Little Dog Big World

03/01/2025

Fulfilling our dogs needs 😎 P and Coco enjoyed a 6 mile run with the bike totally off lead. Meeting a dogs energy requirements means things like frustration, barrier aggression, noise sensitivity, destructive behaviour are HUGELY reduced (or eradicated) with 0 training. Not as much as we think to do with dogs is actually due to training. Your structure, boundaries, relationship and lifestyle with your dog is far more important to your dogs life than formal training. If your dog knows recall, stay and loose lead walking they don't actually *need* any other training as long as their needs are met. I gave these dogs hardly any commands on this entire run, didn't need to, they just run and stop when I stop, and I tell them to sit as a jogger/cyclist go past. That's it! Happy dogs 🥰

02/01/2025

Remember Chloe the Pomeranian I had for a board and train? Hard work PAYS OFF!!! I'm so proud of these owners who have fully committed to changing in order to help their dog. From biting, lunging, barking and pulling to beautiful engagement and a lovely casual heel position in public. Chloe's owners have done everything they can to help their dog, and the results are wonderful! It truly has been a pleasure working with this dog and seeing a complete change in her reactivity during her board and train, and watching the owners work diligently to keep up the progress once she went home. Congrats to you all and many thanks for letting me share the videos of your amazing progress! 🔥😍💪

19/12/2024

Today's session was a challenge! This little guy is very explosive and VERY tolerant to pressure. It took a long time and some creative thinking to start making progress with him, but we got there! This lucky terrier has owners who are very dedicated to helping him, and unfortunately they have been failed by multiple trainers before who were unable to help his reactivity. More sessions and updates to follow as this guy starts his journey to becoming a reformed canine citizen!

18/12/2024

Well, this beautiful girls board and train has come to an end. I'm sad to see her go, as she really became one of my little pack, but I couldn't be happier seeing her owners walking her down the street in a lovely heel position, wonderful engagement and not reacting to other dogs, even ones that barked at her! She was also a calm and obedient queen in the home. That's what dog training is all about, actually delivering results to your clients and making their life with their dog easy and enjoyable. Chloe is a super star and I'm wishing her and her owners continued success with their new life with their awesome dog! 🥰😍❤️

13/12/2024

Did you know in a study done on dog sociability by group, toy breeds are the second most social group of dog breeds, after gundogs? Yes, that means after labs, spaniels etc Chihuahuas, poms, Papillons, cavaliers, min pins etc maintain high levels of sociability throughout life! This also means that whenever you see a reactive toy breed, this is NOT in the breed standard, meaning this anti social behaviour is caused by unethical breeding, trauma or lack of proper training/handling. It is NOT normal for toy breeds to be this way. "Little dog syndrome" is a load of rubbish. Of course each dog is an individual, many individuals will be much more dog selective than others in adulthood - across ALL breeds. (For example my little spitz mix doesn't really like other dogs but my chi mix is totally unfazed about being around any kind of dog, as long as they aren't displaying predatory behaviour towards her!) So, as small dog owners, lets commit to having well trained and socially tolerant toy breeds the way they're meant to be! Photo of these 3 angels for tax 🥰🥰

12/12/2024

They're becoming quite the iconic little trio! 🥰😍 Effective training = off leash freedom 😁

10/12/2024

Look at this gorgeous boy 😍 I got to teach this lovely Boston terrier X staffy loose lead walking tonight. He did so great in one session ❤️💪

10/12/2024

Coco my Chihuahua mix at work today helping this reactive Pomeranian on her journey. The dogs didn't play together at all, which is what we want - low arousal. Simply 2 dogs existing together, engaging with me and the environment and being content and calm. 🥰

03/12/2024

Cycling with toy breeds in the Scottish Highlands ❤️ I find cycling with my dogs a great way to build and use their pack drive and reduce their engagement with the environment. Should dogs engage with the environment? Sure, to an extent. Do I want my high prey drive dog charging off after a scent? No. By constantly moving on the bike, my dogs are incredibly driven to stay with me, it becomes an unspoken task for them. No recall needed to get my dogs back to me, they just stay with me, and to be honest, I didn't train them to do this, sure I taught them on a lead to run with the bike in a parallel position, but removing the lead doesn't make a whole lot of difference. Active and healthy dogs LOVE to run, and this is a fantastic outlet for them!
(I have done other training to devalue the environment so if you have a dog that is at risk at running off on walks cycle with your dog attached to you before attempting this, I can trust my dogs to follow me due to ALL the training we have done.)

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21/11/2024

Long Stay > Recall into heel

I always do obedience training as part of my structured walking, towards the end of our walk. Once the dogs needs have been met through exercise, they are so much more malleable to work with. Some people think this type of obedience is flashy and pointless, but the truth is long stays are VERY important if you walk your dogs off lead. I put mine in a stay when I'm going round a blind corner, so I can make sure there's no on lead dogs, livestock or something else unexpected that requires them to be close to me and under control, also if I'm going to pat a horse or cow that's behind a fence, or if I need to stop and tie my shoe or even if I'm stopping to check my phone. There are real world applications for such obedience!

17/11/2024

Did you know that toy breeds are the only group of dogs bred solely for human companionship? But did you also know that this means that they were developed from working breeds, meaning that many toy breeds have plenty of drive and will enjoy breed fulfillment activities relevant to their ancestral lineage, rather than sitting on a sofa all day doing nothing? This is Coco the Chihuahua mix in a barn searching for rats and having a great time! Coco has successfully hunted, caught and killed rodents before. This is no lap dog!

26/10/2024

Coco my Chihuahua mix with 6 labradors, as we prepare to let the shepherd out into the mix. Coco is consistently the smallest dog in every social setting, but she is confident and neutral around this balanced group of big dogs.

26/10/2024

P the Pomeranian mix almost getting flattened by a Belgian malinois puppy on a pack walk 😂 Naturally, she flinches as the large dog rushes past, but her body language quickly returns back to happy and relaxed as she checks in with me, sees I have acted like nothing happened and she recovers almost instantly. This is a toy breed growing in confidence around large off leash dogs - this is how we want toy breeds to feel around big dogs and be tolerant of pressure. P has a history of reactivity and fighting with other dogs, but instead of keeping her hidden from other dogs we are exposing her to a balanced pack so she continues to make progress.