Coastal k9

03/11/2026

🐾 Wait means wait… until the next cue!

For me, so much of dog training comes down to clear communication.

One of the things I see most often is dogs responding to a cue, such as sit, but then getting straight back up again.

It's not necessarily that the dog doesn't understand sit. It's about what we've actually taught that cue to mean.

Here, Sunny is given his wait cue. I can move away, return, walk past him or change direction, but his job remains the same until I give him his next piece of information.

That might be another behaviour cue or a release cue.

🐾 Clarity comes from how we teach it. No guessing, no confusion, just clear communication between dog and handler.

03/11/2026

🐾 Sometimes it's the little sessions that make all the difference! 👃

Just Sunny doing a quick three-minute linear scent search today.

Sometimes it's good to go right back to the foundations, reinforcing that systematic search pattern and incorporating blank searches where there's no source to find.

It's not always about making things harder or adding more complexity. Sometimes those short, simple sessions are exactly what we need to strengthen the foundations.

🐾 Three minutes. Simple foundations. Valuable learning.

03/11/2026

🐾 PUPPY SOCIALISATION – HAVE WE MISINTERPRETED THE SCIENCE? 🔬

Science can be perfectly valid, but that doesn't mean its findings automatically apply to every dog, in every environment, under every set of circumstances.

The original research into puppy socialisation was important, but have we taken those findings and turned them into rules that don't necessarily reflect what the research actually demonstrated?

⏳ Is fourteen weeks really a fixed cut-off?

🐕 Does more exposure always mean better socialisation?

🧠 Are we considering the individual puppy, their emotional responses and their ability to cope?

In this video, we're looking at how scientific findings can become oversimplified, how important context and individual differences are, and why what's a positive experience for one puppy might be overwhelming for another.

The science isn't necessarily wrong. But how we interpret and apply it matters enormously.

💛 Socialisation shouldn't be a race against the clock. It should be about helping puppies develop the skills and confidence to navigate the world.

DogTrainingScience

03/11/2026

🐕 HEEL IS A BEHAVIOUR. SO WHY ARE WE OVERCOMPLICATING IT?

We see so many variations of exercises for teaching dogs to walk nicely beside us. One step, feed. Two steps, feed. Different techniques, different systems.

And while many aren't wrong, are we making something relatively simple unnecessarily complicated?

Heel is a cued behaviour, just like a sit, down or stand. So why not teach it using the same learning principles?

🐾 Here's how I approach it:

✅ Establish the behaviour. Produce the position you're looking for, perhaps initially using a lure.

✅ Build reinforcement history. Create value, clarity and consistency in the behaviour.

✅ Introduce your cue. Use the new cue – old cue method to transfer the behaviour onto your verbal cue.

✅ Consider reinforcement schedules. Build duration and movement, gradually adjusting when you reinforce.

✅ Fade your prompts. We don't want the dog becoming dependent on a lure or hand movement.

✅ Teach a release cue. The dog learns to maintain position until released, without needing constant reminders.

🌿 USE THE ENVIRONMENT!

Food absolutely has its place, but it isn't our only reinforcer. If the dog wants to explore, access to the environment can reinforce maintaining position.

🎯 BUILD AND GENERALISE

Start in low-distraction environments. Introduce controlled distractions you can manage, then gradually progress to real-life distractions.

I train this on and off lead. The cue means exactly the same thing.

🐕 WHY BOTH SIDES?

I teach both sides to vary movement patterns and for practical reasons. Sometimes I want to position myself between Sunny and a distraction.

👀 HEEL DOESN'T MEAN STARE AT ME!

Sunny can look around, take in his environment or look at me if he chooses. My criteria are simply to maintain position until released.

💡 WHAT ABOUT LOOSE LEAD WALKING?

A reliable walking position is a useful skill, but it's only part of the picture.

We also need to consider lead pressure, disengagement from distractions, emotional regulation and general arousal levels.

02/11/2026

🐾 Why is that very first step in heelwork so important?

Because sometimes it's the very first step where we lose everything we've been working towards!

🐕 Position can change. ⚡ Momentum can disappear. 🐾 That lovely enthusiasm and power can be lost before we've even properly started.

This is why we spend so much time working on just ONE step!

I want Sunny to power forward into that first step, maintaining his position, enthusiasm and natural movement. I don't want him playing catch-up because I've already moved away.

Something I do slightly differently is lead off with the leg furthest away from my dog.

Over the years, I've been taught by different instructors to lead with the leg closest to the dog when starting heelwork, and the opposite leg when moving away without the dog.

And I absolutely understand the reasoning behind that. It gives the dog two different pieces of information.

But for me, I prefer to establish a clear cue that tells Sunny we're about to move together.

I've actually videoed our starts using both legs and watched them back to compare his movement, position and how he initiates that first step.

And for Sunny and me, leading with my opposite leg simply works better.

It allows him to power forward without getting left behind or having to make unnecessary adjustments.

Does that mean it's the right way for every dog and handler? Absolutely not!

It's simply what I've found works best for us, having taken the time to look at how he moves.

And that's an important part of training too. Understanding the reasoning behind different methods, observing your own dog and making informed decisions.

💛 Sometimes the smallest part of an exercise deserves the most attention.

CoastalK9

02/11/2026

🐾 Statics, statics and more statics! 🐾

I think it's human nature to want to rush through the foundations and get to the exciting stuff! 🙈

But honestly, if there's one thing I wouldn't skip in training, it's static work.

Before we start adding movement, we want our dogs to really understand the position or behaviour we're asking for.

🧠 Statics allow us to build clarity, reinforce accuracy and develop duration without the added complexity of movement.

They also give us the opportunity to observe how comfortably our dogs can maintain a position, rather than simply focusing on getting them into it.

Once we start introducing movement, changes of direction and distractions, we're adding more layers of difficulty.

And if those foundations aren't solid, that's often when things start to fall apart!

💛 Slow down, build understanding and don't underestimate the value of doing less.

Sometimes the most important training happens when it looks like very little is happening! 🥰

PositiveReinforcement CanineTraining

02/11/2026

🐾 Don't you just love it when it all starts coming together? 🥰

We've been working on changing Sunny's heelwork position, and there are a few reasons behind that decision.

🐕 Firstly, we're changing sports, so the heelwork picture we're working towards is a little different.

🐕 Secondly, and more importantly, the biomechanics.

I no longer want Sunny carrying his head quite so high. My aim is to encourage a more natural head and neck position, allowing him to move more freely, with better weight distribution across all four limbs rather than placing unnecessary demands on his hindquarters.

And there's another reason! 🙈

Looking back at our original training, I rushed the process a little. I faded the lure too quickly, and we ended up reinforcing a slight wraparound head position.

With such a strong reinforcement history, changing that picture isn't necessarily easy!

So we've gone back, broken things down and taken our time.

💪 Physical conditioning is also an important part of the process. We need to consider whether our dogs have the strength, stability and physical capacity to comfortably sustain the positions we're asking them to perform.

For me, heelwork isn't just about how pretty the finished picture looks.

❤️ I want Sunny to be able to express himself, move naturally and work enthusiastically, without feeling that he has to hold an exaggerated position to get it right.

And watching these little pieces gradually come together makes all that foundation work worthwhile! 🥰

CanineBiomechanics TrainingProgress BorderCollie

02/11/2026

🐾 From dog sports to everyday life!

Sendaways are used across many dog sports disciplines, but how can we take those skills and make them useful in everyday life?

I personally love using exercises like this to develop:

🐕 Confidence – building independence and the ability to work away from us.

🔄 Recall skills – learning to move away and return when cued.

🧠 Focus around distractions – developing the ability to stay on task, even when the environment becomes more challenging.

🌳 Real-life skills – taking a simple exercise around a cone and transferring it to objects in the environment.

And these are just a few examples of what we can achieve!

Remember, it's not about teaching our dogs to ignore every distraction. It's about helping them learn to be around distractions without needing to respond to everything.

💛 Sometimes the simplest exercises can build the most valuable skills!

DogEnrichment DogSports PositiveReinforcement

29/10/2026

🐾 Hold means HOLD! 🐶 Even when what you're holding is edible! 🍖😋

29/10/2026