Our Gold class showing off lovely loose lead walking on our road walk. Skills in class are important, but being able to perform those skills in real life environments are even more important!
Its key to ensure you proof your dogs skills outside of class so that you can get the most benefit out of your training together 🩷
If you’d like more help with proofing your skills or learning how to start getting loose lead walking training underway, just drop us a message!
My boys Loki & Spyro are featured in the new Pets at Home summer campaign ☀️
As some of you know, I also work as a trainer that provides animals for television and this was one of my latest projects. Working on set isn’t as easy as it can seem. There’s lights, crew, cameras, wind machines etc all being operated by people, which your dog needs to ignore. They also need to focus on the camera or chosen eyeline rather than you and usually have to do the action upwards of 10 takes. This all comes from proofing your training in lots of different environments so your dog can focus and succeed anywhere ☺️ so why not get out and do some training in some new places this week?! Ive always got my eye out for potential new stars 🌟
Very proud of my boys as always 🫶🏼
I’m on set filming a commercial with Loki this week 🎬
Can you tell this boy loves his job? 😍
Dogwarts 2024 graduates so far…
We are half way through 2024 so I thought I’d make a little montage of all our graduates of the year so far. From Puppy Foundation through to Gold, all these achievements are a reflection of your hard work and dedication to your dogs 🐾Can you spot your pup?! You may notice some dogs appear twice, even three times! Absolutely smashing through the Good Citizen scheme guys 👏🏼 I love watching partnerships succeed and can’t wait to see even more over the next 6 months! 🫶🏼 #dogtrainer #trainyourdog #dogtraining
I got this lovely video from Bethany showing little Bailey practising all his training he’s learnt here at Dogwarts on recall, loose lead and focus when out and about. Bailey has achieved his Puppy Foundation right through to Gold with us, attended recall workshops and 1:1 sessions and is now doing our Scent Detection workshop.
Bailey struggled with his confidence and was reactive around other dogs, but all the training and structure has really helped him become much more secure in his behaviour so he can be happy and care free on his walks 💜
A lovely review 💜
I love getting videos like this from clients with their training wins. I received this video & message from Millie’s owner after attending a recall workshop a few weeks ago 🥰
“She is like a different dog 😊 before now she would be gone and wanting to play with all the other dogs. She doesn’t go too far, looks for me all the time and if I tell her to come she comes ☺️ amazing. Thank you x”
Please always send over the moments when you’re proud of your dog and your training. I love to see them!!
A little snippet of our fabulous team competition yesterday at Newton Heath DTC. We were invited to take part in a Northern Inter Club obedience competition which encourages to give competitive obedience a go!
I’m so so proud of my team, all the handlers have worked so hard to prep for this over the past few months, and all that hard work paid off in amazing performances from all of them.
We came 3rd as team overall and won the Novice level overall as a team. We also had 2 6ths, a 5th and a fabulous win in the individual class placings.
Well done guys, you did Dogwarts proud 🏆💜🥹
Having recall trouble? Sick of having eyes on stalks looking out for any potential distractions that will cause your dog to run off? Or do you want to let your dog off lead but just have no idea where to start?
Our recall workshops are perfect for you! Our workshops are an hours session in a ‘real life’ outdoor environment and show you how to put fun, positivity and motivation into your training to help you achieve a reliable recall every time you call your dog. No previous training is required and all dogs will be on leads.
📅 Next available date is Sunday 21st April at 1pm
These are an hours outdoor session in a group environment and £30. Full payment is required to secure your space and they’re held at Manor Farm in Timperley WA15 7HE.
Please get in touch to book!
We always want to teach calm behaviour when grooming or handling our dogs. The main aim is to avoid conflict (biting, mouthing, struggling) and allow the dogs to practice the behaviour we want naturally by shaping them with a lovely high value treat to lick! Lickimat UFO is perfect for this as it has suckers so you can stick it at head height for your pup to remain standing easier, but all Lickimat and Kong products are great for this. Shout out to our sponsors Fish4Dogs salmon pate for being so yummy and high value and perfect for this job! 🍣
TEACHING YOUR DOG TO SETTLE
Here’s a little example of how to practice your settle/bed command in a real life home environment. It can be done in any area of your home, here I’m doing it while I’m cooking, but if you have a dog that’s likely to be overstimulated by this, do it somewhere else like the lounge.
I start by letting Spyro offer the behaviour and dropping treats on the bed, then this video picks up from where he’s holding the settle and I’m throwing treats down sporadically to reward the duration. As you can see, at one point he gets off the mat but I don’t re-command, I just wait for him to offer the behaviour again and then jackpot reward (lots of treats) calmly. We don’t want to nag the dog to do the behaviour, we want the behaviour to come naturally.
Give this a go while you’re watching tv or sitting down with a brew, daily practice is how we build up to taking this into more busy places like cafes and pubs!
Muddy walks is my life at the moment, who else is sick of the mud?! 🙋🏼♀️
The boys showing that even if they’re playing together, if they’re called they stop and come running straight away! Such an important skill for them to disengage from play. As this can prevent play from escalating too far, running blindly into dangerous or unsafe areas and of course works on impulse control and listening skills when they’re highly aroused.
Spyro is still young, so Loki is showing him the ropes and helping him practice the behaviour that’s expected, but it’s critical to ensure this behaviour is practiced individually so they understand the criteria independently as well.
For those of you who wonder what I get up to when I’m not working, I train my own dogs! This is mine and Spyro’s first big boy training day with 2 top agility handlers.
As a trainer, I am constantly learning from other trainers to always try and better myself as a teacher. Very proud of my little baby dragon and excited for his future 💜
Want to teach your dog some cool tricks? Bring some fun into your training together? Share your dogs cute party tricks with family and friends?
Our Level 1 Trick Training workshop is a 2 hour class where you can learn loads of new and fun tricks with your dog. You’ll be shown how to teach over 10 different fun tricks. This will be suitable for all levels but a sit and a down command will be needed to get the most out of the workshop. No previous training experience is necessary and there’s no age limits 😊
These will be held in at Alfie’s Island Cafe in Timperley and I’m currently taking a wait list of people interested.
Cost is £40 for the two hours and this workshop is open to existing Dogwarts dogs and new dogs that haven’t trained with us before!
Please get in touch to go onto the list as spaces get booked up quickly once the dates are released!
Have a new puppy in need of training? An adolescent dog who needs some basic manners and obedience?A rescue dog who needs some help settling in and bonding with you? Get in touch to discuss our courses and which is right for your dog or to book your space! Places are limited so please don’t leave it to the last minute to avoid disappointment ☺️
Some off lead ‘follow’ work with some of our current Puppy Foundation students. Teaching follow is such an important skill as it forms the basis to loose lead walking, enforces that being near you is rewarding & reinforces the dogs ability to focus on you when there’s distractions around. Well done everyone 👏🏼
LOOSE LEAD WALKING
Here is 4 month old Spyro demonstrating loose lead walking on one of his short daily walks. This has been achieved purely with patience and rewarding the correct behaviour. He’s not been corrected or pulled back at any point, I’ve just rewarded him for being where I want him to be.
Does he walk perfectly like this all the time? Absolutely not. He’s a baby and this will have to be consistent training in order to achieve consistent results but starting as young as possible always helps.
If you are struggling with loose lead walking, focus on walks or reactivity then please get in touch 😊
I offer 1:1 sessions and group classes so we can discuss what’s right to start your training journey together.
Middle is a great command that can help so many different aspects of your dogs training. It teaches them that being close to you brings rewards, it can be incorporated into recall, waits and focus work and dogs really enjoy doing it!
NOSE TOUCH
This can be used for so many different behaviours including loose lead, recall, focus and encouraging your dog to be comfortable with approaching you and being in your space.
A super simple command that can lead to so much!
Demonstrating with Spyro who is 9 weeks old and proves there’s no such thing as too young to start training. It’s great to start forming a bond, occupying their mind and getting your foundations in early 🥰
A little throwback to a year ago when our Tricks participants were showing off some of the skills they learnt 🥰
Still a couple of spaces available on our Tricks courses this Saturday! Get in touch for more info 🐶
