So Dog Training

26/06/2025

It's true, if you're a sociable person who's never had or known a dog who doesn't thrive on or is worried about interaction with others it's hard to see why others make distance.
As a general rule if you see somone making space by moving off the path, crossing the road or changing direction, allow that space by keeping your distance. Letting others move away is more likely to help create a more social experience in the future.

14/06/2025

Fancy trying butternut box?
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11/05/2025

Looking at the why behind a behaviour is the best thing we can do for our dogs, and ourselves.

When we see behaviour for what it really is, we realise it’s not personal, just practical for our dogs at the time.

15/03/2025

I’m going to keep saying this until I stop hearing horror stories about puppies being left to cry it out in their new homes

‘All of the rest of the family (2 dogs and 4 humans) are in the sitting room but the puppy has chosen to go in the kitchen (two rooms away) all on her own to sleep on the Big Dog Bed. It shows how secure she feels to not need to be with us all. She feels safe as we’ve never excluded her- never put her in a crate in another room etc or left her alone to get upset at night. She sleeps with me on the bed at night, she has as much cuddles and company (from humans and Sylvi) as she wants all day and the end result is that she feels secure, she feels safe and confident as she’s formed a secure attachment.

There’s no need to ‘start as you mean to go on’ with puppies and leave them to cry or exclude them. Just let them be fully part of your family and give them choices and the time to develop emotionally without stress. Really, all they want is to be fully integrated into your family and to feel safe. When they feel secure they can then cope with their own company, gradually and at their own pace. (Puppy is 8 weeks old in this photo and has been with me in foster and hand reared since she was 6 days old)’

This was 4 years ago today and this puppy has grown up to be the most fiercely independent dog I’ve ever had- we have zero separation issues and she’s not at all ‘clingy’ . She is brave as she had a safe and secure attachment at an early age. Please don’t ever worry that meeting your puppies needs will make them have separation issues as it’s entirely the opposite outcome ❤️

Laura McAuliffe Dog Communication 2025

11/03/2025

It can be tempting in our training to skip the little steps.

It’s great to have faith in our dogs but if we stick to small steps, it’s so much clearer to them what we want.

The result is getting to the end goal faster with a much more solid behaviour.

03/03/2025

There are some great ways to prevent food aggression, but messing with, taking or putting your hand in your dogs food is not one of them.

The more we mess with our dogs stuff, the more likely they are to become defensive around it. Just like we might!

05/02/2025

Reccomend this family run company. Great prices and products, a lot of the toys are hand made by them!

🎉Winning Wednesday!🎉 We're excited to announce that we are BACK for Crufts 2025 with our amazing giveaways — but this time, there’s a twist! For the first time ever, every prize bundle can be posted within the UK, so you don't have to collect them at Crufts. To enter for a chance to win this Paws Made bundle worth over £100, simply like this post and comment below, sharing is caring too. The winner will be announced publicly on this page on Monday 17th February. Good luck! 🍀🐾💛

28/11/2024

🚨 WIN A FREE PLACE ON THE IGP HEELWORK COURSE! 🚨

Want to master heelwork with Corinne Wrend, one of the most accomplished trainers in the game? Here’s your chance to snag a spot on her IGP Heelwork Course… completely FREE! 🎉

👉 HOW TO ENTER:
1️⃣ Share this post – yep, that’s it!
2️⃣ Make sure your post is set to public, so we can see it.

Already signed up? No worries! If you win, we’ll refund your course fee, so this competition is for EVERYONE.

WINNER ANNOUNCED: 1st December! 🗓 (Get sharing now – don’t miss your shot!)

This course isn’t just about fancy moves – it’s about connection, precision, and taking your training to the next level with Corinne’s expert guidance.

📩 Tag a mate who needs to know about this, and don’t forget to share. Who knows? That free spot might just have your name on it!

Good luck! 🍀

https://www.caninescience.online/p/7daysofigpheelwork?coupon_code=FUSIONLAUNCH&product_id=5876232

25/07/2024

02/07/2024

Great info!

Puppies are not clean slates !
You often hear people say 'get a puppy they are a clean slate'

As a behaviourist and breeder I can confidently tell you this is not true. Both nature and nurture has a huge impact.
A puppy will inherit genes from its parents and these genes will impact the puppies genetic potential to behave in a particular way.
Such as :
Using aggression as a strategy to deal with difficult situations
Sociability towards people and dogs
Fearful responses
Sound sensitivity
Strong instinctive behaviour to hunt, chase, grab, hold and guard.
Trainability which includes the ability to learn self control as humans desire it.

When people breed dogs they sometimes select for specific traits and sometimes not. If someone is breeding for a particular look, colour or just money then these traits can become altered becoming stronger or weaker or unbalanced. This can make a dog dangerous for example breeding a dog with gameness and reducing human sociability.

Then the puppy is born and the first 8 weeks learning with the breeder will have an huge impact on the development of all these genetic traits.

My five puppies have all come from the same parents and been reared in the same environment. They have very individual personalities. The training and socialisation they receive in their new homes will only influence the genes and first learning, it won't change their personalities.

So if you are looking for a puppy
Firstly learn about breed traits and instincts and make sure you pick a puppy that will suit your lifestyle. For example there no point getting a breed that is 'aloof with strangers' if you have 3 young children and lots of friends visiting.

Secondly meet the parents or (genes), see what they are like. Make sure you are meeting the actual parents, some people buy in puppy farmed litters and then 'hire' an adult of the same breed to pretend the puppies were bred there!!

Thirdly make sure the puppy has had plenty of early neurological stimulation and learning before it leaves the litter. Ask these questions.
1) What have the puppies seen?
2) Who and what have they met?
2) What have they learnt?
3) How have they learned to play?
4) What do they do if they get frustrated?
5) What do they do if they get bored?

A professional trainer can help support and guide you on the process of looking for a puppy. Don't wait till afterwards for help.

Prevention IS better than Cure. This goes for training and socialisation too, get a professional to help and guide you.

Puppies are building neural pathways with every experience, every day, make sure they're building ones you like.

First Learning is the strongest, make sure you get it right first time.

Written by Jane Ardern BSc (Hons) KCAI (WG)
WaggaWuffins Canine College
Bury Lancashire

*Permission to share this post from this source. No cutting and pasting please and pretending you wrote it yourself 🙄

09/04/2024

Owch! Poor Chilli 😢
I have done Rachel's first aid courses both in person and online, highly recommend them for practical knowhow we all hope we never need. But as shown here accidents can happen to anyone, best to be prepared as the scouts say!😉