Using these three top tips will help create a contented dog and facilitate a harmonious relationship with your pet
Dogs are great communicators but like with every form of communication, it is open to misinterpretation and can only be understood if the other party understands the language.
Clearly communicating to your dog when you're happy and contented with it, will help shape a contented dog.
Take into consideration as many factors as you can about you and your dog. For example, its age, how much time do you have for your training sessions, for relaxing with your dog, for taking walks and exercise, etc.
Avoid setting your dog up to fail by planning how to spend time together to keep it, and you, contented.
Dogs are well known as creatures of habit yet they are also highly adaptable and quickly learn how to get what they want (e.g. food, fun, affection, etc.).
Being consistent with your dog teaches your dog that you are reliable and predictable and that it can trust you and feel safe being around you.
When your dog is not pulling on the lead, communicate to your dog that it's exhibiting the behaviour that you are content with, in this case, loose leash walking. For example, feedback to your dog with: praise, food, continuing the walk, etc., when the leash is slack.
Consider how much time do you have for this walk. It's your dog's walk first and foremost and perhaps conveniently combines your exercise for the day too. However, when you are pushed for time, it's much harder to remain patient and relaxed enough to enjoy the walk if your dog is pulling your arm out of your shoulder.
Dogs pull on leash because of course it's unnatural for an animal to have any kind of equipment placed on them so obviously it will react to it initially. It is also instinctive and inherently rewarding for dogs to pull. Most importantly, dogs pull on the lead because you follow it when it pulls. If you are consistent with your training, when your dog realises that loose leash walking still gets the outcome it desires, then it will continue to perform that particular action.
Your dog needs to have an understanding of what is praise and a reward to know it's done something that is encouraged and desirable in your eyes. Then you can be more certain that it understands when you communicate to your dog that it's exhibiting the behaviour that you are content with i.e. toiletting in a designated place, e.g. on a puppy pad, outdoors.
Dogs will need to pee/urinate and poo/defaecate more when, for example, the younger they are, the more they play and exercise, etc. Be considerate about when puppies need to go to the toilet and this will help to not set them up "to fail" by toiletting indoors.
Being consistent about when you take your puppy to the toiletting area will encourage it to go in designated areas at specific times e.g. as soon as it wakes up, immediately after eating or playing/exercising, before bedtime.
Returning to you when it's asked to should be a rewarding act for your dog so communicate to your dog that returning to you whenever you ask it is a rewarding behaviour. It's common that dogs enjoy a good game of chase so it might approach you willingly initially, only to invite you to chase it by running away again! If this isn't what you want, then don't reward that behaviour by chasing after it and trying to "catch" your dog.
Consider what cue you are using to trigger your dog's recall. For example, are you using its name, a noise, etc., and why/how/when you are using that trigger e.g. if you always use its name just before you say, "No, stop chewing the carpet!", it might associate its name with being chastised. Also, be mindful of your own mood when using your recall word/sound as your dog will hear it in the tone you use. Your dog has to decide it's worth leaving whatever it's doing to return to you.
Consistently indicating to your dog that coming to you is a pleasurable and safe thing to do, will help reinforce the recall cue.
Dogs enrich our lives so much, improve wellbeing and play such an important contributing role for us humans to live contented lives.
I enjoy helping to forge strong bonds between pet dogs and their owners with a "prevention is better than cure" approach when it comes to harmonious living. I aim to share my top tips with you to facilitate having a contented dog and so that you can have the best relationship possible with your dog.
I use kindness and reward-based training methods when working with dogs. I often use a clicker to enhance clear communication with, and shape a response from, a dog.
My first Staffordshire Bull Terrier taught me many lessons, a fundamental one being that dogs are not simply furry humans and that they have their own dogonalities! I credit him with completely changing the way I train dogs and my current, super, Stafford pup-dog (pictured with me) is a testament of his (and all my other dogs') teachings to me.
I believe that when we have contented relationships with those closest to us (including our family pets) it creates a firm foundation to have better relationships in the wider world. Thus, I believe it's worth putting the effort into working towards more mutually beneficial and harmonious relationships, including those with our pets, our friends and family, fleeting encounters with complete strangers and, of course, ourselves.
Susha
Fees
Fees start at £60/hr.
Other costs may be applicable.
Please contact me to discuss.
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We are very thankful to Susha's help. My sweet, shy, rescue dog made loads of progress and from being terrified of public transport, we are now able to go everywhere. Patience is also the key, slow but sure they get there.
Thanks you! Susha's dog is also a superstar in helping them along.
Susha is so friendly, patient and passionate. My dog never lets anyone else stroke her! She obviously loves dogs and understands their behaviour.
It's clear that Susha is a dog whisperer but it's also worth mentioning that in human terms she is extremely punctual and reliable.
We couldn't be happier to have found Susha for our whippet's training. Initially, we struggled with finding the right approach, bouncing between various dog training methods that just didn't resonate with our needs. However, everything changed when we were introduced to Susha's dog training services. Her profound impact on our dog's behaviour and overall happiness has been nothing short of miraculous.
Susha possesses a remarkable talent for connecting with dogs, utilising gentle, effective training techniques that our whippet responded to immediately. Her approach isn't just about obedience; it's about building a deep, meaningful bond between pet and owner, which has significantly enhanced our relationship with Slim.
Thanks to Susha, we often get compliments about Slim's obedience and manners when we are out and about. Whether we're enjoying outdoor adventures, visiting local cafes, travelling abroad or even at the Vet; Slim's calm, trusting and obedient personality is a testament to Susha's expert training. Her guidance has enabled Slim to adapt to new environments, challenges and situations, making him the perfect adventure dog.
The tips she gives are so useful. Our dog's behaviour has improved so much since we started working with Susha. We've learned how to be consistent & positive with our dog & couldn't be happier with the results. Wish we'd met her years ago!
Susha challenged us to get the best out of our dog, who has made so much progress in her behaviour. We are so much happier both out in public and at home.
Susha invests her whole energy and goes beyond all we could have expected while paying attention to the smallest detail and all of our dogs needs. We trust her professional knowledge and approach and were able to see amazing results.
This might sound a little cheesy but it's true for me - Susha was a godsend at a time we adopted a scared and previously abused puppy from abroad. Susha helped us create a safe home environment that allowed love and trust to develop. Our dog sees Susha as her fun best friend, and at the same time a respectable leader. Susha was extremely patient with our defensive dog, her dog training experience and love for all dogs transformed our seemingly territorial dog into a cuddle machine welcoming strangers into her space and living a calmer and happy life.
Working with Susha has built high confidence in our ability to communicate with our pet. Susha transformed our dog. All we needed to do was follow her lead and allow the love for the animal to do the rest. Wanting to help our reactive and afraid dog and realising we needed a good support system and a partner who knew how to motivate and educate us we began a journey which led us to hours of hard work and amazing results. We are forever grateful to the exceptional person Susha is and the great help she gave us when we needed it the most.
Susha is very kind, friendly, and knowledgeable and she takes time to answer our many questions or concerns. The tips she gave us have worked so well.
She's a dog whisperer! Susha worked with my dog and me in a way that was easy to follow and resulted in me being successful with his training.
We are endlessly grateful for the positive changes Susha has brought into our lives and cannot recommend her dog training expertise highly enough. If you're looking to improve your dog's happiness and behaviour, and strengthen your bond with your pet, Susha is the perfect choice. Her dedication to fostering harmonious relationships between dogs and their owners is unparalleled, and we are so thankful to have her as a part of our family's journey.
This trainer is kind, compassionate and really knows her stuff! My dog loves her and always runs to her when he sees her. I would highly recommend her!
Susha truly changed our life. She helped us tackle other dogs, bicycles, police horses, pulling up and down the stairs, barking at the mail man and many more.
Our dog today is unrecognisable. Thanks to hard work and the great knowledge and professional assistance of Susha our dog is finding balance. After adopting a dog from a shelter we encountered a number of unforeseen and unexpected issues and found ourselves in dire need of help and support with our pooch. After only few weeks working with Susha, we were feeling highly motivated, excited, and started to see difference in our dog’s behaviour. Her attention to detail, knowledge and understanding of the psychology of the K9’s mind allowed us to communicate easily our needs and achieve great results.
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