Midlands Mutts Dog Training

28/01/2025

I’m not making this post to justify myself and my decisions to people who will disagree, I’m making this post to let others know it is COMPLETELY OKAY to give your dog back to the breeder or rehome if it isn’t working out.

Emmi will be going back to her wonderful breeder this week. I’ve been blessed to have this girl in my life for 4 months, but unfortunately- it wasn’t working out. I’ve made this decision after many discussions with myself about whether it was right or not, however I know it would be selfish not to allow her to find a home better suited where she can thrive.

I’m still grieving heavily, and I am yet to correctly process what happened to Otto. I’m not going to hide it or lie about it- Emmi was in some ways a rushed decision. Yes, she was planned before we lost Otto (god, I have planned to have a standard poodle for the past 6 years- she was the most planned dog I’ve owned) but she came at a time which meant I hadn’t given myself time to grieve correctly. Instead of giving myself time and waiting- I still went for her, because her litter was exactly what I’d wanted for so long. Yes, she was what I wanted- but I didn’t consider if she was what I needed at the time.

I need to give myself a few months off personal dog ownership (Ada will be staying, she’s my boyfriend’s dog first and foremost- I just get to do a lot of fun things with her), and to say it nicely- sort my s**t out. It’s unfair of any dog to come into my life right now, as mentally I cannot offer what one really needs from me.

I’m not ready to form a strong relationship with a new dog yet, and I’m just grateful I’ve realised this whilst Emmi is still so young and adaptable.

It’s okay to admit you are not the right home for a dog (even if it’s just a temporary thing and you end up getting another dog with time!), or a dog isn’t right for your home. And it’s better to let the dog go to a better situation than one you can offer, than to live with both of you not being as happy as you could be.

Thank you Emmi for the past few months. You’re a firecracker, and you deserve all the best in your forever home❤️

07/01/2025

Due a last minute let down, we now have one remaining space for our upcoming puppy course that starts this Sunday.

Suitable for all dogs up to 8 months of age.

06/01/2025

PAIN AND BEHAVIOUR:

If your dog is showcasing sudden behavioural changes, or has a random sequence of unpredictable behaviours with no known trigger- please take them to the vets for a full pain assessment BEFORE training.

Around 2 months ago, I had a lovely lady ring me desperately seeking help for her german shepherd. She’d been with her fair share of trainers since the behaviours started to show about a year ago, and none of them had been able to help outside of suppressing the behaviours short term. I asked regarding triggers- and as soon as this lady told me it could be anything, and it’s day dependent- I asked her to keep a diary for 2 weeks with anything he’d reacted to, how he’d reacted, what he’d done that day, and what he’d eaten to see if we could find a correlation. As I’d thought, the days he’d been out for long walks or been running with his owner were the days he’d struggle more.
At this point, I wasn’t happy to train with this dog without a pain check from the vets and explained this to his owner. I refuse to take money off someone when I think the field they’re struggling with is not where my experience lies.

And guess what, the same lady has just messaged me saying her dog has now not reacted for a week and gone back to the dog he was just over a year ago. What changed? He got diagnosed with hip dysplasia, and was placed on pain medication. No amount of training could have changed that the dog was in pain.

To summarise (and for people who don’t like reading a massive story🤣)- if your dog is showcasing a weird or sudden behavioural issue, instead of contacting a trainer firstly contact your vets. A LOT more behavioural issues are down to pain than people realise, and no amount of training done will solve a pain, neurological or discomfort based issue.

21/12/2024

Special thank you to ‘Santa Paws’ for joining our Christmas Class this year, we had a blast!

A few of the best pictures (and funniest🤣) to wish you all a very Merry Christmas 🎅 🎄

10/12/2024

05/12/2024

Our next puppy course will be starting on Sunday 12th January 2025 at 10AM, and will take place for 6 weeks.

We will be learning more than ever before, visiting 6 different locations to work on real life socialisation- alongside building a skillset for your puppy to set them up for life.

On your first week, you will also receive a puppy package to aid in the week by week training and continue your homework at home.

Week 1: Newstead Village: Importance of Relationship&Engagement - including becoming a source of dopamine to your puppy, building a trusting relationship, motivation and drive building, utilising freeshaping, and working through common puppy problems.

Week 2: Brierley Forest Park: Handling Skillset - including working through the basics of grooming, vet and health check handling, desensitising items such as brushes and stethoscopes, working on restraints, and using settle matts for introducing co-operative care skills.

Week 3: Wollaton Hall: Introduction to Essentials - building up basic obedience skills; inclusive of loose lead walking, recall foundations, and luring skills for positions.

Week 4: Giltbrook Shopping Centre: Confidence Building - including dealing with overarousal, working through manners in shops and cafes, utilising a settle matt for aiding in correct socialisation skills, introducing box feeding, and exploring the world to build confidence.

Week 5: Location TBC: Livestock Exposure - including water confidence, building engagement around livestock, real life thresholds, building on recall and neutrality skills, and using place to aid in decompression.

Week 6: Nottingham Town Centre: Novel Exposure - including lifts, building on position stays, and an option train journey.

This course will be £100 including the puppy pack, and is suitable for all puppies 9 months and under.

We welcome previous puppy class students back to build on their skillset too!

We have 4 spaces available, so please contact us to book in ASAP.

26/11/2024

FOR ENQUIRIES:

Please ensure you text or message us over call to arrange a phone call.

Unfortunately we are unable to answer calls throughout the day due to working with clients, so we require arranged phone calls.

Thank you for understanding!

05/11/2024

NEWBIE NOVEMBER PACKAGES:

All packages are open to new clients only.

Bronze: suitable for mild behavioural modification, foundational skillsets, or seeing if the training is correct for yourself and your dog.

Silver: suitable for behavioural modification, pushing for strong foundations and advancing further, and building on skillsets.

Gold: suited to more heavy behavioural modification cases, proofing and generalising foundational skillsets, and beginning tool training.

All Assessment&Foundation sessions will be roughly an hour and a half, and include putting together a plan suited to both the dog and owner to begin training.

We will then move onto Follow Up sessions to advance the training skills learnt, alongside building on the foundations established.

Classes and workshops included are to be used by the end of February 2025, however can be claimed throughout any point in your training journey.

Day Train session will be conducted by the trainer, and will include a handover for the owner. This can be arranged for any time throughout your training sessions.

01/11/2024

Happy November 🍂🍁

30/10/2024

Just a few of our recent Walk&Train clients smashing their training sessions in differing environments, alongside some of our Halloween Special class!

We have some exciting new things coming soon, including a weekly bootcamp suited to all levels.

28/10/2024

MIDLANDS MUTTS EVENTS LIST FOR NOVEMBER&DECEMBER:

All events require booking to confirm a space, and some may only be for current clientele.

Please contact us directly for further details on any events.

28/10/2024

Our new stuff from came today, including our growing puppy collar!

Emmi loves her collar and tug duo🥰

28/10/2024

This is becoming a welfare issue!

Im tired of hearing “the vet says there is no pain” by a guardian after they have taken their dog to the vet. It leaves me deflated and frustrated and feeling so sorry for the dog.

Myth Bust:

PAIN CANNOT BE RULED OUT IN ANY ANIMAL (dog, cat, horse or hamster), by anyone!

* A quick palpation - CANNOT RULE OUT PAIN

WHY?

The dog may shut down due to environmental factors or dislike of a strange human touching them, they keep still to get it over with ASAP!

The dog may be over aroused or overwhelmed by the clinical environment (excited/scared etc) to the point that adrenaline is so high it blocks pain!

* Blood Tests - CANNOT RULE OUT PAIN

There is currently NO blood test that can detect pain.

* Diagnostic imaging - CANNOT RULE OUT PAIN

Yes they can pick up a variety of conditions, but even the GOLD standard MRI doesn’t pick up everything, but NONE of them can detect PAIN.

Just because a source cannot be found doesn’t mean there is no pain.

PAIN is subjective, it is whatever that being (human or animal) perceives it to be!

Pain can come in many different forms, it is extremely complex, and can effect the individual in many different ways. A dog may get injured, the injury may have healed, but the pain remains … this is known as maladaptive pain.

Behaviour can be a HUGE indicator for PAIN:

* There could be a change of behaviour that has been directly caused by PAIN.

* There could be a worsening of behaviour due to an increase or new presence of PAIN.

* There could be a lack of “normal” behaviour due to PAIN.

* There could be behaviours that are present but that the guardian/owner don’t deem to be problematic that are indicators of PAIN.

* The dog may have ALWAYS displayed behaviours that are indicators of PAIN, but they have been ignored and put down to “just the way they are”.

* There may be NO problematic behaviours at all …. And the dog might still be in PAIN!

* The dog might be energetic, always on the go … and still be in PAIN.

* The dog might be lazy … and still be in PAIN.

* The dog may zoom up and down stairs … and still be in PAIN.

Diagnosing PAIN is not simple and can be difficult to get on top of.

A PAIN relief trail can be great! But often only one type of analgesic is tried and sometimes this doesn’t get results leading to the ASSUMPTION that there is no PAIN!

Here’s why:

* The drug was only trialed for 2 weeks - when living with chronic pain it can take longer to relieve. 2 weeks is not enough.

* The drug used wasn’t targeted to the type of pain the animal is feeling; soft tissue, bone, nerve or a combination of all.

It might take a number of different medications or a combination OVER TIME to see a difference.

ALWAYS keep in mind, NO ONE can rule out another being’s PAIN.

NO ONE. Not me. Not you. Not a Doctor. Not a Vet.

26/10/2024

REMINDER:

Today’s classes are our Halloween special, so make sure you bring along a costume for your dog (and one for you too if you fancy it!) to be in with a chance of winning a prize.

10AM at Newstead Village
1PM at Bingham

16/10/2024

Some of our recent walks, including our Adventure Walk&Train.

Next months Adventure Walk&Train will be hosted 19th November- and will take place at Mam Tor, Derbyshire.

Collections will begin at 10AM, and we have 8 spaces available. All dogs must be neutral to other dogs and capable of walking on a loose lead.

12/10/2024

We’re so excited to get started with our new and improved puppy course tomorrow, and meet the latest Midlands Mutts recruits!

11/10/2024

UPDATE: Time has run out 👇

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/Udq5udkeag6enJWQ/?mibextid=WC7FNe

EUTHANASIA RISK - NO NEGATIVE COMMENTS

Please contact the original post above only as offers will not be seen here.

08/10/2024

THIS WEEK CLASS SUBJECTS:

10AM at Newstead Village:
• Vet Care Training Skills
• ‘Hold’
• Position (sit/down/stand) stays, with the distraction of recalled dogs
• Starting a Focused Heel
• Pivot Work (backend awareness)
• Box Feeding
• Lifeskills & Neutrality
• Place Decompression

1PM at Bingham:
• Building on Position Stays
• Making Recall Non-Negotiable
• Introducing an Emergency Stop
• Engagement Games
• Place Training
• Heel Work
• Lifeskills & Neutrality
• Decompression

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