Disengaging from distractions is perhaps THE most important life skill for a puppy, and the sooner they learn, the better. Of course, their brains are not yet capable of a lot of things – impulse control being one of them, because the parts of the brain that control activation develop faster than the parts thatContinueContinue reading “Disengaging from distractions”
Category Archives: Training
Letting puppies loose
Most pictures of Grace in the first year were like this – I considered it success if she was actually IN the picture, including head, and not a blur 😂 She was off leash from the third day after she came to live with us aged 16 weeks and she has been that way forContinueContinue reading “Letting puppies loose”
Teaching my dog to ask for safety
We had an unusual walk today after a dog briefly harassed Grace – I was shoving unruly poop bags back into my waist bag for a few seconds when it happened so I didn’t see how it started, just that Grace squealed. It’s very rare that Grace is shaken by something but this time sheContinueContinue reading “Teaching my dog to ask for safety”
Every little helps when it comes to self-control
I recently met a lot of dogs of the same breed as Grace, and many of them reminded me of a younger version of her – a much more impatient one! So I wrote something for our breed’s Facebook group and thought I’d share it here too in case it’s useful for someone. Learning that theyContinueContinue reading “Every little helps when it comes to self-control”
For the love of rabbit balls
“Find someone who looks at you like Grace looks at a rabbit ball.” I wish I’d discovered the joys of game dummies and balls years ago – they are one of the best things I’ve ever bought for my dogs. The idea might seem a bit disgusting but… the look on the dog’s face makesContinueContinue reading “For the love of rabbit balls”
Talking with dogs
Lots of people are currently excited about the buzzers that allow dogs to “speak”. I tried them a year ago but couldn’t persuade my dogs to use them because they already had effective ways to communicate about their most typical needs or desires.Also, the buzzers are great but you have to take them everywhere ifContinueContinue reading “Talking with dogs”
Why you should start walks with a sniffing game
Lots of new owners struggle with recall and this morning I realised I do a lot of things automatically now that might be helpful insights and ideas for others. So, here’s a short film about how sniff games can really help with both recall and your dog paying attention to you outdoors – none ofContinueContinue reading “Why you should start walks with a sniffing game”
How to change your dog’s behaviour in three (not easy) steps
My day job includes human behaviour change and it occurred to me today when I was thinking about recall that actually… without realising, I analyse my dogs’ behaviour with the same tools that I use with humans. So, without further ado, I decided to give it a go! This is just the first draft, soContinueContinue reading “How to change your dog’s behaviour in three (not easy) steps”
Dummy games
Books on dog-human connection
BECAUSE DOG TRAINING IS NOT ONE-SIZE-FITS ALL Train the Dog in Front of You (Denise Fenzi) If there was one sentence in the blurb that describes this book, it’s this: “This book is practical, realistic, easy to read and….radically different from all other dog training books on the market.” I’ve never seen a book likeContinueContinue reading “Books on dog-human connection”
BusyDoggie 