Throw Me A Bone - Dog Training & Behaviour

I think Tara approves her foster home (and garden ­¤śŖ) ­¤ÉŠ

Behaviour improver classes have started with a BANG ­¤ÄēŌĆ╝’ĖÅ­¤ÄēŌĆ╝’ĖÅ
Doggies in our classes have completely different levels of previously training, from none to Kennel Club standard, so our classes will not only be educational and fun, but they will also be accommodating all levels and capabilities ­¤æŹ­¤ż®
Excited for next class already ­¤śŖŌŁÉ’ĖÅ­¤Äē

Foster Tara had a brilliant first night, clean in the house, slept all the way through Ōś║’ĖÅ
Today she's getting used to her foster gang, briefly seen the cat, she's a lot happier in herself and the tail hasn't stopped wagging ­¤ż®
Stay tuned for her adventures ­¤ÉŠ­¤ÉČ

Everyone, meet the newest foster - Tara ­¤ż®

One remaining space for our recall workshop next Saturday ŌĆ╝’ĖÅ
https://www.facebook.com/events/611286292 612523/?ti=icl

The Black Beauty ­¤ź░
The primary reason why her owners have contacted me was that she was very dog reactive. She couldn't cope with dogs at all, she was very stressed during her walks, uncontrollably over excited and vocal at home, she couldn't focus on anything else other than chasing her tennis ball. During our sessions together she's slowly learnt that calm walks, with lots of sniffing, can be fun and enjoyable ; she's learnt that when she sees a dog she can make her owner choice what to do and now she decides to come back to handler. Her recall is getting better with each session and now her owners do plenty of recall games with her, which she loves.
We're going one paw at a time­¤ÉĢŌŁÉ’ĖÅ

Today I had the pleasure of walking my old pal (the lab). When I first met him, he was very dog reactive, his owners had tried to get help before but the advice given to them was unsuitable for him and didn't help with his issues at all, he was not a happy pup ....After a few months of us working together and his owners' complete commitment, he's become a different dog ­¤ż®
I haven't seen him for a few months but as you can see he's more than happy around another dog (and able to completely ignore other dogs in the distance), happy in himself, relaxed, loving a good sniff around, responsive to hoomans .... ­¤Äē­¤ż®

Al fresco dinner today Ōś║’ĖÅ
How can you make feeding times more exciting?
- use a slow feeder (great for dogs that gulp food down too quickly, also very good enrichment)
... - ask your dogs to sit & wait (you can build up duration for both behaviours; by placing food in front of the dog you also add on distraction)
- you can ask your dog to stay / wait in the house until you've placed the food on the grass, then call them (so you can practice stay / wait with duration and distraction AND then recall)
- feeding your dog in the garden (whether it's in a bowl, slow feeder or scatter feeding) is a fantastic source of enrichment (different smells outside, wind / sun, different sounds, etc).
It took me less then a minute to weight out the food, put it in individual bowls, take it outside, maybe another minute to ask the dogs to sit, wait, come, sit again, wait.... and then it's dinner time ­¤”┤­¤”┤­¤”┤
See how much training you can do in just a few minutes? You don't need to allocate an hour a day for training, few minutes is plenty, so why not use feeding times to train & continue to build your relationship with your dog?
Let's see photos of your "micro" training sessions ­¤żō
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Social walkies this morning ­¤ż® all 4 legged friends have started as reactive, OTT or needed to learn some manners and now they are a good group together ­¤æŹ

Sometimes when you are training with your dog you may think there is no progress, because you can be so focused on your end goal, that you're failing to see all the really small, but incremental, changes in your dog's behaviour. All these small changes is what makes a real difference for your dog and it's important to note them. Don't be discouraged if you have a "bad" week - everyone has them. It's perfectly ok to take a step back and work on something a bit longer, rather than trying to rush things and set yourself and your dog up for a fail. If you have to break up the training into 100 small pieces - do it! Everyone (both dogs and people) learn at different pace, it's not a race, so take some pressure off the table and focus on achieving progress step by step ŌŁÉ’ĖÅ

I see every walk as a training opportunity. This little lady loves our recall games now but recall for many dogs, particularly those who like to follow their nose, can be difficult. Spending just a few minutes a day can make a real difference not just in your dog's training, but also in building your relationship with them - who doesn't love seeing their dog do what you ask them to do? ­¤żŚ
If you would like help with any aspects of your dog's training get in touch to book your free discovery call ŌŁÉ’ĖÅ
Email info@tmbdogtraining.co.uk

ŌĆ╝’ĖÅ Introducing Woofpacks's Woofs of WisdomŌĆ╝’ĖÅ
Every weekend you can ask the Woofpack a question relating to general training ­¤ÉĢ­¤ÉČ
What do you think your dog would like to know?
... Ō£│’ĖÅŌ£│’ĖÅŌ£│’ĖÅŌ£│’ĖÅŌ£│’ĖÅŌ£│’ĖÅŌ£│’Ė ÅŌ£│’ĖÅŌ£│’ĖÅŌ£│’ĖÅŌ£│’ĖÅŌ£│’ĖÅŌ£│’ĖÅŌ£│ ’ĖÅŌ£│’ĖÅŌ£│’ĖÅŌ£│’ĖÅ
No behavioural advice will be given as the Woofpack, as much as they are a good looking and well trained bunch, is not qualified for that ­¤ÖŖ
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All outdoor sessions today are cancelled due to expected temperatures. Please take extra care of your pets today, limit walks to early morning and late evening, plenty of shade of them, lots of fresh water, throw some enrichment in ­¤æŹ It is not safe to walk your dog in the middle of the day and there is an increased risk of heat stroke for dogs in this heat (which in many cases is fatal for dogs), so please avoid this. My Woofpack will be having licki mats today, together with some frozen bowls of fruit & kibble Ōś║’ĖÅ

The only exercise these guys want to do in this heat is rotate themselves between beds, cooling mats, sofas and best position in the house - right in front of the air con unit. Hope everyone is keeping their pets safe & away from the heat, with indoor enrichment games instead of walks outside ŌśĆ’ĖÅ

Today will be even hotter than yesterday ŌśĆ’ĖÅ Please ensure you do not walk your dog in the middle of the day at all and definitely don't walk them on roads or pavements during the day - concrete's temperature in the sun is much much higher than air temperature, and the skin on your dog's paws can easily get burnt. The damages this can cause can be quite severe and it will cause a dog a lot of unnecessary pain / discomfort.
If in doubt - apply the 5 second rule - if you can't keep the back of your hand on concrete for 5 seconds comfortably, than it's too hot to be walking your dog there ­¤æŹ
And please - don't leave your dog in the car under any circumstances - air temperature of 30 degrees may result in temperature of approx 40 degrees in the car on a hot day within 10 minutes .... ­¤ź║

Recall training - why? It helps to keep your dog safe, builds a great bond between you and your dog, can be so much fun, releases serotonin (happy hormones) in your system (because there is no better feeling than when your dog comes when called Ōś║’ĖÅ). So why not spend some time learning how you can improve your dog's recall and join our recall workshop on 10 August at 9.30 ? Unless you're happy that your dog is like Fenton (watch the video)..... ­¤śé­¤śé­¤śé
https://www.facebook.com/839750572773966/ posts/2351510001598008?s=607023895&v =e&sfns=mo

Next few days are meant to be hot, hot, hot. Please consider what's best for your dog and only walk them early morning and late evening. Walks in the middle of the day will put the dog at increased risk of heat stroke, which in many cases can be fatal. Depending on your dog's breed, age, coat type & colour, as well as overall health, please do consider when it's safe to walk them. No dog has even died from missing a walk or two, but you don't want your dog to suffer after one walk at the wrong time ...

Do you have a puppy or are you getting one soon? Are you aware of how much exercise should a puppy have at each stage of their life, what type of exercise and what are the risks associated with over exercising them? Too much exercise can really affect your puppy's health and well-being, so here's an excellent note on the subject ­¤æŹ
https://www.facebook.com/2008865922709623 /posts/2277098349219711?s=607023895& sfns=mo