your dog (aside from the necessity needs that keep every animal alive, very dog has them and they need to be met)

Your dog will have things that they like to do and get out of their system to feel ‘fulfilled’. When your dog is fulfilled, you will in general have a dog that is less likely to perform what we deem as ‘problem’ behaviours (although, some problem behaviours are actually just normal behaviours, they just don’t suit us. It’s confusing I know)

You want an example? Okay, in these clips you have Amber. Amber lives in a rescue kennel, therefore physical and mental exercise (a need) that involves a lot of movement and a lot of sniffing, is something she inevitably will have less of (as well as other things that are associated with kennel life, but let’s not complicate this any further).

So, expecting her to walk on a loose lead first thing in the morning is out of the question. In fact I would call myself a total idiot for expecting that to happen. Why? Because she hasn’t had her physical (and mental) needs met

But, after a longline walk somewhere that is rich with scent and has plenty of room to runaround in, upon returning to the place she originally pulled like a train in, she walks like a dream on the shorter lead. Her needs were met, therefore she receptive to training and overall is more relaxed

Some of you may have gun dogs or herding breeds for example. And you may wonder why you can’t get their attention; have a look into what those breeds were bred to do, ask yourself, are you finding a way to replicate those jobs to meet their needs? If not, get that ticked off, rather than trying to get engagement from training alone

25/07/2024

I love the outside the box thinking when it comes to Rommies

We think something happened to Enno in transit to the UK paired with his skittish nature and natural skepticism of the unknown. This is certainly not uncommon to come across in our foreign rescues

Standard methods are not feasible for this guy. The pressure is too much and he’ll withdraw and shutdown. So we needed to get creative in working training into the things he enjoys

As he can’t go for walks just yet, we bring the outside to him! Free work with outdoor objects and a chew on a good fresh stick are his favourite things to do. We cheekily throw a bit of collar introduction into that so that Enno doesn’t even know he’s training, which is what suits him individually. Sticks for rewards at his most excited, and leaving the collar around his free work setups

We’ve just started this, but we can already see he’s much more into this style. If we just present him the collar he runs off and avoids, but in this context he is quite inquisitive!

It’s a long journey ahead for Enno, but the more we work at his pace, the small wins will all add up 💪🏼

Foreign rescues are different, we can’t deny it. If you’re struggling, shoot me a DM, even just to get things out into the open to start a conversation

24/07/2024

Treat and retreat

Top class game. Can’t get much simpler than throwing food away from you

I pretty much do this with every dog I meet regardless of their circumstance; I like the dog to tell me they are ready to be fed from my hand rather than me accidentally coerce them into it

You can see the power of it in this video. Tomas is voluntarily edging closer to Lauren because she’s not trying to get him closer. It’s his choice, and his confidence is rewarded further by Lauren providing him with the option to retreat back into his safe zone

To anyone dog parents or professionals that aren’t using treat and retreat when introducing dogs to new people, get on this right away, I guarantee you will see a positive impact on your dog and the relationships they grow with people

Especially great for our foreign rescues!