Dogology Dogs - Hertfordshire

08/02/2025

Gave me a shock during class!!!

01/02/2025

And now the media has shifted its focus to the Cane Corso…

I know there is a problem.

I don’t know what the answer is.

What I do know, is this….

28/01/2025

Super pleased to announce I've been accepted to become a Professional Partner with Pet Remedy 👏

I met with some of their reps earlier this year and have been really impressed with their products. Their natural calming products can work wonders for reducing pet stress and anxiety ☺️

Check out their amazing products here https://petremedy.co.uk/ref/DOGOLOGY/ and benefit from a 25% discount 🙌💰

22/01/2025

⚠️❗️🛑 ✋❗️✋ 🛑 ❗️⚠️

Before a dog bites, there are plenty of potential warning signs telling you to STOP.

Don’t ignore them.



Edit: these are just examples of how things can escalate, each dog is individual.

It’s also important to note these escalations can happen very quickly. Especially if warning signs have been previously missed and the dog has had to escalate their behaviour, for example when a growl hasn’t worked previously so the dog skips the growl and goes straight for the biting.

21/01/2025

Our first proper moan 😢

We put toys in the field for your dogs to enjoy. We were advised against this as we were told they would be stolen or destroyed, but we trust our lovely Dogology Community.

Unfortunately, when Lesley visited the field on Monday, two toys were destroyed and placed back in the toy box. The broken parts of the toys were left in the field.

We have some issues with this:
- If your dog destroys one toy, why give them another?
- Why leave parts of broken toys in the field, posing a risk to the next visiting dogs?
- Why not tell us? It says in our T&C’s that you won’t be charged but please advise us!

Dogs are dogs, they chew stuff. That’s fine. If your dog happens to damage any of our toys, don't worry - they won't be in trouble (you won’t be charged!). But we kindly request that you inform us.

Looking back at the bookings, I can work out who this was! Next time, please be more considerate.

I will replace these toys in the hope I’m right in trusting people 🤞

21/01/2025

A common misconception is that rewards only mean treats ❌ 🧀

Food is usually an easy motivator because all dogs eat 😂 therefore theoretically all dogs should be motivated by food (but we know stress, type of food, hunger etc. etc. can influence food motivation).

Food rewards are also convenient because they allow for fast and easy positive reinforcement, for instance, I could give 10 food rewards faster than one game of tug.

However, the most effective reward is what your dog enjoys the most. And that is unique to the dog in front of you.

20/01/2025

I needed a pick me up 🥹

17/01/2025

📢 The next settle training session is now open for booking!

🔗 Book here: https://DogologyDogs.as.me/Realworldtrainingsessions

💷 £10 per dog (people are FREE).

📍 At (you will need to order a drink and/or a meal).

🐶 Don’t want to take your dog? No worries! Join us to watch the session or just come for a chat.

🐾 Puppies are welcome! (Please ensure unvaccinated puppies do not go on the floor).

⚠️ Note: Not suitable for reactive dogs.



Hope to see you there!

07/01/2025

*Thought of the Day* 💭🤔

As a society, are we overusing the term “reactive dog”?

Are we labelling dogs as reactive when they are actually exhibiting perfectly normal reactions to their surroundings?

Maybe it’s not the dogs that are the issue, but rather the chaotic environment we expect them to live in, and societal expectations!

05/01/2025

**If I ignore the jumping up, it'll stop, won't it?**

Unfortunately, it's not that simple. When a previously reinforced behaviour is suddenly ignored, it often leads to frustration and an escalation in behaviour.

Let's use a simple door analogy to understand how behaviour is influenced by frustration. Imagine you've been opening your front door with the same key for years without any issues. One day, the key doesn't work because the door has warped, so you start frantically wiggling the key around. Eventually, you find that holding the key at a certain angle unlocks the door. Your frustration caused an escalation in behaviour of wiggling the key, which then got reinforced by the door opening.

This happens a few times and now, even though you'd opened the door the same way for years, your new baseline behaviour is to wiggle the key at a certain angle to open the door. You don't think about it every time you go to the door; your brain chooses the simplest route that works!

Now, think about our dogs that jump up. They start jumping up as puppies with their mother and likely their breeder. This natural behaviour is constantly reinforced.

When the puppy comes to you, you allow jumping up for the first few days/weeks/months and then suddenly decide it's an issue and start ignoring it. The puppy, previously reinforced for jumping up, gets frustrated and tries harder. They jump higher, maybe nip your clothes, or even bark, usually eliciting a (probably unintentional) response from you. Repeat this a few times, and you've made the new baseline behaviour worse because the puppy does what works best!

If you are going to ignore a behaviour, you MUST then teach an alternate desired behaviour. Simply ignoring unwanted behaviour won't make it disappear. You need to work out what behaviour is physically incompatible with the unwanted behaviour, and reinforce that.

Dog trainers refer to this technique as Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible Behaviour (DRI).

03/01/2025

Appearances can be deceiving.

Sometimes, a seemingly well-behaved dog is actually shut down and afraid. Is that the experience you really want for your companion?

03/01/2025

Did you ever have a teacher you couldn’t stand? Now, imagine living with them and feeling that way all the time.

Don’t be that person to your dog. Be the inspiring teacher who boosts confidence, helping your dog thrive under your guidance.

26/12/2024

Merry Christmas to you all! Apologies for the late wishes. We've had a bit of a wonky Christmas here, with the whole family being knocked out by a nasty bug🎄🤢

We will be redoing Christmas next week!

22/12/2024

As we near the end of 2024, I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude for the incredible journey we’re having at Dogology Dogs.

This year, we’ve been fortunate to welcome 359 new clients and manage over 550 bookings!! This figure doesn’t even account for the numerous dog walks with Lesley, the new dog sitting bookings with Katya, and the highly successful seminars we co-hosted with dog-and-bone.co.uk, for hundreds of professionals 🤩

Our dedicated team at Dogology works tirelessly to provide amazing services, always prioritising the happiness and welfare of your dogs, at the same time as educating guardians about reward based effective methods.

I am deeply thankful to every single person who has booked with us. Your trust and support mean the world to us.

Welcome to the Dogology family - it’s an honour to be part of your journey.

As we look forward to the new year, please take a look at our available classes and book quickly, as they are selling out fast.

Thank you for being a part of our community!



And a massive thank you to the teams we work with:
margauxs_hertford
dog-and-bone.co.uk
Max & Min Veterinary Practice
Lucas Veterinary Physiotherapy

10/12/2024

🎅🏻 Get Ready for Tomorrow Night’s Charity Social Session! 🎄

Put your nominations in for tomorrow night’s charity social session! Tag them in the comments below 🐾

We still have 1 dog space available and plenty of social spaces for anyone who wants to join us for a pre-Christmas catch-up🎄✨

We’re also doing a collection, so if you have anything dog related to donate, please bring it along. 🎁❤️



Looking forward to seeing you all there! 😊

***Special Event***
You're invited to the first Dogology Real Life Training Class; the Dogology Dogs Christmas meet-up! 🎄

As this is a trial and it's Christmas, we have decided to run this as a Charity event, so all profits will go to charity.

We would love to see you there, with or without your dog!

*Open to all past Dogology members*

Those attending with dogs will be focusing on teaching your dog to settle whilst you eat.

Those attending without dogs can grab a meal or drink, observe the training, ask us dog related questions and celebrate Christmas with fellow Dogologists.

- *Puppies Welcome*: Unvaccinated pups will be kept off the floor.

- *Managed environment*: All staff will know the training guidelines.

💰 £10 per dog ticket (one dog, one person). £4 per person ticket. All attendees will need a ticket, because this is for charity!

🗓️ 11th December
📍 The Farmers Boy, Brickendon
➡️ https://DogologyDogs.as.me/Realworldtrainingsessions

Important Considerations:
- If your dog won’t enjoy a restaurant, consider their need to be trained there. These sessions are for dogs who'd enjoy the environment but need guidance on behaviour.

This event is *not suitable* for reactive dogs, but future sessions might be tailored to their needs.

06/12/2024

My husband has started calling Niffler ‘Nearly Toothless Niff’. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry 😂😭