The Brilliant Family Dog Workshop’s nearly here!

This Workshop is over now, but you can still join our free Masterclass for Growly Dogs here!

Great anticipation here, for this summer’s main event!

People are joining in droves, so I’m looking forward to great activity in the new private forum which will be opened in a few days.

And we learn so much from each other - once we’ve chosen the right place to be to learn! As you’ll know, any place I am is a place that focusses on force-free training. On training that reaches the dog’s heart and mind, and does not rely on fear or intimidation to have any effect.

As you’ll have seen from my recent post I am utterly against the use of aversive gear to work with our friend, the dog.

This means that we can achieve exactly what we want without nasty collars, no spikes, no electric shocks, no nasty smells.

We wouldn’t dream of treating our children this way!

And yet people have no qualms about abusing their dogs, even the cleverest of whom is only on a par with a three-year-old child. The mind boggles at the double standards their minds have to hold.

But how do we actually get results without using these so-called “training aids”?

To start with, come and join the hundreds already impatiently waiting for kick-off! Our free 5 Day Workshop to a Brilliant Family Dog starts next Monday. Just click that link and you’ll be there!

Once you’ve registered, take a leisurely stroll round this site and have a look at more of the articles. You can use the SEARCH button to find just what you want. With almost 300 posts, it’s a great resource, and it’s f-r-e-e!

Why do I give so much away? Well, I want to reach as many dogs as possible and change their experience during their short life with us.

And you know what? It changes their owners too, so that means the good stuff will keep spreading.

Results!

I’m really looking forward to showing you just how to achieve the results you want with your dog, without listening to anyone who says you can only succeed through nastiness.

Choice Training is the fastest way to change your dog - from being a source of conflict and irritation - to becoming your companion and the Brilliant Family Dog you deserve.

Once you’ve worked your way through this 5 Day Workshop, you’ll have a puppy who plays nicely with the children, never nipping hands or grabbing clothes! Isn’t this just what you imagined when you got your puppy?

And you’ll be making a great start on walking comfortably together without your arm being pulled out of its socket! Just imagine that …

Join our free 5 Day Workshop here!

Go and find out all the goodies you’ll be getting …

How to make your puppy brilliant!

When Helen started in my free 5 Day Workshop in January, Mocha was a typical 13-week-old puppy - full of the joys of spring, easily excited, and much-loved.

She’s a “Cockerpoo” - a combination of excitable Mini Poodle (take my and Coco Poodle’s word for the excitability quotient!) and busybusybusy Cocker Spaniel. This crossbreed can throw up a lot of challenges which are hard for the unsuspecting novice dog-owner to handle.

They did so well in the short Workshop that Helen went on to join my full program Brilliant Family Dog Academy, where she and Mocha went from strength to strength.

Instead of the ups and downs of puppyhood, the total misunderstandings and regrets that I read in my inbox regularly, Helen went on an almost linear path upwards and onwards!

Dog or Puppy problems? Get your free 8-lesson email course and solve them all painlessly!

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• She discovered that instead of saying NOOOO

• she just had to ask Mocha to do something she truly understood and which had a strong reward history.

• She discovered that rewards can be all sorts of things, not only food.

• She discovered that asking was much more effective and enjoyable than telling.

• She didn’t expect miracles of her pup, who’d only been on the planet a matter of weeks,

• And she regaled us with stories of their successes together - far beyond what the average young puppy can achieve!

Just two weeks into the Wild Puppy Course …

Here’s a report from Helen in Week 2 of the Brilliant Family Dog Academy. What thrilled me about this is how Helen had completely grasped the concepts I want puppy-owners to understand, thereby enabling her to use the same processes in other situations.

“A few days ago I got very despondent as I had to drag my pup out for a walk. She completely ignored the treats (sausage!) and then she dragged me home. After reading some unrelated stories and comments on this group, I decided I was being unreasonable (she's only a puppy of 15 weeks) and maybe was stressed/frightened by the experience (hence ignoring sausage).

Since then... 

1. I've mentally re-named walks as "sniffs", which allows me to relax and let her control the pace, direction and focus.

2. We're playing lots more in the garden instead - doesn't she know it's  freezing? The loose leash step and treat game is a favourite.

3. Someone's become a bit of a mat star ... Today's mat test was giving my Mum the mat and puppy. It worked without me - Woohoo!

4. We seem to have cracked the new Rules of Tugging, after a month of "wrong" rules!

5. Mocha "got" the Magic hand game straightaway to leave stuff that isn’t for her. I'm now making my friends try it too.

6. I let her off lead yesterday to play with another (older) puppy and got her attention by using her name 3 times - she abandoned her playmate each time and raced to see what I wanted. 

So proud of us!

Sorry to prattle on, but I wanted you all to know how much your support has helped my relationship with my beautifully amazing puppy.”

And here’s what she had to say when Mocha was 20 weeks old. Notice how she spent time building the foundations before expecting miracles.

“Today I am so very, very, very proud of my pup and all our hard work ... why? Because today I managed to loose leash walk somewhere that wasn't the back garden. This is HUGE!

Prior to this she's been so excited when out, she refused to eat treats and pulled like a train on the way back home. We've worked so hard in the garden and near the car over the last 6 weeks, that I thought we should try to go a little further. So, I grabbed the cheese and aimed to walk up the road for a few metres. She totally got it and we were walking nicely for 20 minutes and have walked about 0.5km! I nearly ran out of cheese!!!

I'm a very proud mum right now - she's been given a chew to celebrate…”

 

A stunning recall from this puppy!

But I think the outstanding moment for me was when Helen showed us this video, also in Week 2 of the course - with her 15-week-old puppy! This young puppy recalled instantly, on one call, and hurtled away from a bunch of people and friendly dogs back to her owner.

Can your 15-week-old puppy do that? Can your 15-month-old dog do that? Can you imagine having that level of recall?

Well ... you can! Join us in our free Workshop on getting your dog to LISTEN!

When I asked Helen if I could use her video and quotes she replied:

 “Absolutely! Share away! I hope someone else can be helped as much as we were.”

This generosity is typical of the kind of person who’s attracted to the Brilliant Family Dog Academy. I’m very proud of all my students

Mocha the puppy demonstrates her stunning recall

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How Lois perfected her lead-walking, fast

Lois the Miniature Schnauzer was just one year old when she arrived in my free online Workshop in January with her owner Carol. She had some “growly issues” and Carol was hoping to improve life with her beloved puppy with some new skills.

They so enjoyed the Workshop that Carol went on to join an online course of mine to continue her progress. And progress she did!

Here’s what she posted just five weeks after starting the course:

Gold Star Day!

This afternoon Lois and I have been to the pub!! .... yes the PUB, on our OWN!! 

We only stayed 15 minutes, but it’s a start and I shall now do it once or twice each week with her.

She was impeccably behaved, straight down on her mat, where she stayed, chomping away on her rice bone - didn’t bother anyone.

I have never been in a pub by myself, always felt too uncomfortable. It’s great fun - she’s taking me places I would never have dreamt of going to alone, and I’ll continue with the short visits for as long as it takes. Short bus trip soon I think as well.

Here’s a picture of Lois minding her own business on her mat on her very first pub visit! Matwork is an important part of the training I give, and this is one of the reasons it’s so popular.

I was delighted to see that Lois was now opening up a new world for Carol, one where she gave her owner the confidence to try new things, visit new places, enjoy companionship, safe in the knowledge that her dog could handle herself perfectly and not cause her embarrassment or anxiety.

Then Carol was back a couple of weeks later with this outstanding video of Loose Lead Walking in her town. She said, “Can’t believe the change in my dog - so proud of her!”

Notice the soft, loopy lead in this video, and Lois’s frequent check-ins with Carol, complete with a sit when she pauses. Nicely done Lois!

One of the by-products of this improved relationship between owner and dog is that Lois’s reactivity is much diminished:

Our growly girl Lois is MUCH less growly now!! My theory is her impulse control is tons better, and also her focusing (on me) when we are out, plus we are BOTH much more relaxed.

Aaah!

And the icing on the cake for me was this post from Carol after she completed the course and thanked all her new friends in the group:

We’ve completely finished the course, and Lois is our neighbourhood star as her loose lead walking is absolutely spot on now.

Thank you Beverley and everyone for your continued support.

Want to know how Carol achieved all this, so quickly? Watch our free Workshop and learn something exciting!

If you’re already a subscriber at Brilliant Family Dog, you’ll be hearing about it direct. And if you’re not yet receiving my informative and quirky emails - well, you know what I think about that … you should come hang out with us! Sign up for the Workshop and you’ll get all this fun info!

Dog or Puppy problems? Get your free 8-lesson email course and solve them all painlessly!

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It’s ok to punish a dog to get what we want

It’s not all that long ago that children were sent up chimneys to clean them, and young children are still being used as slave labour.

These children are seen as possessions. Things to use and abuse as their “owners” see fit.

But in civilised countries we just don’t think that any more! Hooray!

Another thing that’s changed is our approach to animals. More and more countries are building animal protection into their law books. For wild animals, farm animals, and for our pets.

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But there’s one place where people have a blind spot

And that’s aversive equipment.

Equipment designed to inflict pain.

You can save as many whales as you like, but if you still think it’s ok to put an electric shock collar on a dog (or force a 5-year-old child to work in a factory), you’re barking up the wrong tree!

I understand why you may think that shock collars, prong collars, choke chains and the like are ok to use on your dog. There are a lot of people - some of them calling themselves “dog trainers” - who are heavily invested in using these instruments of torture.

Why? The answer is simple but shocking.

Because they don’t know any better.

The only way they know to get results is by punishing the animal in their care. Whether the dog understands why it’s being punished doesn’t seem to cross their mind.

The fallout of using pain and intimidation to get quick results is a closed book to them. They don’t even bother to look at what happens later.

Using inhumane equipment to reach their ends is making them inhuman.

You wouldn’t want to be a part of that, would you?

The science of getting the results you want in animal training, without lifting a finger to harm the dog, or even ever saying NO, has been proven for almost a hundred years.

We are so behind!  

What’s good?

The good news is that more and more countries are changing their laws and BANNING these awful devices. I’m fortunate to live in one of those countries that has seen the light. **

Tell me, would you punish a child for doing something you don’t like?

Or would you rather TEACH him how to do what you DO like?

Would you give your child an electric shock if he didn’t answer you immediately?

The very thought sends shivers down my spine.

And I get those same shivers when I see that people are brainwashed into thinking it’s actually ok to administer pain to an animal.

The fact (and that’s proven scientifically) is that “training” done via methods of punishment does not last. And has many side-effects that make everything worse.

The child who’s punished for stealing a biscuit is not going to know why it’s wrong to steal. He’s just going to make sure he doesn’t get caught in the future!

The dog who’s punished for being afraid of something is now going to be afraid of his owner as well. His first fear is now superseded by the more immediate fear of the person holding the lead, or the electric transmitter. (They actually call it a “controller”. I rest my case.)

Rhyme and reason go out the window.

In both cases, you’re just teaching avoidant behaviour, not resolving the issue.

The future is bright!

Do you want to learn a way to actually communicate with your dog, and - miracle! - get HER to make good decisions without you even having to tell her?

The way forward is open for you to choose to do things with your dog and stop doing things to your dog.

It's ok to hurt a dog to get what we want

** Countries that have banned electric shock collars now include:

• England

• Scotland

• Wales

• Denmark

• Norway

• Sweden

• Austria

• Switzerland

• Slovenia

• Germany

• Canada

• Australia

Dog or Puppy problems? Get your free 8-lesson email course and solve them all painlessly!

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Shouldn’t my dog come when I call him?

Many people believe that dogs arrive with us with a perfect recall - fully operational.

How wrong can we be?!

People think that as their dog SHOULD listen to them and come when called, then he WILL.

So they sit astride their high horse of SHOULDs and OUGHT-TOs and watch their dog disappearing into the distance without even a flick of his ear.

We expect to spend years - many years - teaching our children what we want them to learn.

So why on earth do people think that they don’t need to TEACH their dog to come when called?

Yet more answers for you in this free 8-lesson email course for changing your life with your dog!

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What actually happens is that your tiny new puppy arrives with what you THINK is a recall. But in fact it’s just his infant clinginess and need to stay “close to Mum”. He has an instinctive need to stay close to the mother-ship and be protected.

As time goes by, your pup gets BOLDER and more venturesome. As he moves into adolescence, he gets further and further away from you (and further and further into possible trouble) and you find that your previously-dependable recall is no longer there.

Suddenly you have a “bad dog”, a “stubborn dog”, a dog who “never listens”, a dog who winds you up “on purpose”.

And this is the most common age when dogs are surrendered to a shelter for someone else to deal with. How tragic is that?

And if you’ve started with one of those dogs handed in to a shelter - who you’ve fallen in love with and have given a home to - then YOU have the task of undoing an awful lot of early learning from his puppyhood!

But it’s quite possible!

Even famously “deaf” breeds - who get on a scent and become totally immersed in it, or who spot a tiny movement in the undergrowth in the distance and barrel after it at high speed (that would be my Cricket the Whippet!) can learn to pay attention to you and demonstrate a stunning, instant, fast, spin-on-a-sixpence, recall.

Imagine how life with your dog will change when you’re able to say his name quietly and he’s right there beside you?

Imagine how it will be when you see your dog disappearing after a rabbit and you can call, just the once, and have him hurtle back to you?

You’ll be glad to know you never have to treat your dog any differently than you’d treat your small child! There’s never any need for nasty gadgets, tellings-off, yanking the collar, and so on

And I can show you lots of kind methods that really work.

AND it will transform your relationship with your dog, and your enjoyment of him. After all, that’s why you got your dog in the first place, isn’t it?

Come and join us in our free Workshop on getting your dog to LISTEN!

There's something there for you that will transform your recalls for EVER!

I look forward to seeing you there, ready to learn ...

Meanwhile, check out my book with loads of games and ways to get on the road to getting that recall re-installed and fully functional.

Yet more answers for you in this free 8-lesson email course for changing your life with your dog!

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Shouldn’t my dog come when I call him?

FETCH IT! teach your dog to retrieve anything

• Does your dog like chasing toys … but expect you to go out and fetch them?

• Or does she remove your fingers when you offer her a toy?

• Perhaps she just thinks toys are to be taken to her bed and buried …

Not any more!

The latest in the popular series of how-to books from Brilliant Family Dog (currently with 3,000 reviews at Amazon) has arrived!

Fetch It! Teach your Brilliant Family Dog to catch, fetch, retrieve, find, and bring things back!

takes you step-by-step from a reluctant retriever to a fetching fanatic! It’s suitable for people who want to play with their dog in the garden and on walks, folk who compete with their dog, and those who just want their dog to clear up her own toys, fetch your shoes, and find your car keys!

It’s such fun to be able to play fetch and catch games with your dog. And provided you keep an eye on the temperature of the weather, you can get an awful lot of running done without too much effort on your part! There’s guidance in the book on safety so you won’t make any mistakes.

Can you imagine how your dog’s stock will go up with your family and friends, once he becomes a genuinely useful member of the family (apart from being cuddly and adorable, of course, which is his default setting)?

From fetching the post delicately off a hard flat floor without damaging your mail, to bringing her lead, fetching the phone, or finding your jumper, there are lessons here to teach your dog to become a retrieving wizard. And she will LOVE it!

What’s in the book?

• What sort of retrieves are there?

• How can I reward my dog? - super-important!

• Retrieve articles - what will help you, and what to avoid

• Teach your dog to catch - super fun chapter, this!

• Step-by-step to a reliable Play retrieve

• Playing Tug for impulse control

• Step-by-step Formal retrieve, for competition and assistance dogs

• Adding the vocal cue - how to ask politely!

• Fun - this chapter includes, amongst others,

Fetch my shoes, Where’s my jumper, Fetch the post, Where’s your lead, Stack the dinner bowls, Fetch the tv remote, Find my keys, and how to teach Search

“I just have to let you know how thrilled I am. Dodger and I have been playing in the garden and I’ve been throwing his ball. He’s been running after it and then bringing it back. So I’m really chuffed!”

Avril and Dodger, her previously non-retrieving Staffie

5* Amazon review 

My dog is lovely but quite excitable, which made some things really tricky ... The advice in Beverley's books is clear and simple to follow, and best of all it teaches your dog to think for itself and make good choices without any commands. Seriously, if you want a nicer, better-behaved and calmer dog, read these books and follow her steps.

Go and check out this page now where you can choose ebook or paperback. And if you live in an Amazon-free zone (they do exist, I’m told!) you can ask your local bookshop to order it. It’s currently at a super-reasonable introductory price.

Plenty of ideas in this free 8-lesson email course for changing your life with your dog!

   

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