Social Development
Unlike Europe, the UK places numerous restrictions on many places dogs are allowed to accompany their owners. Opportunities to learn good social skills are therefore restricted! Early socialisation will provide the dog with the best chance to learn about the world we live in and become well-mannered companions.
Modern lifestyles take family members further away from home for longer periods of the day. Dogs should learn to cope with periods of isolation but if left for too long it can lead to boredom and anxiety resulting in anti-social or destructive behaviour. Lack of socialisation and nervousness will precipitate aggressive or inappropriate behaviour towards other dogs/people.
Some try to counteract this by employing a pet sitter/walker. This is a fair compromise but is only of any value if the dog is being properly educated at the same time. Some utilise pack walks to aid the education process in the vain hope that their dog will learn from other dogs in the group, these dogs - unless properly trained - make poor mentors!
One-to-One Consultation
- Do you want to understand your dog's behavioural problems so you can help overcome them?
- Do you struggle to make it to training classes on a regular basis?
- Do you have any special training needs not available in group classes?
Residential Training
For those that have tried numerous classes, have restrictions on time available to train or have a problem so difficult that training needs to be tailored to suit the recovery level for the individual dog, this is a highly practical alternative.
Place of residence is in our own home with our own dogs where we can supervise 24/7 and structure a suitable training program. Initial consultation is required to assess the level of your dog's requirements. If a residential program follows, half the consultation fee will be deducted from the final cost. For further details, please contact us.
Misplaced Aggression – by Marina Timms & Chris Baker
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This portrays a dog who because of poor or defective TRAINING and lack of SOCIALISATION vents his anxiety towards other dogs and people.
The dog being a hunter is highly intelligent and is equipped with excellent capabilities essential for its survival; superior sense of smell, hearing, speed, smartness and manoeuvrability. In its natural state the dog is intended to be fierce, aggressive and protective.
Dogs instinctively use aggressive behaviour and physical strength to dominate. Many dogs will channel this behaviour towards their owners, other people and dogs who are weak in their raising, handling and training. Domesticated dogs need to be both socialised and educated (trained) to prevent the development of inappropriate behaviour!
The dog must be taught by its human mentor and pack leader to evaluate situations and learn to make reasonable and intelligent decisions. Owning a truly well trained dog is like having your own personal guardian. This is a dog which combines his natural abilities with appropriate behaviour towards family members, strangers and other dogs.
Dogs MUST be properly socialised if they are to avoid fighting. We must ensure that dog aggression NEVER happens! A dog that is allowed to reach this emotional state will feel a strong instinctual urge to seek closure and hence development of misplaced aggression!
Misplaced aggression has disastrous consequences: for the dog, who in this state is highly stressed; its family members, who are often faced with the decision of euthanization or rehoming and the victims of an attack, left traumatised by the experience.
Dog Attacks & Training - the bottom line! – by Marina Timms & Chris Baker
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The issue about training dogs properly is never going to go away but we believe it can be resolved. In raising a dog, training is an underestimated, highly indispensable tool! Just like a child, every new born puppy is entitled to a proper education, regardless of it future purpose.
- Why do you want a dog?
- Which breed is most suited to your lifestyle/capabilities?
- The ability (time & money) to provide proper socialisation and training.
- No one can train a dog without knowledge; you can only teach what you know! Proper training classes are a must.
- Never train your dog to attack, patrol or protect without complete obedience and socialisation training with expert instruction. It’s IRRESPONSIBLE and highly DANGEROUS not to!
The increasing number of reported dog attacks reinforces this point poignantly! A properly trained dog always exhibits judgement and will not be volatile or snap. Yet many people remain so complacent about this issue that it belies all human comprehension! Think about the number of dogs that provide a service to man: guide dogs, hearing dogs, search & rescue, police, personal protection and so on. All these dogs are properly trained; they are expected to remain calm to public advances whilst still alert or defend its handler from a recognised threat.
Clearly there are no bad dogs; only bad owners! These dogs are poorly socialised and wrongly or inadequately trained. Anyone who knows us, knows how committed we are towards resolving this issue. Just image how the victims of a dog attack feel! A dog that cannot be controlled (regardless of its breed/size) is a serious hazard!
Consider these points:
If lacking in any of the above, your dog will become a victim too!
Only by appreciating both canine and human patterns of behaviour can circumstances that lead to these incidents be understood and further attacks prevented.
Typical Headlines:
- A 5 month old baby girl killed by two Rottweilers while guarding a pub in Leicester.
- The dogs were used as security by the landlord and are described as "vicious" by locals.
- Dog attacked by group of dogs out on social walk with local dog trainer.
- The death comes five weeks after a young boy needed 200 stitches in his face when he was attacked by an American bulldog.
- Only 4 days later a 27 month old boy needed reconstructive surgery after being attacked by his grandmother's Rottweiler.
- Pensioner bulldozed to the ground by group of dogs on dog trainer’s pack walk.
If dog behaviour experts agree that NO breed of dog should be left unattended with young children, who then is to blame for such horrific attacks; the dogs or the owners?!
The most crucial missing factor in these attacks is proper training! To a much lesser degree, other factors such as irresponsible breeding can play a part and some breeds have a greater propensity for aggression than others; however, ALL dogs can attack!
There are around 200,000 dog attacks a year in the UK, with 4,000 requiring hospitalisation and about a 1/3 of these are against children – a smaller percentage of these are fatal!
A puppy’s genetic character begins to form in its infancy. If bullied, neglected or spoilt, it is likely to cause undesirable traits that later manifest into inappropriate behavioural flaws. Genetic traits are usually fairly sound; it’s the environmental traits that are the root cause of most negative behaviours.
All humans, regardless of age, must be educated around dogs. Please think very carefully before taking on a dog and its lifetime commitment.