Bonny Dog Behaviour

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Bonny Dog Behaviour

Bethany specialises in aggression cases - with a particular emphasis on dog to dog issues. She has a And I absolutely love my job! I can help change that!
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My name is Bethany and I own Bonny Dog Behaviour �

I am a behaviourist and specialise in bull breeds, aggression cases and rescue dogs. Having worked professionally with dogs for 10 years I have a wealth of experience with dogs who have challenging behaviour, predominantly working with rescue dogs to ensure safe re-homing. I have also worked with service dogs, including work experience with the M

etropolitan Police. As well as having received referrals from vets across the country. As much as I love dogs and I REALLY love dogs! I also love people and working to help change the lives of dog owners. The love that owners have for their dogs mean that when issues arise, this can have a severe impact on their day to day lives. I have worked with owners of over enthusiastic dogs who can run up to everyone and every dog in the park to feel more in control! I have worked with owners of dogs who are displaying aggressive behaviour, to give them the ability to invite family and friends to their homes without fear! Something I love to work with is a dog who displays aggressive behaviour towards other dogs - this is the air that I breathe! I have been able to help countless owners of aggressive or reactive dogs enjoy their walks again! I really look forwards to hearing from you and helping you and your lovely dogs! You can find all information about myself and my services at www.bonnydogbehaviour.com

12/11/2023

Please share lovely Leo.

Leo is a special boy who has had a terrible start in life.

He has some physical disabilities as a result of that terrible start, such as poor eyesight, but he was signed over to who have been looking after him and will continue to fund all his vet care for life!

He's a lucky boy to be looked after by The Ralph, and he is very loved in kennels, but he is desperately looking for a loving home.

Leo LOVES people, but is not so fond of other dogs and will need a secure garden and quiet walking areas.

If you are interested in rehoming Leo, or know someone who is, then please email [email protected] 🥰

If you can't have Leo, please SHARE him far and wide to help him find his people.

30/10/2023

✨️MEET THE TEAM✨️

Heyyyy,

We are the Trainer/Behaviourists behind and Bonny Dog Behaviour. Pictured is us getting lost in the New Forest together this weekend!

A little about us:

Bethany founded Bonny Dog Behaviour in 2017 and has gone from strength to strength ever since! She started her career in 2012 at Battersea, before going self-employed and also working as an expert witness in cases where dogs are seized under the Dangerous Dogs Act. Bethany specialises in bull breeds and rescue dogs and is a Senior Behaviourist for the UKs largest dog rescue. She holds a BSc in Canine Behaviour and has big academic plans which will soon be revealed...

Libbi became qualified in dog training and behaviour in 2022 in an effort to better understand her own dog who was challenging to say the least! After qualifying with various professional bodies she began volunteering alongside her corporate job to gain more hands on experience. In early 2023 she gave up her corporate role to pursue dog training and behaviour full time and has worked alongside Bethany for 6 months. Most of her work comes through word of mouth referrals as a result of the positive outcomes she achieves for dogs and their owners! She is currently studying a new qualification with The School of Canine Science. She also assists the leading expert witness in the UK with her assessments on dogs seized under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

25/10/2023

💫 COMPETING MOTIVATORS 💫

I had the pleasure of meeting the lovely Ash this week! Ash is a 2 year old XL Bully and yet another fantastic example of the ‘breed’ with a lovely temperament. Super friendly with people and dogs, very responsive to his owners inside the home, but just lacking some engagement out on walks which is making his loose lead walking and recall training a bit tricky to master!

Ash had unfettered access to playing with other dogs and saying hello to people as a puppy and now that he’s a bit older (and bigger and stronger!) his owners have realised that he values doing this on walks more than anything else.

What makes their training particularly difficult is Ash’s reluctance to accept treats on walks and lack of interest in cooperative play with his owners (despite the fact he enjoys both these things indoors!). Ash will play with a tennis ball on his own on walks but this play doesn’t involve his owner and he will also lose interest in the ball very quickly if the chance of playing with another dog is on offer!

Essentially, his owners are battling with lots of external motivators and don’t have anything to offer Ash that competes with the value of these things! This also makes it difficult to reward him when he makes good choices.

We had our first session yesterday and today I received a lovely update from his owners saying they managed to keep Ash’s attention on his morning walk: ‘even this was a success for us…this is a first for me so thank you…we’ll keep working!’

Nothing better than working with committed owners who are eager to embark on the training journey with their dog and receiving updates like this within 24 hours 🤭🥰

If you’re struggling to hold your dog’s attention on walks and trying (and failing!) to compete with the environment, get in touch using the link in our bio 📧

10/10/2023

💫 XL BULLY TRAINING CLUB 💫

How lovely is this? 🥰

One of our members created this montage of all the dogs owned by those in our XL Bully Training Club 🥹

To join the free training club follow the link in our bio 🔗

03/10/2023

💫 FUNCTIONAL REWARDS / PRE MACK💫

Do you have a release cue that tells your dog they’re free to break position / behaviour?

Did you know that your release cue can actually BECOME the reward for the behaviour and strengthen the behaviour you want to see more of?

The ‘premack principle’ is a simple but powerful way to train your dog. It states that what the dog wants to do can be used to reinforce what you want the dog to do. In other words, you can reward the dog by giving them access to do what they want after they do something that you want.

In human terms this is a bit like ‘eat your vegetables and then you can have dessert’!

Think about what your dog actually wants in the moment that you ask them to do something for you. What would be the most reinforcing thing you can offer them as a reward? It certainly isn’t always food or toys! A functional reward teaches and maintains behaviours by giving the dog a reward that they are seeking at that moment.

A few examples below of how you can use your release cue and functional rewards to reinforce behaviour you want from your dog.

💖 Your dog loves to sniff and you want them to walk on a loose lead. Could your ‘reward’ for a short period of loose lead walking be a ‘release’ them to go and sniff?
💖 Your dog loves to dive into any body of water they see but it’s not always appropriate. Could your reward for recall be occasionally releasing your dog to go swimming?
💖 Your dog loves to chase birds but sometimes this could be dangerous. Could your reward for recall be occasionally releasing them to chase birds where safe to do so?
💖 Your dog loves to greet visitors but you don’t want your dog to charge at your guests as soon as they arrive. Could your reward for waiting calmly on their place mat be releasing them to say hi to your guests?

If you’re struggling with any aspect of your dog’s training or behaviour, use the contact form in our bio to get in touch! We work with whatever your dog finds rewarding to instil the behaviours that you want to see more of 😊

01/10/2023

Barbie knows...

17/09/2023

Devastated to share that I had to say goodbye to my girl Colours on Friday.

She was the kindest, funniest dog I've ever met. I'm completely heartbroken and miss her beyond words.

When I rescued her I was told that she may not live beyond 3 weeks due to severe neglect and masses, yet we had 3 wonderful years together.

I loved her from the second I saw her.

I'm so grateful to for taking such good care of her (and me) and being so supportive.

12/09/2023

💫 WELCOME! 💫

🐾 Floki - American Bulldog x Staffy

Floki is quite insecure and pessimistic in nature. We are working with his owner to resolve resource guarding in their multi dog household, unpredictable reactivity to dogs, and separation anxiety. There is often a high comorbidity between behaviour struggles because they are being driven by something underlying. We will be changing Floki’s diet, liaising with his vet re potential health issues and behavioural meds, getting his general confidence up and putting some predictable routines around food in place. After that we will embark on a behaviour plan to address the dog reactivity and separation anxiety!

🐾 Georgie - Daschund

Found as a stray by a local dog walker and landed on his feet with his new owners + older Daxie brother! Georgie is displaying some anxious behaviours at home, particularly with males within the home and visitors. We are working closely with Georgie’s owners to rule out health issues, have tweaked his diet and are now introducing ‘place’ training to give him a safe, rewarding place he can retreat to and calmly observe human movements from!

🐾 Moose - German Shepherd

Moose already has a good level of obedience but isn’t keen on strange dogs invading his space so we will be working with his owner to strengthen some alternative, incompatible behaviours to fall back on during these encounters (sadly we can’t control other people’s dogs - only our own!)

🐾 Ragnar - Cocker Spaniel

Ragnar had a difficult start to life after eating a poisonous plant and becoming gravely ill - this has affected his socialisation and the usual puppy training, so we will be going right back to basics to grow his confidence, build a strong relationship with his owner and develop his engagement and recall on walks so that we can get him off lead living his best life! We will also be carefully managing his interactions with dogs as he has shown some anxiety out on walks, and looking at other forms of enrichment, including breed specific outlets.

01/09/2023

💫 Noise Reactivity / Sensitivity / Phobia 💫

These can be challenging to work through as noises are happening all the time, inside and outside the home, and often are completely out of our control when they do occur. Unlike dog or human reactivity, controlled set ups with noises are much hard to engineer.

BUT with the right strategies, contingencies and management in place, IT IS possible to significantly improve how a dog feels about, and therefore how they respond to, noises 💖
_______________________

It was amazing to hear from Otter the Labrador’s owners yesterday about how much progress she has made in 8 short weeks following the bespoke plan put together for her.

The work her owners have done has even translated to improvements in other areas of Otter’s life. She is getting more good quality sleep, is calmer around the house, and has grown in confidence and optimism in completely unrelated situations. Last week she ran down the beach and straight into the sea which was unheard of before! Apparently her new carefree attitude has also meant she is a little more mischievous though 🤭

This was all achieved through an online behaviour programme, so even if you’re not close by, get in touch via the link in our bio if you are struggling with any aspect of your dog’s behaviour 📧

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+447983400317

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www.bonnydogbehaviour.com

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Videos

Does your Bull Breed get vocal in play? 📢

Episode 7 of The Bull Breed Podcast

Dear Reactive Dog Owners…

Milo - Bonny Dog Behaviour

WhatsApp Video& at 19.50.03

WhatsApp Video at 18.24.39

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Full member of the IMDT (Institute of Modern Dog Trainers). Full member of Pet Professional Guild. Undergoing 12 month mentorship with head of IMDT Behaviour (2018). Animal Management FdSc with Kingston University. Over 5 years experience at Battersea Dog's Home. I have 2 Staffordshire Bull Terriers and a Border Collie. 07983400317