Charles Gray Dog Training

19/10/2025

❌🐾 FED UP WITH WALKING THE DOG ? 🐾❌

If you’re simply taking your dog out to tick “walk done” off the list, chances are you’re missing the real point.

The real magic happens on the move, in the big wide world, with all its excitement and potential hazards.

This is exactly where you get to build your leadership, establish real communication, and strengthen your relationship with your dog. Walks aren’t just about letting Fido out; they’re about YOU stepping up, showing up, and guiding.

Here’s what’s going on when you walk with purpose:
You and your dog navigate new sights, sounds, smells — the perfect terrain to read each other, respond, connect.

You set boundaries, rules, expectations: you lead, they follow. Without that, behavioural problems creep in.

You’re not just moving; you’re training in motion. Every walk becomes a live session of communication, clarity and leadership in action.

So next time you clip the lead on, ask yourself: Am I just walking my dog — or am I leading my dog?

When it’s about leadership, connection and communication — that’s when the walk ceases to be a chore and becomes something you both look forward to.

If you need any help in achieving this or advice on any behavioural issues, please contact me on my website or just give me a call

www.charlesgraydogtraining.com

17/10/2025

🔰🐾 Shouting at Your Dog? That’s Not Leadership 🐾🔰

Shouting is what happens when calm authority has gone missing.
It’s the interest rate you pay on inconsistency, frustration, and uncertainty.

Dogs don’t follow volume. They follow clarity.
They thrive on leadership, not love alone. Affection’s easy — it’s the steady, confident direction that gives them security.

If your energy is calm, predictable, and grounded, your dog listens. If it’s tense, emotional, or reactive, they tune out — just like people do when a manager loses their cool in a meeting.

You can’t “out-volume” confusion.
You fix it by leading clearly, setting boundaries confidently, and following through calmly — without the noise.

The funny thing is, when you stop trying to control your dog and start leading them, the need to shout disappears altogether.
It’s not magic — it’s communication.

If you find yourself shouting — at anyone other than Norwich City's midfield — that’s your signal: somewhere, leadership has slipped.
Get that part right, and the rest follows. Quietly.

—
Charles Gray Dog Training – Behaviour-Focused Dog Training with Owner Education.
www.charlesgraydogtraining.com

13/10/2025

🐾 Do you know what you're doing ? 🐾

Quick request: if you're thinking of getting a dog, or if you know someone who is thinking of getting a dog, please ask three things.

1. Why am I getting a dog?
2. Why am I thinking about a particular breed?
3. Do I know what a dog needs?

08/10/2025

🩸 “Another Child Mauled. Another Dog Blamed. When Will Owners Wake Up?”

Look closely at this photo.
That’s not just a statistic. That’s someone’s little girl. A child who’ll carry those scars — and those nightmares — for life.

Meanwhile, police data shows dog attacks in Norfolk have nearly doubled since 2018, with over 400 cases in 2024 alone. That’s 400 families whose lives were changed by something entirely preventable.

Let’s be clear: dogs aren’t the villains here — people are.
Every aggressive or fearful reaction comes from confusion, poor handling, or lack of education. Too many dogs are loved but never taught how to handle the modern human world — and too many owners are never shown how to teach them.

This is why Behaviour-Focused Dog Training exists. It’s not about obedience for show — it’s about understanding your dog’s psychology and changing your interaction style so your dog feels calm, secure, and responsive. No gimmicks. No endless commands. Just simple, practical education that works.

We don’t need more bans, more fear, or more headlines like this one.
We need more owners who take responsibility before something goes wrong.

👉 If you live in Norfolk and you own a dog — especially one that’s nervous, reactive, or unpredictable — do something now. Don’t wait for the headline to be yours.

📞 07438 340058
💻 www.charlesgraydogtraining.com
⭐ Read my Google Reviews

04/10/2025

Looking for love and leadership 🐾❤️

04/10/2025

🐕 🐾You’re Walking Too Fast 🐾🐕

Why Your Dog Doesn’t Care About Your Step Count

As the weather turns colder and wetter, it’s easy to fall into the “let’s just get it done” mindset — quick lead on, round the block, back inside. But for your dog, that rushed march isn’t a walk; it’s a missed opportunity.

Dogs don’t walk for fitness, they walk for information. Their nose is their main source of engagement with the world, and every blade of grass holds a story worth reading. When you rush the walk, you’re effectively cutting short their chance to decompress, learn, and simply be a dog.

A slow, sniff-heavy stroll — even if you barely move 50 yards — is far more valuable than a brisk lap of the neighbourhood. Let your dog sniff uninterrupted on grass, follow their curiosity, and decide where to linger. It’s not lazy; it’s enrichment.

So when the rain’s coming sideways and you’re tempted to rush, take a breath. Let them sniff, pause, and process. This isn’t about distance or duration — it’s about fulfilment. The perfect walk isn’t measured by how far you go, but by how relaxed your dog is when you get home.

01/10/2025

🐾 Dogs: An Inconvenient Truth 🐾

Most people welcome a dog into their life for companionship. We want loyalty, friendship, and a sense of family. That bond, built on affection, makes the first weeks with a new dog feel incredibly rewarding.

But once the honeymoon period ends, dogs stop viewing us through the lens of sentiment. They view us through the lens of survival. What matters to them is not the quantity of love we give, but the quality of leadership we show.

Here’s where things often go wrong: when a dog is showered with affection but offered little direction, it doesn’t feel cherished—it feels responsible.

And responsibility is not a gift to a dog; it’s a burden. Expecting them to carry the weight of protecting and organising you or your family creates anxiety, stress, and insecurity - because leadership is the one role they were never meant to fill.

Every form of dysfunction we see - reactivity, separation anxiety, aggression, pulling on the lead - is not a dog being “bad.” It’s a dog doing its very best to keep everyone alive, because it thinks survival is its job.

The truth is, rebalancing this relationship is far more straightforward than most people imagine.

Change begins the moment your dog recognises you as the leader.

And here’s the surprising part: results can come within 24 hours.

You don’t need fancy equipment, endless training drills, or gimmicks. You need just two things: clear rules, and the confidence to protect your personal space. Those two signals alone tell your dog, “Relax - I’ve got this covered.”

If you’d like to know how to apply this in your home, feel free to contact me - or simply explore my previous posts

FYI - I shall be bringing my business to Australia for four months next year.

https://lnkd.in/enene5s4

26/09/2025

26/09/2025

26/09/2025

🐾 Be honest — does your dog truly respect you, or just tolerate you? 🐾

Most owners assume love is enough. The dog wags its tail, jumps on the sofa, follows them around — so that must mean everything’s fine. But love and respect are not the same thing.
A dog might love you endlessly, but if it doesn’t respect you, good behaviour will never be consistent. Respect is what makes a dog listen, follow, and settle. Without it, you get pulling on the lead, ignoring commands, reactivity, or worse.
Here’s the key: dogs don’t respect us for the things we humans value — job titles, kindness, achievements. They respect leadership. Calm, fair, consistent leadership is the only language a dog truly understands.
And it works both ways. You must also respect your dog. Not by spoiling or indulging, but by being clear, patient, and understanding of its needs. When you give leadership, and when you respect your dog in return, that’s when you unlock true companionship.
So ask yourself — does your dog respect you enough to follow your lead, or is it simply tolerating you while doing its own thing? The difference determines whether you own a pet… or share your life with a genuine companion.
My job is helping people achieve that companionship.

20/09/2025

🛑Too many owners believe that letting their dog run off-lead to “make friends” with every dog in the park is good socialisation.🛑
It isn’t.

As a trainer, I see the fallout every week: nervous dogs set back months in progress, “friendly” dogs turning reactive after one bad experience, and owners left wondering why their recall has gone out the window.
I’ve written an article explaining why letting your dog off the lead around unknown dogs is a bad idea — and what you should be doing instead.

Why Letting Your Dog Off the Lead Around Unknown Dogs Is a Bad Idea
One of the most common problems I see as a dog trainer is owners letting their dogs off the lead in public spaces and allowing them to run up to dogs they don’t know. It often comes from good intentions — “socialisation,” freedom, exercise — but in reality, it’s one of the fastest ways to create behaviour issues or end up in a situation you regret.

Here’s the reality I’ve seen, time and again:

1. You Don’t Know the Other Dogs
I’ve worked with countless dogs who are nervous, recovering from trauma, or simply not comfortable with strange dogs approaching them. When your dog runs up “just to say hello,” it can trigger defensive behaviour. That means stress, fights, or lasting setbacks in training.

2. You Don’t Know the Other Owners
Not everyone has control of their dog. Some owners allow chasing, hu***ng, or bullying under the label of “play.”

3. You’re Reinforcing the Wrong Behaviour
Every time your dog runs off to greet a stranger, they’re practising ignoring you. That makes recall unreliable and undermines your training.

4. Risk of Injury or Illness
It’s not just about fights. Rough play can cause injuries. Dogs can learn bad habits. They can pick up illnesses.

5. Public Spaces Are Shared Spaces
Your dog may be “friendly,” but that doesn’t mean everyone else wants them bounding over. Off-lead freedom is a privilege that comes with responsibility.
What You Should Do Instead
Controlled socialisation: Set up play and interaction with dogs you know are safe and compatible.
Structured training: Teach calm behaviour around dogs without needing contact.
Earned freedom: Only allow off-lead time once recall and lead manners are solid.

The Expert View
Letting dogs run loose around strangers is not socialisation — it’s chaos. Socialisation comes from calm, structured experiences where the dog learns how to behave in a way that builds confidence and trust.
As a trainer, I spend as much time educating owners. When owners understand this distinction, they stop putting their dogs at risk and start seeing real progress.
✅ If you’re struggling with lead reactivity, recall, or nervous behaviour around other dogs, this is exactly the kind of issue I help owners resolve.

📞 Call me on 07438 340058 if you’d like to talk about how I can help.