Happiest Hounds Dog Training

04/05/2026

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🐾 Member Spotlight 🐾
Louise Bater
Member ID: 1275
🌐 Website: www.happiesthounds.com
📍 Location: North Essex

🐶 Services Provided:
Dog and puppy training as well as behaviour consultations and practical sessions. From helping owners with their brand new puppies, teaching dogs to walk nicely on the lead and come back when called, to complex behaviour cases.

🎉 Fun Fact:
My first career was as a Microbiologist and I gained a first class honours degree in Biochemistry. Then I became a dog trainer and studied with the APDT before then going back to uni to complete an MSc in Clinical Animal Behaviour.

💡 Training Tip:
✨ Focus on all the good things your dog does and make sure you reward these good behaviours - then you’ll see more of them! Help your dog out by not letting them practise behaviours you don’t like - management (like using baby gates in the home) can be a really useful tool!

✨ Understand that dogs are a different species to us and they’re living in a human society with human-centred rules. We need to let our dogs have appropriate outlets for being a dog. If your dog likes digging, then provide them an area they’re allowed to dig up so they can practise this species-appropriate behaviour.

🚫 Myth Buster:
❌ Myth: “you have to be your dog’s boss”
✅ Bust: dogs are members of your family. If you want to be their boss, be one you’d like to work for!

If it’s tricky to come away from the concept of dominance or that you’re the alpha of your dog as their owner…

Try instead thinking of it like you’re a really generous boss 👀

When your dog does good work, you shower them with reward bonuses (💷 = 🧀)

When your dog’s not doing such good work then help them, kindly, in the areas they need development 🧑‍🏫

When they’re not coping mentally, you have compassion and help by giving them a break and understanding their individual needs 🥰

This may just help see a leadership concept in a different light 💡

❌ Myth: “positive training = permissive”
✅ Bust: positive dog training isn’t letting dogs do whatever they want, it’s focused on teaching dogs what to do, and setting them up for success.

Positive training focuses on:
✅ Clear expectations
✅ Consistency
✅ Reinforcing desired behaviours
✅ Preventing unwanted behaviours through good management

28/04/2026

🩶🐾🧡BEAUTIFUL MOMENTS 🧡🐾🩶

This past week I have coincidentally bumped into two former clients and heard on what’s app from another…

First at Legoland! Lovely Team Ziggs spotted me and it took me a minute out of context to realise as it had been nearly FOUR years 😅 I was delighted to hear that Ziggs was doing great and best buddies with their son. Our main focus for training was to prepare for baby coming and walking nicely next to the pram. What great owners and such a brilliant dog 🐾

Then I heard from Team Kiz who I referred to a brilliant Veterinary Behaviourist when I went on maternity leave with Ro as well as awesome Calum before Dr Ashton could see her. A complex behaviour case and great to hear progress is being made with further health investigations 🥰

And just yesterday I saw Team Luna walking happily along - the focus of our training nearly four years ago was to help Luna feel happy walking from her house which was a great success at the time and how wonderful to see her out and about still walking happily with her family 😍

It’s always so nice to see and hear from previous clients 🩶🧡

25/12/2025

Merry Christmas everybody!

Hope you’re having a fabulous time with your two and four legged family 🥰

🌲 🥰

02/12/2025

Hi everyone! 👋

It’s been a while since I posted so I wanted to say hi and hope everybody and their dogs are well. I am still on maternity leave with this little munchkin and returning to work in June.

I’m gradually working on editing my thesis for peer review (alongside my wonderful supervisors) to get it ready for submission for hopeful eventual publication 🤞. It’s slow going with this little one to tend to at the same time 🥰

Ro is a delight, so chilled, happy and (so far) such an easy baby. Bracken loves him and he’s starting to pay more attention to her now as well 🐾
Ash loves his younger brother (thankfully!) and is so sweet with him.

Hope you’re all feeling Christmassy and have lots of lovely things planned - including relaxing at home!

Lou 🐾 🧡

04/09/2025

🙌

Congratulations to Louise Bater on gaining CCAB pre-certification!

"I am delighted to have achieved pre-certification CCAB status. This milestone reflects years of dedication, continuous learning, and a strong commitment to evidence-based behaviour science. My background as a trainer has provided a solid foundation of hands-on experience, which continues to inform and enrich my behaviour work. I’m incredibly grateful to the mentors, lecturers, colleagues, and clients who have supported me throughout this journey - your insight and encouragement have been instrumental. I look forward to continuing to grow within this field and contributing to the highest standards of clinical animal behaviour practice."

14/08/2025

The reality of keeping up with CPD during maternity leave 🤱 🥰🤗

Thanks to the amazing Roz Pooley MSc CCAB for tonight’s brilliant lecture on hormones and behaviour 🐾

06/07/2025

Introducing the newest member of Happiest Hounds, Rowan Harley Wright, he’s doing so well. Nearly 4 weeks old now 💚

I’m recovering well from a c-section, despite some wound issues, but much better now.

Ashton loves his baby brother 😍 and Bracken is wonderful with him too 🐾

We stuck with tree themed first name 🌳 and Chris’s eldest son chose the middle name ☺️

30/05/2025

Just watched a brilliant webinar called Neutering and Behaviour for Behaviour Professionals by Miriam Prior MA MSc VetMB MRCVS CCAB.

Miriam co-owns Pet Behaviour Company who you may remember I was doing the social media for last year before I was full time at Guide Dogs.

If you’re a behaviourist I 💯 recommend the courses on here as they’re very good and really reasonably priced too!

Gotta love some quality CPD 👍

CPD for Behaviour Professionals on neutering considerations of dogs for behaviour cases. Webinar 52 mins. Access for 30 days from day of ...

29/05/2025

This is an excellent example of great, well managed dog:dog intro and playtime rather than pups learning to charge up to other dogs and have really intense play. When they’re bigger it’s the last thing you want them to be doing over the park! Starting like this is brilliant to help set up successful dog:dog interactions in the future too 🐾
Nice one Calum Woof and Wood Dog Training

08/05/2025

😱😱**the ball thrower** 😱😱
But ya know what? I’m using it sensibly…

And mainly because I can’t bend easily to pick up her ball at the end of our walk! (There’s a common theme this week with my posts 🤰 haha!).

She’s already walked most of the fields before I do the first throw with it, had a nice warm up of her muscles and joints. She, thankfully, currently has no joint / muscle issues. I don’t throw it constantly, or particularly far or high, she has had plenty of mooch and sniff time before and after ball throwing.

It’s the first time I’ve brought the ball thrower out in sooooo long. But bit of a godsend for me right now.

🥎 🥎 🥎 🥎 here’s to sensible ball thrower use 🥎 🥎 🥎

PS I know Chuck-It balls are better for her teeth but my mum and dad gave her this squeaky Kong ball and she’s loving it so I’m letting her enjoy it before it inevitably gets destroyed lol 💓

06/05/2025

💩 Having toileting on cue for your dog can be so useful!

For example for before you’re going on a long car journey.

Today’s example: it’s getting very uncomfortable for me to bend now 🤰 as I’m sooo close to baby coming.

So picking up p**p when I’m out with Bracks is awkward and I must look a right sight trying to bend even remotely comfortably 😂😂🤣

Cueing her to go in the garden before a walk means less chance she’ll do another poo on her walk. Then I can let Chris sort the garden for me 😜

Side note: I haven’t found a p**p scoop that was actually practical so do hit me up with any recommendations if you have found one fit for purpose!