As we write this we are in lockdown 3.0 and the popularity for buying dogs has never been bigger! Prices for puppies have soared to an astronomical level, but on the flip side of this rescues have seen their demands increase as people have realised that they don’t have the ‘lifestyle’ to be able to…
Dog Training is as much about your mindset as it is about the training. You know the feeling. You’ve had a late night, didn’t get much sleep, and when you get up and get ready for work everything goes wrong. You knock your tea over, you drop your cereal on the floor. You decide the…
One small change to your dog’s day to day life can be WAY more powerful than hours and hours of dog training. It’s not using higher value food. And it’s not by using more exciting toys. So what is it? It’s REHEARSAL! Rehearsal is so SO powerful and it’s something that I go on about…
Do you feel like sometimes it doesn’t matter how hard you try and train your dog, or how much time and effort you put in, you just don’t seem to be getting the real life results that you want? Maybe you find that your dog will ‘behave’ for treats, but as soon as the treats…
So we are on lockdown number two in England right now and that might mean lots of us are working from home again, or furlough is continuing. All this time at home with our dogs has been increasing struggles for a lot of our student’s dogs, including separation related behaviours which can also have an…
When training your dog, it is important to remember that there are many layers involved. Your dog may be able to listen to you in your lounge, or even your garden, but can they listen on a walk? Can they listen when out in new environments? With all of the dog training games we teach,…
Here is Suzi's story, an On The Ball student, recalling her previous dog training experiences and what joining On The Ball has done for her relationship with her dog Dave. I always grew up with dogs but I never trained as such. I’ve known Dave my rottie/staffie/GDS cross since he was a day old and…
Many people are pre-programmed to walk their dog three times a day, and at specific times. Do you recognise the scene? Action prompting to go out. Doing laps around the lounge or barking at the door when you pick up the lead. All these behaviours are actually stress inducing for your dogs from the frustration…
Hannah and Sam share their training journey at On The Ball with their nearly 2 year old Lurcher Noodle. Noodle came into our lives at 10 months old as a rescue from the RSPCA. He was full of life and a complete live wire! Having recently lost our placid 14 year old Greyhound, we knew…
Calmness is a concept that a lot of dog owners struggle with. But I want to assure you that dogs CAN be trained to learn how to be calm. There really is hope for EVERY dog. In my previous blog 'Can you teach a dog to be calm?'we talked about some key management steps you…