Family Dog Mediation - a different approach.

Really pleased to introduce some new ways of thinking, skills to my toolkit as a trainer and the consequently ways that I can help you through Valley Dogs. Family Dog Mediation is less about training and more about helping family’s understand their dog better. Considering and thinking bigger about the reasons WHY a dog is behaving like it is has always been a cornerstone of the way I think about dogs and how I approach my work with my clients. Having new knowledge from world leading behaviourist Kim Brophey’s amazing course has only strengthened my belief that is the best place to start and from which to layer on training with dogs that are struggling with more than just learning how to sit and recall.

So how does it work? It rests on the principle that the dog has LEGS and that all these factors go into making up their behaviour. That none is really more important than the other and that without considering the full picture of each you cannot really get a full picture of the truth behind your dog’s behaviour.

L is for Learning - The things your dog has learnt throughout their life so far. Their individual and unique experiences. This might be a bad experience with another dog that’s led to reactivity issues or it might be consistently amazing experiences with dogs that’s outweighed the usual genetics for a breed that’s often wary of other dogs for example. Every dog is different and knowing their uniques history is important.

E is for Environment - Where do they live day to day? Do you have a harding breed living in a small flat in an urban environment for example, is a working breed with no off switch living in a busy household with young kids and isn’t getting enough time to relax? What is the specific environment that’s causing the dogs behaviour issues?

G is for Genetics - We often overlook the fact that dog’s as pets is a relatively new phenomenon in their history, alongside the fact that with human controlled selective breeding nature hasn’t been able to evolve the species to suit it’s new situation - we have bred them for specific working purposes and then very quickly expected them to adapt to a totally different environment and set of requirements. Taking this into account and making allowances can cause a huge shift in ownership expectations and a greater understanding between dog and human.

S is for Self - Every dog is an individual. It is possible to have a Labrador who acts more like a Border Collie or a Terrier who is completely disinterested in chasing rabbits. So its important to keep that in mind and when all things are considered you absolutely must work with the dog in front of you, not apply a cookie cutter style of training to all dogs.

So ultimately what does all this add up to? It’s a way to think a little deeper about how to meet your dogs needs more effectively, it really underlines my fundamental belief that for the most part family dogs don’t actually need a tremendous amount of ‘training’. What they actually need is understanding, having their needs met and to be given appropriate outlets for their natural behaviours and individual circumstances. With all that in place the small amount of training that you do need to do is far more about you simply rewarding and growing behaviour that is going to help them co-exist with you in a happy and harmonious way and far less about teaching them to be ‘obedient’ come what may.

It’s why I now offer coaching to help you and your dog understand each other better - rather than simply training to make your dog do as they are told in any circumstance. There are so many ways to go from stressed dogs and stressed humans to happy dogs and happy humans without the need for making anyone uncomfortable human or canine.