Nala stayed with us for a few weeks and one of the things we wanted to work on was her desire to play and interact with us ..read more

1 - Don't tell them to sit. When anyone gets excited the last thing anyone wants to do is sit still. Imagine watching the lottery draw and seeing that you have won. Would you be sitting still? I'm pretty sure for most of us it would be the last thing we would think to be doing. When a surge of adrenaline goes through a body, the easiest thing to do is move. Get them moving with you instead of just nagging them to sit. 2 - Don't try to train them when they're losing their mind. Once your crazy dog has got to their full blown crazy stage don't even bother trying to train them then. Unless you ha ..read more

The more emails we get and the more people we talk to about their dogs, the more often we see a complete disconnect as to what dog training is and can do and ultimately what sharing a life with a dog looks like. Pet dog training should more accurately be called 'dog education' in my opinion. The connotations for 'training' suggests there is an end goal which there may be but one where once achieved we can stop the training. This isn't true. It's similar to weight loss goals. It's almost cruel that once you hit a certain weight you then have to carry on avoiding all the tasty things you enjoyed ..read more

1 - If you are unsure of the outcome don't chance it. If I don't what the dog is going to do in any given situation I won't risk getting it wrong. Especially when children are involved. No matter how well trained or 'good' you genuinely think your dog is, don't risk it. They are dogs. And dogs have their off days too. They also have their dislikes and sometimes they can just take a dislike to something- even our children. Don't be one of those people that repeat 'be nice' in the hope that the dog will be nice. It's a very poor strategy. 2 - Teach distance, don't encourage interactions. We're ..read more

1 - Remember they're an adolescent. It might sound obvious, but too often people forget that being an adolescent can be a challenge. We tend to forgot how much of an idiot we were when we were going through an annoying adolescent stage. I literally used to knock on people's doors and run away before they could answer it. My adolescent brain thought that was the funniest thing. Give them a break and expect things to be a little hit and miss for this period. Try to prevent the naughty stuff as much as you can. It's a phase but you don't want them enjoying the naughty stuff so much that they grow ..read more

1 - They don’t turn up understanding anything you expect of them. Show them how to get by, don’t just wait to have a go at them when they get it wrong. 2 - Puppies are puppies. Expect them to bark, bite, piss, shit, growl, jump, whine etc. It’s what you sign up for when you get a puppy. Appropriate training will help both you and then live in harmony. If you’re not sure how, get a decent trainer to help you. 3 - They are not out there to dominate anyone or anything. They are just trying to get by in your made up world. Help show them how to get by. 4 - They need a lot of sleep! Don’t try to t ..read more

1 Don't try to train them when they are reacting. If your dog has reacted and isn't able to focus you've already lost that battle! Teach them behaviours at home that will help them cope better. We teach a find it which cues them to get their nose down looking for something, a 'let's go' as an emergency U-turn and simple focus games. It might sound simple because it is. There isn't any secrets here. It just comes down to how well you've taught your dog to do something, regardless of the distraction. If your dog has been reacting for half their life, don't expect them to suddenly stop within a w ..read more

Like all puppies, Cosmo is being experimental with his behaviour ..read more

At this stage we have had Cosmo for two weeks and we are starting to notice lots of behaviours around other dogs that we like, but also certain things that we don't like and so want to make sure he doesn't grow into them and make them a habit ..read more

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