Your dog can change

I give you loads of ideas.

Lots of how-to’s.

Methods, techniques, strategies. 

And maybe you read it and move on.

Or maybe you read it, give it a half-hearted try, find it didn’t seem to work .. and move on.

Either way, you’re not giving yourself a chance!

It’s so much easier to scroll endlessly on your phone, finding what worked for some people - but not, apparently, for you! - perhaps even signing up for a program and finding it too hard to stay motivated, as there was nowhere to turn when you got stuck? 

Here’s where Brilliant Family Dog comes into its own!

Having the tools, the methods, the sequences - this is all good. 

But what you need is the SUPPORT to make it all work!

What support do I give?

If it doesn’t work, you don’t yet have the knowledge or experience to work out how to make it work.

That’s where, in the Brilliant Family Dog Academy, you jump into the Community and pose your question, including video if you like. 

Then I and our team of professional trainers will help you. Within 24 hours you have a conversation going which will resolve your issue.

Times are hard ..

And I understand why you may hesitate to commit funds to this dog project of yours.

But how long has this been going on?

What level of frustration does your dog bring to your day?

If I could snap my fingers and say, “Give me £xxx or $xxx and your problem will be gone instantly!” wouldn’t you be up for that?

Well .. full disclosure .. I can’t promise that, of course! 

I can teach you; I can show you; I can coach you. But I can’t do it for you! 

You and your lovely dog have to do the work.

But with our support we will get you there.

We won’t give up on you.

See what these students had to say, quite unsolicited.

“Your support and encouragement mean more than I can say.” LB

“Thank you so much for your support which has enabled me to train a 4 year old rescue sprocker the way life should be - fun and running free.  It is credit to you for sharing an easy way to train showing treats, but more importantly the love and trust.” CF

“This support is helping me to really focus on helping my little rescue dog. I few weeks ago I felt like an outcast. All I could see around me was well behaved dogs, and mine was like a Tasmanian devil on the lead! But with support things are starting to look better.” EO

“.. thanks to all the presentations and live training from Beverley but also thanks to the support from other people on this group. it has all been so encouraging and inspiring.” JL

“Thank you for the on going support and wise advice which makes this course so worthwhile!’ JE

“Thank you so much for the course - the main principles and the wonderful support are outstanding.” SM

“Great to have your support and feedback.“ JB

“I just want to say this has been one of the friendliest, most supportive, helpful and responsive courses I’ve taken. It’s felt like family as we have and continue to take this journey together. Franklin and I have benefited greatly.” YF

What course were they talking about? Watch this free Workshop and you’ll find it all out!

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.