Big Dog Adventures

18/08/2021

Family Matters.

Loki and Darcy on today’s session. I cannot lie, it’s hard to remain focussed on the task at hand when Loki is around. I absolutely adore him! 😍

Andy and Kirsty have progressed so much since their first session and it’s amazing to see. Always willing to put in the work and it shows. Huge improvements in both dogs’ engagement and enthusiasm for learning.

12/04/2021

Feast your eyes! 🤩

We at Canine Capabilities love to support and work with local businesses in the industry!

We are working with Wag Mail on a variety of projects including this perfect puppy starter box;

Every pup deserves the best welcome home present. Each pup box will contain 9 items, and includes:
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Eco-friendly rope toy (perfect for teething)
Snuffle ball for seeking out those tasty treats
KONG puppy toy for enrichment activities
2 packs of high value training treats
Lickimat
JR Pure Pate (perfect for a mat topper!)
Long-line lead for training your pupster
FREEBIE: A pup handbook written by our very own dog training expert to help guide you through those early stages.
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An optional add on is a custom made bandana (please email or DM us your pups neck size).
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NOTE: For a more personalised experience, please select the gift option at checkout and type in your pups name and breed.

USE LOCAL DISCOUNT CODE: CANINE10 For 10% off this box!!!

https://www.wagmail.co.uk/one-off-boxes

29/03/2021

Smashing!
That’s the word I’m using to describe today’s session with Stanley and his owners who have been putting some excellent work in.
30mins before this, Stanley was still showing lots of barrier frustration towards people and dogs.
I was so impressed with how quickly he learns but more importantly, how his owners respond to advice and take guidance on board.
A really excellent session today ❤️

22/03/2021

Creating solid engagement. Love this level of focus ❤️🙌🏻

23/02/2021

Understanding Buddy.
This is my 2nd session with Matthew and his Staffy X, Buddy. When I met Buddy he was full-blown out of control. There was certainly no doubt that Matthew loved his dog, but there was not a single ounce of control or direction in this dogs life. He did absolutely anything he pleased; jumping up people, bounding round the house, helping himself to anything and everything he fancied and had no aspect of obedience. He was probably the highest energy of canine I’ve encountered, ever. Before we even set to work with Buddy, me and Matthew needed a serious chat. These are sometimes difficult conversations but never negative. Matthew had to understand that Buddy, beyond affection, needed huge investment in terms of routine, direction and stimulation in order to see changes in his behaviour.
Matthew originally had Buddy on a harness - useless. Dogs work from physical touch, body language and energy. Matthew has never owned a dog so all these things are completely new things to understand. To stand back and watch how Matthew has changed within a week (and the massive positive affect it’s had on Buddy) has been nothing short of amazing.
For the most part, we have spent time in a closed, safe environment to build engagement with Buddy; working on mental and physical stimulus; obedience on the most basic level and incorporating a really positive environment to be in.
This was Buddy’s first time on leash with Matthews new mindset and understanding. Dogs work by touch and energy and initially with Buddy in a harness and Matthews slight anxiety with difficult situations, there was a distinct lack of positive impact with those things in mind.
Understand that no, Buddy is not right at his owners side but this is without encouragement or enforcement. Buddy is simply working with the physical connection of the lead and the feel of his owners new-found confidence and inner-peace. There is absolutely no resistance offered from Buddy and to think in the first session he would drag Matthew everywhere!
There is still a lot of work to do with Buddy but he learns so quickly. He is incredibly intelligent and responded so well to some positioning work at the end of the session. Seeing such a huge difference in a dog within a short space of time is very rewarding for me. I just love to see it!

02/02/2021

The importance of routine, domestic etiquette and staying focussed on goals.
When Megan contacted me a few weeks ago, it was to help introduce a recall with 7 month old GSD, Rhia. However, upon further consultation, I quickly decided that there was absolutely no way that Rhia should be working on a recall when there were no fundamentals in place at home. She had a low level of basic obedience, she showed a lot of barrier frustration and wasn’t walking well on her lead. With the owners own admission, there was no encouragement for any good behaviour within the home and it was spoken about that Rhia almost got rehomed recently. Never underestimate the huge impact such small changes can make to a canines behaviour. Introducing barriers, a new routine and giving a dog reasons to work will make massive changes to their overall behaviour and improve the mood within the home and outside. It’s only been three days since Megan and her mom have been implementing the changes I suggested. I’m chuffed to bits with the reply I got today! By nailing down the foundations it means that Rhia’s mentality is beginning to change and she’s starting to show some great signs of engagement. This will make training much easier 👌🏻 Cannot wait to get to work and seeing how far they’ve come in such a short space of time ❤️

11/01/2021

Baby Steps. You’ll hear me saying this a lot during sessions. Titan has come on so much during our two sessions together and today he worked really well for Maggie. Don’t be under any illusions; Titans focus is far from perfect but today we took huge strides. Anyone who works in canine behaviour could spot a fair few issues in this video but to note, Titan would normally show a great deal of reactivity towards other dogs. Here he is towards the end of our session under no leash control whatsoever with another dog in clear sight. It’s important to never expect perfection straight away and some progress is better than none at all. Maggie will continue to work with Titan at home and I can’t wait to see how he comes on!

03/01/2021

Back in Business.

Head over to Instagram to see a short video of new client Gill and her beautiful 16 week old Plummer Terrier, Ollie.

There’s quite a detailed write up about the session with how and why it was put together.

13/09/2020

Refreshed after an adventurous week away and ready to get back to it!

05/09/2020

Two Outta Three Ain’t Bad!
Today’s double session was spent with Richard and Sandra with their Cocker Spaniel, Ruby. They were keen to introduce a solid recall with Ruby after she had developed a habit of disappearing in fields when on walks which had naturally become very frustrating for them both.
Phase 1 of the session was about half hour in the garden, conditioning Ruby with a new whistle command in a secure environment. Once she had shown good engagement we moved outdoors to bring in some varied levels of distraction. This video was taken around 40 minutes prior to the end of the session. I was so impressed with the work that all 3 put in today. I’m beginning to find a real confidence in guiding sessions and allowing owners to take the lead and not just doing all the training myself. Ruby did fantastic today. She worked really hard and had lots of fun! Now that we have developed a great bond between whistle, recall and reward I have instructed Richard and Sandra on how to continue to develop this in the coming weeks until I can see them all again. Ruby learns really quickly and I foresee us taking whistle commands to the next level by bringing in new disciplines and really getting her to work to her breed traits. All the fun to be had 😬