K9 Co-Operation

Junior dog trainers in the making? Nah, just my three awesome girls posing with our furry females. I'm fact our German Shepherd, Serendipity, turned 10yo earlier this week. She came into our lives when my youngest daughter was about 1.5yo. Raising dogs with children isn't so hard if you're committed, consistent and determined to make things work.
I feel having a dog really enriched my childhood, so it seemed wrong not to have dogs around as my own children grew up. In fact m...y first 'own' puppy after leaving home was welcomed to the family when my eldest daughter was just 8mo. I wasn't a professional trainer back then more of a very keen amateur/semi-pro. Perhaps a terrier wasn't the best choice of a first dog, but we did it and we sadly had to say goodbye to him at 14yo nearly 2 months ago. It's been very hard emotionally because of how much he meant to our little family unit. Never underestimate what a well trained dog can add to your lives ❤
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I currently have space on a Tuesday morning in Stebbing between 10-12 for agility. This can either be 1-2-1 or a small beginners or foundation class, max 6 dogs. If you would be interested, please PM me

Would you like your dog more reliable around livestock? Yes? Then this is the course for you. 10 weeks of training around real livestock in controlled conditions. Based in Stebbing nr Dunmow, put your training to the test whilst building a strong relationship with your dog.
It's expected this course will fill up quickly so book now to get the early bird price of £200 for the full 10 weeks. You won't find training like this anywhere else locally. Starting in the New Year on a Saturday afternoon from 1pm. Class size of 6-8 dogs only. Call or message for more info

Some times it can be hard for us to separate the wheat from the chaff in regards to #ethical and #responsiblebreeders or the ugly side of breeding = commercial or puppy mill breeders. As a trainer and mum, I surround myself with only strongly ethical and reputable breeders, owners, trainers and sports folk so I can recognise the #excellence when I see it.
This is a knack that has come from many many years of experience not only looking for my own companions/show/sports dogs... but helping others to do the same with excellent results. I decided to start offering this service last year, but had really only left it on the outskirts, BUT with the new #animalwelfare and #dogbreedinglegislation coming into effect, it's going to become even harder to spot the ethical breeders from the commercial ones. I also offer a similar service for tracking down the ideal #rescuedog for your family. So I've decided to make this one of the core packages I offer, which also includes 6 puppy/dog training sessions to help you introduce your new pup/dog into your household and get you started on the right paw so to speak.
Send me a message to inquire about this unique service some more 😊
#dogtrainer #familydog #ethicalbreeder #adoptandshop #lettheexpertdothework #puppyfindingservice #essexdogtrainer #esex #smallbusiness #muminbusines #essexbusiness #dogbehaviour #gooddog #dogtraining
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This is a fantastic bit of education about mouthing and biting in dogs by watermill wolves, the different types and which can potentially lead to real aggressive bites. The subtlety in the body language is so important and it's vital that the general dog owning public educate themselves on this as much as those of us who work professionally with dogs. Afterall, we all live with them!
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fb id=486878445114178&id=39738041073064 9

Been an awesome weekend of disc dog with ClickerTastic and Ruby Welsford. Massive thanks to everyone who attended, we had a great time and it was fabulous seeing all your dogs progressing so well and in such a safe way too! Keep your eyes peeled on the page as I will be going through the task of photo sorting etc over the next few days (there are 100's!!!!). There's definitely a few fantastic and memorable ones.
I'm also proud to announce that I am now classed as UKDDA Foundation Disc Dog School! I will be getting on organising something once a month for those interested in keeping up with the work from this weekend and making it an opportunity to introduce new people to the sport aswell.

Only a few spots left. Grab them while you have a chance. Booking forms on the event page, only 7 spaces for handlers per day and most are gone. Event is only a week away now!!

Booking forms are now available and payment can be taken via paypal or BACS. Please get your payments in by 12th August

I've decided I am going to run a theory and demo class specifically aimed at reactive dogs. So if your dog doesn't cope well being around other dogs and is either very scared or can become aggressive or just doesn't know how to behave, then this presentation is just for you.
I know the struggles, I've been there myself and have experienced the stress, the helplessness, the panic when you see another dog, the anxiety, the constant worry about how your dog is going to behave ...when they see another dog, or perhaps they have another trigger? This presentation is designed to help you understand the theory behind what's happening and how to begin changing your dogs response to such things. To hopefully begin to enjoy your walks again and feel empowered to help your dog with useful techniques.
This will be an afternoon class on a Saturday in September. I haven't decided an exact date yet, but if you would like to attend, please comment on this post or send me a DM. This will be £40 for the afternoon and you will get the chance to learn and practice the techniques. You will need a note book and pen as it will cover a lot.
So if you want to start seeing some positive change in your dog and get some good solid help in over coming your dogs reactivity, do get in touch, perhaps even tell me a little about the problems you are experiencing!
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I wish I'd had a before video. This is the gorgeous Tilly walking calmly alongside Mouse who has been a fantastic stooge dog throughout working with Tilly.
Tilly's owner came to me distraught after the dog she adopted as 'dog friendly' had become increasingly not so, over the period of a year. After being let down by another trainer and having to suffer through the distress of a dog fight, she found me and we have been working hard in controlled settings to begin modifying T...illy's behaviour around other dogs. She is a slightly complicated girl as she has a case of frustrated greeting with some dogs and nervous aggression with others, and sadly as her arousal levels would switch up quickly, she would show aggressive responses in both scenarios.
So over the last few months we have been working hard on teaching default check ins, new behaviours in response to seeing dogs, handling techniques, bringing her arousal levels down quickly and rewarding calm as much as possible. I've given her owner the tools and techniques to continue the hard work outside of our sessions and you can see how that is paying off. We have now reached a point where we will be heading back into Tilly's home ground as she has now learned the new behaviours sufficiently well we can up the distractions.
This is by no means easy, it is intensive work and requires Tilly's owner to be totally committed to seeing change. Tilly has worked with all 3 of my larger dogs over the last 3 months so she has been exposed carefully and UNDER THRESHOLD. You cannot change a response to a trigger without that trigger being present, however how close that trigger is makes a huge difference. In this case we worked at a distance where Tilly was comfortable to begin with and non reactive. She could see the dogs but wasn't reacting to them. That's the key. She was rewarded heavily for not reacting. We have gradually decreased the distance with each dog until we have reached this result you see here. She is comfortable in Mouse's presence. She and Mouse have done careful introductions, Tilly and her owner have been taught how to engage and disengage safely with another dog.
I look forward to continuing working hard with them and reaching a point where Tilly can happy ignore other dogs or engage with them safely if she feels comfortable enough to. There's still a way to go, but this is a huge accomplishment and better yet, Tilly's owner is feeling empowered with her new skills and is hopeful for a continued positive outcome.
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I will be taking my walking clients out to shady woods from now until the weather cools down, what are you doing to keep your dogs cool during their daily walks? My personal dogs are getting walked very late evening so they can still have a run around without over heating

dogs are not meant to be naturally social with all dogs. this will depend on various breed traits, age and individual personality

The breed club I am on the committee for is hosting their first annual breed event. This includes a show, breed seminar, temperament testing, and an opportunity for anyone interested in the breed to come along and meet various dogs, owners and breeders and get to ask questions and learn more. We are fortunate enough to have very experienced breed folks from Slovakia and Czech Republic attending who are supporting our club and its goals. We'd love to meet people with an interest in the breed or who may consider owning one in future :)

Playing keep away... but you've got to love this little rogue 🤣🤣

The dangers of dog sports! Very sore and very twisted ankle. Sorry to those I had to cancel with this morning. I'm also having to cancel some dog walks this week which is very frustrating for me as I hate letting my clients down. My massive apologies to everyone. I will endeavour to keep myself as safe as possible in future!

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