Got a reactive dog?

It’s a tough time for growly dogs - anxious, shy, fearful, “aggressive” dogs. 

Why?

Because, up in the top half of the planet, it’s been Winter.

And that means short days.

If you have a reactive dog, you’ll know exactly what the significance of this is!

It means there’s fewer hours of daylight for everyone to walk their dogs, therefore it’s much harder to avoid other people and their dogs on walks.

You have my sympathy - I know just what this is like!

Meeting or NOT meeting other dogs?

Now, you may be saying, “But how will my dog ever get better if he never meets other dogs?”

And I understand why you may think this.

You may have been given the idea that socialising your dog means exposing him to every dog possible, regardless of his reaction.

But in fact, he needs to learn how to cope with the world without the challenge of a strange dog looming towards him. Only then will he be able to manage passing another dog (or person - whatever it is that worries him, though we’ll stick with “dog” for now, as that’s usually the trigger) and not panic.

Once he has confidence that you will ensure he “never has to meet another dog again”, then he’ll know that there is a choice.

He doesn’t have to shriek and yap and leap about when he sees another dog coming, putting on a fearsome show of teeth, because he has learnt - from you - that you can both move away and not have to confront the oncoming dog.

How calm will that make him feel?

How safe will he feel?

See the dog ahead that Hector is able to avoid! 

No-one wants to go through life feeling scared. And you can help your dog to get braver and stop panicking with a few simple-to-teach techniques and some really useful strategies.

One of the quickest to teach is the Emergency Turn.

You’ll find the steps detailed in my free Masterclass for Growly Dogs here.

And once you’ve discovered the ease and joy of making your walks - even in these busy few hours of light - comfortable and fright-free, you may like to delve further into what I can show you.

That Masterclass will also introduce you to the From Growly Dog to Confident Dog program, with individual coaching and many lessons.

And you can get my renowned Growly Dog books direct from the author here

Perhaps you’ll find, like EB and GS here, that you can make a huge difference to your dog walks, your dog’s happiness, and your own peace of mind - with these simple, kind, methods.

“We have been using your approach to training our growly dog now for about 6 months and have seen an incredible difference! We love your kind approach to training our dog. Wow! Your kind, positive methods really work. I can't thank you enough.” EB

“Just wanted to let you know, as a professional dog trainer, I loved your three Growly Dog books.  Have recommended to all my reactive owners as you explain so simply and clearly what they need to learn, without baffling them with science. Just brilliant. I read a lot of books, articles and papers but rarely are they appropriate for pet owners to read and understand so these are just perfect.” GS

My dog’s peeing all over the place!

“My puppy’s peeing all over the place!”

This is a sure sign of a confused puppy. He’s going to pee, and it’s for you to ensure that it all goes where you want it to go.

Housetraining is a management issue - that means that it’s entirely up to you!

And honestly, it’s not hard! You just have to have certain rules in place - mostly rules for yourself! - and the puppy will be happy to fit in with this. They really are willing little souls.

Here’s my Errorless Housetraining Cheatsheet which shows you EXACTLY how to achieve a clean, dry, puppy in the shortest time possible.

I aim to have puppies clean and dry by night as soon as they arrive, at 8 weeks. By day, by 14 weeks latest. This works!

What about the older dog I’ve just rescued?

Good for you! Giving a forever home to a dog who never even lived in a house. But no need to worry. She wants to be clean and dry, just as much as you want her to be. So follow the Cheatsheet and just allow her a little more time between visits outside, cos she can hold it longer.

Otherwise, follow the exact same timetable, the exact same system.

You probably don’t know her history - she may have been punished for eliminating “in the wrong place” in the past. So be fulsome in your excitement and praise when she gets it right - plenty of treats and a game!

Give her time to sniff - it’s often a precursor to a wee or a poo.

But I live in an apartment!

This is where you have to become creative! You can’t be racing down 99 flights of stairs every half hour with your puppy. But that doesn’t mean he can’t become housetrained.

I don’t recommend using paper pads in the house at all. But obviously this would be an exception.

But the key to success is in having a special place for the puppy to go. This needs to be very clearly a special toileting place, with clear boundaries. Pee pads scattered over the floor won’t work. It will also encourage the confused puppy to eliminate on anything he finds on the floor … 😱 😳

I suggest you put the paper pads in some sort of container, like a very large tea tray, something with clearly-defined sides he can hop over to get in. If you’re handy, you can construct a frame from wood or pvc (pipes with elbows perhaps?) which would act as a boundary. Then you can keep it in the bathroom (don’t forget to keep the door propped open!) for ease of access and disposal. Many dogs like to be private, and this would work well for them.

You’ll need to keep the area spotlessly clean, replacing soiled paper with fresh immediately.

Now follow the Cheatsheet, using a lead, and simply take the puppy to your pee place on the suggested schedule.

To teach the pup that outside is the ideal place, you can make excursions downstairs when there’s a bit of time (I.e. not when he’s just woken from a sleep), perhaps after a meal. You may find that placing a bit of used pee pad on the ground will encourage him to know this is an ok place.

As I say, they really do want to do the right thing!

What else do you need to know to make this quick and successful?

If it’s very cold out, be sure to wrap your young puppy up warm, and yourself too! You could be standing about for a good few minutes waiting for the right moment. This is a time investment that will pay off really quickly.

So leave an umbrella and jacket for you and a jumper for him near the back door, so you can get out fast.

You may like to always take the puppy to a particular area of your garden and see if he gets the message that this is The Place!

All in all, remember that this too shall pass. Your puppy will be reliably clean and dry very quickly. Standing out in all weathers to teach her will all pay off!

Have patience, and always include a game with your little pup when she’s done her stuff.

Then it’s fun for you too.

Got a new puppy? Check out

New Puppy!

From new puppy to Brilliant Family Dog

here!

Prefer to listen?

The audiobook is here

How much does your dog sleep?

I make no apologies for revisiting this vital subject! So many of the queries I get can be resolved by simply allowing or encouraging your dog to sleep more!

Dogs need 17 hours of sleep a day to function well.

And this doesn’t mean snatched minutes of shut-eye when nothing is happening for a few moments!

It means proper, deep, uninterrupted sleep, for at least an hour at a time - and, of course, all night!

Teach ‘em young

And this doesn’t just happen without careful management.

In the same way that most responsible parents manage their babies’ and toddlers’ sleep sessions, teaching them that a sleep will cure lots of upsets, we have to teach our puppies how to manage themselves.

This is valuable learning.

We put small children in cots to make sure they can’t race around exhausting themselves when they need to rest.

In the same way, we can use crates or playpens to manage our puppies - who often won’t stop till they’re nailed to the floor!

I honestly don’t know how anyone manages a puppy without a crate or a playpen! I think that without these terrific aids we’re giving ourselves a huge amount of extra work and stress.

If you struggled to manage your youngster over the holiday period, now is the time to double down on teaching him or her how to sleep.

💤 Alone.  

💤  Contained.

💤 Without you.

💤 Without distraction.

You’ll be so glad you did!

And for more gems on managing your dog, check out the how-to books here!

Check other post that might help your brilliant dogs:

I have a new puppy: will I ever get any sleep again?

How much time does your dog spend sleeping?

Errorless Housetraining and Crate Training

Puppy Crate training demystified

I love my dog AND I love my sleep!

3 ways to walking your dog on a loose lead!

So many people struggle with their dog pulling on the lead. Sometimes even pulling them over and actually injuring them!

This is not the lovely companionable walk you envisaged when you got your dog!

The Holy Grail of dog ownership is to swan along, your dog trotting comfortably at your side, earning admiring glances from all those being towed along by their dog!

First of all I’d like to direct you to Let’s Go! Enjoy Companionable Walks with your Brilliant Family Dog - a complete program to teach your dog to walk on a loose lead. You can buy it direct from the author right here! at a special price too …   

And to see illustrative videos of dogs and puppies learning this skill, you’ll find the full program in the Brilliant Family Dog Academy. You can find out all about this hugely popular program in our free Workshop on getting your dog to LISTEN!

But it’s true to say that sometimes we could do with a bit of help!

You may have been directed to lots of gadgets which are meant to solve this issue at a stroke.

But most of these clever gadgets (headcollars, slip leads, choke collars, retractable leads, prong collars, electric shock collars) are “aversive”. That is to say, the dog hates them and they can actually make the whole thing worse!

So what can you do?

Use a Harness

The first thing is to switch to a harness - but not any old harness. Some twist, some chafe, some are flimsy, some restrict movement, some hurt (!).

And keep in mind that there are “horses for courses”. The harness that will help you enormously with your dog on walks, is not the one you’d choose for an active sport like agility or flyball. You need a different harness for that, just as you have different clothes for tennis, dog walks, work, swimming, parties …

You need the right tool for the job, as any craftsman will tell you. You can’t make a whole cabinet with only a hammer!

Which harness?

The harness I find brilliant for loose lead walking is the 2Houndsdesign Freedom Harness

You can get it direct from me as I’m the main UK stockist. If you live anywhere outside the UK, this is where you will find it.

Why does it work so well?

The quickest way for you to see is in this video, transforming young Shadow from a choking, pulling maniac - bent forward scrabbling - to a dog walking in an upright, natural position, beside her astonished owner! The video covers a 20-minute lesson. That’s how long it took!

Yes, I know what you’re thinking. “You’re selling these things, so you would say they’re good!”

But turn that around: “You’re selling these things because they are so good!”

I’d never recommend something I didn’t use and value myself

Proof of the Pudding

See what customers have written to tell me below. You’ll see that there are very large dogs, multiple dogs, and very small dogs.

This harness works!

"Walking is now a pleasure with the harnesses." Elsie, Dogue de Bordeaux and Marnie, Bullmastiff puppy, both in Medium, Herefordshire 

"Just wanted to say the harness is an absolute triumph. I have to say I honestly didn't enjoy walking my pulling boxer, however it is now a pleasure not a chore. Thanks for bringing the harness to the UK. It's been a godsend." Cooper the Boxer in Purple Medium, Merseyside

"Harness and multipoint lead have been fantastic - highly recommend it!" Rosie Doberman in Medium, Worcester

“Have been using the harness for a month now and am pleased to report that it has significantly helped me control Max when out walking and restored my confidence and enjoyment in taking him out. Without it he would be confined to exercising in our fields as he was to strong for me to control even with a headcollar.” Jane, XL Royal Blue

“Performance-wise this tiny harness is like a miracle: at last we have four paws on the path even with a passing cat! I don't know how the design can so alter the centre of gravity but it certainly works, I feel like stopping every dog walker I see and sharing the secret.” Bertie, Toy Poodle in Extra Small Teal

“When we started classes with Beverley with our 3 year old rescue mini Dachshund we were told about the Wiggles Wags and Whiskers 2Hounds Design Freedom Harness. My husband’s feelings were, ‘Oh here we go, the sales pitch’. I find being dragged up the road by a young dog somewhat exhausting so I decided to invest in this harness.  Well I am so glad that I did, our walks have been transformed! I can control Chester so much better, and the strain both mentally and physically no longer exists. It’s not a sales pitch to make money, it really does benefit both dog and human. Even my husband is a convert!” Chester, Dachshund, in Extra Small

And just before you start teaching the all-important walking nicely on a lead, check out this mini-course that gets you started with some foundational lessons!

Is your new dog not as easy as your old dog?

Got a new puppy?

Exciting!

All your hopes for the perfect dog rest in this wide-eyed little ball of fluff!

And as soon as you get started with him, he fails.

But how on earth can an 8-week-old puppy be failing? 😱

He wees everywhere, he chews everything, he pulls on the lead, he keeps you awake and barks the house down when you leave …

This may all be true (HINT: it needn’t be! Your new puppy can be sleeping through the night from Day 1, never chew anything you don’t want him to, walk nicely on the lead, and be comfortable in your absence - start the Brilliant Family Dog program by watching this free Workshop)

So - maybe it’s true. But the reason you think your little puppy is failing, being difficult, challenging, awkward, time-consuming, and all the rest - is because you are comparing him with your previous dog!

Your old dog

Your old dog was perfect in every way.

Fitted your household like an old slipper.

• Never chewed anything

• Always asked if he needed to go out

• Walked nicely beside you and never ran off

• Slept like a log and greeted you happily when you came home.

And this too may be true.

But your old dog was 14 (or 12 or 17) when he died. He’d spent his whole life learning how to rub along with you.

And you’ve TOTALLY forgotten the anguish and trouble of his puppyhood!

You are seeing your lovely old pet through rose-tinted spectacles.

 Of course he took time to housetrain!

Of course he chewed things (whether they were things you wanted him to chew or things he stole is entirely down to your supervision at the time)

Of course he hauled you about on the lead (until you taught him different)

Of course the baby cried when you left him, till he learnt to trust you.

This is a NEW puppy

This is a NEW puppy. A NEW person. Yes, he’s a dog, and he may even be the same breed as your previous dog, but he is an individual.

And he needs to be treated and loved as an individual.

Not continually compared with the paragon which was your last dog in his last years.

For me, this is the joy of having a new puppy! A new person to get to know - his fears, his foibles, his character - what he enjoys, what he loves.

Your old dog was wonderful and your new dog will be wonderful too.

Just cut him some slack and learn with him and here’s that free Workshop where you can begin your journey with your new puppy:

Here’s a free Workshop to

get you started.

Work with the dog you’ve got .. Not the one you thought you were getting!

I can’t tell you how many times people tell me that their new dog doesn’t measure up to their old dog.

Sometimes they’re comparing their new puppy with a devoted and much-loved pet who died aged 15, having spent his last few years in a quiet retirement.

He fitted their family like an old shoe.

And, unaccountably, they expect the new puppy to take up where the old dog left off, complete with the lifetime’s learning.

When you look at it, you can see how daft this is!

But we seldom look at things this clearly.

We so enjoyed life with the old dog that we’d like to carry it on uninterrupted.

And when you step back and reflect, you can see clearly that this is an unrealistic expectation to place on the newcomer’s shoulders.

But it doesn’t seem to stop us doing it!

Hidden standards for our dogs

There’s also the fact that you get your dog with a vision of your future together.

🐾 This may include an active dog sport … and your dog turns out to have bad hips and can’t compete.

 🐾 It may be long tramps over hill and moor … and you got a lapdog who is quite unsuited to this.

🐾 Or it may be that you enjoy social activities with friends and their dogs .. and your dog is of a nervous and timorous disposition and does not enjoy these outings one bit.

Reality check!

The thing is, you have to work with the dog in front of you, not the one you wish you had! 

You can never turn an apple into an orange, however hard you try.

And you can’t change your dog’s intrinsic nature. That is doomed to failure.

You can certainly teach him, and improve things - dramatically!

But he’s still who he is.

And accepting this is the only way forward.

“But all my dogs love xyz!”

That doesn’t mean that this one will - or indeed should!

How many times do you see children in the same family - same parents, same school, same ethos, same upbringing - but who are polar opposites in character?

You can have all the nature vs nurture discussions you like, but when it comes down to it, your dog (or child) is who he is, and the sooner you accept that and discard your rose-spectacled vision of who you thought he should be, the better!

Enjoy the journey!

And part of living with another creature is finding out what makes them tick. What they like. What they don’t like. How to please them, and how not to upset them. 

Judging your dog will never help!

Your new dog will never measure up to the memory of your old dog.

Don’t set him a target he can never reach.

Instead, rejoice in his individuality and work with the dog who’s right there, in front of you (or on your lap).

That’s the way to find true harmony with your new dog.

Need a bit of help with a Growly Dog? Watch our free Masterclass and talk to us in the chat about your particular issues with your dog.

We’d love to help you make the changes you’re looking for.