Not all dogs are easy

I stand on my soapbox and tell you how to train your dog.

And for 99% of people and dogs out there, this works a treat. 

But sometimes .. just sometimes .. we seem to be dealing with another species entirely - I don’t know what, but not a dog! 

And I have to confess that that’s how it is with my young Border Collie Yannick. He has a boatload of issues, and what worked with my last 11 dogs, doesn’t work with him.

Or, at least, doesn’t work with him when he’s out of the house.

At home all is sweetness and light, quick responses, fun tricks, good manners, ready understanding. But once we’re through the door, Yannick is quite overwhelmed by ‘outside’, and is hard to reach. 

As Grisha Stewart says, “Every dog is a study of one”.

Things are improving

But I’m happy to say that things are gradually getting better. His confidence is growing, and along with that our connection outside is growing.

He’s able to stop panicking enough to talk to me when we’re out.

His walking on lead has grown from the lunatic frantic stage to something approaching togetherness.

His bolting has practically stopped. 

His reactions to other dogs is manageable.

So I’m hopeful that, as we keep going, he’ll become the perfect dog (or at least, he’ll be just as good as all my others have been!).

A Shepherd’s Saw

There’s a great saying from the sheepdog guys: “A dog needs a year under each paw to be any good.”

… we have a couple more years to go! 😁

And a more affectionate dog you couldn’t wish for! 😍

So for all you following my training who say, “But my dog’s not like this!” I do understand. 

And I sympathise.

All I can say is that whatever you achieve will be worth it, and you will never regret the time you dedicate to your “special” dog.

And for everyone, all dogs will enjoy the games I teach in this free Workshop, even if you can only play them at home!

Are you building dog memories for your children?

I was thinking about Simon recently. Don’t know what brought it to mind particularly, but there he was, in my mind. Clear as day.

Simon was my first dog.The same age as me. So when he died aged 11 I was shattered.

I wrote a long essay for a national competition, and so full of feeling was it that I got shortlisted and had to read my essay out to the whole school. 

Writing his story did help me mend, though.

Childhood plus a dog!

What could be better than having a mate to accompany me on all my wanderings? Back in those days, child abduction was not in the front of everyone’s mind, so I had the freedom to go where I liked. Whether on my trusty red bike or on foot, Simon was always there.

Now I look back, it’s a great life for a dog - spending his time loafing about with unpredictable and always fascinating children! My brother and our friends would be with us too. 

Poor Simon had to sit in the back of my brother’s home-made go-kart and hurtle down our hill! I don’t remember him trying to escape, and he always enjoyed car rides, with his spaniel ears straight out behind him in the wind, so I’m guessing (hoping!) he enjoyed it..

Is this what you have for your kids?

So the question is, do you provide this companionship for your children? Do they have the joy of wandering, protected, with their comrade-in-arms? Ready to take on the world as long as their friend is at their side?

I’m sure I told Simon lots of things I woudn’t even have told my friends!

And, as you read above, it was an early introduction to grief for me. It was much worse than even my grandparents dying. 

Whether that shows that I value dogs over people ;-) or simply that long-distance relationships with grandparents (mine always seemed to be very old) were not so real to me, I don’t know. 

But this I do know: this early friendship was seminal. 

Want a child-friendly way to teach your child how to teach their dog? Have a look at this free Workshop. In the program it introduces, you’ll find simple concepts, short videos, easy outcomes. It can cater to your inner child too!

Change for you, change for your dog

Change. We all want change. We’re always asking for change.

And usually the change is all about us, or how things affect us.

Your dog’s not behaving as you’d like - let’s get that CHANGED.

🐾 Change what the dog is doing.

🐾 Change how he responds or fails to respond to you.

🐾 The dog has to change!

But look at it another way …

Wayne Dyer puts it perfectly:

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

Sometimes it’s not the thing you’re looking at that needs changing. 

Sometimes it’s looking at it in relation to yourself that makes the difference.

Why should your dog change?

Up to now, your dog has done certain things. Perhaps getting worse and worse on a daily basis.

And you’ve been letting this happen.

It’s not the dog who needs to change!

It’s you!

When you look at it all holistically, you’ll see that your input - or lack of it - is a major contributory factor to how your dog is.

🐾 When he was chewing those shoes, where were you?

🐾 When he was barking at the doorbell, were you barking at him to be quiet?

🐾 And when he didn’t respond to your call, had you been paying attention to exactly what he was doing? 

Dogs and us

We don’t exist in a vacuum. We interact with other people, things, and the world, and that influences how we feel and what we do.

Your dog? Just the same. 

And the most important interaction in his life is with you!

How to improve your dog’s behaviour

So next time he does something you’re not mad about, take up the mirror and see what you were doing! 

• How did you contribute to this happening?

• Did you contribute anything, or had you abdicated responsibility? 

• How can your dog learn what you want from him if you’re not paying attention and actively teaching him what pleases you?

And if you think this approach has to include telling-off or punishment - no, it doesn’t. There’s no nagging or blaming.

For your dog to change, YOU need to change

Teach your dog what you want. Build that connection with him so he knows what will please you so he has a chance of knowing what action he should choose.

Then you can forget about changing your dog, and simply enjoy him! 

And to start that change in how you are with your dog, watch our free Workshop on Getting your dog to LISTEN!

Dog toy bonanza!

The weather in the UK is boiling. So long walks are out of the question unless you can take them late in the evening.

So how to give your bored dog a bit of exercise?

Toy play!

You can have five minutes of toy play in your garden (and perhaps another five minutes later on) which will wake him up, use up some energy, and enjoy some time with you. If it’s too hot for the garden, play inside!

As you’re still at home, you can always wet his head or put a wet t-shirt on him if he gets too warm, and keep him indoors again. 

And what better time to revive your toy collection - sad, battered, chewed, but much loved - with some spanking new toys which will also help you train your dog at the same time?

There’s a special offer on at the moment, where you can get 3 for 2 terrific toys.

Here you go: http://tug-e-nuff.com/offer/?ref=brilliant

I’ve used these toys for years - and they are astonishingly durable. What’s more, the company ships worldwide. They’re all made of safe materials - which can’t be said for everything you find called “dog toy” - and are designed by trainers with specific training responses in mind. 

Once you’ve purchased your toys, you’ll find detailed info on their site on how to get the best out of them.

Dog training or dog play?

Here you can see Coco having fun with me - getting lots of training in while he thinks it’s just all a game.

Perfect!

Now go and get yourself some great toys!

Slow your anxious dog down!

If you have an anxious dog or puppy - one who tends to panic when out, bolts at any noise, looks as though he’s doing the firewalk as he hauls you down the road, I suggest you first have a quick read of my recent post “Connecting with your Dog”

One of the things I suggested was to incorporate stop-points, so that your dog can assess the area he’s in without being continually bombarded with new sights and sounds.

A student of mine in From Growly Dog to Confident Dog has an extremely anxious dog whose history as an East European street dog filled her with unnamed fears. Her modus operandi when out is “head down, plough along the pavement”!

So when I suggested having stop-points in one of our course coaching calls - where students can ask for individual help - her owner agreed to try it, thinking it would never work.

What happened?

She went to the green in the middle of her village, sat on the bench with a friend, enjoyed a snack, and watched the world go by. Not only did her dog tolerate this - she actually enjoyed it!

So it has now become a regular feature of their walks.

If you have such a place locally, give it a try. Your dog may surprise you!

No village green for your dog?

And here’s another thing you can try, if finding a spot like that is impossible for you and your particular dog.

One trick I use with Yannick when he’s a bit wound up (when isn’t he?!) is to walk in slow circles.

Staying in the same 10yd² area for a while, gives him time to look at it from all angles. And as we circle, he gets all the bugs out and begins to connect with me again - instead of head down, stare, charge.

I’m not expecting perfect heelwork here! I just mosey round in a circle with him on the outside, and gradually his pulling and lurching stops and he starts to walk nicely beside me - for which he can earn treats, of course.

On our local walk there are a few quiet road junctions where we can circle safely, and hop out of the way if a vehicle comes. I say “CAR” and Yannick sits beside me to allow the monster to pass.

Incidentally, this is how I managed his fear of cars - terror as a puppy - simply by giving him due warning. He chooses either to sit beside me or hop up onto the verge or bank at the side of the road. He makes the choice and feels happier about it. And a tractor or lorry is “BIG CAR”!

Have you got a bolter? A panicker? A worrier?

Could you do with some strategies and techniques to help you manage your anxious, reactive, shy, Growly Dog? Start with this free Masterclass and see how you can get in on those regular coaching calls!

What is a dog walk?

We humans think of a walk as going from A to B.

Dogs see it differently. They just find themselves in an area that has to be explored.

If you walk dogs off-lead, they’ll cover 3 to 4 times as much ground as you, often at a fair lick.

They’re sniffing everything. Following their noses.

There are so many blades of grass out there, and EACH ONE has to be investigated! It’s just like walking a toddler, only faster 😊

So even if you can’t let your dog off-lead when out, at least give them a bit of line, pause in a good spot, and let them roam.

You can sit on the grass (get ready for lots of enthusiastic cuddles when you’re down at his level!) or perch on a fence post and watch the world go by.

Who’s the walk for?

And what constitutes a walk, in the dog’s eyes?

Look at it from his point of view, instead of trying to make him see ours.

Dogs and Fireworks!

We’re approaching firework season in some parts of the world. So you need to work fast to be able to help your dog on July 4.

If your firework season doesn’t begin for a while - ours here in England is mainly from November to December - that gives you plenty of time to adopt some of these ideas to help you next time round.

There’s a lot of advice washing about the internet about what you should do to minimise the effect of fireworks on your dog. Some is good, some is awful, some is just ineffectual.

So I was interested to see a study which actually assessed various treatments.

They started out with popular practices promoted for firework fears, and - ooh, how interesting!

• Environmental modification (e.g., providing a hiding place, keeping windows and blinds closed, and playing music)

• Feed/play (providing the dog with chews, play, and food during fireworks in general, as well as contingent on loud bangs)

• Alternative (use of calming nutraceuticals, pheromones, herbal products, homeopathic products, Bach flowers, and essential oils)

• Interaction (allowing body contact, petting, and talking to the dog when loud bangs occurred).

Of the four management methods, only “feed/play” was statistically associated with an improvement in fear responses to fireworks.

Note that “Feed/play” of necessity includes interaction with the owner.

How very interesting …

Firework strategy effectiveness

Then they delved more deeply into actual strategies.

In a nutshell, they found that the percentage of surveyed owners reporting effectiveness was this:

Prescription meds: 69%

Non-prescription remedies: 27-35% - no better than a placebo.

Pressure vests: 44%

Noise CDs: 55%

Relaxation training: 69%

And the winner is …. 🥁🥁🥁

Counterconditioning! At 70% this method scored most highly.

And those of you who are understandably reluctant to opt for prescription meds (which have all sorts of caveats) you should be delighted to see you don’t need to spend a bean on helping your dog!

Relaxation training and Counterconditioning are the way to go.

Fears are all much of a muchness

Counterconditioning is THE tool par excellence for helping to alleviate fears. And not just in dogs. All animals (we’re animals) respond well to counterconditioning. A very basic, instinctive, response in a parent to a fearful child is to soothe and cuddle them, turning the scary experience into feelings of warmth and protection. The cuddling may work with some dogs in some circumstances, but soothing via the instant delivery of treats will definitely work.

The treats may drop out of their mouth to begin with - they’re too overwhelmed to eat. (Would you tuck into some offered cake when a mad axeman appears to be heading for you?)

But at some stage the dog is going to start tasting them. Then chewing and swallowing them, and eventually, looking for more.

Huzzah! They have detached from the fearful thing in favour of your attention!

It really is as simple as that.

And demonstrably, so effective!

What you need (apart from quick access to soft well-scented treats that you know your dog loves) is

P A T I E N C E 

Rome wasn’t built in a day.

It can take many, many, iterations to get to the stage of your dog leaving the fear and choosing your treats.

But you will get there!

Counterconditioning for any fear

And does this work only for fireworks?

No!

What about the dog who’s afraid of:

🐾 Other dogs

🐾 Noises

🐾 Planes

🐾 Birds

🐾 Slippery floors

🐾 People

🐾 Children

🐾 Visitors

🐾 A knock on the door

.. you name it

You can adopt the same simple practice to help with all fears.

Pick one that worries your dog, load your pockets, and give it a try!

I’ll be interested to hear how it goes for you.

RESOURCES

Effectiveness of treatments for firework fears in dogs

My dog’s NOT afraid of fireworks! But why?