The K9 Journey dog training

17/09/2023

As a starting point, I have created a new infographic to help people to understand what banning the XL Bully can mean for them. Feel free to share.
I have seen alarming posts already saying people have destroyed their dogs, vets are refusing to treat them, dogs dumped.
The law has not changed yet, do not panic.

15/09/2023

If their are an XL bully owners who need help finding suitable muzzles for their dogs or would like some help or guidance in how to go about muzzle training then please drop me a message i will try help who I can and will offer XL bully owners a free 30 minute muzzle training session to help get you start.

15/09/2023

I know there is a lot about the XL bully out their right now after todays announcement. No one quite knows what is going on fully and i know a lot of owners who have this breed that will now be in a state of panic which is understandable.

25/06/2023

Lorna is a fellow IMDT trainer within the local area and a lovely lady. She is goin to be running these fantastic courses if anyone is looking or intersted in these send her a wee message.

05/06/2023

Tonight I had a session with gorgeous bruno. This guy had sprouted a fair bit since i last seen him he's now 7 months old and becoming fairly strong on lead. His owners were looking for advice on lead walking and recall. He grasp both quickly was giving great eye contact in his short lead walking session and his recall was amazing his owners have been doing a fab job. He had a few distractions which didnt phase him. Brilliant work bruno.

29/05/2023

What an amazing day we have been having! The rest of the week is looking to be the same if not better. ☀️
This isn't always the best news for pets. This weather can really affect our dogs especially puppies, older dogs, brachycephalic breeds and our double coated breeds but we need to take extra precautions with them all.

● Walk earlier in the morning or later at night when the temperatures are cooler

● Access to shade inside the home and outside away from the direct sun

● Always carry fresh water especially if walking on the beach to much salt water can make our dogs ill due to the increased salt in their body

● Do not leave dogs in the car during this hot spell a car temperature can reach double the temperature outside.

● always have access to fresh water

● There are lots of different cooling products on the market such as mats, bandanas and toys

● The use of Frozen treats, kongs and licki mats can help keep them feeling cool

● No over enthusiastic exercise like ball chasing, excessive chasing/playing

● Check paths if its to hot to touch then it can potentially burn paw pads.

● Calm paddles in lochs/water

● check water for blue green algae

● Be aware or the signs of heat stroke and although less common water intoxication.

29/05/2023

What a fantastic day and what better way to start it than with this gorgeous 6 month old spaniel Patch 😍
This wee guy has such a sweet nature and what a quick learner. His owners were having some concerns with his jumping up and lets face it spaniels are good at that! He's learning 4 paws on the ground will be far more rewarding than tigger bouncing.
He was also introduced to some loose lead walking which he progressed with at super speed. 👌

26/05/2023

As of this afternoon I will be off duty and spending some time with my family. I apologise In advance for any slow replies to messages/enquiries over the weekend. I will return to business on Monday. Have a fab weekend!

22/05/2023

Recall is another training hurdle people often face and I get requested to help with.
Here is a snippet of the end of one of mylo's walks. Mylo can be easily distracted by scents he loves following them so can often be quite challenging to break his focus from them.
Mylo has relatively good recall most days but we still do revert back to a longline on occasions as like others we face hurdles.
Mylo has a "too far" cue as I dont like him to far ahead. This is useful when a corner is infront and I can't see what could be around it so it gets him to pause and check in. (still working on this) He also has "come" as his recall word to come back to me these are often paired together.
You will see on one of his recalls he appears to ignore the cue as he gets a scent of something this is often when we tend to repeat our cue words as we think they are ignoring us and burn them out as we keep saying it over and over hoping to get that desired behaviour. Sometimes we just need to give them a few seconds to process what is being asked of them before repeating ourselves.

19/05/2023

For people to be aware of if they walk there dogs in this area. Time of the year now that we start to see blooms of blue green algae in ponds and loch just be extra vigilant before letting your dogs into water.

Environmental Health advise caution as blue-green algae found in Castle Heather Park pond, Inverness - full details here - http://ow.ly/cosi50Or8g6

16/05/2023

A trainers learning is never complete! Every year I have to do numerous hours of learning to keep up my education and memberships not only this but because the dog world is forever changing with new research and methods. Plus i just love to learn more about something i'm passionate about.
I've been slowly working my way through this course and have finally had confirmation I have passed my dogs in schools professional course and can display my KAD school dog specialist logo. 😁
This was an amazing course with lots to learn but it gives me the knowledge to help schools or a similar setting who would like to introduce a dog into the environment to help with different aspects of childrens learning, building confidence or for emotional support. If anyones childrens school are considering this or already doing this but feel could use a little more support or guidance then please don't hesitate to contact. More than happy to help where I can.

15/05/2023

Here is a short video of one of my own dogs practicing his loose lead walking.
I have always said loose lead training can be one of those behaviours people find difficult to train or give up on quicker. Its not one that you see instant results and it needs broken down into different stages and practiced in many different environments.
There are many distractions on a dogs walk that they want to investigate so it wont always be perfect you will have good days and bad...we most certainly do like every aspect of training.
We are in our garden with minimal distractions. Mylo has good eye contact, he's focused, he's on the side i would like him on. (Personal preference) He isn't being rewarded all the time now as we have progressed from this he is verbally rewarded with good so he still knows hes doing well. He's rewarded at the end with food and being released off lead.
We are now at the stage of progressing out the garden. This is just to show that if we are consistent with the methods I teach or recommend they can work it just takes patience and short sessions to keep reinforcing it.

22/04/2023

Reminder about these alarms we will all receive tomorrow.

Please be aware that some pets (if not all) will be startled by this emergency alert test siren going off on all mobile phones in the UK at 3pm on Sunday 23 April.
ALL phones will receive the test message and although it will only last for 10 seconds, it will be LOUD even if the phone is set to silent.
The only way to prevent this coming through is to remove emergency alerts in your phone’s settings OR TURN YOUR PHONE OFF before 3pm.
Please make a note in your phone’s calendar to remind yourself to prepare for this event, if you need to protect your pet - 3pm, Sunday, 23 April 2023.

08/04/2023

🐰🐤 EASTER WEEKEND🐤🐰

Remember to keep all that chocolate away and out of paws reach from the dogs in the household. Chocolate can be toxic to our dogs. Foods such as hot cross buns due to their raisen content can also be harmful.

If having an easter egg hunt make sure all dogs are kept out of the area in which the chocolate has been hidden their wee noses might get the better of them and want to help hunt them out.

You could arrange their own easter hunt using dog safe treats or even slices of boiled egg (mine do like a raw egg) and hide them round the garden to search out.

Have a great weekend and eat lots of chocolate 🍫

06/04/2023

This gorgeous wee girl is Athena the 5 month old XL bully pup...so she isn't going to stay this little for long. She was booked in for a consultation last night to help target her jumping up on guests cause she will be a big strong girl once fully grown. Within 20 minutes Athena had already grasped 4 paws on the ground was more rewarding. Looking foward to seeing her and her owner again soon.

25/03/2023

This absolutely handsome boy is kauto the 2 year old sprollie. Such a gorgeous boy and beautiful nature. We are going to be working on some lead work and recall. The outside world with all its interesting smells can be very distracting to him so we have the challenge of finding an amazing reward and motivation for this boy. Training can be needed at any age or any stage of a dogs life. Our dogs are never to old or to young to start learning. Was a lovely saturday morning meeting him and his family.

23/03/2023

🥰🐶 TODAY IS NATIONAL PUPPY DAY!! 🐶🥰

Who can resist a puppy!

Here's a couple of pictures of my two as pups. I've had completely different journey's with both my dogs. They have very different personalities and very different likes.

Feel free to share some puppy photos of any of your dogs.