My name is Rachael and I’m currently studying to be a canine behaviourist as I’ve had a life-long passion for dogs. I’m hoping to be up and running after completing all my training – in the meantime though please take a look at the website – there are handy sections on common behavioural problems, video and photo sections as well as a blog.

Dogs are such a huge part of our lives – for many of us, dogs are members of the family. However they are not little furry people, and so sharing our lives together isn’t always problem free. Many of these problems are common but can be fairly easily solved with some hard work and determination. Here are a few handy hints to consider when training your dog:

1) Dogs are pack animals – if they see you as leader of the pack then this can solve many of the issues you are having, such as the dog not returning on a walk when you call, pulling on the lead, growling when you approach the food bowl and many more.

2) Anthropomorphising the dog (or applying human characteristics or emotions to them), is common. ‘Ben had an accident in the house while I was out. He knew he’d done something wrong – he looked guilty’. Dogs are not little people, and applying these emotions to them can really hinder the training process.

3) Dogs need instant feedback – we need to praise them while they are doing something we love, for example when they sit nicely when the postman is delivering the mail, rather than jumping up at the letterbox barking – praising them afterwards (even 30 seconds later) means they will not understand what behaviour you want them to repeat next time.