Dog Trainer James

Dog Trainer James Dog Trainer & Behaviourist, based in Tunbridge Wells.
(3)

07/06/2026

This mistake might be ruining your dog’s engagement.

Stop stopping your dog all the time.

We are so often the reason our dogs don’t get to do what they want to do; so much focus of training it on stopping behaviour.

This has a material impact on our relationship with our dog and the likelihood of them responding when we want them to is reduced, because most of the time us opening our mouth is negative for them.

Also - as highlighted by my example - sometimes when we let them do what they want (within reason of course…) and we actively enable it, become part of the picture of doing it and the reason it happens, our dogs are more engaged.

In fact the behaviours associated with these things often reduce as needs get met…because…once needs are met the behaviours associated with a lack of that need being met, reduce.

I get this might feel counter intuitive but your dog and you are a team and teams require teamwork.

Dog trainer . Online dog training . Dog behaviour . Dog reactivity

05/06/2026

So many reactive dog owners make this mistake.

As soon as their dog reacts, they react in a similar way.

Often due to embarrassment, they drag their dog away kicking and screaming.

I promise you, that isn’t helping.

Everything your dog does has an emotion attached to it. Dragging them away in that moment isn’t going to positively impact that emotion, regardless of what that emotion is.

That loss of control for the dog, that interruption of their processing, isn’t going to make things better I promise.

So even if they react and you’re embarrassed, try not to drag your dog away.

Allow them to work through that moment, support them in doing so. You’d be surprised how many dogs can infact recover from a reaction when their human enables them to do so.

Dogs are incredibly intelligent beings, they aren’t input/output machines. Their emotional state is valid and it matters, especially when we are working through behaviours like reactivity.

If you want more tips for your reactive dog, I support owners working through this every day so drop me a follow.

02/06/2026

If you see a certain kind of video on social media, I’d suggest avoiding it.

People, often ‘trainers’ putting their dogs in situations where other dogs come over and then acting like that dog and that dog’s human are presenting a huge issue or threat.

Often in these videos the visitor dog does absolutely nothing wrong, mostly because the person filming has deliberately put their dog somewhere that other dogs can’t avoid.

And I think these videos are creating a feeling among dog owners that all unfamiliar dogs are a threat. And that’s just not the case.

Dogs are very diplomatic creatures. They’re social adept for the most part and able to handle social interactions - often better when we don’t get too involved frankly.

If you’ve followed me for a while you’ll know that I personally think that social media dog and dog training content is WAY too negative and is making dog ownership miserable.

And this is yet another example of it; manufactured outrage and fear mongering at dogs being…dogs.

Protect your peace and be selective with what you consume, especially if it steals the joy from something that should absolutely be based on that very thing.

30/05/2026

You’re out on a walk with your dog, you see an old friend and want to stop for a chat…but you daren’t as Fluffy doesn’t tolerate stopping and chatting…

I hear this a lot, and one way to tackle it is to practice the skill of stopping and chilling out when there’s fewer distractions (for both of you…) first.

How often do you just stand still on walk? If you don’t do it, then your dog expects perpetual motion so when you do stop they don’t expect it and frustration builds.

Therefore practice what you need in an easier setting first.

It’s pretty simple; stand still and take a look around. Reinforce any good choices your dogs makes. And then when everyone is settled ‘ok!’ and off you go to finish your walk.

If your dog doesn’t understand something or make good choices, make it easier for them.

29/05/2026

Bloody lickmats…

So many dog trainers on here acting like people are JUST giving their dogs a lickmat as their whole enrichment plan.

I know it’s in keeping with their whole brand identity to be miserable, and to drag you down too, but how insulting are they to dog owners doing their absolute best by suggesting all you do is give your dog a lickmat.

A lickmat, a Kong, a topple; they’re all things that our dogs might enjoy as part of their day, as a way to mix up feeding methods, or to slow down eating even. They’re not the solution for anything or a complete enrichment plan, but if your dog enjoys them - there’s nothing wrong with using one.

I’m so sick and tired of every ounce of joy being sucked out of living with a dog by these people. You’re doing the best you can with what you have available.

And not a single one of you thinks a lickmat is the answer to all of your training problems or to meet your dog’s needs.

If you want some joy in your life with your dog, follow along as I promise not to constantly neg you.

27/05/2026

This is for all you reactive dog owners who feel defeated by a bad encounter with the ‘don’t worry he’s friendly’ crowd.

I know how it feels; you’ve been working so hard on your dog’s reactive behaviour, you’re out on a walk and an off lead out of control dog is bearing down on you.

Right in that moment all your training and hard work feels like it’s headed out the window.

Especially when your dog kicks off and the other owner is looking at you tutting and rolling their eyes, saying it’s your fault, your dog shouldn’t be outside…

I’ve been there too; when Kiya used to be reactive it happened to us loads.

And I know how you feel afterwards; like hiding away from the world, ditching all the training and mostly like all your training has disappeared.

Well I’m here to tell you that’s not true.

One reaction doesn’t reset everything to zero. One reaction does not reset your training.

I promise you.

So dust yourself down, take a short break if you need to, but do not let someone else’s actions control you to that extent.

Get back out there and build on that amazing platform of work you’ve already done.

You got this; and if you need a bit more support, follow us.

26/05/2026

Don’t let your dog trainer do this to your dog…

When I shared that video of Mac approaching the sheep on my story recently, I kind of knew what response it would get.

Nobody said anything wrong by the way - my question of ‘Tell me what you see?’ was deliberately worded as such because there’s no wrong answer to that question - but I wanted to use it to demonstrate the potential issues that arise when we label our dogs.

Labels can be reductive, and they tend to influence behaviour. With our dogs that effect can be negative.

If we perceive the label to indicate threat or danger that informs our response which can often be completely disproportionate. So in this case, if one believed Mac’s intent to be predatory then an e-collar could potentially argued to be justified for example.

But as you can see, and in my opinion based on knowing him better than anyone, that would be a completely unnecessary step in modifying his behaviour in this context.

I accept that this is a managed scenario, and that should always be the case around livestock, but the point remains valid.

So try to move past labels and reducing our dogs and their behaviour down to one thing. Seek instead to understand and work with them in supporting the behaviour modification process.

Not every emotion our dog displays requires us to punish them. Dogs can work through these moments if we manage and support them appropriately. Just because punishment feels so right to us, it doesn’t mean we have to reach for it all the time.

So if your dog trainer, vet, or mate down the pub, labels your dog push back on that and try instead to understand what’s going on for your dog rather than just seeking to stop it.

25/05/2026

If your dog has rubbish recall, it might be because you’re training it all wrong.

Because to us humans recall is about our dog being a long way away, we often start recall when our dogs are far away or have already run off.

It’s too late once that’s happened; you’re asking your dog to respond to something with no reason or motivation to do so.

We have to build that motivation first and provide an association/consequence to our recall cue that our dog wants to pay attention to.

We start that process when our dog is right next to us.

So if you’ve got rubbish recall, pick a new cue and charge it up by providing positive associations to it with our dogs right next to us. Only add distance gradually once your dog knows the cue is worth it.

What does being a ‘purely positive’ actually mean?Because social media is filled with lies about it. Including that titl...
24/05/2026

What does being a ‘purely positive’ actually mean?

Because social media is filled with lies about it.

Including that title…(see slide 6…)

Dogs are amazing and unique beings that do not need pain, force, intimidation or deprivation to learn to live with us and to navigate our world.

I cannot wrap my head around why that’s so upsetting and controversial to so many people, or why it engenders so much anger in so many people.

Surely if you see someone doing that, the response should be to be inquisitive? Apparently not…

However, f this does interest you, drop me a follow.

Thanks!

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Royal Tunbridge Wells
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