Bright Hounds Dog Training

05/10/2025

Puppy toilet training!!

This is something that I get asked about frequently.
Puppies typically gain control over their bladders between 4-6 months old. Larger breeds can take a little longer than smaller breeds.
There are also things that we can actively do to help the toilet training process along.

Journaling:
Yes, this is what your life has become now!
Jotting down the times of day that an accident / or successful toilet has happened will help you to understand the general pattern of when this happens over a number of weeks.

Also note that there are situations when accidents are most likely to occur, such as after a sleep, after drinking or eating or during excitement (play or a visitor arrives for example).

Look out for circling and sniffing behaviour.
Some pups also become quite mouthy or vocal prior to a toilet, especially if they don't know how to tell you that they need to go just yet.

How to clean:
This is so important. Bleach or general cleaning products won't be enough to eliminate the mess. In fact, bleach can cause your pup to become MORE likely to repeat the behaviour! Bleach also mixes with the ammonia in your pup's p*e, and releases toxic fumes!

Use an enzymatic cleaner and scrub thoroughly to destroy all traces of the accident.

Never tell your pup off for accidents!
Never scold your pup or worse still, rub their noses in it! Firstly, the pup will have no idea what this means, secondly the latter is obviously cruel, and thirdly, all it will at do, at best, is teach your pup that it's not safe to toilet indoors in your presence, you may find little hidden accidents behind sofas instead if you've managed to frighten your pup enough not to do it in front of you.

Night time p*eing:
A healthy pup, providing your house isn't a sauna, shouldn't require access to drinking water overnight.
Remove water at LEAST one hour before bed, and take your pup out for one final toilet beforehand. Don't pressure your pup when you do, just stand quietly and wait to see if he/she needs to go.

Restrict access to some of the house at first, this will help you to manage accidents and ensure that toilet training is a lot easier.

Praise your pup whenever he / she toilets in the garden, immediately after your pup has finished.

Try to set up a designated toilet area and take your pup there when you think he / she needs to go, and then praise when this is successful!

Hope this helps... and good luck!

19/08/2025

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Great prices and excellent service. Can’t recommend them highly enough! 🐾

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03/05/2025

Lovely review from a very dedicated owner. Dora has come on leaps and bounds from the timid girl who was hiding in the corner of the garden when we first met, and also struggled with recall. Now she’s become so much more confident and sociable in such a short space of time, with so much credit going to her human, who I very much enjoyed working with 🐾

08/04/2025

Morning all. Apologies to anyone waiting for responses to their enquiries…I’m getting back to everyone as quickly as possible!

I’m now taking bookings for June.
Many thanks! Craig 🐾

07/02/2025

Predatory drift

Ever heard this term?

Predatory drift can happen for different reasons, but is particularly dangerous during play between a large dog and a smaller dog.

This is actually a normal, instinctive behaviour hardwired into all dogs, this can be triggered by a high pitched squeal or something fast moving (such as the smaller dog).

The sequence includes but is not limited to stalking, chasing, and biting.

Play should be balanced, back and forth. Not just one dog chasing the other the entire time. Play bows followed by chasing each other.

Healthy play behaviour is known as ‘mirroring and matching’.
Effectively mirroring each others body language and postures then chasing back and forth.

When one dog is chasing the other and it doesn’t bounce between them, then more often than not it’s not enjoyable for the dog being chased.

So monitor this, insist on regular breaks between play and ensure you have a solid recall and calming protocols.

Particularly with dogs who are unfamiliar with each other and there’s a size difference.

07/02/2025

Aggression

To create successful outcomes (more desirable and calm behaviours in the face of what triggers your dog to react) we first have to understand the 'why' and most importantly what outcome the dog is seeking.

Often dogs that are showing aggressive behaviours are usually trying to create distance. The dogs barks, lunges and violently thrashes about to warn off the other dog, and guess what... it "works" in their minds, therefore reinforcing that behaviour.

Take a postman as an example. Postman comes to the door, dog barks its head off, postman delivers the letters and then leaves. Barking soon stops after he's gone. What does the dog think that all that barking has achieved? Yep...sent that person away. So, in the dog's mind, it's worked! (in some cases it can also be excitement or alerting you to the presence of someone)

Another example: Your dog sees another dog on the other side of the road coming towards you...dog stiffens up, fixates, ignores your attempts get his / her attention, then BARK BARK BARK with lunging and pulling. Person with their dog keeps on walking by minding their own business, and after the other dog is far enough away or out of sight, your dogs behaviour stops. 'Great, it's worked. I feel safe again, I'll keep doing that'

There are lots of variables to consider with reactivity.
Does your dog ignore you when there are no triggers around? What is your relationship like with your dog indoors and outdoors?
Is your dog on good quality food?
What is their routine?
Does your dog have any underlying pain or health issues?
What environment do you walk in?
How often do these reactions occur?
Why is the dog doing the behaviour and what outcome is your dog looking for?
Desensitisation and counter conditioning is only PART of the equation. Several other factors come in to play as well.

All must be considered when working with an aggressive dog and building up a training / rehabilitation plan

20/01/2025

Hi All, I’ll get back to everyone who’s sent enquiries via WhatsApp, through my website or voicemail this evening. Thanks for your patience! Craig

11/01/2025

Hi all. I’m away until Tuesday, so I’ll reply to all enquiries when I return. Have a nice weekend and thanks for your patience. Craig 🐾

08/12/2024

Hi All 👋
Just FYI, I’m pretty much fully booked until February bar the odd space or two dotted about. I’m now taking bookings throughout Feb.
Thanks, Craig 🌲

27/11/2024

Journaling!

When working with your dog, it can be really useful to document progress each day in a diary or notebook.

Set out targets, objectives and schedule times to train (even as little as 2-5 minutes working on something a couple of times a day can make a huge difference with certain skills).
This can keep you honest with yourself and give you a realistic measure of progress.

We're all goal driven, emotional beings, and in the modern world of instant gratification, setbacks can seem like a total catastrophe at times, especially when we approach training off the cuff, rather than working systematically.

On top of this, we all have other stressful situations in life that can compound a bad experience with our dog.

Journaling can also give you a mental reminder of the situation / environment that your dog struggled with, and a reminder that this needs to be looked at, or adjust criteria (environment / distance / duration / distraction).

Training when you're stressed out yourself can also make things particularly difficult. For a reactive dog or a dog that drags you down the street from your front door. There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking a break if you're not feeling it in that moment, and doing some training / play in your garden or taking your dog somewhere quiet for some down time just to sniff on a long lead. All dogs / handlers require a certain level of skill before entering potentially triggering situations anyway. Once acquired, the more tricky situations can be far easier to navigate.

So in summary, plan, journal and look after yourself too.

Craig 📝

26/11/2024

Hi All 👋
I’m now fully booked for the rest of this year, but I am taking bookings for January if you’d like to get in early before that fills up too.

Cheers!
Craig 🐾