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What results can
you expect ?
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We do not just talk. Your consultation will be as
practical and hands-on with the dog as we can make it.
Dogs are living creatures, not machines.
Neither we not any other trainer can give guarantees about the results of
training and house visits.
Nevertheless, knowledge and experience
tell us that we can give the following
rough guide about what to expect.
A house visit for a one-to-one session is usually around two to three hours. In the majority of
cases for most problems, further house visits are not necessary.
Here are some of the most common types of
problems that we do house visits for
The Problem
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What
we would normally expect to achieve in one visit
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Aggression to other dogs at a distance
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Your
dog starts pulling, barking and being aggressive to other dogs at a
distance. You can't walk down the street without your dog exploding
at another dog on the other side of the street.
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In
most cases, we achieve a major reduction of your dog's reaction and
increase your control. We do not guarantee zero reaction to other dogs
(although we do often achieve this). We show you how to get out of
difficult situations and give you advice on how to minimise the
problem. With some breeds and temperaments, this kind of problem can
sometimes be so severe that there is only a small improvement in one
session. Occasionally, aggression problems can require long-term attendance at special classes to make a real
difference.
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Aggression to passer's-by
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Your
dog pulls strongly towards passer's-by or lunges at them
aggressively.
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We can nearly
always stop this.
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Aggression to other dogs only close up
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Your
dog doesn't explode or throw itself around with dogs at a distance,
it tries to attack them only when it gets close enough
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This
is much more tricky. We don't guarantee to solve this in one session
and this kind of thing usually requires you to practise certain
things we show you long-term. Commonly, we
demonstrate ways you can reliably interrupt the process before
attack occurs and we give you practical help on
avoiding the problem.
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Running off to other dogs
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You
hardly dare let your dog off lead because as soon as it sees another
dog it runs off and ignores you (no aggression is involved)
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We
show you how to stop this happening and we actually do it. By
the end of the session, in most cases, your dog will be voluntarily
hesitating and/or responding to recall where it would have just
continued running off and ignoring you.
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Chasing livestock, geese, cyclists, joggers etc
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Your
dog lunges at or chases moving objects, animals or people
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Same
as for "running off to other dogs"
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Pulling on lead
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Your
dog spends most of its time pulling your arm off and ignoring you
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Your
dog will be walking voluntarily at your side with a slack lead. You
will be coached in the technique for getting your dog to carry on
doing this permanently. If your dog also tends to lunge at passer's
by or other dogs etc. then this may complicate the situation and you
should see the entries for "Aggression to other dogs..etc". We do
not just fit a face collar, take your money and leave.
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Hyperactive in the home / jumping up / barking
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Your
dog never relaxes; the batteries never run down. It jumps up
visitors, pesters you all the time, rushes around perhaps it barks
all the time at things.
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We
will determine the cause of this and show you some real, practical calming exercises
and methods on the spot to stop this. We will also give you a
program of things to do (and not to do) hich will keep
the dog calm in future.
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Barking / howling / vandalism / toilet in the home when you leave
your dog alone
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When
you go out, your dog barks or howls or chews and wrecks things
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We
will determine the cause of the behaviour and give you a program of
things to practise and do (and not to do) to stop the dog doing
this. It is almost never possible to stop this behaviour on the spot
during the visit. In most cases, if you do what we advise, the
problem will stop within a few days. In some severe cases, it can
take a few weeks.
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Aggression to visitors
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Your
dog barks all the time or threatens or actually bites visitors
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We
will determine the exact nature of the aggression (there are several
common variations). Depending upon why your dog is being aggressive,
we may demonstrate things you can do immediately to stop it or we
may give you longer-term advice with real, practical things you can do to
reduce the problem and eliminate your worry.
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(We can't list everything here but we hope this list
shows you roughly how we go about things)
What happens afterwards ?
In virtually all cases, during the visit, we
will demonstrate real, practical things you can do to control the situation and change the dog
and we will coach you in doing these things. You will almost always be given a
set of things to do (and not do) that will enable you to continue pushing back
against the problem yourself, without further help from a trainer.
For more serious problems, the advice we give you on the spot will
normally be put in writing to you so that you don't have to remember it all just
from the visit. We will usually explain the
behavioural nature of the problem in ways that enable you to understand why it
is happening and what else you can do to help solve it yourself.
In almost all cases, solving the problem
will involve you learning certain physical moves and being able to do them with
reasonable accuracy and timing. It will also involve you being willing to
practise the things you have been shown regularly and consistently. When you are
training a dog to do (or stop doing) something, what you get out is simply what
you put in.
The relationship you have with your dog in
the home often makes a big difference to its behaviour outdoors and we may
occasionally advise changes of domestic routine and house rules.
For some problems, we may recommend a course
of lessons as a follow up and aggression problems can occasionally require long-term
attendance at special classes to complete the cure.
Sometimes, people own dogs that are frankly
too big and strong for them. When certain kinds of dog learn that they are
stronger than their owner, it can take a lot of practise and commitment by the
owner to put things right again. If you are in this situation and you have
mobility or physical problems that affect your strength and fitness then
sometimes, it may not be possible to achieve a satisfactory resolution of the
problem.
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Magic methods ?
No dog trainer or behaviourist anywhere has
any magic ability. Being a good trainer and behaviourist simply involves hard
work, practise, and lots of experience.
Snake oil and mumbo-jumbo don't work.
We try to help you as much as possible with
practical, hands-on training and behaviour modification with your dog. We do not
just talk and we don't try and sell you somebody's magic methods.
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Beware !
Dog-training and behaviour are unregulated
professions. Anyone can call themselves a behaviourist or trainer. In Britain at
the moment, if you shop around simply looking for bargain prices or the most
impressive website, you run a high
chance of getting an unqualified and/or inexperienced person who might not help you
much (or at all). Letters after a name are not
always a qualification.
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Why are there no problem fixes on this site
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We do not give potted fixes for behaviour
problems because they virtually never work. The fix has to be tailored to you,
your dog, its problem and its temperament. One-size-fits-all advice is usually
not helpful. You should be cautious about websites that offer large quantities
of "fixes". Remember, anyone can copy this kind of stuff from books and other
websites without having tried it themselves; they don't have to be qualified or
experienced to build a website, no matter how impressive it looks.
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Will books and websites
help me
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Forget books and websites. There are several solid,
practical reasons why you will not get useful, effective behaviour
modification advice from books and websites. The reasons are too long to go into
here. If you're not already one of the many people who have found it's a waste
of time then try it and you soon will be.
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