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I lost a bet this week
I lost a bet with my husband this week and I'm still pretty gutted by it. I have to wear glasses. Now I'm not that bothered by having to wear glasses, I figured at just a few weeks shy of 40 it was bound to happen sooner or later - later would have been better just...
Give yourself a break, sometimes life gets in the way
I wasn't sure what to write about this week. I nearly didn't write anything at all. My father in law passed away on Monday and we've been dealing with all that goes with that this week. It's not been the easiest of times. However the dogs have been great, even though...
It’s not your fault
I sent out an email recently asking some questions about your dog's behaviour and how it makes you feel, and oh my word I got some answers. (If you haven't answered yet there's an online form for you to fill out, there's only a handful of questions) When I opened that...
Being consistent – it’s a challenge!
While I was musing what to write about I was watching my two younger spaniels race around the back garden enjoying the snow. A while ago one of my spaniels, Fraggle, went horribly lame on her back right leg. No one knew how, or exactly why, but while under examination...
Are you sabotaging your dog’s training?
You need to use management to tackle problem behaviours. This is something that comes up often in both my behaviour work and tackling it is vital for successful behaviour change. Whether training your dog to come back when called or to not freak out when walking past...
Are you gambling on your dog’s behaviour?
Consequences drive behaviour It's a short little sentence but packed with meaning. We think about behaviour backwards generally. It's easy to think that your made your dog sit by telling him to sit. You didn't though. I think about behaviour as probability at work,...
This week sucked
This last week proper sucked. I was in a bad mood for most of it, quick to snap at people, quick to pass judgement on others, I was an angry, stompy arse. Why? Well today is the 2 year anniversary of the death of Khanu my very first "dog of my own". I had actually had...
What is love?
So it was Valentine's Day earlier this week - you might have noticed by the abundance of chocolate in the shops and cheesy movies on TV, maybe you even got a card? It seems a little odd to me that we only spend one day out of the year telling our most loved one how...
Flint’s Paw Touching Progress
I made adjustments to my training plan for nail clipping I started out with the fist pump behaviour that Flint already knew – that worked fine, Flint was willing to give me his paw, however it was a high energy behaviour. For nail clipping I really want Flint to be...
Using food in training
Let's get something clear, while I use the word I actually don't like calling them treats. I just haven't come up with a better word for using a small morsel of food to reinforce a behaviour a dog performs - if you have an idea for one, let me know because I'd really...
