Walkies Dog Behaviour & Training

09/11/2024

Molly & Polly ❤️

So lovely to catch up with these beauties in their new home this week!

Great to see them settling in so well with their new family 🫶🏻

08/11/2024

Finn 😍

A great session working on loose lead walking skills with this handsome young Springer, Finn 🥰

https://WalkiesDogTraining.as.me/1-1

03/11/2024

Perfect Peggy 🩷

01/11/2024

Brodie 😍

Beautiful Brodie was in rescue with RSPCA West Norfolk until he landed himself a wonderful home 🥰 He has settled in beautifully and his new family are keen to help him learn new skills ☺️

Here’s Brodie learning ‘paws up!’ 👌



https://www.walkiesdogbehaviourandtraining.co.uk/https/walkiesdogtrainingasme

01/11/2024

Happy Friday 🤩

Otis was in rescue with RSPCA West Norfolk before landing firmly on his feet in his fantastic new home ❤️‍🩹

Otis can get easily frustrated on lead around other dogs. Otis is enjoying ACE Free Work and we are using that as a framework to support him. Otis has quickly mastered pattern games to help him when he sees other dogs and we are starting to introduce new layers to support his learning. Looking forward to seeing his progress (and his happy face!) next week ☺️

25/10/2024

Finn 😍

A fun start to Friday with a family session geared to getting the children safely involved in learning about dogs and having fun 🎉

ACE Free Work is a great activity for dogs and one the children can easily get involved with! Isabelle (6) and Thomas (8) enjoyed hiding treats in the snuffle mats for Finn to find and we chatted about how they could plan Free Work sessions for Finn at home.

We then had some fun with recall, hide and seek and learning about safety around dogs 🐶

Everyone looked pretty worn out by the end but we had fun 🤩

If you would like to get the younger member of the family involved, I am a Kids Around Dogs Approved Professional. You can find out more about KAD here:

https://kidsarounddogs.co.uk/

25/10/2024

Jess 😍

A few sessions in and this little superstar has passed the Canine Hoopers World Level One Award 🤩

Congratulations 🥳

24/10/2024

Congratulations to Finn & Sam for passing the Canine Hoopers World Level 5 Award today 🤩

23/10/2024

Nala 😍

A great first session working on calmness around other dogs on lead. Nala can be a bit eager to meet other dogs so we are working on fun and rewarding training to support her learning new skills.

Nala is such a beautiful dog with a wonderful temperament 🫶🏻

22/10/2024

Doug would like to introduce our latest addition Peggy ❤️

Peggy was so sad in rescue and fits perfectly into our family. We are now officially outnumbered by dogs but delighted to welcome sweet Peggy home ❤️‍🩹

22/10/2024

Louis 😍

It was lovely to visit Louis in his new home last week! Louis spent a little time here in foster care with us transitioning when he was returned to rescue by his previous home.

Louis is settling in well with his new family although they needed some support for when Louis pinches things (as he likes to do!)

If you would like support with your dog, please get in touch. If you adopted from RSPCA West Norfolk, please get in touch via the link below as you may be eligible for funded support 🫶🏻

https://www.walkiesdogbehaviourandtraining.co.uk/rspca-west-norfolk-dogs

21/10/2024

It was so lovely to meet one of the puppies I first met in rescue with RSPCA West Norfolk earlier this year - Vinnie 😍

We started out working on teaching Vinnie games so that he can learn to give up items he pinches without conflict. He is a bright pup who enjoys learning so he soon got the hang of things 🤩

I am looking forward to seeing Vinnie’s progress next session 🥰

https://www.walkiesdogbehaviourandtraining.co.uk/rspca-west-norfolk-dogs

18/10/2024

Jake ❤️

A great 1-1 session with beautiful rescue Labrador Jake, who has made such great progress 🫶🏻 Jake is lucky to be well supported in his new home alongside fellow adoptee Eddie.

These boys have landed on their feet for sure 🥰

https://www.walkiesdogbehaviourandtraining.co.uk/

18/10/2024

Otis ❤️

It was great to see Otis today who I first met when he was in rescue. This handsome, clever bundle of fun is doing so well in his new home 🫶🏻

15/10/2024

Arlo ❤️

What a long way this beautiful dog has come. His humans understand him better now too 🫶🏻 Look at that face 🥰

If you would like support with your dog’s behaviour please get in touch:

https://www.walkiesdogbehaviourandtraining.co.uk/

25/09/2024

Congratulations to Daisy, Bailey, Rosie & Billy for completing the Puppy Life Skills Course 🤩

What a super class 🫶🏻 Can’t wait to see you on the Terrific Teens course next month 🎉

https://www.walkiesdogbehaviourandtraining.co.uk/puppy-program-bookings

23/09/2024

A great start to the week with Bandit 🤩

Bandit loves to forage for fallen fruit but over the last few weeks his family have learned not to rush to take things off him as he becomes more determined to keep the item and his body language suggests he is willing to escalate. We want to diffuse the situation and as Bandit is very selective about what he chooses to consume, we felt it safe enough to simply acknowledge him finding fallen fruit but not take it away.

Almost immediately Bandit started to pick up less fruit, the majority of it he just started to tuck away into a hedge instead of consuming it. A few weeks on and Bandit rarely visits the compost heap, usually drops and leaves fallen fruit, apart from an occasional pear which everyone is content for him to enjoy 🍐

We are now working on fun games so that Bandit will happily give up other items that he cannot have. Taking the heat out of things was a good place to start with this clever little Lancashire Heeler 😆 Bandit is loving learning and it’s great to see mutual understanding growing between him and his family 🫶🏻

* Always seek veterinary support if you see changes in your dogs behaviour to rule out any underlying medical issues *



https://www.walkiesdogbehaviourandtraining.co.uk/https/walkiesdogtrainingasme

21/09/2024

Great post from Trailie Paws For Thought 🫶🏻

FLOOD WARNING!

For those of you who may not have come across it before, “flooding” is the term used in dog training for fully exposing our dogs to the things which frighten them. It is throwing them in at the deep end so that they “face their fear” and will hopefully just "get over it". Whether or not the act of flooding is actually intended, it can still occur. It may be used deliberately with the aim of suppressing certain behaviours, or it may happen accidentally, with the best of intentions in trying to help the dog.

Despite the common belief that this approach will result in habituation (the dog becomes used to something over time), repeated over-exposure will not help a dog become comfortable with something they fear. In fact, it is more likely that he will sensitise to it further, reacting increasingly to a specific stimulus and becoming *more* fearful. By removing his ability to escape, he will either shut down emotionally, or he will opt for the fight response in desperation.

Flooding is a technique which is sometimes used in human exposure therapy to help overcome fears, a practice for which the patient gives their consent, fully understanding what is involved. However, when applied to dogs, who cannot give consent, and have no understanding or rationale regarding the process, it becomes unethical.

To avoid flooding, the dog should always be given the choice to move away from a trigger and have a clear escape route to help him feel safe. Exposure should always be very carefully managed and controlled at a neutral level, which will allow him to think clearly enough to process the situation and facilitate learning.

Sadly, flooding often appears to be effective to those unfamiliar with canine body language. The behaviour may disappear, albeit temporarily, but the dog will still feel the same way about that trigger, and worse, undoubtedly. He will have learned that, when he feels scared, the people he should be able to trust are going to ignore his attempts at asking for help, leaving him to flounder in the deep end, so to speak. He will learn that his feelings and communications don't matter, which leads to emotional shutdown and Learned Helplessness.

Flooding only serves to suppress the emotions driving the behaviour, and it is just a matter of time before the fallout of these actions becomes apparent. This type of "training" will result in irreparable damage to the bond we share with our dogs, as well as to their physical and psychological well-being.

Management is a major component of helping our dogs to feel safe. They need time to decompress, so protection from exposure to triggers when not training is vital. Management could mean cutting out walks completely for a while, or changing routes to avoid triggering situations, using child safety gates as barriers at home, having a choice of bunkers/safe spaces to prevent access to triggers, putting up window film to reduce access to visual triggers, using household appliances to mask other sounds, and so on.

Fear needs to be addressed carefully, ideally with a knowledgeable and skilled qualified professional on board. A thorough veterinary check is always warranted, in order to check for anything medical which may be contributing to fearful behaviours, and to ensure any necessary medication is given time to take effect before attempting to modify behaviour.

We must avoid "throwing our dogs in at the deep end" at all costs, because the most likely outcome is that they will sink, rather than swim.

For information on ethical behaviour modification and addressing fear by changing emotional responses with positive reinforcement, why not check out my blog:

https://www.trailiepawsforthought.com/post/part-one-a-guide-to-counterconditioning-it-s-both-magic-and-science

Spotting the signs of stress:

https://www.trailiepawsforthought.com/post/the-science-of-stress-part-two-spotting-the-signs

Tips on management:

https://www.trailiepawsforthought.com/post/management-matters

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www.trailiepawsforthought.com

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