Willow's Walks and Dog Services

Stormzy was too fast for Nyx and Branwen today! He was the ultimate ball master and nobody could compete against him ⚡️🐾

Well that's another win for Stormzy! 🐾 The beginning of today's session focused on what Stormzy enjoyed, which included off-leash fun and utilising new tug toys to channel his innate behaviours in a recreational way. Then he decompressed by getting his nose down with some relaxing scatter feeds before we focused on our objective. Today's objective with this handsome boy revolved around relaxation training. During my last solo session with Stormzy, we utilised an outdoor space for the same objective, and today we went indoors. The difference between outside vs inside spaces for relaxation training is confinement, hence why utilising outdoor areas with more space to move about are ideal settings compared to indoor areas where that freedom is massively reduced. We occupied a table at The Bay Tree in Welshpool, and Stormzy was exceptional. There were already tables taken by other people with one including an active child that made use of the limited space. While Stormzy calmly took in his environment, his focus naturally gravitated back towards me. He relaxed enough that we exceeded the initial amount of time I planned on spending inside, which was 20 minutes. We ended up spending 30 minutes in the lovely establishment, and by the time we did leave, the other customers had already paid their bills and braced the rain outside. We utilised our chosen spot because it's a space Stormzy's humans would like to take him to in the future, and now we can take him together so I can demonstrate what worked in helping him to relax around stimuli that was once alien to him. Starting with burning off energy through off-leash fun and engaging in activities that help him express his natural behaviours, to decompressing and helping him enter a relaxed state of being before embracing the objevtives, everything that helped Stormzy succeed today will become part of a structure that will help that success continue... and then some! 🐾

Today has been Branwen's day! The most fulfilling activity for my cherub is playing "seek" (chase) and tapping into her innate instincts through a fun outlet 🐾

Stormzy had such a wonderful session yesterday as we focused on settle work (relaxation training) 🐾 He initially displayed some reactive behaviour towards a dog when presented with a surprise encounter at the very beginning of our time together, and again towards another dog minutes later. My biggest concern was the amount of large dogs walking ahead of their owners on retractable leads, and again with dogs on retractable leads whose owners had their backs to them. When you're in that situation, there's an unspoken responsibility that falls on you when you're walking (or working with) reactive and/or aggressive dogs. Be prepared for your advocacy to go unheard - what's your next step? How do you keep your dog below their threshold without creating avoidant behaviour in both you and your dog? I took Stormzy to a local establishment where it was initially just the two of us in the garden area, which was right next to a fork road with passing humans and dogs. I prepared my settle mat and Stormzy very quickly lay down. Some humans started to fill seats, and then the real challenge was presented - dogs! As Stormzy was nibbling on some treats on the settle mat, a lovely lady walked past us with one of her dogs. Stormzy was unphased, and then her second dog came walking right over to us. He was on a lead, but there was no human attached to it. Stormzy was very calm, but I still advocated for him and told the dog "no" as it came closer, and I blocked it with my foot. Still, my canine companion for the session was not bothered, but it was still my responsibility to advocate for him so the calm could be maintained. The lady apologised and called her dog over, and then we had a pleasant conversation about the three dogs as well as the stigma surrounding nervous dogs and muzzles (as Stormzy's muzzle was on the table). I started to slowly put the settle mat in my backpack, and Stormzy responded well to engagement cues so I could make sure his focus was on me as we m

Brucey and Branwen were in their own loved up bubble today as the honorary member joined the pack for their walk 🐾

Sibling Rivalry! Brucey and Elizabeth were adamant that each of them would reap the rewards of claiming the stick as their own, while Camilla decided it wasn't to her liking! When you listen closely, you can year Camilla say "I'm above this, you two can battle for the stick while I simply exist and look beautiful" 🐩🐾

Stormzy's enjoying his recall training today! ⚡️

I'm sure you've heard the saying "you can't teach an old dog new tricks". Well, during our first adult dog training group a fortnight ago, Hank debunked that myth. Hank had never taken to the "lie down" command, so we used shaping to break down the goal and make it happen. What you see is what exactly what happened 🐾

Ivy's having a very fun morning so far! 🐾🤍

SHAPING BEHAVIOUR- FETCH 🥎🐾 Shaping behaviour in dogs involves breaking down the behaviour you want from them into smaller objectives, and rewarding as you go along. That's how Ivy engaged in "fetch" today. It covers her physiological needs and it was a real mental workout for her. When you introduce shaping to your dog's training, you prevent so much frustration that they would otherwise experience if you would expect to know what you want from them by saying a word or throwing an object - it's also a massive confidence builder. I also utilise it for crate training and settle work, obedience training, positive reinforcement on high distraction environments and more! Watch this video and listen carefully to my explanation of how I made this work for Ivy!

🐾 TOP 5 DOG SOCIALISING TIPS 🐾

Today I worked on the beginning stages of settle/relaxation training with Maggi 🐾 Introducing your dog to the use of a settle mat takes them one step closer towards engaging in successful relaxation training. It also provides you with the opportunity to proof impulse control training that you might have worked on with your dog, and if you haven't then I advise you start doing that if you want your dog to resist temptation when you want them to enjoy the art of doing nothing. Don't dive right in! Take it at your dog's pace. Start off at home and then build up the stimuli they're exposed to. I was fortunate to take things a step further with Maggi thanks to the work I've been doing with her before introducing a settle mat, so don't assume that you can cut any corners. Let your dog succeed during the process!

🐾 Introducing Crate Training 🐾 When you introduce your dog to crate training, it should always be a positive experience for them, and you should never throw them straight into the deep end or you'll set them up to fail. I worked with Enzo today to help introduce him to the crate in a positive way while working at his pace. Whether you use the crate during the night, when you're out during the day or as a space for your dog to settle after their walk (and then some), make sure it's a positive experience for your dog! Don't cut corners because it's easier for you. Think of your companion and what meets their needs.

My day ended with the Woof Whistles pack, including Branwen, who all enjoyed off-leash fun.

Before I see my last client of the day, it's Branwen time! 🐾

Raven was exceptional during her leash training today! When she created tension on the lead, I caught her attention with "Raven, come" and once given a moment to decide what she wanted to do, she followed me and she was rightly rewarded for it 🐾

I had a lovely catch-up session with beautiful Millie today 🐕🐾 We revised her leash walking, and then we worked some more on impulse control around people and dogs as she always likes to say hello, but boundaries are so important. Millie will continue to have more exposure in public spaces to proof impulse control and her ability to resist trying to interact with other people and dogs, which is easily tempting as she's a countryside girl who loves her off-leash time. The continued exposure will help her succeed.

Loki had a fun, recreational session today! We wanted him to loosen up and have fun, as he has been working really hard on socialising and habituation for the past four sessions, and it was clear that something was instinctually rewarding was needed. We played with his frisbee, then we played finding games with a stick he chose, and then with his tennis ball. We're going to incorporate sound exposure during our next session while Loki engrosses in more spaniel-specific nose work as a form of desensitisation! 🐾