Wiser Dogs by Dilnaz Baria

06/06/2023

Finished my last session with this gorgeous boy recently! He has done so well and I am bursting with pride at how well he is doing. Out of shot was a dog running around after a ball and there was one that came very close during the session and each time he chose to focus on his lovely guardians.

The difference in the house with barking has greatly improved. But the most important thing of all is that, both, the guardians and Jude feel comfortable and are so in tune with each other. Relationship goals! Well done team Jude! 🐶👏🏼❤

01/05/2023

I'd like to welcome the gorgeous Jude Paw to the Wiser Dogs family!
His lovely guardians reached out for support for a variety of training and some behaviour issues with him such as recall, high levels of excitement and resource guarding.

We started our journey today by teaching him focus, how to decompress and resetting his recall cue amongst other things. His guardians were also supported to see things from his point of view and the importance of body language. I so look forward to our next session.

06/04/2023

Tala and I loved episode 1, can't wait to see episode 2 tonight. 👏🏼🐶❤

25/03/2023

I can't wait to see this! I am proud to say I was taught by 3 of the people on this when I went through my training and assessment. It will be good to watch some science backed dog training in action! 🐶❤

The Dog Academy changes lives for the better! Watch some incredible transformations in this fantastic new series which starts on Thursday 30th at 8pm on Channel 4! Hope you enjoy it x

24/12/2022

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to everyone! Thank you for working with us. May you have a marvellous holiday with your loved ones. Looking forward to 2023! 🎄🎊

31/07/2022

We went on a fabulous slow walk where my girl got to sniff as much as she wanted and she chose where to go (the only time I redirected her was for safety reasons). It is so important to remember that the walk is for them to gather information, explore the world and work their brain and body.

On the way home, we saw a lovely lady with her newly rescued dog, she clearly didn't want us to meet and that was absolutely ok! I don't like my dog meeting every dog and I respected her wishes so we took slightly different paths- as it turned out we were about to end up on the main path out together! So I called out to confirm her route and told her we weren't going to move any closer.

I scattered a handful of treats, she thanked me and we all moved off separately with distance between us.
This is one of the reasons I still take my training pouch out on walks, even though I rarely treat my girl for walking, unless we are doing a training walk recap- you never know when you might need some treats.

Have a great weekend!

11/06/2022

On my day off today I had the absolute privilege and pleasure to see the fabulous Queen and Adam Lambert in concert! My first proper concert! 😱🥳 I could easily go again tomorrow.

We danced, sang at the top of our voices and had a blast! Even dog trainers need to decompress! Hope you all have a great weekend!

07/06/2022

Let's talk about recall!

It can be a real challenge, after all we have to compete with many things in the environment or they might be in the middle of a 'conversation' with another dog or busy replying to a p*e mail and so on!

Whatever the reason it is not working, there are a few key things that need developing to get a good recall and none of them need force, intimidation or pain.

In the videos below you will see one of the reasons a recall might not work (bad timing by me) and then what happens when I pick the correct moment!

If you need help, get in touch for a chat!

01/05/2022

Had my final session with the lovely Buddy. At the start Buddy struggled with walking down the road and meeting dogs on lead; he made his discomfort known by barking and lunging!

Over weeks, we worked on his ability to disengage while growing his ability to make choices (where appropriate), growing calmness and confidence. In these situations it is important to deal with the underlying emotions and not just what you can see or we risk putting a plaster on an arterial wound!

Change takes time! Buddy's journey in this will continue but Team Buddy now have the skills to support each other. I was so proud of them all as he walked away from a number of things that would have set him off in the past, including a cat and barking dog.

11/04/2022

Had a session with beautiful Tilli today, it was sheer joy, and a tinge of sadness (as it was our last session), as she has absolutely smashed her loose lead walking!

Tilli is a gem at home but finds walking on the lead challenging and used to pull very hard, this does not help her loving guardian as she has back issues.

Tilli has learnt to focus on her walks, walk as part of a team, realise she can go wherever she wants to go but just can't drag her guardian there and to stop when her guardian stops. She is now also able to walk past a friend's house where she would practically drag her guardian to! She is a little superstar!

10/04/2022

Yesterday we looked at teaching the lovely Buddy to carry out emergency turns so when it is needed it doesn't come as a surprise. It is ok for our dogs to not meet every single dog!

It is a joy to see how much more sniffing Buddy does on a walk, rather than being hypervigilant of his surroundings, and how much more relaxed he is walking past some of his old triggers.

Often, it is better to take lots of little steps to a goal rather than trying to run and fall.

04/04/2022

Today is a day of study (and recovery too). I am a firm believer that learning should never stop! The more I learn the better I can support my dogs and their guardians.