A very merry Christmas!
December 24, 2009
A very merry Christmas to all my blog visitors and a happy new year!
My dog Pie has loved the snow, he eats it, runs around foolishly and generally asks to go out twice as often as usual! He has a big Collie Coat so the cold weather really energises him, and as he is the laziest Border Collie I have ever lived with it is good to see him so full of go!
Happy Christmas!
Sunset
Cure or avoid your dog being possesive of food!
December 14, 2009
Preventing or curing your dog of food possession is so simple I have to let you all know, please pass this on to all the dog owners you know, there is no need for any dog to be possessive or aggressive around food! Prevention is always better than cure so a few simple steps repeated as often as necessary will keep your dog relaxed around food.
I will post a short video highlighting the steps in the next few days for anyone wanting more guidance!
At feeding time, put your dogs food in one bowl and have an empty dog bowl to hand, put the empty bowl on the floor, your dog will wonder where his food is :), now add your dogs food one handful at a time until it is all gone!
If your dog is food possessive already, wait for him to clean the bowl each time before adding more.
You are training your dog that your hand coming near him at the bowl brings more food, he will soon accept anyone near his bowl as likely to bring more food and in this way will not be at all resentful!
Do not ever take your dogs food away from him, this will teach him to be possessive instead of accepting. What would you do if someone kept taking your food from you? I know that I would soon get very protective of my dinner!
The goal is for your dog to accept anyone falling in his dinner, which is the worst that is likely to happen!
If you have any questions please post them in the comments and I will answer them!
Dog trainers need to listen!
December 11, 2009
A handsome standard Poodle!
I have had 3 new clients start with me this week, they have all seen at least 2 other trainers before getting to me, the one thing they all had in common was that though they had done some great dog training with these other trainers they all shared the same complaint, the dog behaviour issue that had made them pick up the phone had not been addressed!
Yes they may have needed to train their dog to do some basic trianing exercises, and I do get the point of teaching the dog a few new tricks, this can often improve the bond between dog and owner, and at least is great fun, but at some point the owner needs taking through how all this new knowledge can be applied to resolve the original behaviour problem, that is our job! I suspect this aspect has just been overlooked, all 3 of these dogs have a good level of obedience, the owners have worked hard and have taken and used the good advice they have been given, it is the trainers job to keep the purpose of the training in focus at all times, so that the owner can see where the work they are doing is going to help them. The last piece of the puzzle is guiding the owner through the training in the situation that they were struggling with.
I think as dog trainers it is easy to forget just how much we are expecting our human clients to learn, and as with any new subject, every step of the training requires assistance, if the owner is clear about what to do, in a given set of circumstances then the dog gets trained!
I love this part of my job, it is like putting the icing on the cake!
Today at the BBC Essex Radio studio!
December 2, 2009
I hope some of you managed to listen in to hear me on BBC Essex today, if you missed the show you can still log on and listen to the show on the BBC Essex Web site. It was a very appropriate day for me to be at the station, following the tragic death of a four year old boy in a dog attack in his Grandmother’s home. I had a sense of carrying a big responsibility as I drove to the studio. I felt strongly that some sense has to come from such a tragic event, if we can only get through to someone out there and save another child or hopefully children.
I can honestly say it is the most passionately I have spoken at any time on the radio! I am glad to say there was a strong response to the show with many calls, so many we had no hope of addressing them all, sadly, but at least we had peoples attention! I pray that even more were affected by the dog behaviour we discussed.
One of the controversial calls was from a lady with a 2 year old Golden Retriever, the dog had recently bitten her badly on both her arms, 2 vets had recommended the dog destroyed and one dog behaviour professional had alledgedly said the dog’s behaviour could be changed and they were prepared to work with the owners. This lady has a 13 year old son, would you recommend her to train this dog? Professionally and personally I would not, if there were just 2 adults in the house that would be there choice, but with a child present I would not and will not. It is a tough event to walk into the vets to have a dog put down, I know I have had to do it, but that is the responsibility we must embrace when we live with and love dogs, people and especially our children must come first.
With any dog attack there are always or almost always warning signs if we don’t heed them we can find ourselves in a similar position to the lady with Golden Retriever or worse. Nip it is the bud, do not ignore dog aggression, prevention is always better than the cure, for once a dog has bitten to this degree there is no way back!
We all had a great morning training our dogs!
December 1, 2009
Pepe having a drink!
The recall training session this saturday was great fun, the thing that struck me most was how good the handlers were at concentrating on their own dogs! Not easy when they were all off lead, but the dogs responded to the handlers concentration and stayed focused!
We had 2 Jack Russell Pups and 2 GSD pups, all of which were great fun, the owners have done a great job of playing hide and seek with their puppies before the training session, which proved the value of this exercise once again, as the puppies were much more interested in their handlers than the other dogs and handlers!
Pepe and Janice were in attendance and Janice very kindly forwarded me this photo of Pepe which I am glad to share with you. Pepe is a huge handsome GSD, Janice has put in some great work with him and it looks to be paying off! I know Sue Horn has been a great support Janice, so well done to both of you! I look forward to working with you again soon!
A short film on a foundation training exerciseto
November 27, 2009
Watch this if you would like to improve your relationship with your dog! Learn to speak dog!
Hear me on BBC Essex Tuesday 1st December
November 26, 2009
Just to let you know I am on BBC Essex Radio between 2pm and 4pm next Tuesday 1st December, or you can catch it on the pod from the BBC Essex web site for the following week should you miss the show live. (see links on this site)
I always enjoy my sessions at the Chelmsford studio, and I love the fact that I never know what will come up with the phone ins, it is a challenge and a fun way to help people and their dogs!
Is it me?
November 24, 2009
When I am out on a walk I am fortunate that I can read a dog fairly quickly, as I must say most owners are not aware of how threatening their dogs behaviour can appear, it is not good social behaviour for any dog to charge up to other people or their dogs, this would not happen in the wild, it is lack of education and understanding of the pet dog that causes them to behave in this way.
Many owners take exception to me repelling their dogs advances, as if I am the anti-social one for not wanting their dog jumping all over me and my dog! There seems to be an attitude in this country that it is not just okay, for a dog to charge towards anyone they fancy the look of, but that it is necessary for them to talk to everyone and their dog on a walk. I am amazed at how immersed British dog owners are in this belief, normally a nation of socially inhibited people; it seems that when it comes to dogs anything goes! Would we let our children do the same thing? Highly unlikely!
More than anything in the world I would like to change the minds of pet owners on this attitude, because then I and my dog could go for a walk without being constantly harassed by other peoples dogs, and so would everyone else, and we would make the country a place where dogs were more welcome by non dog owners. If I find other peoples dogs annoying when I am out, imagine how the non-dog owners feel?
Helping other people lose their fear of dogs!
November 24, 2009
As dog owners I believe we all have a responsibility to help members of the public that are afraid of dogs, not by pushing our dogs at them, but by demonstrating the dog is under control and therefor no threat!
Never dismiss anyone’s fear of dogs, it is real and respect of another’s feelings is the first step to helping them get passed their fear.
I was out with one of my dogs one day near the beach, I stood by the car changing my boots, my dog Teddy, was running round nearby, when someone walked into the car park, Teddy was near the entrance and though not taking any notice of the person was obviously to close for comfort for this person, I saw the scared look and the person freeze, my first instinct was to call out “it’s okay he won’t hurt you” but immediately realised that was irrelevant for this person and instead shouted “down” to Teddy, who hit the deck immediately and I called him to me, once I had him with me I apologised for the scare they had had, and put Teddy on the lead to further reassure them that they were safe.
I knew they were safe with Teddy on or off the lead, but this person did not, I could see the surprise on the persons face and the relaxed look that soon replaced the scared look. Teddy and I did more in that moment he obeyed me than any verbal reassurance from me could ever have done!
Inspiration!
November 23, 2009
This last weekend I attended a horse weekend with the Parelli’s, what an inspiration they are and not just to horse owners! As a dog trainer I found the weekend fascinating and absorbing! Making me rethink dogs is so refreshing for me, the experience gave me a new way of looking at dogs that I am sure will affect me for some time to come.
Although dogs and horses may be different species they do have similarities, and it was horses that I worked with first on leaving school, so I am excited that it is the horse element that is inspiring me once again 🙂
I will be writing a post later today that is a direct inspiration from the weekend to encourage all of you to be re-inspired about your dogs training!
I have added a link to the Parelli site which I hope you will follow to get more information about Pat and Linda and get a new slant for yourselves on there horse thinking!
Avril Munson's Blog 