Boundary K9 Services

18/04/2025

Do you have a plan B?

OPERATION RECALL AWARENESS WEEK
What does RECALL Stand for:

C – Control

As a dog owner you must always keep your dog under control. How you do that is technically down to you (in terms of the law).

However, we often hear when we interview dog owners following livestock attacks ‘I never thought they would do that’ or ‘they have never done that before’. These are not defences and don’t make the livestock or farming community feel any better!

With that in mind we highly recommend keeping dogs on short leads whenever you are close to livestock. Ensuring the lead is up to the job, the collar properly fitted and you are strong enough to hold your dog are all equally important.

Working on your dog’s recall is still a good idea though, so if you do drop the lead you have a plan B!

12/04/2025

After falling down the stairs on Wednesday and being at the hospital Thursday I should have followed advice and rested up but in my usual style I decided to do my level 1 under The UK Tracking Dog Association instead 🫣🤣

My boy did me proud despite him having to drag me round with my strapped up ankle.

He indicated on both articles and his corners were clean. A special tea for you tonight my boy 🐾

31/03/2025

If you can’t be bothered to train your dog that’s your choice, but don’t be selfish by ruining other people’s training.

This morning I’ve had a call from one of my clients who has been doing remarkably well with her dog. She has worked her socks off to be able to walk her dog past other dogs with zero reaction.

This morning she was met with a man and his out of control Labrador, circling, stalking and upsetting my clients dog and undoing much of her hard work!!!

Remember, If someone asks you to put your dog on a lead there is likely a good reason for it.

If your dog doesn’t have a recall, don’t let it off lead in public places!

(Pic for attention)

22/03/2025

Dates to be confirmed, limited spaces…

Who’s in? 🤩😝

20/03/2025

Thank you for the review Lucy!

Keep up the good work, you two are flying high 👏 👏 👏

20/03/2025

It has to be said that ‘loose lead walking’ and ‘recall’ are probably the most common things I help owners with, but it’s not the only thing.

Are you struggling with:-

🐾 Puppy training

🐾 Resource guarding

🐾 Fear of loud noises (fireworks/gunfire)

🐾 Counter surfing

🐾 P**p eating

🐾 Reactivity

🐾 Jumping up

🐾 Destructive behaviour

🐾 Mouthing / biting

🐾 Car chasing

🐾 Crate training

Whatever the problem, whatever the breed, we can help 🐾

14/03/2025

Favour to ask for those of you who have land. I have assessments and a trial coming up and I could really do with a few other options in terms of land to track my dogs on (scentwork).

Happy to pay or to help out with any training requirements. Drop me a PM if you can help 🐾

10/03/2025

Common things people say to me as a dog trainer…

1. ‘I don’t want to have to feed my dog treats for good behaviour’.

This is a comment I get almost weekly and I always respond with ‘would you work for free? No? Then don’t expect your dog to!’

2. ‘I’ve tried that tool and it didn’t work’ (often referring to a slip lead).

Tools don’t teach anything, you as the handler teach the dog, not the tool.

3. ‘Our previous trainer advised us to use a Halti/ head collar/ figure of eight lead/ Gencon, but when we take it off she just starts to pulls again…?’

This is because tools teach the dog nothing, magic tools don’t exist in dog training! It takes hard work and consistency.

4. ‘He’s just a problem dog and I think he is untrainable, my last dog was fine’

Blaming the dog is the same as a workman blaming their tools. Behaviours ALWAYS come from the handler. Look at what it is you are doing wrong.

5. ‘His recall was amazing but now he doesn’t come back if he sees another dog’

You have set your dog up to fail by letting them off lead to train recall.

Always remember folks…

The dog is never wrong, you get what you reinforce!

27/02/2025

For those of you that are using high value rewards in your training ( I.e. sausages and pate) and are fed up of greasy pockets, highly recommend these training belts. Fully adjustable and great for carrying treats, toys and poo bags.

16/02/2025

I just want to say what a fab bunch of people I trained with yesterday, turning up in the pouring rain and freezing temps. Your dogs will be flying in no time!

03/02/2025

Nothing beats the feeling of helping a dog on the verge of being put to sleep or surrendered to a rescue centre. I have helped many dogs, high drive, challenging working line breeds that were in a very serious situation. Aggressive with family members, owners struggling to control them, hugely reactive and guarding furniture in the home.

This lady reached out to me in a pretty serious situation. All the dog needed was effective communication, he was unsure what was being asked of him and it was building frustration and drive.

It’s disheartening when you’ve been to a few trainers and invested time and money to see very little progress. You start to think the dog is untrainable, the truth is, all dogs can be trained.

I constantly put a tonne of pressure on myself to help people succeed with their dogs because inevitably, it’s the dogs that suffer in the end. It’s clearly a bad business model but I take pride in fixing issues for people and them going off and enjoying their lives with their dogs. They may only be with me for four weeks but that’s ok 👌

Reach out to me if you are starting to lose hope, it doesn’t have to be this way…

20/01/2025

If any of you need dog training equipment, I highly recommend Green Gunner K9 Supplies, excellent value and super customer service!!

18/01/2025

Morning everyone!

Just a reminder, if you can’t make your 1:1, I need 24 hours notice so that I can offer the slot to someone else. Please be fair guys, I only have so much time to set aside.

15/01/2025

I wont mention any names because I don’t believe in slamming other trainers. But, I have been asked my opinion on a particular group of trainers and most of you will know by now that I always give you my honest opinion even when you sometimes don’t want to hear it. 🫣

If you are quoted by a trainer £350 for an initial hours consultation, you are being ripped off! These individuals are in it for the money and do not have the dogs best interest at heart!

If you have been going to a trainer and after three sessions you are not seeing results, you are being ripped off.

If the problem you went with has not been addressed, the trainer is likely not any good and you should look for an alternative.

So, what are the red flags for me when looking for a trainer?

More classroom hours than hands on experience. There is no substitute for experience in training different breeds.

Only training the easy dogs. Does your trainer only appear to train less challenging dog breeds i.e low drive pet dogs. This shows a limited skill-set and possibly a lack of confidence in their own ability.

Lack of achievements. What have they achieved with their own dogs ? For us trainers, our dogs are essentially our business cards. What level of training have they achieved with their dog and are they willing to showcase them? If they are not willing to show their dog then walk away!

Do they have a nice relationship with their dog? If their dog looks fearful or nervous this is a huge red flag. Look elsewhere.

Another red flag is if they don’t own a dog 🫣 !!! Yes there are trainers out there that don’t own dogs 🤔

14/01/2025

Dogs generally pull about 60 per cent harder on a leash when wearing a padded harness compared with a collar, even when the equipment is marketed as “anti pull” – putting the people walking them at risk of injury.

To read more on this study:

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2459747-dogs-pull-harder-on-the-leash-when-they-wear-a-harness-than-a-collar/

Image: CBCK-Christine/Alamy