Chris Taylor-Rea - Dog Training

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

09/12/2025

Reactive Dog Owners in Huntingdonshire, St Neots & the wider Cambridgeshire area… listen up!

If you’ve already had your initial assessment with me, I’ve got some good news — a very small number of spots have just opened up in my Dog Reactive Rehab Club.

We meet bi-weekly in real-life locations, working through proper, guided scenarios to help your dog continue learning, adjusting and gaining confidence in the world around them. Every session is expert-led, practical and designed to build on the progress you’ve already made.

You’ll see in the video just how much calmer, more focused and more capable these dogs become with consistent support — and your dog can absolutely get there too.

Spaces are genuinely limited, so if you’re ready to keep moving forward, drop me a message and I’ll get you booked in. If you're currently dealing with a reactive dog and want to start the journey for more peaceful walks drop me a message!

If you're a fan of kind and modern dog training and the best dog show on TV...Then tune in tomorrow at 8pm to see the la...
27/11/2025

If you're a fan of kind and modern dog training and the best dog show on TV...

Then tune in tomorrow at 8pm to see the latest Christmas episode of The Dog House!

While you're at it, give me a follow for more positive dog training content!

10/11/2025

Are you willing to follow these steps?

Because separation anxiety can be improved — but only with patience, consistency, and training🐾❤️

1️⃣ Stress Detox

A stressed dog can't relax alone.
If your dog reacts to the doorbell, outside noises, people, or other dogs, work on lowering those stress levels too.

A dog who is constantly “on alert” will struggle much more with calm alone-time.
Think: calmer life = calmer alone time.

2️⃣ Know Their Threshold

Every dog has a point where they shift from “uncomfortable” ➜ to “distressed.”
For some, that’s 3 seconds. For others, 10 minutes.

Get help from a professional if needed — identifying this point is critical.
And once you know it, do not leave them longer than they can cope or you reset progress.

3️⃣ Play “The Door is a Bore”

We’re desensitizing the leaving routine.
Practice stepping out the door many times for less than their coping time — then occasionally go slightly longer.

The goal?
“My human always comes back before I panic.”

These repeated, predictable successes build trust + resilience.

4️⃣ Use a Camera

Non-negotiable.
Watch your dog during sessions so you can spot the exact moment they move toward distress.

If stress shows up — return.
There is no benefit to letting a dog “cry it out.”
It doesn’t teach coping.

5️⃣ Be Patient

This work is slow and gentle. Progress is measured in weeks and months, not days.
Tiny steps forward still count — consistency wins here.

Your dog isn’t giving you a hard time…
They’re having a hard time. And you helping them through it is what builds confidence and independence

08/11/2025

Management and training are both valid tools in the dog world — and neither is “cheating” or “wrong.” Training builds long-term skills and behaviours, while management helps you prevent unwanted situations right now. Which one you use can depend on your skill level, your priorities (maybe you’re focusing on other behaviours first), your lifestyle, or the level of risk involved. We don’t live in perfect training bubbles — we live in homes, with real lives, real schedules, and real dogs. I recommend management in my training plans all the time, because setting dogs up for success is part of training too.

06/11/2025

You don’t need an e-collar for recall — even with high chase-drive dogs 🐿️🚫⚡

I get it.
You let your dog off-lead… they spot a squirrel… and boom — they’re gone.
You call… offer food… whistle… pray… and nothing.

It’s frustrating. Embarrassing. Stressful.
And when you hop online, every second video is an e-collar “proofed recall.”
So it's easy to think:

“Maybe it’s time to get one?”

But before you go there, ask yourself this ⤵️

Have I tried working with my dog’s instincts — or have I been fighting them?

Dogs with strong chase drives aren’t “stubborn.”
They’re doing what their genetics tell them to do.

And here’s the good news:
You can train recall through the chase drive, not against it.

✅ Teach them a better chase outlet

Food won’t always beat a squirrel — but movement can.

Try building value in:

• Flirt pole play
• Chase toys
• Tug
• Structured fetch (not mindless ball throwing)

These become high-value rewards because they meet the dog’s biological needs.

✅ Train disengagement around triggers (on-lead first)

Practice this sequence on walks:

Dog spots a squirrel

Dog notices it without exploding

You mark & reward calm focus

You offer access to chase games with you as the payoff

You're teaching:

“I see prey → I come to you → I get to chase with you.”

This turns recall into a hunting sequence with you as part of the team — not the fun police.

✅ Build a relationship, not compliance through fear

Recall isn’t magic.
It’s not obedience.
It’s trust + need-fulfillment + reinforcement history.

E-collars may give short-term control.
But long-term connection and cooperation comes from working with your dog’s instincts, not shutting them down.

Your dog isn’t trying to ignore you.
They’re trying to be… a dog. 🐾

They will thank you for choosing communication over compulsion. ❤️

If your dog has a strong chase drive, it’s not a problem — it’s potential.

Let’s train it, channel it, and build recall that’s joyful and reliable — not fear-based.

Want help building chase-drive recall?

Comment CHASE and I’ll send you my foundation plan 🔁💬

01/11/2025

3 reasons your dog won’t settle in cafés & bars — and how to fix it ☕🐶

If your dog struggles to relax in busy environments, it’s not “naughty” behaviour — it's a skill they haven’t learned yet.
Here’s how to build that skill 👇

1️⃣ Start with settle training at home

Before you ask your dog to chill in public, teach it where it’s easiest — at home.

🪟 Choose a naturally calm time (after a walk or in the evening)
🪢 Clip the lead on — bonus points if it’s a different lead than your walk lead to avoid excitement cues
🛋️ Reward calm behaviour & relaxation

Consistency beats chaos.

2️⃣ Reinforce the stages of settling

Don’t wait for a full nap — reward the process of relaxing.

Mark and/or calmly praise moments like:

• Lying down
• Resting their head
• Deep sighing
• Rolling onto their side
• Yawning
• Soft blinking

You’re teaching:
Calm = good things happen
Over time you’re literally putting “relax” on cue ⭐

3️⃣ Train the art of doing nothing

Most dogs only practice movement — not stillness.

On walks, add “pause moments”:

Day 1–3: stand still for 1 minute
Day 4–7: increase to 2 minutes
Sit on a bench. Watch the world. Breathe together.

Use calm enrichment if needed (like a lick mat or stuffed kong) to help your dog learn that slowing down is safe & rewarding.

Because if your dog never practices doing nothing, doing nothing in public feels impossible.

✨ Small steps at home = calm dog in public later
It’s not magic — it’s training, timing & emotional support

30/10/2025

1️⃣ Bark “DROP IT!” like you're arguing with customer service
Then sn**ch the sock away immediately.
Teach your dog that “drop it” = losing something fun forever ✔️

2️⃣ Ignore all signs your dog wants to retrieve, work, and play
Call it “naughty behaviour.” Forget they’re a species bred to seek, grab, carry.
A 30-minute walk on pavement is plenty… right? 😬

3️⃣ Never teach drop = good things happen
Never practice it during play, never reward it, only use it when you’re mad.
Perfect way to make the cue terrifying ✅

4️⃣ Correct any growl
Because growling is rude 🙄
Ignore the fact it’s communication, so they skip straight to biting next time.
Great plan.

5️⃣ Don’t dog-proof your house
Your dog should magically know what’s allowed.
Baby gates? Laundry baskets? Kids’ rooms? Pfft. Chaos builds character.

Follow these 5 steps and BOOM: you now have a dog who guards socks like they’re the Crown Jewels 👑🧦🔥

✨ OR… ✨
Teach drop positively, provide outlets for natural behaviours, respect communication, and set them up to succeed.

Your dog isn’t “naughty.”
They’re communicating. They’re unmet. They’re trying. ❤️

16/10/2025

Stop Walking Your Dog! 🐾

You heard me right — a daily on-lead walk might actually be one of the least mentally stimulating things your dog can do.

Dogs haven’t been selectively bred for hundreds of years to simply stroll around the block for 30 minutes a day. Most breeds were designed to work — to use their brains, their noses, and their instincts.

So instead of thinking “my dog needs a walk,” start thinking “my dog needs a job.”

One of my favourite ways to meet that need is by swapping the walk for a good old Find It game.

Here’s what I do with my dog, Chia 👇
🐶 She stays in position while I throw her toy into long grass.
🐶 On her release cue, she uses her nose to track it down.
It looks simple — but it’s so much more than fetch.

Why not fetch?
Fetch is often just a cardio workout — lots of chasing, less thinking.
Find It, on the other hand, builds focus, confidence, impulse control, and lets your dog tap into what they were made to do: use their nose!

How to teach it:
✅ Start small — simply place the toy on the ground, then let your dog “find it.”
✅ Gradually build to dropping it from a low height, then gently tossing it further away.
✅ Only throw once your dog can calmly wait for the release cue.
✅ You can also use food instead of toys — perfect for older dogs or those less toy-motivated.

Find a quiet, overgrown spot and give it a try — it’s a calmer, more fulfilling way to exercise your dog’s mind and body. 🌿💛

12/10/2025

Dog reactivity Rehab Group Sessions are now up and running!

For those that have completed their first 121 sessions with me, building the strong foundations needed to help a frustrated, fearful, anxious or impulsive dog - you have the option to join our biweekly reactivity rehabilitation sessions, led by me to further give your dog the opportunity to learn in a safe and controlled environment!

Was lucky enough to meet little Johnny from tonight's epsiode of the dog house! Little legend he was. 🐾
18/09/2025

Was lucky enough to meet little Johnny from tonight's epsiode of the dog house!

Little legend he was. 🐾

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