Bark To Basics Dog Training And Rehabilitation

If you have a multi dog household it is important that they see you as the one that is in control of the stuff that is important to a dog.
You don’t want opportunities to arise for guarding, bullying and so on.
People often get led into believing that the special privileges should be given to the dog that has been there the longest or is the the eldest. However if this is done then feelings of resentment can often follow with the other dogs. No favouritism should be giv...en or you are risking a grudge developing between your group.
Instead, hold each individual to a high accountability which is the same for each one.
Don’t allow bullying, regardless of how minor or comical it may seem, correct too high levels of excitement which may overwhelm the other dog.
Address any guarding or posturing of an object/area/person, ensure you keep a watchful eye on all resources and how each individual dog behaves around them, and you address these moments at the earliest point possible.
By being immediate in your actions to quash unwanted behaviours, and emotions your little group will learn to be far more harmonious and to heed your guidance 🐾🐾.
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It’s so nice having updates from clients from a few months back. I always enjoy finding out how they are doing. This little beauty was having some issue with not feeling at ease with certain dogs and displaying some antisocial behaviour. We worked on having a strategy to put into place for this and I’m pleased to hear it’s paid off nicely and we have a happy owner and doggy 🥰🐾🐾.

I know it’s a little on the sexist side but it features doggies and it made me giggle 🙈🤭🐾

Saw this on another trainers page and thought it was worth sharing with you guys.
Sometimes it’s difficult to look at the big picture and put the dogs needs ahead of our own but ultimately it causes less anxiety, nervousness and crazy behaviour in dogs. 😁🐾🐾

Here’s an oldie from my you tube channel and looking at it now there are things that I would change if I did it again. However the idea is to give you an indication of a better way to play with your dog and toys/balls rather than throwing them.
Teaching your dog to view things in motion and not to act on impulse and chase gives you much more control in general. Being able to withstand natural urges like prey drive (chasing), is hugely advantageous.
Look outside the box for... ways of engaging with your dog other than simply launching that ball from a ball thrower.
This type of interaction is great fun, varied, tires your dog out dramatically as it’s difficult to do and teaches them to view you as the producer of the fun! 😀🐾🐾
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Don’t think my lurcher was amused with my suggestion of how to increase her body temperature for the winter months 🤣🐾🐾

When it comes to teaching dogs to walk nicely on a lead there are many trainers that will do so with using food as a means of bribery to keep the dogs attention. I do use this on some dogs, however if the presence of the food is going to work against the teaching because the dog is then wanting to jump up to get the food or that the dog will learn to pay attention when you have food in your hand but not give you the time of day if they haven’t, then I don’t use food!
This m...ethod seen in the video is teaching the dog to pay attention to the handler by watching their legs. Teaching the dog to ‘yield’ to the legs and to turn when they turn is a great way of getting a dog to be where you want them to be on a walk. This also doesn’t require the use on constant treats but is still deemed as fun by the dog as they are learning to concentrate (work) which in itself is fulfilment. (See the dogs tail is up an she is happy learning something new).
The second part of the walk is imitating ‘migration’, head up (no sniffing), and going the pace of the owner.
Lead walking can be the cause of so much frustration for owners if it’s an out of control walk. It is in fact a pretty simple issue to address given the right method for your dog. Each dog is different and hence using a blanket approach to all will not serve every dog and owner but each case needs to be taken as an individual and the training techniques tailored to match 😁🐾🐾.
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If you are at the point with your dog where you ask them to do something and you’re lucky if they do so after a lengthy delay or maybe they don’t even do it at all.
Showing our dogs that when we say something we are going to be consistent in actioning it should they disregard the request is the way to get reliability. This isn’t done with anger or by being physical but simply by being calm and insistent and if needed changing your tactic.
Owners will often read and watch a... lot of you tube stuff on how to get their dog to do/be as they want but the big bit missing there is not accounting for dogs being individuals. When I work with a dog, if one method doesn’t work for that particular dogs personality or intelligence level then I swap to something different that will better serve the dog.
This is why it can be a huge advantage to have a trainer/behaviourist with a wide bank of knowledge, training styles and tools to bring to the session. Being able to swap strategies on a hop and be fluid to the needs of the dog is a big part of the success of training/behaviour rehabilitation and this takes experience. 😀🐾🐾
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Being firm but fair with your dog creates a wonderful relationship🐶Being firm but fair with your dog creates a wonderful relationship🐶

Jumping and over excitement when guests arrive at the house is a conditioned response. It’s time to own up to the fact that we as owners create this behaviour!
If you allow, encourage, nurture consistent interactions with dogs and people, at set times be fully aware that you’re training your dog to be overexcited and to anticipate an interaction—you’re creating a pattern. Meaning, when your dog sees another dog or person in those situations/places, they’ll be expecting—and ...rightly so—that an interaction lies ahead. And you’ll get all the hyped up, overly-excited behavior that goes with it.
Owners often are a little fed up and annoyed with their dogs for jumping on guests, but fail to realise the real reason behind why they are behaving that way.
As I mentioned in one of my previous posts about bringing young pups up and not allowing it rewarding any behaviour that you don’t want your adult dog doing.......this is a prime example of one of those 😃🐾🐾
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I’m such a sucker for a puppy 😜💕.
When you have a pup this is the best opportunity you will have to teach your dog the do’s and don’ts of your household. What may be cute and manageable when they are young and small can rapidly become a real problem when they are bigger, stronger and more committed to doing things.
... The question you should ask yourself when your pup starts carrying out a new behaviour is ‘Do I want them doing this when they are an adult?’
If the answer is no, don’t let the behaviour take place. Habits are difficult to break when they are deeply rooted, hence the first instance they surface is the time to prevent the behaviour becoming something that’s worth establishing.
This can be done by either redirecting your dog to a different activity, giving a firm telling off or creating environmental changes to prevent them being able to be in a position to practice it again. 😃🐾🐾
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Now occasionally I find that there are some things I need to work on with my own dogs even 🙈.
One example of this was something I became aware of during the Xmas period when I took a nice long walk somewhere new and could take a bus home (which the dogs are allowed to go on).
Having never been on a bus my (not so) brave Doberman became a quaking nervous wreck and proceeded to climb into a lap for reassurance 🤦‍♀️.
... As the journey went on she started to relax a little. Being afraid of something is a stressful situation, by not guiding a dog past the initial terror and out the other side your dog will remain stuck in a fear loop related to that ‘thing’ that caused it. Repeating the exposure to the fear inducing moment and seeing it through all the way to creating calmness, or at the very least, acceptance before you end, is the way to create a new emotional state.
Whatever your dog has uncertainty, fear, nervousness over, show them how to cope rather than avoid the situation. 😁🐾🐾
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It’s heartbreaking for me as a trainer to see how many people struggle with not being able to control their dogs power when out on a walk.
This inevitably makes one of what could be the most enjoyable and relaxing past times quickly transform into one of dread.
The frustrating thing about it is this is something that is relatively easy to work on to achieve a lovely calm heel in pretty much one walk. No more constant bribery with treats to keep them at your side, simply a ...few ways of keeping their focus on you. I like to work the dogs brain in as many situations as possible and this includes when out walking. If a dog is concentrating they are not thinking of pulling.
Had a lovely session with the owners of this gorgeous big hunk and we started right from how to leave the house with a dog that is following and paying attention 😀🐾🐾.
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Loved doing a bit of ‘social setting’ work with this gorgeous autism service dog. Getting the dog to be able to be focused and under control in a public setting is an important part of the training. This is also a pretty big ask for a young dog. He’s doing incredibly well though which is credit to all the hard work his owner has put in😁🐾🐾

Some breeds are quite intense due to their desire to ‘do’. When you have one of these little beauties, it’s important that as an owner you realise you have certain responsibilities towards that dog.
As I keep telling clients, I never expect a dog to give us the behaviours that we want that suit our lifestyle before I’ve first assessed whether I have done my part. My part as an owner is to ensure that I have provided sufficient stimulation of the brain, plenty of challengin...g activities of the right difficulty level to make the dog think and problem solve as well as physical exercise.
The mental components of the activities are what will truly change your dogs behaviour not the physical alone.
Look further than just walking and throwing balls to properly make your dogs day a great one. Use that brain of theirs and make sure what you ask of them is ‘Always challenging but never overwhelming’, as Chad Mackin a great trainer I was lucky to meet this year says. 😁🐾🐾
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Merry Christmas to you all and your fabulous doggies!!!Merry Christmas to you all and your fabulous doggies!!!

Some dogs are exceptionally hyper and wound up. This little guy was no exception. When I arrived at the owners home he didn’t stop moving, running from one room to another picking things up going into a bit of an unhealthy trance of continuous movement. In reality there was absolutely no purpose to this routine of his other than it was a means of draining energy.
If a dog has high levels of energy and they are not being addressed by the owners, the dog will feel very fru...strated until that energy level lowers.
During the session I showed the owners how to satisfy their dog better by carrying out some simple but effective exercises that demand more from the dog. This dog can happily sprint around all day so instead we had to slow things down for it and get it to have to concentrate on being still and slow moving for a change rather than on the go. Now don’t be fooled, doing this is far more exhausting for the dog than moving fast as it’s something that it had to fight it’s urges doing.
The result was a dog that can then settle in a more content manner. Happy dog = happy owner! 😁🐾🐾
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Ignore my munching away on toast noises in the background!
When I end a game I always say ‘finished’ so that my dogs know the toy is then out of bounds. It’s a good way to have the dog know there’s no point pestering yo have it back again as it never gets produced once the finished command is said.
Here’s an example of me using that when my dog has sneakily found a toy in the house. (I don’t allow too much play inside, only outside as I want to condition calmness indoors.). 😁🐾🐾