Train My Dog

14/08/2023

🐶 WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A DOG TRAINER OR BEHAVIOURIST…….

🐾 If you are looking for professional help with your dog, do your research. Remember this industry isn’t regulated, meaning ANYONE can set themselves up as a trainer/behaviourist. This means YOU need to put some work in.

🐶 Look at their qualifications and then check with the training provider that they did actually do the training.
🐶 Ask trainers what equipment they use, what walking equipment they recommend.
🐶 Ask what they’d do if your dog was struggling to do the training or seemingly not learning anything. Ask if they use corrections.
🐶 Ask if they are members of any professional bodies. There are organisations out there who only accept professionals with qualifications that are science-based and reward based and you can check their websites to see if your trainer’s name is on their list. Some of the most popular training organisations/professional bodies are:

PPG - Pet Professional Guild
UK Dog Behaviour and Training Charter
ICAN - International Companion Animal Network
CAPBT - COAPE Association of Pet Behaviourists & Trainers
ABTC - Animal Behaviour & Training Council
IMDT - Institute of Modern Dog Trainers
PACT - Professional Association of Canine Trainers
NICE - National Institute for Canine Ethics

🐶 A great trainer will be more than happy to answer these questions and will be proud to tell you they are rewards-based only and all the professional bodies they are members of. Their focus will be on the EMOTIONAL WELFARE of your dog and setting him/her up for success. They will advocate clickers, markers, food, toys, harnesses, long leads and longlines. They won’t make unfounded guarantees of timescales or results.

❌ A dodgy trainer will probably tell you they don’t subscribe to any single method, they may refer to themselves as “balanced”. This means they’ll use food first but will very quickly swap to punishers if it’s not working quickly enough.

‼️ Dodgy trainers are TASK focused and will use whatever tools necessary to get the job done quickly regardless of how it makes the dog feel. Tools they will recommend will be:

- choke chains
- slip leads
- prong collars
- Spraying them with a water bottle when they do something wrong
- Throw a loud chain on the floor next to your dog or shake a bottle filled with stones at them
- Withhold their food for a day so they’ll be starving and will then work for their food
- using physical force eg push them into a Sit/Down position (not quite an alpha roll but, in my book, just as bad).

‼️ They will dismiss qualifications/membership of professional bodies as unimportant, unnecessary or irrelevant and instead they’ll tell you how many years they’ve owned dogs or worked with them. I’ve driven cars for 30 years - it doesn’t make me a mechanic.

❌ Unfortunately, there are some really unethical trainers who will tell you a pack of lies beforehand but the aversive equipment/methods will come out in the session. If your potential trainer says anything that rings alarm bells, walk away. If they DO anything to your dog that you’re not comfortable with, LEAVE.

🐾 The fallout of training with aversives is just awful and it can take a lot to come back from. It will take a long time for your dog to feel safe and trust you again, to be happy to try or offer new behaviours and ways of doing things. Please don’t risk it. It’s just not worth it.

Pic of Alfie. Just because.

10/03/2023

💯 👌

09/02/2023

26/01/2023

Cafferty has been out gundog training this morning and he is tired. I hope he wakes up before agility!
Anyway, he came here to remind you about The Three Ds.
When planning your training think about Distance, Duration, and Distraction and only increase ONE of these at a time. As you increase one you might need to make the others easier for a while... don't jump from a 5 second sit while you are 1 meter away to a 10 second sit with you three meters away, build up each D separately. I keep a diary of training so I know where I've got up to!

20/01/2023

What do you think of this ban on collars that poke, pinch, or throttle in France?

MPs voted to outlaw collars with spikes, electricity or which tighten without a means of restricting this

17/01/2023

Knowing which professional you need to contact to help you with your pet is vital. Use this handy infographic to decide whether you need a trainer or behaviourist. ​

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For a list of COAPE-endorsed trainers and behaviourists you can go to our website here: https://coape.org/find-a-behaviourist/

05/01/2023

What collar and lead does your dog need? Most pets only need a flat collar and lead or a Y-front harness. Gundogs tend to walk on slip-leads. Any collar and lead can cause damage if used inappropriately. Loose lead walking should be the aim! Serious runners should use a canicross harness for pulling.

Gundog Kit

I have read a lot of posts recently about the best and kindest leads for dogs to wear. Slip leads invariably get put on the 'bad' list, and yet they are essential gundog kit. Here is what I use and when...
Harness: I start puppy walks in a y-fronted harness. This allows them to explore in safety and comfort with minimal restriction on their movement. Later this is used for walks where they are allowed to pull such as when other people walk them, at a country show, or when we are running. This style of harness doesn't pull on the trachea and has a minimal impact on pressures in the head and eye. If using a long line (perhaps a first rabbit pen outing!) I would always use a harness rather than a collar to reduce the risk of a dog getting up sp*ed then hurting their neck when they run out of line abruptly.
Flat Collar: When I start training loose lead walking I use a flat collar and lead. The collar must be snug enough that the puppy cannot back out. Some dogs would be safer in a half check or martingale collar adjusted so that it can't choke them but prevents escape. My dogs wear this until I am pretty sure the know the rules about leads and pulling (I.e. if they apply pressure, we stop moving).
Slip Lead: These are essential as we move into adult gundog training when we need to be able to get the lead off quickly and with minimum fuss leaving a collar free 'naked' dog. Note that these have an extra stop which prevents them tightening more than a flat collar. Slips are also useful safety leads and may be used by vets, kennels, and dog walkers as escape proof back up.
Head Collar: These slip leads can also be made into a head collar style lead. I also sometimes use a Gentle Leader. Head collars also often find themselves on the 'bad' list but I find them useful in some circumstances. They help control a nosey snout at country shows when food is at dog level and can help a weaker owner walk a powerful dog safely. Most dogs will try to paw the nose loop off, but puppies also try to scratch off their collars. The bit people miss is training the dog to accept the head collar using food and play. Headcollars should only ever be used with a short lead as neck damage could occur if a dog gets up sp*ed then is stopped suddenly. Honestly, I use a nose loop for some of my dogs at shoots and trials as their loose lead walking in very high excitement situations is poor!

26/12/2022

Do you have some Christmas money to spend? This book is a nice introduction to Scentwork... a fun way to work your busy dog's brain.

This is where you can buy the book Scentwork: Step By Step directly from me.

16/12/2022

Train My Dog... to wear antlers 🤣
Seriously, make sure your dog is ok with being dressed up for photos. You can always do a bit of photoshop if they aren't. Mine know treats are coming if I ask them to do something a bit... odd.

13/12/2022

Train My Dog... but sometimes we just play! A rare fall of snow in Sussex was a good excuse for the dogs to have a romp about.

15/11/2022

Train My Dog... to cope with a new baby.

You've just discovered that you are expecting your first child and are naturally elated. But once things calm down, you start to wonder – what about my pets? How will they cope? How do I ensure they welcome the baby and still get what they need?

Well, we are here to tell you that there are steps you can take to prepare your pets for your new arrival. With adequate preparation, all you have to do is enjoy your new-born and your pets together.



Read the full article here: https://coape.org/new-baby-sweat/

06/11/2022

Train My Dog... to have their feet trimmed. Isn't this video adorable? 🥰
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMFyrgT2S/

2 of my chihuahuas having their paw hair trimmed. Training them to lay upside down to have it done from a couple of weeks old means they let us do what we need and it's not stressful for them! ...

03/11/2022

Train My Dog... in the rain?

Nobody is going to do their best training in this weather! Make sure your dog has had the opportunity to p*e and p**p then think of some indoor games to play. Even in a small house you can do scentwork, trick training, work on your heel position... so many games to exercise the brain. Then maybe settle them down with a food stuffed toy to chew on.
That's my plan if it keeps on like this anyway!

24/10/2022

This week I have had a fair few training sessions, one of which was little Bruce 🥰

Bruce has been nipping and jumping up, getting over excited and just being a general crazy young puppy!

Did you know that when puppies are over stimulated ot over tired they can "act up" and be naughty?

Just like the little people in our own homes, puppies get over tired and develop FOMO!
How do we combat this?

We learn what little Bruce learnt ..... to find something soothing that will calm him down without being forced to go to bed! 😁

Little Bruce learnt how to sit for attention instead of jumping up, which then got him a treat that he had to go find.

Scentwork releases those feel good hormones, the ones that make a baby sleepy when they have a bottle before bed... 20 minutes of scentwork is the calm equivalent of a mile walk!

So when Bruce was getting over tired and nippy because he couldn't get himself off to bed, we gave him a little something to do to focus his attentions elsewhere whilst rushing his brain with sleepy, calming hormones....

Within a few minutes he was fast asleep on the floor between us... he didn't even get chance to take himself off to bed! ☺️

Well done little dude 💜🐾

22/10/2022

Train My Dog... to settle.

This doesn't look like an exciting picture but it is! This is a dog doing an automatic "settle".

This behaviour is useful when you need your dog to be still for a while, it also let's them relax. I use it during training classes when we aren't working, for paying for things at shows, in cafes... useful!

Your dog needs to know "down" first. Stop moving, stand on your lead (not to pin the dog! Just to break the connection between your hands and the dog) but keep hold of the handle, and just stop. Do nothing but wait for your dog to offer a down. They will try pulling, jumping, sit.. every move they know. When they lie down feed a low value treat from the floor and say "settle". Once they are doing this quite fast you can add in excitement! Play with your dog, wind them up, then give your settle cue (say settle, stand on the lead, stop moving). This helps your dog learn to switch from excitement to calm quickly so "settle" can be used in emergencies too.
So why is Gadget doing an off lead settle? Because I stopped to read a text message 🤣🤣🤣 Useful.

06/10/2022

Train my dog... and have a peaceful afternoon! These dogs haven't done hours of walking but they have all done some training which has worn them out!

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMFYjjPJD/

spaniels24-7's short video with ♬ The Lion Sleeps Tonight

01/10/2022

Never go out without a p**p bag! And always take filled bags home or pop them in a bin. Or risk seeing Cafferty's 'not mad, just disappointed' face 🤣

14/09/2022

Really nice little video of a scentworking Terrier doing some training 😁

Really good training for a rainy day 🥰

12/09/2022

Beautiful lead walking using positive reinforcement.... no aversive training in sight 🥰

10/09/2022

Train My Dog... senior edition!
Rebus is almost 15 but still enjoys a spot of gundog training.
Share photos of your oldies below.

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMNE5KogD/

vickypayne's short video with ♬ When I'm 64

10/09/2022

I'm a dog walker and trainer... these are not my dogs 😅

We walk this path regularly and the dogs have come to know that they need to be lifted over the stile in order to carry on.

What I love about this process is the trust that the dogs have in me... even if I am a bit hap-handed (I live with staffies 😅).

They queue up one by one without being asked to and are quite willing and happy to wait patiently on the other side until everyone is over and ready to carry on.

This is "just one of the things that is done on a walk", it isn't specific training, but a life skill that is built on trust and positive interactions and reinforcement in other areas.

Had I used punishment-based or 'balanced training' in this instance... I.e. refusal to come near or be picked up is punished by manhandling or yanking on the lead etc. In my everyday training, this trust would not be there

Yes the dog may approach me and 'allow' me to pick them up, but it would be through fear of "what will happen if they don't" as oppose to "where are we going next?"

Relationships are built on trust, trust that you will guide them and protect them, train them in a way that builds confidence through rewards and success, not inhibition and suppression of undesirable behaviours through punishment and pain-inducing tools.

💜🐾

10/09/2022

Train My Dog... to have self control.
Are you looking for a book to read as the nights draw in? A must read!
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMNE2uhxw/

7 Cockers and Me's short video with ♬ Inspirational Epic

03/09/2022

Train My Dog... to be good around food!

Food guarding is a massive problem for lots of dog owners so here are a couple of ways I get my dogs thinking that not only is it OK to have a person nearby when they eat, but that people can actually help you eat and make your dinner time even better.

02/09/2022

Train My Dog... to go to bed when the door is knocked!

Does your dog go nuts when the Amazon man comes? What if I told you that your dog could learn to run to their bed and wait there while you answered the door?!

I have honestly only started this with Cafferty today and he's picking it up fast...

Does your dog know 'go to bed? It's a cute and useful trick!

22/08/2022

Train My Dog... to fetch a riding crop!?

Why? Well, this was a course building skills so dogs can go out with horse riders. We worked on recall, stop, sendaway, and also retrieving 'lost' keys and a dropped riding crop. Transferable skills for a gundog! Some dogs started learning to deliver the crop to their handler standing on some steps.

It's fun to go to workshops where you can learn and practise new and different skills. Cafferty's favourite game was definitely find the keys.

What new skill did you and your dog learn this weekend?

21/08/2022

Train My Dog... to find my keys!

21/08/2022

Train My Dog... with treats!

Caff is a trainee gundog and though we used lots of treats early in his training most of his rewards now are verbal (good boy!), tactile (scratching his chest), or use his natural spaniel behaviours (retrieving or hunting). Today we are off to a different type of training day. There will be dogs of all shapes and sizes, a new environment, new ways to train, new 'games'... so I've packed a variety of treats in case our 'grown up gundog' rewards aren't enough or aren't practical to use.
Today's treats include fishy biscuits, turkey pate, and Platinum dog food.
We've also packed our non-choke gundog slip lead, collar and lead, and harness with double ended lead as I really don't know what the form is!

19/08/2022

Train My Dog... to ignore cyclists, runners, other dogs...

You might not always need to get your dog back on the lead, scatter feeding like this gets your dog back and occupies them happily whilst other park users go past. Hopefully you'll get a 'thank you' too!

Thanks to Jane Ardern at WaggaWuffins Canine College for this clip.