Devon Dog Training

25/06/2025

Well said Jamie.

17/06/2025

Dog training 101: Be smarter than the dog. 😉

When it comes to red light behaviors — meaning behaviors you simply want to stop and don’t want them to occur ever again — contrary to popular fairytales, the only true solution is to share an extremely firm consequence with the dog whilst they’re engaged in the unwanted behavior.

The problem is, even if an owner is playing by the reality handbook and is willing to share valuable consequences for the unwanted behavior, they almost always make a critical mistake that causes the behavior to not occur… under certain circumstances… but continue to occur in other circumstances.

This is because most owners don’t realize that if they correct the behavior when they’re present, the dog will simply not engage in it when you’re there — but as soon as you leave, it’s game on.

The dog quickly figured out that the consequence only occurs when you’re present, and never when you’re not. So this is an easy win for the determined dog.

If you’d like to actually solve this problem and stop the behavior from occurring — even when you’re not present, the answer is a simple one: correct the behavior when you’re not present.

This is almost always best achieved via an e-collar and a camera, or an e-collar and a window that gives you the ability to see the dog and they to not see you. Simply set up the scenario to where your dog thinks you’ve actually departed, and then it’s battle stations time!

And once the dog goes to engage in the behavior, it’s time for the “Act of God” correction. You should be at a very high level and you should hold the button for 3-5 seconds. It won’t be pretty, and you should hate every moment of it. But if done correctly, it will not only stop the annoying behaviors, but it might just save your dog’s life with the ones where they can ingest something that causes an obstruction or something that could poison them.

14/06/2025

BAD TOUPEES AND IN**ST

If you breed dogs that look like bad toupees, and wonder why people are laughing, then you’re clearly not in on the joke that you created.

For those wondering, that’s Donald Trump (who has publicly lusted after his own daughter) with Malachy, the dog that is the Grandfather, Great Grandfather, and Great Great Grandfather of the 2012 Westminster Dog Show winner.

That’s a *LOT* of inbreeding!

14/06/2025

This is fascinating.

13/06/2025

If you want a dog trainer to tell you what you want to hear, you’ll end up with the dog you’ve already got.

The dog trainer you want, is the one who will have the difficult conversations with you, highlighting things that you are doing wrong and making you feel uncomfortable.

They should also give you tools, mechanisms to change the situation, encouragement and support.

It’s a tough call, paying to be made to feel uncomfortable, but that’s how you end up with the dog you want.

13/06/2025

Few words are getting as much usage and wildly varying interpretations in the current training world.

Whether it’s the PP/FF folks (using it as an incompatible behavior/distraction/bribe to avoid using corrections), or the balanced trainers (many doing precisely the same as the PP/FF, but also looking to impress the cool kids in their training peer groups) , everyone is super keen on talking about the power and value of engagement.

And then there’s countless other interpretations of engagement I see trainers applying that are actually far more healthy and natural.

So a lot of this is a definitional and catchword issue, and in other instances it’s just incompetent training or trainers fishing for market share or peer love.

As I stated in the graphic, I’m not at all interested in my dog (or my client’s dogs) being in some obsessive, fixated, edgy, anxious, unnatural anticipatory “engagement” state where they’re constantly staring at the handler and constantly awaiting input about what’s next.

If you’re working with pet dogs and this sounds good to you for the dog and the client… I honestly don’t get the disconnect from the observable reality you’re creating, but hey, you do you.

For me, this is the engagement I want: I want a dog who is relaxed, comfortable, natural. I want the dog to be aware of me, and to be 100% responsive to me (when needed — no matter what’s happening in the environment), but to also be able to simply be a dog and enjoy their world without this wildly unnecessary handler fixation.

The thing is, with proper training, you CAN have a dog who isn’t staring at, or every 2 seconds checking in with you — and still have a dog who is 100% reliable, tuned-in, responsive, and not engaging in problem behaviors.

I never teach “look”, or “watch”, or to heel while looking at me — and we tackle the highest degree of reactivity on the regular. I also don’t teach the dog to be in a sit or down or place and be biting their nails awaiting the next command — and yet they’re perfectly responsive. I also don’t teach off-leash dogs they have circle back and check-in every 5 seconds — and yet these dogs recall off of any distraction on a dime every time.

I’m not trying to start a beef with the majority of the training community, I’m simply offering another opinion in regards to what might be best for pet dogs. If you’re working on more complex stuff for fun, sport, or even competition, then that’s a whole ‘nother conversation. But unfortunately, we’ve taken things that work exceptionally well for certain purposes and forced them onto regular owners with regular dogs — neither of which are served by this stuff.

So many complain about not wanting “robot” dogs, and yet so many in all the different camps of training (for all the varied reasons listed above) are doing precisely that to pet dogs. They’re removing the magic of a healthy, connected, natural co-existence, and the joy of letting dogs be dogs (the joy for both species), and creating these unnatural, edgy, anxious dogs who might look good in a superficial performative fashion, but who mentally are the furthest thing from good.

03/06/2025

The sheer number of amazingly well trained dogs, walking around like they don’t know anything, is astounding. 🤣

If only this dog training thing could be successfully outsourced and one could spend the money, put in the minimal time to check the box, and count on the work that some expert shared with your dog and yourself…and all the great stuff would last.

There’s reasons well-trained dogs backslide, and past issues come sneaking back in: you’re not skilled enough, knowledgeable enough, haven’t done the necessary emotional work enough… and most common, you’re not disciplined enough.

Regardless of the money spent, your dog will only be as good as you are. YOU have to become the equal to that which you desire. What are your goals? What are the issues you’re facing? What level of skill/personal transformation/sacrifice are required for you to achieve those goals and overcome those obstacles? And are you willing to put in that time and make those sacrifices a daily thing? If not, no complaining about your dog backsliding—only one of you is responsible for the “sliding” around here. 😉

Time to get to work, and time to own up. No complaining about the results you didn’t get from the work you didn’t do.

As Winston Churchill famously said, “A well-trained dog is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

03/06/2025

A gentle reminder, and even “just for a few minutes…” isn’t acceptable.

03/06/2025

Dream Days! - None of us would easily admit to having a favourite child, but with dog breeds it’s a little easier. I am so lucky to work with so many fabulous types of dogs, and while ‘Gun Dogs’ is my sub-set, Weimeraner is my personal ‘Of choice’! Willow is 22 months old and is already a wonderful dog. Her owners just wanted to change a couple of habits, and unlock a fabulous dog. With the tools I’ve given them and ongoing support, they are already well on the way to achieving their goal. If you’d like help unlocking the next level with your dogs, get in touch. 07899 872826

21/05/2025

I’m so pleased to share this, means that I’m not always the bearer of the bad news.

Why not?

Because the answer will undoubtedly require an enormous increase in mental and physical effort.

Because the answer will undoubtedly require you to adjust many of your comfortable and enjoyed lifestyle patterns and behavior.

Because the answer will undoubtedly require you to prioritize the well-being of your dog over your own emotional payoffs.

Because the answer will undoubtedly require you to embrace interactions which are less comfortable and self-rewarding than you would prefer.

Because the answer will undoubtedly require you to become—to some degree— a different, and improved person.

If you don’t mind the answer, you’ve got no problems getting things sorted. :)

20/05/2025

Enough said.

THE DEVOLUTION OF DOGS AND THE RISE OF
SYMBIOTIC PARASITES WHO TRAIN PEOPLE

Man's intervention has actually devolved the wolf from a self-sustaining animal that can take care of itself, to a dependent infantalized parasite that can barely function without human assistance.

And that, it turns out, has been key to its success.

In the modern world, being a parasite to humans — and eating down the food chain as a result — is actually more adaptive than living a free and independent life.

Which, perhaps, is not that surprising.

There are more bacteria in your stomach than there are lions in all the world.

Big fierce animals are always rare, while grazers that live down the food chain are always more common, and parasites are the most common of all.

The dog has evolved with humans, same as corn, apples, potatoes, insects, cows, and chickens.

Have we domesticated the dog, or has it domesticated us?.

If our friends pi**ed and crapped in the house, yelled at us early in the morning, stole our food, hu**ed our leg, ate their own vomit and crap, and then tried to kiss us on the mouth, we would brick them in the head in short order.

But when it's the dogs we pay good money, take good care of them, and chose our houses to suit their needs.

And is it any different in the field?

We plant apple trees, potatoes and corn with care, protect them from insects, fungus and predation by deer. We fertilize them, water them, and trim them as needed.

We build houses for our cows and horses, feed them, water them, and supply them with antibiotics.

Ditto for sheep, chickens, and pigs.

And as a consequence there are more of these animals under domestication than there are in the wild.

“Survival of the fittest”. That was Darwin's ‘Deus ex machina”.

But it turns out that “the fittest" animals and plants are the ones that are symbiotic with humans.

We think we control the show, but who is training whom here?

Is the most subtle trick the dog has to offer the fact that we humans are the ones being trained?

Darwin, where are you now that I need you? I have questions.