Mad4Mutts

26/06/2025

The pups and their friend Amos enjoying blackberries nearly 3 years ago. That went quick!

25/06/2025

On our last post we talked about the effectiveness of leadership and confidence. We worked with Luna around a month ago as she was very shy around other dogs and would hide behind Mum’s legs to avoid them. At the time Mum felt she was anxious and was concerned about her fearfulness. We’re thrilled to say that Luna is now living her best life, doing wonderfully with walking on lead nicely, her recall is on point and she happily plays with other dogs. What made the difference? Confident leadership makes confident dogs. Huge congratulations to Sonia Luna’s Mum. Great job and well done for all your hard work.

24/06/2025

Are you a leader or a carer?
This is my Buddy. He's a wonderful dog, he loves routine and structure, and he gets it and that's why he's a wonderful dog. After working with thousands of dogs of all shapes and sizes over the years, we see patterns and one of the biggest is how us humans can slip into “carer” mode rather than leader and decision maker. In my opinion, and my day to day experience as a trainer is that many problem behaviours stem from a lack of leadership, or in other words, failing to provide guidance, structure, or direction and good decision making for the dog. Is this because we are sold the lie that any correction is bad for the dog? Damages your relationship with the dog? Shuts the dog down? I don't buy that, and my experience with some of the most difficult dogs doesn't bear that out. Dogs are amazingly resilient we just pass our own insecurities on to them through wrapping them in cotton wool and constantly telling them, "there there, it's ok" This doesn't inspire confidence.
You can humanise your dog as much as you like, but it’s still a pack animal—hardwired to function within a cooperative social structure.
If the owner abdicates the leadership role, the dog will step into it, even though its uncomfortable doing so.
Poor leadership from the human creates a frightening space for a dog. And a miserable place to be. In my view being a "carer" just makes things worse.
When working with a troubled dog, I always begin with consistent routine, expectations, clear communication, and boundary setting. Many owners resist this approach because they are uncomfortable with it (even though the dog isn't) but once consistent leadership is on the table, with fairness and firmness you can physically see the dog in front of you relax because the burden of being the decision maker has come off their shoulders.
Dogs thrive in structure, and in an environment where the rules and boundaries are clear. We create a space where they can hand all the stress of decision making to their human and when they do, everything changes. My view is that allowing minor indiscretions creates the major behavioural problems, in other words you get what you allow, but you must lead fairly, clearly, positively. We all love our dogs, but if you truly do, you must be willing to love them by leading them.

23/06/2025

Olive is the sweetest pup you will ever meet. So much so that she wants to share the love with every person and puppy she sees, and will pull excitedly toward anyone and everyone to say hello. Olive thinks that all doggo's and people are super friendly, just like her so to keep Olive safe from running up and greeting the wrong dog, (or human) we are working on helping her become neutral and control her impulsiveness in the presence of the things that excite her. Olive has been a model student, and she's making great progress. Well done to Mum & Dad for all the hard work.

18/06/2025

18/06/2025

If you are struggling with your dog's behaviour regardless of the issue, why not join us on one of our live advice calls on our whatsapp chat where you can get answers to your questions from the mad4mutts team in real time. We also have nearly 200 members who help and support each other with their dogs challenging behaviours day to day in our chat and its a very supportive, positive, informative and fun atmosphere. So if you are struggling with your dog, drop in and chat. It's a lot of fun, its totally FREE and we promise we won't bite! Come and join the Mad4mutts family, you'll be glad you did! Please email your name and mobile number to receive the group joining link to [email protected] See you soon!

12/06/2025

Say Hi to hyper reactive Bertie. Bertie is a smashing chap around the home, but when it comes to walkies, he was causing a lot of headaches with his constant barking at other dogs and his pulling on the lead was making walks a chore. We caught up with Bertie for his third session this week, and we are convinced that Bertie's Mum Michala rented a body double because this was definitely not the same dog! Calm, composed and very relaxed on his walks, and no barking! What a transformation! Well done Team Bertie. Just goes to show that consistent hard work pays every time. (Are you sure its the same dog?) 😂😂

11/06/2025

It's not very often we get to work with a TV star but here he is. If you have a reactive dog, you know how difficult life can be, but even more so when your dog is an 80 kilo Great Dane. Sid is the most lovable boy, I really connected with this little horse of a hound because his heart is as big as he is but he has struggled with the presence of unknown dogs, and when he reacts all you could do is hang on for dear life and hope for the best. previously, Sid's owners Mark & Angela consulted various trainers and behaviourists. They even took Sid to Channel 4's Bad Dog Academy which Sid appeared on in mid May without success. Let's just say they didn't show Sid and his family in the best light and a lot of stuff fell on to the cutting room floor which we think would have made even better TV. When we met Sid his owners were just about to give up and accept that life would have to be shaped around Sid's behaviour but fast forward four weeks and it looks like Sid is turning over a new leaf. He's walking much better on the lead, he's being a more well mannered boy around the house, and his reactivity is reducing nicely. The moral of the story is, don't trust everything you see on TV, and never give up on your dog. A solution is out there, you just have to find the right trainer! Well done Sid and family! We are over the moon with your progress!

09/06/2025

Brinley is a super friendly boy but his enthusiasm meant that mum was constantly being pulled along on walks and Brinley isn’t exactly small. He also randomly refused to walk which made walks stressful. This handsome chap has done really well and his lead walking has come on leaps and bounds. Well done Brinley! Top of the class!

09/06/2025

Poppy is a sweet girl in every way, but her extremely submissive nature was causing problems on walks in that she would just shut down roll on her back and refuse to move when even the friendliest of dogs approached her. We've been working on staying on all four feet when she's approached and we're pleased to say that Poppy has a new found confidence and is even actively wanting to say hello to the friendly pups that come her way without going into meltdown. Well done to her owner Connor for all the hard work. A lovely girl, and a lovely transformation.

02/06/2025

This little menace is not happy when strangers come to visit Mum and Dad and she lets everyone know about it. Dottie is also reactive to dogs when out on a walk but she’s showing signs of turning over a new leaf and letting her true sweet soul shine through. Definitely a light at the end of the tunnel and a nice start. We’ll keep you posted on Dotties progress.