Training tips for all your terrier needs from two qualified and insured dog trainers, Jodie O'Connel
TRAINING TIP THURSDAY
If you never train your terrier to recall in a forest, they'll never recall in a forest. If you never train your dog to focus around other dogs outside of class, they will only focus around dogs in class.
Do yourself and your dog a favour and take your training to as many locations as you'll need it in! You and your terrier will definitely thank you for it!
TRAINING TIP THURSDAY
We aren't all that intelligent until we've had our morning hot drink of choice, had a think about our day and ensured our loved ones are okay. Neither are dogs until they check their p-mail and get the lay of the land for where they are. Give your dog 5-15 minutes at the start of a walk and regularly throughout a walk to just be themselves without asking for attention, recall or focus on you. They spend their whole day doing what you decide is best for them, give them a chance to make some decisions with their free time.
TRAINING TIP THURSDAY
This sounds so simple but is actually incredibly difficult to do! Our beloved terriers can be a little spicy so being able to feed kibble continuously with one hand and refill it with the other all whilst holding a lead can mean the difference between your dog reacting or not.
TRAINING TIP THURSDAY
Your recall ultimately means 'Fun stuff happening with me'. If all you teach is that element of it you're going to have a pretty rocking recall. There's enough out and about to interest your terrier, so this helps build a reason to come to you rather than pick something else! If you do this exercise right, they won't even need to debate whether or not coming to you is better, they'll just do it!
Here at Terrier-Tastic we want to help. Jodie and I know how hard it can be finding quality help for the things you struggle with when people just don't seem to understand how hard a relatively 'simple' issue can be with a terrier.
Jodie and I have both experienced issues with loose lead walking so our next free training challenge for everyone is going to be two weeks of loose lead walking!!
The challenge starts on Monday and you can participate by joining our Terrier Training Tips (Free) group. Link is in the comments. Feel free to introduce yourselves upon joining and we'll see you there for some loose lead walking training!!
We've got an exciting announcement dropping on Friday at 6! Looking forward to sharing it with all of you!
Timon and I were back to agility shows yesterday! The plan was to take Pumba as well, but with his operation he obviously couldn't run and we thought that resting at home would be best for him rather than coming with, even if just to wander around ringside.
Timon isn't quite ready for shows (he was only booked in to come along and get some ring experience where I was running Pumba) so we ran everything not for competition (NFC) which meant the pressure was off and we could just have fun and enjoy our first proper agility show and boy did we!!
I was a touch (haa!) stressed the day before given that Timon can be very dog reactive and I was going without a groom given that Pumba had to stay home. I'm always more relaxed with a reactive dog when I've got someone else to help keep dogs away and be the eyes in the back of my head. Cancelling would have been far easier but we powered on through!
Timon did great, no reactions, no getting so overexcited in the ring that we lose all our brain cells. Start lines went well until our last ring where I knew I was pushing him so I have information to move forward with there. The little sequences I had planned for each ring went really well except the dog walk where he jumped off half way up it, not what I expected at all but new information to go to training with and work on!
So pleased to be out flying the flag for training terriers nicely and to prove you don't have to 'be the boss' in order to work with them. We had so much fun one of the ring crew even told us it was clear how great our relationship was which was way more important than any clear round or ribbon will ever be to me!!
Massive thanks to Gemsdale Photography for the wonderful shots.
Terrier: 1, Crate rest: 0
Happy !! When it comes to terriers we often talk about the difficulties they bring but today we want to hear your favourite things about terriers!
My favourite thing about terriers is how versatile they are. Between my two terriers I've learned so much that I can apply to other pet and sport dog situations. I've learned things I didn't even know I needed to learn!
Let us know your favourite things about terriers in the comments 🐾
Happy from team Terrier-Tastic! Post pictures of your pups in the comments!!
CRATE REST
As some of you may know, Pumba has a lump on his front elbow that the vets believed was benign, and we were waiting it out to see if it would improve/disappear by itself. Over the last few days he's been really uncomfortable and was no longer himself, he was pestering the lump and causing it to get a lot worse. So off to the vets we went and the decision to operate on said lump has been made.
So from Friday, I have a terrier who needs lead-only walks and much more rest than he's used to!
I thought I'd turn the experience into one that may help others. So I'll be documenting the days leading up to Friday and what I'm doing to prepare Pumba for crate rest before his op and how I'll be helping him through post-op. (I may also potentially use the documentation as an outlet to moan about having to rest dogs!)
The photo perfectly encapsulates my view on Pumba's timing for crate rest being the week my in-person services resume (for the first time in 4 months) and includes the first agility show I've had booked in something like 6 months, which we've been training reeaaaaally hard for and is the first proper show I've managed to get in the diary since the first lockdown hit last year! He's literally picked the first week in 4 months where having to crate rest a dog is going to be of any inconvenience/additional stress than it would be normally. For context, I'm currently 3 days in what was supposed to be 10 days off work where it would have been perfect timing to be crate resting him!!
Motivational Monday!
Today is !
And what better way to acknowledge Terrier-Tastic's first one than with a picture of Kev and Steve as puppies!
Drop a pic of your pups!
Happy Tongue Out Tuesday from Kev and Steve!
Drop a pic of your cheeky terrier below!
And finally, the last member of the terrier-tastic team to be announced, Pumba!
Pumba has been such a challenge to work with on a day to day basis. When I first started training him, his recall was nonexistent, he pulled on the lead so badly that he has had both my mum and myself over at various points and developed a dislike towards men and children, at one point being a serious bite risk to them.
Pumba has always been the picture perfect dog in a class environment or at home. He's so smart and loves to train. We struggled as soon as we left the front door though. You could go for a walk and he wouldn't look at you once for the duration of that walk, which made training out and about damn near impossible.
We've worked really hard and now Pumba is no longer a bite risk, as you can see in the picture, recall is no longer a problem and the loose lead walking is much improved.
Not only did we address these issues, but Pumba has a first place win at a local agility steeplechase competition, has his Rally Online level 1 excellent title, and has all of his trick dog titles up to expert levels. We also train in competition obedience and scentwork, I hope to be able to get out to a show or two for these this year as lockdown in the UK opens up.
Pumba has come from a dog who made me dread going on walks, to the point where I cried, to now being a dog who I can take out for a walk as a way to relax from a hard day at work. He is the absolute definition of what hard work can get you. I look forward to telling you more of Pumba's stories!
This 'butter wouldn't melt' pup is Steve!
He lives with Jodie and his brother, Kev!
Steve is quite the opposite to Kevie and very typical of a terrier! He lives life at 100mph!
He can also be quite an anxious lad and we have faced many struggles with him.
Notably, these were the most destructive puppy I have ever known, reactive to dogs and men, resource guarding, handling issues and minor scraps with Kev in the past!
Quite a lot, right?
But he is also the most affectionate and sweet pup once he knows and trusts you. He is a dream to train because he loves working.
Like Kev, Steve and I also take part in all manner of sports to challenge him and me!
Due to his acting before thinking way of life, we take part in Competitive Obedience and Rally Obedience to encourage him to think a bit more, scentwork to help him slow and be methodical and hoopers for some fun speed but to also ensure he doesn't injure himself!
HOW WE'RE GOING TO HELP YOU
You've liked our page, gotten to know us, what's next? We're going to help you with your terrier that's what!
From March 1st, we're offering a free 14-day recall challenge! Recall is one of the most common complaints we get when it comes to terrier behaviour so we thought we'd dive in at the deep end!
The challenge is held over in our free Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/223482979489747
It will be a combination of pre-recorded videos for you to follow along with with 3 days of live chats/lectures to address your most common questions or problems and get personalised, tailored advice!
With the weather warming up and the rain (hopefully) starting to disappear over the horizon, we'll all want to be getting out and about with our dogs to enjoy where we live. Now is the perfect time to be working on your recall and getting ready for those long weekend or evening strolls!
If you have any questions, pop them in the comments and we'll get back to you. If you want to sign up to the challenge then go ahead and join the free group and we'll see you in there for the start of the challenge on Monday morning!
This long-legged lad is Timon. He's owned by Emma and lives with Emma, her mum, and his brother Pumba.
Timon is such a special lad. In terms of terrierness he's actually a pretty easy dog to live with on a day-to-day basis. That said, he has his challenges.
Timon is dog-reactive. This has been something we've worked on for a long time and he has gotten significantly better than he used to be, but he is a dog who tends to make very rash choices (as is that terrier desire to go in and do then ask questions later)!
Timon is also incredibly nervous of being handled and by design, isn't a fan of the vets. He actually used to scream upon the car driving into the car park at the vet practice. We've done a huge amount of work on this and he can now stroll through the car park at leisure (and even do a few scentwork searches there!), go in and do tricks for me on the scales, tables and in all of the exam rooms. We still need to work on having a vet or a vet nurse come into that picture in the practice, but sadly COVID put a stop to the training we were doing in the practice and is something we'll be resuming as soon as we can.
For fun, Timon and I enjoy long walks together, training and competing in agility, scentwork and he's tried his paw at rally obedience with my mum. Timon adores trick training, having his Advanced Trick Dog title. He also loves parkour (we've always joked he's more cat than dog) and parkour titles are something we'll be working towards over the next few months.
Agility with Timon has taught me more than all of my textbooks combined. Timon really struggles to control himself and this comes out in a whole lot of barking, and if he's really struggling he can direct bites towards me on an agility course. Learning to manage his arousal, especially mid course and have a million game plans before we step up to the start line has been a lot to learn but we seem to be turning the corner and I really look forward to getting him out at some shows this summer!
MEET OUR DOGS!
So, who are the inspiration for Terrier-tastic Dog Training? Our very own troublesome terriers!
Quite rightly, each deserve their own post so you can get to know them all a bit better!
First up, we have Kev! Kev lives with Jodie and his littermate brother, Steve!
Kev is the perfect family companion - he has an amazing temperament, social butterfly, provides a lot of comedy moments and the terrier gene is mostly dormant in him (until he sees a squirrel!)
However, true to terrier form, there have been some struggles with Kev - most of all being recall!
Recall took a long time to train with Kev because everything was far better than me! We always joke that to Kev, a stranger is just a friend he hasn't met! It took time, consistency and working on our relationship to achieve rocket recall!
Kev can also be a bit of a worrier with loud sounds, sudden movements with objects and some surfaces! So we take part in all manner of sports with Kev - sports specifically chosen to challenge him and me!
We do agility and UK Dog Sports to build his confidence with unpredictable noises and movement, scentwork to build his resilience and tracking and Hoopers for fun!
Who Are We?
Hi! I'm Emma Phillips and my dogs and I are one half of the Terrier-Tastic team.
I've owned terriers for 8 years and have lived with terriers who;
- don't like other dogs
- don't like some people
- didn't come back
- pulled on the lead
- jumped up
- hated the vets
- didn't pay me any attention outside, despite being able to focus in classes and behave wonderfully in training settings
- have 0 self control
I know the frustration that living with and training terriers can bring and I've had some advice given to me by trainers that simply didn't work for my dogs, no matter how good the advice was for the 'average' dog (whatever that is)!
My experience owning terriers led me to become a dog trainer and I've been training for 7 years. I'm qualified with the Institute of Modern Dog Trainers (IMDT), am a tracking instructor (and soon to be scentwork instructor) with the UK College of Scent Detection (UKCSD), a scentwork judge with the World Scent Dog Association (WSDA). I've also got a degree in Zoology from the University of Reading which focused heavily on animal behaviour and am currently doing a masters degree in Clinical Animal Behaviour at the University of Edinburgh in order to become a Certified Clinical Animal Behaviourist (CCAB).
Dogs are my passion and I love training and spending time with my lads. I've worked through the behavioural issues that led me to become a dog trainer with them. Things that used to feel like a far off dream such as letting them off lead or enjoying a walk on a sunny afternoon are now things I do daily to relax.
We're active in a number of sports and activities. I'll be introducing my lads individually over the next few days so you can get to know us all better and understand why I specialise in the things I do with terriers.
I can't wait to help you make your terrier terrific!
We are Jodie, Kevin (slightly smoother coated dog) and Steve (scruffier dog). Together we are half of Terrier-Tastic Dog Training.
Life with littermate terriers is a challenge and I've experienced many problems since having my boys. From disagreements between them to recall problems and exploring sports, the boys have taught me loads!
I myself am qualified with the Institute of Modern Dog Trainers (IMDT), am a bronze instructor with UK Sniffer Dogs (UKSD), Canine Hoopers World (CHW) instructor and learn from a variety of institutions including:
- Animal Centered Education (ACE)
- Grisha Stewart
- The School of Canine Science
Looking forward to helping more people turn their terror of a terrier into a terrific terrier!
| Monday | 10:00 - 16:00 |
| Tuesday | 10:00 - 16:00 |
| Wednesday | 09:00 - 16:00 |
| Thursday | 09:00 - 16:00 |
| Friday | 11:00 - 14:00 |
| Saturday | 10:00 - 12:00 |
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