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Talk Dog Behaviour advice and one-to-one training covering Warwickshire and the West Midlands, UK.

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06/09/2024

πŸ™Œ

06/09/2024

⚠️ π‘Ύπ’‰π’š 𝑰 π’˜π’π’'𝒕 𝒃𝒆 π’‚π’‘π’‘π’†π’‚π’“π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒐𝒏 π‘«π’π’ˆπ’” π‘©π’†π’‰π’‚π’—π’Šπ’π’ˆ (π‘½π’†π’“π’š) π‘©π’‚π’…π’π’š

Yesterday, I received the following email from a researcher for the TV programme *Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly*:

"𝑀𝑦 π‘›π‘Žπ‘šπ‘’ 𝑖𝑠 (redacted) 𝐼 π‘€π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘˜ π‘“π‘œπ‘Ÿ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ 𝑇𝑉 π‘ β„Žπ‘œπ‘€ β€˜π·π‘œπ‘”π‘  π΅π‘’β„Žπ‘Žπ‘£π‘–π‘›π‘” (π‘‰π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘¦) π΅π‘Žπ‘‘π‘™π‘¦β€™.

𝐼 π‘€π‘Žπ‘  β„Žπ‘œπ‘π‘–π‘›π‘” π‘‘π‘œ π‘’π‘›π‘žπ‘’π‘–π‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘Žπ‘  π‘‘π‘œ π‘€β„Žπ‘’π‘‘β„Žπ‘’π‘Ÿ π‘ π‘œπ‘šπ‘’π‘œπ‘›π‘’ π‘“π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘š π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ π‘‘π‘’π‘Žπ‘š π‘€π‘œπ‘’π‘™π‘‘ 𝑏𝑒 π‘–π‘›π‘‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘ π‘‘π‘’π‘‘ 𝑖𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 π‘Ž π‘π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘‘ π‘œπ‘“ π‘œπ‘›π‘’ π‘œπ‘“ π‘œπ‘’π‘Ÿ π‘’π‘π‘–π‘ π‘œπ‘‘π‘’π‘  π‘€β„Žπ‘–π‘β„Ž 𝑀𝑒 π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘“π‘–π‘™π‘šπ‘–π‘›π‘” 𝑛𝑒π‘₯𝑑 π‘€π‘’π‘’π‘˜ 𝑖𝑛 πΏπ‘Žπ‘›π‘π‘Žπ‘ β„Žπ‘–π‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘›π‘’π‘Žπ‘Ÿ πΏπ‘¦π‘‘β„Žπ‘Žπ‘š.

π‘Šπ‘’ π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘ π‘β„Žπ‘’π‘‘π‘’π‘™π‘’π‘‘ π‘“π‘œπ‘Ÿ π‘ π‘œπ‘šπ‘’ π‘“π‘–π‘™π‘šπ‘–π‘›π‘” π‘œπ‘› π‘‡π‘’π‘’π‘ π‘‘π‘Žπ‘¦ 10π‘‘β„Ž π‘†π‘’π‘π‘‘π‘’π‘šπ‘π‘’π‘Ÿ π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘™π‘œπ‘œπ‘˜π‘–π‘›π‘” π‘“π‘œπ‘Ÿ π‘Ž π‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘“π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘šπ‘–π‘›π‘” π‘‘π‘œπ‘” π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘–π‘›π‘’π‘Ÿ 𝑒π‘₯π‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘‘ π‘‘π‘œ π‘π‘œπ‘šπ‘’ π‘œπ‘›π‘π‘œπ‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘‘ π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π‘“π‘–π‘™π‘š π‘€π‘–π‘‘β„Ž 𝑒𝑠 π‘“π‘œπ‘Ÿ π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘’π‘›π‘‘ π‘Žπ‘› β„Žπ‘œπ‘’π‘Ÿ 𝑖𝑛 π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘Žπ‘“π‘‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘›π‘œπ‘œπ‘›. π‘Šπ‘’ π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘™π‘œπ‘œπ‘˜π‘–π‘›π‘” π‘“π‘œπ‘Ÿ π‘Ž π‘π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘“π‘’π‘ π‘ π‘–π‘œπ‘›π‘Žπ‘™ π‘‘π‘œ π‘ β„Žπ‘œπ‘€π‘π‘Žπ‘ π‘’ π‘ π‘œπ‘šπ‘’ π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘–π‘›π‘–π‘›π‘” π‘‘π‘œ β„Žπ‘’π‘™π‘ π‘œπ‘›π‘’ π‘œπ‘“ π‘œπ‘’π‘Ÿ π‘‘π‘œπ‘”π‘  π‘‘π‘œ π‘›π‘œπ‘‘ π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘ π‘π‘œπ‘›π‘‘ π‘‘π‘œ π‘Ž π‘‘π‘’π‘™π‘’π‘β„Žπ‘œπ‘›π‘’ π‘Ÿπ‘–π‘›π‘”π‘‘π‘œπ‘›π‘’.

π‘Šπ‘’ π‘€π‘œπ‘’π‘™π‘‘ π‘–π‘‘π‘’π‘Žπ‘™π‘™π‘¦ 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 π‘“π‘œπ‘Ÿ π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ π‘‘π‘œ π‘π‘Ÿπ‘–π‘›π‘” π‘¦π‘œπ‘’π‘Ÿ π‘œπ‘€π‘› π‘‘π‘œπ‘” π‘‘π‘œ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘“π‘–π‘™π‘šπ‘–π‘›π‘” π‘‘π‘œ π‘ β„Žπ‘œπ‘€ π‘ π‘œπ‘šπ‘’ π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘ π‘π‘œπ‘›π‘ π‘–π‘£π‘’ π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘–π‘›π‘–π‘›π‘” π‘‘π‘œ π‘›π‘œπ‘›-π‘£π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘π‘Žπ‘™ π‘π‘œπ‘šπ‘šπ‘Žπ‘›π‘‘π‘ , π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π‘šπ‘œπ‘ π‘‘π‘™π‘¦ β„Žπ‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π‘”π‘’π‘ π‘‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘ .

π‘ƒπ‘™π‘’π‘Žπ‘ π‘’ 𝑙𝑒𝑑 π‘šπ‘’ π‘˜π‘›π‘œπ‘€ 𝑖𝑓 π‘‘β„Žπ‘–π‘  𝑖𝑠 π‘ π‘œπ‘šπ‘’π‘‘β„Žπ‘–π‘›π‘” π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ π‘‘β„Žπ‘–π‘›π‘˜ π‘Žπ‘›π‘¦π‘œπ‘›π‘’ π‘€π‘œπ‘’π‘™π‘‘ 𝑏𝑒 π‘–π‘›π‘‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘ π‘‘π‘’π‘‘ 𝑖𝑛. 𝑂𝑓 π‘π‘œπ‘’π‘Ÿπ‘ π‘’, π‘‘β„Žπ‘’π‘¦β€™π‘‘ 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 π‘‘π‘œ 𝑏𝑒 β„Žπ‘Žπ‘π‘π‘¦ π‘‘π‘œ 𝑏𝑒 π‘œπ‘› π‘π‘Žπ‘šπ‘’π‘Ÿπ‘Ž, 𝑏𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑑 π‘€π‘œπ‘’π‘™π‘‘ 𝑏𝑒 π‘Ž π‘”π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘Žπ‘‘ π‘œπ‘π‘π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘‘π‘’π‘›π‘–π‘‘π‘¦ π‘‘π‘œ π‘ β„Žπ‘œπ‘€ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’π‘–π‘Ÿ π‘ π‘˜π‘–π‘™π‘™π‘ !"

My first thought was to delete the email. I'm not a fan of Graeme Hall. I've watched a few episodes of his show, and in my opinion, he seems to make things up as he goes along, relying on outdated training methods.

However, I was puzzled. Was the β€œcravat” unwell, and they needed a stand-in? I'm a nobody – why on earth would they want to film me training a dog when there are so many high-profile trainers out there? Curiosity got the better of me, so I decided to give the researcher a call.

I'm still in shock as I write this. The researcher explained that they wanted to invite me to Lytham with my Border Collie to "demonstrate" to Graeme Hall how I would train my dog not to respond to a phone ringtone.

Graeme would then take my training method and use it to teach the Border Collie of the family seeking help – all while filming it for his TV show!

WTF 😳😳😳

I decided to dig a bit deeper and reached out to the force-free dog training community to see if anyone else had experienced something this bizarre.

It turns out that many trainers had also been asked to attend filming sessions to show Graeme how to train dogs before the cameras rolled. Most reported that they refused because of his methods, but a few had shown him and his team how to train a dog, only to be dismissed without any credit for their expertise.

I then did some open-source research on "The Country’s Best Dog Trainer," as the *Daily Telegraph* calls him. He has no formal training in canine behaviour or training. He’s essentially winging it with the help of whatever trainers are willing to show up and assist him.

According to his website, he charges Β£875 per session πŸ€”πŸ˜§

Now I’m not someone who normally criticises other trainers. I prefer to let my clients decide if I’m the right trainer for them based on how I work with their dogs.

However, I couldn’t let this pass without making it public knowledge.

If you're looking for a dog trainer, please avoid this programme and this man. You have no idea whose techniques he’ll be using week to week, and given that most qualified and accredited trainers want nothing to do with him, the quality of training you’ll receive is questionable at best.

Instead, do your own research and find a local trainer who aligns with your own dog training ethics. Organisations such as The IMDT or APDT - Association of Pet Dog Trainers can help guide you to qualified & accredited trainers in your area.

𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒑𝒖𝒕 π’šπ’π’–π’“ π’…π’π’ˆπ’” π’Šπ’ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒔!

Bonnie 🐊
29/08/2024

Bonnie 🐊

26/08/2024

Roody hasn't had one single application, this gentle giant has been through so much since he came to us on Christmas eve, collapsed and exhausted. He really has been so resilient and strong while he recovered from what appeared to be a very severe dog attack to his neck. Roody is super people orientated and loves company and to lean into you for a good fuss, he’s a good boy. He is 40kg and as he was a stray and we have very limited history we are looking for an adult only home he is rising 10 in a few months and we feel he would like a quiet adult only home, Roody has been building his confidence around other dogs, and can meet and walk well with others but he doesn't really want much from other dogs and due to his past injuries' we feel it's not fair to place him at his age with sharing a home with another dog, he really deserves a home where he can have that 1-1 tender loving care.
We know being such a large boy, and with his requirements he will take time to find the right home.. however Roody is struggling more lately on his legs and kennel life isn't the best addition for his older legs. He is on daily Metacam and yumove but we really can't wait to see this lad back resting in a warm home. If you feel you could offer Roody that retirment home he needs, or even a suitable foster placement please get in touch after reading his profile -> https://www.wars.org.uk/adopt-a-pet/roody/ πŸ’šπŸΎπŸ‘

15/06/2024

The neutering deadline for exempted XL bullies who were one or older on 31st January 2024 is fast approaching. ⚠️

If your XL bully has not been neutered by the deadline and confirmation isn’t received by Defra, your dog will no longer be exempt and could be seized by the police. 😒

You only have a few weeks left, so we strongly advise you not to delay, as it could pose a significant risk.

For more support: https://bit.ly/3PH5oXH

20/04/2024

πŸ“£ MPs have just approved the Pet Abduction Bill! This bill from Anna Firth MP will make stealing pets a specific criminal offence.

Under current laws, the severity of abducting somebody's pet is decided mainly based on the financial value of the pet. Dog and cat owners know that isn't good enough β€” our pets mean so much more to us than a price tag. Having a new specific criminal offence will ensure the sentience of our pets is taken into account and reassure pet owners across the nation that if your pet is abducted, the law will take it seriously.

This bill still needs to pass through the House of Lords before it can become law, so we will keep working with Parliament for every dog and cat. This measure began life as part of the Kept Animals Bill, and you can find out more about why we're campaigning for it here πŸ‘‰ https://bit.ly/3Tk99UF

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