Action 4 Dogs Edinburgh & Lothians Dog Trainer

Action 4 Dogs Edinburgh & Lothians Dog Trainer Action 4 Dogs Dog Training founded by Max Muir is based in Edinburgh and the Lothians. Maxwell covers all of Scotland by appointment. Puppy Training.

Dog Training focusing on pet gun dogs and sporting breeds. Personal 121 private Training Sessions in the following Skill sets:

Effective Dog Handling Skills & Proper Use of Equipment. Adolescent Dog Training-Coping With Your Teenager. Behaviour Training Solutions. Online Zoom Sessions, Telephone consultations & Private Discreet Service. Private lessons and home visits are designed to suit a clien

t’s needs and they can be arranged in the home or a location of your choosing. Private one to one training service also caters for puppy training, basic obedience training, and the teaching of handling skills. Training topics include:

Handling skills with the lead. Recall- Training Levels to your recall. Retriever Training. Gun Dog foundation Training. Training good manners, obedience, and greeting behaviours. Teaching dog’s to develop self control. Effective stimulation & enrichment to deal with those dogs with excess energy. Maxwell has hosted regular seminars, lectures and workshops and been guest speakers at many canine events. Maxwell is also available for you to host for presentations and workshops and virtual keynotes and presentations on a wide variety of dog related subjects. He is also open to appearing on podcasts. Visit www.action4dogs.co.uk

A throwback picture from some years back on a workshop I organised in Scotland for raising and training the border colli...
17/11/2025

A throwback picture from some years back on a workshop I organised in Scotland for raising and training the border collie with author and trainer Barbara Sykes.

Master the Walk!Dogs will instinctively pull towards the environmental buffet you lay out before them. If that buffet is...
14/11/2025

Master the Walk!

Dogs will instinctively pull towards the environmental buffet you lay out before them.

If that buffet is abundant with other dogs, people, scent, and wildlife…

Your dog grows stronger and those muscles develop, the anticipation of what stirs their arousal is the focus of every time you go out…

The walk on lead will become a struggle.

Do not stop, wait, and move on when the lead is slack….you will be old, gray, and on your third dog by the time that works…

Do not yank and change direction all the time. You cause frustration to both of you.

Your dog doesn’t know. Teach the concept of walking to heel and remaining at heel. Teach your dog when it is released from the position.

Repetition plus variations…

Always small learning curves…

If you get a pup, go and find 2-3 locations you will use as a training base and teach the foundation of engagement through fun obedience, the walk, and play…before you widen out to the bigger world.

If you acquire and older dog 6 months plus do the same….

Spend a few months working on each other, and bonding through learning sessions that set you up to move your training on…

Don’t compete by training in environments that buzz with stimulants for arousal.

It may take several sessions in one area before your dog anticipates you take it there to train and learn. That’s okay, it is part of the process…

Making yourself interesting, fun, relevant, significant, and a teacher and mentor to your dog in the process

If your aim is to have your dog accompany you in a certain lifestyle you want to share, you must invest your time in teaching it the skills you want to have.

If you do get an older dog you will likely have to take a step back from busy environments and work on those foundations if it has not had the benefit of early training.

You don’t fix it…

You build it…

You work with it…

You carve it into your relationship so that the building blocks of your foundation set your dog up to reach its best.

Don’t rush it…

Don’t skip it…

Forget the walk…

Your dog will get all of the exercise it needs through well planned training…

Build skills…

Build rapport…

Build confidence…

When you are satisfied with your level and your dog is emotionally equipped to progress…

You can take your training on the road.

That is and will always be my advice and how I will work with my own dogs to set up our lives together.

A dog that loves to be out there…That loves to be with you…A loyal companion…And a dog I have invested in all areas to g...
12/11/2025

A dog that loves to be out there…

That loves to be with you…

A loyal companion…

And a dog I have invested in all areas to give him the quality of life he deserves…

Love, structure, routine, adventure, education, and outlets for being the dog that he is…

When a dog has all of that provided through his early years of development you will encounter little in the way of problems.

It takes discipline and planning to set aside the time needed to raise a dog with those goals in mind.

How well some of the dogs blend into the autumn fall…For those dogs that love movement where leaves are whisked up into ...
11/11/2025

How well some of the dogs blend into the autumn fall…

For those dogs that love movement where leaves are whisked up into a swirling vortex it provides great stimulation for a dog, and the enticement of woodland squirrels is never ending in the forest.

This lovely spaniel is captured beautifully in the autumn backdrop during one of our training sessions here in the Glencorse wood.

Does your dog come alive in the forest?

Your Dog wants to Play its Heart Out!Dogs are generally playful creatures, particularly when young, they are heavily mot...
10/11/2025

Your Dog wants to Play its Heart Out!

Dogs are generally playful creatures, particularly when young, they are heavily motivated to play...

Play is at the core of many of a dog's intentions, ranging from object play, enticement to play with your dog with an object, social play, prey play, and mischief play. Most dogs will play or attemp to generate play in one form or another, and even blend them together.

Play is at the core of their very being...

When an owner encounters challenge in getting their dog to come away from other dogs what they are dealing with is the dog's motivation to play with others, which may have been reinforced with previous meetings that have resulted in play. Some dogs are more play motivated than others but generally play is a huge motivating factor and intention in meeting other dogs.

This is where recall training involving the use of treats fails or falls flat when the dog has the choice of play with another, there is no comparison and the treat ceases to be a reward or anywhere near being one. The power of play takes over...

Humans have a concept of play with their dogs and some do it very well, but others find it difficult to take it up a level or two. In sports training for dogs and other working disciplines, levels can be reached call sky high drive where a dog's motivation and drive to play is maximized and taken to the limit where a dog's play drive is on a super level. It means forming an emotional attachment to a toy and a certain type of play.

Therefore, I encourage you when you begin to train your dog to discover yourself through play and learn to play your heart out. You will mean much more to your dog and your dog will entice you to play on a deeper level. The benefits are increased focus and a dog that loves to be with you when other temptations are around.

During search work over the years dogs are taught to persistently stick at a job with the hope of engaging in a highly satisfying and rewarding play activity with their handlers. As much time is spent teaching and engaging in play as is spent teaching the job itself.

For domestic non-working dogs the utilization of play by owners is highly beneficial in the recall foundation if they want it to work where a dog's motivations lie elsewhere. Building up a play rapport and bond through play will super exceed any tasty morsel you have in your pockets if the dog finds the opportunity to play elsewhere.

Learning to play is a skill and focused and beneficial behaviours are most effectively taught through play. Any obedience training without play is boring for a dog unless the obedience transitions towards something that works a dog's play or working drive.

In short, play is where it is at if you want to generate a functional and high powered reward. The 'feel good' drugs released by the brain during play or hunting are not superceded by anything else. Play has so much variety and dimensions to it that the bounds of play are limitless.

Often we will buy a toy, something as simple as a ball on a string, and our expectations will be that the dog naturally wants to play with it and be excited by it all on its own but eventually the play will phase out. Some dogs will naturally be excited by it but...in some cases it needs a little injection of charging it up. It is not what you have, but what you do with it that counts.

Building play drive involves working with a dog's arousal levels and being able to take them up and bring them back to a focused level which can eventually be paired with specific behaviours such as recall and obedience commands.

Play your heart out!

Learn to do so!

Your dog's level of enthusiasm and drive to play can go well beyond what you imagine and it will power up those responses you need in front of the challenges you face when the prospect of food treats become redundant!

Learn to play! There is power in it!

Book yourself in a motivational session for your dog to discover how play can change the situations you are challenged in!

Long Line Finesse & Smooth HandlingMany will say that a long line is just a long lead, but the two are so very different...
06/11/2025

Long Line Finesse & Smooth Handling

Many will say that a long line is just a long lead, but the two are so very different.

As well as a good training tool long lines need practise for smooth handling, the application and release of pressure, and good handling and management skills to maximise free range movement and fluency.

They are freely available to buy but the skilled use of a long line is something acquired through practise. Smooth handling involves your visual use of the line while you use your voice, body language, and signals to communicate.

Once you find your flow it is a beautiful thing and you progress from being cumbersome, mechanical, and sloppy to being relaxed, focused, and fluent.

Many dogs form negative associations of the line mainly due to the lack of handling skills.

If your dog is ‘in recall training’ or you feel you cannot trust your dog freely running around, then you should invest not only in purchasing a long line, but learn how to use one properly and effectively, so that you can eventually and confidently move on from the line to freedom once your training foundation has been laid.

A fine session to be had with this bloodhound on creating good associations in foundation work using the long line.

If you wish to upskill and improve your handling, communication, and the quality of your dog’s walks and recall drop me a message via the following email:
[email protected]

Full training details on my website:
www.action4dogs.co.uk

What a delightful little training session with a delightful little dog this morning.He does love a squirrel and there ar...
05/11/2025

What a delightful little training session with a delightful little dog this morning.

He does love a squirrel and there are a lot of them about aren’t there…?

Labrador Retriever Rescue Scotland ScioI love my work each wwwk 20 years I to it. Here I am with Tally close to the Engl...
05/11/2025

Labrador Retriever Rescue Scotland Scio

I love my work each wwwk 20 years I to it. Here I am with Tally close to the English Border and her confidence in water has been slow going…some dogs need that and take that much time, but she has improved dramatically.

18 months - 2 years ago she would barely put a paw in water.

It’s just the best to see her enjoy herself and go in of her own accord, no pressure needed now. She will never make the exuberant launch of a working retriever into water, but it’s not a competition,

The job is to get the best possibly from the dog you have in front of you.

Tally’s quality of life keeps improving!

A delightful session with this young spaniel ironing out some good retrieve work and improved communication between owne...
03/11/2025

A delightful session with this young spaniel ironing out some good retrieve work and improved communication between owner and dog.

Totally unsteady to begin with but with some practise and perseverance from the owner both handler and dog are working beautifully together.

I love to see the process in action and the improvement as the days, weeks, and months tick away…

Mix it up!Training in any area can often get repetitively mundane and it affects how a dog feels about an exercise and d...
03/11/2025

Mix it up!

Training in any area can often get repetitively mundane and it affects how a dog feels about an exercise and doing it with you.

Some dogs are excellent retrievers…for a while, but the retrieve may suffer with too much of the same repetition.

The brain ignites and lightens up with short varieties of task.

This young Labrador is a good retriever, but he enjoys doing so much more. He is particularly driven to search work and tracking. So, we intermingle that with our retrieve work.

Tracking varies from open tracks in a field to deep cover within the forest. Food is used to begin with and articles are added in the process.

There are a host of other ways to work your dog and enjoy teamwork together, and your dog will often become better at one thing by doing a number of things in short doses and in various ways.

Add to your creative mind each time you go out with your dog to keep it guessing and mentally on board for the task.

It is the difference that makes the difference.

You will find your dog is better at the something it gets in smaller doses when it is mixed with what its real preferences are…

Keeping the brain lit by knowing how much or how little to do keeps that individual dog sharp at it all.

Happy training folks!

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Action 4 Dogs Dog Training founded by me, Max Muir. I am based in Edinburgh and the Lothians.

I am proud to be Labrador Retriever Rescue Scotland Scio Behaviour Consultant & Trainer for the past 17 years.

I cover all of Scotland and the north of England by appointment.

Personal Training Sessions Empowering You With Amazing Skills Effective Handling Skills & Use of Equipment Puppy Training & The Ultimate Start-Up Guide Adolescent Training-Coping With Your Teenager Behaviour Modification & Problem Solving Solutions Online / Telephone consultations Private & Discreet Service Mentoring-Supervision & Guidance to bring the best trainer out in you! Private lessons and home visits are designed to suit your individual needs and they can be arranged in your home or a location of your choosing. Private coaching training service also caters for puppy training, basic obedience and response training, and the teaching of handling skills. Training topics include: Recall Training Specialist Obedience Training Training Impulse Control / Steadiness, and Self Control Daily Stimulation & Enrichment Canine Handling Skills and Use of Equipment I hosts regular seminars and workshops with guest speakers which are held throughout the year. A am also available for you to host for presentations and workshops on a wide variety of dog related subjects. Give me a call or please visit my website www.action4dogs.co.uk