Devon Dog Boarding School

29/06/2023

Calling all cocker spaniel owners! 😀

Do you ever find it challenging to get your Cocker Spaniel to listen while out on a walk? Are you hesitant to let them off the lead due to concerns about their recall skills? If so, I have an exciting opportunity that will help you overcome these hurdles and deepen the bond between you and them.

I'm thrilled to invite you to join my FREE 5-Day Recall Challenge, starting on Monday, July 3rd. This exclusive challenge is specifically designed for Cocker Spaniel owners like you, who want to enhance their dog's recall abilities!

To secure your spot in the 5-Day Recall Challenge and ensure you receive all the free resources and daily training materials, simply sign up through the following link: https://www.thecockeracademy.com/f/recall-5-day-training-challenge

26/05/2023

CALLING ALL COCKER SPANIEL OWNERS!

Are you struggling with a barking Cocker? Do you find yourself constantly shouting or dealing with excessive barking? I've been there, and I understand the frustration. That's why I'm thrilled to invite you to an upcoming webinar that can help you say goodbye to all that noise and bring peace back into your home and on your walks.

Introducing my free "Stop Barking" Live Interactive Webinar! Join me on 29th May at 7pm for this not to be missed session.
During the webinar, I will share practical strategies and techniques that I have personally found success with. You'll gain valuable insights into understanding the reasons behind your Cocker Spaniel's barking and receive an actionable plan that you can put into action right away.

Here's what you can expect from our webinar:
👉 Understanding the root causes of barking in Cocker Spaniels.
👉 Tips for creating a calm and peaceful environment for your dog.
👉 Q&A session to address your specific concerns and challenges.
👉 Bonus resources and handouts to support your training journey.

Date: 29th May 2023 Time: 7:00 PM (BST)

To secure your spot in the webinar, simply click on the following link to register: https://www.thecockeracademy.com/live-webinar/stop-barking/register

11/10/2022

Impulse control is certainly a challenge, especially if you have a working lines breed. There are lots of fun games you can play which will help them to manage themselves and find it rewarding to do so.
What games do you play with your dog?

28/09/2022

Free masterclass on understanding our adolescent cockers

Free online masterclass to help you not just survive but THRIVE your cocker's "teenage" phase!
The teenage phase is usually 6-18 months, but can sometimes be longer.
Remember how proud you were of your puppy's training results?
How quickly he learned to sit, to lie down, to come, to leave it, to drop it, etc.?
Where did all of those skills go?
Do you feel like you wasted all your time at the puppy classes?
Rest assured it's not all doom and gloom!
Join us in this masterclass to learn not only how to survive but to thrive through this phase with your cocker:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/cockeracademyconnection

26/09/2022

This is your friendly reminder that adolescence is not the time to take your foot off the training accelerator!

Your dog might appear to have forgotten everything you’ve taught them, but please don’t give up. Just stay consistent and you’ll come out the other side with a well-behaved adult dog.

Found this useful? Be sure to share with fellow dog owners.

07/09/2022

“It’s been proven that dogs go through a rebellious teenage phase.”
If you’re feeling like your well-mannered puppy has turned into a mischievous rebel, you’re not imagining it.
Studies have shown that adolescence is a “vulnerable time for dog–owner relationships”*.
When they hit this stage, dogs are less responsive to cues and are deemed less trainable. It’s not something you are doing wrong; it’s just your dog going through some “dramatic hormonal changes and reorganisation of the brain”*.
*https://royalsocietypublishing...

02/09/2022

After the figures released by Spaniel Aid UK yesterday in regards to their August intake, I was feeling quite sad about the number of dogs who are being put up for rehoming or rescued for various issues. This video is all about Understanding The Background of your cocker so please take the time to watch.

If you want to learn more about understanding your Cocker, join our free live training in September, here's the link:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/cockeracademyconnection

26/08/2022

Happy National Dog Day! 🐾
Drop a photo of your dog in the comments, we'd love to see them!

22/08/2022

The adolescent stage is tricky, but if you are at the end of your tether- remember this fantastic quote:
“Adolescents are not monsters. They are just people dogs trying to learn how to make it among the adults in the world, who are probably not so sure themselves” ~ Virginia Satir
Share this if you agree.

23/03/2022

It's National Puppy Day! 🤩

At Devon Dog Boarding School, we have plenty of training options for you and your pup, head to our website to schedule a call about options for puppy residentials.

We want to see your puppies! Please post a photo of them in the comments below. 😀

25/02/2022

🐾 IMPORTANT REMINDER 🐾

When it comes to practicing recall (or anything with your dog), it is going to take more than ONE attempt.😊

Don't get disheartened or upset with your dog, remember that recall is a LIFELONG journey- and we must always keep that in our mind when our training session isn't going your way.😕

If you are finding it to be a difficult training session, strip it back to the basics- what are you rewarding with? What is the environment like? Has your dog already practiced today? Do you have the correct equipment? How many times have you practiced this?

When we start to uncover the reason, we can keep cool and go back to basics with recall. 🐶

21/02/2022

To practice recall safely, we recommend using a longline first. This gives our dog the illusion of freedom, but also means we can train recall in a safe manner. 🐾
You can use longlines on walks too, as walks are an opportunity to practice recall. 😊
Not only is it keeping your dog safe, but it's also keeping other animals and humans safe too- make sure you're confident at recall on the longline before moving to no lead. 🙌

18/02/2022

Before we get into the nitty gritty of recall, we first need to prepare. 🐾

Teaching recall means that you need to be the most exciting thing to your dog, in order to entice them to come back, so how are you rewarding them for coming back to you? 🤔

We first need to find out what is motivating our dog, and it's normally one of these:
🐾 Food
🐾 Toys
🐾 Praise

Once we have worked out in a safe environment (eg, the garden) what motivates our dog, then we can start really getting into our training in different areas.

What motivates your dog? 😀

15/02/2022

We hate to break it to you... there is no "quick" way of teaching recall. 😕

Recall is a life long project with your dog, the training is ongoing and the behaviour we are looking for should always be rewarded. 🐾
How do you practice recall? 😊

20/01/2022

What is a "normal behaviour"?🤔

Many of our dogs normal behaviours (and the reason we originally bred them) are now counter to our own needs. 🐾

If we understand this we can find an appropriate outlet and avoid everyone getting frustrated.🐶

What outlet do you use at home? 😊

13/01/2022

Dogs aren't born to live in our homes 🐶

Dogs aren't born even knowing what a house is! So, why do we expect them to come into our homes knowing everything from toilet training to not jumping on the sofa? 🤔

It's Train Your Dog Month, and if you have a puppy, set them up for success by training them from the start. Training can be done whilst the kettle is boiling, puppies have a short attention span, but this doesn't mean we can't set them up for success at an early age! 🐾

How are you setting your puppy up for success? 😊

10/01/2022

We have to be honest with you...
Humans don't speak dog. And they don't speak human.🐶
You may be a pro at working out body language from your dog, and they can understand your tone of voice; but one of the hardest elements of training is getting your head around the fact that we speak 2 different languages. 🤔

When we train our dog, we must find a way of communicating that both cocker and owner understand. This is something we must master at the beginning of our training journey, or we set ourselves up for failure. Communication may be verbal commands, cues, treats or toys etc. Whatever works best for you and your dog right from the beginning of your training journey is what will help you for life! 😁

Have a go this week at communicating with your dog, let us know the results in the comments below. 😊

06/01/2022

January is Train Your Dog Month! 🐶

Organised by the APDT, its aim is to bring awareness to the importance of socialisation and training.🐾

We are challenging you to train your dog in January, it's not only extremely important for your dog, but it will improve your relationship with them. 😊

It's time to put together a plan. Let us know in the comments below how you will be training your dog during this month- what rewards will you use? How often will you train? What will you be covering in your training? Will you be attending classes? 🤔
Good luck! 😊

31/12/2021

We have had a little bit of a refresh and update. 🐾

We are now Devon Dog Boarding School, and our focus is all about dog training within our family home. Here is some information to bring you up to date on what this means:

We are a family run business, established in 2012. We are lucky enough to live in the beautiful countryside of Exmoor with our three Labradors and two Working Cockers. Our focus is all about dog training. We offer in person as The Dog Academy, online as the Crazy Cocker Club and residential training as Devon Dog Boarding School. Our training is based on modern, positive, reward based methods, with emphasis on building a good relationship with your dog. Professional development is important and we regular attend courses/seminars or online webinars/courses each year as well as training our own dogs.😊

Our training is 24/7 so we are consistently working on developing the key skills for your dog to live happily in your family home. Your dog will stay with us in our own home with our dogs. Our more formal training will be in our home and outdoors in our secure field so we can build and test the foundations, once these are in place we will move to more advanced settings with a variety of natural distractions. We will keep you up to date on progress throughout the training.🐶

Handler tuition (YOU!) can take place during your dog's stay and or when you collect your dog at the end of their stay. All the training will be supported with our online course videos so that you can look back and check anything you are unsure of and of course we will be on hand to help.😃

16/06/2021

An amazing story, well done Digby🥰

This is Digby. Today he did something amazing and helped save a young woman who was thinking of taking her own life near Exeter.

We were at the incident as part of a multi-agency response. Police negotiators were speaking with the woman but the situation was becoming increasingly worrying.

One of the fire crews had the idea to bring along Digby, our ‘defusing’ dog. Digby helps crews who have been exposed to trauma during talking therapy ‘diffusing’ sessions.

When Digby arrived, the young woman immediately swung her head round to look, and smiled. This got a conversation started about Digby and his role at the fire service. She was asked if she would like to come and meet Digby, which we are pleased to say she did.

We wish the woman involved all the best in her recovery.

If you need someone to talk to, contact Samaritans on 116 123 or visit http://orlo.uk/bZpAR