I find eating broccoli aversive.  But not as aversive as going to the dentist to get a tooth extracted!Slip leads, check chains, prong collars and shock collars (as well as other things) are collectively known as “aversive training tools”.  This term is equally well accepted and used by trainers who use these tools, as well as reward-based trainers.  It’s not a derogatory term; it’s an accurate description of what they are, just like food and toys are known as “reward...

A little while ago I wrote a post about how most dogs I see being walked are on harnesses or normal collars and are happily walking with the freedom to explore on the lead, sniffing and generally looking like they’re having a nice stroll out with their owners.That’s still what I’m seeing, but today there was a standout exception.I’d seen one person walking their 2 dogs matching the above description.  Just ahead of them was another person walking their dog on lead, I was still qu...

Classes for young puppies up to about 4 months old are often called Puppy Pre-School, I call mine Kindy Puppy Class.  So why is Puppy Class so important? Puppies have a window of opportunity for socialisation that closes at around 4 months old (most agree it’s a little sooner in fact).  This means that what puppies are exposed to and experience during this time becomes their normal.  Getting them used to lots of novel experiences during this time makes a huge difference ...

One of the first considerations when you bring home a new puppy is setting up a regular toileting routine.  Every puppy is different in how long they take to learn and that’s a combination of their individual personalities and their early experiences with the breeder. They develop a preference for going on a particular surface, so I will assume that most people want that to be grass, but if it’s different for you just replace “grass” in this blog with “your...

I’ve always said there’s nothing easy or convenient about having a puppy in the house!  Luckily for most people, the joy of owning a new puppy outweighs the bad stuff.  But it’s interesting how many things people don’t think about BEFORE the puppy comes home; most people consider the obvious things such as toilet training, buying toys, food bowls, food, a bed.  But a bit of forward planning on other things that some people miss can make a huge difference...