dog training

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Wolfgang's Way in the Telegraph

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The wonderful Lauren Libbert has written a feature for the Telegraph about how her Cockapoo Freddy has been coping with life under lockdown. Slowly morphing from a chilled and fun loving dog to an often irritated, growly, then suddenly over the top active furry noodle, she’s asked for advice on what the reasons behind his behaviour may be as well as how to help him, and other dogs, through these challenging times.

And I was of course so very excited to be have been able to contribute.

Saturday Telegraph 16/05/2020

Saturday Telegraph 16/05/2020

Telegraph online 15/05/2020

Telegraph online 15/05/2020

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What To Do When You're Hold Up With Your Hound

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I spoke to author and journalist Kate Spicer about how to keep your furry friends happy during the COVID19 lockdown. I’ve known Kate for many years (from my years working in PR) and I’ve always loved her work and writing style so jumped at this opportunity.

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And if you haven’t already, check out Kate Spicer’s book Lost Dog.

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Ditch The Food Bowl

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Provide daily enrichment for your dog by ditching the food bowl and feeding them from stuffed toys, snuffle mats, chews, puzzle toys, 'find it' games or scattering the food in your garden.

Whatever age your dog is, providing daily mental enrichment and a ‘job’ to do will pay hugely into your overall relationship account, with you becoming the centre of all things fun and exciting.

Licking, i.e. from a lickimat, is incredibly soothing and calming for a dog and can be a great tool to settle rescue dogs into their new life or keep puppies occupied for longer (for example during absence training).

If you are feeding from a puzzle toy or a Kong, make it easy for your dog to begin with to avoid frustration and potentially build a negative association with the toy.

You could also use your dogs meals for training practice both at home and out on a walk.

Recommended products:

Lickimat

Kong

Snuffle Mat

Zogoflex Toppl

Zogoflex Tux

Kong Ballistic

Calf hooves

Bobalot

Kong Gyro


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Five Quick Tips....Recall

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Five Quick Tips....Recall

1. Take the time

To generate reliable recall, it’s important to take the time to build a 100% positive experience with your chosen recall cue (command) with high value rewards (such as chicken or hot dog). If your dog’s recall isn’t rewarded often and well enough then your dog will be more likely to continue to do their own thing, i.e. playing with other dogs or sniffing something of great interest which is terribly reinforcing in itself, and ignore your call.

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Farewell to puppy biting

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Farewell to puppy biting

First things first, there’s no quick cure for puppy biting. But if you’re consistent with your messages and, at the same time, teach your pup what to do instead of nipping or biting, your little friend will stop this inappropriate behaviour, well, as soon as his or her personality allows.

There are various reasons why your puppy nips or bites:

  • Puppies use their mouth to explore and interact with their surroundings.
  • They play bite or nip out of frustration, over-arousal or fatigue.
  • Teething/ sore gums can be the reason behind a puppy bite or it can be a defensive or offensive reaction (more often it’s a defensive one!).

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House training your puppy

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House training your puppy

Most puppies are house trained by around six month of age but of course every puppy is different; from size to breed to personality. The more consistent you are in providing your pup with what s/he needs to learn the right behaviour, the quicker s/he will understand.

While being house trained your puppy should ideally be either: outside while you actively look for and reinforce elimination, inside with your constant supervision, or crated/ gated off in a puppy-proofed room...