Agata Brzek - Dog Focused

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Agata Brzek - Dog Focused

I help owners of young, energetic dogs who struggle with recall, pulling, over-excitement, chasing, and reactivity across Perth and Kinross area.

Dog Training and Behaviour Consulting based on positive reinforcement techniques and protocols. Non-aversive methods, creative and effective solutions to common behaviour problems, life enrichment for pet dogs, games, everyday manners, obedience. I hold a Diploma of Dog Training and Behaviour Consulting from Companion Animals Sciences Institute, and the Pro Dog Trainer certificate with AbsoluteDOG

S, and have attended various courses, workshops, seminars and webinars related to animal training and behaviour. I have over 15 years of experience of working with dogs, including 10 years as a pet dog trainer.

04/06/2026

If you want to walk your dog off lead everywhere you have to start somewhere.

Too many times I hear "my dog can't be let off lead", but the person saying that is not doing anything to change it.

Keeping your dog on lead will never teach him to come back when called.

Having him on a long line will do nothing either, if you don't work on it.

Even if you tried to teach him and still got nowhere near a decent recall, chances are you didn't have the right tactics, the right ideas, protocols and system.

You probably gave up right before you could see any improvement.

It's a great feeling when you call your dog and he actually comes back. It is achievable, but yes, it takes some work on your part.

I start early, my puppies are off lead from the very first walks, they follow, they get rewarded every single time, the habit gets stronger and more ingrained.

Then in adolescence I might use the long line for a while, manage my expectations, up or completely change my rewards to suit the developing brain.

And then one day it all falls into place, we reach the management phase, and life gets easy.

And people comment on my dogs' obedience. And even if it took time and effort (although for me it's all just fun), it is well worth it, because now, for the rest of my dog's life we can have truly relaxing walks wherever we go.

This feeling and this reality is possible. Reach out if you're ready to unleash your dog.

A.

03/06/2026

I do "bitework" with my dogs. Well, not real bitework, we just play with the bite sleeve.

Years ago I went to a Schutzhund club with my German Shepherd Raven, but only a few times, as I didn't like the methods that were used.

When I got Arco I didn't know if he would be interested in the sleeve until one day I had a chance to try and he absolutely loved it.

I got two sleeves then, from nice folks who trained security dogs, and I used them with Arco on a regular basis for all his life.

Dogs like Arco, and then Comet, instantly recognize what the sleeve is for, even though they haven't seen one before.

It's in the breed, and for the two of them, playing with the sleeve was absolutely the best fulfilling experience they could have.

I always knew when Arco was in a mood to do some bitework, as he would follow me around and nip my bum.

After 10-15 minutes on the sleeve, he was happy and relaxed again.

Other breeds like to bite too. My Chester, the collie, loved a bite wedge, which is a big soft toy used for training young protection dogs.

And now Merrick loves the sleeve too. He asks for it, and gets very excited when I finally pick it up.

All the dogs were super friendly with people, the sleeve is just a toy for them, it does not teach them to grab a stranger on the street.

Also I do it myself, nobody else wears the sleeve, I could just as well hold a different toy in my hands.

When I say Drop, they do it, they back away when asked, can do all sorts of behaviours and tricks for a chance of another bite.

There are a lot of people who train proper bite sports (there are many). Some do it because their dogs love it, others to make themselves and their dogs tough.

Unfortunately egos often get in the way of the sport. Recently a dog d!ed at bite sport trials in the UK. He was kicked and whacked with a stick, and it was all happening on a very hot night. They were testing how much "pressure" he could take.

Now people call to ban all bite sports as being inhumane. True that these sports are dominated by balanced trainers, who routinely use prong and shock collars.

But not all of them use this equipment. There are positively trained dogs all over the country and the world. Dogs who absolutely love doing bitework, and who need it to be happy.

Banning is not the answer, but the situation needs to change. Dogs shouldn't d!e in the name of the sport.

The person responsible has been reported to the police. He will face consequences. Hopefully severe, although it doesn't always end the way it should.

In the meantime Merrick and I will still play bitey-bitey with our old beat up sleeve.

A.

02/06/2026

There are no rivers or burns where we live. Only a ditch here and there.

We have to walk quite a distance to play water fetch, or splash and cool down.

But if you don't have the resources you have to be resourceful, says Merrick.

None of my previous dogs would ever lie in a puddle on the road.

This boy is truly special😆

It wasn't easy to move him either...

01/06/2026

Last week I had a lovely walk with a former canine student Murdo and his brother Walter.

Murdo was just a baby when I first met him, and now he's a handsome one year old youngster.

Their mum fell and broke her ankle, and was in need of a walker, so of course I said yes.

I'm happy to report that Murdo was great on our walk, he didn't pull much, and was very well behaved on the road.

He did, of course, have to check every single hole, bush, and hedge, as this is what spaniels do, isn't it? I managed to get him out of there though, much to his dismay.

In the meantime his pal Walter was doing everything in his power to stop the silly walk and go back home.

Walter doesn't care for walks much, especially with a stranger. Eventually he refused to move any farther, and no amount of begging and coaxing could change his mind.

I'm walking them again on Thursday, maybe he'll be happier this time.

If you need an occasional walk for your dog, let me know. I'll be happy to do it, if I have the time.

A.

29/05/2026

NEW class announcement below!

This week I started Skill Practise Sessions with my current and previous clients.

I totally forgot to take photos on Tuesday, but here are two dogs from yesterday: Cassie, the birdie x, and Beau, a Staffy x Frenchie.

Unfortunately one dog had to go home early due to his fear of noises, as he could hear a bird scarer in a field somewhere.

Out of the 3 dogs that attended, both days, 2 were somewhat reactive, and one was an adolescent.

It was a good mix, and all the dogs did really well. We focused on engagement via simple activities that the dogs could perform but still be aware of their surroundings and the presence of other dogs.

There was plenty of space to walk away if someone got overexcited or feisty, and we also had barriers between them to partially block the view of other participants.

I'm thinking of doing the same for new clients with young adolescent dogs, who are NOT displaying serious reactivity towards other dogs or people.

A good candidate for this class would be:

a dog who pulls on lead towards other dogs, generally friendly although too excited and frantic;

a dog with poor recall around distractions

a dog that finds it hard to focus on his owner/guardian

a dog that finds it hard to settle and switch off

Classes would be limited to 4 dogs. Would be held outside, near Dunning (although we could change location to add challenge), at 6 pm on Friday.

Let me know if you're interested or share with someone who might be.

Thanks
A.

27/05/2026

For those of you who are always on the lookout for high value dry treats.

I found this food a while ago and have been testing it on Merrick and other dogs.

It's not extruded kibble, it's more like a dry cake. The best way to describe it is a dehydrated wet food.

It smells nice and dogs go mad for it. It's made in Poland, hence the weird name.

There are three sizes of it:

The adult food, the beef recipe in the photo has the biggest pieces, around 0.5 inch in length. Would suit dogs like a lab or GSD. I also take this with me for my walks.

The junior variety is smaller pieces, good for a collie or a spaniel sized dog, and I use them in my training when I feed from hand or throw around in games.

The mini variety is tiny cubes, good for small dogs, but I also use it for training some tricks or doing fitness, as I do many repetitions and want small tasty treats for that.

I'll put a link in the comment to the site I got it from.

They have more flavours available, not only the ones I got.

Higher value treats are great for teaching new important behaviors, like lead walking, recall, attention and engagement.

With time you can switch to a lower value and eventually even just regular kibble, but you want to impress your dog with something amazing when you are in the beginning stages of training.

And if you have a dog who is not very food motivated, it may be because you haven't found what they really love.

If you know some other high value treats that your dog loves, let us know. Personally I'm always keen to try new things.

A.

20/05/2026

Hello, I'm thinking of organising small group classes for former Training Walks students.

There would be between 2 and 4 dogs, with similar behaviour struggles, e.g. reactivity or over-excitability, pulling on lead, or poor recall around distractions.

I'd have the sessions just outside my house, as there is plenty of space to have sufficient distance, and huge trees to hide behind for a break. The area is not fenced, so dogs will be on lead/long line.

Alternative location would be the park in Dunning, when the dogs are ready.

Cost around £25-30 per session.

I'm thinking Tuesday and Thursday at 6 pm, maybe 6.30. I'd like it to be accessible, so any day/time suggestions welcome.

You'd choose one day per week, it doesn't have to be the same, as long as there are spaces. Initially all sessions would have up to 3 dogs, and with time I may add another one.

So, you'll get plenty of attention and guidance, and enough distractions and triggers to work at your dog's pace in a controlled environment.

It would be ideal to pop in a couple times a month and continue working on your dog's skills, learn something new, and meet other dog owners dealing with the same or a similar struggle.

Comment below if it sounds interesting, and which day would suit you, or propose other day and time. I'm fully flexible and will consider all possibilities.

If you haven't worked with me before, but would like to join a similar group training, let me know, as this can also be arranged with enough interest.

Thanks
Agata

15/05/2026

Real life application of skills.

Why would we make the effort to teach our dogs all the foundation skills?

Well, because they do come in handy in everyday life.

I don't train Stay a lot, but every now and then we practise, as it's a very useful behaviour in a variety of situations.

And because we do I'm able to ask for it when, like this morning, I don't want Merrick to follow me.

I had a p**p bag in my hand, and was heading for the bin, but right next to it, across a dirt road, is a field with sheep.

The sheep were very close to the fence, and would get nervous if Merrick ran towards them.

Not that I would let him harass them, but the mere presence of a dog can make sheep extremely flighty.

So, when they're near, I ask him to sit and stay until I release him. If they were farther away from the fence, I'd allow him to come with me.

He complies happily, because it's a behaviour he knows well, has rehearsed many times before, and he gets the ball at the end (this is where he ran after being released).

A well trained dog is a joy to walk. I'm sure you agree😊

A.

11/05/2026

Sniffy Rex today😄

Our weekly Monday stroll in Scone park. Rex and I go out together to work on his reactivity to other dogs, if we meet any.

Rex loves to sniff! We're all told that sniffing is good for dogs and that we should allow them to sniff as much as they want.

But if you left it to Rex to decide how much to sniff, you'd never get anywhere.

He could be glued to a blade of grass for 5 minutes, and then take one step forward, and sniff another blade for another 5 minutes.

So as much as we respected his need to read the pee-mail, we had to put some limits on it.

In this video he walks really well, it's not hard to move him from spot to spot, but when I first met him, he would either drag me forward with the strength of a horse, or I had to drag him away from anything worth sniffing.

So we had to teach him to walk pretty much at heel for a while, and then we rewarded him with a quick sniff break.

He would be stopped if he tried to drag us towards a tree, put at heel, asked for eye contact, and only then we would allow him a sniff (if we wanted to).

This is called Explicit Permission training, and I learned this from Suzanne Clothier, an American trainer.

At first we needed to be really strict, but now Rex knows the rules and he's actually pretty easy to walk. Unless there are other dogs around, at which point he sometimes still gets upset.

He can also stay at heel for longer periods, without the obsessive need to sniff, and he knows he'll get the permission sooner or later.

Teaching Explicit Permission can solve a lot of your pulling issues, and I always include it in the curriculum for adolescent dogs, especially males, as they're mad about sniffing and peeing on everything.

It also helps reactive dogs of any age, as it makes them a bit more aware of the tension on the lead, so if they lunge forward, they notice it and often come back and release the pressure.

When I was raising Merrick, Explicit Permission was our lifestyle, he learned that from the very beginning and I credit his (usually) awesome lead skills to this simple exercise.

Want to know more and improve your dog's pulling? Comment, or message, and we can take it further.

A.

Address

Dunning
Dunning
PH29BX

Telephone

+447593032280

Website

http://www.dogfocused.co.uk/

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