Jess' Dog Training, Bournemouth (2026)

12/06/2026

Your dog’s socialisation period is arguably the most important time in their life. Well-thought out, careful socialisation that continues into adolescence is the best thing you can give your puppy.

Did tou get it right for your dog? 🤔 I know there’s some things I’d do differently for my dog if I could go back in time! 🕰️

Further reading:
📚 Appleby, D. L., Bradshaw, J. W. S., & Casey, R. A. (2002). Relationship between aggressive and avoidance behaviour by dogs and their experience in the first six months of life. Veterinary Record, 150(14), 434–438. https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.150.14.434
📚 Freedman, D. G., King, J. A., & Elliot, O. (1961). Critical period in the social development of dogs. Science, 133(3457), 1016–1017. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.133.3457.1016
📚 Howell, T. J., King, T., & Bennett, P. C. (2015). Puppy parties and beyond: The role of early age socialization practices on adult dog behavior. Veterinary Medicine: Research and Reports, 6, 143–153. https://doi.org/10.2147/VMRR.S62081
📚 Scott, J. P., & Fuller, J. L. (1965). Genetics and the social behavior of the dog. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
📚 Serpell, J., & Jagoe, J. A. (1995). Early experience and the development of behaviour. In J. Serpell (Ed.), The domestic dog: Its evolution, behaviour and interactions with people (pp. 79–102). Cambridge University Press.

08/06/2026

The meme fairy has visited 🧚🏼‍♀️

All animals respond to positive reinforcement 🧠 if they don’t, it’s because the thing we’ve chosen isn’t reinforcing to them, so it’s about meeting them where they’re at. That takes skill and flexibility on our part 🧚 a dog not taking treats around their triggers doesn’t mean they don’t respond to R+, it means you’re not handling them skilfully.

Corrections do not build clarity for your dog. Dogs are amoral, they have no inherent sense of right and wrong and don’t recognise good behaviour from bad. It’s all just dog behaviour 🐕 Punishing them for things we happen not to like doesn’t build clarity, it makes you unpredictable, reduces the likelihood they’ll offer new behaviours in future and creates more pessimistic dogs who don’t trust you.

Force-free training is about setting dogs up to succeed and rewarding the choices we like 🌱 building a dog who never offers those undesirable behaviours in the first place. It’s also just a much kinder way of getting there.

Social does not equal pack 🐺 elephants, geese, humans and moose are social animals, not pack animals. Anyone still peddling pack theory has not completed a single day of formal education in canine behaviour and they will make you punish your dog.

Free-living dogs don’t form rigid packs. They form loose, shifting social groups that come together and break apart based on resources, tolerance, and familiarity with no fixed hierarchy or alpha structure ☀️

📚 Cafazzo et al., 2010; Bonanni et al., 2017; Pal et al., 1998

01/06/2026

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Nutrition accounts I recommend:

References:
📚Beerda, B., Schilder, M. B. H., van Hooff, J. A. R. A. M., de Vries, H. W., & Mol, J. A. (1998). Behavioural, saliva cortisol and heart rate responses to different types of stimuli in dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 58(3–4), 365–381. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-1591(97)00145-7
📚Herron, M. E., Shofer, F. S., & Reisner, I. R. (2009). Survey of the use and outcome of confrontational and non-confrontational training methods in client-owned dogs showing undesired behaviours. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 117(1–2), 47–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2008.12.011
📚McGowan, R. T. S., Rehn, T., Norling, Y., & Keeling, L. J. (2014). Positive affect and learning: Exploring the « Eureka Effect » in dogs. Animal Cognition, 17(3), 577–587. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-013-0694-x
📚Mellor, D. J. (2016). Updating animal welfare thinking: Moving beyond the « Five Freedoms » towards « A Life Worth Living ». Animals, 6(3), 21. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani6030021
📚Rooney, N. J., & Cowan, S. (2011). Training methods and owner–dog interactions: Links with dog behaviour and learning ability. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 132(3–4), 169–177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2011.03.007
📚Ziv, G. (2017). The effects of using aversive training methods in dogs—A review. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 19, 50–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2017.02.004

31/05/2026

Before you comment “the dog is fine”; the dog is NOT fine. They are uncomfortable and making it known. They are lip licking, trying to mouth the woman’s hands and offering whale eye 🫍 All signs of discomfort. All ways to ask for space. Dogs never bite out of nowhere.

She is physically restraining her dog with her legs and hands and removing all her dog’s choices 🙅🏼‍♀️ If this dog bit, it would be entirely justified, entirely her fault and entirely avoidable.

We also have enough painful dogs with hip, shoulder, elbow and other musculoskeletal conditions without adding fuel to the fire with stupid stunts like this one🔥

Don’t be a dick to your dog. Respect their autonomy, give them choices, don’t touch them when they say no and do the bare minimum by learning a little about dog body language.

Address

Bournemouth
BH9

Telephone

+447775853332

Website

https://www.jessdogtraining.com/

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