Dog and Owner Training

13/04/2024

The relief when the clean up is all over!

13/04/2024

That looks of pure annoyance when the human washes the stink off.

03/04/2024

03/04/2024

I thought I'd lost Hugo today and had a little panic. Lucky for me, Lulu can sniff him out! It seemed he was playing hide and seek without telling us. Have a look at the pictures and spot the dog. One is really difficult, but he is in there (I think).

01/04/2024

I can see the bits we are getting wrong by filming greetings at the door. Though to be fair, these favourite guests hadn't been seen for nearly 2 weeks and had been missed. Happy for the show of joy from Hugo, but the feet need to be on the floor. Lulu is the one making the little joyful squeals. We'll keep working on it.

20/03/2024

Your energy affects your dog's behaviour. Take a deep breath, please.
Hugo demonstrates here how a sudden change of energy can excite and calm.

13/03/2024

Marking behaviour with a clicker or word is now here: https://youtu.be/rKsR6zCNiTs
I use the word YES at the exact moment I get the behaviour I ask for rather than a clicker. But here we test if we can teach Hugo something different.

All I want from a pet, is simple tasks - I don't need amazing tricks - I can teach those later - I want engagement and a happy life together.Not to barge ar...

07/03/2024

I think these two are definitely bonded now. 😍

26/02/2024

Hugo loves Adam more than me.😕 Had to give him his rug in the kitchen to supervise repairs. But of course he had to 'help' instead

21/02/2024

I've seen quite a few puppies lately, very cute - but nipping and biting is a problem for most families; it is something they will grow out of, with some guidance. I've added some puppy videos to my Kids You Tube Channel, but it's good advice for the grown-ups.

Have a space where pup can go to rest. They need it, even if they don't want it. No children allowed.

Leave them in their safe space/crate when you can't supervise and tell the kids to leave them alone. If you have a place for this away from the main rooms, all the better.

Help their teething by making sure they have stuff they can chew on in their safe space and when they are with you.

Don't scold pup, just have them on a short line and gently move them behind a safety gate or into the hall for up to 30 seconds and let them back in (do not use the crate or safe space for this exercise).
Don't speak!

Ask the children to freeze if pup starts nipping, so you can move pup. If they scream, pup gets worse. Older children can swap their hand for a dog toy and make the dog toy more fun.

Pup learns by watching you all, do not reinforce the behaviours you don't want into adult-hood. It's harder to un-do than to not allow it in the first place.

Pup needs to trust you. Don't scare him and make him fearful by grabbing, yelling or shoving. The more trust you have, the easier it will be to train your dog. The less you speak, the more your dog watches to learn.

You might do this 100 times, but be ready to celebrate the day pup grabs a toy instead of your foot or hand, when he gets excited.

Don't forget to reward, praise and pet when your puppy gets it right! No-one wants to work and not get paid.

Children, learn to train your dog! A dog can be trained at any age - puppy to adult. Build a great friendship with your pet and be best friends forever.

13/02/2024

I just turned round on my office chair and this is what I see.

12/02/2024

Please puppy owners, do not let everyone you meet pet your pup. Stand in their way. They need to ask you first. You can and should, say NO. You should set the rules, like crouching down, no touching if pup is jumping, how to pet properly. Your pup's attention should come back to you, if you have allowed petting and it should not be every time or you will have a dog that ignores you and runs to others as it grows up.

Here's how I teach Hugo not to do that. On a line, he sees someone or another dog. If I know the dog and owner, I will speak with them. I ask Hugo to wait next to me and he looks right in my eyes. I teach this at home first. Then he can be released to say hello. After play or petting, he is called back to me for rewards and walking on. He is almost doing this automatically after nearly 4 months together. I practice with dogs and owners I know, who will accept there may not be any play or pets.

If I don't know that dog or person, then I block the interaction and start playing games with Hugo to keep his focus with me as we walk on. Hugo can get overwhelmed if play is too rough. He doesn't always remember to get close to me, if he is out of his depth.

It's different with Lulu, she removes herself. I will (on lead) block everyone as she doesn't want pets from people, unless it's a child, then she wants a short pet. I ask her. If she disengages, the answer is NO. If it's a dog and she ignores it, I call her to me. I tell her leave it, as she will tell off persistent dogs with one very loud bark if I don't block quickly enough. The persistent dog owner, never thinks their dog deserved to be told off, as it's "friendly" and it just has bad re-call. 🙄 (and I always add.... it also can't understand that he was told no many times before the bark came.)

It can be hard to say NO to people, especially if your pup wants to engage, but just say - "sorry, we're training" and walk on. As your pup grows, it may not want to interact with everyone and then you will have unwanted behaviours surface.

08/02/2024

Hugo gets a bit of freedom when it's quiet. Lulu has learned to ignore his growls when playing.

07/02/2024

Hugo has learned so many things separately. Here he is putting some of them together. Walk With Me. Stop. Sit. Release.

07/02/2024

Hugo seemed to enjoy Lulu's joint supplement. Normally he's so picky, so eating a pill was a bit of a surprise!

29/01/2024

Why I don't understand retractable leads. They are always tight and pulling on the dog. If you are teaching your dog how to walk on a lead, then teach lead pressure. As the lead goes tight, stand still. As the lead goes loose, walk on. Don't give in once. Practice walking side by side indoors and in the garden. Don't use a retractable lead. They teach your dog to pull.

20/01/2024

To celebrate my grandson's birthday and Hugo and Lottie's birthdays (15th/16th) I made dog cake. I was in a rush and never had a recipe in mind. Despite the people complaining, the dogs were crazy for it! What I did....
Separate 2 eggs, whip the whites. Mix the yolks with a couple of handfuls of chicken and tripe mince (or I guess any other mince) and 2 heaped tblsp. brown rice flour (you can make this by grinding rice in a blender if it's not something you buy and white rice flour does work too) fold whites in and bake at 200 electric in a small loaf tin (you'll have to work out gas) for about 20 minutes til it looks browned. Your house will stink, but your dogs will be happy.

16/01/2024

My Kids channel on You Tube seems more popular with adults. A step by step guide. If you train simply and kindly, a few minutes for a couple of times a day, you really will see progress. Please share and subscribe.

Children, learn to train your dog! A dog can be trained at any age - puppy to adult. Build a great friendship with your pet and be best friends forever.

15/01/2024

Hugo is TWO today! He's going to get extra spoilt today.

09/01/2024

Brotherly love: Lulu is feeling off today and although Hugo enjoyed some extra attention, in and outdoors, he has returned to 'right next to her' at every chance. Usually he would steal the big sofa or bother her for the window seat.

06/01/2024

New Blog on my website today. Stopping your dog from running out of the front door. Featuring our clever little man, Hugo!
https://www.dog-owner-training.co.uk/post/running-out-of-the-door-is-dangerous

03/01/2024

Today I would like to announce that Hugo gave ONE alert bark when the postman delivered and then waited for me to check it out. 🎊🥳
If he barks at the window, door, fence.... I go to see and say well done Hugo and walk away. Lulu does this when Hugo barks (though she doesn't say anything 😂, just gives him the "shut up" face... ) so she has become my teacher.

29/12/2023

I wish I'd had my phone ready for all the toy box anger. Bopping it with his head! Most were already out and he can get them out himself..... but Lulu gets them out each night and he thinks she's his servant. 🤣

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29/12/2023

When you're Sorry (not sorry) and get put in a Down-Stay for jumping on the short human. They're giving me perfect eye contact so they can be released!

23/12/2023

No finger nipping today, despite the treat in that hand. Learning to walk around the house with my grandson calmly. We'll add more energy as Hugo learns calmness and he will make better decisions.

19/12/2023

A lot of my videos are teaching Hugo a calm state. I cannot teach him anything without focus and his ability to think straight. This is the starting point before we get to all the rest. Though we are doing lead walking, outdoor release and recall, no jumping up and nipping and increasing his exposure to different levels of children's excitement in little snippets, reducing anxiety and introducing calm has been my main goal. This was filmed some time ago, but this is still ongoing. He can go from 0-100 in a second. This is a big thing for dog owners, so hopefully I can get some footage of us handling it in "next year"!😉

19/12/2023

At my house, Lottie used to bark at Lulu and would get told off. At Lottie's, Lulu would offer her appeasement. When Lottie met Hugo, she was confused by his presence at my house and growled at him. Lulu stepped between (splitting) and calmed them both without doing anything other than looking at them both. They then played happily together while Lulu engaged the children. Taking Hugo to Lottie's, gave her the opportunity to tell Hugo to behave, but it was really calm this time. Here's hoping it will stay that way for Christmas.

17/12/2023

I'm a bit bruised this week due to clients jumping dogs. The larger the dog, the more bruised I am. If the clients follow the protocol (and has guests for practice) then my next visits will be less painful. So why not get some practice in with your guests this Christmas. Check out this info here for your basic jumper-upper. Available as physical cards and digital download here with your own dog picture.
https://www.dog-owner-training.co.uk/product-page/training-postcards
All website purchases are now free postage.