Willow's Walks and Dog Services

05/01/2025

🐶🐾 Puppy Training Group 🐾🐶

Commencing on Saturday 1st March at 10:00 am, and continuing weekly on 8th, 15th, and 22nd March, I will be holding four puppy training classes in Welshpool to help you understand your young canine companions’ behaviour and needs in a social environment, and how to effectively engage with your puppies to achieve the desired behaviour.

Objectives we will focus on include habituation, desensitisation, socialisation, leash walking and impulse control. As this group will cover training in social settings, you must be able to handle your puppy on their lead and they must not display fear aggression or reactivity towards other dogs or people (lunging, snarling, snapping, barking). That is something we can work on during individual training sessions.

You will be required to sign and abide by my terms of agreement before commencing training, which will include disclosing your puppies’ behaviour.

Payment for the group will be required in full upon booking, and if it is not received within three days your space will be made available to someone else. I require 5 days notice before the group starts to withdraw your attendance and receive a full refund; cancellation within the 5 days notice period will be discussed on an individual basis, but please expect a fee to occur as that will put me at a loss with so little time to fill your space.

When the puppy training group finishes, you will receive a handover of each week's objectives, detailing what you can do to continue training. You will also receive an individual handover of your puppies' strengths and what should be worked on, including guidance on how to do so.

Get in touch for more information, and you can refer to my price list which is pinned on my page! 🐾

02/01/2025

Milo was showing off his beautiful aura during our walk. He's such a handsome boy! 🐾

02/01/2025

I envy Raven's stamina! She wasn't defeated by the uphill walks during our time spent together today. I think I might have consumed too much chocolate and Dorito share bags (that I didn't share) over Christmas. Raven, on the other hand, marched forward as effortlessly as ever!

We had a lovely walk, with plenty of sniffing for this lady! She was taking in all of the scents and information today 🐩🐾

31/12/2024

Branwen, Brahms and servants want to wish you all a Happy New Year! 🤍🐾

30/12/2024

I have been working with Macy and her wonderful human to reduce excitability in social settings. Isn't she a beautiful bundle of joy?! 🥰🐾

Labradors were originally bred as working dogs, hence why they're such a high energy dog who require continuous outlets and breed-specific activities to dispell their energy. While they're a dog who are usually very friendly towards other dogs and humans, what a lot of people who own this beautiful breed find alluring is their energetic and excitable nature. Their high energy as such a prominent working breed means that their minds and bodies take longer to completely develop compared to other dogs.

Macy is fortunate to have an owner who understands this, and our sessions consist of reward-based training and desensitisation to reduce the behaviour in social settings and redirecting her high stamina in recreational ways. She's a year old, and while she still has some excitable moments, she is doing exceptionally well.

Today was a very busy day, and Macy's ability to engage with her human during her settle work was fantastic! She wasn't just resisting temptation to engage with other dogs and humans, but to also concentrate during the impulse control activities her human was setting while she was on the settle mat.

There were other excitable dogs, nervous dogs, and there was even a lady doing questionable looking star jumps... 👀 and it made me even happier with Macy's engagement (including some do-over work with the star jumping lady who was the most excitable trigger) and with the patience and commitment of her human!

30/12/2024

There are going to be plenty of fireworks going off tomorrow night, and likely tonight too. Remember to follow guidance to support your dogs and to reduce their stress.

I know a lot of people want to see in the new year, but please think about your dogs if you know they're nervous.

25/12/2024

Last Christmas, Branwen sat at the table as she frowned until she got some scraps. This year, Brahms decided to attempt at helping himself. These pictures are worth more in hilarity and eccentricity than all of the fancy photos in my camera roll that took dozens of attempts to take. Branwen and Brahms are two of a kind ❤️

Merry Christmas, everyone. I hope you’ve all had a wonderful day 🐾❤️

24/12/2024

Santa's litter helpers (those letters can be rearranged to reveal a different man they might like to help out at times) were giving their all for some treats, mid-photoshoot 🐾🎄

24/12/2024

Branwen and Brahms want to wish you all a Merry Christmas! 🎅🏻🐾

They said if they could change the rules and make the whole day about dogs that they would, and I will always back their ideas... they're not mine... 👀

Thank you SO much for the cards and presents, I appreciate them all so much. My job is naturally rewarding but your added gestures of kindness mean the world to me, and I can't wait to see all of my wonderful clients again after Christmas!

24/12/2024

Jacs was the perfect lady during her training session, and what a wonderful way to end my day before Christmas! 🐾

With very minimal lead pulling, Jacs' overall engagement on the lead was fantastic, as was her settle work and how content she was on such a busy day!

I was very impressed with Jacs' impulse control at the beginning of our session, making space for another dog to walk past us and automatically putting herself in the sit position without any hesitation or urge to get up before I released her!

16/12/2024

Branwen is looking as beautiful as always thanks to Laura, and Brahms had his first full groom from Jacob, and he looks so handsome and like a true Welsh Terrier!

Their puppy package is fantastic, and it has helped to set Brahms' grooming experience up for success! 🐾

Branwen and Brahms 🦌❄️
Santa paws ready 💕
Branwen had the Christmas pudding spa package 🎄

16/12/2024

Enzo and Mabel have kept me entertained during my drop-in visit today!

There was lots of tug-of-war. Some of it was between Enzo and Mabel, while at times I had one toy in each hand. I'm fantastic at multitasking with dogs. I'll add that to my resume 😂🐾

This was followed by command training and some settle down time, before more playing as Enzo invited his sister over for some tumble fun!

16/12/2024

Bailey was joined by Brahms during his training session this morning, and he was such a good boy! 🐾

The boys were introduced off the leash, having a sniff and a play, but never hesitant to engage in my recall cues! There was some excitability from Bailey when it came to the leash walking that followed, but his calm moments were rewarded which is how that half of session ended - calm and content. Brahms himself has gone through a lot of work on his leash as he started off as a stubborn boy who would plant his bottom down if he didn't get attention from passersby, so while he still has his moments, he remembers what a calm walk and loose lead gets him for the most part.

Bailey has been tremendous when having Branwen join his sessions, but some of Bailey's breaks in engagement come when he excitably reacts to other dogs' ecstatic behaviour. As adorable as it is, it's not ideal. So today was a real win for Bailey to have him interacting and then walking alongside another puppy of a similar temperament. There are very kind people in the community of Welshpool who have taken part in small interactions with Bailey and their own dogs, and they have listened to every instruction, which has really helped Bailey and has not caused distress for their own dogs!

As he starts to experience a change in his hormones this behaviour can be challenged, so there's going to be a lot of proofing his behaviour coming up. The interactions your puppies have with the world are so important, and what you reinforce (or let them self-reinforce) can impact their behaviour.

While it's usually a simple fix, it's important to try your best to set them up for success early on. Especially breeds such as Miniature Schnauzers who are innately stubborn and reactive (remember that reactivity isn't always associated with aggression or fear, it can also stem from excitable emotions, also instinctual behaviour such as guarding and alerting).

15/12/2024

Science says that reward-based training and positive reinforcement is the most effective way to train dogs - and it’s the safest way!

Reward-based dog training uses dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter that is associated with the reward. So when a dog receives their reward for displaying a behaviour that we like, dopamine is released which motivates the dog to repeat the behaviour in the future. The result of repeating reward-based training with your dog can be amazing, and the reward doesn’t have to be food. Your dog might be motivated by praise, affection or play.

When a dog doesn’t respond to reward-based training, it doesn’t mean that Positive Punishment and Negative Reinforcement are the best route to rewiring their behaviour. Instead it’s important to consider if they’re still immersed in their triggers, therefore impacting their ability to engage with you and the positive association you’re trying to create, or the operant/classical conditioning you’re aiming to achieve. While it might not seem that way to you, it’s imperative that you consider your own dog’s emotional response to their triggers - every dog is different.

There’s this myth that reward-based training is a form of bribery. There’s definitely a fine line between the two, but they’re not the same thing. Bribery is when you show your dog the treat to get them to display the desired behaviour, vs your dog displaying the behaviour on command before taking out their reward.

Bribery is actually utilised quite a lot when working on teaching your dog new commands as it can help to shape a behaviour before you stop showing them the reward until the behaviour is displayed, and it is utilised for a lot of reactive and aggressive dogs who are in situations that can otherwise be dangerous and during sudden interactions. Bribery might also be utilised to gain a dog’s attention if they’re overstimulated but is advised against, as it's better for your dog if you create distance from that which is overwhelming them. This is why it’s important to utilise operant conditioning via clicker training, recall and verbal cues that your dog recognises results in a reward AFTER they engage with you.

Bribery for reactive and aggressive dogs should be a last resort, but it does prevent your dog from displaying the behaviour that you don’t want to see and can maintain a positive association if you're holding a treat while your dog engages with it while watching their trigger pass them by. Just be mindful not to rely on that and try to be mindful of the environment their triggers habituate in to try and avoid bribery, so you can utilise true reward-based training and the operant end of the scale.

To break it down - bribery can cast an illusion as it often manipulates behaviour, instead of reinforcing it and it should only be used when absolutely necessary such as with the examples shown for nervous, reactive and aggressive dogs.

Positive Punishment will mask the behaviour and sever the relationship between you and your dog. While you don’t have to muse on your own errors (such as allowing self-rewarding behaviours, using bribery and relying on it), you are still causing discomfort and pain to mask a behaviour rather than focusing on the cause of it happening. Reward-based training offers you the opportunity to learn with your dog and what motivates them to display desired behaviours, vs Positive Punishment which casts an illusion; the behaviour is not being displayed, but the problem is not cured. You can realise your errors during positive reinforcement and reward-based training while still motivating your dog through the release of dopamine. Whereas Positive Punishment can cause stress for your dog, create negative associations, physically injure your dog and impact their mental health, resulting in the behaviours you might be trying to avoid or stop: aggression, withdrawal. This all leads back to the source of these methods of training: you. You are on the other end of the lead. Remember that if you’re using a prong collar or an e-collar.

I extend my compassion to anyone struggling with complex behaviour who uses Positive Punishment more than they use Positive Reinforcement, and as humans it’s so easy to react to dogs’ behaviour rather than to slow our own minds and decide on what we’re going to do to prevent and manage. However, I must say these things without sugar-coating my words.

There are pros and cons to both Positive Punishment and Reinforcement for stopping behaviour. However, the former impacts dogs’ welfare more negatively than the latter does.

“Wait… Positive REINFORCEMENT can negatively impact a dog…?”

Yes, if you are reinforcing the wrong behaviour. Timing is everything, and if you miss your cue to reward the desired behaviour and accidentally reward the opposite, your dog could repeat what you don’t want to happen. It’s easy to correct if you recognise your own innocent errors, but if you’re not aware of the importance of timing, you could do more harm than good even with the best intentions.

I implore you to look at the science behind both and do your research. Just because somebody tells you that one form of training is the most effective way going forward, it doesn’t mean they’re right. It might be their own most effective way, but collectively the science-backed studies and research into behaviour and dog psychology are where the answers are.

When I discuss Positive (+) and Negative (-) in dog training and behaviour, I will always aim to speak on both, even when I emphasise my own preference. If you’re currently utilising Positive Punishment such as prong collars, e-collars and physical punishment in other forms, it’s not too late to turn that around. It never is too late. Yes, it can mean more work to undo negative associations created through such methods, but that is all. While it’s more work, it's not an impossible task at all.

13/12/2024

Paul and Alice, of Evans' Happy Hounds, are making a donation to Broken Biscuits in memory of Alice's beautiful dog Peppa who made her way over the rainbow bridge last week.

To quote their post, "Broken Biscuits charity are the only rescue in the UK that take on people’s paralysed pets with suspected IVDD at the point of crisis when they are either going to be euthanised or need to be rehomed".

I do encourage you to read the original post for full details on how donations can be made. I will be making a donation in memory of the sassy queen that was Peppa.

Alice and her partner Matt poured their souls into making sure Peppa lived the most fulfilled life that she could have, and I'm sure she is watching over them with her leapord print angel wings (Peppa's signature style).

12/12/2024

Milo and Maisy were the best walking companions during my second and final day of home visits!

My morning was spent with Milo going over his leash walking and socialisation training, followed by off-leash adventures this afternoon which Maisy joined. I was determined to not leave her beautiful face out of my post today. She gives lovely cuddles 🐕🐾

11/12/2024

I had such a fun time with Milo during his walk today! I enjoyed a morning outing with him as he enjoyed some off-leash fun followed by a canal walk to decompress, and then again in the afternoon when his sister joined us.

We get to do it all over again tomorrow!

10/12/2024

Max was a very good boy during his training session today!

One of our objectives at the moment is working to reduce his pulling towards enticing smells. Max doesn't present a constant pull anymore, but when he catches a scent that he likes, he will try his hardest to get as close to it as possible.

He can also become excitable around other dogs, but I was happy to hand over to his human that Max's behaviour around other dogs was fantastic today. He also responded well to being removed from the area of the smell and reintroducing him using distance, followed by walking back and forth around the smells, and getting closer as he continued to present the desired behaviour.

He will not be discouraged from enjoying smells as that's what dogs do. It's their newspaper. It's Daily Mail for dogs! The point of our session today was to communicate to Max that the pulling behaviour was not acceptable, and calm behaviour was desired. The former will result in him or the trigger being removed, but the latter is acceptable and he will get to enjoy the smells he loves so much providing he's calm and continues to engage well.

He was a very tired boy at the end of our training session, and considering how well he did today I'm sure he enjoyed lots of affection and a tasty chew at home! 🐾