Puppy Perfect Training

05/08/2025

Oh how I love a squeaky clean brand new puppy! Meet Rolo – the sweetest little cockapoo you could ever wish to see. He’s exactly the same age as my Rosie and so they’re running neck in neck over their training! Yesterday was my first visit to Rollo and the family. She’s a very lucky puppy with her family as there are two children aged 11 and 8 who are fully engaged in the training(the parents are too just in case you’re wondering!).

So we showed Rolo some basic little ‘training tasks” which for her were just a game. She responded so well to what we did and I look forward to teaching her a little bit more in the next couple of weeks. She’s a fast learner! The biggest issue that the owners have is nipping – how many times have we heard this before with puppies? So we discussed distraction and removing the triggers and hopefully this will improve. It’s interesting that Rosie (our puppy) doesn’t nip but this is usual when there are other dogs who the puppy can play with so the nipping happens during puppy play with other dogs rather than with humans. 

30/07/2025

30/07/2025

Yesterday was just a little bit special - all training I do is wonderful as every dog is different. The reason yesterday was special was because I helped to train two puppies, one of whom is the son of our Sunny called Banksy and brother to my Rosie - just 9 weeks old. I also worked with Jasmine, a very sweet Cockerdor puppy.

With both pups (separately) we worked on the basics of placeboard training, sit and down, recall and discussion about various aspects of preventing unwanted behaviour through distraction keeping it very simple and in short spells - 5-10 minutes maximum.

Both pups are in the Purbecks and I’m going back in a couple of weeks to start work on loose lead walking and moving on to the next stage of training but only if the pups are ready.

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22/07/2025

Rosie at 8 weeks. We bred her - recall training to the whistle started at 4 weeks and she’s spot on every time!

Puppy training - start them young but never put pressure on the pup as it will have the reverse effect and the pup will easily lose confidence.

Keep sessions very short and always end on a good note. I will do this exercise just a couple of times a day and then introduce something new when I feel she’s ready and I have no idea what the next exercise will be - she’ll tell me!

I will only use treats for a week or two (kibble taken out of her daily food allowance) as she’s just like her Mum - a word of praise and a little rub is all she wants.

First day of “training” - but for Rosie this is just fun! Kept very short but she understands “hup” onto the placeboard and sit. Her recall is fantastic - I can even call her away from her Mum.

20/07/2025

Today and tomorrow these 4 ( I’m keeping the 5th one!) beautiful pups we bred are off to their new homes. They are already into their training journey with perfect recall to the whistle and 80% toilet trained. All are going to 5* homes and we are very very pleased. Here are the first 2 on their way to Cornwall and Whiteley. Sound on for the journey!

19/07/2025

It’s been a while since I posted a training tip—we’ve been completely taken up with puppies! But they go to their new homes tomorrow, so we can start to focus on other things and get our lives back!

Today I want to talk about “conditioning.” In this context, conditioning means training or accustoming a dog to behave in a way that helps them accept certain situations.

Two common examples that come to mind (though there are many!) are conditioning a dog to wear a muzzle or a headcollar. The headcollar is a form of restraint that may be helpful for dogs who chronically pull on the lead.

Yes, you can just shove either of these into a dog’s face without any conditioning—but you’re likely to end up with a frightened dog who reacts quite severely. Don’t do it like this!

Conditioning takes that magic word: TIME. Use the time wisely, and don’t expect immediate results. I won’t go into all the details here, as the process needs to be broken down into small steps—but do get in touch if you’d like help with it.

Now, a quick word on two other related concepts:

🔹 Desensitising is subtly different from conditioning. It’s the process of helping a dog overcome a fear or phobia by gradually and carefully exposing them to the trigger—always working at a distance where they still feel safe. Think: motorbikes, roadworks, or anything else a dog might find overwhelming.

🔹 Habituating is different again. This is about helping a dog get used to a particular place or situation—like their crate or travelling in the car—until it just becomes part of normal life.