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That Dog

Dog trainer based in Wrexham. Deaf dog training. Best Dog Trainer Wrexham 2024 I work with all kinds of dogs but also specialise in deaf dog training!

Dog Trainer based in North Wales 🐶

Distinction in Level Five applied animal behaviour (Canine), plus an approved dog trainer with the Dog Training College. A member of the pet professional network, qualified trick dog instructor with Do More With your Dog, Level One Scentwork Instructor with WSDA, Canine Hoopers World Instructor, member of ISAP. Also I've completed and attended a variety of othe

r courses, conferences and seminars including the aggression in dogs master course, amber batsons aggression in dogs, and all of the current School of Canine Science courses. I'm also making my way through a level six advanced diploma in Applied Animal Behaviour! I have written for various magazines, including Edition Dog Magazine and Dogs monthly, blogs including positively.com, and charities. I have two deaf dogs of my own and offer online worldwide consultations, helping people in America, Australia, all around the UK, France and Brazil!

27/07/2025

Puppies on a Saturday 🥹🥹

27/07/2025

Meeting your dogs needs!! 🫣

Before we work on any behaviour "problem" such as anxiety, reactivity, destruction, lack of recall etc etc it's important we first assess whether our dogs are having all of their needs met both physically and mentally and whether they are getting time to "be a dog".

It wouldn't be fair to begin to work on loose lead walking or recall or reactivity for example if your dog isn't getting enough physical exercise or outlets for the behaviours that have been bred into them for generations.

If you go out and buy a working line labrador, it's likely it's going to act like a working line Labrador regardless of the fact you bought it to be a pet 🤔

What does meeting your dogs needs look like?
- Walks in new places to experience new smells
- Opportunities to run full speed off the lead
- Activities that allow them to do what they were bred for
- Opportunities to form relationships and play together
- To have new experiences regularly

This will look different for every dog but it also doesn't need to take hours either - so please remember that when watching the video below 🐶

- Enclosed field trip = 60 mins
- Agility lesson = 30 mins
- Swimming = 20-30 mins
- Beach trip = 1 - hours
- Scentwork lesson = 60 mins
- Group walk with some dogs = 30 to 60 mins
- Training at home = 15 - 30 mins
- Cafe trip = 30-60 mins

I have more time than most to spend with my dogs, but in the same respect you don't have to spend hours with them to fulfil those needs.

Let's go back to the Labrador example...
An hour in an enclosed field for example where they can have a good run about, then do some searching and retrieving, maybe a little bit of a flirt pole, and then scatter feeding some food in the long grass to finish is going to fulfil more of their needs than say an on lead power walk around the block, it's taken no more extra time and would work for reactive and non reactive dogs.

My two are completely different, Sherlock would prefer a zoom about in the field with a scentwork or trick session, whereas Kevin would love nothing more than a swimming trip or some gundog work!

How can you tell what your dog loves to do???
Look at what they do when they're getting themselves into trouble: digging, stealing items, chewing things etc that tends to give you an insight as to what they would like to get up to 😉

24/07/2025

Look at how well they did today! We were missing a few so I really pushed to make the session tricky 😆

21/07/2025

GREEN FLAGS..... 😁

The downsides to my job is often I get messages that can be frustrating, people that haven't researched their breeds, people that want "tips", people that don't have the lifestyle suited to their dog breed, people that don't realise the personality of your puppies parents can be passed on, people that want their dogs behaviour fixed in 30 minutes...

So when I have the opposite in a 1-1 it absolutely makes my day!! And I had one those to kick off my Monday morning.

What had they done??

💚 Thoroughly researched their breed.

💚 Researched a breeder properly.

💚 Got interviewed by the breeder and were given materials to follow at home.

💚 Researched me as a trainer to check our ethics and methods lined up. I'm too positive and "fluffy" for some people and that's fine, there's trainers for everyone.

💚Had put management in place like stair gates and crates.

💚 Booked me for a 1-1 before starting puppy classes.

💚 Read and researched/watched videos all about training and puppies first.

💚 Had a list ready with questions and topics they wanted to chat about.

💚 They took notes of everything we talked about.

💚 They made it clear that they knew training was a long term commitment and not something that would be "finished" after a block of puppy classes or a 1-1. That practice and commitment was needed.

💚 Ready and willing to do homework.

💚 Were open to any constructive criticism. They wanted to know my opinion and if there was anything I'd change or recommend or stop doing. They listened to the advice.

💚 Clearly want what is best for their puppy! She's a very lucky girl!

We finished the session talking about these three. How great is it spending your Monday morning helping people that genuinely want to do what's best for their puppy, having a laugh, and then showing off some pictures of your own crazy dogs 😆😆

17/07/2025

Integrating dogs.... helpful tips 🤣

Something I get asked about a lot is how to integrate dogs either into a household together or just as dogs that are going to be spending a lot of time together.

My best piece of advice for this is DON'T RUSH. As tempting as it is to try and get cute pictures or to get to the point they love each other, that relationship needs to built up and based on trust!

You need to consider both dogs:
- breed
- age
- s*x
- neuter status
- personality
- health condition

For example integrating an elderly, arthritic, reactive, non-spayed Chihuahua into a house with a adolescent, healthy, boisterous, entire male Great Dane is potentially going to have its problems 🤣🤣

Last year I added Kevin to my one dog household after being warned about having two males, and this year we've had to do the same adding my boyfriends five year old, female, Rhodesian Ridgeback into the mix.

Knowing both boys aren't the kind to pester, knowing they've met loads of dogs before including females entire and spayed I wasn't overly concerned however that didn't stop them from both unusually acting like s*x pests when they first met her... even sensible Sherlock!🙈

✅ Tips for you all:

- Start somewhere neutral. Don't just bring a new dog into the house and hope for the best.

- Keep the one likely to pester on a lead, even dragging on the floor so you can move away if necessary.

- Put anything likely to cause guarding or tension away: natural chews, toys etc

- Have some treats to hand and do some work in the same space with the different dogs so they're learning to exist with each other rather than pester.

- Management using stairgates/crates for when they need down-time.

- Be prepared to step in!!
There are times I allow the dogs to sort their own domestics out, for example if Kevin tries to take something of Sherlock or if one of them tells the other off for being too rough.This is usually a quick growl or a flash of teeth, then both go back to playing again.
IF HOWEVER, one of my dogs isn't listening to the other dog, OR one of the other dogs isn't correcting the other but is visibly stressed then I will move in. If every interaction the dogs have is stressful for one of the other dogs, they are going to learn to fear that dog rather than build a positive relationship with them.

- Short positive bursts, rather than average/negative longer durations.

With Raya for example the first meeting was done at the local enclosed field with Kevin and Raya on lead and Sherlock off. This was followed by some nice parallel walks between Sherlock and Raya out and about including cafe trips.
We did a couple of off lead walks in enclosed spaces with all three of them before letting them chill in the garden together. This was then followed by letting them share the house to now where they've spent the majority of the last 3 days together happily playing, chilling next to each other, in the van together, and to the point all three had snacks in the same space and everyone was very polite.

❌ DON'T RUSH your integration and BE PREPARED to use management.

❌ Don't be concerned that some of your training needs a refresh when you add another dog into the mix either.

ENJOY THE VIDEO! 😁

Lets see your multi-dog households in the comments!!
Do you have the same breeds or different?? 🤔🤔

16/07/2025

It’s Baby Kevin’s birthday!!! 🎂

Today he’s One!!

Today’s adventuring was to Cheshire View Dog Park for a run, a cool down in the pool in the garden, and snacks from Costa which they all waited beautifully for! ☕️

I love how they’re so desensitized to my rubbish that I put that hats on the boys this morning and they just went with it 😆😆

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