Chris Taylor-Rea - Dog Training

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Chris Taylor-Rea - Dog Training

🐕 Dog Behaviourist | Trainer | Human Coach
🐾 Behaviour transformation expert
✅ 10+ years’ experience
💻 Online and in person
📧 Let’s connect

31/10/2026

🐶 Got a bitey puppy? Here are a few tips to help you tackle the nipping and make life with your puppy a little easier!

🐾 Follow for more practical, reward-based dog training tips!

30/10/2026

3 MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN GETTING YOUR DOG OUT OF THE CAR 🚗🐕

Want better recall, less lead pulling and more focus on your walks? It starts BEFORE you even leave the car!

Here are 3 mistakes to avoid 👇

1️⃣ Letting them out whilst they're still hyped up

If your dog is already buzzing with excitement before their paws hit the ground, you're starting your walk with arousal levels through the roof!

Practise opening and closing the boot, rewarding calm behaviour and preventing your dog from barging past you. Build this up gradually, rewarding FAST and FREQUENTLY to keep frustration low. We're not trying to wind them up even more!

2️⃣ Walking off without checking in with you

Once your dog is out, take a moment before setting off. Look for some engagement: eye contact, a sit, or simply turning back towards you.

You're not looking for military precision. You're building a conversation between you and your dog, so those first steps aren't spent pulling on the lead or completely disconnected from you.

3️⃣ Skipping threshold training at home

Getting out of the car is just ONE example of a threshold. Practise the same skills at your front door, when going into the garden, through internal doorways and at the beginning and end of walks.

Your dog doesn't need to smash through every doorway to get what they want! Teach them that pausing, checking in and waiting calmly can make good things happen.

🐾 Why does this matter?

When you start your walk with a calmer, more connected dog, you're creating better conditions for learning. That can help build engagement, make lead walking easier and support recall training.

It's not about suppressing excitement or demanding perfect obedience. It's about helping your dog regulate their emotions and learn that working with you is part of the fun!

📌 SAVE this post to practise before your next walk, and SHARE it with someone whose dog launches out of the boot like they've been fired from a cannon! 😂

27/10/2026

Got a little land shark living in your house? 🦈🐶

You’ve tried redirecting onto a toy, pushing them away, and now you’re just waiting for them to grow out of it…

Sound familiar? Here are 3 common reasons your puppy’s mouthing isn’t improving.

1️⃣ Your response is making it worse

Redirecting onto a toy can teach your puppy that mouthing you makes play happen! Instead, teach them that teeth on skin ends the interaction.

🐊 Become a total statue or withdraw your hands from the interaction. No attention, no play. Want to keep interacting with me? Keep those teeth to yourself!

Then run through your checklist:

😴 Have they slept in the last 60–120 minutes? If not, it might be bedtime.
🍽️ Are they due their dinner? Feed them shortly afterwards.
🎾 Are they bored and in need of more entertainment? Play and plan ahead next time.
🚽 Do they need the toilet? Could they be trying to tell you something?

2️⃣ They aren’t getting enough outlets for their mouth

You wouldn’t expect a toddler to go all day without wanting to touch things. Puppies need appropriate ways to use their mouths, too!

🧸 Play games like tug-of-war (try toys roughly twice their size).
🦴 Offer puppy-safe chews (pizzle sticks are my go-to).
🐕 Use enrichment feeding to give their mouths something productive to do.

3️⃣ You’re relying on them growing out of it

Mouthing is a normal part of puppy development, but simply waiting for it to disappear isn’t a training plan!

Consistency, appropriate outlets and a fair response make all the difference.

👇 What’s your puppy’s biggest mouthing challenge? Let me know in the comments!

📌 Save this post for the next time your puppy turns into a little land shark!

26/10/2026

New puppy? These 3 simple tips can save you a LOT of headaches later 👀

Any tips you want to share? Drop a comment below.

23/10/2026

Loose lead walking becomes much easier when you stop thinking about the lead — and start thinking about position.

The goal isn't simply to teach your puppy not to pull.

You're teaching them:

“This is the place where good things happen.”

Before expecting this on a walk, build value in your puppy's reinforcement zone — the area next to you where you want them to walk.

And don't skip the boring bits.

Start at home using some of their daily food. Reward them for choosing to be next to you while standing still.

Then practise in the garden.

Then gradually introduce movement and distractions.

You want your puppy to start inviting themselves into that position because they've learned that being there pays.

One of the biggest mistakes I see is waiting until the puppy is already pulling before trying to reinforce the position you want.

Instead, get ahead of it.

Reward your puppy before they leave the position — and importantly, practise delivering that reinforcement while you're both moving.

In the video, when the puppy moves ahead, I don't need to correct them or pull them back.

I simply change direction.

When they choose to come back with me, the reinforcement zone becomes available again.

Then we keep walking and rewarding.

And finally, I use “free”.

That tells the puppy:

“You're finished working with me — go and explore.”

This is important because being next to you shouldn't mean the end of their freedom.

Build value in the position first.
Reward it generously.
Practise it while moving.
Then gradually add the real-world distractions.

Loose lead walking isn't really about controlling the lead. It's about teaching your puppy where you want them to be — and making that place worth choosing.

👉 Save this and go back to it when you're working on your puppy's loose lead walking.

22/10/2026

STOP EXPECTING YOUR DOG TO WALK PERFECTLY EVERYWHERE

One of the biggest mistakes I see with loose-lead training is jumping straight from the easiest environment to the hardest.

Instead, think of loose-lead walking as a ladder of difficulty.

🟢 Level 1: Around the house
🟢 Level 2: Quiet garden
🟢 Level 3: Quiet street
🟢 Level 4: Busier area with people and distractions
🟢 Level 5: Park with dogs, people and smells
🟢 Level 6: Busy environments with lots happening

The aim isn't to simply get your dog through every level.

It's to build the skills and confidence to succeed at each level before making things harder.

If your dog struggles, don't see it as failure.

They're telling you the environment is currently too difficult.

So make it easier.

One of the simplest ways to do this is to give your dog time to decompress and take in the environment before expecting lots from them.

Arrived somewhere new?

Don't immediately start drilling loose-lead walking.

Have a wander. Let them sniff. Let them look around. Give them time to process what's going on.

Once the environment becomes less novel, you may find your dog is much more available to engage with you.

And finally…

USE REWARDS YOUR DOG ACTUALLY CARES ABOUT.

If you're asking your dog to choose walking nicely with you over exciting smells, dogs, people and everything else the world has to offer, make sure you're paying them well.

The harder the environment, the more valuable your reinforcement may need to be.

Loose-lead walking isn't about demanding more from your dog.

It's about setting them up to succeed, building the skill gradually and making walking with you worth choosing.

22/10/2026

You may have accidentally taught your puppy to pull. Here are 3 mistakes I see all the time.

1. You waited until pulling became a problem.

If your puppy spends months pulling to get where they want to go, they’re practising — and reinforcing — that behaviour.

Then, once they’re bigger and stronger, we suddenly decide pulling isn't fun anymore.

Start teaching good habits from day one, before pulling becomes a well-practised behaviour.

2. You started loose lead training on a short lead.

A short lead makes it incredibly easy for a puppy to hit the end of it and practise pulling.

Instead, build the behaviour at home and in the garden, then use a longer line outside so your puppy can experience the world without constantly rehearsing pulling.

Your puppy doesn't need to be walked for the sake of walking. They need opportunities to safely experience the world.

3. You only say “heel” when they're already pulling.

If “heel” always happens when your puppy is at the end of the lead and you then pull them back, you're not really teaching them what heel means.

You're pairing the cue with tension and pulling.

Instead, take a full bag of treats and actively pay your puppy for choosing to walk nicely.

And don't forget to give them a clear “free” cue too.

That's their time to sniff, explore and be a dog.

Because let's be honest — loose lead walking can be hard and boring.

Your puppy should get paid for working with you and get plenty of opportunities to enjoy their walk.

Don't wait until your puppy is strong enough to pull you around. Build the habit you actually want from day one.

Save this for your next puppy walk. 🐶

20/10/2026

Recall training isn't just about teaching your dog to come back.

You also need to teach them that your hand reaching for their collar is nothing to worry about.

Call your dog back → reach for their collar → gently hold it → reinforce them → then release them again.

Do this regularly so grabbing their collar doesn't automatically mean “the walk is over.”

And sometimes, recall them, put their lead on, walk with them for a short distance… then take the lead off and release them back to the walk.

You're teaching your dog that coming back to you doesn't always mean losing their freedom.

That matters because if you ever genuinely need to catch your dog — near a road, around livestock, after they've escaped through a gate, or in an emergency — you don't want your extended hand to be the signal for them to disappear in the opposite direction.

Practise the boring stuff before you need it.

Save this and send it to someone who needs to practise their recall.

19/10/2026

For some dogs, the sound of the lead coming off = FREEDOM! 🌎💨

This is a great little exercise for teaching your dog some self-control and helping them understand that the lead coming off doesn’t mean they’re free to release themselves to the world.

If your dog goes into overdrive the moment they hear the unclipping sound, use two leads while practising. That way, you still have control if they decide to shoot off before you’re ready.

The goal? Lead off doesn’t mean “FK off.”** 😂

19/10/2026

Getting a puppy tomorrow? These are the 3 things I’d prioritise from day one 👀

Anything I missed? Tell me down below!

Address

St Neots

Website

http://www.christaylorreadogtraining.co.uk/

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