Calm the Pup Down Dog Training

05/11/2025

The ultimate protection dog: frequently seen protecting their guardians from -

🔒 Having a quiet sit down
🔒 Going to the toilet alone
🔒 Bin bags
🔒 Financial security
🔒 Normal blood pressure
🔒 The opportunity for boredom

Not an exhaustive list.

They always have more in the bank to test you with.

Just when you thought they could never, there they go. Setting fire to things.

Just mine?

04/11/2025

Shouting shouting shouting shouting.

Yes we could have just got a chew out of the chew box to begin with but where’s the fun in that?!

03/11/2025

Nice to see we’ve managed to rank in the top 3 again.
Thanks to everyone who trusts me to support them with their dog’s behaviour and training.
Without you I would not be able to do my favourite thing.

28/10/2025

Our ball-on-a-rope toys have been central to managing Barbie’s predatory chase over the years.

But now she’s getting older and less able to hoon around like she used to, I’ve had to adapt how we use her kryptonite reinforcer to keep it both fun and functional.
She’s an off lead walks dog, exploring is one of her main enjoyments so I have to make sure I can recall her.
As tiredness and pain creep in, her impulse control isn’t quite what it once was. Toward the end of a walk she’ll sometimes lose herself to deer scent, so keeping that whistle recall sharp is essential. If she bogs off into the woods on those legs and hurts herself, it might well be the last I see of her.

Her recall was built on that ball-on-a-rope as the kryptonite reward, no food NO FOOD would ever match chasing a deer, so to preserve that same “woohoo” I’ve shifted the games we play with the toy.

We still play tug, but there’s no need for sprinting or dramatic retrieves now. Slower games keep this high-value reinforcer alive and relevant, so my whistle works - ready for those inevitable powered by the devil moments.

27/10/2025

Look who it is enjoying the tug e nuff fauxtastic powerball bungee

22/10/2025

Inspired by true events

21/10/2025

Things I saw on the misinformation superhighway recently.

A verified account sharing images of zig zag patterning along dogs’ backs when talking about hackles.
8 out of the 10 images were not of hackles, in fact.

Unusual looking fur patterns are often a sign there’s something not quite right with a dog’s health, it has nothing to do with piloerection - which does happen if your dog is startled or wound up.

Conflating these two fur-related signs is why so many dogs go undiagnosed with pain and discomfort, if guardians don’t know what to look for and the internet is offering up nonsense slop like this we are helping nobody.

Know the difference between your dog’s hackles and unusual fur patterns and you’ll be better able to help them out.

17/10/2025

B4stard love child of a broken burglar alarm and the terminator, or in dog behaviour speak - highly sensitive to environmental changes.

With dobes and other guarding breeds it’s important to have a good back and forth relationship so they are able to tell you about the infringements they’ve seen - minor or major, so you can act as their operational control and help them process perceived threats.

Barb shouted at these cones because I was taking the p!ss out of her rather than informing her it was fine and to stand down. In this case, I didn’t see the harm in capturing her shouting at inanimate objects for the feed.

She does need feedback a lot of the time from operation control (me) because her absolute favourite thing in the world to do is run at things screaming her head off, she gets a great deal of pleasure from that. It is not socially acceptable.

She likes to watch the world burn.

Sometimes I let her do that.

10/09/2025

Force free isn’t about being “soft.”
It’s about drawing hard lines against cruelty while still being creative, flexible, and, shocker, effective.

I don’t use punishment.
Not because I’m naïve.
Or a soft arse.
Not because I think dogs should run riot.
But because it’s unnecessary, lazy and causes actual harm.

Wellbeing is the goal.
If a dog feels safe, healthy and understood, the “training problems” are less likely to arise.

Most so-called “bad behaviour” is to do with unmet needs, stress, or pain anyway.

Force free means listening, adapting and teaching skills both ends of the lead can use.
It means boundaries without bullying, clarity without coercion.
It means we call out the dark-ages nonsense still sold as “training.”

So yeah, if empathy, science and being a dog’s mate make me a “force free w4nkstain”…

Go off, wrap me in a tissue.

I’l have it.

29/07/2025

More on dog poo

29/07/2025