Don’t wait to train your puppy!

A few weeks ago I was talking about All Day Training

You see, you can do most of the “survival” training yourself. [“Survival training”? Sleeping, not biting, housetraining, chewing, etc. There’s info amongst the 300 articles here at Brilliant Family Dog for all those - just use the SEARCH box.]

And you can do this at home. Every day. ALL day, in fact, as I explained!

So while you wait for a vacancy at your local puppy class, don’t wait to train your pup!

There’s so much you can be doing long before you get to class.

And as for the class you choose, did you know there’s a lot more to this than meets the eye? 👀

If this is your first puppy, you may be forgiven for thinking that all classes are the same.

Not so!

Here’s what you want to ask specifically, and get proper answers to:

1. Is everything taught by force-free methods? (Positive reward-based training with no lead-yanking, shouting, finger-waggling … Any mention of Alpha, Leader, Balanced - run a mile.)

2. How many puppies in the class? (6-8 ideal)

3. What ages are puppies admitted? (That should be 8 - 24 weeks, no older)

4. Indoors or outdoors (HINT: you’ll get far more out of an indoor class than you can hope for from an outdoor one. Just think of all those distractions, not to mention classes missed through bad weather …)

5. Does the Tutor give homework - paper or online - and is it written in lay language?

6. Does the Tutor supply or sell correct equipment and toys, or advise what to purchase?

7. Is there a possibility to continue to further classes?

And do ask to visit a class before signing up. This is what you should find:

✅ It should be friendly, calm, fairly quiet, with an enjoyable feel.

✅ The Tutor should be aware of every puppy and be demonstrating the lessons with each of the puppies by turns.

✅ Does everyone have sufficient space to manage their puppies without getting tangled up with the other pups?

✅ The owners should be quiet and attentive and working the exercises carefully - with lots of Tutor input.

✅ Questions should be answered at appropriate times.

✅ Any puppy who appears stressed should be given special attention to soothe him.

✅ If there’s any puppy play it should be carefully supervised by the Tutor, with a commentary on what’s going on - and managed so that all puppies involved have an enjoyable experience.

See Resources below to find a suitable class near you.

Or just jump into the Brilliant Family Dog Academy! You’ll learn all about it in this free Workshop, along with the vital lessons for you to work through.

The thing is …

Don’t wait till your dog is giving you trouble before training him.

A puppy is so easy to train. You may not think so, but really, it’s true!

Adolescents are way harder. Because you have to undo all the things they’ve learnt that you didn’t want them to, then teach them what you would like them to do.

Undo. Re-do.

Far faster just to DO in the first place!

RESOURCES:

Fix everyday dog problems fast - free email course

APDT(UK)

KPA

VSPDT

IMDT

CBATI

PPG

Have you lost a beloved dog?

We’ve all been drawn into the love of a dog, and for many of us we have also experienced the loss of a dog.

And sometimes that loss is harder to bear than others.

🐾   Perhaps that dog rescued you when you needed help most.

🐾  Perhaps you bonded with each other in a new and magical way.

🐾   Perhaps you looked forward to waking up every morning, to see that joyous smile.

🐾   Maybe your special dog came with special problems that needed a very special dedication to help her overcome them.

Whatever the reason, losing a dog can be heartbreaking and a lot of people struggle to get over it.

They stay sunk in grief. Grief is an important process, and sometimes, if your dog is old or ill, that process starts a long time before you actually lose them.

But after a time, you owe it to yourself and your dog’s memory to face the world without them.

I’ve always found the best insurance is to have multiple dogs! And it wasn’t too long after Rollo died last year aged 15½ that I found I couldn’t live without a Border Collie in my life and set about researching and finding the right puppy for me.

Talking to your dog

Talking to your lost dog is a very good way to help you over the pain. Yes! I talk to Rollo! And he talks to me.

You may feel shy about mentioning the fact that you too talk to your departed dog/s - you may think people will not understand, and laugh at you.

But we very much understand! Don’t be shy here.

New release!

And to take this to another level entirely, I suggest you take a look at this brand new book from Anya Gore, Life and Soul Dog: An Animal Communicator and her Canine Companion share their Experiences and Wisdom, to Help and Inspire you. 

Here is how Anya describes the reason she wrote her book:

“When my beloved dog Zoe passed away, the grief was so intense I could barely breathe. I cried and cried. She’d been ill for some years, and we’d nursed and saved her many a time, but finally she’d reached the end of the road. Towards the end of her life we started some deep conversations, and these have continued since her passing. She led me through the grieving process step by step and taught me much about how to navigate that, and the blessings to be found beyond the sadness…even because of the sadness. She continues to share her messages of wisdom with me and with others too.”

Anya Gore, Author of Life and Soul Dog

And if this book inspires and helps you, it will be marvellous if you can leave a brief review where you purchased it, so that others may be encouraged to learn about Zoe and Anya, and be inspired and helped in their turn.

Note: The coloured pencil drawings on this page and on Anya's book cover are by me. You can find lots more at www.beverleycourtney.com/drawings

I don’t have time to train my dog!

Do you get to the end of the day - or worse, the end of the week - slump into your armchair and say, “Oh no! Forgot to train the dog!”

I understand. Our lives are already full to bursting with all the things we have to do .. and all the things we think we have to do .. and fitting in lengthy dog training sessions just seems to slip through the cracks.

But the trick is - don’t have lengthy sessions! If you do want to have a training session, then by all means do - but five minutes is the most you’ll normally need. (That is until you get into serious competition or performance training - which perhaps you never will want to do.)

For getting our family dogs and puppies on the same page as us - and becoming the perfect companion we wanted when we went to all the trouble to find them! - you need to use All Day Training.

All Day Training

“Wossat?” you say.

Well, it’s my recipe for getting my dogs trained at the same time as running a couple of businesses and writing books.

It’s how you can manage your family, your work, and your dog!

You see, all day long you are interacting with your dog. Every interaction is a training opportunity - it’s not isolated to lessons or classes.

And all day long you have the chance to ensure that that interaction is moving you forward in life together.

My puppy needed ONE DAY to learn that jumping at the door of the crate or playpen resulted in no escape, while sitting automatically opened the door!

It took another week or so (nine weeks old) to learn that staying sitting when the door is opened is a new requirement to get out.

And then a week (now ten weeks) to learn that this works on house doors too. No door-crashing! No squeezing through cracks!

And how long did this valuable lesson take?

Just a moment.

Just a thoughtful pause in my daily doings.

Instead of throwing the crate door open and being thumped amidships by a wild puppy, I just needed to consider what I would like him to do, then ensure that that was built into our daily round.

The beginnings of an ACE Recall

Another skill your dog can be learning, without effort, all the time, is to respond immediately to his name.

Without this, you’re going to be shrieking and yelling when you want him to bound back to you across a field!

How to get your dog to LURVE his name? You need The Precious Name Game …

.. and you can find out exactly how to play The Precious Name Game in our free Workshop here.

What else?

You can extend this method to everything you want your dog to learn.

You want him to pick things up for you? Incorporate that into your interactions with him.

You want him to greet people politely? Start with teaching him how to greet you politely. And you should have many, many, opportunities in a normal day to do this. Don’t forget to keep this in mind when you’re returning from an outing and he’s going to be extra-excited - this is the ideal time to test your teaching!

You'll find lots more tips and new ideas in my books. And did you know that buying direct from the author can save you money? Go check them out!

What else would you like your dog to learn with so little effort from yourself?

Comment below and let’s take a look at how you can do that!

What do you EXPECT from your dog?

Let’s face it, a lot of what we consider a problem - or get frustrated about our lack of progress in - is down to our expectation. 

Our expectation of how it SHOULD go rather than a realistic acceptance of what is. 

We start out with our dogs with high hopes! And it’s hard if the dog in question doesn’t appear to be fitting in with our exalted expectations!

Where is the perfect puppy I thought I bought?

Why is this older dog not grateful for being rescued?

It can come as a real shock and a disappointment. 

But just like with children, you get the one you’re given - not necessarily the one you wanted, hoped for, or expected!

I’m in the happy position of starting out with a new puppy. My dear old Rollo made it to 15½. I tried to manage without a Border Collie … but I didn’t last long! So I now have a new puppy of just 10 weeks.

Expectation, of the realistic kind

Now there are some things where expectation works really well!

🐾 I EXPECTED him to sleep through the night from Day 1, and that’s exactly what he’s done.

🐾 I EXPECTED him to housetrain easily, and that’s just what’s happening. He’s asking to be let out, and he’s going to our chosen pee-spot in the garden. He’s managing just fine given the initial ground-rules.

Of course he’s still only a baby and there will be times I’m not on the ball, and it all comes upon him fast … but there’s no room here for frustration or annoyance as I clear up.

He’s doing his level puppy-best! And my goodness, one thing he’s brilliant at is cuddles!

But of course this expectation was tempered, in my case, with knowledge!

Knowledge of what I had to put into the relationship to make it work.

I’ve reared twelve of my own puppies now, and worked with thousands of other folks’ pups. So if you’re starting from scratch you need all the help you can get!

One extreme or the other!

I find that new puppy-owners have expectations that are either unrealistically high, or ridiculously low. At 8 months they’ll tell me, “I knew there’d be puppy biting but now it’s really hurting!” (My puppy never bites - see these posts for help: https://www.brilliantfamilydog.com/blog/why-is-my-dog-biting-me https://www.brilliantfamilydog.com/blog/10-ways-to-stop-puppy-biting)

Or at 11 weeks they complain that this puppy is still chewing things up or making puddles. (I give him lots of things he will enjoy chewing and I follow my Errorless Housetraining protocol: https://www.brilliantfamilydog.com/blog/struggling-to-housetrain-your-puppy)

The puppy will do what a puppy does. Any expectations we have MUST be supported by actually training the little mite what it is that you want!

This is where you’ll get masses of personal help - start with this free Workshop.

See what Cilla had to say about her Fox Terrier:
“Many thanks for being you! and for all you have taught me. My puppy is so different to all my expectations, because of you. Your training truly is brilliant!”

Reactive Dogs

Some of us got landed with a reactive dog - with no warning and little knowledge. Whether this was a rehomed dog or your puppy who has unaccountably gone spooky and apparently aggressive.

You’re here - wisely! - to acquire the knowledge to get things working well. But remember to keep the brakes on frustration while you’re doing it.

As Susan Garrett says, “Your dog’s behavior is a reflection of your training.” Your dog is doing his best!

Dog Shock Collars will be illegal in a few months

If you are one of those who was seduced into using an electric shock collar on your dog because

• You were told it’s the only thing that works

• They said it’s the quickest way to control your dog

• It’s only a tickle anyway … it doesn’t hurt at all 😳

what will you do after February 1st 2024?

Because that’s when the new law comes into force. It’s The Animal Welfare (Electronic Collars) (England) Regulations 2023

“These Regulations make provision for the purpose of preventing the use of electronic collars in England.” (Wales and Scotland have already banned them.) This brings us into line with Germany, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Portugal, Slovenia, Switzerland, Wales, the province of Quebec in Canada, and some states in Australia. More countries are banning them all the time.

“Regulation 2(1) makes it an offence for a person who is responsible for a cat or dog to attach an electronic collar, or cause an electronic collar to be attached, to the cat or dog in England.”

“Regulation 2(2) provides that a person commits an offence if, at any time when the person is responsible for a cat or dog, the cat or dog is wearing an electronic collar and the person is in possession of a remote-control device in England which is designed or adapted for activating and controlling the electronic collar remotely.”

Hooray!

Now, if you’re reading Brilliant Family Dog, then the chances are high that you wouldn’t dream of using one of these mediaeval instruments of torture on your dog.

Everyone agrees that they should not be used on people, and there have been some well-publicised cases of parents being imprisoned for using them on their children.

How horrifying is that?!

But why is it not just as horrifying for them to be used on an equally innocent creature - a sentient being as is enshrined in law in the UK as in the whole of the EU and increasingly elsewhere?

You may have a different view of electronic collars

It’s a free country - you are entitled to that view, however misguided it may be. 😉

But the fact remains, that if you are currently using a shock collar (e-collar, electronic collar, whatever fancy name you call it) to shock your dog into submission, or alter his behaviour in some way, and you live in the UK, after February 1 2024 you are going to be up a creek without a paddle - up a creek without a “controller”!

• You’re going to have to learn what makes dogs tick.

• You’re going to have to do the training with your dog that you should have done ages ago.

• You’re going to have to build a relationship with your dog so that he wants to please you.

How are you going to do that?

The clock is ticking.

You have a few months before you’ll have to bin your electronic crutch.

But we have the answer for you!

We have the paddle you need to get you out of your creek!

Start here, with our free Workshop on getting your dog to LISTEN! You may be surprised how quickly you can learn new methods, and how very very effective they are!

Here are just a few of the comments I’ve received from people who watched the Workshop:

“Thank you so much. I've enjoyed this workshop, especially the attitude of love.” ST

“I watched the first 25 mins and started working straight away with my puppy sooty Lily ..the result was immediate.. using her name only in a positive way resulted in her engaging with me .. I can’t wait to watch the rest and put it into practice.” PW

“Thank you for your free Workshop .. it was very enlightening and made me realise where I was making mistakes. It has given me food for thought and I will start by putting what we learnt there into practice.” WR

“Enjoyed and learned from the first video. I am on my third puppy and am training her. Liked the positive attitude you have towards dog training. Thank you for the first free video.” HJ

“Thanks for your free video, it’s already working.” CL

“I have watched your free workshop 3 times at least and really enjoy it.” CO

“I've just watched the free Workshop and I can't believe what I've learned already to be honest!” LG

“I watched the whole Workshop and found it really good. Well done on working so hard to provide dog owners with a positive way of working towards creating a happy dog relationship.” WP

“Thank you very much for the link, it was a lovely and excellently delivered workshop, I thoroughly enjoyed it.” HE

So hop over there and find out what these folk found! And just how quickly you can transform your dog, without the need of any cruel (and illegal) devices.

RESOURCES

The Animal Welfare (Electronic Collars) (England) Regulations 2023

Electronic training collars for cats and dogs in England

Position Statement on Humane Dog Training

Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022

Position statement on electronic and aversive training methods from the European Society of Veterinary Clinical Ethology

Are you giving your dog the right exercise?

There are 5 basic needs outlined in the UK Welfare of Animals Act 2006 :

1. The need for a suitable environment

2. The need for a suitable diet

3. The need to be able to exhibit normal behaviour patterns

4. The need to be housed with, or apart from, other animals

5. The need to be protected from pain, suffering, injury and disease

I’m always on about no.2! And there are many articles here on Brilliant Family Dog on sleeping and living arrangements and multi-dog households. And of course, no.5 is implicit in most of the posts on this site!

Today I want to draw your attention to numbers 1 and 3, in relation to exercise.

There are increasing requirements for dogs to be kept on a lead, to be restrained, to be prevented from doing natural doggy things.

And this creeping infiltration of prevention is wrong!

Have a look at what the UK Government Code of Practice for the Welfare of Dogs has to say:  

“A dog needs regular exercise and regular opportunities to walk, run, explore, play, sniff and investigate.”

This is also enshrined in the Dog Control Orders guidance from Defra (the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) for Local Authorities, which states that:

“The authority needs to balance the interests of those in charge of dogs against the interests of those affected by the activities of dogs, bearing in mind the need for people, in particular children, to have access to dog-free areas and areas where dogs are kept under strict control, and the need for those in charge of dogs to have access to areas where they can exercise their dogs without undue restrictions.”

This means that our local councils are obliged to ensure that provision is made for dogs to enjoy free running, sniffing, exploring and all the rest outlined in the Welfare of Dogs Code of Practice quoted above.

EU laws

The Lisbon Treaty of 2009 declared that animals are sentient beings. It was feared that the UK’s departure from the EU would remove this law from our statute books. But, the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 has received royal assent. UK law recognises animals as being sentient.

Phew!

Why am I telling you all this?

You are going to meet people who don’t like dogs.

You are going to meet people who tell you off, and tell you your dog should be on a lead at all times.

As you can now see, this is nonsense! And our dogs’ freedom is enshrined in law.

Now, of course your dog should have sufficient training and manners that you can recall him fast, and ensure that your dog does not interfere with or annoy other users of the land you’re on. And you need to pick up after your dog too. 

But once you are sure that your dog is no nuisance, you may know that you have the backing of the law to exercise your dog properly and freely, and that  opportunity for you to do this must be provided, wherever you live.

The rest of the world

I can’t speak for the rest of the world, as I’m not familiar with their laws. But knowledge that some civilised - or partly-civilised ;-) - countries have these laws enacted may give you power when agitating for change in your own neck of the woods.

We owe it to the dogs in our care to enable them to “exhibit normal behaviour patterns” in “a suitable environment”.

The pictures on this page show my own dogs doing just that!

And if you need help with getting that brilliant recall that will enable you to give your dog this freedom, start with our free Workshop here!

RESOURCES:

UK Welfare of Animals Act 2006

UK Government Code of Practice for the Welfare of Dogs

Dog Control Orders guidance