Ahimsa Dog Training

06/12/2024

Animals, like us, are living souls.
They are not things. They are not objects.
Neither are they human.
Yet they mourn. They love. They dance.
They suffer.
They know the peaks and chasms of being..

Gary Kowalski, The Souls of Animals ✨

Artist Credit: Anna Speshilova

04/12/2024

Sedric's happy to see the snow again... Share photos of your snowy pups 🐾🐾❄️🌨️☃️⛄🌬️☃️

02/12/2024

Goals

This is a reminder to let you know that you are not here just to do stuff, just to perform duties and complete tasks.

You are here also to feel happy, and content, and inspired and well within yourself.

You are here to have some fun, create meaningful moments and find the sparkle in your eyes again.

You are here to unravel the magic of being alive, the magic of being you. To heal, to feel whole again.

Do something today that lights you up. That activates your joy. That brings about a genuine smile from your heart.

You are worth the effort.
~ S.C Lourie

~ Art by Sam Toft

24/11/2024

I'm sharing comments from another happy dog guardian...it's such a pleasure to help people work through issues 🐾🐾

Faith is absolutely fantastic. We are so lucky that we found her. As soon as Faith arrived at our first session, I could clearly see that she understood dogs and knew exactly what she was doing. Our sessions were always fun and very helpful. We have a 13 month old German Shepherd who is quite big and has incredible strength. Even if he is very nice, without absolutely any sign of aggressivity, the fact remains that if a dog of this size jumps on you, even if it is to lick your face, remains an unpleasant experience. Our dog absolutely loved working with Faith and was excited to see her every time. With diligent work and Faith’s guidance, our dog has really gained a lot of confidence. His reactivity has improved tremendously, he is walking nicely on a leash, and he is a much happier dog and we are much happier owners. 😊

Marina Snapyan

19/11/2024

Hi I would like to share a special thank you to Faith for offering your Ahimsa dog training classes, I have taken several classes with you and my dogs and myself so enjoy this method and your intructions. Very useful, but gentil in a clear language that the dog understands.

Linda Richards

17/11/2024

Please share photos of your beautiful dog's heads

17/11/2024

15/11/2024

Thanks for the post Heal the Dog

13/11/2024

Thank you for the post Heal the Dog

09/11/2024

Thank you for your service 🐾🐾

09/11/2024

Cooperative Care for the win🐾🐾

Thank you for sharing Bark Vader Dog School

22/10/2024

Looking back at the history of our dogs, many breeds were deliberately developed by humans to carry out specific jobs. This was done by selecting the dogs who had the right traits and were the best at those jobs to breed together.

Due to this, over time, the result was breeds of dogs who all tend to have these particular traits. In the times when dogs were needed to carry out these jobs this was ideal, and they would spend their working day doing the very things they had been bred to do.

Fast forward a few hundred years and, while there are still working dogs today, the proportion of dogs working at the role for which their breed was developed is much lower. A great many of these dogs from working breeds are now in companion roles. (In my case, I started out working sheepdogs on the farm and, although we are no longer on the farm, the Border Collies remain).

The fact of no longer performing their roles does not mean that those traits have gone away. A terrier is still likely to dig. A scent hound will follow their nose. Retrievers want to carry things around in their mouths. A herding dog will often find something to herd - possibly the kids in the home.

When we look to find a dog to join our family, it is vital that we think about their history and whether our home can honestly provide the things they need. If not, a different breed or type of dog would be a better choice for all concerned. If we think we can, then it's time to think about exactly how we are going to meet those needs.

When we bring these dogs with history in specific roles into our homes it's so important to think about the breed and what they might need. Find ways for them to carry out these behaviours that for many generations they have been bred to carry out.

Give your terrier a digging spot - either a patch of garden where they are allowed to dig, or a sand pit.

Find out about scentwork for your scenthound - mantrailing is a popular pastime where dogs learn to follow scent trails and find people.

Let your retrievers have something to carry to greet visitors or returning family at the door, and maybe look at finding some activities involving retrieving for them to do. Avoid lots of repetitive ball throwing for fetch as this can cause issues with joints. Instead look at maybe getting some of the gundog training dummies and doing a few gentle tosses with those or asking your dog to wait while you throw. You can also hide the dummies and send your dog to find them.

Herding games can be fantastic for herding dogs. Look at Kay Laurence's Sheepballs, or Treibball, both of which involve balls to let those herding moves and instincts be used (links to both in the comments). Think about finding games that involve them following and controlling movement such as a flirt pole - a stick with some cord attached and a lure or toy attached. These can be bought from a store or made at home.

For every type of dog there are activities and games that are breed-appropriate and will let them do those things humans have bred them to do. Take some time to find out about the history of the breed (or breeds) of your dog and find these activities that are designed for them and their traits - you will both be happier for it!