All4Paws - Positive dog training and agility for all Based at New Moor Farm, Southminster we train agility, obedience, lifeskills, hoopers and scentwork aimed specifically at pet dog owners using kind and effective reward based methods.
Operating as usual
We have the following workshops coming up for the Autumn
Beginners Leadwalking Workshop
Saturday 3rd September
2pm until 4pm
Agility and Hoopers Taster Workshop
Saturday 10th September 2022
10am until 1pm
Canine Rally Taster Workshop
Saturday 17th September 2022
2pm until 4pm
Recall Workshop
Saturday 24th September 2022
2pm until 4pm
Advanced Leadwalking Workshop
Saturday 1st October
2pm until 4pm
We have a couple of places left on our next Thursday evening puppy course at All4Paws in Southminster.
Course starts Thursday 18th August at 6.30pm and runs for 10 weeks.
Please get in touch if you'd like further details [email protected] or you can see more about us at www.all4paws.uk.com
We have a couple of places left in our next Thursday evening puppy course.
Starts Thursday 18th August at 6.30pm and it's a 10 week course.
Sharon's new website 😊
Please spare a few pennies if you can, see the Spirit of the Dog page for the full story
Congratulations to all our puppies, adolescent and adults for completing their puppy and beginners awards. We say it each week, you should all be so proud of yourselves and your furbabies, we genuinely do mean that. Not only are we seeing each week your furbabies growing in confidence, we are seeing beautiful handling and the relationship between you and your dogs is amazing. Thank you all for your dedication, kindness and humour and your support and encouragement for each other. You are awesome individuals and a fantastic team.
Fiona and Sharon xx
New dates for puppy classes. Ten week courses starting:
Saturday 2nd July 2022
Wednesday 20th July 2022
Both 9.30am until 10.30am
We're delighted to be able to give huge congratulations to our Lifeskills Trainer Sharon for passing the assessment process to become an accredited member of the IMDT (Institute of Modern Dog Trainers).
It's certainly not an easy process and we're all very proud and so pleased for her that all her hard work has paid off.
We're very lucky to have her working alongside us and look forward to lots of exciting developments as All4Paws and Solo Canine Training work together on future projects and bring the best of the IMDT and APDT to our clients.
Well done Sharon ###
Apologies as we have been super busy. Fiona will be updating us soon with some exciting news. In the meantime here are some of our latest pictures from our puppies, adolescents and adult classes.
Working on group exercises with pet parents able to sit and chat with their dogs sitting calmly by their side. We teach settle exercises from day one so that our dogs are able to sit and watch the world go by. Lots going on for them today with so many distractions, new people and all our pet parents and owners did absolutely amazing. Just so proud of them all as this really does help everyone. Constantly rewarding our dogs for that behaviour we want. Our puppies also working amazingly well on their recall, loose lead work, settle exercises and confidence building. Again so proud of you all.
Fiona and Sharon xx
We have the below amazing stallholders lined up for you at this years Woof Fest!
Be sure to pop down to show some support and say hi! 😀🐾 Spirit of the Dog Rescue
PETdynamics
Monkeys Snuffle mats
Rope Designs Four Paws
LD the Creator
Bad Wolf Designs
Coggs Dogs
All Raw Southminster
Teddys Pet Behaviour & Training
Burnham On Pets
Dexters Pawprint
Dobby’s Doggy Bakery
Samara Louise Photography
#dogslife #dogfriendlycafe #dogfriendlyuk #dogsofinstagram #dogstagram #visitessex #visitburnham #parlourpups #cafeessex #dogfestival #dogtalentshow #charityevent #stallholders
New puppy group starting Saturday 2nd April.
Please contact us for more details.
After a long 9 months Willow is finally going to her new home ❤️
Agility & Hoopers Taster Workshop
We're holding an Agility and Hoopers Beginners Taster Workshop.
Suitable for dogs from 6 months old (for dogs under a year old, all the exercises will be without any jumping).
Saturday 19th March 2022
11am until 1.30pm
£40 a place
Just two places left.
. ❓ Did you know ❓
During high winds and stormy weather there is a much higher risk of your dog getting spooked and running away on a walk, even if they are usually confident and in a familiar place!
It is also much more difficult for volunteers like our colleagues at Dengie Lost Dogs Search & Rescue Team to help find and reunite lost dogs in these conditions, with so many more obstacles like the thermal drones being unable to fly.
🍃🐾 BETSY'S TOP 5 SAFETY TIPS 🐾🍃
⚠️ Triple check your fences before letting your dogs in the garden
⚠️ Make sure your dog has a collar with contact details
⚠️ Avoid walking your dog during the worst of the storm if possible, try scent finding games and enrichment toys to occupy them at home instead.
⚠️ If you do need to walk your dog please consider using sturdy clip leads on both harness and collar, walking belts are great too. If needed for flighty and nervous dogs even consider a 3rd emergency lead like a loose slip lead. Definitely reconsider off lead play, it's not worth the risk!
🛑 No animals should be without adequate shelter, please bring all small furries inside your homes and make double sure everyone else is safe and warm too, big or small 🙏
Stay safe out there!
📷 Betsy - Spirit of the Dog Rescue- #SaveOurBetsy 💚🐾
Useful information after our discussion yesterday x
We are so excited to announce that Parlour Cafe have very kindly decided to create Woof Fest for the 2nd year running!
Click this link to join the event page:
https://facebook.com/events/s/woof-fest/1126071374820615/
They have released this update:
"As Woof Fest was such a success last year, we have decided to hold it again this year!
This year not only will we be fundraising in aid of Spirit of the Dog Rescue, we are also raising funds to enable us to buy and install a Defibrillator onsite.
Statistics show that the survival rate when using CPR within 2 minutes of the Cardiac Arrest is between 15% & 17%.
When a defibrillator is used within 3-5 mins of the Cardiac Arrest, the survival rate can increase to between 50% & 70%."
We can't wait to see you all there! 🐾
#wooffest #dogday #dogevent #dogfriendly #familyday #charityevent #dogtalentshow #stallholders #SpiritOfTheDog #defib #fundraising
💚REMAINING CALENDARS NOW £5.5O💚
They are our most beautiful calendars yet and we would hate for any to go to waste! Please consider picking one up today to help us raise essential funds for our dogs! 🙏
Marts Parts in Burnham on Crouch have some in stock to collect and we can post them to you too 🥰
A huge thank you to our volunteer photographers, artist LD the Creator, this years sponsors All4Paws and Marts Parts and of course to everyone who has purchased their copy! 😍
Love this
Therapeutic Scentwork for Every Dog
Sniffing for Solutions: Exploring therapeutic scent-work for every dog, every day
75,000 of you responded to Elliot Colburn's survey ahead of Monday's debate on our last year's petition. These are the results. An overwhelming majority in favour of tighter controls on firework sales and use. Now we need you all to sign this petition to keep the pressure on https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/591501
🐶🛑🛒 Our 2022 calendars are available to pre- order now for just £10.99 each! 🛒🛑🐶
Your favourite dogs have been working with a multitude of talented professional photographers, as well as artist LD the Creator who has beautifully illustrated the final piece to help create an outstanding finished product for you all!
🥳 HELP RAISE ESSENTIAL FUNDS for dogs in need whilst stocking up on Christmas gifts every dog lover will adore 😍
To pre-order your copy please send a text message to the rescue phone 07907122591 with the following information:
✅ Your full name
❤ The number of calendars you would like to order
💳 Whether you prefer bank transfer or Paypal
And then either..
📮 A delivery address ( so we can let you know the postage)
Or
🚶♀️A note to say you would like to collect from Burnham on Crouch instead of paying for delivery
📷 Post photo is the front cover of this year's calendar featuring Benji! Shot by @chuebynature
Thank you all for your support with this fundraiser 🙏🐶
Has quite a number of missed calls today but no messages left, if anyone is calling about training then please do leave a message or ping me a text or WhatsApp message if you prefer. I can't answer calls when I'm taking lessons but I will call back as soon as I'm able to 😊
Old 2018/2019 Order Confirmations Sent in Error
If anyone has received an email order confirmation from 2018/2019 from us apologies and please ignore it. We were tidying up the old online booking system and didn't realise it would send a confirmation still as the system should be offline.
Exciting news!! We have finally managed to secure a local village hall for our Puppy and Lifeskills classes for over the winter. So our new courses starting Saturday 16th October will now be running from Bradwell-On-Sea village hall.
Everyone booked onto the courses so far should have had an email communication with all the details.
Please note this is for Puppy and Lifeskills group classes only, all other activities will remain at New Moor Farm.
The more you know, the more you know you don't know.....!
Our educational background and level of experience impacts how we view situations and what we believe the solutions to those situations are. If one were to look at a person who constantly felt tired, different professionals would come up with different solutions and advice: A doctor would no doubt look for a medical cause for the problem and prescribe medical type interventions to treat the “sick” person. However, a psychologist or counsellor might start looking at what emotional or cognitive factors could be playing a role and advise counselling or the learning of coping strategies. A nutritionist would no doubt look at dietary factors and advise changes to eating habits, while a personal trainer would look at a fitness programme and lifestyle changes. None of these approaches would necessarily be wrong, but none of them on their own is likely to offer a complete solution either. In fact, the best possible approach would likely be a combination of all these views – ensuring that all the possible factors influencing general health and well-being were considered and changes made wherever something might be lacking.
As a behaviour practitioner, this is exactly how I was taught to tackle behaviour problems and help dogs and their people. Dogs (and indeed all living creatures) are not one-dimensional – they are physical beings, emotional beings, psychological beings and “behavioural” beings - and of course all these aspects are interconnected. For me, helping a dog and owner address something that is causing distress for either of them means having a look at every possible factor that could be influencing the situation:
1. IS THE DOG HEALTHY? A huge amount of behaviour issues are linked to health problems and pain. While I am not a vet, as a behaviour practitioner I do need a basic knowledge of the signs of illness or pain and have to be able work with or refer to vets to make sure that any dog I am working with is first of all healthy and pain free. I cannot say that because I am not a vet I will just ignore the potential for a problem to have a medical link – to do so would be negligent and extremely harmful.
2. ARE THE DOG’S NEEDS BEING MET? Dogs have species-specific needs, breed-type needs and individual needs and all these must be considered to ensure optimal welfare. For example, dogs are social animals and I think most of us would agree that they need to develop good connections with their caregivers to be content. They are also scavengers and when they have no opportunity to use their senses to find food, an important need is neglected. We have also selected certain dogs to be good at specific “work”, which means they derive innate satisfaction from rehearsing behaviours associated with those tasks (e.g. herding, guarding, pointing, scenting, retrieving, digging and tugging) – not giving them opportunities for these is likely to have a negative effect on physical and emotional welfare. Of course, dogs are individuals too and their own unique personalities and life experiences will determine how much need they have for space, quiet time, special activities, social interaction etc.
3. WHAT ARE THE EMOTIONS BEHIND THE BEHAVIOUR? We have to look at what is motivating the dog to engage in the behaviour that the owner is finding distressing, or which seems to indicate that the dog is not coping very well in a situation: How does the dog feel generally? - A dog that is generally depressed or frustrated (experiences those feelings daily or constantly) is going to have limited emotional capacity to cope with any extra challenges, so we have to look at how we can improve the dog’s quality of life so that they generally feel better. What specific emotion is behind the “problem” behaviour? - What is triggering the emotion and can we change the dog’s experience by either not putting the dog in that situation (management) or helping the dog FEEL better about that situation (time and space for processing and/or counter-conditioning)? What emotional pay-off is the dog getting from the behaviour and is it possible to find another way for the dog to get that emotional pay-off that is more appropriate for the environment or less harmful to the dog and owner?
4. COULD THE DOG BENEFIT FROM LEARNING NEW COPING SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS? All dogs have a learning history and they will continue to learn throughout their lives, whether we deliberately teach them anything or not. We need to know how the dog’s learning history might be influencing their behaviour and consider whether we could teach the dog some helpful skills (operant conditioning, but not in the traditional “tell the dog what to do” way) to cope with situations that cannot be avoided in order to keep the dog safe and help the owner feel more empowered.
To me it seems obvious that it can only be to the benefit of dogs and their people that all these aspects of behaviour are considered when helping dogs. I could never pick just one and say that this was the “magic bullet” that would solve everything. Unfortunately though, it does seem that when education or experience only covers one approach, this does sometimes happens. As a result, there are people working with dogs who are convinced that the only thing one ever needs to do is “start training” and forget about everything else. Everything is operant and anything else is just a distraction or red herring. On the other hand, there are those who believe that the solution lies completely in acknowledging the emotional experience and that this is sufficient on its own. According to this view, using conditioning to alter emotional state or change behaviour is bordering on unethical.
I struggle with both these extremes. How can we truly help and connect with dogs if we are not able to understand what is motivating them or we do not care about their emotional experiences? If we confine ourselves to observable, operant behaviour, we will miss a lot of what our dogs are communicating about how to best help them and lose the richness we should have in our relationships with our dogs. On the other hand, when we come to the realisation that a dog is distressed or struggling to cope with something in their lives, how can we not use every approach we have at our disposal to help them to cope better? Dogs are capable of growing, learning, adjusting and gaining behavioural and emotional coping skills through conditioning – completely rejecting these tools is not helpful to dogs or their people.
I have started to wonder if the “extreme view phenomenon” is a result of limited learning. If all we have been taught is how to modify behaviour and we don’t understand anything about emotionality, it may be simpler and less personally challenging to put thoughts of emotions aside and focus only on what we do know. On the other hand, if we have been taught something about emotionality, but very little about learning theory and how to apply it in a considered and compassionate way, we may be put off using it and prefer to operate within the confines of emotions as the only construct we think we have understood well. A lot of this comes down to how we educate ourselves. There are endless “niche” courses available to students that focus on one particular line of thinking or new idea in our broad field, but I fear that they may set us up to become too narrowly focused, if this is the way we start our careers. I believe we would do far better, to embark on an education that takes every aspect of behaviour into account. An education that covers:
ETHOLOGY
PHYSIOLOGY
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
GENETICS
EMOTIONALITY
LEARNING THEORY
We may not become experts or gain a full knowledge of all these fields (I know there is still TONS I need to learn in every one of these fields), but having a good foundational knowledge of each one of these helps to anchor us so that we don’t drift totally out to sea with the latest trend, where we are beyond all practical use or spend so much time banging a particular drum that we drown out the sound of anything else that might be relevant.
This is not an easy profession to be in. It is ever-changing and evolving, it is emotionally draining and intellectually challenging (if you are doing it right!). It can be tempting to retreat into a one-box view where everything is simple and clear-cut, but restricting our knowledge and closing our minds does not help anyone at the end of the day – least of all the dogs we are supposed to be caring for.
Just two places left now on our next Puppy Course starting 16th October
Positive reward based dog training in Essex
Looks like its time to take Willow to the donations storage to be fitted for a rain coat! ☔ she did really well at her threshold training session today with Madda the Collie 🐾
Thanks to all for a lovely day of training. As well as the workshop which was enormous fun we had some smashing agility and a lovely puppy class with pups all working off lead. Well done to all ❤️
Photos from Spirit of the Dog Rescue's post
We're now taking registrations for our next six week puppy course. Starts Saturday 16th October at 2.30pm. You can book and register via our website at http://www.all4paws.uk.com/training/booking-registration or contact us if you have any questions
Positive reward based dog training in Essex
We've been incredibly busy with enquiries again the last couple of weeks so apologies for any delays returning calls and messages
New Moor Farm, Tillingham Road
Southminster
CM0 7DS
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Boo's running dogwalk. Recorded this earlier today as was hoping to show the agility class his stride pattern, but all we can really see is a blur of legs! 😂 need to edit it into slow mo
For those who've been starting to teach 'Put Your Toys Away' Winnie thought she'd show doing hers this afternoon. As well as teaching a good 'hold' and leave and being great fun to train, for Winnie when I first taught her this especially with tennis balls it had another element for her. Tennis balls are one of her favourite things in the whole world and so to learn this she had to be calm enough to get the accuracy needed and have quite a lot of self control around something she finds very exciting. Once you've all mastered this one we can have a go at the next level...
And Boo had a go too
Winnie giving the course for this weekends workshops a test run
Yogi doing some foundation training earlier in the week
Thanks Diana for a few clips from last week's hoopers workshop :) Kay and Blake
A few clips coming up from our Introduction to Hooper's and Barrelers Workshop last weekend, much fun.
After having been a bit unsure about the hoop when I had one in the lounge, Tessie made a very fine effort on her first ever course. We're going to use the hoops to help us with her confidence working away from me.
Tilly's first full height seesaw. Well done Ann 😊
Equimotion Sports Massage Therapy
Rochford