Harmonious Lives Dog Training, Behaviour & Scentwork, Perthshire

14/03/2024

Absolutely!!!

I made this fuelled on oxytocin whilst handrearing a Twig 😂 we expect so much of puppies and take them away from everything they know and expect them to fit in our world with minimal fuss. In reality, we should be striving to understand and meet their needs as actually it’s not that difficult if you have the right mindset ❤️

10/03/2024

Just love running my introduction to Scentwork course.

10/03/2024

Look at these little cuties having fun using their noses.

Dogs in todays puppy class having a great time sniffing, gaining confidence around different objects/surfaces and getting to know one another better.

Next class starts 17 April. Message me to book or if you have any questions.

10/03/2024

After every class I send out an evaluation to my clients to see if there are any changes I could make to improve things.

I LOVE it when clients agree with my ethos that having happy dogs is AS important (if not MORE) than happy humans.

Here are just some of the comments I have received that show my lovely clients just ‘get’ this.

Get in touch if this is your ethos too and you are interested in finding out more about my puppy or scent work classes.

09/03/2024

I’m so missing not being able to run classes temporarily due to a vision problem. I’ve been looking back at all the fun times I’ve had over the last year and decided to do my own version of Facebook ‘memories’ by sharing posts from about a year ago.

09/03/2024

Would love everyone who sees this to answer that question.
Are you aware of the difference between positive dog trainers and those that also/only use aversives.
What can we do to ensure that dog guardians know what sort of trainer they are working with.

A question for the general dog owning public....

𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝗴𝘀?

A well known lick mat company currently has a PR nightmare on their hands due to their decision to promote a high profile aversive trainer* on their stand at Crufts.

The company's response has been that they were "𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨" in approaches to teaching dogs. Which lead me to wonder how widespread that lack of awareness is.

Do the general dog owning public know that there are different approaches to teaching dogs? Do they understand what those differences are? Do they actively seek out trainers who fit with their own ethos? Or do they believe that all trainers teach in broadly the same way?

The rise in aversive training (and it is on the rise) suggests one of two things. Either people genuinely don't understand the training techniques being used on their dogs. Or they do but remain willing to subject their dog to them.

For trainers like me, who want to promote a non-aversive way to live with and teach dogs, it's an important distinction because in order for people to make a choice they first need to know there's a choice to be made!

Thoughts?

PS there’s no shame in not knowing what you don’t know and admitting a lack of knowledge is a strength, not a weakness

EDIT - I have deliberately not named either party so please don’t mention them in the comments. Thank you x

* 𝘣𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥, 𝘦.𝘨. 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦, 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵, 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘦𝘵𝘤 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨

08/03/2024

On a more positive note- Harris and Skye after 5 minutes with their snuffle ball.
Because of my vision problems at the moment , I am relying on my husband to walk them, so we are doing lots of indoor enrichment.
This can be as tiring as a walk.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C555HDWK/ref=syn_sd_onsite_mobileweb_0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&pf_rd_p=24880cbe-23ba-4c33-b177-990ec95e7d4b&pf_rd_r=5VCCA9CCBWMYG9B8Q39R&pd_rd_wg=Eln5W&pd_rd_w=0XrJ3&pd_rd_r=fa695214-2389-4999-bbc3-c3221d643323&aref=hJthI00ssa

03/03/2024

Great post.
Can’t wait to introduce more dogs to scent work soon.

What's the most important part of your dog walk? What's your dog's? Those valuable moments/minutes/long durations spent sniffing are too good to cut short

28/02/2024

I’m having a lot of enquiries about how people can book classes.

I’m afraid I’m not taking any bookings at the moment still until I’m sorted out health wise. Hopefully this will be after Easter.

However, the good news is that I’ve been making good use of the time by doing lots of learning and planning for all the exciting new courses coming up.

More details announced soon but let me know if you want to be on my list for hearing first about my classes for puppies and Scentwork.

17/02/2024

😂

15/02/2024

😂😂

14/02/2024

Free muzzle training for XL Bully guardians.

📣🐕 From 23rd February 2024, XL Bully type dogs in Scotland will need to be muzzled, as well as on lead in a public place.

If you live in Scotland and own an XL Bully, we’re offering free online muzzle training with our experts so you can prepare for the upcoming restrictions and make sure your dog is trained to happily wear a muzzle.
Book now 👉 https://bit.ly/3SytSnw

These sessions are designed to support owners of XL Bullies in Scotland in light of the recent news, but all dog owners are welcome to attend. It’s useful for all dogs to be able to wear a muzzle comfortably – for those who are anxious at vet visits, for dogs who like to eat undesirable things on a walk or to keep other dogs and people safe if dogs are worried.

13/02/2024

Sorry I’ve been a bit quiet with advertising new classes but I’ve got a bit of a health thing going on (nothing sinister).

I’m therefore taking a bit of a break but hope to be back running classes after Easter.
So excited about all the scent work and puppy classes that I will be opening up then.
Please do get in touch though if you have any questions as I can still answer messages.