Dogs: Behaviour & Training Advice

RECALLRecall teaches our dogs to come back to us when they are called. It is a very important, if not the MOST important exercise we can teach our dogs. Teaching our dogs to come back when called is not easy, as you are competing against the sights and smells of the...

“LEAVE IT” AND “DROP”It is Important that we are very clear with our dogs when it comes to cues. If you use a cue for one behaviour it is important not to use that same cue for a different behaviour, as this can confuse our dogs as to what we actually want from them....

HAND TARGETHand target, also known as “Touch”. This is a great tool to have in your dog training tool box. If trained effectively it can be used for many things, such as to get your dog's attention back onto you, instead of fixating on something scary, and as a fun...

THIS WAYDogs have a great sense of smell and like to stick their noses into most things including a good smell, a passing dog or human, or something more unpleasant. Teaching them a simple cue word to get them to leave what they have found and follow us is really...

Separation anxiety exhibits itself in many forms, including crying, barking, destruction of items in the home, soiling inside and even self mutilation, when the dog is left alone. One way to help separation anxiety is to change the dog's association with your “leaving...

Resource guarding is a behaviour that involves a dog actively guarding an object, place or person. It is most common where a dog considers a resource to be of high value, such as their food bowl, chews, toys, their bed, or even particular members of their family....

There can be many reasons why a dog will guard and many different things that they can guard, including food, toys, people and rooms etc. Dogs can resource guard against people and other dogs and animals. It can often start with guarding against other animals in the...

PREY DRIVE TRAINING STEP 1: Ditch the bowl Animate the food and look at what most animates your dog. This exercise Aims to build up those good experiences with you, making you more valuable and food more valuable and so it overpowers the environment. If dry fed, use...

HOUSE TRAININGAll dogs can be taught to toilet outdoors, and you might think it would come naturally, but this is not something they will all do automatically! Dogs need us to show them that this is the right thing to do, and to encourage them into forming good habits...

CHEWING AND MOUTHINGPuppies use their mouths to explore the world around them, and to play. They might especially chew or mouth when they’re teething, as they lose their baby teeth and gain their adult teeth by around 7 months of age. It’s all perfectly normal...