A Puppy is for LIFE...Not just for Christmas..! Most new Dog / Puppy owners I know are very switched on and ready for this BIG moment...!! You know that before you get a new Puppy.. it takes research, time and a lot of decision making, with family, deciding on your choice of breed, to fit your lifestyle + know the Breed Specifics of the Type of Dog. This varies a lot. You know that you are preparing for a huge lifestyle change as you know it.  If you have had a dog before, that's great. Did you have the dog from a Puppy? If so, how long ago? So much in the Dog Training / Learning world h ..read more

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When it comes to words and our communications with our dogs, I am a 'literal' dog trainer. No confusion, no miss messages. I like to teach a dog with clear, cue words. I call a spade a spade... or a Stay and Stay, or a Wait ... a wait.  Dogs are actually able to learn hundreds of words, to be used in different situations and scenarios, they have they capacity and brain to be able to do this. 'Chaser' A brilliant book by John W. Pilley, a retired University Psychologist, who set out to create an experiment to teach his new Border Collie Puppy Chaser to learn words, reached the amazing ..read more

For a long time now, I have found myself talking about these 3 areas when working with dogs and people towards Training or Behaviour. There is often a cross over, which comes first, Training or Behaviour? Both..... two sides of the same coin.  I hope this visual speaks for itself.  As dog owners we are helping our dogs to grow, develop and mature. These 3 areas describe my vision and plan to enable this, bringing everything together into a joint perspective. ​Yay! Go work with the K9 Dreamers Trinity of Training ..read more

K9Dreamers Dog Training and Behaviour and Lockdown Puppies. Pandemic Puppy = Lockdown Love... or does it?  Yes or No? Back in March 2020, here in the UK, we faced the thought of  being on our own with time on our hands. And, we thought... yay !! Let’s get a puppy. So many, many people did, and the Puppy market took off.. beyond what we ever knew before. Puppies arrived from far and wide, (sources not to be discussed here) and families took ownership of a new little dog. Oh my goodness...! Wow!  At first all fantastic cuddles, and gorgeousness, then 3 or 4 months in, reality begi ..read more

During 2020, either in K9Dreamers Dog School Training classes or 1:1 Behaviour consultations, I have worked with hundreds of dogs of all kinds, different breeds, different temperaments, all shapes and sizes. What a year!  What has amazed and pleased me is the commitment of owners who get in touch, wanting to understand and help their Dog, either with Training and / or Behaviour Management.  Most rewarding is seeing dogs who have been rescued from a life of pain, neglect, abuse, injury or cruelty, gradually come to a place of calmness, and able to live relatively peacefully in their n ..read more

 How often do we allow our Dogs a  CHOICE? And Time To THINK? Choice is empowering, to not have choice is demoralising and humiliating. Choices in our human lives provide us with a feeling of security and control, the same happens when we allow our dog to choose. Choice helps a dog to be able to ‘DO THE RIGHT THING’, without it being forced. Choice and giving the dog TIME to THINK is where the learning really happens. When I am running a Puppy Training class, I talk a lot about Choice, and allowing your dog to ‘Think it Out’, especially in the following areas: Loose Lead Walking. Ha ..read more

"I think we should get a dog".. ! Yes... Great idea why not?" ... oh yes, I have thought this and said this. My own journey of dog ownership began not long after I was married. I already bought into this family my student days, crazy ginger gorgeous tom-cat called Muggins, and Muggins was the boss, when we soon got our first Dog, a black + white Border Collie called Hollie. And the journey started. We then had Megan, another BC, who proved to be Diabetic needing Insulin, living a shortened life. Followed by our current 2 dogs, Red Merle Border Collies, sisters of the same parenting, 2 years ap ..read more

Teaching Loose Lead walking with your dog Hardest thing to teach, takes time. At first, choose a non stimulating environment, garden or quiet field. Do it in stages, to learn properly. Holding the lead, have your hands at your waist... no tension on the lead Do 'Drunk walking' – ie Walk 5 steps in any direction, change direction, sideways, circle, diagonal, backwards, continue. If lead is slack, say 'Good' or a happy 'YES'! + reward with food to dog’s mouth. Don’t put any cue word in yet, like ‘Heel or ‘Let’s go’, dog doesn’t understand what this means. The 4 components of Dog Lear ..read more