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Gillick's Dog Services, Bedworth (2026)

01/11/2023

‼️XL Bully - Ban Info‼️

As released by the government: from 31 December 2023 breeding, selling, advertising, rehoming, abandoning and allowing an XL Bully dog to stray will all be illegal.

What classes as an XL Bully:
Please refer to the official government description of the XL Bully typing as listed on the following website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/official-definition-of-an-xl-bully-dog/official-definition-of-an-xl-bully-dog

It is worth reading as the descriptors allow for variance and could bring alot of Bull type breeds under them to be typed so it is worth making sure if your dog could be meeting the majority of these descriptors, then you should be proactively seeking guidance on this subject.

What to do if you want to keep your dog:
You must apply for a certificate of exemption before 1st February 2024 as from this date it will be illegal to own an XL Bully if it is not registered on the index of exempted dogs.
Applications for the register will cost £92.40

To keep your XL Bully the rules you will have to follow are:
⚠️It must be microchipped.
⚠️It must be kept on lead and in a muzzle in all public places (including your car unless in a crate) at all times.
⚠️It must be kept in a secure place and cannot escape (secure 6 foot fences and padlocked gates).
⚠️The dog must be neutered - if less than 1 year old on 31 January 2024 then you have until 31 December 2024 to neuter. - If your dog is older than 1 year on 31 January 2024 it must be neutered before 30 June 2024.

As the owner, you must also:
⚠️Be over 16 years old.
⚠️Take out insurance against your dog injuring other people.
⚠️Be able to show the Certificate of Exemption when asked by a police officer or a council dog warden, either at the time or within 5 days.

08/10/2023

Not the best with social media but lots going on behind the scenes at Gillick’s Dog Services! Big thanks to and well done to all our clients who are working hard with their training goals at the moment.

It’s been super busy here and as well as one-to-one’s I’m now training classes 3x a week so having a sunny afternoon training session today with my own boy was very welcome, before the dark starts rolling in earlier and it’s time to get the head torch out again for walks / training!

What have been some of your training highlights in the last few weeks?

20/08/2023

🔥 5 TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR DOGS RECALL! 🔥

Recall, recall, recall… it’s one of the most essential things we can train our dogs, yet one of the most common training problems we have with our furry friends.

If you’re having problems with your dog’s recall rest assured you aren’t alone… but don’t give up! A reliable recall is possible, and I’m here to help you. Whilst this video is just a quick overview, I’ve expanded on the tips in the post below, and as always am more than happy to jump on a call or email with anyone who would like some more in-depth advice on recall.

🌟 5 TOP TIPS: 🌟

1. USE A TRAINING LINE 🐕‍🦺

Some people see training lines as a negative – looking at them and seeing an ‘out of control’ dog… how ridiculous is that?! A training line (or long line) is a great tool as it means the exact opposite and ensures our dog is always under the appropriate control. It gives us the opportunity to recall our dogs from a distance whilst still under our control. Utilising the training line to ensure your dog is prompted to return and not being allowed to self-reward for ignoring commands for prolonged periods is essential, and the line means we can do this no matter how far away.
Additionally, a line means your dog cannot run to other dogs / people whilst out and about… if this is something you struggle with I’ll be doing another post around distraction training in the future, but drop me a message to discuss this sooner if you want to.

Disclaimer: be cautious with training lines! They can be dangerous and you’ll need to learn to handle the line effectively and quickly to avoid injured ankles for yourself, your dog, and others around you!

2. MEGA REWARDS! 💰

Often we think of rewarding a recall with a dog biscuit or a bit of cheese… this is fine if your dog is very motivated by any amount or quality of food, but for many of our dogs this just isn’t going to cut it. Rewards can be ANYTHING, not just food, so find something your dog lives for and use that as a reward for good recall.

My dog personally lives for gundog training, especially retrieving… if I want to reward him highly I’ll throw out a dummy for him to retrieve (with an instruction that he can go straight in to fetch it rather than have to wait) as he is finishing his recall… this drives his happiness and excitement right up and means he is even more eager to come back to me to repeat this activity. Yours may be a favourite tennis ball or toy… or maybe you do a specific activity with your dog that they just love to do? Use that to your advantage!

3. WHISTLE 😙

Spend some time looking into whistles online and what the different frequencies mean, and what is recommended for your dog breed. I don’t recommend just buying a whistle and blowing at it willy-nilly! But whistles can be a fantastic tool.
If your dog isn’t used to a whistle, you’ll have to ‘restart’ your recall training with that whistle… pick a set of pips and try to be consistent with them (e.g. my recall whistle is 3 short pips, my stop whistle is 1 longer pip, etc.) and start this in the house followed by rewards.

The benefit of a whistle is that it always sounds the same no matter what mood you’re in, or how annoyed you are that your dog maybe isn’t behaving how you’d like them to… if you recall your dog in a very angry and upset tone because you’re a little bit sick of them, they may well think ‘there is no way I’m going back there…’ but your whistle always sounds the same with no emotion attached. It also carries a lot further than your voice can, which is great if your dog roams far.

4. A GOOD BOND / GOOD ENGAGEMENT WITH YOUR DOG 🫂

Now, this one is really essential to achieving anything training related with your dog! Most training accomplishments will rely on you having a solid relationship with your dog and you being their source of care, safety and enjoyment. There are lots of ways to improve your bond with your dog, which I’ll talk about more in a future post, but when it comes to recall be CLEAR and be FUN!

Be CLEAR about what you expect from your dog: that when you call them they should return to you the first time, not the fifth or sixth… this is where your long line is useful again, and be consistent, using high value rewards for correct behaviour.

Be FUN! Recall usually fails because your dog finds something else more exciting or engaging than returning to you… yes, that means that fox poo is more appealing to your dog in that moment than you… insulting right?! The truth is our dogs are so driven by impulse that we cannot account for every single distraction ever – but our aim is to get close to that! Being fun and engaging with your dog peaks their interest and engages them in a game with us… watch in the video how my dog is running around with me, following my turns, jumping around to play… Looking like a bit of a prat is all part of the fun so get to it and start running, jumping, wrestling, playing tug with something, rolling around on the ground if you have to!

5. BE CONFIDENT IN YOURSELF AND IN YOUR DOG! 💪

It is totally understandable that if your dog has previously not returned to you and left you fretting, that you’d lack a bit of confidence in the future – but you cannot let this rule you!

Your dog can sense a lack of confidence / nervousness and if you sound unsure then why should they be sure you know what you’re doing? How can they be sure what’s expected of them? You have to act the part and be a confident leader who your dog looks to for guidance and rewards.

Also, have confidence in your training and in your dog! If you are working on recall consistently in the home and outside, be ready to give your dog an opportunity to trust them… the day will come where you drop the end of that training line or remove it completely, and you need to feel confident enough to trust that your dog will return.

I personally believe there are 4 groups of people when it comes to recall

1. People who have recall with their dog cracked with consistent and foolproof training – well done – no further comments for you!

2. People who want their dog to have great recall but are struggling… YOU are my target audience here!

3. People who have got lucky with a generally biddable dog who just seems to have always recalled well, but have never done real foolproof training around this… to you I say – great! But, put in the training time too to ensure your dog knows the drill in all circumstances, not just when they want to choose to come back to you.

4. People who don’t care about recall and just shout ‘my dog is friendly!’ whilst it runs over to another dog and their owner who are desperately trying to avoid these sorts of encounters… to you I say: NOT GOOD ENOUGH!

The key here is if you are in group 2: you’re doing great, and you CAN reach group number 1 with consistent training and hard work!

I hope this post helps you in some small way, but don’t forget to drop me a message if you’d like a little extra help and advice.

ℹ️ To book a 1 hour one-to-one training session please email: [email protected] or drop us a message on Facebook messenger.

1 hour session = £30.00 or block book 5 = £130.00

Get in touch to find out more about what these sessions entail, and how we can cater to your training needs!

03/07/2023

💥 TIME FOR FIREWORKS! 💥

You’re probably thinking ‘what?! No it’s not! It’s only July!’ and you’re right… we’re not quite in ‘fireworks season’ yet which here in the UK tends to be mostly in the winter months. So, why am I bringing fireworks up to you now? The short answer: so you have plenty of time to work on preparing your dog for what’s to come.

Loud noises are a common source of fear and anxiety for many dogs. If your dog isn’t used to them, then come winter when fireworks are a regular occurrence the sudden loud banging can be a real problem. Anxiety in dogs isn’t something to dismiss too, and can have serious symptoms and consequences like sickness, excessive panting, pacing, general stress and physical and mental discomfort.

Nearer to winter I’ll share some more tips around managing your dogs around fireworks as they are occurring and addressing any stress your dog experiences; but there is one hugely beneficial piece of training / work that people can do with their dogs to help them with fireworks, and it’s usually the one we forget about until it’s too late: ✨️ DESENSITISATION ✨️

As with most dog behaviour, we can help our dogs significantly by creating positive relationships with things they don’t like and / or find difficult. E.g. most dogs don’t find it easy to walk to heel on the lead… but we train them to do so through building a behaviour with rewards and incentives. The great news is we can do similar behaviour building with our dogs response to fireworks from the comfort of our own home!

Here’s what you need to do:

🎆 Find some firework sounds that you can have running on a speaker or on the TV in the background… there are some good, long videos on YouTube which you could connect to your smart TV.

🎆 Start by playing these sounds quite quietly and for small periods of time – almost so your dog doesn’t notice at first! You could couple these occasions with your training time, and focus on engaging your dog in something fun, like learning a new trick or even dinner time.

🎆 Gradually increase the duration and the volume for the periods you have the fireworks playing in your home – keep pairing this with engaging and rewarding behaviour. It doesn’t have to be overly exciting each time, and actually it’s especially important that you reward your dog for calm and relaxed behaviour around these sounds too… so if your dog has a ‘settle’ command or is naturally settling during some of the time these sounds are on, give plenty of verbal praise.

🎆 Once again – keep increasing the volume and duration of the sound – we want to get to a point where it is LOUD in the house, as that is what they’ll experience come the winter time. If you get to a point where your dog has started to react to the sounds, perhaps by barking, looking very alert and concerned, etc. it’s important to remain calm and lead by example… if your dog senses that you are panicked and worried by their reaction, they will also become more panicked and worried. Install your dogs with a sense of confidence by showing them with your behaviour that everything is fine and normal… it can be our instinct to baby our dogs and stroke them lots and say ‘it’s okay I’m here’ etc. but often this does not help them. Carry on with your day to day routine, and try to keep your tone of voice normal and positive. When your dog starts to react, direct them away from the behaviour by engaging with them in training, a game, hiding some treats, etc.

Our dogs look to us for leadership and reassurance, so it’s important that we give them a clear message that everything is fine and they needn’t worry. The more we respond to something negatively, so in turn will they.

The steps above can be conducted over a period of days, weeks, or months depending on how your dog gets on! We don’t want to overwhelm them too soon, so it’s okay to take your time (and that’s why we’re talking about this in July!) – and the trick is to increase that volume just a bit at a time, so it doesn’t come as a shock to them. By introducing fireworks into our homes this way we are building a desensitisation to the sound for our dogs… this doesn’t mean that some dogs might not still have a little anxiety around firework season (we can’t account for desensitisation for other factors as easily, e.g. the smell of smoke) but it will certainly help build a solid foundation for the vast majority of dogs, and at least take the edge off the anxiety for those particularly susceptible to anxiety around loud noises.

We want to get to a point where you are successfully implementing the steps above, playing firework sounds at least a few times a week at random times (especially in the evenings), and pairing this loud sound with positive experiences and rewards. Games, training and feeding are all great ways to positively reinforce new behaviours, and depending on your dog will teach them that when fireworks are banging something fun will happen for them, or that fireworks are nothing scary – life goes on – and they’ll be rewarded for being calm.

So I urge you to start these steps ⏰️ RIGHT NOW ⏰️ – let’s get ahead of the fireworks season to ensure a much less stressful time for our four-legged friends. The BEST thing we can do for our dogs when it comes to fireworks is be prepared and pre-emptive, so let’s get the ball rolling.

Your neighbours may be wondering who is letting off fireworks in your house over the coming weeks / months… but it will be worth it when you have a happy, chilled dog come November 5th!

Please feel free to drop us a message any time if you’d like to discuss any of this further 👍

Don’t forget folks:

ℹ️ To book a 1 hour one-to-one training session please email: [email protected] or drop us a message on Facebook messenger.

1 hour session = £30.00 or block book 5 = £130.00

Get in touch to find out more about what these sessions entail! 🐕

09/06/2023

☀️ Extreme heat warning! ☀️

It's that time for the heat chart to make the rounds on social media again and for good reason.

With weather set to hit nearly 30°C this weekend it's worth noting that our dogs are at high risk of heat stroke and this can be fatal. No dog will die from missing a walk but could very well die from having one in hot weather, so don't take the risk.

If you are walking your dog please do this in the early hours or late evening if temperatures have dropped.

Why not do some training indoors or some scent games to keep your dog entertained?

Signs of heatstroke:
❗️ Heavy panting and difficulty breathing.
❗️ Excessive drooling.
❗️ Lethargy, drooling or lack of coordination.
❗️ Vomiting or collapse.

First aid for heat stroke:
🏥 Move the dog to a shaded and cool area.
🏥 Immediately pour cool (not cold to avoid shock) water over the dog. In a true emergency, any water is better than nothing.
🏥 Wet towels placed over the dog can worsen the condition, by trapping heat. In mild cases towels can be placed under the dog, but never over, and in a true emergency water immersion or pouring water with air movement is ideal.
🏥 Allow the dog to drink small amounts of cool water.
🏥 Continue to pour cool water over the dog until their breathing starts to settle, but not too much that they start shivering.
🏥 Dogs that have lost consciousness will stop panting, despite still having a very high temperature, these dogs require urgent aggressive cooling as a priority.
🏥 Throughout the treatment of heatstroke try to avoid pouring water on or near your dog's head, as there is a risk of them inhaling water which could lead to drowning, especially for flat-faced and unconscious dogs.

🌡 Take your dog to the vet if you think they may have heat stroke! 🌡

Stay safe everyone.

04/06/2023

Let’s cover the basics of a 'stop' command! ✋️

(This is my first demo video and voice over so please bear with me - I'll get better at the narration in time haha)

A stop command is a great tool for all dogs not just working dogs. It can be really useful when you want your dog to do a rapid stop, for example when you’re approaching blind corners or your dog is running off towards something unknown.

1️⃣ NEXT TO US:

In this video I start by walking my dog to heel and using the command ‘SIT’ alongside a clear hand movement that can be seen from far away if needs be. As my dog sits I take a few steps out to reinforce the signal and that he shouldn’t move until I resume his heel or release him from the position. Then we carry on and keep doing the same.

After a few of these I start saying ‘STOP’ instead of ‘SIT’ and paired with the same hand signal and repetition of the exercise, your dog should translate that as a sit pretty quickly.

I personally use a stop whistle command, and will from here on out in the video. You can do this too by repeating the same replacement of ‘STOP’ as we did for ‘SIT’ with a specific whistle pattern. Whistles are a great tool and I’d encourage you to look into whistle training if you don’t already do so.

2️⃣ EXTENDING DISTANCE:

Once I’ve repeated this exercise I then start to extend the distance I am walking away from my dog during each stop. It’s worth noting that your dog will need to know how to wait / stay / or be used to not breaking easily from commands in order to achieve this… but we’ll cover those in another video / post, or most intensely in one-to-one appointments.

By extending the distance, I am teaching my dog that ‘STOP’ is for close by and for far away.

I want my dog to be engaged and in a learning mindset, so I pretend to throw one of his dummies. This creates the desired distance between us and keeps his attention on me – as I fake the throw, I’m using my ‘STOP’ command and the bold hand signal we’ve done in the stage before. Give them time to figure it out, and keep repeating. Your dog should quite quickly respond with the desired behaviour, and be eager to please you… if not, keep going back a stage and increasing the distance you walk away.

As with all training – repetition and generalisation is essential, so practice each step plenty of times and give your dog regular breaks… remember short bursts of training are much more effective than trying to do big blocks of training and then starting to fail. Progress through the steps, and don’t forget to go to new places and practice each step again… your dog may respond to a stop whistle in the place you walk every day, but if they’ve never practiced it anywhere else they won’t generalise to all areas at all times, and for a really effective stop whistle, you need it to work anywhere you are. Stop whistles can truly save a dogs life.

After each fake throw, I reward my dog with releasing him to retrieve the dummy, or throwing another dummy / toy out for him to fetch. I break his stop by saying ‘GET ON’ or ‘FETCH’ to make it really clear his stop is over. Make sure you choose a reward that suits your dog – whether it’s a ball or food – make it valuable.

3️⃣ CASUAL STOPS:

Once you’ve gone through these steps you can start practicing casual stop commands with your dog. In the video you’ll see my dog is walking away from me and I am approaching a bend in the path, so I’m going to stop my dog until I can see what’s around the corner.

Blow your stop whistle, or shout your ‘STOP’ command, and make sure you do your hand gesture too, to reinforce it. If your dog doesn’t manage this straight away, keep trying and maybe try previous steps again – do not keep repeating the command if your dog is not responding – they either do not know it or they haven’t associated a good enough reward with it yet… take a break, go back to your last successful step, and try again.

If your dog does get it right straight away - heavily reward them! Make sure they know you are very pleased with them, and that it was worth their while – but remember a stop should mean stop until you’re released – make sure to always verbally or visually release your dog first. I’ll cover ‘break’ and ‘release’ commands in another video / post.

4️⃣ STOPPING ON THE WAY TO SOMETHING GOOD:

If you’ve made it this far – the final challenge (for now) is getting your dog to respond to a stop whistle on the way to something they really want! So, not just freely wandering, but say they’ve see a tennis ball or a rabbit roll / run past…

In the video, you’ll see throw out a dummy for my dog and send him to get it – after I send him, I deliver a stop whistle whilst he is still on his way out to retrieve. This will be your hardest step as the dogs impulse will be to go after what they want! This is where you’re most likely to fail – but don’t be disheartened. Keep engaging your dog, keep practicing, and most importantly – keep rewarding.

The way you will overcome this step is by your dog knowing if they listen to you they’ll likely get a much better option for doing so! My dog stopped, so I threw out an even better dummy for him to fetch upon release – (you can see how pleased he was in the video!) then I send him for the first one as an extra reward. This sort of reward based training comes from having a good relationship with your dog, and solid engagement… again, I’ll cover engagement tips in another video and post, but if you’ve made it this far you’re not doing bad at engaging your dog anyway!

There are lots of things to consider with stop whistles, and challenges you’ll face outside of these basic points, but these are just some initial steps to consider to help you on your way.

If you would like more information or advice on this – please feel free to drop me a message and I’d be happy to help.

ℹ️ To book a 1 hour one-to-one training session please email: [email protected] or drop me a message on Facebook messenger.

1 hour session = £30.00

Block book 5 = £130.00

20/05/2023

Sunny days with a gentle breeze + training with your dog outdoors = happy times!

This could be you, too. Get in touch!

19/05/2023

** 5 free sessions have all been taken - please enquire about a price list if youre interested in booking **

To mark the launch of my new business ‘Gillick’s Dog Services’ I am offering FREE 1-2-1 training sessions for 5 people.
This will include an initial conversation about your training needs to ensure we’re the best match, a consultation form, and an in person 1-2-1 hour long training session, where we’ll tackle some of the theory and practical aspects of achieving your training needs.
Please feel free to share this post, and if you are interested in booking a free session then drop me a message! Once they’re gone, they’re gone – but will be followed by discounted prices so please enquire about a price list.
*note that the 5 free sessions extend to 5 different clients rather than 5 sessions for 1 person in succession.

19/05/2023

Hi, my name is Oliver Gillick, owner of Gillick's Dog Services. Thanks for taking a look at my page; I look forward to helping you and your dog achieve the training results you're after.

Investing time into training with your dog is the perfect way to build a strong bond with your four legged friend, whilst also ensuring their general obedience and behaviour lends itself to you living together in happiness and harmony. Training isn’t just about resolving issues; it’s about improving your communication with your dog and building trust between you. Good training and obedience can lead to a lot of happy memories and fun times with your dog, as well as ensuring you feel confident in your dog’s ability to listen and make good choices.

I have been a practicing dog trainer and instructor for just over a year now, but have been pursuing dog training as a hobby for the last 4-5 years. I invest a lot of my free time into research and study, as well as daily training with my own dog who is a German Shorthaired Pointer. In the last year I have taken the leap to put my vast knowledge into practice, and have helped many individuals through one-to-one training sessions with their dogs, as well as instructing obedience classes weekly at Nuneaton Dog Training Club. I have various certificates and acknowledgements, and have completed many courses in relation to training including Canine First-Aid, Understanding Canine Emotion, Dog to Dog Interactions, Canine Body Language, Overcoming Separation Anxiety, and much more.

Problem behaviours do not come from the dog ‘choosing’ to misbehave; it’s often us as humans who are the issue and it’s important to understand how dogs think, feel and learn in order to give clear, fair and consistent instructions that they can adhere to. My job is to work with you as an owner, and equip you with the tools and understanding necessary to be able to train your dog to the standard you desire – I want you to be proud of your progress and to feel you have achieved the impossible with your dog.

I have worked with clients on issues around loose lead walking, recall, resource guarding, reactivity, and more. I use balanced training methods and focus on general obedience to get the best results for you and your dog.

Whilst I particularly enjoy working with gundog breeds, I have worked with many different breeds and ages, and I look forward to each new challenge that dog training presents.

If you are keen to progress your dog’s general obedience, learn new tricks and techniques, or work on specific training issues – I’d love to help you. I start by asking every potential client to complete a short online form to give me some context and background about you and your dog’s circumstances, then have an initial conversation (free of charge) about the types of training I advise we would cover together and answer any initial questions you might have, before we go on to arrange our first one-to-one session.

If you are interested in finding out more about my services (including price list), or would just like to have a chat and ask some questions first, please feel free to contact me on: [email protected]

I look forward to hearing from you.

Gillick's Dog Services

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