Walking with a Friend

06/01/2026

Dog Training Tip of the Week

Want your dog to pay attention when distractions are everywhere?

Start with the “Watch Me” Game.

✅ Say your dog’s name once.
✅ The moment they look at you, mark (“Yes!”) and reward.
✅ Repeat for 1–2 minutes.

This simple game builds:
• Better focus
• Better recall
• Less pulling on leash
• More connection with you

Remember: Attention is a skill. The more you reward it, the more you’ll get it.

What is your dog’s biggest distraction right now?

06/01/2026

DOG TRAINING TIP OF THE WEEK 🐾

Want your dog to pay more attention to you?

Try the “Watch Me” game!

✅ Say your dog’s name once.
✅ The moment your dog looks at you, say “Yes!” and reward.
✅ Practice for 1–2 minutes a few times a day.

Why it works:
• Builds focus
• Improves recall
• Helps with loose-leash walking
• Strengthens your bond

Remember: Attention is a behavior—and behaviors that are rewarded happen more often.

💚 Start in a quiet place and gradually practice around distractions.

What is your dog’s biggest distraction right now?

06/01/2026

"All good ☺️They're not growling"
Hang on.
Some dogs can and do growl in play.
It can be completely normal.

"So how can I tell"?
It can be tricky to tell the difference between healthy play and those interactions that are something else entirely.
There are some areas we can look at to help us decipher.

➡️Immediate posture changes/rigidity/stillness

Some dogs pause, go still and then explode with loose and wiggly movements. That’s often play.
The problematic kind of rigidness is different.
It can linger for longer.
Even when the other dog is showing everyway they can "all's good here".
That stillness and posture is "tight".

It can come with hard stares, leaning or standing over.
Stiff body posture from either dog, even the one on the ground.

That’s not play

➡️When high energy switches to frantic.

Chasing and being chased. Some dogs love this.
There can be an energy change with chasing that we need to watch for though.
It can turn.
It can become far more frantic and direct.

If one dog is always the chaser, and when they catch the other, the tone changes, the body language tightens, the movements escalate and it stops looking mutual?
That’s when caution is needed.

We don't want to stop dogs playing but we do need to recognise when it's no longer fun for all dogs involved.

05/27/2026

So I ignore?
No, but you’re ignoring exactly what you DO want.

Excitement gets a lot of attention sometimes.
Insistent behaviour gets responses from us.
Barking?
That usually gets an immediate response because it’s louder.

Over time, some dogs start learning “Bigger behaviour works better.”
Because to them, it can.

This is where ignoring comes into it.

Have you been ignoring the best bits your dog shows you?

We focus so much on what we well and truly know we don’t want, and yet when they show us what we want?
We ignore it.
We don’t even notice it.
We don’t mean to but it’s a habit we are now cycling around in.

We’re focused SO much on stopping the behaviour we don’t want, that we let those tiny slivers of stillness, position, or engagement just slip away.

They are THE moments.

We need to open our eyes more.
They will be showing you what you actually want more of.

It may not be in the context we need it to be in yet, but it will be there.

Mark it.

Reward it.

But above all else, don’t ignore those precious wee moments when they DO show you exactly what you want.

05/27/2026

05/23/2026

Pets don’t just learn during training sessions. They’re learning all the time—during walks, at the door, when guests come over, when you leave the house.

Every time a behavior happens, it gets a little easier for your pet to do it again. Over time, those repetitions turn into habits. While you are gone all day, your dog is barking at anything and everything outside. Why would you surprised when he barks aggressively at your friends who visit?

When your dog is in the yard, he is running the fenceline barking. It isn't surprising that they bit someone in the yard.

When your cat meows, you immediately open a can of food. It isn't surprising then that your cat meows overnight when she is hungry and walks on your head until you get up.

Our pets are always learning, just like you and me. Rearranging the environment to reduce the expression of undesirable behaviors is cheap, easy and effective.

Because practice makes permanent.

05/23/2026

Teach your puppy that you are valuable to them, show them that when they look to you it benefits them.

A great way to start this is by teaching your dog their name. Walk around the house and every so often say their name when you’re a few feet from them, when they look at you, give them a treat! This will teach them to recognize their name, but it also teaches them that when you speak and they engage, they win! If you have your puppies attention, you can teach them anything, and prevent so many unwanted behaviors.

Stop showing them “paw.” Show them the relationship the two of you will have!

05/23/2026