Why do I train dogs?
You know, there are moments in life when a light turns on so suddenly, it’s like someone flipped a switch in your brain and for me, that moment happened at home in my kitchen with my dog. I used to think dog training was about dominance, about control, about getting your dog to obey. I watched the videos. I read the books. I repeated commands hoping he'd understand but nothing changed, he'd look at me as if to say “you’re not making any sense”. And then one day it just clicked. I was trying to get him to stop mouthing me. Again. And he wouldn’t stop. Again. I was getting frustrated. Again.
And then I caught myself. I looked at him and for the first time, I really saw him. Not as a badly behaved dog. Not as a problem to fix. But as a dog not knowing what's right or wrong and acting out of enjoyment. That’s when I realized: dog training isn’t about commanding, it’s about communicating! Suddenly, I started asking different questions. Not “Why won’t he listen?” but “Does he know what I’m asking?” Not “How do I stop this behaviour?” but “What is he trying to tell me?” I changed my approach. I got patient. I started rewarding the little wins. I stopped shouting and started playing. I watched as much as I trained. And then, one morning when I implemented all my changes, the mouthing stopped. Understanding, learning and changing myself is what connected me to my dog. That was my Eureka moment. It wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t dramatic. But it was real. It was the moment I stopped training at my dog and started training with him.
Tincy to date has been the toughest dog to train for me. She was Dog reactive, people reactive, car reactive, infact, if it moved she would react. She lived in a constant state of stress and although her reactions were due to nervous and anxiety, she still got a kick out of reacting.
I had to get Tincy to a point that her owner could walk her safely otherwise the future for Tincy didn't look promising. This video is just a snipet of what she was like to what shes like now.
Bailey is a 2year old full of attitude and energy. Her owner has spent those 2 years training Bailey to a really high standard. However Bailey was still a handfull and her owner stuggled to take her out and enjoy the world with her.
My job was to control Bailey's arousal, teah her to walk to heel nicely and to make sure she greets people and dogs in a manner that is acceptable. Bailey was an extremely hard puller on the lead and had no manners. You'll see in the video the process I went through to get Bailey to understaand lead pressure and the rules that she will have to follow to live a happy life at home.
Luna is a 4yr old German sheperd that has pinned down 3 dogs that came into her space. Her owners, a married couple where fearful to walk her due to her power and reactions to dogs. The wide would take her to secure fields and the husband would walk her round the block. She had no real freedom.
I took her on with the goal of having the wife walk her in public again and to enjoying it. With the correct guidance Luna started making the right choices and I'm pleased to say the wife has taken her for multiple walks.
Paddy is a typical Terrier, he is all about himself. He had very little want to do anything the owners wanted him to do and done everything that he wanted to do. This lead to a lot of conflict both inside the house and outside the house. Paddy would destroy furniture, fence panels, shoes and rugs, then outside he would run up to all dogs, all people and pretty much anything he was curious about.
My job was to work on a recall, place work and how he should act on the lead. He's now able to enjoy home life and off lead freedom out in the open around what he previously would have been distracted by.