There’s never been a better time to train your dog!

You’re stuck at home, worried half to death, your kids driving you crazy. 

Or maybe you’re racing about - an essential worker - stressed, anxious, exhausted.

In either case - or in any other case at all! - you don’t need your dog adding to your woes.

And right now you feel too scattered to do anything about it. “When it’s all over …” you say to yourself.

In fact, this is a great time to move your focus from what’s happening “out there”, over which we have no control, to what’s happening within your home - over which you have plenty of control! It’s feeling in control of something that will help you cope with the uncertainty abroad at the moment. So pick something you absolutely can control!

Two minutes a day

And did you know that you can actually make some serious changes in your dog’s behaviour in just two minutes a day?

I’m busy, I’m pre-occupied, I have so many projects on the go. I envy folks who are single-minded and can devote hours to training their dog.

But that’s not me!

(And there’s a fair chance it’s not you either.)

So if my dogs are ever to get the attention they deserve, the mental stimulation essential for a happy and contented life, not to mention become the kind of companion dog we all want, I had to work out a different way of doing things.

Not for me hour-long classes and extended sessions with me losing the thread and the dog becoming increasingly confused, then bored, then totally switching off.

All Day Training!

So I developed All Day Training!

This simply means that whenever I notice my dogs I take the opportunity to interact with them and teach them something new, or cement in something they already know.

Example: my dogs know that when I put my hand on the door-handle they sit and wait while I open it till they hear their release cue, then they can shoot through the doorway.

B-u-u-u-t, there are occasions when

• It’s a new door

• They’re just too excited and forget themselves

• I’ve been letting them away with a poor response

and we need to brush this up! Because they already know what it is I want (they’re just finding it hard to give it to me) it’s very quick to bring them up to speed - or lack of speed in this case!

And usually all that’s needed is for me to pause. And wait. Wait for the furry brains to remember what they should be doing.

Then we have celebratory praise when they get it right!

What do I need for this type of training?

There’s really only three things you need:

1. Quick access to nice treats - pocket, conveniently-parked pots.

2. An idea of what it is you’d like your dog to do - not just what you don’t want him to do!

3. An idea of how to teach the thing.

Let’s look more closely at these.

1, Quick access to nice treats

What’s a “nice” treat? A small, non-crumbly, treat that your dog will sell his soul for. While I use strong stuff (cheese, sausage, etc) for teaching new things, my dogs are so attuned to the sequence ASK-DO-REWARD that they will actually work for anything. It’s the use of their brain to solve the puzzle, combined with the pleasure they know they will bring to me, that is the real reward.

So it’s easy enough to keep the good stuff in the fridge and keep some dry treats in your pocket and in pots strategically placed round the house.

I have one on my desk for not barking at delivery men; one near the front door for matwork for visitors (yeah - those people who used to be allowed into the house … 😢 ); and my pocket is always with me.

2. An idea of what it is you’d like your dog to do - not just what you don’t want him to do!

Dogs cannot NOT do things. Dogs are doers. They can’t exist in a vacuum. That’s why “NO” is pointless, and why I don’t use it at all. “My dog knows the meaning of NO,” people tell me proudly. Does he? My guess is that to him NO means his owner is unaccountably cross, and keeping low and quiet would now be a good move. He probably has no idea why you’re cross. Really.

So you need to know WHAT it is you want him to do, and teach that! This is so blindingly obvious when you think about it. But people are so used to being reactive instead of proactive, that knowing what they’d like their dog to do is usually pretty far down the list. After shouting, yelling, frustration, annoyance, telling off, NO, and so on.

You need a roadmap.

If you don’t know where you’re going, you’re unlikely to ever arrive anywhere useful or desirable.

Decide what you want your baffled dog to do, instead of reprimanding him for having no idea what you want!

3. An idea of how to teach the thing

And this is where I can help you! Brilliant Family Dog is stuffed full of help to teach your dog, yourself, at home.

Most of this is not only force-free - and kind, and fun! - but also cost-free. I genuinely want to get this information into the hands of everyone who needs it so that their dog can benefit.

This is why Brilliant Family Dog is known as such a valuable resource for the dog-owner who wants to develop a stronger bond with their dog.

You can start by wandering round the site, or by using the Search function. You’re bound to find things that interest you,

- from teaching your dog to catch - to putting an end to window-barking;

- from housetraining your new puppy and getting some sleep at last - to how to socialise your puppy now in Lockdown. This last is really important for all you new puppy-owners out there.

- from developing a new relationship with your reactive, aggressive dog in our free Masterclass for Growly Dogs - to learning how to clip his shaggy feet!

- and how about now being the absolutely perfect time to teach your dog to watch dogs on tv calmly? (Coco Poodle used to bring the house down whenever he saw a quadruped - even a cartoon character! - on television.)

But I need someone to help me!

Want personal attention? Yes, even now when there are no “live” classes permitted in most of the world, you can get personal help and guidance, the massive support of like-minded people, and answers to all your “what-if” questions.

There’s nothing like feeling you have a friend when you don’t know what to do.

Thank you for your program and for all the follow up. I feel like I have someone in my corner all the time.

Kathryn and her Jack Russell x Poodle

Check out our full programs here!

Do it now!

So the fact is, whenever you want to work with your friend the dog -  it’s the right time. But none righter than now, when you need all the help you can get.

Email via the Contact box to let me know what you need. Right now.

Here are some “recipes” for you to work on - all safely done at home, in our free e-course

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See how calm your dog is?

Look at your dog.

Is he worrying about rampant viruses? Or is he just contentedly being a dog? Is he getting anxious about what just may happen in the future, or is he happy with where he is right now?

We can learn from our pets. For a start we can enjoy their world-view and consequent feelings of normality and continuity.

And we can observe that worrying about things changes nothing!

For more harmony with your dog, get our free email course!

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Security and safety

We all need a sense of security (as Maslow defined in his Hierarchy of Needs), and the panic and fears being whipped up by some parts of the media and social media are counter-productive!

Continually being in an anxious state lowers your immunity and maintains damaging stress.

Choose one or maybe two news sources that you trust, and check them just once a day. You do not need minute-by-minute reports and all the speculation and catastrophising that goes with them.

When you are talking, ask yourself “Am I making the situation better or worse?” 

We all need a sense of belonging, and isolation measures can make us feel alone and vulnerable.

Self-sufficiency

I’m no epidemiologist, but I have seen isolation work. When the UK slaughtered millions of farm animals in the last Foot and Mouth outbreak, Ireland was barely touched. Because it is largely a rural economy, there was a united effort from the whole country - instantly - to comply with the sweeping measures brought in to prevent the spread of the disease. The result was that only a couple of flocks in one area were affected. Ireland escaped Foot and Mouth virtually unscathed.

Once we have our safety and belonging needs sorted - by reframing them as virtues not calamities - we can look to being the best version of ourselves.

We manifest into our lives the things we most desire and the things we most fear. (This is physics, not woo-woo - ask Einstein …) Where is your focus?

These things will pass! Do what is recommended by your authorities, look at the upside of isolation (there’s always an upside to everything!)

.. and enjoy some quality time with your soothing, carefree, dog.

Your dog is not so soothing and carefree?
Get our free course here to help you change everything!

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One dog is such fun: now I want two!

“I so enjoy life with you,” says the husband to his wife, “that I’ve decided to get another wife too. You’re going to be such friends!”

Think that will go down well? Well, who knows - there could be occasions where it would. But more often there’s going to be shock and dismay, seething resentment, and possibly worse.

So when you decide that having a dog is such fun that you want to get another, think hard beforehand!

After will be too late.

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I’ve had a multi-dog household for many years. I’ve seen dogs absolutely delighted with “their” new puppy. They love it and mother it from the start. Marauding dogs in the park had better not get near their baby!

But far more often introductions have had to be slow and low-key.

Always remember that your dog didn’t choose to have a puppy - you did.  

So you must cause as little disruption to your adult dog’s life as possible. (I say “adult” advisedly. Do NOT get another puppy if your puppy is still .. a puppy. More about that here)

From the very start demonstrate to your dog that the puppy takes second place, and is your own responsibility, not his.

That means:

• Solo walks for both pup and dog

• Separate sleeping arrangements, separate crates, maybe separate rooms

• Separate feeding (essential to start with as the pup will be on four meals a day to your older dog’s one)

• Very limited playtime together (two minutes? maybe five?) and always actively supervised

• Special training/cuddle/play times for your older dog when pup is asleep

• Adequate sleep for both

• Zero pestering allowed from pup to adult

I go into more detail on all of this in this post.

If you’re thinking about adding to your doggy family, consider the implications of the list above. You can’t get a new pup and chuck it in with your other dog and expect everything to go well! It is often many months before your adult even accepts the youngster - never mind befriends her.

Don’t underestimate the time this will take!

You’ll need to devote a huge amount of time to this. Constant surveillance, separate walks .. It takes dedication to follow through and do this right.

People are sometimes aggrieved when I shatter their vision of their two dogs endlessly wrestling on the floor, wearing themselves out so that walking them isn’t thought necessary. Are you sure you’re not thinking a little along these lines? That the puppy will exercise and amuse your older dog for you? Are you sure?

But think of the outcome of allowing this. The puppy will learn no self-control, no respect for other dogs. He’ll think that all dogs - and maybe people and children too - are his playthings, for him to rag and chew to his puppy-heart’s content.

The older dog will be driven quietly mad at a time when he may be expecting more calm in his life. This could end up with snarls and trouble.

Two youngsters?

If your older dog is still very young himself, be sure to check out this post and think of the natural result of two young dogs finding everything they need in each other and not in you. As a dog trainer I often have to re-educate such dog-owners and show them how they can turn the situation round. It’s not so easy, once these behaviours are established - but it is possible.

Once you’ve got over the first few months though - and if you do it right - you’ll have two dogs who are firm friends and companions, but who always look to you first. Perfect!

Observing the difference in their individual characters will be endlessly entertaining, walks will be double the fun. Your understanding of your canine friends will deepen, you’ll respect the personal wishes of each dog, and all your lives will be the richer for it.

But it comes at a price. Is this a price you’re willing to pay?

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My dog gets to enjoy the coffee shop too!

My dog gets to enjoy the coffee shop too!

I am sitting in the window of our local busy coffee shop, in a comfortable armchair, my coffee on the table beside me. Just inside the full-length window, by my feet, lies Lacy on her mat.

We can both relax after our morning outing - me in my armchair, she on her mat watching the world go by without barking at it.

She’s polished off the liver sausage foodtoy I prepared for her. She’s done a couple of tricks for a fingertip of cream from my coffee. She’s watched comings and goings and is now dozing on the mat, her chin resting on my foot.

She’s popular with the staff who are always pleased to see her. It’s a pleasant way for both of us to unwind after our morning’s work.

You may think this is all fairly unremarkable, but you should know that Lacy started out as a very reactive dog - she would get stressed and barky and appear ferocious at any approach, of dogs or people.

Already got a Growly Dog? A reactive, shy, aggressive dog? Watch our free Masterclass and learn new strategies to change your lives for the better!

So getting her to genuinely relax in a public place is an achievement of which I am proud and which we can both enjoy. A lot of what I teach here at Brilliant Family Dog is geared to growing your puppy’s or dog’s confidence and ability to relax. You can train all the sits in the world, but it’s no good if your dog is panting and gasping and pinging off the walls!

Horses for courses

Many dogs are sufficiently “wired” that they need help to learn this skill - especially with the growing popularity of placing working dogs in pet homes. This is a kind of square-peg/round-hole combo which needs careful management to succeed and not drive everyone - owner and dog - barmy.

Lacy has also gone through all the training I do in my premium programs - naturally, it’s one of the perks of being the boss’s dog! And the results have been as spectacular for her as for so many of my students. “I can’t believe how much our life has changed,” is a common cry after even the first Growly Dog lesson.

An awful lot of this has to do with how we act ourselves, and with our expectations: What you expect, you get! Gaining insight into why your dog does what she does is the way to make changes to accommodate her needs with minimum disruption to your daily life. And that’s the focus of the choice-based training I teach.

It’s a question of growing your confidence so you know what to do in any situation. Being able to settle your dog in a public place and flip her off-switch is a valuable skill.

Here’s a great way to get started with this skill

Calm Down! Step-by-Step to a Calm, Relaxed, and Brilliant Family Dog - in ebook, paperback, or audiobook - will help you to locate this hidden switch!

Don’t go without our free e-course to change life with your Growly Dog!

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We don’t need to CONTROL our dogs

This article first appeared on 2houndsdesign.com and is reprinted here with permission.

Really? No control?? I thought we had to control our dogs?

You’re right, of course! We want plenty of control, but we want our dog to be doing the controlling.

Think how we bring up our children. We teach and show them first, rather than yell at them for breaking rules they didn’t know existed!

Take toothbrushing, for example. First, we clean our toddler’s teeth for them. As soon as they’re capable they start doing it themselves - after a fashion - so by the time their permanent teeth arrive they’ve got into the habit. Then we switch to reminding them: “Did you do your teeth?” Eventually they understand why they need to do it, and we no longer need to even ask them (though they may need to be 24 before they reach this happy state!).

Same with our dogs.

There’s no need to nagnagnag them all the time, yanking on their lead, snapping at them, barking commands, pushing them into a sit or a down. This kind of carry-on simply destroys the relationship you could have with your dog, who just knows that whatever he does is wrong and waits for the inevitable correction and telling-off. And he probably has no idea why.

Switch this round though. TEACH your dog what it is you want, in a kind and loving way - just like your toddler and his toothbrush.

Yes, it will take a little time and patience - there’ll be misunderstandings and mistakes, like the toothpaste all over the floor and the pyjamas - but you’ll get there, together. Accompany your teaching with plentiful little tasty treats and you’ll quickly have your dog’s attention and willingness.

Once you’ve taught your dog what it is you like, there is never again any need to tell him off!

No “Noooooooos,” No “Ah-ahs”. Just “Would you like to walk here beside me?” and from him, “Sure, specially if there’s a piece of hot dog going begging . . .”

I don’t say NO to my own dogs

Don’t believe me? Well, you’re just going to have to suspend your disbelief, and hear me when I say that I don’t say NO to my dogs. I don’t say Ah-ah. I don’t try to guilt them into working for me.

I may say, “Really?” or “Where do you think you should be?”

I’m sad when a puppy-owner proudly says to me, “She knows the meaning of NO.”

“That’s a shame,” I may answer, “My dogs don’t know the meaning of NO because I don’t say it.”

And for a moment - let’s just look at what your dog does understand as “the meaning of NO”.

• It will mean that her owner has suddenly (and unaccountably) got cross with her.

• They’re shouting, possibly even manhandling her.

• And your puppy has NO IDEA what has happened to cause this.

As a result, the puppy may stop whatever he was doing, slink away, flatten himself to the floor, perhaps come to lick you to appease you . . .

But he does not understand what you think he understands when you say NO.

So you may now banish “No” from your interactions with your dog. Treat your companion as you would your family or friends. Life becomes instantly less stressful, and you’ll actually get the control you want!

We don’t need to control our dogs

We need to teach our dogs to control themselves! 

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Is life good for you and your dog?

Are you where you want to be in life?

Is everything going exactly as you would like?

It’s possible - that if you are dissatisfied with your life in general, you’ll also be dissatisfied with your dog.

They say that “How you do anything is how you do everything” - and this is so true! If you’re prepared to accept second-best in life, then you’ll probably be prepared to accept second-best in your life with your dog. Your dog doesn’t get a say in the matter!

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And nowhere is this more true than in your approach to problems. Many people see a problem, then accept it as a permanent and enduring truth - thinking it’s all someone else’s fault, or that they never get a break, or that they somehow don’t deserve to have this problem go away.

And the more you focus on the problem, the more that is exactly what you’ll get!

What you focus on is what you get!

One of the things that people find remarkable in my rather idiosyncratic method of dog training is that it’s more about training the owner than training the dog!

Once the owner changes how he sees his dog, and how to work with him - particularly using Choice Training - the dog miraculously transforms, becomes more biddable, more malleable, more responsive.

And a really important first step is to change how you see the world. 

Glass half empty?

If you’re a “glass half empty” type of person, you’ll always be looking for reasons something won’t work. Reasons why you can’t make it work. Reasons why whatever you do, life won’t change for the better. That the world is conspiring against you to keep you where you are.

With regard to your dog, you can find hundreds of reasons things can’t change. Reasons why you don’t have the time, the money, the resources. Reasons why it’s all the fault of your “stubborn” dog.

And as long as you hold those beliefs, you’re going to stay exactly where you are!

The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of your state of mind. Wayne Dyer

Glass half full!

So let’s look at how you can start things improving right away! And let’s look at your life with your dog first.

Your dog is a sentient being. He has likes and dislikes, fears and fancies. Knowing what makes him tick will help you make the most of your time with your chosen companion.

Open yourself up to finding exactly what he likes. It can be food, or a certain type of treat; it can be a game of hide and seek, chase, playing with him with a favourite toy; going out in the garden, heading off for a hike; snuggling up with you on the sofa.

Because once you know exactly what he likes, you know exactly how to get the results you want! There’s no need to try to “control” your dog if you can actually control the things he likes. I believe it was Susan Garrett who coined the phrase - he who controls the rewards, controls the dog.

And it really is that simple. If you are able to produce a fitting reward every time your dog does something you like, you are going to become a magician in his eyes. He will do whatever he can to please you.

How will this help with pulling on the lead, running off, barking at other dogs?

Once you’ve taught him thoroughly how to walk nicely on lead or come when called - by catching him every time he does the smallest thing right and rewarding that choice - your relationship will develop to a level where he will trust you to know what’s right for him. He can even relax at the sight of another dog, because he knows you have his back.

And once you’ve got this going with your dog, how about looking at the rest of your life more kindly? How about seeing that changing things is up to you - you’re not a victim of capricious circumstance!

You can go to the ball, Cinderella! You can enjoy just as much of your life as you are open to enjoying. Switch your focus from “I can’t” to “Yes, I can!”

Want this kind of success for yourself? Here’s a FREE WORKSHOP to get you started!