Game to Train Dog School

23/07/2024

🚨 FREE LEARNING ALERT!! 🚨Yup FREE - *SHARE* it for a limited time 🕰️

🐾 Ever been curious about Concept Dog Training and what it’s all about? Now's your chance to find out! 🎉

absoluteDOGS is offering their incredible Core Learning course for FREE right now! 😱

Dive in and explore the fundamentals of Concept Dog Training with this amazing introduction. 🐶🎓

Check out the Core Learning course now!
🔗 https://absolute-dogs.com/products/core-learning

Don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity! 🐶✨

12/07/2024

Living with a reactive dog can be tough. It can be lonely. Perhaps you find yourself casting envious glances at other owners who seem to have it all worked out - whose dogs are easy to live with, unphased by life and great with other dogs. You may even be wondering what you did wrong. Why is YOUR do...

12/05/2024

28/04/2024

Weekly food prep for your dog

07/04/2024

20/03/2024

💛 Please share 💛 It's day 💛⁠

March 20th is National Day. This day is dedicated to raising awareness and understanding for anxious and reactive dogs, who may have unique needs when it comes to socialization and space. The colour yellow serves as a visual cue to others that their dog needs space. Help is at hand - free ebook below 👇 👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇

http://absolutedogs.me/unpredictable-dog
⁠
Dogs In Yellow day aims to raise awareness of anxiety worries in dogs. The more people know that a dog wearing yellow needs space, the less stressful life becomes for anxious dogs and for us owners in turn. Dogs wear yellow for many reasons:⁠

💛⁠Scared of the 🌎
💛Worried
💛Reactive⁠
💛Fearful⁠
💛Elderly⁠
💛Recovering from an accident, illness or ailment.⁠
⁠
They need understanding and the last thing they need is to be approached or jumped on by other dogs who want to meet, greet, and play. By helping , you can help educate owners all over the globe 🌎 and improve the lives of anxious dogs!

Looking for support for your anxious dog? Check out our free ebook :

http://absolutedogs.me/unpredictable-dog

💛

30/01/2024

01/12/2023

🚨Big News!🚨 FREE Online LIVE Learning Event with Tom
😮PLUS😮 Chance to WIN a Behaviour Consult with Dr Tom!

Tom is going LIVE and geeking out about Dog Behaviour! Want to tune in? Comment below!

AND you could WIN a behaviour consult with Tom too! How to enter the competition!
1. Comment AND SHARE this post
2. On the 11th December, we will then be announcing the winner in the first live
3. We’ll then be in touch with the lucky winner to schedule your 1-2-1 consultation with Tom

When?
11th December through 21st December!
What time?
6.30pm GMT Every Day!
Topic?
Over the course of ten FREE live teaching sessions, we’ll be diving into the Reactive Dog’s Brain. After all, Knowledge = Transformation!

And there’ll be some exciting announcements along the way too! Consider it a geeky dog behaviour pre-Christmas party!

Register for Free Here: https://go.helpmydog.com/masterclass

13/11/2023

03/11/2023

🐾🎆 Embrace the Magic of Fireworks Season with Your Dog! 🎇🐾

Each year, the sky lights up with breathtaking fireworks displays, marking special occasions like the Fourth of July, New Year's Eve, and the dazzling Bonfire Night in the UK. While we humans delight in these explosive spectacles, our cherished canine companions can find these festivities quite distressing.

Imagine the world through their heightened senses, where loud booms, flashes, and party noise fill the air. 🐶💥 It can be overwhelming, but we're here to help you take the fear out of fireworks!

In our latest blog, discover 7 super strategies to ensure your dog's calm and enjoyable experience during fireworks season. 🧨🐕 From understanding your dog's "stress bucket" to creating positive pairings with loud noises, we've got you covered!

Find out why your dog might be fearful of fireworks, and learn how to prepare a designated safe space to keep them relaxed during the dazzling displays. Plus, don't forget to prepare delicious, calming enrichment activities to soothe your pup's anxiety and promote relaxation. 🍽️🐕

But that's not all! We've saved the best for last—strategy #7 is all about being well-prepared. Never leave your dogs alone during fireworks, and make sure they have proper identification. Your presence and a solid plan can make a world of difference!

Join us in making this fireworks season a joyous and stress-free one for your dog! 🎉🐾

https://absolute-dogs.com/7-strategies-for-surviving-fireworks-season-with-your-dog/

Don’t forget to share these strategies with fellow dog lovers to spread the love and care this season! 🙌🎇

Your dog's well-being is our top priority, and we're here to help you make a world of difference in their fireworks season experience. 🐾❤️✨

30/10/2023

🎃 Does your dog go bonkers for trick-or-treaters? 🎃

The doorbell rings, the knocks start, and your dog's internal alarm system goes off! 🚪🐶❗

Don't worry, you're not alone. Many of us have dogs who aren't fans of the Halloween hustle and bustle, so we've got your back!

To help you set your hound up for spooky success this Halloween, we’ve got a frightfully fa-BOO-lous sign that you can print and hang on your front door for those creepy creatures and Trick or Treaters that might drop by!

🔗Download yours here: https://absolutedogs.me/halloweensign

Let's keep Halloween spooky and stress-free for everyone! 👻🐕

06/10/2023

Do you have a little land shark puppy ?🦈
Check out the top tips below to make this stage in your puppy’s development much easier on both you & them 😊🐾

💥OUCH! What have you gotten yourself into 🙈, you might ask yourself as a puppy hangs, quite pleased with itself, from your clothes. 👕

HOW DO YOU GET THROUGH THIS STAGE? WHEN DOES IT END? 😩
http://absolutedogs.me/gameonpuppy

Puppies go from this adorable, innocent fluff that has slept 💤 for hours and hours to anti-cuddle, feisty and fierce land sharks. 🦈 This transformation can be overwhelming 🥺, frustrating 😤… and sometimes, scary. 😨 Where did that adorable, sweet, quiet puppy go? 🥺

1️⃣ You are not alone. 🤗
2️⃣ This is normal behaviour and will vary in levels of intensity. It will get better. 💟
3️⃣ Your response can help shape your puppy’s choices so that biting becomes less and less. 💪
4️⃣ You can change the game through kind, effective and consistent management and training. 🎉
5️⃣ There is hope & you’ve got this! 🙌

WHAT ARE SOME REASONS THAT YOUR PUPPY MAY BE BITING 🦷 YOU?

⭐SLEEP DEPRIVATION ⭐
As our puppies mature, their activity level increases. It’s very natural for us to instinctively ramp up their activities in an effort to end the day with a tired puppy. Surprisingly tired isn’t necessarily a good thing.

An overly tired 😴 puppy that hasn’t been able to achieve the 17-20 hours of sleep 🛌 they need, on average, becomes a very cranky puppy. 👿 That’s when they default to those sharp milk-teeth on our skin. Much like a toddler throwing a tantrum after a busy, nap-free day, they are struggling to cap their arousal. They don’t have the skills yet. Encourage more sleep and you’d be surprised just how much calmer 🧘‍♀️ and receptive your puppy can be!

⭐OVERSTIMULATION & TOO MUCH EXERCISE 🏋️‍♀️ ⭐
“But we walk 🚶‍♀️ for miles… We play for 45 minutes 2-3x a day and sometimes we’ll spend time running back and forth with him in the garden until he’s exhausted. Yet, he still seems to want to go, go, go!”

It’s so counterintuitive to consider that exercise can contribute to overstimulation and over arousal 🤯💡, so much so that when our innocent, sweet puppy begins to have the zoomies in the evening or consistently tries to shred every article of clothing we own, or better yet, taste our fingers with less than careful snappy, growly and sometimes frightening sharky behaviour, we can feel that the next step is to increase the exercise to combat 💪 the chaos.

When, in fact, it’s the exact opposite that would ultimately achieve the results we’re aiming for. Consider the kinds of activities that your puppy is participating in - are they higher arousal, high intensity or is it coupled with lower arousal, lower intensity play and exploration opportunities. Balancing your puppy’s physical exercise requirements with lower arousal, mental enrichment activities like setting up a sniff 👃 adventure in the garden by planting treats in various locations and guiding them through the setup, is a great way to get a content puppy that is learning to regulate ⚖️ their emotions and behaviour.

⭐IS YOUR PUPPY AT THE PEAK OF TEETHING? ⭐
Did you know that puppies acquire 42 teeth over a very short period of time? 😮 Imagine that! We take up to 12 years… and yet, for a puppy, it’s only a matter of weeks. 📆 Teething is uncomfortable and frustrating. During teething, activities like tug, should be avoided as with loose teeth, you don’t want your puppy to associate any pain or discomfort they’re having with play with you or toys. 🥎 A puppy may struggle with remaining cool, calm and collected during the teething phase so giving them appropriate, proactive redirection to chews 🦴 or frozen stuffed kongs can help them to self-soothe. Calm Mats are great for this!
https://a-ok9.com/collections/accessories/products/k9-calm-mat?variant=43160326963399

⭐IS YOUR PUPPY GETTING VITAL DECOMPRESSION TIME? ⭐
The world is massive 🌎 and often our puppy is taking it all in, while forming life long bonds with us 💘, as well as learning 🤓 all of the human rules, maybe even multi-dog rules in a mult-dog 🐕🐩🐕‍🦺 household, and more. Puppies are expected to process so much information in a very short period of time. 🕰

In a family home 🏠 where there are children 👶, visitors coming to meet the new puppy, as well as various opportunities to explore the world, interacting with strangers and whatever else the puppy comes across on their adventures in and outside of the home, it can be so much to process and taken in.

As a result, a puppy can struggle with the overwhelm and whether it’s communicating that they don’t like being handled so often, pet so often or having things taken from them, using their teeth to say “Please stop!” ⛔️ can become a default when other, much more subtle requests are ignored.

Let your puppy decompress and establish rules with everyone in the household that when the puppy is in their quiet space that they should be left alone. 🚫 It shouldn’t be in the busiest space in the home, but somewhere, out of the way, that allows the puppy to recover from the day’s amazing and wonderful adventures. 🏞🏖🏙

WANT MORE TIPS, TRICKS, HACKS AND INSIGHTS?
Pre-order our massive (400 pages!) Puppy Handbook! 📖
http://absolutedogs.me/gameonpuppy

15/09/2023

Sometimes it can be a struggle to fit in training with everything life throws at you.
Many of us have such busy lifestyles these days it’s not always possible to do dedicated training sessions as often as we’d like.
The thing is training doesn’t always have to take extra time.
Think of all the opportunities you get in everyday life where you could use it as an opportunity to train your dog.

Something we are working on at the moment is boundary training so I took the opportunity today to do a little training as I hung out the washing. It turned out to be the perfect training session. There were real life distractions, dogs barking in nearby houses, pigeons gathering on the neighbours tree and Arthur aced it. As I noticed the distractions I rewarded Arthur with a bit of his breakfast for staying on his bed & disengaging from the environment.

Think about something you would like to work on and see how you can fit in the training sessions with everyday opportunities that present themselves, you’ll be amazed at the difference this will make to your struggles.

For help designing a fun games based training plan to fit in with your lifestyle contact us 📞

We can turn your struggles into strengths 🐾

01/09/2023

Sometimes things can all get a bit too much for our dogs.
Have you ever wondered why you dog reacted to something seemingly innocent that has never bothered them before?
It’s not always the event that they react to that caused the issue, it was all the small events leading up to it that lead to your dogs stress bucket overflowing. Think 'the straw that broke the camels back'.

Summer has been a busy time for a lot of dogs maybe kids have been home from school or places they visit have been busier than usual.
If you dog has had a lot going on and you have started to notice a change in their behaviour then it’s a great opportunity to give your dog a bucket holiday.
Take a few days to do nothing but relax with some calming chews and lots of sleep (think doggy spa days 🐶🦴)
Let that stress bucket empty and then watch your dogs behaviour go back to the more chilled out pooch you are used too. 🐾

01/09/2023

I can highly recommend Caroline. She did such an amazing job with Arthur when he needed help with his leg problems.

Always a good idea to get a check from a vet physio if you have concerns with your pets sometimes issues are not always picked up by your regular vet so it’s always great to check things out with a specialist.

🔹 Exercise Prescription 🔹

One of the tools of a physiotherapist is prescribing exercises to suit the need of the patient. This may be strengthening muscles post-operatively, maintaining range of movement of arthritic joints, or maintaining fitness in working dogs.
There are so many benefits of a personalised exercise programme, get in touch if you think I can help your dog.

26/08/2023

Happy international dog day 🐾 What adventures have your dogs been on today? 🦮💕

21/08/2023

Happy 2nd birthday to this sweet little boy 🥳🐾

18/08/2023

Dogs are very clever at watching the things we do in our daily routine 👀 and using this to predict what is about to happen next.

🐾 Does your dog get excited long before you are ready to go out the door?

This is because they know the sequence of events that leads up to that walk.

If your dog gets super excited at just the thought of going out chances are they will not be in the best head space for a nice calm walk.

Starting the walk in an excited way may lead to pulling, barking and lunging but the good news is you can change this picture with a little bit of work 🐕‍🦺🐾

28/07/2023

rest is so important for our dogs. They should be getting around 18 to 20 hours of quality rest each day! Some dogs struggle to rest when they have too many options so narrowing down those options can really help them to switch off and get the sleep they need (a pen, crate or quiet room) a rested dog will be calmer and make better decisions. Now and again make a log of your dogs day and see how much time they are actually spending resting & calm.

14/07/2023

Today we wanted to reach out to all the people with reactive dogs and to those who see reactive dogs when out and about.

It is easy to fall into the false assumption that the dogs reactivity is in some way the fault of the owner or the dog when in truth this really is not the case.

A dog who is reacting to a situation either by getting over excited, by barking and lunging, or by using passive coping like shaking and hiding is really trying to communicate to the world in the only way they know how that they don’t YET have the skills to deal with the situation that they have found themselves in.

Often through well-meaning advice owners are told to keep exposing their dogs to more and more of the situation that they are struggling to cope with in order to show them that there is nothing to worry about and sometimes owners are told by trainers that they trust that they need to show the dog who is boss and give them a yank on the lead or correct them if they bark.

Now just imagine that you or your child was in a situation that you were finding really difficult to cope with for example you struggle in social situations and you were forced to go to a party and meet more and more people. Do you think this would make you feel better about the situation or do you think this would increase your fear and anxiety?

Now imagine you tried to tell someone that you couldn’t cope and instead of helping you every time you asked for help they yelled at you or poked you. Maybe eventually you would stop reacting but those feelings would still be there internalised and maybe coming out in different ways. Anger at home or just not trusting that person again.

Well, this is no different for our dogs!

Now imagine that same situation again but instead of getting angry with you that person that you trust took you out of the situation and started to help you with coping strategies and grew your skills so you could feel more confident and able to cope and didn’t put you back in that situation until you were ready ❤️
How much better do you think that would make you feel and how much more would you value and trust that person?

We can do this for our dogs!🐾

🌟Please contact us if you would like to know more about growing your dogs skills to cope & be calm & confident in any situation🐶

And please if you are an owner of a reactive dog know that it is not your fault and we can get your dog real life transformation in a kind and caring way.🥰

If you see a dog reacting to your dog please don’t be mean, give them space if you can & just know that that owner and dog are trying the best they can with the information they have 💕

14/07/2023

🐶🚨 Dog-Dog Reactivity: Let’s ditch the stigma, let’s normalise the conversation and then let’s get some real-life results! And most of all - let’s be KIND to EVERYONE.
Have you been victim of dog shaming? You aren’t alone.

Owning a dog that is reactive to other dogs feels lonely and the fact is - it shouldn’t. If you are reading this, you have probably fallen victim at some point to a person (hopefully meaning well) saying “Did you not socialise him” “You need to socialise him”.
. And probably you’ve diligently acted on their advice only to find your dog repeatedly and consistently reacting and getting worse. Ultimately you end up feeling ashamed and, quite frankly, fed up!

We need to NORMALISE the conversation around dogs who are reactive to other dogs and make the world see that the dog who is reacting (and their owner) are the victims too in this situation!

If anything, they are the biggest victims - why? Because the reacting dog is saying “I don’t have the skills to deal with a very normal situation” and conventional dog training advice tells you to repeatedly put them in that situation. The reality - it doesn’t have to be that way.

Imagine how much kinder everyone would be if when they saw a dog barking and lunging at another dog, they heard that dog saying “I don’t have the skills to deal with this very normal situation - please help”

Imagine the different choices people would make if that is what they heard the dog saying.

You only have to dive into a handful of studies, which you can check out our to-the-point summaries of below to see this isn’t strange, new or something to be ashamed of.

What do we need to do about it? Replace putting them in situations repeatedly and getting the same outcome with instead SKILLING them up to prepare FOR that situation.

It’s all possible. Daily, we see transformations of dogs that used to react to 10/10 dogs learn how to have successful interactions guided by their owners, using reward-based, games-based strategies lead by our clinicians remotely wherever they are in the world. Sometimes the biggest thing holding owners back from reaching out though is shame, guilt and a feeling that they should be able to “fix” this themselves as a result of the advice that has been given in the past.

Let’s ditch the stigma, let’s normalise the conversation and then let’s get some real-life results!

Need some more reassurance you aren’t alone? Here’s just some of the science 👇🚀📖

1️⃣ "Prevalence of Aggressive Behaviour in Dogs Rehomed from UK Rescue Shelters" (Casey et al., 2014) This study investigated the prevalence of reactive behaviour in dogs rehomed from rescue shelters. The findings revealed that approximately 36% of rehomed dogs displayed reactivity towards other dogs. 📈😢

2️⃣ "Prevalence and Risk Factors for Behaviour Problems in Dogs under Welfare Guardianship of Animal Welfare Shelters in Brazil" (Mariti et al., 2017) This research conducted in Brazil examined the prevalence of behaviour problems in dogs under the guardianship of animal welfare shelters. The study revealed that approximately 27% of dogs exhibited reactivity towards other dogs.

3️⃣ "Prevalence of Canine Behaviour Problems in Spain" (Fatjó et al., 2007) This study focused on the prevalence of canine behavior problems in Spain. The research indicated that approximately 17% of dogs exhibited reactivity towards other dogs.

4️⃣ "Prevalence of Aggressive Behaviour in Golden Retrievers in Sweden" (Meyer et al., 2014) This study investigated the prevalence of reactivity in Golden Retrievers in Sweden. The findings showed that approximately 15% of Golden Retrievers exhibited reactivity towards other dogs.

5️⃣ "Prevalence of Behaviour Problems Reported by Owners of Dogs Purchased from an Animal Rescue Shelter" (Bartlett et al., 2005) This review article explored the prevalence of behavior problems reported by owners of dogs purchased from an animal rescue shelter. The research indicated that approximately 25% of shelter dogs displayed reactivity towards other dogs.

And that’s just FIVE studies!

💡 Armed with scientific knowledge, we can make a difference! By sharing this post, you're spreading evidence-based awareness about the prevalence of dog-directed dog reactivity, normalising the conversation, removing the stigma and guiding people to the real-life results they deserve. Together, let's empower pet owners, adopters, and society at large to promote kindness in dog owning and training. 💙🌍🐶

07/07/2023

Puppy tips:

🐾 puppies need a LOT of rest 20 hrs plus,
a tired pup is often a grumpy or over excitable pup.

🐾keep puppy training sessions really short 3 minutes at a time is enough and stick to just 2 to 3 times a day.

🐾create a calm place for your puppy to rest, somewhere like a puppy pen or crate.

🐾if you can’t supervise your pup pop them away with a long lasting chew where they will be safe.

🐾never get cross or angry with your pup it will damage your relationship instead if you feel overwhelmed or frustrated again pop them away in their safe place.

🐾stay close to your pup and visit often when in their pen or crate, you don’t want this place to become a bad deal for them. You can gradually build up alone time as they become more confident.

🐾ditch the bowl, use your pups daily food allowance for their training and for calming activities through the day

🐾make things a non event, pop the lead on take it off, put your shoes and coat on and sit down then take them off. Let the lead drag on the floor sometimes pick it up sometimes let it drag so these things don’t become an exciting trigger.

🐾practice putting your puppy in a crate in the car and getting out again and short drives around the block so going in the car doesn’t always mean an exciting event is going to happen.

Share this post with new puppy owners & for 1:1 help training your puppy contact us📞

01/07/2023

Sorry this one is a little late was all a bit hectic yesterday with a little one’s birthday.

I wanted to talk about reactivity and what it means.

Our dogs can react to situations in many different ways, they may bark and lunge or spin or yap and the reason behind these behaviours is often that we have put our dog in a situation that they don’t yet have the skills to deal with & they are communicating with us and coping with the situation in the only way they know how.

I know these situations can be very stressful but rather than getting upset or cross with our dogs let’s look at them as what they are … just information!

When we see these occurrences as information we can begin to see how our dog might be struggling and use this information to formulate our training plan and to take some of the responsibility back off of our dogs and manage the situation better the next time around.

For example the dog that jumped up and barked at visitors isn’t doing this to annoy you. They really just don’t have the skills to be calm in that situation yet so let’s think next time a visitor comes I’m going to take that responsibility away from the dog and put it back on me by having the dog on a lead or behind a baby gate where they can’t rehearse the unwanted behaviour whilst we work on training them to see value in keeping all 4 paws 🐾 🐾 on the floor in a less difficult situation.

Or the dog that gets scared or overexcited on a walk let’s take them to a quieter place where there aren’t all of the distractions and gradually build up towards increasing distractions when our dogs are ready.

If you would like help in creating a bespoke training plan for your dog then please contact us to arrange an appointment 📞

14/06/2023

All 5 days of our enrichment activities to do with your dog when it’s too hot ☀️ to go out for a walk are now available to view. Check out our Facebook or instagram page 👉

Follow our page for free dog training tips and advice posted every Friday and get in touch for all your training needs 📞

We can help with boosting your dogs confidence, calmness, reactivity, household manners, barking, separation related behaviours and any other issues you may be dealing with.

Contact us now to start your journey to your dog owning dream 🐶💕

14/06/2023

Day 5: Enrichment activities for your dog. Todays game is called Mouse Game. The food is the mouse and your hand is a cage for the mouse, this game is inspired by absolute dogs. It will teach your dog self control, manners around food, and tolerance of frustration& could even save your dogs life if ever you dropped something poisonous to dogs & an added bonus it uses a lot of brain power 🙌 This is the last day of the 5days of enrichment but stay tuned for where I give a tip or a game to make your dog owning dream a reality every week!
For any dog training struggles please get in touch 📞 visit my page for details 🐾🐕‍🦺

12/06/2023

Day 3: Enrichment activities when it’s too hot to walk 🥵☀️ Today I show how I get Arthur to put 2 paws on an object and then change the picture and get him to use his brain power 🧠 to figure out what he needs to do. It took him a little while (this is reallife dog training not perfection!) but we got there in the end 🤣 remember if it’s too hot in the garden try this inside. Take your time and build the value with plenty of rewards (use your dogs daily food allowance and ditch that boring bowl) for putting 2 paws on. This game teaches confidence, optimism, grit and flexibility

12/06/2023

How are your dogs keeping cool today?
Arthur has his morning planned out 👌
🆒mat
🆒 fan
🐟 stinky fish long lasting chew 😆
Day 3’s enrichment video coming this afternoon 🐾

11/06/2023

Day 2: Enrichment activities for dogs when it’s too hat to walk. Building water confidence - this is an absolute dogs inspired game. Check out the video for instructions on how I am building Arthur’s water confidence 💦👉