Would you love to work with dogs?

Is this a dream of yours? That you’d love to work with dogs in some way?  

All day, every day, just working with dogs?

Many people harbour this secret dream in their heart. And the sad thing is that for most it remains a secret dream.

Why not get it out in the open and get going with it?!

Dogs, all day?

The first thing to know is that whatever area of working with dogs you choose, other things will always impinge. You won’t be “working with dogs, all day, every day”. There will always be reports to write, clients to interview, targets to meet …

At least when it’s your own business, you get to set those targets and decide where you want to focus!

And this is the stumbling-block for many.

“I’m no good at business …”

The thought of actually running a business is too much for them. They’re worried about all the red tape, the financial implications, the responsibility.

Seduced by the regular income of their current job, they’d prefer to stay warm and cosy rather than get out there and help our friend, the dog.

You see, if you’re following Brilliant Family Dog, you are exactly the sort of person who should be out there spreading the word about force-free training! Showing people how it’s done! And showing them how they can transform their lives by following our kind methods.

YOU are valuable! We need your expertise and personality in the mix.

There are far too many people from the Dark Side - browbeating people into thinking they have to do nasty things to their dog to make any progress.

WE know that’s not true.

And once we’ve discovered this harmonious way to live with our companion dogs, we have a duty to show a better way.

🐾 A way which excludes bullying, intimidation, and pain.

🐾 A way which fosters personal choice, freedom, and joy.

I’m working on a new project to get people started in the business they’ve dreamt about for years, and never quite had the opportunity or the belief to start.

It will cover everything you need to do to get your business started fast - so much faster than you can imagine! Business skills, personal skills, people skills, dog skills . . . it’ll all be there for you, along with all the templates you need to get going.

Why can I do this? Because I’ve done it. I had the same concerns you have. And I worked it out.

Want some help with building this unbreakable relationship? Watch our free Workshop on Getting your Dog to Listen, and you may be surprised how much this short video will teach you!

Children and pandemic puppies

So many people have turned to our friend the dog to help them through the troubled times of the last year and a half.  

And so many of them had NO idea what they were getting themselves into when they rushed out and bought the first puppy they saw! No research, no experience, no realisation of the murky underworld of money-grabbing, unprincipled, “puppy farmers”, just a desire for companionship.

And that desire is all well and good, but we’re talking about bringing a different species into our homes. Of course there will be teething problems!

Puppy socialisation

One of the things which we dog professionals work so hard to explain to our students is in how the dog’s brain works in regard to meeting new experiences, people, objects, children, animals, places.

That’s what socialisation is really about.

Many new dog-owners think they have to thrust their puppy or new rescue dog into the face of every passing dog. This is a hazardous plan, and frequently backfires!

But it’s not just about meeting other dogs.

And many, many of these Pandemic Puppies have been confined at home by lockdowns, and have missed some or ALL of their socialisation period.

For the dog is so designed that they will accept new things up to the age of about 15 weeks. After that, their “socialisation window” closes with a bang, and they will regard new things with a certain amount of suspicion.

If you’ve introduced them to noisy traffic early on, they may accept a noisy train even if seeing it after the shut-off age of 15 weeks.

But they may not.

Dogs are not great at generalising experiences. They tend to see everything as an individual occurrence.

Socialising to people

And this is particularly important with people.

We may see all people as much of a muchness - older, younger, bigger, smaller, brown, white - they’re all people.

But your dog sees them as quite separate entities!

The way an old man hobbles, leaning on a stick, is totally different from how a lithe teenager skims along, or a toddler wobbles unpredictably.

This is what the dog sees!

And the dog in this picture is showing extreme anxiety at being cornered by this well-meaning child. This warning, unheeded, could result in a snap or even a bite. A knowledge of Dog Body Language is essential for any would-be dog-owner.

So if your dog’s been kept at home for his first few weeks of life, and this has been compounded by being kept away from what we accept as normal life for many more months as he matures, then we are presenting our young dog with a challenge he is ill-equipped to deal with!

Suddenly there are children visiting the home - his safe fortress where no-one but his immediate family ever ventured. These new curious creatures are noisy, erratic, jumpy, armed with food and toys. They are quite unlike any other human he has encountered. He has no idea what to make of them.

And unless given a slow introduction and a safe haven away from the intruders, things could rapidly go pear-shaped.

How to make up for missed “socialisation”

You can’t.

What your puppy missed before 15 weeks cannot now be put back.

But this is not all gloom and doom!

There’s plenty you can do.

You need to give your dog new experiences, very gradually and without pressure. He needs to learn slowly but surely that these new things in his life are not dangerous.

So a visit to the park to watch children playing from a safe distance would be a good start. There’s no need for him to actually meet any until he’s comfortable at a distance.

And, of course, it takes two to tango - teaching the visiting children how to behave round a dog is a vital continuation!

There are some great pointers on how to do this in this post

And some very useful resources below to help you make dogs meeting children a safe and enjoyable experience all round.

Meanwhile, to find out more of how your dog’s brain works, and how you can get the best results with your new friend, watch our free Workshop here

RESOURCES

Blue Cross  

Family Paws

Doggone Safe

Children and dog bites

Summer Grooming for your dog!

Once you’ve done the thorough spring overhaul and got all the winter coat out, you may think you can take a break from brushing your dog for a while.

But NOOOOOO!

It’s especially important in summer!

This is when you can get all those ticks, cuts, matts, cleavers, twigs, grass seeds, and any other sticky passenger looking for a free ride.

The photo above shows Lacy after a dash through an innocent-looking field. She was completely coated, especially underneath. It took almost three hours to remove these sticky seeds - her trousers and her tail were completely knitted together!

And here’s the haul of several hundred cleavers I had to remove from Coco Poodle last week - one by one! - after a joyous rush along a hedgerow. I could see he’d picked up a few, but they lurk under his curls and I was amazed at how many I found.

I’m sure poodles were involved somewhere in the invention of Velcro!

All-over investigation

You have to take special care to feel all over the body - under the armpits, inside the ears, between the pads (a cleaver lodging here would lead to sores!).

You can see how important it is to keep the inter-pad hair trimmed on your hairy dog’s paws in this post

Grass seeds are particularly nasty - especially foxtails - which can enter the body and wreak havoc within.

And while you’re feeling for beasties and seeds, you may come across cuts or sore patches which will need tending - and you may also find lumps and bumps which may need vet attention.

Here’s a post that goes into much greater detail:

https://www.brilliantfamilydog.com/blog/the-weekly-once-over-can-save-you-a-lot-of-vets-bills

So, while you’re half-watching tv, you can be having some up-close and personal time with your dog - and save yourself some possible vets’ bills while making her much more comfortable.

Tell us in the comments - what have you had to remove from your enthusiastic dog’s coat in the summer? I can imagine tar from the beach comes quite high up the list of horrors!

Do you really want to change your Growly Dog?

Do you really want to change your Growly Dog?

You may think you do. And you may be on a hunt to find out how to improve life with your dog - whom you love dearly, but who is impossible on walks!

And this is a thoroughly laudable intent.

But you want to take care just what you change!

There are plenty of “dog trainers” who want to beat you and your dog into submission. They have no interest in anyone’s feelings. They just want to get results fast, regardless of the emotional cost.

They want you to hand your dog over to them for weeks. And you’ll have no idea what they’re actually doing.

Anyone who tells you they can fix your dog’s reactivity issues (they’ll call it ‘aggression’) in a matter of days or weeks is probably relying on punitive methods which may well work in the short term - by suppressing your dog’s natural responses and taking away his freedom of choice.

But they can have disastrous repercussions down the line!

You’ll find these residential training places online. You’ll find them in the local paper. It’s a cop-out which is very popular at the moment.

Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater!

Do you want to give your dog a virtual lobotomy by using electric shock treatment to shut him down?

I’m sure you don’t. But unless you look very closely at what they’re doing with your dog, you won’t know till it’s too late.

This is one of the hazards of residential training: you have no idea what is happening to your dog!

The trainers may or may not make a difference to your anxious dog while he’s in their control.

But what happens when he gets home?

Thing is … it’s YOU who has to learn! Once you’ve learned what’s going on with your dog and why he’s doing what he does, then you can work with him to change this!

And change it while keeping all the wonderful aspects of his personality that make you care for him.

Scrap the idea of sending your dog to someone else to fix

So you’ve scrapped that idea! Now what?

🐕‍🦺 You’ve already hunted all over the internet

🐕‍🦺 You’ve read all the books

🐕‍🦺 You’ve watched the whole of Youtube

🐕‍🦺 You’ve learned ALL the things.

But have you done any of the things?

There is nothing wrong with you!

This is 100% normal. To think you just need to get the knowledge and it’ll all work for you.

You can gather information till the cows come home, but unless you have the support you need, you’re not going to get it working for you!

There’s a high likelihood that your brain is now scrambled. You are confused by so many conflicting methods and remedies - this person says this, that person says that, your next-door neighbour says the other …

So you need to find someone you can trust. Someone who understands what you’re going through, someone with experience, someone with your dog’s best interests at heart.

Try me!

You can check out what I do, what I stand for, and the results I’ve got. There are almost 250 articles here on www.brilliantfamilydog.com for you to read! There are my inexpensive books you can read or listen to, there are free email courses and guides - and there are free Masterclasses for you to “meet” me and see whether what I am saying makes sense to you, and whether I’m someone you can trust.

One person who listened to a Masterclass of mine (focussing on Growly - shy, anxious, reactive, ‘aggressive’ - Dogs) said to herself, “I think this woman can help me,” joined us and has never looked back! Her life and her dog’s life have been totally transformed.

If you’re still reading this post, and have read anything else of mine, there’s a high likelihood that what you are looking for for your dog can be found here.

Start with this Masterclass - The 3 Biggest Mistakes Growly Dog owners make - and what to do instead!

and tell us in the chat there what you think! You can ask any questions you like and I’ll be glad to answer them.

Dog feeding frenzy!

There’s a tremendous amount of nonsense around, about how to feed dogs.

Some people are on crusades to promote their own favoured way of feeding, and belittle anyone who doesn’t agree with them.

Most of us don’t have time to delve too deeply, and dish out the same food, day in - day out, for years. (Imagine that if it were you! Even boarding school’s not that bad!)

But if you want the best for your dog, a long, healthy life, good teeth, and few vet visits, it’s something you should spend some energy on.

So what SHOULD you feed your dog?

There’s such a vast array of commercial dog foods available, most of them claiming they’re the best thing ever, and some just relying on being dirt-cheap.

Without being a canine nutritionist, how can you know what will suit your dog?

I can recommend you pay a visit to a site actually run by a canine nutritionist - www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk. And don’t worry if you live outside the UK. Many of these commercial foods are available universally. The big petfood manufacturers are huge international concerns. And there’s actually a page where you can copy in the ingredients of your chosen food if it’s not listed, and you’ll get an assessment of that.

Your chosen food doesn’t have a detailed ingredient list? Move on. If they’re too ashamed to tell you, get something better!

And to get the lowdown ‘from the horse’s mouth’,

How about asking your dog?

Yes! Ask your dog!

She’s bound to have strong views on what she likes and what’s “Meh”. Not only that, but she’ll have opinions on how she likes her food delivered too.

Here’s what Annie’s owner, Laura Kelly from Best Choice Dog Training, offered her.

You can see there was a fair variety. You could also add in egg (raw or cooked), cheese (cream/cottage or hard), broccoli and other fruit and veg (preferably pureed so the dog can actually digest them), goats’ milk or whey, fermented goats’ milk products, coconut oil, leftovers (of proper meals, not pizza and chips!), tinned sardines … most things!

This can be fun to do, and you may be surprised by your dog’s choices - Annie’s owner was! The kibble definitely came last.

Is this something you’re going to have a go at? Do tell us in the comments below what you will offer!

Has it always got to be in a dog food bowl?

You can be imaginative about the vehicle you offer food in.

To get an idea of what I’m meaning, take a look at Benson here, patiently waiting to be let loose with his array of goodies for amusement during the day.

He has a snuffle mat with treats buried in it, a variety of wobble-balls he can bat around with his nose to release their treats, and a food-game with hidden compartments.

For most of these containers, you’d need hard food - kibble. Though you could certainly put soft food, cooked or raw, in the sliding compartments.

Slowing down feeding

These are great to keep your pup amused while he’s eating, and to spin out mealtimes - specially useful for dogs who tend to hoover their food. Apart from the lack of enjoyment, there’s also a danger of gut complications for some fast-feeders.

Archie Spaniel didn’t wolf his food that much, but look at this brief video to see the difference in his engagement between hoovering it up from his bowl and actively hunting it down!

Slowing down Puppy feeding

By the way, for English readers, here’s a load of money off a super food I regularly use and here’s another where you can get a big discount using this link - they provide high-quality fishy treats and foods, which are firm favourites with my crew!

To learn more about what to feed your dog, and to dispel more myths (I love myth busting!) check out this post.

And for more about asking your dog things, instead of telling him … watch our free Workshop here, on getting your dog to LISTEN.

My dog is stubborn!

“I have a 10 week old puppy, but I'm hearing that his breed is stubborn, hard to train, and possessive.”

Wow.

That’s a lot of labels to put on a baby.

The trouble with labels

You see, if you label someone - he’s arrogant, she’s bossy, he’s a naughty child, and so on - this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy!

Every time you have dealings with that person you’ll be running everything they say and do through a filter to check whether it’s arrogant, or bossy, or naughty.

All you will be aware of is the moments when you score a hit!

Yes! That remark was arrogant! That proves he’s an arrogant man.

But don’t we all say something sometimes that could be interpreted as arrogant, or bossy, or naughty?

That means you’d tar us all with the same brush!

And, in any case, how helpful is this?

How about some NICE labels instead?

How about filtering for proof of niceness?

You’ll come up with some very different results!

Imagine while you’re talking to this (arrogant) man, you are listening out for generosity, humility, gentleness?

You’re going to find some surprises!

Back to dogs …

Don't listen to all the bad things people say about your chosen breed.

There is more variation between individuals than between breeds

People like to say these things to blame the dog and account for their own failure! If it’s the dog’s fault, because of its inherent failings, then it can’t be their fault.

It’s a simple case of shovelling the blame off onto someone else. They reared a dog to be stubborn, hard to train, and possessive - but it’s easier to blame the dog.

And why on earth would you want to do this to a new puppy, who has his whole life with you ahead of him?

Why would you want to reinforce the idea that your puppy is stubborn, hard to train, possessive?

Would your time not be better spent in understanding your puppy?

🐾 Understanding what he’s telling you when he won’t do what you think you’re asking?

🐾 Understanding why he wouldn’t want to enjoy time with you?

🐾 Understanding why he’s afraid?

Your new puppy is a blank canvas

It’s up to YOU to decide how you’d like him to be, then encourage everything that looks anything close to that.

It’s equally up to you not to listen to ignorant nonsense about your dog’s breed or type, spouted by those who have failed to manage such a dog.

While it’s true that certain breeds have certain genetic traits, like herding, or guarding, or hunting, none of these preclude a successful partnership!

After all, many of those specially-bred dogs are working dogs. And they can achieve astonishing levels of reliable performance.

Think Obedience and Agility Champions, sheepdogs, protection dogs, search dogs, medical alert dogs …

Once the sensitive owner understands these genetic traits, and their strength in their individual dog, they can work with the dog to satisfy both of the training partners. 

So don’t label your dog!

Allow him to unfold before you like a beautiful flower. Accept what he is without trying to categorise him.

That way you’ll have a wonderful life ahead of you!

Get our free download
to help you see the different characteristics of different breeds -
and what a combination could result in!

THIS GUIDE IS A BONUS FOR YOU WHEN YOU SIGN UP TO RECEIVE EDUCATIONAL EMAILS AND OCCASIONAL OFFERS FROM ME. YOU CAN UNSUBSCRIBE AT ANY TIME.
Privacy Policy

Success! Now check your email to download your Breed Characteristics sheet

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

Email Address

I'd like to receive the free email course. Free download!