This is Leo. Leo loves his ball. It motivates him so much more than food when he's out and on the move. Sometimes it's actually quite overwhelming how much he loves his ball. To save his overwhelm (and his joints), we have worked hard to reduce ball chasing and work on ball working! He loves it and it's a great tool to teach him how to think, even when he's super excited and really wants something NOW. One of the jobs I introduced for him via his training walks was heel walking towards the ball. Seemingly random, but what is a fun new ball activity for him also benefits his wider learning because: 1. Anything that reinforces being close by and matching a persons movement helps his lead training. 2. So much of his brain is wired to run towards the ball, this new skill of walking builds flexibility and plasticity in his brain. 3. It reinforces listening to cues and controlling himself. Can you see that these benefits reach much wider than the activity itself? By generalising one of his cues it provides the concepts for so many other useful life skills. This is what us trainers mean by 'training for the situation, not in the situation', if you've heard that before. Those games you were given to practice, aren't just about playing the game - they're wiring your dog's brain in the ways you want (you can always ask your trainer why they're teaching you certain things, if they haven't already explained). To reap the rewards, however, you do have to practice. Practice is what builds the skill to a level of confidence that is useful in real life. So take 5 minutes a day to get some drills in! Future aims with this skill is to reduce the help as we move (the 'good' marker is me saying 'you're doing great keep doing that'). And then maybe turn away from the ball, or even walk over it! There's nothing he can't do ❤️ Props to Leo's owners for their hard work working on this too, he's smashing it and loving it at the same time, which is what we're all looking for isn't it!? ... Please share this post if you found it useful! ... #dogtraining #confidencebuilding #practicemakesperfect #howitstarted #howitsgoing

Can't resist it, they're laid out so beautifully asking to be woven... #dogtraining #fun #makethemostofit #labrador

I love a start button - especially in play! They put the ball in your dog's court so you can tell if the activity you're offering is something they want to do. My start button for tug is 'bring the toy to me/put it in my hand'. It gives a pretty clear indication whether they want to play with me. If they don't start the game, we can chill. Or do something else. No big deal! Play has such potential for relationship building but only if it is enjoyed by both of you - and what we might think is great fun might not be for our dogs, at all, or that day, or in that way. By teaching your dog that they can start the game and that you're not there to force them to play takes the pressure off and let's them come to you. Pressure free play makes you the fun friend who is up for what they're up for. Not the mate who takes control and has to have everything their own way - those guys suck. Want to get started teaching this start button? Get in touch! P.s not all dogs like tug, but this start button can work for fetch, or scent games too if your dog is in to that!

We all often have multiple things we're working on at once, and it can be really hard to make sure everything is going in the right direction when real life brings you the unexpected. Dogs cannot be perfect, nor should they have to be. So let me reassure you, it's OK to let some things slide if its helping in other ways - a win is a win and it's important to notice them! -- You may have avoided every single distraction you saw, but at least they were free to move and be a dog - that's a win. You may not get great engagement around dogs/people yet, but as long as they've had an experience of being calm, disengaging or interacting appropriately - that's a win. They may have pulled you to say hi to the person, but they didnt jump up at them - that's a win. They may have barked at the trigger, but they disengaged when you called them - that's a win. -- Take the wins when they come, let them make you smile! Life with your dog is to be enjoyed! Keep going - the puzzle pieces will fall in to place eventually. Save this for when you need a reminder that you're doing great ❤️ #dogtrainer #support #positivity

People: you must get such a good tan working outdoors in this weather Me: *removing twigs from hair* yessir Enriching for them, enriching for me 🙃🌿 #dog #nature #shade #dogtrainer

Be more dog this Easter and make sure to live in the moment. Get yourself and your dog moving in whatever way you can, if you can run - run! If you can't run, play! Feel those endorphins pumping. Feel that smile and laughter take you over as the utter whimsy of the activity loosens up your adult human brain. Run until you collapse on the floor in a heap of joy. Not everything is teaching your dog how to succeed in a human world. Sometimes it's about teaching ourselves to live a bit more in our dog's world. There's so much to worry about, but dogs are the best reminder not to get bogged down in human life. Get moving and be an idiot with them - enjoy the silly moments making silly memories just for the hell of it. You won't regret it! Happy Easter chums 🐰 #havefunwithyourdog #running #besilly #easter

Long lines are one of the very best ways to make progress towards giving your dog off lead freedom, but they come with inherent risks so here are some tips for how to handle them safely... First of all, your long line shouldn't be dragging on the ground unless you're in a very quiet spot. Gathering it, like I am in this video, is the best way to facilitate your dog's freedom whilst maintaining safe control of their behavior. One hand holds the gathered line, the other hand does the heavy lifting of managing your dog's pace and being the safe grip on the lead. A handy tip, as in this video, is to place your treat pouch or toys on the side of your securing hand so that you can easily pass it to your gathering hand to feed your dog smoothly. As with everything, it just takes practice. If you want help to handle your dog safely on a long line, get in touch! *it's not advised to attach a long line to a collar. Instead, attach it to the back of a harness. It's on Ziggy's collar here because he doesn't much like having his harness put on so I didn't want to put him through that for the purposes of this demonstration. #dogtraining #trainmydog #longline #offleadfreedom